History Main / CuteIsEvil

* Nermal in ''Comicstrip/{{Garfield}}'', sickeningly cute, and Garfield's mortal antagonist (Garfield keeps trying to mail him to Abu Dhabi). Nermal does tend to be downright mean to Garfield at times, and he admits in one strip that his is purposely stunting his growth with coffee and cigarettes in order to stay a baby, and admits to being a midget in another one.

** ''VisualNovel/DeathMark'': [[spoiler:For how creepy Mary Kujou initially comes across, and how evil she truly is (being a demonic CreepyDoll who creates {{Vengeful Ghost}}s to kill people), she has the appearance of an adorable ElegantGothicLolita doll.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' randomly combines ethics and portraits, so it's possible for painfully adorable aliens to be [[AbsoluteXenophobe Fanatic Purifiers]], as ''WebComic/TheChapel'' [[https://www.chapelcomic.com/39/ will attest]]. Later made canon with the Prikkiki-Ti, an event-spawned species that is guaranteed to be Fanatic Purifiers and to look [[https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/images/9/9e/Reptilian_16.png like adorable geckos]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':

Contrast CreepyGood and BeautyEqualsGoodness. Compare BeautyIsBad, a milder form. Also see KillerTeddyBear, CreepyDoll, PsychoPoodle and MonsterClown.

** Slim Shady himself was [[PrettyBoy adorable]] from 1999-2004, with soft, boyish features, platinum blond hair, enormous blue eyes, a high-pitched voice, and the straightforward, contrite mannerisms of a little boy. Part of his persona was that he was a FriendToAllChildren. Oh, and he's also a ChaoticEvil HeroicComedicSociopath who [[CorruptionOfAMinor corrupts kids]], uses slurs, and is the centre of the biggest moral panic in 2000s pop culture. Even as Eminem has aged, he still plays up his boyish mannerisms in his performances.

** [[spoiler:Marx]] from ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. If you thought all of the good characters in ''Kirby'' are cute and the baddies are ugly, you're wrong. [[spoiler:Marx starts from being a really cute, armless jester-like being. He bounces on a really colorful beach ball, proving his innocence. Later, he turns out to be the [[EvilAllAlong main villain all along]], but was ultimately defeated by Kirby himself. In ''[[VideoGameRemake Kirby Super Star Ultra]]'', he transforms into the freaky-looking [[TrueFinalBoss Marx Soul]] by the power of Galactic Nova.]]

** [[spoiler:Magolor]] in ''[[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand Return to Dream Land]]'' looks cute, but is the BigBad. In fact, he seems to have taken his [[{{Expy}} inspiration]] from the aforementioned [[spoiler:Marx]]. Unlike [[spoiler:Marx]] though, he is implied to [[spoiler:make a HeelFaceTurn of sorts after you defeat him]]. This was since then proven true in ''[[MilestoneCelebration Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition]]'', [[spoiler:where he builds a theme park for Kirby for his 20th anniversary as an apology for what he did in the last game and even have fun little races with him.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': The [[spoiler: tiny, smiling yellow flower you meet at the beginning of the game]]? And the [[spoiler: small child with BlushStickers wearing a green sweater who is implied to be [[NarratorAllAlong narrating your journey]]]]? ''[[TheSociopath They]]'' ''[[LackOfEmpathy are]]'' ''[[ManipulativeBastard evil]]'' ''[[OmnicidalManiac incarnate.]]''

* ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'': When the titular Witch is finally encountered, she turns out to be [[spoiler:Ellen, a seven-year-old ([[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld in appearance]]) CuteWitch with flowing purple hair and big eyes. Meanwhile, the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] who gave Ellen her powers is actually the tiny, adorable Black Cat. This doesn't stop them from being cruel, sadistic mass murderers who routinely [[WouldHurtAChild kill children]] and screw over the innocent Viola]].

->"I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups\\

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Trials and Tribulations'': [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne looks and seems like TheIngenue and a YamatoNadeshiko with a white dress, ParasolOfPrettiness, and [[DisneyCreaturesOfTheFarce butterflies flying around her]]. [[TheFakeCutie But all that hides]] a bitter, hateful SerialKiller with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder who [[TheVamp uses her cuteness to manipulate men]]. Her sister Iris is more genuinely nice while having similar looks.]]

** ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'': Kakuya is an adorable little [[LittleBitBeastly fox-girl]] doll with a beautiful kimono. She's also a CreepyDoll who's appearance is actually unsettling up close, and she forces people into a DeadlyGame for her amusement.

* The titular character of the Anime, Manga and light novel series ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'', Tanya Von Degurechaff. She joined the military at age 9 and spent the next 3-4 years becoming one of, if not the most frightening soldiers in the entire Imperial Army (terrifying both allies and foes alike). She is a blond-haired, blue eyes little girl, who looks almost like a doll. Despite her cherubic appearance, she is an absolute nightmare on the battlefield (able to slaughter entire battalions/squadrons single-handed). She is cold, calculating and ruthless above and beyond the call of duty. She has a personal grudge against God (not figuratively, but literally). And she has demonstrated on more than one occasion to have no problems using her childlike appearance and qualities to gain tactical advantages that typically result in bloody victory. As one of her commanding officers says, "She is a devil/monster in the form of a little girl".

''Cute is... disturbing and unnatural.''

Cute things aren't always good. Sometimes... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they're evil]].

Cute Is Evil happens because people (both InUniverse and in RealLife) have a habit of sliding to the cynical end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. It is also related to the phenomenon of people [[CutenessProximity losing the ability to think critically around cute things]]. In places where critical thought is vital, cuteness can be the cover for a PersonOfMassDestruction.

Parents, older children, and teenagers tend to never trust the cute. "Real men" [[RealMenHateSugar especially hate cute]], as it is contrary to more manly forms of expression. Television companies who try to keep girls liking cute as long as possible are often portrayed as {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.

A frequent component of SubvertedInnocence tropes such as CuteAndPsycho, CorruptionByAMinor, KillerRabbit, FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon, and CrapsaccharineWorld.

[[folder:Memetic Mutation]]
* Duo, the mascot of VideoGame/{{Duolingo}}, is supposed to be a CuteOwl and TheOwlKnowingOne. [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/evil-duolingo-owl The memes]], on the other hand, [[OminousOwl make him evil]]. He is shown or implied to hold users' families hostage or threaten users' lives to make sure users don't skip a day on the app.
[[/folder]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Comicbook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cute_is_evil_3_1385.png]]]]

** In ''[[Franchise/EvilliousChronicles Gift From The Princess Who Brought Sleep]]'', Miku wears a FairyTaleWeddingDress, and [[{{Moe}} has]] [[MegaTwintails her]] [[TheCutie usual appearance]]. She plays the part of an OmnicidalManiac, Margarita Blankenheim.

** Rin, playing TheCaligula Riliane in the Franchise/EvilliousChronicles, is also this in Daughter Of Evil.

Contrast CreepyGood and BeautyEqualsGoodness. Compare BeautyIsBad, a milder form. Also see KillerTeddyBear, CreepyDoll, and MonsterClown.

Contrast CreepyGood and BeautyEqualsGoodness. Compare BeautyIsBad, a milder form. Also see KillerTeddyBear and MonsterClown.

Contrast CreepyGood and BeautyEqualsGoodness. Compare BeautyIsBad, a milder form. Also see KillerTeddyBear.

->''"Oh, monster of so little size... is that a ''parasprite'' before my eyes?"''

* Yzma from ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' is the main antagonist of the film and is later seen turning into a cat. In the sequel ''Kronk's New Groove'' she turns into a pink bunny to distract the angry senior citizens after they learn that her potion was a lie.

** [[spoiler:Kyubey]], when you first see it, it's [[spoiler: [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter the most adorable thing in the world,]] [[MixAndMatchCritters looking part-fox, part-bunny, and part-kitten]]]], but the [[spoiler:blank [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] and [[FrozenFace unchanging]] CatSmile]] just get creepier and creepier every time you look at it. [[spoiler:[[DealWithTheDevil There is a very]] [[EldritchAbomination good reason for this]].]] This is also an [[{{invoked}} invocation]] of this trope, as [[Creator/NitroPlus Gen Urobuchi]] specifically asked character designer Creator/UmeAoki to make it "as cute as possible."

* The Duolingo owl is supposed to be a CuteOwl and TheOwlKnowingOne. [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/evil-duolingo-owl The memes]], on the other hand, [[OminousOwl make him evil]]. He is shown or implied to hold users' families hostage or threaten users' lives to make sure users don't skip a day on the app.