History Main / ScrewedByTheMerchandise

* While ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' was a smash hit in Europe, like [[ComicBook/{{WITCH}} the comic series it was based on]], the success did not quite translate to the United States, where most of the merchandise, including the U.S. doll line, was sold exclusively at Disney Stores, which meant limited distribution. And with producer and investor disinterest growing, the show ended after just two seasons.

** Despite the continued popularity of older toys in the franchise, ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'', while the show itself doing perfectly fine ratings-wise, was cancelled after four seasons due to poor toy sales. This is largely due to the cartoon's art style, which didn't translate well into toys and was different enough from previous eras of the franchise to alienate fans. In addition to poor quality control and wonky paint jobs, word quickly spread that the [[SuperDeformed tiny feet and large heads]] of the new toys made them top-heavy and prone to constantly falling over, causing toy sales to plummet and eventually dooming the cartoon.

** Despite the continued popularity of older toys in the franchise, ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' was canceled after four seasons due to poor toy sales. This is largely due to the cartoon's art style, which didn't translate well into toys and was different enough from previous eras of the franchise to alienate fans. In addition to poor quality control and wonky paint jobs, word quickly spread that the [[SuperDeformed tiny feet and large heads]] of the new toys made them top-heavy and prone to constantly falling over, causing toy sales to plummet and eventually dooming the cartoon.

Compare to ScrewedByTheNetwork, where something is canceled due to ExecutiveMeddling. Unless executives somehow meddle with the toyline, this trope does not overlap with ScrewedByTheNetwork, although they both deal with cancellation due to factors other than the quality of the show.

* There has been minor debate as to whether this was why the ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' cartoon didn't make it past season 2. The show came out two months before the release of the second video game, and it had an associated toyline and comic book series. However, while the first two games were critical and financial successes, the toys and comics were not, and the third game wouldn't be ready for another three years. Given creator [[Creator/DougTenNapel Doug TenNapel's]] dislike of the cartoon series and comments that it was "a cheap cash grab", it's likely the cartoon was meant to become a merchandise driven franchise, which obviously didn't happen.

* Both of Creator/{{Mattel}}'s {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' and ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' were canceled after diminishing toy sales and a change in the market towards smaller, cheaper toys (such as BlindBagCollectables). In their place ''Toys/{{Enchantimals}}'' was created as a replacement. This means that the crossover movie was scrapped and ''Ever After High'''s plot [[CutShort was not finished]]. As of 2019, both lines are discontinued, though a reboot is planned for ''Monsters High''.

* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' was axed after two seasons in 2020 due to poor toy sales. As a result, Season 2 was [[CutShort cut in half and only had 13 episodes]], compared to 26 for the first season. In August 2022, ''104 weeks after the finale of the series aired on Creator/{{Nicktoons}}'', Creator/{{Netflix}} released a [[DirectToVideo Direct-to-Streaming]] movie called ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheMovie''.

** Despite the ongoing popularity of previous years' toys, ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' was canceled after four seasons due to poor toy sales. This is largely due to the cartoon's art style, which was different enough from previous eras of the franchise to alienate fans, and translated poorly into toys. Infamously, the toys were intended to be able to stand up on their own, but their [[SuperDeformed especially large heads and small feet]] gave them a habit of falling over; as word of this and other issues (such as wonky paint jobs and generally poor quality) spread, toy sales plummeted and eventually doomed the cartoon.
** ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'', which tried to return the franchise's art style to something close to that used during the height of ''Littlest Pet Shop'''s popularity, still did very poorly in sales and only only lasted one season. This was heavily due to the toys' overly exaggerated facial expressions -- children playing with the toys couldn't invent personalities for the pets like they had before, while older fans who made videos using the toys found that no amount of visual tricks could make these pets appear to react appropriately to situations.

* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' was axed after two seasons in 2020 due to poor toy sales. As a result, Season 2 was [[CutShort cut in half and only had 13 episodes]], compared to 26 for the first season. In August 2022, Creator/{{Netflix}} released a [[DirectToVideo Direct-to-Streaming]] movie called ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheMovie''.

* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' was axed after two seasons in 2020 due to poor toy sales. As a result, Season 2 was [[CutShort cut in half and only had 13 episodes]], compared to 26 for the first season. In August 2022, Creator/{{Netflix}} released a [DirectToVideo Direct-to-Streaming]] movie called ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheMovie''.

-->-- '''Sardonyx''', ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E2KnowYourFusion "Know Your Fusion"]]

** Frankly, the entire Transformers brand never really recovered after this. While there were occasional spikes here and there, for the most part it would primarily become an American-focused toyline, to the point where by the 2010s at least half of any new line is sold as exclusives by Takara because sales of on-the-shelf toys keep declining.

* This trope became the downfall of the original ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' movie series. ''Film/BatmanReturns'' was full of [[DarkerAndEdgier horrific and sexual content]], and thus the [=McDonald's=] Happy Meal toys for the movie caused an outcry and the action figures didn't sell. Creator/WarnerBros kicked out Creator/TimBurton and brought in Creator/JoelSchumacher to make the ''Film/BatmanForever'' LighterAndSofter with more colorful characters and vehicles so they could broaden their appeal and sell more action figures, which largely succeeded. Unfortunately, ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' [[FranchiseOriginalSin pushed that further to the detriment of the film]] (the batmobile had a single seat to easily replicate as a toy), and in fact many working on the movie would comment that it was the first time they learned of the term "toyetic."

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBOTSMaster'' was intended to be a MerchandiseDriven series, but thanks to the toys based off of the show not selling well, it only lasted 40 episodes before getting cancelled.

* ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'' was canceled after twenty episodes due to no companies wanting to make merchandise for it.

** ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'', which tried to return the franchise's art style to something close to that used during the height of ''Littlest Pet Shop'''s popularity, still did very poorly in sales and only only lasted one season. This was heavily due to the toys' overly exaggerated facial expressions, while the era the series otherwise tried to mimic usually gave the toys neutral expressions. As a result of the exaggerated facial expressions, children playing with the toys couldn't invent personalities for the pets like they had before, while older fans who made videos using the toys found that no amount of visual tricks could make these pets appear to react appropriately to situations.

** ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'', which tried to return the franchise's art style to something close to that used during the height of ''Littlest Pet Shop'''s popularity, still did very poorly in sales and only only lasted one season. This was heavily due to the toys being more expressive than ever before, while the era the series otherwise tried to mimic gave the toys more neutral expressions and poses. As a result of the exaggerated facial expressions, children playing with the toys couldn't invent personalities for the pets like they had before, while older fans who made videos using the toys found that no amount of visual tricks could make these pets appear to react appropriately to situations.

** ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'', which tried to return the franchise's art style to something close to that used during the height of ''Littlest Pet Shop'''s popularity, still did very poorly in sales and only only lasted one season. This was due to the toys being more expressive than ever before, while the era the series otherwise tried to mimic gave the toys more neutral expressions and poses. As a result of the exaggerated facial expressions, children playing with the toys couldn't invent personalities for the pets like they had before, while older fans who made videos using the toys found that no amount of visual tricks could make these pets appear to react appropriately to situations.

* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop'' toys are usually popular. However, that didn't stop ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' from being canceled after four seasons due to poor toy sales. This is largely due to the cartoon's art style, which was different enough from previous eras of the franchise to alienate fans, and translated poorly into toys. Infamously, the toys were intended to be able to stand up on their own, but their [[SuperDeformed especially large heads and small feet]] gave them a habit of falling over; as word of the issue spread, toy sales plummeted and eventually doomed the cartoon.
** Ironically the series that followed, ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'', which tried to return the series designs closer to it's original, likewise didn't do well in sales. Unlike the 2012 series, it only lasted a season.

* Both of Creator/{{Mattel}}'s {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' and ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' were canceled after diminishing toy sales and a change in the market towards smaller, cheaper toys (such as BlindBagCollectables). In their place ''Toys/{{Enchantimals}}'' was created as a replacement. This means that the crossover movie was scrapped and ''Ever After High'''s plot [[CutShort was not finished]]. As of 2019, both lines are discontinued.

** The same thing happened with ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' 12 years earlier. While the show had great ratings, not many people were buying the merchandise, which led to the infamous scene where, [[spoiler: Momo gets hit by a truck carrying toys (which famously didn't stick since she was reborn as a human child)]]. Though this was subverted by the fact that despite this, the show ran for 18 more episodes and eventually spawned an OVA in 1991, a sequel series ([[Creator/NipponTelevision on another network]]) in 1991 [[note]] the original series aired on Creator/TVTokyo [[/note]] and a movie which ended the franchise in 1994.

* The reason why ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' was initially canceled after two seasons was because it wasn’t moving enough merchandise. This mainly came from the large PeripheryDemographic of the audience. As a serialized, action show with some heavy DC mythology, it wasn't watched by kids. It was watched by teens and adult comic fans. The merchandise didn't consist of things older people buy like phone cases or t-shirts, it was action figures/ toys aimed at 8-12-year-old boys (the audience was also more female skewing than anticipated). Quite simply kids weren't watching the show to know to buy the toys and the people who watched the show didn't buy toys. Unlike most examples here, the fans of the series were able to [[WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeRevivalSeries get a revival produced]] that didn't have a toyline to dictate its future.

* Despite great ratings, the 1994-1995 ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon was cancelled after two seasons partially because [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Bandai]] cut several toy lines due to poor sales and were putting merchandising pressure on Creator/{{Capcom}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'' had a toy line that suffered from competition from ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' and the show had poor reviews at the time. The combination sank the show.

* Despite no issues rating-wise, ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' was cancelled in 2009. At this time, Creator/HitEntertainment was more focused on the merchandise sales for their intellectual properties rather than the qualities of their series, and sister property ''Series/ThomasAndFriends'', following [[ShiftedToCGi its transition from scale train models to CGi animation]], was raking in more money than Barney for the first time since the peak of its popularity in the 90's. Hit shelved Barney to focus more on their really useful engine, resulting in the end of what was once a long-running staple of Creator/{{PBS}}.