Eric and Claire/Tropes

Eric and Claire is an American animated supernatural-comedy-drama television series, being created by Craig McCracken. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and it has aired on Cartoon Network since October 27th, 2016.

Tropes

 * A Day in the Limelight: Some episodes have shown to focus on other supporting characters, commonly Emily and the Hempergers.
 * Absentee Actor: In a few episodes, Eric and/or Claire have been absent throughout the whole episode.
 * Actor Allusion:
 * Grey DeLisle voices a little girl named Emily.
 * In one episode, one character accidentally refers Brandon as Mark.
 * [A TT connection between Melissa and Ivy and an AT one between Melissa and Brittney]
 * Adorkable: Eric McEdderson and Michael Stedee.
 * Affably Evil: TBD
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Darcy has a love interest in Brody, since he is a jerkass just like her.
 * Ambiguously Bi:
 * Claire apparently likes boys, as she once fell in love with James (a little boy who appeared in Lovestruck Claire), though in some scenes where she interacts with Emily, she sometimes gives her a bit too much affection.
 * [Melissa]
 * [Jessica]
 * Ambiguously Evil: TBD
 * Betty and Veronica: Melissa's Betty to Brittney's Veronica.
 * Berserk Button: Whatever you do, DON'T bully Emily and/or the people she cares for! (ex.: Eric, Claire, and Trixie)
 * Claire gets really angry whenever she sees a cockroach.
 * Huevos will get really pissed if you steal his eggs.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Elizabeth falls into this category. In The New "Friend", first, she is seen as someone who deeply cares for Emily. But later, she turns out to be a complete monster.
 * Black Bead Eyes: Brandon, Coco, and George have these.
 * Child Eater: Elizabeth usually preys on children and teens. Ironically, Elizabeth is apparently a kid too.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Claire.
 * Creepy Child: Carly qualifies as one.
 * Crossover: Eric and Claire did this with The Cryptids and later with The Mysterious Mysteries of Mystery Manor.
 * Cute Cry: Claire whenever she starts to cry.
 * Eric McEdderson in some episodes where he cries. Ghost-Napped being one example.
 * Cute Ghost Girl: Claire.
 * Dark and Troubled Past:
 * Claire had this when it was revealed that she was killed by the tornado along with her family and neighbors while destroying most of her old neighborhood.
 * David Poplawski (Llamy) was forced to leave from playing as Llamy when his boss loved the replacement actor more, as he ended up coming back and killing everyone. According to Michael, shortly after he left, he ended up getting ran over by a truck.
 * Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover: Ivy was assumed to be a creepy, heartless jerk simply because of her gothic looks, only for her to turn out to be a nice person.
 * Elemental Powers: The Elemental Spirits have these.
 * Expy:
 * A few fans thought of Claire as a gender-inverted expy of George from Howler.
 * Emily was thought of some fans as an expy of D.W. from Arthur.
 * Brittney is often considered an expy of Lori Loud and/or Lucy Van Pelt if she was a teenager.
 * George Duck is thought of as the Talking Dog from The Powerpuff Girls.
 * Fat Best Friend: Brandon Hemperger.
 * Generic Cuteness: Claire is usually a cute ghost in appearance.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Due to the show's TV-PG rating, there is a lot of adult humor in the series.
 * In Merry "Claire-Mas" and Have a Happy New Year!, during a flashback, we see Emily and Joshua yelling at each other across the street and Emily cusses Joshua out, though it was blocked by random cars passing by.
 * In The Brush, when Eric finally gets the brush back from Brittney and pushes her stuffed bunny off the bed, Brittney (who is still sleeping) grabs Eric, pulls him into her bed and starts hugging him while Eric tries to escape her arms. When Coco comes and sees this, she is shocked to see Eric and Brittney like that as if they were... having sex.
 * Human Disguise: Claire usually disguises herself as a living human when she's around someone that is not Eric, Emily (as of Emily and Claire) and Eric's friends.
 * Elizabeth does this too, except she reveals her true self just before she eats her victim.
 * Jerkass: Joshua qualifies as one.
 * Brody, Byron, Darcy, and Kennedy all qualify as one as well.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
 * Emily at times can act like a jerk towards some people. However, she can have sympathy for others, especially her own big brother, Eric.
 * Brittney Hemperger can act like this too when it comes to Brandon and his friends, but at times, she is shown to actually care for them.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: TBD.
 * Lingerie Scene:
 * One episode had a scene when Brandon takes off his clothes... Except his underwear of course.
 * In another episode, Eric accidentally enters Brittney's room... while she was wearing nothing but her bra and undies.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Melissa and Brittney Hemperger.
 * No-Dialogue Episode: Quiet was an episode where there is no dialogue.
 * Official Couple:
 * Eric and Melissa, starting with A Happy Valentine!
 * Mizu and Yogan.
 * Parody: Polly and Horsey, the show Emily usually watches, is a parody of Dora the Explorer. Though unlike Dora the Explorer, Polly and Horsey can have some pretty dark moments.
 * Pony Tailz is a parody of various girly anime.
 * Specter-Woman is a parody of various superhero shows.
 * The show, Llamy the Llama, was supposedly a parody of Barney and Friends.
 * Eric and Claire: Cartoon Catastrophe featured parodies of various cartoon characters.
 * The movie from Hunt for the Gigaroach, Gigaroach, is a parody of Jaws, as well as other monster movies.
 * Perky Goth: Ivy.
 * Second Year Protagonist: Eric is basically this since he is a sophomore.
 * Ship Tease: There were moments where Eric/Melissa was teased until it became official.
 * Shipper on Deck: Claire was this with Eric and Melissa before they became an official couple.
 * Shout Out:
 * The show made these out of various Cartoon Network Shows. For example...
 * In Hermit Crab Havoc, while Claire was reading a book, a demon similar to Aku from Samurai Jack can be seen on one of the pages.
 * In the same episode, a clip of a Regular Show episode was briefly seen on the television.
 * In a flashback in Merry Christmas!, kids similar to Robin Snyder, Mitch Mitchelson, Elmer Sglue, Harry Pitt and Mike Believe from The Powerpuff Girls were seen in the mall in Claire's flashback.
 * In George Duck, George shows Eric pictures of what he was doing after he escaped from the lab he was in. One of them showed Chupacabra chasing him, and Eric responds, "Wait... doesn't he look familiar?", referencing to The Cryptids and the crossover the show and Eric and Claire had.
 * In Return of the Spooker, a broken frame with the Grim Reaper from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy can be seen in a trash can.
 * In the same episode, there is another Billy and Mandy reference, where we see Claire try out what appears to be a costume of Billy.
 * In Ghost-Napped, dolls similar to Princess Bubblegum, Marceline and Flame Princess from Adventure Time were seen on the floor.
 * In Internet Screamer, an action figure resembling Zoko from Bryan Andrews's Mythical can be briefly seen.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: [Claire, Melissa, Ivy, Jessica and even Brittney]
 * Spicy Latina: Jessica.
 * Spoiled Brat: Emily and Joshua are both these, though the latter is a worse example.
 * Swarm of Rats: In Rat Infestation, Eric, Claire, Emily and the McEdderson parents had a swarm of rats stampede in their house, forcing them to move out and had to not come back until the exterminator has taken care of them all along with the Hempergers and Michael. But things at the hotel get worse when it is revealed that the hotel they were staying at were filled with EVEN MORE RATS!
 * Sweet Tooth: Claire LOVES sweet food, such as candy.
 * Talking Animal: George Duck.
 * The Ditz: Claire.
 * The Unintelligible: Due to Claire's speech disorder, it can be hard to understand her.
 * Token Good Teammate: TBD
 * Tomboy: Darcy is this.
 * Villain Team Up: The Anti-Claire Bunch is basically about Madame Freakshow and her pals teaming up with other villains not from Carnival Paranormal to gang up on Claire.
 * Vocal Dissonance: while Eric and Michael's voice at least sound like teenagers, Brandon, on the other side, sounds more like a middle-aged adult.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Out of ALL insects, cockroaches are the ones that Claire despises due to an incident back when she was alive.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Joshua never hesitates to punch, kick, or shove Emily.
 * The same thing happens with every male supernatural villain who hates Claire, never too scared to attack her.
 * Wrong Assumption: See Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover.

Trivia

 * Adored by the Network: TBD
 * Channel Hop: Streaming rights will move from Hulu to HBO Max in 2020.
 * Children Voicing Children: James and Elizabeth are voiced by child actors, with the former being voiced by Max Charles and the latter being voiced by Mariel Sheets.
 * Creator Couple: Lauren Faust has worked on E&C with Craig until 2018 to focus on DC Super Hero Girls.
 * Creator's Favorite: Craig's favorite character so far is TBD.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Joshua, despite being a boy, is voiced by a woman.
 * Dawson Casting: The majority of children/teens in the show are voiced by adults.
 * Executive Meddling: TBD
 * Fake Nationality: Jessica is Brazilian, yet her voice actor is Canadian.
 * God Does Not Own This World: While Craig created all the show's characters and concepts, those are actually owned by Warner Bros. through Cartoon Network.
 * However to avoid what happened with Savino's PPG run, Dance Pantsed and PPG 2016, Craig included a clause forbidding both sides from taking decisions about how the show would go without his consent.
 * Meaningful Name: TBD
 * Playing Against Type:
 * Seth Green voices Eric, who is a normal teen when his other major animated roles are several voices on , that of a certain bigfoot,  and.
 * Grey Griffin voices Claire, who is nicer compared to and.
 * Some fans were surprised to see that Mark Hamill's major role in the show is a teenager, rather than a villain or a wise person.
 * [Jessica DiCicco as a jerkish character]
 * Rule 34 - Creator Reactions: When asked about this on DeviantArt, Craig replied, "Yes, I have seen the porn. Let's just leave it at that".
 * Short Run in Peru: One of the episodes, The Snatcher Bus, aired in the UK and Japan on September 16, 2018 before it aired in the US a month later.
 * Talking to Himself:
 * Claire and Emily had a bunch of scenes together, yet they are both voiced by Grey Griffin.
 * In The Kiss Fairy, when Melissa and the Kiss Fairy interacted with each other, and thing is, they're both voiced by Hynden Walch.
 * What Could Have Been:
 * Some characters have gone through changes during production, for example:
 * Eric McEdderson was originally gonna be named Edward McEdderson instead.
 * Melissa was originally gonna be a vampire woman who wanted to drink Eric's blood.
 * Christopher Tally was originally going to be one of Eric's friends before being changed into a recurring character and the main antagonist of Chick for Christopher. Before that, he was gonna be an anthropomorphic bulldog who was once a human, but was turned into one by Michael's experiments, even before that, he was originally an anthropomorphic shark who, again, was a human turned into an animal by Michael's experiments.
 * Craig, according to his Twitter, tweeted he once thought of pitching E&C to Disney Channel by the time he was working on Wander Over Yonder. However, as the show ended, he eventually moved back to Warner Bros. and developed it at Cartoon Network Studios instead.
 * Some rumors say that Nickelodeon was also interested on the pitch and was going to ask Craig about it, but didn't get to since it was already greenlit to Cartoon Network.
 * Written by Cast Member: A few episodes were written by Seth Green.

YMMV

 * Abandon Shipping: When the show first started, many fans shipped Eric with Brittney Hemperger, until Melissa was introduced and became Eric's official girlfriend. Despite that, however, people still do ship Eric and Brittney with each other.
 * Alternate Character Interpretation: TBD
 * Accidental Innuendo: [something Brittney might've told to Eric]
 * Base-Breaking Character:
 * Claire is by far one of the most popular and recognizable characters in the show, though there are some fans that do not like her due to her being annoying and/or overrated.
 * Emily is by far a lovable major character, yet one that people hate as well due to her spoiled behavior.
 * While most fans have shown to like/love Brittney, some fans hated her due to her supposed bitchy attitude.
 * Best Known for the Fanservice: TBD
 * Breakout Character: TBD
 * Broken Base: Where do we start?
 * Cargo Ship:
 * Claire/candy.
 * Huevos/his eggs.
 * Complete Monster: Madame Freakshow.
 * Crack Pairing:
 * Eric/Darcy.
 * Claire/Elizabeth... Yes, this ship exists.
 * Claire/Carrie Krueger.
 * Elizabeth/Mandy.
 * Crossover Ship:
 * The majority of those who are fans of E&C and Howler ship Claire with George.
 * Eric is sometimes shipped with Alexis Doll from Collin the Speedy Boy.
 * There is a popular ship pairing Eric with Leni Loud from The Loud House.
 * Eric is shipped by some TDP and E&C fans with either Kitrina or Gayle.
 * Draco in Leather Pants: Joshua, Darcy, Llamy and Elizabeth are all these, despite Joshua and Darcy being bullies, Llamy being a ghost filled with anger from being kicked out of his show, and Elizabeth being a little demon girl who preys on children and teens.
 * Ensemble Dark Horse:
 * When Melissa was first introduced, many fans loved her, with some even admitting to have a crush on her.
 * Coco was loved by fans due to simply looking cute.
 * Fans loved Huevos due to jokes about him and became popular among the fanbase compared to Shawn and May.
 * George became popular when first introduced, where some fans even said he should have a spin-off focusing on him.
 * Ivy became a popular character due to her goth looks TBD.
 * Jessica, after being introduced, was loved by many fans due to TBD.
 * Elizabeth became one of the most popular antagonists from the show, to the point that Cartoon Network's YouTube channel created shorts focusing on her.
 * Fan-Preferred Couple:
 * Some fans (especially early ones) thought it would've been better (and cuter) if Eric ended up with Brittney instead due to their unique nice guy/jerk girl chemistry.
 * Ever since Jessica was first introduced, some fans start to prefer Jessica to be Eric's girlfriend rather than Melissa.
 * Eric/Ivy also gained some support after her debut thanks to the fact that Ivy is actually a nice girl and some fans thought that she TBD.
 * Joshua/Emily is a rather popular ship among the fanbase, as fans prefer if they stop fighting and be an actual couple.
 * Emily/Daniel became popular when Daniel was first introduced.
 * Claire/James gained a lot of support since the couple didn't actually become official.
 * Fandom Rivalry:
 * Before the crossover, some fans of E&C and The Mysterious Mysteries of Mystery Manor had a big rivalry with each other. Though most of it became less noticeable after the crossover.
 * This show's fanbase had one with Gravity Falls when it first came out.
 * When E&C first premiered, the interactions between fanbases of this and The Cryptids was a mixed bag. While fans did like TC and vice-versa, some fans of both fanbases have shown to dislike them. Though, this became less noticeable when The Cryptids, Eric, and Claire premiered.
 * Similar to the original PPG fanbase, fans of E&C hated the new 2016 reboot.
 * Like every other CN show fandom, E&C fans have shown to have a hatred towards TTG! and the Ben 10 reboot.
 * There was a rather minor rivalry between fans of this and Victor and Valentino, for TBD.
 * Foe Yay Shipping:
 * See Fan-Preferred Couple.
 * Fans jokingly shipped Claire and Elizabeth with each other.
 * Some fans ship Eric and Darcy, with one making a fanfiction out of it.
 * [Melissa/Darcy]
 * Friendly Fandoms:
 * Fans of The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Wander Over Yonder enjoyed E&C, mainly since all of them have the same creator.
 * Fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic adored E&C as well, mainly because Lauren Faust, the creator of MLP:FiM, is Craig's wife.
 * So do fans of DC Super Hero Girls for the same reason.
 * Fans of this and The Loud House have shown to get along.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Outside of the US and Canada, the show is extremely popular in Japan and South Korea, probably due to its cuteness.
 * Ho Yay Shipping:
 * A few fans shipped Eric with Brandon and/or Michael.
 * Some fans of the show ship Melissa and Brittney.
 * See Foe Yay Shipping and Incest Yay Shipping.
 * Incest Yay Shipping:
 * A few fans ship Claire (even though she's not truly related) and Emily, though this is a rather unpopular one for obvious reasons.
 * Some fans ship Brandon and Brittney.
 * Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Eric. So far, aside from his canonical pairing with Melissa, he has also been paired with Brittney, Jessica, Ivy and even Darcy.
 * Most Annoying Sound: Claire whining.
 * Nausea Fuel: TBD
 * No Yay: Some fans (whether jokingly or not) ship Eric... with Claire! It's pretty controversial for obvious reasons.
 * One True Threesome: Eric/Melissa/Brittney, by far the most common one in the fanbase.
 * Eric/Melissa/Jessica is a pretty common one too after Jessica's debut in the show.
 * Same can be said to Eric/Melissa/Ivy.
 * [all]
 * Ron the Death Eater:
 * Some fanfiction works portray Brittney as an even worse figure than she already was in the real show.
 * In some fanfiction works that pair Eric with Brittney, Melissa is portrayed by them as a yandere who only wants Eric to love her and only her.
 * While Emily is known for being a spoiled brat in the series, some fanfiction works make her even more violent, even bordering psychopathic levels.
 * Not even Claire is safe from that. TBD
 * Ship-to-Ship Combat:
 * Eric/Melissa vs. Eric/Brittney and later Eric/Ivy and Eric/Jessica.
 * Emily/Daniel vs. Emily/Joshua.
 * Ship Mates: Eric/Melissa shippers also ship Claire/James and either Emily/Daniel or Emily/Joshua.
 * Claire/James and either Emily/Dnaiel or Emily/Joshua are also shipped by Eric/Brittney, Eric/Jessica and Eric/Ivy shippers.
 * Squick: TBD
 * What Do You Mean, It's For Kids?: Even if it's rated TV-PG and has some rather dark moments, the show is intended for kids and family, although there are hidden adult jokes here and there.
 * Win the Crowd Back: When this premiered, fans of Cartoon Network tuned in after all of that mixed-to-negative reception of certain reboots.
 * WTH, Casting Agency?: When the first details about the voice cast were revealed, fans were shocked that Mark Hamill is voicing a teen.
 * X Meets Y: Casper the Friendly Ghost meets The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy meets Gravity Falls meets Saved By The Bell.
 * WTH, Casting Agency?: When the first details about the voice cast were revealed, fans were shocked that Mark Hamill is voicing a teen.
 * X Meets Y: Casper the Friendly Ghost meets The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy meets Gravity Falls meets Saved By The Bell.

WMG
These are fan theories for Eric and Claire.
 * Claire had a neck injury that makes her talk how she does right now.
 * Or... Claire can talk right, but just makes herself act like she can't to avoid feeling embarrassed and made up the whole disorder thing.
 * Eric has a fetish of people eating a certain cereal.
 * Brittney was a victim of abuse or neglect, which explains why she's rather mean.
 * Melissa is not human, with the possibility of being a succubus.
 * However, this has been debunked when one episode showed her as a newborn in the hospital on the day she was born, sleeping.
 * Yogan created Fiery the Heatman.
 * Darcy only hangs up with Brody since she's taking advantage of it to TBD.
 * Spencer Hattian and The Spider Thing are somewhat related.
 * By far one of the most doubtful ones, Claire is actually a dead Emily from an alternate dimension and lied to Eric about the tornado incident.

Funny

 * Emily can be a comic relief at times.
 * Claire can also be that too.
 * Coco can be that at times as well.
 * In Study Matey!, there was a certain scene with Huevos and Mr. Williams that would make fans laugh.
 * Mr. Williams: And in April 12, 1861, that was when the Civil War started-
 * (Mr. Williams notices Huevos staring off into space)
 * Mr. Willaims: Hey!
 * Huevos: (snaps out of it) Huh?
 * Mr. Williams: Were you even listening?
 * Huevos: Oh, uh... Yeah!
 * Mr. Willaims: Oh, really? What were we talking about then?
 * Huevos: ...We were talking about those.
 * (Claire, Brandon, Brody's Gang, May, and Shawn burst into laughter, Eric and Michael were confused, and Mr. Williams facepalms and sighs)
 * Eric, Claire, and Emily's bad luck in The Drawing can be hysterical.

Nightmare Fuel

 * The second part of Llamy's past, where David goes mad, and heads back to the studio to MURDER his boss and cast mates, including the replacement actor, with a metal bat. Though it doesn't show their bodies afterwards. Instead, the screen just goes black.
 * Elizabeth devouring Brandon, Michael and Claire can disturb some viewers while watching The New "Friend".
 * In Rat Infestation, Emily and Coco notice various skeletons in the hotel's basement, giving off a scary tone.
 * Carly's appearances can creep out some viewers.

Heartwarming

 * Moments involving Claire and the baby bonding with each other in Eric, Claire, and The Baby are seen as cute.
 * Coco licking Eric, Claire and other characters can be cute at times.

Tear-Jerker

 * The first part of Llamy's past, when David Poplawski was the original actor until the replacement actor shows up and everyone in the cast loved him, so much, that the boss FIRED David simply because he feels like he doesn't need him anymore.
 * Claire's sad past how she ended up losing her life thanks to a tornado that destroyed most of her neighborhood.
 * If you think Claire's past was sad, wait until you hear about Madame Freakshow's past in Ghost-Napped. It was revealed that during the middle ages, she was falsely accused of a crime back when she was alive and was executed afterwards, which explains why she despises humans.
 * The song Melissa sang in Ignored? can bring viewers to tears.
 * The scene where Eric cries in Ghost-Napped, thinking Claire has been terminated due to the machine she and Madame Freakshow has been sucked in exploded, only to find out that Claire (and Madame Freakshow) are still there, revealing they just got flung out and released other trapped ghosts. Regardless, the part showing Eric crying can still bring viewers to tears.
 * In Friends No More?, when Brandon and Michael said they'll no longer be friends, (More coming soon...)