Top 10 Things That Were Good But Went Downhill
You know the feeling: something starts out clever, fun, useful, or weirdly perfect, then slowly gets sanded down until the magic leaks out. At first, you make excuses for it because the old version still lives rent-free in your brain. Then one day you look at what it has become and realize nostalgia has been doing unpaid damage control.
This list is for the things that once earned your loyalty, then tested your patience like it was a paid subscription feature. Vote for the ones you think suffered the saddest slide from great to groan-worthy.
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Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. It was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy O. Disney. Disney is known for its film studios, theme... read more
What, no! It may not have the same vibe as it used to, and almost every single film they make now has made over a billion dollars at the box office (unlike previous Disney, which would either get close or do so only occasionally), but Disney on its own still makes very good entertainment!
I hate it when Disney takes over good movie-making companies and then drags them down into the dirt. For example, ever since Disney took over Marvel, it just wasn't the same.
Too many bad movies, too many bad TV shows. Plus, some of the classics (Cinderella, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, etc.) were given awful cheap sequels.
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The Internet
Need I say more? The Internet used to be fun, where everyone was friends. But now, people are messed up. Everyone hates someone, there are too many ads, sex jokes everywhere, people who think cussing is funny, My Little Pony, threats, beer ads on kids' websites, and every bad website is out there. I remember when the Internet wasn't all about singers, porn, money, or sacrificing everything to Cthulhu. The Internet just plain sucks now. I'm sad about how twisted we've gotten.
It's just too toxic now. Best place to get into a fight.
Also, get the kids off the internet.
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Feminism
The government can't continue to fund feminism, and politicians who are in favor of feminism cannot be trusted.
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SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It has become one of Nickelodeon's most popular and longest-running shows, attracting both children and adults.... read more
The graphics are too polished now, which extracts the charm from the older episodes. I can't forget about the excessive Squidward torture. In the old episodes, he might have done something to deserve it, such as when SpongeBob stood up to Squidward for mooching off him. However, in the modern episodes, Squidward is treated like the town's punching bag at every possible moment for the crime of... existing? How dare he? What a monster! His actions seem completely justified, and I want him to win and everyone else in Bikini Bottom to get their karma. I could go on longer, but this is enough.
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Music
Music was so much better in the past. It was excellent during the classical period, with artists like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Franz Schubert, and more. It was even great during the 20th century, with artists like David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Madonna, along with bands like The Beatles. Now, it's just a bunch of weird pop culture with a lack of originality, all for the sake of chart sales, which is a form of greed. Plus, so many songs have sexual references instead of good lyrics and morals. Music has lost over 83% of its good quality since the late 2010s.
As a Gen Z, I am proud to say I live on the newer music (but the music I listen to is different), and not every new song can be that bad.
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Ice Age
This whole franchise was decent until Collision Course came along, and it sucked!
It met its ultimate downfall in 2021 after Blue Sky Studios shut its doors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
There are way too many of them now.
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Youtube
YouTube is a global video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States. It was created by three former PayPal employees on February 14, 2005. In November 2006, Google acquired YouTube for US$1.65 billion, and it is currently ranked as the second most visited website worldwide... read more
Yep... It used to be a fun place to upload creative, funny videos. Now, most of the attention goes to gamers and vloggers who do the same thing in every video. It seems like you're not allowed to express your opinion in the comments without others saying rude stuff if they don't agree. There's always non-stop drama on YouTube every single day now.
There used to be barely any video ads back then, but now there is a heavy ad bombardment, and it keeps getting worse every single month.
Not to mention the "delete video for copyright" crisis. I want free speech and a free Internet to return.
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Star Wars
Once George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, it all went downhill with the oversaturation of merchandise and poor-quality sequels that poorly recycle elements from the classics. After watching Episode VII - The Force Awakens, I lost faith in the Star Wars saga, even after watching bits of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Star Wars lost its charm and will never get it back unless George Lucas buys it back under Disney's agreement.
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Family Guy
Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of Peter, Lois, their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic dog, Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog... read more
Seriously, how is SpongeBob above Family Guy? SpongeBob is still good, but Family Guy is horrible now!
What the hell? They are disturbing as hell. Have you seen Peter Problems or Screams of Silence?
At least the new episodes of Family Guy are not as disturbing as modern SpongeBob.
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The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It originally premiered as a series of shorts on Oh Yeah! Cartoons in 1998 before debuting as a full series in March 2001.... read more
The show was good in its first couple of seasons, but it started going downhill later, with too many Crocker and Timmy's Dad episodes. The show also had a handful of made-for-TV movies, mostly released late in the series, which were pretty okay and made up for some of the dull episodes, like Fairly OddPet.
It's so unfortunate that this show ended on such a poor note and fizzled out before we ever got a finale.
It's mainly because of Chloe.
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New York City
The City of New York, commonly known as New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. It is also the most densely populated major city in the country. Located in the state of New York, it is a global hub for finance, culture, and media.
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The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. The main characters of the show are Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. The story follows Professor Utonium, who accidentally creates three little superhero girls using a mixture of sugar... read more
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Angry Birds
Eh, the Angry Birds franchise made some bad games in recent times, but not all of them are bad.
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Video Games
2012 was the last good year for video games. Games released in 2012 became a trend again in 2018 or 2019, which weren't too bad. Mid-2013 saw some decent games, but by late 2013, the quality started to decline. They became trendy again in 2020, which added to the reasons why 2020 was an awful year. I don't play games like SnowRunner and Resident Evil 3, so it seems to take 6 or 7 years for a game to become a trend. Minecraft used to be rated 12 and over, but around 2020, it was changed to all ages. They should have kept it at 12! I don't play Minecraft anymore because lowering the age rating means children under 12 might get out of control. The trending games in 2018 and 2019 were better. The first bad taste of video games I encountered was in January 2020. Roblox was a good game before 2020, but like Minecraft, its content declined after they lowered the age rating from 12 to all ages. This decade is the worst. I miss playing Resident Evil 2 in the 2000s and Roblox from 2011-2018.
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Home Alone
After the first two movies, it all went downhill. No more Macaulay Culkin, no more Joe Pesci, no more Daniel Stern, and no more of the classic charming comedy they used to have.
After Home Alone 2, things fell fast.
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Rap
Rap used to be artistic and diverse, but now it's just a bunch of swearing and sexual, yet violent, references along with lazy unoriginality. People back in the 20th century were so much more creative when it came to music, including rap.
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The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening. It originally aired as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show starting April 19, 1987, and debuted as a standalone series on December 17, 1989.
As of 2026, it remains the longest-running animated sitcom. The show follows Homer Simpson... read more
Oh yeah, definitely. This should be much higher on the list.
Great until 1998.
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Apple
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company that specializes in consumer electronics, software, and online services, headquartered in Cupertino, California. Apple was the largest technology company by revenue in 2021, totaling $365.8 billion, and as of June 2022, it was the world's biggest... read more
They were once the leading company in technology. I am most disappointed with the direction this company has gone, as the developers and other executives have become very greedy.
Apple was so much better when Steve Jobs was alive. They hit their downward spiral after his death. This proves no one will ever replace him. Not even Tim Cook. Now they force everyone to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to replace their products. R.I.P. Steve Jobs (1955-2011).
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Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The show is based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. The first book in the series is titled A Game of Thrones.
Seasons 1-7 are among the best shows ever made. Season 8 is abysmal.
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Movies
There isn't enough originality and original intellectual property in the cinematic world. Cinema has to place heavy emphasis on originality, which means something that hasn't already been created.
I love new takes on existing intellectual properties that give them a new, unique image. Audiences aren't used to something new because it comes from a different side of the universe, or an alternate or parallel universe, and ends up being very different from the original.
There are lots of unoriginal movies nowadays. Star Wars and the classic Disney movies suffer from a lack of the originality they had back then. Plus, woke culture is being promoted in movies, especially the remakes of classic Disney movies.
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Animated shows
Animation and animators have to experiment with their projects. Some animators could collaborate and hybridize their projects into one universe, with different dimensions or worlds colliding and becoming universal canon for each other.
Spinoffs and standalones can also give specific characters more development and depth.
A lot of flash-animated shows have become trendy lately. However, some channels like Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network have replaced their quality animated shows with subpar content.
This makes classic live-action channels such as TV Land more worthwhile.
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Memes
Literally, every single Spider-Man: Far From Home meme is clearly something we have all heard before and is not funny. The thing about memes from entertainment is that they actually have to be very funny quotes you have not usually heard before, like "Honey, where's my super-suit?"
But with FFH, all the lines that were turned into memes have all been heard before. Just because it is Marvel does not mean everything has to be on the internet.
Shrek, Thanos, Cursed Pearl, and donation sites like Patreon ruined memes.
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Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop and pop‑rock band formed in Los Angeles, California. The group originally came together in 1994 under the name Kara's Flowers, when Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick were still in high school. They self‑released a demo and a studio album before... read more
Had some good hits until around 2014.
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The World
I reject everything from after 2019!
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TheTopTens
TheTopTens is a countdown-based website launched on November 18, 2005, which consists of user-generated content.
Visitors can vote, comment, like other comments, and view user-created remixes. Registered users have access to additional features on the site, such as creating lists, remixes, posts... read more
This is basically a Justin Bieber hate forum.
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People
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Nick at Nite
Once a good block, it now has too many repeats of Warner Bros Television stuff like Full House (which Nick likes to take off the air occasionally), Friends, and George Lopez. I wish this block could show old-school Paramount Television shows again. Heck, they should start airing repeats of Seinfeld and Golden Girls on the block.
Oh, I swear to God, Nick@Nite is a joke now. They literally play six straight hours of Friends every night, and they also do off-the-clock airings now. They used to have 4-5 shows in prime time, but not anymore. Now it's just Friends, which you can see on TBS all day anyway. I never thought I'd say it, but TV Land is actually doing better than Nick@Nite now!