Top 20 Funniest Animated TV Moments of the Century (So Far)
#20: Lesson Zero Twilight
“My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” (2010-19) Being the dedicated teacher’s pet, Twilight Sparkle panics when she realizes she hasn’t sent a friendship lesson to her teacher, Princess Celestia, this week! Desperate, she goes searching for a friendship problem to solve… with mixed/hilarious results in and of itself. With time nearly up, she decides that if she can’t FIND a problem to fix, she’ll MAKE one instead! We really shouldn’t be laughing at someone’s mental breakdown, but her unhinged facial expressions, the dramatically crazed tone of her voice, and just watching a normally sensible pony lose her marbles are too funny to ignore. Thankfully, this story has a happy ending, but it shows it doesn’t take much to break someone.
#19: A Not-So-Friendly Game
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“Adventure Time” (2010-18) Even after they’ve tangled with the likes of the Lich or the Ice King, Finn and Jake must now face their most formidable foe yet – tabletop gaming. Jake ropes Finn into playing his favorite game, Card Wars. The story doesn’t sound exciting except for one terrifying fact… Jake is insane AND insanely competitive! He is hellbent on defeating Finn, and he’s losing his marbles over a PIG! To be fair, Finn DID diss his cornfield, so he had it coming. Jake’s growing frustration is both hilarious and honestly relatable to anyone who’s played a tabletop game with that one super-competitive player. But in the end, the two pals get to laugh it off almost as much as we do.
#18: Scrooge’s Funeral
“DuckTales” (2017-21) Supposedly, Scrooge McDuck has tragically passed away due to ‘gold fever.’ Several of Scrooge’s family and acquaintances attend the funeral with solemn faces… and then Glomgold enters. Dressed in bling and white, the short-tempered schemer dances triumphantly, celebrating his nemesis’ demise. He even tries to dance on his casket! It’s inappropriate, it’s tasteless… it’s too funny to put into words. Glomgold completely ignoring all the glares and “All I Do Is Win” playing during his entrance is just icing on this comedy cake. Of course, the funeral is just a set-up to expose Glomgold’s latest scheme, but we’re still left snickering at his obscene display.
#17: “Evil Beware, We Have Waffles”
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“Teen Titans” (2003-06) Undeniably one of the most beloved elements of the original “Teen Titans” cartoon is how it successfully balanced the serious moments with an equal amount of comedy. One of our favorite jokes occurs when Cyborg starts upgrading the Tower. He shows off a futuristic toaster, and Raven mutters arguably the greatest line in all of history – “Evil beware, we have waffles.” Even if the quote is brief, Raven’s natural snarky tone makes it all the funnier. A joke doesn’t always have to be over-the-top or absurd to stand out; sometimes good old-fashioned sarcasm is all you need to get a laugh. Of course, meme culture doesn’t hurt either.
#16: Gumball Catches Banana Joe
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“The Amazing World of Gumball” (2011-) Even as a Cartoon Network show, “The Amazing World of Gumball” has been unafraid to let slip a few jokes that kids might not get, but adults will laugh out loud too. One of these innuendoes occurs when Gumball is racing through Banana Joe’s house. He walks in on Banana Joe sitting at his computer… watching someone peeling an orange. With Joe being a fruit himself, this goes in several different, hysterical directions, and Gumball’s following reaction is honestly appropriate. We’re not here to judge, especially with how funny the outcome is, but he could’ve at least kept his door locked if he needed the ‘private time.’
#15: Stan’s Joke
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“Gravity Falls” (2012-16) How many times has this happened to you? You’re trying to propose to your girlfriend in the middle of the lake, when suddenly some old guy interrupts you to tell a REALLY inappropriate joke, ruining the romantic moment. Well, that’s exactly what happens in the second episode of “Gravity Falls.” Grunkle Stan gets lonely during his fishing trip, so he tries to make friends with a pair of lovers with a joke. Unfortunately, the two don’t find Stan’s sense of humor amusing. We, on the other hand, can’t stop laughing -both at the joke itself, and how horribly awkward the scene becomes thanks to Stan’s failed comedy attempt.
#14: “Unmasking Batman”
“Harely Quinn” (2009-) This welcomed reimagining of the classic DC villains has given us too much to choose from. We could’ve taken anything from the “Villy Awards” episode, from Joker’s scathing opening number to Catwoman’s savage acceptance speech. But we’re going with Scarecrow’s overzealous unmasking of Batman and the Joker’s disarming reaction. Joker and Scarecrow celebrate the Clown Prince’s birthday with the Caped Crusader finally in their clutches. But when Scarecrow prematurely reveals Bruce Wayne, the Joker only laments that the “mystery” has been ruined. His ranting about the nature of their relationship is a bit meta, since the fun of Joker and Batman’s rivalry has always been in the chase. It’s hilariously accurate. We also didn’t expect Joker’s biggest qualm with Bruce to be about electric cars…
#13: Andrew’s Stress Relief
“Big Mouth” (2017-) Let’s face it, we all have our peculiar kinks, so it’s not our place to judge. But when it comes to Andrew from “Big Mouth,” we have to raise our eyebrows in this case. With a little encouragement from his Hormone Monster, Andrew ‘blows off some steam’ to… a cat-shaped clock. Oh, and he does this mere inches away from his friend while he’s sleeping. The whole scene is bizarre and disturbing, but that only adds to the humor of the whole thing. In the end, the Monster leaves Andrew to sleep in his mess, and we’re left giggling uncomfortably, remembering our own awkward days of puberty.
#12: A Teacher’s Salary
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“Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” (2010-13) Even as one of the more mature chapters in the “Scooby-Doo” franchise, “Mystery Incorporated” could dish out plenty of comedy gems. For example, in the series premiere, the gang has just unmasked the slime mutant, and it’s revealed to be their science teacher, Professor Raffalo. Daphne asks why he’d need to rob a bank when he already makes a teacher’s salary, and… well, there’s your answer. He didn’t even have to explain his reasoning, they just understood right away, adding an extra sense of relatability to the joke. Even though his approach was wrong, we can sympathize with Raffalo’s reasoning with how little respect teachers get.
#11: Accidents
“The Powerpuff Girls” (1998-2005) Kids say the darndest things. For example, the Powerpuff Girls are introducing their new neighbor to The Professor. They tell Robin about how the Professor created them in a lab accident. The Professor just smiles and shrugs it off, and Robin’s response… “Don’t worry, Professor, I was an accident too.” On the one hand, it’s sad for a child to say such a thing. On the other hand, the line came so suddenly that we can’t help but snicker - the Professor’s stunned expression sells the punchline even more. To be honest, we’re more worried about the parents who have to explain the joke to their kids. That’s going to get awkward REALY fast.
#10: Tina’s Fender Bender
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“Bob’s Burgers” (2011-) We all remember how stressful learning to drive was. Sadly, now it’s Tina’s turn to feel our pain. Bob lets his eldest daughter drive his car in an empty parking lot with only ONE other car around. Unfortunately, Tina’s nervousness gets the better of her - Bob’s OWN nervousness being no help at all. They end up colliding into the back of the other car. Thankfully, the other car isn’t too damaged, but Tina still insists they leave a note - bless her heart. Honestly, getting nervous behind the wheel is relatable, but the way the whole thing escalated with Tina not even stepping on the gas once is enough to get a chuckle out of anyone.
#9: Mr. Turner’s Shattered Dreams
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“The Fairly OddParents” (2001-17) Before the infamous seasonal rot, “The Fairly OddParents” was well-beloved for its amusing running gags, and savage comebacks - especially at Timmy’s expense (This bike IS as cool as you are). But arguably one of their most brutal jokes occurs when Timmy is helping his dad clean out the attic. Timmy accidentally shatters his Dad’s tiny box of dreams, Mr. Turner assures him that his dreams were shattered years ago. When Timmy asks how many years ago… Ouch. Mr. Turner was never going to win a ‘parent of the year’ award, but the fact that he shamelessly roasted his son like that is sad for Timmy, but chuckle-worthy for us. He didn’t even have to try and think of an answer.
#8: Doofenshmirtz Burns Himself
“Phineas and Ferb” (2007-) Honestly, Doofenshmirtz has enough funny moments to make a list all his own. But if we have to choose one, let’s look back at the time he and Perry the Platypus battled it out giant robot style. Perry pilots a Queen Elizabeth robot, while Doofenshmirtz gets a fire-breathing dragon. Unsurprisingly, Perry is running circles around the bad doctor, so Doofenshmirtz pulls out his secret weapon and gets literally burnt. Honestly, it’s a fire-breathing dragon that’s piloted in the mouth! What did he expect would happen? Once again, Doofenshmirtz’s incompetence shines through with hilarious results, and the day is saved by Perry the Platypus… not that he had to do much.
#7: Voltron Gets Served
“Robot Chicken” (2005-) In the first season of “Robot Chicken,” the heroes of “Voltron” find themselves face-to-face with a sinister alien monster. But what would’ve been a brawl to the death turns into a breakdancing contest between the two titanic combatants. They’re neck and neck until the final act where Voltron goes down in an embarrassing display and just kills the alien out of spite. Series co-creator Seth Green cites this as one of his favorite sketches, and it’s not hard to see why – along with hilariously blending “Voltron” with “You Got Served” into a brilliant parody, we can’t help but chuckle at the so-called ‘Defender of the Universe’ being such a poor sport.
#6: “That’s Rough, Buddy”
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“Avatar: The Last Airbender” (2005-08) Yes, even an emotional, adventurous show like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” knows how to give us a good laugh. (Sokka on cactus juice) While we still chuckle at Sokka’s cactus juice trip, the moment that really tickles our ribs is this little gem between him and Zuko. They’re discussing their respective rocky love lives, when Sokka brings up the incident with his first love, Yue. Zuko’s only response is “That’s rough, buddy.” While Sokka and Yue’s story is tragic, Zuko’s reaction is understandable. How do you respond to someone telling you their girlfriend turned into the Moon? It’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable, but we can’t help but snicker at this little bonding session.
#5: One Crazy Chocaholic
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“SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-) In yet another underwater adventure, SpongeBob and Patrick try to be door-to-door chocolate salesmen. Unfortunately, their first customer is a raving lunatic who howls “Chocolate” at the top of his voice and even chases our dynamic duo down the street. For the rest of the episode, the maniac shrieks and pursues the two -scaring them out of their wits. When he finally catches up to them, the punchline is hilariously satisfying. Honestly, it was hard to pick just ONE gut-busting moment from this Nickelodeon smash hit. Still, the hysterical buildup and even funnier payoff make this iconic moment an uproarious cut above the rest.
#4: Peter’s Anthem
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“Family Guy” (1999-2003; 2005-) Do you have a song that you love so much you can’t get out of your head no matter what? For Peter Griffin, that song is definitely “Surfin’ Bird” by the Trashmen. The minute he reconnects with his favorite song, he plays it ad nauseam, sings and dances to it, and goes to extreme lengths to show his love for it throughout the rest of the episode. Yes, the repetition of the song might get old fast, but seeing Peter enjoy it way too much coupled with everyone else’s clear annoyance with the tune makes it all the more entertaining. Sadly for the rest of the Griffins, the song still makes comebacks even after its initial episode.
#3: PICKLE RICK!!!!
“Rick and Morty” (2013-) This one moment from “Rick and Morty” exploded into a meme that shook the whole internet -right up there with the Szechuan Sauce or ‘Get Schwifty’ (Get Schwifty). To set the scene, Rick tells Morty to come into the garage, only to find that Rick has turned himself into a pickle… JUST to get out of going to family counseling. The absurdity of this ordeal is amusing enough, but the way Rick’s scheme backfires and turns into a struggle to survive makes it even more hysterical. Rick could’ve avoided this trouble if he didn’t try to weasel out of counseling, but then the world would’ve been denied this outrageous meme - so some good came out of it.
#2: Cartman’s Special Chili
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“South Park” (1997-) Sometimes a joke is so absurd yet so morbid, you can’t help but laugh. “South Park” demonstrates this in one of its most infamous scenes. Cartman has been butting heads with ninth-grader Scott Tenorman, and it comes to a head at a chili cook-off. Scott plans to prank Cartman with hairy chili while Cartman tricks Scott into eating chili made out of his parents. Yes, you heard that right – Cartman took the time to have some punk’s parents murdered, and then feed their remains to him. He even sadistically starts licking poor Scott’s tears. It’s all kinds of twisted, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t chuckle a little over how insane the whole thing plays out.
#1: Homer’s Horrific Vision
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“The Simpsons” (1989-) It’s been said that some of “The Simpsons” best material came from the 90s, but even 21st Century Simpsons isn’t without its gems. One such classic occurs when Homer meets up with Flanders while skiing and Flanders’ suit. Let’s just say it fits TOO well. Homer is traumatized and ends up flying down the slope, but when he tries to remember how to ski, he only has Flanders on his brain. Considering Homer’s infamous feud with his cheerful neighbor, this is hilariously ironic and painful - and the additional pain Homer faces going down the hill is just icing on top. Even in the newer century, the iconic cartoon family still knows how to tickle our funny bones.
