Happily Adopted / Western Animation

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Happily Adopted in Western Animation.

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Examples:

• In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic meets Tails when the fox is just a baby, orphaned and looking for a family. Sonic then adopts Tails as a brother and becomes his caretaker. One episode, "Tails' New Home", focuses on Sonic trying to give Tails a stable life and a new family in concern for his safety. Tails, however, is perfectly happy living with the blue blur.
  Sonic: Sorry for all of the trouble, squirt. I was just trying to find you a real family.
  Tails: I got a real family. I got the best!
  Sonic: Yeah? Where?
  Tails: A family is just people who care about each other more than anyone else, right?
  Sonic: Right.
  Tails: You're it! You're my mom, you're my dad, and you're my picket fence!
• Finn, one of the main protagonists of Adventure Time, is a human boy who was adopted by a family of talking dogs as a baby. While both Joshua and Margaret have their flaws, they loved Finn without question and treated him no differently than Finn or Jermaine. Although they've since died, he lives with his adopted brother Jake and they are very close. While Finn has some angst (as much as he can) related to this, it's mostly because his background is such a mystery to him, which he eventually finds out.
• The title characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks live happily with Dave Seville, their adoptive father-turned-manager, even after they reunite with their biological mother.
• The Amazing World of Gumball has an...interesting version of this. Darwin used to be the family pet goldfish, but then he grew legs and lungs, so he became a normal member of the family and he is treated exactly the same as Gumball and Anais by their parents. Though one episode claims that he's still technically considered a pet by some parts of the government). Darwin doesn't generally have any angst about this (In "The Roots", the Watterson thinks that he misses his original habitat, but it turns out just to be him trying to guilt trip them into buying him a bigger tank) but it's repeatedly shown that being treated as a pet and not a family member is something of a sore spot.
• Francine from American Dad! was adopted by a Chinese couple called the Lings and loved them enough that she didn't care who her birth parents were. In one episode Stan gets fed up with them and tries to find Francine's biological parents, as well as driving a wedge between her and the Lings by finding their will and revealing that they left everything to their daughter Gwen. However, it turns out that Francine's parents are rich assholes who abandoned her at an airport because they weren't allowed to take babies into first class. When Stan's house catches fire, they leave him to his fate while Mr. Ling risks his life to save him. He explains to Stan that they left everything to Gwen because "She's an idiot! She needs all the help she can get!", but Francine will be fine on her own because she's smart and can take care of herself... and she has a good husband. After this episode, the Lings are treated as Francine's true parents, and her birth parents disappear, although Nicholas reappeared in "Family Plan" Cassandra committed suicide prior to the episode.
• Arcane: Vi and Powder are adopted by Vander at the very beginning of the show, as he sees them crying at the sight of their dead parents, with him opting to take them to safety over continuing the uprising he led that had gotten their parents killed in the first place. Mylo and Claggor are also adopted by Vander off-screen. All of Vander's adopted children would risk their lives to save him, and he returns the favor. Vi is astonished that Silco adopted Powder and helped mold her into Jinx. Silco's treatment of Jinx is of an understanding father-figure and Jinx acts like his wild-child daughter. The depths of their bond is revealed when Jinx semi-accidentally on purpose miniguns Silco and weeps in horror while Silco spends his dying breathe assuring her that she's perfect in his eyes.
• As of the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, you could say that Zuko has become this, after much angsting and finally deciding that he's going to consider Iroh his real father. Iroh had already started thinking of Zuko as a son since his own son's death.
• Savy SL2 from the Buzz Light Year Of Star Command episode "The Slayer" was adopted by robots, and judging by how determined she is to make NOS-4-A2 pay for draining them and the way she reacts when they are reactivated, she couldn't be happier with them.
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers: It's not official, as the paperwork would have been quite problematic, but the Planeteers do live on Hope Island with their Team Mom, Gaia, who loves them as if they were her own children, thus effectively making up a family. They also have a paternal figure in Captain Planet.
• Carmen Sandiego was this (emphasis on the past tense) in her 2019 incarnation. True, her five adoptive parents turned out to be a cartel of evil criminal masterminds, but they gave her an idyllic childhood nevertheless.
• In CatDog's big movie about finding their long lost parents, they find out in the end that the parents that raised them as kids had adopted them. And were also a talking frog and a sasquatch. They never find out who their biological parents are, but are content to reunite with the ones that cared for them.
• In "The Friendly Ghost", the debut cartoon of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Casper befriends the two children of a single mother who is terrifed of him. When Casper unwittingly terrifies a Morally Bankrupt Banker demanding a mortage payment, the mother has a change of heart and adopts Casper as one of her children.
• Perhaps it's related to how she met him, but Gosalyn never had any issues with seeing Darkwing Duck as her real father. (Well, except for remembering not to call him "Dad" when he's in costume, but that's a skill any child of a costumed crimefighter needs to learn anyway.) Her biological parents died long before Darkwing came into the picture; the pilot of the series indicates that until his death, she was raised by her very loving grandfather.
• In Defenders of the Earth, Mandrake has been raising Kshin (a pre-teen orphan) for a number of years prior to the start of the series. The two clearly share a very close bond, which is first seen in the final scene of "A Demon in His Pocket". A later episode, "The Adoption of Kshin", ends with Mandrake officially adopting his young protégé, who breaks down in tears - of happiness.
• The PBS Kids series Dinosaur Train has Buddy, who managed to get into a Pteranodon nest as an egg, and he and his family initially don't know what kind of dinosaur he is. He's accepted immediately as part of the family in spite of this, and even when, in one episode, they learn that he is a T-rex and the other ones they met wonder if he wants to stay in their area, he says he'd much rather be with the parents and siblings that love him. Even the intro song establishes this, with Buddy's confusion at clearly not looking like his siblings, and Mrs. Pteranodon assuring him that she's his mom and that deep down he's still like the rest of his family.
• In Dofus: Kerub's Bazaar, Joris (AKA Jojo) loves his adoptive father completely. In fact, practically the entire show revolves around Kerub telling him stories of his youth, which Jojo finds absolutely enthralling.
  • In its sister series Wakfu Yugo is left in care of Alibert when he was a baby and happily raises him until the day Yugo has to leave to find the truth about his people. Before they depart, Yugo tells him that even when he finds his parents, Alibert will always be his real father.
  • There's also Ogrest, the small green creature who was created and adopted by the alchemist Otomai.
• DuckTales (2017)
  • Lena initially moved in with the Sabrewings so that Violet could study her following her return from the Shadow Realm in "Friendship Hates Magic!", but it was eventually decided to just make the arrangement permanent. By the time of "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!", Lena has become fully integrated into the family, happily calling Violet her sister and showing no issue with being physically affectionate with her or their fathers.
  • By the end of the series finale "The Last Adventure!", it's implied that Donald adopted May and June, when he suggested taking the two with Daisy on their trip.
• Bamm Bamm the Doorstop Baby from The Flintstones. This was around the time when adoption was starting to be accepted and not taboo, so it was very groundbreaking (and heartwarming) at the time.
• In the two-part G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero episode "Captives of Cobra", Shipwreck finds out that his nephew is upset about learning he was adopted. Shipwreck manages to help him get over it by informing him that he was also adopted and gives a touching speech about how being adopted by loving and caring parents isn't all that different from being raised by your biological parents.
• While Godzilla Jr. filial imprints on Nick in Godzilla: The Series, Junior has been extremely loyal to his human "father", even when confronted by his biological parent in the three-part "Monster Wars".
• Trina and Corey Riffin of Grojband are stated to be this by Word of God, being raised by a single father without any mother. However, this is never indicated in the show in any way since none of the character's parents ever appear.
• Creepella "Creepie" Creecher, the main protagonist of Growing Up Creepie, is this, despite being raised by a family of sentient bugs in a decrepit, abandoned mansion. She and her bug family love each other as much as any other and she turned out surprisingly well adjusted under their care.
  • Creepie's "siblings" are heavily implied to this as well, as their father Vincent is a mosquito, while their mom Caroleena is a praying mantis, yet Creepie's other relatives encompass a wide variety of insects (and "Aunt Rose" the Giant Spider). But none of them ever comment on this.
• Technobear on Harvey Beaks is a bear cub whose adopted parents are turtles. He and his parents both love each other very much, even after Technobear learned he was adopted.
• One member of the Squirrel Club in Hey Duggee is a crocodile who is as loved by his adoptive elephant family as his friends are by their biological ones. His name, fittingly, is Happy.
• Jem:
  • Kimber's and Jerrica's parents took in two foster children. At first Jerrica didn't like them but eventually they became friends. By the time of the show, Aja and Shana are considered family to the Benton sisters.
  • For all intents and purposes the girls at Starlight House, a foster home, are like adopted daughters to the main characters.
  • The Bentons' now-deceased mother Jacqui was a foster child and that was a large part of the reason she wanted to foster kids.
• Masters of the Universe
  • In He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983), Teela is Man-At-Arms's adopted daughter and well aware of the fact, though for the most part she doesn't care that she isn't biologically his; she doesn't even think about it much. In the episode Teela's Quest she goes in search for her real parents, leading to the revelation that the Sorceress is her mother. While Teela for unexplained reasons isn't allowed to remember her discovery, at the end of the episode she concludes that the man who has raised her from a tiny girl, been there for her all her life, and taught her everything she knows is her father, biological relation or not.
  • In the 2002 reboot, it was hinted that Man-At-Arms actually is her biological father, but doesn't know it. However, it was also hinted that Man-At-Arms's brother Fisto might be Teela's real father. The show was cancelled before the viewers could find out which one of these were the truth. Word of God says it's Fisto.
  • And in the proposed series He-Ro, Son of He-Man, (the bible can be found here), the new protagonist, Dare, would have been the adopted son of Adam and Teela, now king and queen of Eternia. It would have eventually been revealed that he was, in fact, the biological son of Adam's sister Adora and her husband Sea-Hawk, making him Adam's nephew.
• Fulgor/Flynn in Insektors was found by The Great Pyro/Godfrey when he was a baby, and couldn't be happier living with his new family.
• In Katie and Orbie, Orbie was unofficially adopted by Katie's family after landing on Earth, and he couldn't be happier.
• Kitty Is Not a Cat: Kitty is a young orphan girl under the care of a gang of 15 cats, who essentially act as her family. And she loves her feline adopters as every bit as much as they all love her.
• Li'ella the lioness in Legends of Chima. Her relationship with Tormak the tiger is pretty positive, although she does find his over-protectiveness annoying.
• By the end of Liberty's Kids, Henri has been adopted by the Marquis de Lafayette, and he couldn't be happier about it.
• Little Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers: The titular Li'l Elvis was left on the doorstep of a truckstop run by two Elvis fanatics. While he sometimes gets annoyed with their belief that he's the son of the King, they treat him with love and kindness, and he's clearly happy with them.
• Maya and the Three: Maya finds out on her fifteenth birthday that the woman who raised her, Queen Teca, is actually her stepmother; she's the product of her father's affair with the goddess of death, Lady Micte. Despite having an argument with her stepmother that very morning where she said she wished Queen Teca wasn't her mother, the two are able to quickly repair their relationship, and Maya considers Queen Teca her real mother. After meeting Lady Micte and realizing she did care for Maya and tried to protect her, Maya happily confirms that she has two mothers.
• Dragon, Bounce and Shimmer in Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends are a dragonfly, bedbug, and beetle respectively, but Miss Spider and Holley treat them no differently than they do with their biological arachnid children. It probably has a lot to do with the fact Miss Spider herself was Happily Adopted by Betty, a beetle. Additionally, Stinky the stinkbug and his sister Whiffy adopt a ladybug named Grace later on in the series.
• Block from Moral Orel, though it's an odd form of adoption. After getting Shapey and Block mixed up, Bloberta goes to exchange them with her former neighbors. Said former neighbor gives Shapey back, but doesn't take Block back. He becomes a regular member of the family from then on, and becomes best buds with Shapey.
  • It's also odd in that Mr. and Mrs. Puppington are actually pretty terrible parents - but Block does get along with Shapey and Orel treats him with the same brotherly love as he does his own.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has baby dragon Spike, who is all but explicitly the adoptive child of main character Twilight Sparkle, something neither of them have any problems with. It probably helps on his end that she hatched his egg.
  • If you count the Expanded Universe, then Princess Cadance was also adopted by Princess Celestia. Before this, she was an orphaned pegasus who was found and raised in an earth pony village.
  • In My Little Pony Tales, Patch is happily adopted and is not happy about the idea that she might be a princess and have to leave her family in "Princess Problems."
• Megan is adopted by Jack, the team owner in NASCAR Racers. She's sad about her past, but Jack treats her very well.
• OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes: While Fink insists that Professor Venomous is her "boss" and not her "daddy", it's very heavily implied that she's an orphan Venomous took in and raised, and the whole episode "K.O. vs. Fink" comes across as Sibling Rivalry following the reveal that Venomous is K.O.'s father.
• The Owl House: While Eda Clawthorne initially introduces King as her "roommate," season 2 clarifies that she had initially taken him in as a pet when he was a baby (hence the collar he wears) before she learned he was sentient, and has always been his primary caretaker and would do anything for him. After learning the truth of his origin, King begins seeking his biological father, but he starts his quest by legally changing his name to King Clawthorne (which is treated as an adoption) to solidify his relationship with her. Likewise, Luz functions as Eda's adopted daughter, with Eda repeatedly referring to "my kids," a sentiment Luz returns despite having a loving biological mother she's desperate to get back to.
  • In the second season, Luz's mother Camila is revealed to be living with Vee, a shapeshifting basilisk who has been impersonating Luz for months. When she finds out the truth, Camila is freaked out, but also quickly realizes that Vee is only a child who was in a truly terrifying situation; she at first impersonated Luz just to escape her oppressive and abusive upbringing, and then stuck around because of how kind and affectionate Camila was. Camila never even considers turning Vee away after learning the truth, and instead accepts that she now has two daughters.
• Phineas and Ferb has a variant, where the two title characters (plus their sister Candace) live in a happily blended family where the kids are basically adopted by their stepparents. Word of God hand waves any question about Phineas and Candace's missing biological father or Ferb's missing biological mother as unimportant. All three kids refer to the parents as "Mom and Dad," and as much as they drive her crazy, Candace is fiercely protective of "my little brothers."
  • One of the few times this is explicitly mentioned is in the song "Takin' Care of Things":
  'That's right, we're bros, we're brothers, different father and mother
  But don't you diss, slam or slide us, we look after one another
• Cookie, one of the main characters and Bruiser with a Soft Center in Pound Puppies (2010), grows attached to and becomes a mother to a puppy named Cupcake. Cupcake adores Cookie, and lovingly calls her "Cookie Mommy".
  Cupcake: Where are we going, Cookie Mommy? To the park, to the beach?
  Cookie: No, sugar, we're going to see some nice dogs who will find you your perfect person.
  Cupcake: But I don't want a "perfect person". I just want you, Cookie Mommy.
  • It later becomes a Pet the Dog moment when Cupcake gets adopted by the same family that Cookie has.
• This is at the heart of the Disney series The Replacements, which is about a brother and sister living in an orphanage. They find a comic book with an ad in the back that will allow them to "replace" any adult with one sent by the company, and order themselves a new set of parents. Thus, they end up adopted by a gorgeous British superspy and her husband, an Elvis-lookalike stunt driver. It's a weird family, but they're devoted to one another.
• Heffer Wolfe from Rocko's Modern Life was literally Raised by Wolves who in fact raised him so they could eat him later on, but changed their minds when they grew to love him. Heffer is at first distraught about this when Rocko spills the beans during a family dinner and searches for his real parents, but after he meets the spirit of his real (living) father, who reveals that he disowned him, along with his real brothers and sisters for being ugly, he comes to accept the Wolfes as his real family.
• Rocky Kwaterner: The titular character, a young cro-magnon who was frozen in ice for 35000 years, is adopted by the archeologist who found him, Mary Tikka. She treats him like one of her own children, he always refers to Mary and her husband Peter as mom and dad, Mary's other kids Theo and Luna fully treat him as a brother, and Rocky is prominently featured in any family pictures.
• Sofia the First becomes this when her mother marries King Roland II of Enchancia. Sofia's mother also happily adopts Prince James and Princess Amber, her husband's children from his previous marriage.
• While families in South Park can be dysfunctional, Ike is considered part of Kyle's family despite the fact that he was adopted from Canada. And Kyle will protect Ike because he's the older brother.
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Though they were handed to Buff Frog in a burlap sack as a bribe by Ludo, the tadpoles seem quite happy under their new doting father.
• Ruby from Super 4 was found by a pirate who quit piracy to raise her. While she didn't like the peaceful life and wanted to be a pirate herself, she still loved her father.
• In the first episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, a young Clark Kent mentions that his parents never kept secret the fact that he was adopted. What he finds soon after is that they did keep secret just how he was adopted, but after some initial angst all is well between them.
• All three delivery kids in Three Delivery have nothing but bad memories of their time in the orphanage, and adore Nana, their adoptive caretaker.
• In the 2011 ThunderCats reboot, Tygra is raised by the royal family after his own sends him away to save his life, and he continues to think of Claudus as his father and Lion-O as his brother even when he meets his own clan and reconnects with his father.
• Otto Osworth in Time Squad. While technically he was kidnapped by Buck Tuddrussel and Larry 3000 from his orphanage (which Otto had begged them to do anyway), it's clear that Otto is better off and happy living with the two adults.
• Implied in the What A Cartoon! Show short "Kitty Bobo", where the titular protagonist is a cat whose parents happen to be dogs. One of the first things Kitty Bobo does when he gets a new cellphone is call his parents, and it is apparent that he doesn't care whether or not they're his biological parents.
• Wheel Squad: Sure, Emilie Rotter still has her mother, but she and her stepfather get along so well that her birth father was never mentioned in the whole series.
• Donny from The Wild Thornberrys was taken in by the titular family before the series began, and officially adopted later.
• Winx Club plays this trope straight and subverts it: Bloom, depending on the version, either knew she was adopted by her Muggle Foster Parents or didn't; either way, she remains close to them throughout the series. But she also is very interested in finding her biological parents, at times obsessive about it. after she does rescue them, the two sets of parents coexist fairly peacefully, despite their cultural differences.
• WordGirl: Despite being the only member of her family that seems to remember that she's adopted, Becky shows no inclination to find her birth parents, and she's very close to her adoptive family.
• Work It Out Wombats!: Louisa is a young tarsier adopted by two loving kangaroo mothers.
• X-Men: Evolution: Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner is a downplayed example; he very clearly loves and thinks the world of his adoptive family, but he also shows an interest in tracking down his biological family which almost turns into an obsession at times.
• Young Justice (2010):
  • Bruce is portrayed as a better father figure to Dick than in other continuities, though the latter seems to retain some unfounded abandonment issues. Interestingly, Word of God says that Alfred and Bruce did not have this sort of relationship while Bruce was growing up, but that Alfred regrets not trying to be more of a parental figure.
  • In Season 2, the Kents have clearly adopted Superboy. Superman refers to him as "little brother" and gave him the Kryptonian name Kon-El, and in "True Colors" Pa Kent refers to Superboy as one of his boys.

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