Spoiled Brat

Spoiled and in denial about it.

I want the world
 I want the whole world
 Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises
 Of all shapes and sizes
 And now
 Don't care how, I want it now!
 Don't care how, I want it no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ow!

—Veruca Salt, "I Want It Now", Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

Drew: Look, sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do because they're good for us.
Angelica: Not me, Daddy. I'm special.

—Rugrats

Some kids can get whatever they want by screaming at their parents until they give in. "I want a pony" is one common demand of these types.

Usually, but not always, female—and may grow up to be an Alpha Bitch or a Rich Bitch. Indeed, the grown-up version may still be refered to as a spoiled brat if they still rely on their parents' money and influence. Never Nice to the Waiter and prone to Never My Fault.

On the other hand, since Children Are Innocent, the cause may be their parents' treatment of them, whether neglect or being a too Doting Parent. (To be fair, if the parents put their collective foot down, the child would have to change.) Removing them to more natural circumstances may cure them entirely, unlike adults of similar personality. Many a Magical Nanny specializes in it. This is especially likely if the parents lavish the material goods on them in place of affection or attention; any Parental Substitute may bring the child back to good manners by providing attention and discipline, and often wins the heart of the child that way, to the shock of parents, who may complain, "But we give him everything." The older the child is, the less likely this is to happen. In extreme cases, may be the result (or result in) an All Take and No Give relationship with their parents.

This often leaves the kid Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense.

A Super-Trope to Royal Brat (where the brat is part of a powerful family).

Compare with Egocentrically Religious, who has this attitude towards God and the universe rather than towards father and the local community. Also compare with Idle Rich. Contrast Non-Idle Rich, Spoiled Sweet, Lonely Rich Kid.

Examples of Spoiled Brat include:

Advertising

  • The Toyota Highlander commercials featuring the little blonde kid. He talks about how his parents used to be lame before they got the "cool" Highlander. The way he brags about it and the way he looks down on the kid whose parents drive an older car really give off the Spoiled Brat vibe.

Anime and Manga

  • At first it appears that Chiko, the main character of The Daughter of Twenty Faces, plays this type straight to form. Then we find out she has a good reason to put up the act that she does. After this the trope is subverted as she practically tries too hard to contribute and be nice to her new "family".
  • Howard from Uninhabited Planet Survive!
  • Papirurio from Gash Bell. His partner Lupa gives him what he wants because he's the Replacement Goldfish for her dead son.
  • In Spirited Away, Yubaba thoroughly indulges and overprotects her baby, who is self-centered and cowardly. When he is transformed into a mouse and his mother does not recognize him, he goes with Chihiro, becoming her friend, and on their return, shows his mother that he can stand on his own and demands that she be nice to Chihiro.
  • Rumiko Takahashi used this character twice, in the form of Shūtarō Mendō, of Urusei Yatsura, and Tatewaki Kunō, of Ranma ½. Mendō might border on being a Royal Brat, due to the fact his family is insanely wealthy (among other things, they have their own private army and own a considerable chunk of Japan). Mendō is also a Handsome Lech, but Kunō is more of a Lovable Sex Maniac due to the fact his ideas on dating and romance vary between lechery under a pretty guise and outright madness (attacking a girl and making a date the prize in a Heads I Win, Tails You Lose gambit). He can come off as Handsome Lech or even a Chivalrous Pervert to girls unfamiliar with his ways, but every girl who gets to know him better quickly becomes disgusted with him—even Mariko Konjō, the one girl who fell in love with Kunō, quickly got over him in the original manga version.
    • And Shutarō's sister is just as much of a brat; she's just less pompous and more sadistic.
    • Three times. Shun Mitaka from Maison Ikkoku is a more realistic version of Mendō (same voice actor, similar phobia issues), who is a "club pro" tennis coach/playboy.
    • Shippo from Inuyasha isn't exactly a model of behavior himself.
  • Xanxus from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. He was a poor boy whose crazy mother managed to make the Ninth pity them and adopt Xanxus as his own son. The Ninth thought of him as his own son, and gave him love and affection—Xanxus, unfortunately, turned into a violent, ill-tempered Spoiled Brat who wasn't used to things not going his way. His being a Spoiled Brat is especially noticeable when one considers that, although being the Evil Counterpart to Tsuna, he actually had much less abuse and neglect in his past.
    • Even ten years into the future, as much as he's thought to be less of a douchebag than before, he's still ridiculously spoiled and rotten tempered. Most notably the "beef incident" here, where he beat the crap out of a bunch of underlings because he wanted to eat beef, and it had to be the best quality, and it had to be filleted, and how do they expect him to eat this shit?!
    • Hibari shows signs of being this, as well. Anything he wants, he gets. Or heads will roll. And the Absurdly Powerful Student Council doesn't exactly discourage his train of thought - they're pretty much his personal servants that help do anything (including some very morally ambiguous things) he wants. And just look at his reaction to when Mukuro beat him in a fight - he becomes obsessed with completely annihilating him, since he absolutely hates the idea of ever losing to someone. The only thing about Hibari, however, is that he really does have the strength and genius to justify his haughty, spoilt, stuffy attitude.
  • Scarlett O'Hara from Steamboy. She's insufferably spoilt for a 14-year-old, which is the result of having five "mothers" (a.k.a. servants) who go through the "motherly" motions for her. She matures quite a bit during the movie and the ending credits implies she stopped being a spoilt girl and became a haughty but independant woman.
  • A good fraction of all the plots in Detective Conan have this in grown-up form. They either get murdered or end up being the reason why someone was murdered in the first place.
    • Sonoko is a milder version. Sure, she's a Spoiled Brat quite often, but she's not outwards malicious and cares genuinely for Ran (therefore, she thinks Shinichi's not good enough for her). And her Long-Distance Relationship with Makoto is quite cute.
  • Subverted in (what else?) Neon Genesis Evangelion. Asuka initially appears to be this... until it's revealed that she's doing it on purpose to alienate others because she's suffering from abandonment issues; there's been no-one around in her life to spoil her.
  • Garma Zabi is portrayed as this in Gundam: The Origin, an alternate retelling of Mobile Suit Gundam. He whines about Char getting all the glory and pesters his more prominent family members into giving him a combat posting so he can earn some fame for himself... after complaining about looking like the "baby" of the Zabi family. It should be noted, however, that this is an Alternate Character Interpretation that clashes with Garma's canon personality from the original anime.
  • Poland from Axis Powers Hetalia starts out as this, but later matures via Character Development, defending Lithuania from the much-feared Russia.
  • In Wild Rock, Nava is absolutely spoiled rotten by his dad and uncles, gets into everything and has the attention span of a fruit fly
  • In Kiki's Delivery Service, Kiki after befriending an elderly lady helps her deliver a fried fish cake for her granddaughter's birthday, something that her granddaughter likes. Battling through a storm, Kiki arrives and meets the granddaughter who only turned up her nose that her grandmother got her another one of those fish cakes and barely gives a thanks to the soaking wet Kiki. Though there are arguable Pet the Dog moments showing she isn't all that. She actually doesn't protest when her friends compliment Kiki's independence and shown to befriend Kiki by the epilogue.
  • It is pretty much this trope that drove Keima from The World God Only Knows into the kind of...obsessive gamer he is. He has 6 LCD TVs, 6+ home videogame consoles, 10+ portable PFPs, and a collection of gal games... in his own personal game library. And where does this all come from? Well, the "M funds".

Comic Books

  • Of course, Viz magazine's eponymous Spoilt Bastard Timmy Timpson. In every strip he bullies and emotionally abuses his rather weak-willed mother, blaming her for whatever problem he's caused (and what's more she always believes it's truly her fault) and leading her to spend money she doesn't have to cater to her son's every whim. In one old strip he pretended to be sick to get out of school and kept implying that it was his mother's fault. The doctor then tells Timmy's mother that There's nothing wrong with your son that a good smack on the bottom wouldn't cure!. In the annual he runs away from home because his mother put two sugars on his Weetabix when "She knows!" that he only has one and three quarter sugars.
  • Like the picture above, Veronica wants to get a job like all her friends have, but she's just not motivated enough to actually apply for one. In one comic chapter, everyone is busy with their summer jobs... except Veronica. She has no siblings (that we see, anyway), and her parents are busy running the family corporate empire, so she's pretty much alone and already bored with the empty days of summer vacation. She wished she had something to do, even a job, because this boredom is driving her crazy. Archie eventually comes by and visits, telling her about this one position open at the jewelry shop in the nearby mall. He says this position would be perfect for her, since she wears so much of it. Veronica looks like she's going to accept... then decides not to, because she's so wealthy she doesn't need to work. Apparently, having loads of money means one can never get an actual job, even if it's just to pass the time.

Film

  • Princess Vespa in Spaceballs. Her car's license plate even reads "Spoiled Rotten". Case in point: "My industrial strength hairdryer. AND I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT!"
  • Child star Darla Dimple in Cats Don't Dance is this to insane levels, demanding that she be given everything she wants and be focused on 100% of the time. How she got this way is never addressed, since she doesn't seem to have parents.
  • Eric Bates in The Toy.
  • Missy Wiener from Welcome to The Dollhouse. She acts innocent and sweet, but in reality she's a Manipulative Bitch who has mommy and daddy wrapped around her finger. Her favorite pastime is baiting Dawn into getting into trouble.
  • Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove
  • There was Arthur Hoggart's granddaughter in Babe, who upon seeing the beautifully-made doll house that her grandfather had spent so much time making began crying, screaming that it wasn't the one she had seen on television.
  • The meaning behind the title of The House of Yes. The character of Jackie was so spoiled that the word "no" was simply never spoken in their household.
  • Pee-wee's Big Adventure - Francis!

Literature

  • Veruca Salt of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, along with the two movies based on it. In the book and the first movie, it's explicitly mentioned she's wearing a mink coat. It's not Fur and Loathing here; it's that mink coats were almost never made for girls at the time (they wore mostly rabbit), no matter how wealthy the family.
    • The stereotypical "pony" line is spoofed in the 2005 movie:

Veruca: Daddy, I want another pony.

    • Although Veruca is the most glaring example in the book, the other children (except for Charlie, of course) are spoiled brats themselves. Augustus Gloop is a glutton whose mother just won't stop feeding him, Mike Teavee is allowed to spend all of his time watching television and apparently subsists on TV dinners, and Violet Beauregard goes unquestioned on any of her decisions by her parents.
  • Another male example: Draco Malfoy shows symptoms of this, and his parents don't seem inclined to put any limits on his behavior.
    • Similarly, Dudley Dursley, although he's tame compared to Draco. Whereas Dudley just likes to beat up Harry (until the seventh book, anyway), Draco actually wants him dead.
    • Draco is a subversion in a way though, as although he gets the best of everything it's often hinted that it's just another way for his father to show off his influence. Several scenes throughout the book show him getting very snippy when he thinks his son is acting... inelegantly.
      • Especially in the second and fourth movies, where Lucius has no qualms whatsoever about moving people around bodily with his cane.
  • In The Secret Garden, both Colin and Mary are this, at first. But Mary was ignored by her mother and Colin by his father, and playmates and exposure to garden and the wild cure them.
  • Captains Courageous has Harvey Cheyne, a thoroughly spoiled brat who gets it worked out of him when he is swept overboard at sea and has to spend much of the summer on a fishing boat as part of the crew.
  • In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie's younger sister Norma was this growing up due to her mother's Parental Favoritism. She grew out of it in adulthood but still retained a mild degree of neediness.
  • In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Manny is growing into this due to Parental Favoritism.
  • Soraya in the Farsala Trilogy. She's fifteen, but we first meet her when she's having a temper tantrum in her room, which involves throwing things at servants. Luckily, she grows out of it.
  • In John C. Wright's The Golden Transcedence, Atkins complains about having to rely on a "spoiled rich man's son" to rescue humanity. Phaethon is actually not spoiled. Just very, very, very pig-headed.
  • In Aaron Allston's Galatea in 2-D, Paris refuses to shoot two arrows. Roger thinks that next time, he will not chose a spoiled brat.
  • Robert Arryn in A Song of Ice and Fire is the only living heir to a Great House, with a lot of stillbirths before and since. As such, his mother smothers him to the point that he's still being breast-fed at age six, and with the ultimate result that he's a budding Caligula, accustomed to annoying guests being executed for his amusement.
  • Hamish Bigmore from the Mr Majeika series.
  • Princess Elspeth in the Heralds of Valdemar series was this, to the extent that the Heralds and Court even called her (unofficially) "the Brat." It turned out her nanny was invoking this trope to ensure the grown Elspeth would lack the pure heart necessary to become a Herald and rightful Heir.
  • Oblomov started as this - his family doesn't even mind if he skips school regularly. In fact, they push him to do so. Which leads to him not coping with life later.
  • Not even Brother Bear and Sister Bear were immune, in The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies. That story had them wanting literally everything whenever their parents took them to the shopping mall - and if they didn't get something, they'd take this trope to embarrassing levels, throwing themselves on the ground and kicking their legs and screaming their heads off.
  • Camille in Therese Raquin was cosseted so much as a child, that he's completely intolerable to everyone but his mother. She of course thinks he's the best son ever.

Live-Action TV

  • London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
  • Dakota Condor from Sonny With a Chance. Even worse, she will fire anyone on a whim if she doesn't get what she wants from the person.
  • Stephen Colbert degenerates into this from time to time on The Colbert Report, usually when there's some cool new toy on the market and he thinks he should get it for free.
  • Everyone on My Super Sweet Sixteen.
  • Sheldon Cooper tends to embody this trope, often getting whatever he wants, how and when he wants it, no matter how unreasonable, merely by being extremely difficult. Ironically, his family seem to be the only people not enabling him.
    • Which may be part of the reason he's so reluctant to spend time with them, even moreso than the other characters and their respective relatives.
  • Stingy from LazyTown is so spoiled, he believes that everything he sees belongs to him. He even has a song about it:

"This mailbox is mine / And this triagonal sign
 The blue balloon / The month of June
They’re mine, mine, mine, mine, mine"

  • Renee of the '90s BBC series Chef Her father, the nouveau riche owner of Chateau Anglais, makes Gareth take her on to work in the kitchen even though she can't even chop a carrot, and she whines, complains and generally throws a fit any time she's expected to actually do anything.
  • Mary Cherry, from Popular.
  • Victoria Justice's character in Spactacular.
  • Daughter of the Rich Bellamys, Elizabeth, from the 1970's BBC series Upstairs, Downstairs. She often has stints of protesting for social reforms for the poor and women, yet treats her "friend" and servant, Rose, like dirt. She often complains of having a horrible life, being so rich and having nothing to do, and saying how great Rose has it. Including right after the episode where Elizabeth got Rose sent to jail by accident, where she was starved and tortured, and then sent back to work like nothing happened.
  • Scarlett from SLiDE.
  • Doctor Who gave us another male example in the Sontaran two-parter "The Sontaran Strategem"/"The Poison Sky". Said kid was actually a teenager, but due to wealth and extreme intelligence had been getting everything he wanted his entire life. The Doctor notes that people haven't said "no" to him in a very long time.

Newspaper Comics

Oral Tradition, Myths and Legends

  • Some versions of Artemis have her as the spoiled brat of which all others are shadows. Namely when she asks Zeus for presents, he one ups each request!
    • On the other hand, Artemis is definitely an Action Girl. That uber-special silver bow that Zeus had custom-made for her? She uses one arrow to kill a city of criminals.
    • Zeus pretty much acts like a spoiled brat too. He beds any woman he likes, regardless of her wishes, which always lands said woman in trouble with Hera. He gets away with whatever he wants to do and his wrath when angered puts him in Psychopathic Manchild territory.
  • Ishtar of Babylonian myth. Utterly shallow Psychopathic Manchild who routinely threatens to destroy the world via Zombie Apocalypse whenever someone says 'no'.

Theatre

  • In The Insect Play, the ichneumon larva doesn't like the several freshly killed crickets her Daddy brings her every day.

Video Games

  • Prince Laharl from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. He initially refused to pay his vassals because "That's my allowance! Nobody's touching it!" Even after Etna goads him into paying, he opts to steal the funds instead. He eventually does shape up a little, mostly because The Lancer made it clear that she was perfectly willing to off him and take his place if he didn't.
  • The RPG My World, My Way takes this to its (il)logical conclusion, where a Spoiled Brat princess is the main player character, and can actually progress through the game by pouting to make the world bend to her will. Monsters attacking too quickly? Shout "Ladies first!" and the princess will get the first attack. Quest too challenging? Throw a fit until someone agrees to do it for you.
  • Mint from Threads of Fate is a very spoiled princess.
  • The spoiled brat in the auction house in Final Fantasy VI is the number one reason you never get to have any model airships or talking chocobos.
  • Remilia Scarlet is considered Touhou's poster child for a spoiled brat. A 500+ year old vampire with a perpetually 11-year old temperment and a Hypercompetent Sidekick for a head maid. What Remilia wants, Remilia gets.
    • Tenshi is also something of a Spoiled Brat, with emphasis on the spoiled. She also has such a silver spoon on her tongue that she was bored to death prior to the events in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
  • Jorge Garcia to an extent.
  • Recurring NPC Flambeaux from City of Heroes is utterly self-centered and unconcerned about anything that doesn't directly affect her. She became a superhero solely for the attention and adulation she expected she'd receive. And when she didn't get as much as she thought was her due, she became a villain and started terrorizing journalists into publishing worshipful articles about her.
  • It's a major flaw in Luke's character until he becomes The Atoner. It was so bad that all the other characters were surprised when they each first heard him say "Thank You."

Web Comics

Web Original

  • Ami, from Sailor Nothing. This bit of characterization doesn't get added until later chapters, just in time to receive a horrific comeuppance for a minor slight.

Western Animation

  • Angelica Pickles of Rugrats.
  • Peppa Pig and all children in that show. They cry, don't want to share their things etc.
    • George Pig deserves special mention, as he always cries, has Mr. Dino as his only friend and never wants to bathe.
      • Peppa even said "I don't want to play with you anymore" to Suzy, her best friend.
  • Paulina from Danny Phantom.
  • Princess from The Powerpuff Girls is this to a ridiculous extent.
  • Sara from Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy certainly qualifies.
    • Eddy could certainly qualify, as well.
  • The Fairly OddParents has Trixie Tang plus her clique boys and Remy Buxaplenty.
    • Timmy has been sometimes said to be one WITH MAGIC by the fanbase during seasons 4-6.
  • Elisabeth Delmas, a.k.a. Sissi (yes, that is indeed her nickname) from Code Lyoko, whose father is the headmaster of Kadic Academy, where she and the rest of the heroes go to school.
  • Lemongrab of Adventure Time definitely counts. If he doesn't get what he wants (be it a reasonable or unreasonable demand), SOMEBODY is going in the dungeon. There are many reasons for his sour personality (mental illness, stupidity, immaturity), but he was raised in a castle in which everything was handed to him. That probably didn't help him much, in the long run.
  • Caitlin Cooke, from 6teen.
  • Male example: there's a bratty boy named Gavin who sometimes appears on The Simpsons, bawling out his mother if she displays any reluctance to cater to his latest whim.
    • Bart Simpson himself used to come off this way, if only by default because he was so disobedient and disrespectful but never seemed to get punished severely for these actions. One episode played this up by having Bart repeatedly play pranks and pull obnoxious stunts, leading his teacher to demand that Marge and Homer discipline him. Marge really did try, but her efforts were all futile because Homer constantly felt sorry for Bart and would undo Marge's punishments when she wasn't there.
  • Wendy O. / Kootie Pie Koopa from the various Super Mario Bros. cartoons is a huge example. One of her catchphrases is simply "I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!" (See for yourself!) She once demanded, and was given, Antarctica, and then briefly demanded to be Empress of America.
  • Lisa Rental in Sheep in The Big City.
  • Shapey in Moral Orel. Bad enough he seems to have a behavioral problem, his parents (and Orel, by their command) turn a blind eye to his destructive behavior, and cater to his every whim, lest the neighbors complain about his high-pitched screaming. Later on he does grow out of it and in the Distant Finale he grows up to become a decidedly functioning adult.
    • Clay as a kid qualifies. The reason why he becomes this is because of his religious fanatic mother.
  • The Love Mummy in Aqua Teen Hunger Force threatens anyone who doesn't give it what it wants with a curse. However, the real curse is that the mummy is a socially inept spoiled brat with no manners.
  • Eric Cartman of South Park. Here's one of his milder examples:

Cartman: Mom, can you get me some Weight Gain 4000?
Cartman's Mom: Okay Eric. I'll get you some at the store tomorrow.
Cartman: But mom, I need it for tomorrow!
Cartman's Mom: But, tomorrow is grocery day, Eric.
Cartman: Mooooooom *whines incoherently*
Cartman's Mom: Okay, okay. Well, I guess I'll be going to the store now, then.
Cartman: *smiles*

  • American Dad: Roger is referred to as a spoiled brat a few times in one episode, and he and Stan tend to embody this trope whenever enabled, usually by Francine.
  • Jeremy Creek in The Town Santa Forgot: He Starts out spoiled until his parents stop buying him toys, he then gets the idea of writing a HUGE christmas list to Santa but all the toys he wanted went to a town with his name, thus seeing the selfishness of his ways, he decides to reform, and therefore becomes generous
  • D.W. from Arthur—definitely.
    • Muffy Crosswire even moreso.
      • At least Muffy isn't a TOTAL brat, unlike D.W. Muffy actually learns from her spoiled ways. And just because D.W.'s only four-five years old doesn't mean that's a good enough excuse for all the times she's tormented Arthur.
    • The Tibbles. Their grandmother is a soft touch and no matter what they do she never punishes them.
  • Snivley from Yogi's First Christmas.
  • Bratina from Pound Puppies.
  • Teela is portrayed like this in most versions of Masters of the Universe, except for The Movie!
  • Caleb a one shot character from King of the Hill.
  • A Looney Tunes retelling of the Goldilocks story has a girl mouse encountering three cats - Sylvester, his wife, and his son, who is constantly referred to as a spoiled brat, and that's apparently his name too.
  • Fenton in Home Movies, especially during his birthday party. Spoiled Jerkass is more accurate.
  • Virginia in Lola and Virginia a spoiled Rich Bitch, who was transfered from a private school to a public school, because of her mindset that the whole world revolves around her. She always does everything to get her way and to torment Lola, but she usually gets whats coming to her.
  • Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, an Alpha Bitch duo whose names sum up their Cutie Marks. In the MLP universe, your Cutie Mark defines what you're best at; thus, these two are destined to be little more than rich bitches.
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