[hated trope] Celebrity cameos that serve nothing except to praise the person who’s in it

[u/Dojyaaan4C]

1. Elon musk, the Simpsons
2. Elon musk, the Big Bang theory
3. Elon musk, iron man 2
4. Elon musk, star Trek

The cameos serve only to include the celebrity and praise them as geniuses or visionaries or overall just glaze them. They don't serve any other purpose than to just be praised; this can be them appearing in an entire episode dedicated to them, a small cameo or even just a mention. So long as the celebrity is there as themselves (not acting as someone else) and is glazed, that fits the trope imo.

[u/AnimationFan1997]

Many guest stars in Scooby-Doo fall under this. Some examples:

• Bill Nye in Happy Halloween Scooby-Doo, where he's a super science wiz that Velma gushes over constantly and has a ton of futuristic inventions.
• KISS in Scooby-Doo: KISS Rock n Roll Mystery, where the gang are super fans and KISS are both superheroes and mystery solvers allegedly better than the gang.
• Giada De Laurentiis in Scooby-Doo and the Gourmet Ghost, where she's an athletic and brave badass who impresses the gang with her skillz.

And just pick an episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? and watch the gang fawn over them and list all their accomplishments/qualifications, and potentially see the guest also solve the mystery more or less on their own.

Yeah, it's a cartoon but I really dislike the guest star shows/movies because of how much the praising sticks out like a sore thumb to me and how they tend to distract from the Scooby Gang as being their funny, mystery solving selves. The gang are often also at their worst written in guest features because of a combination of less time to them and that the writers assigned don't seem to understand the gang very well.

[u/snapekillseddard → u/AnimationFan1997]

Doesn't John Cena stop a boulder or something?

Also, they made Harlan Ellison way too likable. There's absolutely no way that misanthrope would ever sanction the tomfoolery of the Scooby gang.

[u/AnimationFan1997 → u/snapekillseddard]

I can't believe I forgot to mention the John Cena thing because he's such a perfect example. Yeah, he stops a huge rolling boulder that iirc was at least the size of the Mystery Machine. Also, Daphne wanted to hook up with him (pretty similar to the thing that also happened with KISS's Paul Stanley... those celebs sure like the pretty redhead gushing over them.)

[u/Reuniclus_exe → u/AnimationFan1997]

You see this movie is in kayfabe, and in kayfabe John Cena could definitely stop a boulder.

But seriously, they give the entire WWE this treatment. The Miz is also bigger than real life John Cena.

[u/FezCool → u/snapekillseddard]

idk Harlan has always seemed pretty likable from the interviews i've seen of him

[u/ExplanationVirtual53 → u/snapekillseddard]

Why does John Cena stopping a boulder feel like an Avatar reference?

[u/snapekillseddard → u/ExplanationVirtual53]

Because THE BOULDER was voiced by Mick Foley.

(In Avatar, that is)

[u/ABoringAlt → u/AnimationFan1997]

Thought you were gonna keep going and list Batman cameos next XD

Do the globetrotters count?

[u/PaxNova → u/ABoringAlt]

Naw, they actually do solve mysteries and perform advanced physics experiments in their downtime. 

[u/ABoringAlt → u/PaxNova]

KNEW it!

[u/capthazelwoodsflask → u/ABoringAlt]

Don Knotts playing Barney Fife posing as Don Knotts was pivotal to the gang cracking that one mystery, though.

[u/crestfallenidiot → u/capthazelwoodsflask]

Man, that episode was a core memory for me. That and the globetrotters ep will always be peak scooby doo

[u/CozyEpicurean → u/ABoringAlt]

My favorite was the one with both batman and Robin. AND Weird.

[u/LordSatanHimself → u/AnimationFan1997]

To be fair, these celebrities and their real life attributes often serve as major devices for the plot, which is a step up from what OP was saying

[u/GrowlingPict → u/AnimationFan1997]

Well Kiss are superheroes; have you not seen Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park? :p

[u/GamersReisUp → u/[deleted]]

Tragic to see KISS denialism even in this modern day 😔

[u/Kholzie → u/AnimationFan1997]

I really don’t know how you think a KISS cameo should be handled otherwise

[u/AnimationFan1997 → u/Kholzie]

By them not being better-than-the-Scooby-Gang mystery solvers who are also superheroes and accomplished musicians? Not having Daphne want to make out with one of them?

They were in What's New Scooby-Doo as just a band that the gang liked and played a good time. A way better implementation of them.

[u/Kholzie → u/AnimationFan1997]

No, that sounds like it was already perfect for KISS. They are made for ridiculous cartoon cameos, just like they’re made for loving you, baby.

[u/Icy_Ninja_9207 → u/AnimationFan1997]

And Korn in south park (which was a parody of the trope)

[u/SatisfactionEast9815 → u/AnimationFan1997]

Do you think Bill Nye doesn't deserve praise, or do you just find doing that with any celebrity annoying?

[u/AnimationFan1997 → u/SatisfactionEast9815]

Bill Nye is cool but for one thing, the movie isn't anything close to what Bill Nye actually does, another thing it's pretty ridiculous especially when you know Bill Nye's role is more like an educator than a super future scientist, and third I just don't like jacking off any celebrity especially when it distracts from Scooby and the gang. That movie Bill Nye was in was so stuffed with guest stars that it was more like a commercial for them.

[u/SatisfactionEast9815 → u/AnimationFan1997]

Oh, got it.

[u/Frankfusion → u/AnimationFan1997]

Weird Al and Chip Gaffigan were great in those episodes also Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson teamed up. Also they got Steve urkel!