History Main / KidAppealCharacter

** ''Film/GodzillaXKongTheNewEmpire'': The introduction of Suko in the trailer, a cute and friendly juvenile member of the Kong species, providing a titan-child character, much like Minilla, Godzooky and Godzilla Junior before him, for younger audiences to gravitate towards.

[[folder:Films - Animation]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* The Minions from ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' of the Clown variety. They're annoying, they're yellow and they make Illumination millions.

* Po Ping, the title character of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', is a cute, fluffy panda warrior who constantly shouts catchphrases and is generally much more upbeat than his more serious teammates. Though CharacterDevelopment and [[TookALevelInBadass taking multiple levels in badass]] does give him some adult appeal.

** Maggie, being TheBabyOfTheBunch, leans into this on the rare occasion she has a subplot, as her antics often involve cutesy cartoony antics (such as an escaping a daycare or [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicating with animals]]) and being TheVoiceless means her comedy isn't as dialogue-driven as other characters. A [[WesternAnimation/MaggieSimpsonInPlaydateWithDestiny Maggie-centric short]] was the first ''Simpsons'' short to be attached to a [[WesternAnimation/{{Onward}} family-friendly Disney property]]. [[https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Simpson_book_series She even has a spinoff book line aimed at preschoolers]].

* The 1954 version of ''WesternAnimation/AnimalFarm1954'' uses a cute baby duckling for comic relief in the earlier scenes, which was added by one of the producers who was concerned the film was too dark.

** Noah, a fellow contestant and Owen's buddy qualifies due to his sarcasm, wit, and the massive popularity and acclaim that he received from viewers.
** DJ is also an appeal character too due to his bead eyes, likable personality, and love for animals.

** Shawn takes this role in "Pahkitew Island" due to his eccentric behavior and obsession with zombies

** Junior takes the role due to the fact that he is the youngest contestant on the show and looks a lot like Justin Bieber
** Carrie and Devin also fill in this role due to fact that they were featured in many promotional images of the show and that their budding romance is one of the main plot points of the show

* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'': Timon and Pumba. They're the source of many of the lighthearted moments after the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 movie]] hits CerebusSyndrome thanks to [[spoiler:Mufasa's death.]]

* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'': Simba and Nala as cubs.
** Timon and Pumba. They're the source of many of the lighthearted moments after the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 movie]] hits CerebusSyndrome thanks to [[spoiler:Mufasa's death.]]

* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'': Timon and Pumbaa are the laidback adoptive parents of Simba after he runs away. They're the source of many of the lighthearted moments after the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 movie]] hits CerebusSyndrome thanks to [[spoiler:Mufasa's death.]]

** Tails is easily one of the most well known examples of this trope in Video games, being the first additional character added in the series behind [[TheHero Sonic]] and [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]]. He falls under the "Weak but Lovable" and TeenGenius varieties (Even though he's canonically 8), but avoids the worst of the trope by actually being able to hold his own alongside Sonic...at least until VideoGame/SonicUnleashed which started the trend of Tails being a bit of a coward and then he started becoming much more [[TookALevelInJerkass abrasive and sardonic]] on top of that.

* Slippy Toad from the ''VideoGame/StarFox'' series, being (and very much sounding like) the youngest squad member. As a pilot, he's constantly in need of saving, but he pulls his weight as a [[TheSmartGuy mechanic]].

* [[Wrestling/NickDinsmore Eugene Dinsmore]] as he debuted on Monday Night Raw as a wrestling savant who was a big fan of legendary wrestlers such as the [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin.

* ''Film/Robocop3'': Nikko Halloran is a [[ChildProdigy pre-teen hacker]] who helps the main cast twice with her hacker skills (especially at the film's climax) and is there to have cute interactions with everybody, especially Murphy (she also ends up representing [[KickTheDog the cruelty of the Rehabs further]] when it’s revealed [[spoiler:her parents were "[[ReleasedToElsewhere shot while trying to escape]]" a [[KillThePoor Rehab]] "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything relocation camp]]".]] She notably is the only heroic "kid" character in the original trilogy (there is also "Gadget" Parks in ''Series/RobocopTheSeries'', which was produced later) with all other kids that appear being either innocent bystanders (in the first film) or {{Enfante Terrible}}s that are one more example of how much [[UrbanHellscape Detroit has gone to Hell in a hand basket]] (Hob Mills and the thieving softball team in '’Robocop 2'’).

** [[Characters/WolverineSupportingCharacters Gabby Kinney / Honey Badger]] is the younger sister of ComicBook/{{X 23}}, and serves much the same role to her that Jubilee served to Logan, and is primarily the Ankle-Biter variety. She's a cute and peppy smart-alleck to contrast with Laura's [[TheStoic stoicism]], has an interminably upbeat demeanor, and is a font of humor with her off-kilter and observant humor. She even has a TeamPet in the form of Jonathan the actual wolverine.

* ''ComicBook/SuperSons'': The series stars the sons of Superman and Batman: [[Characters/SupermanJonathanSamuelKent Jon Kent/Superboy]] and [[ComicBook/RobinDamianWayne Damian Wayne/Robin]]. Jon is a {{Subversion}} of the Weak but Lovable variety; he's super strong like his father, but his genes make his powers, namely invulnerability, inconsistent so he usually has to play it safe. Damian is more of a straight TeenGenius with traits of the Ankle Biter since more emphasis is put on his immaturity and arrogance.

* ''Comicbook/XMen'':
** Comicbook/KittyPryde started out as a young teenage hero on a team of adults, but eventually grew out of the role.
** {{Comicbook/Jubilee|MarvelComics}}, particularly in the 90s: young, fun-loving, sarcastic, one of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s many sidekicks, and (appropriately) known for wearing a ''lot'' of yellow.
** In ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'', [[Characters/NewXMenAcademyX Pixie]] was one of the youngest, had brightly colored wings, and was otherwise comic relief, for the few issues that focused on her before BreakTheCutie (which really didn't break her very much at all).
** [[Characters/X23SupportingCharacters Gabby Kinney / Honey Badger]] is the younger sister of Comicbook/{{X 23}}, and serves much the same role to her that Jubilee served to Logan, and is primarily the Ankle-Biter variety. She's a cute and peppy smart-alleck to contrast with Laura's [[TheStoic stoicism]], has an interminably upbeat demeanor, and is a font of humor with her off-kilter and observant humor. She even has a TeamPet in the form of Jonathan the actual wolverine.
%%* Jolt was this in the early years of ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.
%%* Impulse in ''Comicbook/YoungJustice'' and Kid Flash in ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'', perhaps.
* [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 The original Bumblebee]] is usually portrayed in comics as being the sort who keeps trying to "prove himself" to his bigger, stronger teammates, and usually gets into trouble because of it. (Prime, for his part, thinks Bumblebee has proven himself well enough in his given role of a spy that he shouldn't feel like this.)
* ComicBook/{{Robin}} was originally the weak-but-lovable sidekick to ComicBook/{{Batman}}, and even has the yellow cape. In fact, [[FountainOfExpies most comic-book sidekicks]] in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver]] Ages ([[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes Bucky]], [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Speedy]], ComicBook/WonderGirl, [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Aqualad]], [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel]], ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, etc.) were [[FollowTheLeader created specifically]] to give younger readers a character to identify with.
* This was the source of the original [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel's]] runaway success. While a little kid reading comics might have trouble imagining himself as Clark Kent, pretending to be Billy Batson, and transforming into a superhero by simply saying "Shazam!", seemed far more achievable. There was a reason Captain Marvel was the highest-selling comic on the stands, even outselling Superman.
* The Human Torch in the ComicBook/FantasticFour is a teenager in a cast of adults. Early on in the series, he was extremely popular and was the BreakoutCharacter with his own {{spinoff}} within a year after the series started. His popularity was one of the reasons why Marvel created other teen superheroes like ComicBook/SpiderMan and the ComicBook/XMen.
* When ComicBook/SpiderMan is put into a team dynamic, such as Comicbook/TheAvengers, he usually fits this trope as a combination of the Clown and the Smart Guy; in fact there have been team-ups where he has out and out ''stolen'' this role from Johnny Storm, to the point where he's temporarily taken Johnny's place on the FF!

* Kimber from ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'' appeals to the teenage demographic of the comic. She has an almost pink shade of red hair, is the youngest major character at eighteen, is the [[GenkiGirl spunkiest]] by far, and is the most into pop culture. She even dressed as the Superbowl sharks for the HalloweenEpisode.
* The comic series ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'' is a series that is not for kids, but Ghus, who is a harp seal-like alien, looks a lot like a character that would appeal to kids due to his appearance, his kind personality, his yellow overalls, and the fact that he doesn't use profanity unlike the rest of the characters.
* ''ComicBook/SuperSons'' stars the sons of Superman and Batman: [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Jon Kent "Superboy"]] and [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne "Robin".]] Jon is a {{Subversion}} of the Weak but Lovable variety; he's super strong like his father, but his genes make his powers, namely invulnerability, inconsistent so he usually has to play it safe. Damian is more of a straight TeenGenius with traits of the Ankle Biter since more emphasis is put on his immaturity and arrogance.
** The pre-Crisis Superboy (i.e., Superman as a boy) was also meant to be a kid-appeal character, debuting in 1945's ''More Fun Comics'' #101.
* The trope was discussed by the creators of ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo''. When pitching a possible movie adaptation, the studio execs insisted that there be a kid protagonist involved; even though the creators argued that it wouldn't make sense for a child to be employed by Tesladyne, and that Robo himself would theoretically appeal to kid viewers enough as a big friendly robot. Eventually, they came up with the idea of a kid being swept up in an adventure through their Science Fair project. The movie fell through, but the concept was later turned into a Free Comic Book Day side-story -- which ends with [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Robo gently telling the kid that given the hyperdangerous science shenanigans that Tesladyne regularly deals with, it would be illegal and unethical for him to hire her no matter how smart she is]].

* ''Anime/VoltesV'': Hiyoshi, who, at ten years old, is the youngest of the Go siblings. He wants to live a normal childhood of playing games and swimming, but can't because he's restrained to his duties of being the pilot of the Volt Frigate. Many episodes have him express a desire to leave his mission and have fun, only for his older brother Kenichi to admonish him. When he uses his super-genius skills to do something useful like manufacture a coffee-making RobotBuddy, said {{Jerkass}} brother yells at him for "wasting time" (which is reminiscient of younger siblings being written off as "annoying" by their older ones).

* ''Anime/VoltesV'' has Hiyoshi, who, at ten years old, is the youngest of the Go siblings and wants to live a normal childhood of playing games and swimming, but can't because he's restrained to his duties of being the pilot of the Volt Frigate. Many episodes have him express a desire to leave his mission and have fun, only for his older brother Kenichi to admonish him. When he uses his super-genius skills to do something like manufacture a coffee-making RobotBuddy, said {{Jerkass}} brother yells at him for "wasting time" (which is reminiscient of younger siblings being written off as "annoying" by their older ones).

* ''Anime/VoltesV'' has Hiyoshi, who, at ten years old, is the youngest of the Go siblings and wants to live a normal childhood of playing games and swimming, but can't because he's restrained to his duties of being the pilot of the Volt Frigate. Many episodes have him express a desire to leave his mission and have fun, only for his older brother Kenichi to admonish him. When he uses his super-genius skills to do something like manufacture a coffee-making RobotBiddy, said {{Jerkass}} brother yells at him for "wasting time" (which is reminiscient of younger siblings being written off as "annoying" by their older ones).

%%* Kosuke Kita in ''Anime/CombattlerV'', who also [[{{Expy}} inspired Hiroshi]]. ''Anime/VoltesV'' has Hiyoshi Gou.