Exploring the Grumpy Dad Adopts Daughter Trope

[@nadchan2043]

Grumpy Man Reluctantly Adopts A Kid is my favorite trope and I eat it up every time, no matter how similar those stories can end up. Great video, you deserve more views!!

[@jameslonogan1799]

Watch “Terminator II: Judgment Day” if you haven’t already.

[@Shalalacls]

I usually call this the "Reluctant Dad Trope" cause it works for adopted sons too (The Mandalorian!), and however way I'm a sucker for it

[@Takejiro24]

I wonder if Kratos and Atreus could count. Yeah, he's not adopted but Kratos' distance for much of his son's life pretty much shares the same function which also enabled the slow burn betterment of their relationship like other examples of this trope.

[@K.C-2049]

Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, the OG reluctant dad (for a day or two lol)

[@thatblerdoverthereb9654]

The "best" subversion is The Walking Dead series with Carol and kids. A Grumpy woman who lost a child, who kids gravitate to yet it always ends terribly for the kids, and leaves her more broken.

[@scantilysad]

Agreed! Its a dynamic I had never seen before. Although it is super sad, I find it so interesting and it is such good writing in my opinion. Its like greek tragedy levels of ironic lol

[@yaff1851]

Honorable mention to Heidi, Girl of the Alps,a 1970s Japanese anime adaptation of a 19th century Swiss novel. It was insanely popular in my country.

[@LulaBea]

I would like submit Connor and Hank from Detroit become human as honorary members of this trope.

[@LulaBea]

and the entirety of the buddy daddies anime

[@maybe-meadowlark]

Yessssssss

[@thistlemist7064]

No for sure they definitely fit here 😆

[@zalamazu]

This trope is so good that I can't think of an even remotely bad example. Truly peak writing, best way to get me to like a story

[@judedoodle]

This is my favorite trope because I was, in fact, a little girl that got adopted by a gruff and grumpy dad 🥰

[@EloquenteEnte]

Arya Stark and the Hound 😄 Fantastic Video! Got it randomly in my feed and now i'm looking forward to other videos from this Channel!

[@teejaykaye]

Going from Last Of Us to Despicable Me was a HILARIOUS cut

[@meredithsmakings]

Everything you listed here is probably why this trope shows up so much in my own writing…in every story I begin the process of creating, I always find myself asking “can I put a father-daughter relationship in here?” I’m not quite sure why I love it so much, only that I am so emotionally fulfilled by the time the father character finally gives in and admit he loves the daughter character

[@tmntgirl4life]

Also like the similar troupe “doting villain dad and adopted daughter” that’s super popular in Korean mangka. Basically the dad adopts the daughter and immediately starts doting her while the daughter is a quite shocked by the immediate love and attention due to trauma of being emotionally abandoned or abused

[@legendswarble2845]

This is the main plot of The Witcher too. Geralt has to learn to be a dad to Ciri and unlearn some toxic ideas. Ciri being the first girl in their whole witcher family further heightens that dynamic. And yeah, it's even got the tragic end, although the games retconned that.

[@lstarsabb]

When saw this video was like that was the first relationship that came to my mind. He wanted nothing to do with Ciri but that bond was so strong once he connected to her it was hard not she her as anything but his daughter.

[@daniemay9321]

Great video! I’ve always loved the grumpy dad adopted girl trope. I think it’s from my daddy issues, since my own dad left my brothers and I to raise another kid.

[@Takejiro24]

I wonder if Kratos and Atreus could count. Yeah, he's not adopted but Kratos' distance for much of his son's life pretty much shares the same function which also enabled the slow burn betterment of their relationship like other examples of this trope. Plus, Atreus, even at 11, is badass in his own right so there's that element you mentioned.

[@unhingedunit562]

This is the best trope that's ever existed, no one could change my mind.

[@fraukestefanski6431]

There is a Heidi series from 1974 thats pretty popular in germany that fits the bill. Heidi is a little girl who has to go live in the alps with her grumy grandpa. Shes also unremarcable so would be closer to your boy examples

[@chicanegra8198]

I absolutely love Heidi!!! And yeah, I think it fits the bill too! Probably what sparked my love for the reluctant/grumpy dad and baby!

[@DwynTwo]

I still know every word of the Heidi intro song by heart 😂❤

[@chicanegra8198]

There was a series?! Now I absolutely need to find that!

[@ivory7182]

I love all found family tropes. My only exception is if a character is explicitly childfree, they should remain that way

[@lilianade6588]

This is a fantastic video essay about my favorite trope of all time!! I think I'm going to have to go find some of the movies discussed now!

[@spiderq848]

Absolutely adore this trope (once saw it referred to as Accidental Child Acquisition which is hilarious) but with the exception of Logan & the kids movies these examples are way out of my wheelhouse lmao. So some more instances of the trope from my corner of the internet: - Guts & Moon Child + Shirke from Berserk (fulfilling both the badass daughter and helpless son versions of the trope!) - Thancred & Ryne from Final Fantasy XIV (+ like, 2 more instances from various job quests, that game *loves* every version of the found family concept fr) - (Not quite so grumpy but) Peter B Parker & Miles Morales from Spiderverse - (Not quite a dad but) Bucciarati and/or Abbacchio & the rest of the Part 5 gang from Jojo's Bizarre Adventures - Spades Slick & Karkat Vantas (Had to get in an obligatory Homestuck reference)

[@einhuhnchen9241]

wait i thought this was a big channel. the quality of this is AMAZING

[@Aprildefool]

In the walking dead, there are a few adopted families' relationships. One of the most accurate ones to this trope is the daryl and Judith

[@potatootatop9601]

A variation of it could be Ice King and Vampire Queen. Simon Petrikov wasn't reluctant, but had difficulties while taking care of Marceline because of the crown, and Marceline was the one that always drove him back to reality. Shifu and Po, Batman and Red Hood. Those are also examples

[@chicanegra8198]

The Three Godfathers is another representation of this trope, right down to the deaths! Still a nice heartwarming piece

[@karakreativevlog]

There's also "Heidi". It's an older book and not as well known.

[@Cilka_Sganarell]

The movie Gifted also has that amazing trope

[@kikiki22022]

The algorithm is getting too good cause this is my FAVOURITE

[@kirani111]

Love this trope. I eat it up every time it's served to me

[@tristen-w1p]

Need this but with Batman and Cassandra Cain

[@bavarianplaguedoctor]

I really feel like this trope would be perfect if the grumpy old man was Tommy Lee Jones-the grumpiest of all old men

[@jkb1O5]

Yeah that one where he’s a cop guy in charge of the group of cheerleaders lol

[@Kirby_lewis56]

A WHOLE VIDEO ON MY FAVORITE TROPE?!

[@shutterchick79]

I submit that in "Logan", it's not an "adopting" situation... She's actually a female clone of Logan, and is therefore more like a sister or his biological child....

[@mandalora5325]

Daud and Billie from the Dishonored games! Daud is an assassin who takes a teenage street urchin Billie in after she insists he teach him how to kill like he does. Years later the relationship grows strained as Daud’s evolving moral codes distance him from Billie and she betrays him, leading to tons of guilt and regret on her end and then ultimate reconciliation between them even more years later

[@litbit6754]

Please never stop making videos they're my go to high

[@Runch78]

Hunter and Omega from The Bad Batch I suppose? Though the bond is maybe more sibling-like

[@peksioart6706]

I feel like Omega has traits of both tropes discussed in the video

[@meredithsmakings]

Yes! I was hoping someone would mention them!!

[@ferxv6941]

1000% agree

[@mikoevelynn111]

I'd argue that the Isha and Jinx thing has become more headcanon than actual canon. There isn't much in canon to suggest Jinx learned what being an older sister is like, Vi's perspective, during Acts 1 and 2. Especially since Isha isn't mentioned, only alluded to through visuals, in act 3. It's a good headcanon and would have been a good plotpoint, it's just not a canon one

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

It's 30 December 2024 and I just discovered your channel Subscribed! 🧿🧿

[@BJ-ij4dm]

I think it's better this way I love Lowkey video creators making banger videos

[@ihopeicanchangethisnamelat7108]

so my favourite example of this trope is trevor herbert and julia montauk from the magnus archives, which is kinda weird cause watching this i’m realising most iterations of this trope have it as a middle-aged man and a little girl whereas for that one i think they’re like 70 and 30? and now i’m wondering about other parent-child found family relationships where they’re both adults, cause i think sibling relationships are fairly common but right now i can’t think of any for parent-child ones. i also think the typical storylines that go with it probably tend to be a bit different for adults. the key differences for this example (spoilers for tma btw) being that there’s no innocent child in the situation (they are both literal serial killers under the control of a bloodthirsty fear entity) and that it’s julia that is, if not killed in front of trevor, killed close by and her body left for him to find. it’s an interesting inversion from the father-killed-in-front-of-daughter that they typically go with (although i can see why when the daughter is a kid it’s preferable not to kill her off). anyone know any other examples where it’s adults adopting adults, and if so who is brutally murdered in front of who?

[@LilPeachling]

I avoided arcane spoilers for so long, but here we are 😢

[@olivercetus6956]

Girl the whole thing has been out for almost a month now

[@Wromeo13]

​@@olivercetus6956I appreciated this comment, as someome who has never touched any of arcane and has remained unspoiled so far

[@maybe-meadowlark]

this is genuinely one of my favorite tropes of all time, so glad to see it covered!!!

[@imperialbeautee]

Is that guy modeled after Willlam DaFoe in that one video game? Lol. I'm already forgetting the name.

[@brynniefresh9746]

I haven’t even started the video yet but I can’t believe you didn’t put Annie in the thumbnail (idk if ur gonna talk about it) but from my recollection Daddy Warbucks is grumpy and adopts a little girl so that’s like the start of the trope maybe?

[@airacummins5076]

Theres also logan having survived multiple of the worst wars in history

[@andiralosh2173]

Another uncomfortable example: The Fifth Element

[@dietwald]

Deep Diver, you need to up your seo and promotion game. This is very good, and deserves more views.

[@Kirby_lewis56]

i could kiss you bro thank you so much for making this

[@emilyinglis681]

the Witcher!

[@Reggie_la]

And not a single mention of The Secret Garden... more of grumpy girl adopted by grumpy man, but it works out

[@AlexEvans-w4k]

You forgot the secret garden

[@prof.evilpictures8696]

What about True Grit!

[@AtarahDerek]

What, no Darkwing Duck?

[@astrothsknot]

nicely done

[@marthabulter]

Is Willem Dafoe I just seen in that game I didn't know existed

[@rejectfalseicons]

doesnt fit this trope exactly, but brock and hank (and dean) from the venture bros are an honorary example i like a lot, theres no build up to it happening because the series begins with brock being the brothers' 2nd dad, but its not like brock openly acts like he cares about them. Though does a lot more good for them than their actual dad does, hes certainly a much better role model but thats not really hard. he definitely does way more for them than a bodyguard should really have to be doing. hank has some gender stuff going on so he counts as a daughter, and hes very much the "silly imaginative child" part of the trope, even when brock tells him that he doesnt love him and leaves, he still follows him edit: the part about how this trope is different when its a son made me think of this again, hank is also kind of a badass, while he doesnt have any major special ability, he passes a test to get into the army or something i forgot, but theres no clashing. just brock telling him he isnt old enough to do that yet. also brocks relationship with dean isnt touched on as much (the reason why is bc hank looks up to brock a lot so he spends more time with him) but they still have a nice bond, brock helping dean study and performing plays with him :-)

[@SamMitchell-ix1qt]

I know that’s bad grandpa is a jackass skit movie and it’s not a real movie but I’m just saying if it wasn’t a prank movie Irving and his grandson and Billy it is my favorite reluctant grandfather gets close to his grandson and he’s a grumpy grandfather, a old man who just wants to send his grandkid to his dad just so he won’t take care of him until he gets close to him

[@analis_s]

I am a sucker for this trope

[@michaelcarbone6101]

Interesting 🤔