Cartoons That Blatantly Ripped Off Other Cartoons

The 2011 Cartoon Network series The Amazing World of Gumball is all about cat Gumball Watson who gets up to all sorts of shenanigans with his adopted brother and BFF, a fish called Darwin. On the other hand, the Chinese series Miracle Star is about the goat Miao Li Xing and his pet frog Gua-Gua's adventures. Now, these two premises could relate to thousands of other series since the concept of anthropomorphic animal friends is nothing new in animation.

The similarity in this case goes far beyond the lead characters, though. Miracle Star has faced accusations of lifting entire stories and jokes from The Amazing World of Gumball, to the point that the latter poked fun of it in an episode titled "Copycats." It's a rare case of a ripoff being so blatant that the original show feels a need to call attention to it.

Scooby-Doo is a dynasty that has received a number of different adaptations across all forms of media, but the premise stays largely the same, following a group of teenagers who travel around with a dog named Scooby-Doo in a van called the Mystery Machine. The group uncovers scammers and fraudsters who try to present themselves as ghouls and ghosts.

Hot off the heels of the original 1969-70 cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Hanna-Barbera created another similar series titled Goober and the Ghost Chasers. The 1973 show follows the same formula as Scooby-Doo, as three teenagers travel around with their talking dog Goober - who has the ability to turn invisible - and solve mysteries involving ghosts. Goober has a tendency to speak more clearly (and in more sarcastic quips) than Scooby-Doo, but it seems he didn't charm viewers as much, since the show ran for only one season and hasn't had a shred of its predecessor's enduring popularity. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is probably one of the most ripped-off cartoons in the history of animation. After the animated series had a successful 1987 debut building off of the comic books and action figures already available, many others wanted a slice of that success. Yet, none of the TMNT ripoffs were quite as blatant as 2009's Kung Fu Dino Posse.

While the protagonists of this show aren't named after Renaissance painters, the resemblance to TMNT's central premise of a group of reptilian friends using martial arts against bad guys is overwhelmingly clear. Kane, Lucy, Jet, and Chow are resurrected dinosaurs who have studied martial arts and use their skills to protect the innocents. Swapping out turtles for dinosaurs doesn't make this any less obvious than what it is. Though there's still a charm to this breezy takeoff, its lack of originality is likely part of why it only got one season.

If someone hears about Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty and Unikitty! for the first time, it's normal to react with confusion. Not only do the names sound ridiculously similar, but the lead characters also look remarkably alike in design and color scheme. 2017's Unikitty! came first, centering on the titular unicorn-cat hybrid who rules Unikingdom and wants happiness to reign. She does everything she can to stop Master Frown from Frown Town from taking over and making matters glum. 

The 2019 copycat Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty's plot revolves around the magical cat Felicity who is also part rainbow, part butterfly, and part unicorn (like in the name). She and her friends go on a variety of magical adventures around the city of Mythlandia. While Unikitty! features surrealist humor, Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty plays it far more straight like a traditional cartoon. The former show ran for a total of three seasons, while the latter had only one, perhaps proving that while some similar concepts can work, copying an existing show to such a strong degree doesn't pay.

The 1997 animated series Recess follows a group of fourth-graders who navigate the political battlefield known as school, keeping themselves and others safe from all the playground threats. Undoubtedly, the appeal of the series lies in the colorful and likable characters such as T.J., Mikey, Ashley, Gretchen, and Gus.

Released in 1999, Detention pretty clearly takes its cues from the prior series, shining the focus on a group of sixth-graders who do everything possible to avoid detention, even though they find themselves failing and serving time. Like Recess, it boasts a fun cast of characters, such as Shareena, Emmitt, Jim, and Gug, though it ran only for a single season. Considering the setting, the general school shenanigans, and lessons about friendship, it's easy to draw comparisons between the two shows, though Recess remains the more widely remembered of the pair with a six-season run.

A community of cute tiny creatures who go about their daily lives and love to make music - this premise can describe either 1981's The Smurfs or 1984's Snorks. Interestingly, Snorks is confirmed to be an intentional copy which came about because of a legal battle regarding the rights to The Smurfs.

As the story goes, businessman Freddy Monnickendam negotiated with Smurfs creator Peyo to secure an animated show for the characters. Unfortunately, they had creative differences, which resulted in a legal dispute. Due to this, Monnickendam decided to create a rival show after buying the rights for Snorks from artist Nic Broca; he then took the IP to Hanna-Barbera to create a brand-new series about the underwater-dwelling creatures to challenge the Smurfs' popularity. While Snorks might never have had the timeless appeal of The Smurfs, it still left its mark on a generation of viewers.