Why You Grew Up Cynical: Wilt's Tragic Backstory Hits Different As An Adult
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2023
- Why You Grew Up Cynical: Wilt's Tragic Backstory Hits Different As An Adult | Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends had an entire fleet of creative imaginary friends for anyone to enjoy, but one that stood out above all the rest had to be Wilt. And that’s not just because my man was tall either. Wilt was a gentle giant that left a clear impression on anyone who watched the show growing up. He was all about being kind to others and doing the right thing, but for the longest time, nobody really knew where he came from or learned those ideals. And that was probably for the better because Wilt’s backstory turned out to be truly heartbreaking.
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Wilt: *Has a kind, caring, and optimistic personality*
Me: Aw, it's adorable
Also Wilt: *Apologizes a lot and is scared that he'll do something wrong*
Me: Oh, it's traumatized-
Ikr seeing this now as a adult has me going "huh that's trauma"
He was so relatable to younger me 😭
He just like me fr
@@uniquenewyork3325 Same here, which is why he was my favourite character on the show, and why I watched his movie five times as a teenager.
"Oh it has anxiety".
When I was a kid I never understood why Wilt was always so nervous and apologizing. Then when I grew up I realized "oh no I do the exact same thing now too".
I just found it more interesting that wilt wasn't created that way like I assumed, but it implies that imaginary friends could actually be hurt and permanently damaged or worse
at first we thought wilt was created that way that was before his origin story.
In one episode Bloo ends up in a full body cast after turning the house into a water slide
Remember when an imaginary pizza friend got eated alive?
@@monkeyrul3994 “howdy doo! I love you!
*_AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGH!”_*
@@monkeyrul3994 That scene was so deliciously dark 🤣
I kind of like how the show never made a big deal about Wilt being physically disabled. Characters might make the occasional comment, but it's rarely in a cruel or mean-spirited way.
Even in his own origin episode, the focus isnt on Wilt losing his arm, it's about Wilt losing everything he cared about because he felt he failed his creator.
It's neat that the show was so good at showing a disabled character without drawing attention to their disabilities. To the point where it wasn't something I thought about as a kid. Wilt just existed and that was totally fine.
Heck yeah! Even in the first episode, Mac and Bloo are shocked when they first see him, and Wilt thinks it's because of his disabilities, but nope! They're just mentioning how tall he is and that he should play basketball lol
The show was so subtle about Wilt's physical disability that I didn't remember the fact that he's missing an arm and an eyes until I saw this video.
God I even forget he has one arm until someone points it out.
I always remembered his one arm and crooked eye but never recognized them as handicaps because they never held him back. He still did chores, he still played games, and he kept up with everything his friends did. I can't recall a single instance in which he was explicitly excluded from something because he was disabled. That might not work for every disabled character in children's media, since plenty of people require accommodations and we ought to acknowledge that some have more limitations than others, but it worked for Wilt. He's great
I just thought he'd been imagined that way. I never thought of it as anything else
"I created you because I wanted you to make me a better ball player...but instead, you made me a better person."
Easily the best moment in the whole episode and a perfect summary of what Wilt brings to the show.
That made me cry. It felt so heartbreaking.
@@Lightningstrike1220 Just watched this high 2 weeks ago and it was so moving I sobbed for hours
The show’s creators Lauren Faust and Craig McKracken once said in an interview that they based the imaginary friends on different kinds of shelter dogs: neurotic and timid behaviors (Eduardo), slightly unpredictable mutts (Coco), and injured/special needs (Wilt)
And pampered Chihuahuas (Blu) lol
That's so cool
Wilt=Injured Great Dane Eduardo = Timid and neurotic Bulldog Coco= Unpredictable Mutt dog Blu= Pampered Chihuahua
And to think the former created the MLP phoenix revival and the latter PowerPuff Girls, and that they're married.
That's impressive. I like it.
3:35 funfact: those aren’t her co creators. They “discovered her”. She was actually created by someone that survived a plane crash on an island. That explains her plane body, the palm tree head and her “sunburnt feet”. She only says COCO because her creator only ate coconuts on the island for so long they started going coco themselves.
That's messed up
thats not confirmed but its a popular fan theory
The 2 literally say it in the episode
well thats... dark
@@joyconbulb3743not a fan theory, came from Craig McCracken's deviantart page
As someone who thinks Wilt is the best character from Foster's, his tragic backstory probably explains why Wilt always does the right thing and is nice to others most of the time. Hearing what happened to him in the past made me feel awful for him, and I would really want to give him a hug to comfort and cheer him up
It’s so weird how Bloo was a COMPLETELY different character between the pilot and the show. Sometimes I wonder if Mac’s mom had a point in getting rid of him.
Bloos shift was most likely to assist in driving the plot of the episode. If they made Mac act like blood for example he would never of been allowed to go to fosters so they needed bloo to do it
@@obsidianfrost9514Wow, I never thought of it that way. This for sure makes the most sense. I’ll keep this in mind. Thank you so much.
@@manofwisdom000lmao 😂
@@dr.inspector2403 ?
Come to think of that now, if that's what happened, I can't say I blame Macs mom anymore.
It is not just that it also affects Wilt mentally, hence why he keeps apologizing especially when it is not his fault Wilt keeps blaming himself and trying to not be rude or hurt other people's feelings he keeps shouldering that burden of other's pain on himself.
It also explains why it was a struggle for him to say "no".
The most unbelievable thing about that show was that only one person was shown to have adopted Wilt and brought him back for being “too short.” I don’t even like basketball (or sports) but I’d love to have a friend like Wilt!
Yeah, but you're an adult and those are kids. They tend to see things from the surface
In one episode, he was "adopted" (employed) by Mac's principal to act as the school's flag... Mac was slightly more disturbed than Wilt was XD
He's 11 feet tall.
@@Iamnottheplatypus No way he's 11 feet tall. He must at most be like, 9 foot
@@Iamnottheplatypus and the kid was taller
Wilt literally reminds me of Hansel Emmanuel whose a one armed basketball player who recently got a D1 offer. Both of them are truly inspiring despite their flaws.
That dude is a monster
I never forgot those episodes. Growing up, seeing WIlt sacrifice himself for Jordan and then blame himself for something that wasn't his fault was BRUTAL.
I also feel that it was these episodes that make me apologize for a lot... Even if it's not my fault either. But thanks to them I could track that to a source. Thanks, WIlt.
To answer your question in the end..
It's always the nicest individuals that go through the worst trauma. The "nice guys finish last" line has a double meaning.
The nicer the individual, the more dark and tragic secrets they usually have pent away.
I believe you may mean the idiom: "The brightest smiles hide the deepest pain."
They treat people good because they know how it feels to be treated bad
Wilt was always one of my favorites in the show, he taught me to always stay humble and kind, he rarely shown anger, he also taught me manners so young
Sometimes I like to think that I’m the live action version of Wilt due to the fact that I’m tall, kind, humble, basketball is my favorite sport, and I imitate his voice well.
Also, I agree with Sarah. Wilt was my favourite on the show as well, and that's why I picked up on so many of his traits, especially constant apologising for everything. (And even ten years later, I can't stop doing it)
For your last question: the creators clearly didn't think kids are easily traumatized since helicopter parents are far less when they grew up. Eduardo was a created in a crime-fill neighborhood. Bad things happened to good people, whose endings and lives may not be tragic.
I think it was to teach kids that sometimes "bad things happen to good people even if you do the right thing"
It's an extremely hard lesson but one that needed teaching.
Fosters is one of the greatest shows Cartoon Network ever gave us 😊
facts
I think the idea was putting the kindest character in this situation is to show that just because everything seems happy go lucky it doesn't mean it is. there's always something under the surface and that's ok.
I loved this show back in the day
it was one of my top 3 favorites!
Is he a Frosticon?
This is such an underrated episode that I'm glad to see someone discussing about! Wilt is such an inspiring cartoon character, and I love how "Good Wilt Hunting" really depicts how much of a hero Wilt is in the eyes of everyone whom he has done good deeds for, despite the fact that he's blamed himself for the loss of the game for years. It's like the song goes, "Look at Your Life Through Heaven's Eyes"!
Another really poignant theme of the episode that I think is worth discussing is about how imaginary friends help their creators grow on a fundamental, even if it wasn't part of the reason they were imagined in the first place. Not only with how Jordan Michaels explains to Wilt, "I created you to make me a better ball player, but instead you made me a better person.", but also with Nina and her backstory on why she created Eduardo; she needed someone nice to play with her and her baby brother while also being fierce enough to protect her in a neighborhood ridden with thugs, but the reason for Eduardo being so vulnerable is because she needed to learn to be brave and stand up for HIM in return!
Bro got the Guts treatment, literally.
He lost an eye and an arm trying to save the person that was most important to him.
Self imposed exile, a tragic origin story but with the potential of a happy ending
“Why would you put a good character through something bad” ti display empathy and how to move forward with your life?
4:08 people who found Coco look like grown up Mandark and Dexter. I cant unsee them as grownups who finally got along and Dexter grew abit taller. The guy behind him even has the M haircut.
I'm willing to bet this is exactly the intention behind the design
Wilt was the coolest and my favorite. I hated how I learned of his origin but it only made him my fave even more.
my favourite bit was at the end when jordan and wilt had a fun little one on one. wilt kept making shots and jordan goes "why did I make you so tall?" and wilt kept apologizing for winning.
Something that's common for all writers is this: Look at what character experiences the most trouble. That is the favorite character. The fact that Wilt was so lovable makes him a perfect candidate for a traumatic backstory because it shows a side of overcoming adversity that doesn't become bitterness or spite. It shows people who love Wilt that just because a person is broken, inside and out, they can still be a good, lovable, kind, compassionate person.
Coco’s guys aren’t her co creators. Have you heard of the infamous deviantart post? One of the confirmed creators of foster’s revealed Coco’s backstory on some fanart. It’s arguably darker than Wilt’s. I love fosters, they packed so much dark in it, even if at the time they couldn’t comment on it in the show. Wilt’s always been one of my favorites, he’s such a cool character, and an excellent way to show a disabled character.
Great video!
Mhm…Coco’s creator was actually a plane crash survivor that slowly went crazy and imagined her to cope with the isolation. Poor them.
We torment good characters with tragic backstories because it makes for compelling storytelling. We identify more and sympathize more with that character, especially if we ourselves went through similar traumas (as I did).
We need a team up of the pure characters. Wilt, Pops, and Muriel
One subtle thing that that makes me hate Larry’s creator more is that we don’t see him again, he’s not a professional player like Jordan, and he doesn’t even bother to hangout with Larry anymore, which implies to me that he lost all interest in basketball at some point after the game.
The guy created an imaginary friend, just so that he could crush Jordan in a game (Pun not intended) which resulted in Wilt being permanently injured, and then he just gave up the game and abandoned Larry like it was nothing.
i feel more bad for frankie, it feels like half the house is against her
She was definitely overworked and her boss was too critical of her
I hope Jordan comes to visit Wilt all of the time.
Coco had a way more depressing story. Those two men DISCOVERED her not created her. It’s implied she was created by a girl who was stranded on an island and died. Could be fan fic but those men nonetheless discovered coco on an island
This is my go to comfort cartoon episode tbh. Wilt has always been my fave and I relate to him more and more as an adult.
Bc sometimes the nicest people are that way bc of their difficult/traumatic pasts. Wilt was always my favorite. I remember this episode fondly and cried almost the whole time.
>Fowl Larry > Larry Bird (famous Celtics legend)
>Jordan Michael > Michael Jordan (No introduction needed)
So like. Wilt didn’t age a day. But the kid completely grew up. How does aging work for Imaginary Friends in this setting? How does anything?
I’ve never seen a setting premise that generates so many questions from just a simple prompt, there’s not even scratching the surface here.
And why couldn’t his creator imagined him back to normal. Why was his arm amputated rather than put in a cast? So many questions!!
The kindest people are often those who have suffered greatly. They are kind because they cannot bear to see others suffer the way they have.
Yup, Wilt definitely needs his own series or even spinoff show now. Thank you for explaining this. Foster's home for imaginary friends was one of my favorite shows.
When I was a kid, I'm pretty sure I cried when I watched the second episode when it showed Wilt's trauma/backstory. Wilt's episodes were definitely the most memorable for me
The fact that he was made to hoop, but him losing his arm and eye, was nothing compared to him feeling like he lost his creator. That says enough about wilt for me to be glad he was my favorite growing up.
For some reason, this is the only episode that i can distinctly remember every scene. Still hits hard.
The interesting thing about the imaginary friends whose full backstory we know (i.e. Wilt and Eduardo, somewhat Bloo, not really Coco) what we see from them is them being created for specific purposes, but then also being the thing that teaches their creator another important life lesson.
For Eduardo, he was created as a guardian, but in the end taught his creator how to stand up for herself.
For Wilt, he was supposed to teach his kid how to play basketball, but ended up teaching Jordan that winning isn't as important as other things.
Bloo, well we don't really know why he was created (as far as I know?), but I think the lesson he'll end up teaching Mac is how to interact with a wider world outside of his own home.
They're literally representations of growing up.
I like to think that Bloo teaches Mac to be more outgoing an confident, but does it to the extreme, and Mac has to tone him down.
@@DynoSkrimisher So confidence AND assertiveness. I like that idea.
Good Wilt Hunting might be named after book/screen play Good Will Hunting about Will learning to open up and be emotionally attached to people. Wilt and Will are both orphans with a rough background that managed to get emotional connections later in life so I think it’s a cool nod from the writers
Why would they put a lovable kind character through such trauma? Because that's often how people come to be that way in the first place. When we understand what it's like to be hurt ourselves, we understand the importance of empathy.
Well said
Now, you asked why they did something so terrible to such a nice character. But I want to flip that on its head. How many villains in movies these days are born from trauma? How many have a breaking point, and they only see the worst in humanity? Wilt, by all measures, would have been kind of Justified in becoming bitter at the world. That he kept that kind heart and personality, speaks entirely to his character, and says that no, trauma is not an excuse to be a terrible person, it's a hurdle to overcome.
man i love wilt hes so chill but it makes me so sad he constantly apologizes, dude needs a hug
A dark humble beginnings lead to bright outcomes
I love that Coco's creators are literally just "realistic Dexter and Mandark, aged up."
Fun fact: The creators named him Wilt in honor of Wilt Chamberlain one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
I think they named Larry after Larry Byrd.
@@Joogoo96 yes they did he wore green in the episode because Larry played for the Boston Celtics (who wear green) and Wilt played for the Philadelphia 76ers (who wear red) and those two teams are arch rivals.
That's not a fun fact and everybody already knew that
The reason keeps repeatedly saying he's sorry because he has internalized trauma that he blames himself for
Considering how Jordan spoke the same way. Could be Wilt learn it from him as he was teaching him basketball. "Is that okay?" And "sorry" could always be when he nailed or missed a shot.
As a child I never notice Will was missing an arm until this movie XD I don't know how.
When I saw the flashbacks I notice will look different end after the accident with the arm I starting noticing he was missing one.
2:36 Hey, they added Golly Gopher from Re-animated as an easter egg. That probably flew over the majority of people's heads.
I agree since its also a parody of Space Jam since Wilts creator Jordan Michael was named about the real NBA player Michael Jordan
I thought that was the out of jimmys head cartoon character
This was very very sad to watch as a kid. Seeing my favorite character get injured like that was hard :/ But I always respect the fact that Wilt faced foul Larry again like a man 1 on 1.
Wilt teaches a lesson on sometimes the most positive character comes from a tragic history, and I liked that he was representation for those with disabilities and have gone through trauma.
Why did he have such a traumatizing backstory? Simple. Wilt is a Hero. Villians and heroes will often have equally messed up and traumatizing backstories, and what makes one a hero and one a villian, is what they choose to DO with that trauma. A villian takes that trauma and uses it to hurt as many people as possible in the same way he was hurt. But a hero uses their trauma to ensure no one ever gets hurt again like they did. You can guess what Wilt chose.
I totally identified with Wilt! It's almost like the last thing he wanted was to be mean to someone! That's the last thing I wanted to do too! Sometimes I wonder if I could do more than just basketball with him! For instance I would like to draw with him and paint! But even if he's not really good at it I'll completely understand so instead of being a painter he should be my model!❤
"Why would they put such a good and lovable character through something so traumatizing"
Because it's impactfull
One of my favorite specials from mid 200s cartoon network for a kids show this was a pretty solid backstory living with guilt in general over something that happened years ago and trying to run from it that's a pretty deep lesson give cartoon network credit for letting something like this drop remember the build to this episode pretty solid 😊😊
As a kid he was always my favorite because of how kind and sweet he was. But looking back as an adult, I now relate his kindness and extremely apologetic nature to a trauma response and being terrified of being so much as a slight inconvenience to anybody. He's still my favorite (maybe even moreso now), just in a much sadder way
I gave Wilt a wish fragment for wishing his arm back
Just a reminder that in that prank war episode, Wilt was able to out-prank Bloo at every turn. All while Bloo thought it was Coco until he got pranked while she wasn't around. I think Wilt might have had a personality at least a bit different from before Fosters.
I always appreciated the references to Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain
Often times the nicest most likable characters are the ones with the most trauma. It's why they end up the way they do. They would rather be nice to people and empathetic than to let them go through what they did.
Forget Batman, Wilt is the antithesis of Joker and his "one bad day" philosophy. Wilt was born good, lived good, strove to make people better, suffered tragedy, and as a result decided that he would continue to be good and help make people better.
"I'm sorry, Joker, that whatever you've been through hurt you so bad that you became this, I'm sorry that I can't help you be better, I'm sorry for distracting you while Batman sneaks up on your right!"
"WHAT?!"
*Batman jumps him from the left*
"I'm even sorry that I just lied to you, but I'll never be sorry that I'm nothing like you. I got maimed. I'm disabled and disfigured, and worse than that I let down my creator when he was depending on me the most. I wasn't good enough, and it cost me. I know what *hurt* feels like. I know just how bad a Bad Day can be. But that's no excuse to hurt others! Just because I wasn't good enough doesn't mean I should quit trying to be good. I help others, I care about others, I don't dwell on what I lost, but instead on what I found. I had a Bad Day, but unlike you I didn't break."
"UHERRRGH!!! You will be! Next time I get out I'll pay you and your little thought pound a special vis-HMMmm!!!"
*Wilt gags Joker with a sweaty sock*
"Oh, sorry Batman. I know you probably don't want people touching crooks once you catch them, but-"
"Don't be. I was just thinking he needed to put a sock in it."
"Did you? Did *The Batman* just make a joke?"
"I don't do it often, but I do on occasion. The only one here who can't be funny is Joker."
Wilt's backstory and especially how he got injured messed me up as a kid, more than it did as an adult. It's also what made me hate Foul Larry, because if I remember correctly, he was trying to crush Jordan Michaels (I see what you did there, Lauren...) on PURPOSE! And he would've outright killed him, too! That's gotta be a disqualification somewhere.
I think one reason they probably put such a kind character like Wilt through something so dark is to show kids that bad things can happen you down the line, but it doesn't mean you have to stop being a good person. That's a truly strong character can endure when things get really bad
Bro said why he has stiches on his right arm more like wheres his right arm. I’ve always wondered why only had one arm as a kid and after all these years i finally found out
One interesting detail that might have been a hint to his condition is that his smaller eye never closes or moves with the larger one. It just hangs there lifelessly.
I forgot how good Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends was.
Truly great people rarely (if ever) live easy lives.
Most often their lives are painful ones that forge them into the pillars everyone else needs.
It's not entirely fair no, but it is what's necessary to have true indelible wholesomeness in our world.
Wilt was always one of my favorites of the show, so to see him get a movie was really brilliant! Also to see his Creator actually rose to become a Basketball legend player but still kept his friendly nature was shocking, but great.
Foster's was one of those gems. It knows when to make you laugh, and it knows when to make you weep.
He is so kind because of the pain of his past
It's the pain that they hide behind their kind nature that makes us care for them so much more, even if we can't see that pain
It was all Larry's fault I've blame him and his creator.
Wilt has always been my favorite character!
I just noticed that the two geek simps look like grown up versions of Dexter and Mandark. Considering McCraken's and Fausts involvement with Dexter's Laboratory it makes sense.
As far as I remember, Wilt was my favorite character in the franchise.
Wilt was one of my Favorites definitely
You forgot to mention that Foul Larry's kid created him out of jealousy toward Jordan and Wilt, that Wilt also believed he got Jordan's dream of being a basketball player crushed from the initial loss, and that Jordan learned from what happened to Wilt and from Wilt running off that "winning isn't everything".
It taught me good people don't stop being good people because bad things happen to them. And that bad things can happen to good people
As an adult I finally realized that wilt was based off of Wilt Chamberlain and his creator was just Michael Jordan 😭😭😭😭
Foul Larry was based off Larry Bird haha
Its like that scene from space jam where Bugs saved Lola from being crushed by the orange monstar. Unfortunately for Wilt he didnt have the toonforce power to just put his body back together like Bugs could.
Yeah when you see Wilt in how he originally looked you realize how painful the recovery must have been.
@@kappadarwin9476
It's especially sad, because I feel like he _might_ have been able to keep that arm if he sought help instead of running away. People don't often lose arms from broken bones (I believe), and with reconstructive surgery, he could have regained functionality.
I'm not sure if he tried or not and it failed, or if it's really applicable given his nature as an imaginary friend, but it's something to think about.
I remember whenever the episodes of his backstory played I got upset because I knew, I should buckle up, it's time for that depressing part of the show
My heart… and now I’m gonna be cryin off and on for the next hour… I genuinely forgot about these two episodes…
Kinda makes you wanna wish for an IF who's a miracle working doctor out of a situation that is most pitiable...
I'm still wondering about the two scars on Wilt's face. The flashback didn't show how he got them.
I really miss when cartoons could get this serious. It seems like it's barely any that are this way. I remember when this show first aired. It was right around my 12th birthday
There aren’t a lot of characters that ever really resonated with me as a kid… Except Wilt. I’ve always adored the guy. I related to him _so hard_ and had never seen another character that fit me to a T (except maybe Fluttershy?)
I’ve always been that quiet “be kind and follow the rules” type person. Out of all the kids around me I was the most responsible and very risk-adverse. And, yeah, I say “sorry” way too friggin much. So to see a character like Wilt was just really cathartic for little kid me.
Him remaining kind and helpful was always inspiring to me and I rooted for him the couple of times he stood up for himself. I love him so much!
Because adversity is a crossroads. You can let it harden your heart and embitter you or you can let it teach you empathy towards others who are struggling too.
My favorite imaginary friend was Eduardo, I always thought his design was so cool and the fact that he's so sensitive yet super protective was a great touch, Wilt is still really cool too though.
I Mean He Had A Missing Arm And A Broken Eye I Think It Makes Sense He Has A Dragic Backstory!
I remember that episode as a kid it made me sad but as an adult it's a beautiful concept I had a friend like him very tall and had a big heart sadly that best friend is not here with us today he took his own life in 2018 I miss my buddy Michael sad part is you'd never know what had him troubled because he never showed signs of depression
If only this show had at least another movie about Bloo Superdude as the finale. It'd be perfect.
This makes so much sense looking back
Trauma builds character.
I disagree with everyone, Wilt was always nice, it take him losing his arm and going through trauma to make him nice.
If he wasnt nice, he wouldnt have saved Jordan in the first place
Up until I heard of this episode, I just thought Wilt was imagined with a bent left eye and nubby left arm.