Top 30 Unexpectedly Dark Kids Cartoon Episodes

“CatDog” (1998-2005)
During CatDog’s dental check-up, they discover that whatever Dog does to HIS teeth affects CAT’S... and based on the former’s diet, it’s not a pretty sight. Most of the episode involves Cat trying to convince Dog to practice better dental hygiene, to no avail. But halfway through, Cat takes more extreme measures... emerging inside-out from Dog’s mouth to brush his teeth by force. “Teeth For Two” was made infamous not only for this gruesome scene but also for the brutal methods CatDog uses to spite each other by ruining the other’s teeth. That’s saying nothing of the horrifying rash they get in the end. If you’re not a fan of body horror, skip this dental nightmare.

“Care Bears” (1985)
One day, the Care Bears and their Cousins find themselves in Drab City, where things take a turn for the eerie. The color has completely vanished, the streets are filthy, and the people don’t seem to care about anything. According to their new friend Jill, it wasn’t always like this, but some mysterious force took away everyone’s color and feelings, and it’s slowly affecting our multicolored friends as well. They find the source of the infection, only to end up succumbing to the darkness. The mental health symbolism there is weighty, to say the least. Thankfully, help arrives at the last minute, and everyone is saved – but we were panicking for a bit there.

“My Life as a Teenage Robot” (2003-05; 2008-09)
Hoping to fit in more with the humans, Jenny tries an experimental exo-suit made to disguise her robotic appearance. It works as intended – a little TOO WELL, acting more like a symbiote, forcing itself onto Jenny and even talking to her. It slowly takes over, seizing control and manipulating her into acting like a “normal,” snobby girl. That personality change is extra scary. Thankfully, Jenny eventually starts fighting back and manages to free herself from the horrifying influence, but the body-snatcher scenario causes more than enough nightmares. If being “normal” means being possessed by a horrific, manipulative parasite, Jenny’s far better off being herself.

“Thomas & Friends” (1984-2021)
In its earlier days, “Thomas & Friends” knew how to tackle real-world fears gracefully, discussing things like or getting scrapped. Season 5’s “Stepney Gets Lost” remains one of its most frightening episodes. It starts innocently enough with the Bluebell Engine lending a hand. But eventually, the tone makes a complete 180. Stepney gets lost in the fog and ends up at the scrapyards, where he’s abducted by two diesels and nearly scrapped. Thankfully, he’s rescued at the last minute. Still, the episode is a dark yet effective cautionary tale about being careful on your journeys... you might not live to tell your story otherwise.

“We Bare Bears” (2015-19)
At first, the Bears are thrilled to have new neighbors, but Grizz overhears some strange stuff, and he starts becoming paranoid that they might be bear hunters. He even has horrific nightmares about them coming to kill him. The Bears investigate, and find a scene straight out of a horror movie in the couple’s RV. Thankfully, in the end, the whole thing turns out to be a funny misunderstanding. But with how weird and cryptic the neighbors were acting, not to mention the spooky imagery, it’s hard not to get creeped out! It just goes to show that nothing is scarier than your imagination... and that you shouldn’t binge too many true crime shows at once.

“Hey Arnold!” (1996-2004)
When Helga’s aggressive attitude becomes problematic, she gets sent to a child psychologist hoping to uncover the root of her anger issues. She’s afraid of her love for Arnold being exposed, but what we learn is even more troubling. For the rest of the day, Helga speaks about her toxic family – a “perfect” sister who overshadows her, and neglectful parents who barely even notice her. The poor girl’s been alone in the world since she was in preschool... until Arnold came along. While we’ve seen signs that her home life is a disaster, this episode completes the picture in harrowing fashion, giving us full, heavy insight into the character.

“Bravestarr” (1987-88)
A smooth-talking dingo arrives and offers Jay, Daisy, and Brad a seemingly wondrous substance called “Spin”. In reality, Spin is highly addictive and dangerous. Before long, Jay becomes hooked on the stuff. He falls into a downward spiral of dependency, to the point where he even steals from his mom’s purse just to finance his unhealthy obsession. While Bravestarr demolishes the factory producing Spin, he’s unable to help Jay, who pays the ultimate price. PSA cartoons about substance use are nothing new, but to have one as effectively bleak as this should hopefully scare anyone straight. We really underestimate how heavy ‘80s cartoons could get.

“Rugrats” (1991-2004)
Angelica takes pride in being Drew and Charlotte’s only child, but her world is turned upside-down when her parents announce they’re potentially expecting. Worried about being replaced, she has a horrific nightmare of what might happen when her sibling comes. The brother she dreams up is petrifying, with the voice of a serial killer. He’s basically taken over her life, yet still wants her out of the picture permanently. The nightmare ends with a traumatizing shot of the oversized baby eating Angelica. Thankfully, the episode ends on a happy note, but the fact that it frightened us into sympathizing with the bratty 3-year-old is scary enough.

“The Legend of Korra” (2012-14)
Knowing what happens in this episode, the title is horribly ironic. Zaheer, the airbending leader of the Red Lotus, has grown tired of the Earth Queen and decides to put an end to her… in one of the most graphic ways possible. Using his powers, he draws the oxygen out of her lungs and suffocates her with it. There’s no traditional weapons and no bloodshed, but this is still one of the most gruesome deaths in the entire franchise, regardless of how you feel about the Queen. Unfortunately, Zaheer’s atrocities don’t end there, as he would later poison Korra in an equally brutal fashion in the season finale.

“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
It’s amazing we can consider “Batman: The Animated Series” and its continuation “The New Batman Adventures” kids’ shows considering how mature and emotional the writing is. In one particularly terrifying episode, Barbara Gordon – aka Batgirl – is murdered by Scarecrow, and unmasked by her father, Commissioner Gordon. Feeling betrayed, Gordon issues a manhunt on Batman, threatening his superhero career and ruining a once-strong friendship. Thankfully, it all ends up being a nightmare and everyone is safe, including Barbara. Still, watching how one fatal accident could destroy our heroes’ lives is too grim to bear – real or not. The fact that Barbara’s guilt over keeping her double life a secret from her father is the cause of the whole ordeal makes it even more harrowing.

“The Fairly OddParents” (2001-17)
When our buck-toothed main character is berated for every good deed he’s done that day, he decides to teach everyone a lesson by wishing he didn't exist. Timmy is then transported to an alternate timeline where it turns out everyone is better off without him. What’s worse is that Jorgan tries to send him to what is conceptually similar to hell. When Timmy is able to steal Jorgan’s wand, he laments, wondering if everyone else's sadness is worth his existence. He decides it’s not and accepts his fate. It all turns out to be a test, but it’s still a pretty shocking plot.

“Danny Phantom” (2004-07)
Ever since Danny Phantom was granted ghostly powers, he’s tried to use them for the betterment of the people around him. Which is why it was so surprising to find out in this TV movie that he was the one who destroyed the world. During an experiment gone wrong, all of Danny’s friends and loved ones died. As a result, Danny asked Vlad Masters to remove his pain, i.e. his ghost side. This resulted in Vlad and Danny’s ghosts fusing to create Dark Danny, where it’s implied they killed human Danny. This darkness is brought even further when you see this evil fusion then attempting to kill all the characters we love.

“SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-)
Squidward has always gotten the short end of the stick, but no one expected the show to insinuate him ending it all! Squidward realizes that he doesn’t have a “Happiest Memory”, prompting SpongeBob to try and create one for him. Unfortunately his efforts fail, sending Squidward into a deep depression, locking himself away for weeks. It’s here we see one of the darkest images ever drawn in the series, where it’s implied he doesn’t feel life is worth living. It may have been a bait and switch, but by the end of the episode, Squidward has a mental breakdown, leaving his depression unresolved. At a certain point, his pain is no longer funny.

“Ben 10: Ultimate Alien” (2010-12)
Ben Tenneson has battled all sorts of monsters, but battling a toxic partner is something we don’t think the Omnitrix is kitted out for. When famous actress Jennifer Nocturne helps break her former kidnapper, Carl Nesmith, out of prison, Ben can’t figure out why. As the two escape together, Carl commits atrocious crimes while Jennifer remains unphased, even almost killing Ben herself! Jennifer has pitted all of her dreams of a normal life on Carl, who only reciprocates her feelings when she’s useful to him. This episode tackles the very real issue of manipulation in toxic relationships, which is a bit different from fighting aliens.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2003-10)
The 2003 series of “TMNT” has a couple of dark episodes throughout its run. However none of us expected our heroes in a half shell to die on screen! When Donatello is sent to the future, he discovers things took a turn for the worse in his absence. Splinter was killed, the brothers split up, Mikey lost an arm and Shredder has taken over the world. In a last ditch effort to stop this horrible timeline from happening, the turtles charge Shredder’s HQ, dying off one by one. The saddest part is seeing Raphael crawling over to his estranged brother Leo to spend his final moments with him. It’s the: Teenage Mutant Ninja Dead Guys!

“ReBoot” (1994-2001)
Sometimes the internet can feel like a black hole that destroys everything it comes into contact with, and for the people of Mainframe, this was literally the case, as seen in this dark episode of “ReBoot.” “World Web Wars” served as the season two finale of the hit show and ended on one of the darkest cliffhangers of all time. Bob was betrayed by Megabyte and launched into the dangerous storm of the world wide web, leaving the question of his fate unanswered until the third season premiered.

“Rocko’s Modern Life” (1993-96)
Even though it aired on Nickelodeon, “Rocko’s Modern Life” liked to push what they could get past the censors. In this episode, Heffer finds himself choking to death after swallowing a chicken's rib-cage. While Rocko tries to revive him, Heffer meets Peaches in what is quite obviously hell. Despite Heffer’s food habits being played for laughs, the cartoon gets quite dark as Heffer is exposed to his various glutinous sins and how he would be punished. It gets even scarier when Peaches starts appearing out of nowhere when he thinks he’s safe. The cartoon likes to play with adult jokes from time to time, but this went a little far for a watershed timeslot.

“Tiny Toon Adventures” (1990-92)
There is a reason why this episode got pulled from the air. The segment “One Beer” follows Buster, Plucky and Hamton as they come across a beer in the fridge. Buster peer pressures his friends into taking a sip. The trio go on a bender, stumbling around, clearly drunk, and alienating their friends. If underage drinking wasn’t bad enough, the characters take a police car for a joyride and fall off a cliff to their deaths. While the episode is very self-aware that it’s supposed to deter kids from alcohol, it still shocked people enough to be banned from Fox Kids.

“Tom and Jerry” (1940-92)
The adventures of this cat & mouse duo is filled with endless violence, but the characters have only ever died a handful of times. “Blue Cat Blues” sees the two await a train to run them over after losing the girls of their dreams. However, “Heavenly Puss” pulls no punches. After Tom and Jerry engage in a typical chase, Tom is crushed by a piano and ascends to heaven. But once he gets there, he is rejected for how he’s treated Jerry. It’s here we find Tom pleading with Jerry to forgive him before he gets sent to the red hot place down below. Turns out it was all a bad dream and Tom has never been happier to see Jerry.

“Static Shock” (2000-04)
In the lead up to a community center Halloween party, shy kid Jimmy gets relentlessly picked on by Nick and his friends. After some violent pranks, Jimmy disappears, worrying his peers. Virgil and his dad go to Jimmy’s house, where they discover that he plans to violently confront his tormentors. At the school, we see Jimmy bursting into tears of anger as Richie tries to talk him down. But just as Jimmy lowers his weapon, he gets tackled by Nick’s friends, accidentally hurting Richie in the process. It wasn’t fatal, but it was a frighteningly real situation none-the-less.

“Phineas and Ferb” (2007-15)
Imagination is a wonderful thing to have, though not everyone would agree, as seen in Disney’s hit cartoon, “Phineas and Ferb.” In this episode, Candace finally catches the titular pair in performing their usual dangerous antics, leading them to get sent to reform school. The story takes a dark turn when the pair have their imaginations forcibly removed from their brains through intense brainwashing, a concept that gets even darker considering it serves as a disturbing metaphor for growing up. Though the whole thing turned out to be a dream, that didn’t save the episode from being incredibly dark.

“Dexter’s Laboratory” (1996-99; 2001-03)
Being cooped up in a lab all day is no way to go through life, despite what Dexter might think. Luckily, this boy genius had his sister Dee Dee to free him from the clutches of his stressful work, resulting in his spiritual awakening as he finds inner peace. However, that peace goes as quickly as it came after Dexter destroys his own lab before promptly returning to his life of scientific solitude, resulting in one of the most downbeat endings of any episode in the series.

“Courage the Cowardly Dog” (1999-2002)
This show always bordered on the scary, with plenty of episodes using chilling ideas to drive the comedic situations Courage gets himself into. But the series finale haunted many children’s dreams. During this episode, no matter how much he tries, he can’t seem to do anything right. His feelings of inadequacy manifest in the hallucination of a school teacher called “The Perfectionist”, who berates him throughout the story. It all comes to a head when Courage starts having bad dreams, where a CGI creature soothingly tells him “You’re not perfect”. The sudden animation switch is weird enough, but this one, among many other moments, makes the entire episode nightmare fuel.

“Captain Planet and the Planeteers” (1990-96)
Captain Planet is a wise cracking superhero who works with his team of young environmentalists to tackle issues that beset the plant. With a kid friendly set up like that, everyone probably ended up scarred after this episode. When Verminous Skumm introduces a new substance called Bliss, the entire town gets hooked including Linka and her cousin Boris. Skumm convinces the two to attack their friends, who can’t summon Captain Planet because Linka’s mind is polluted. But then, Boris collapses after taking more Bliss, dying in Linka’s arms. With her mind now cleared, the Planeteers summon Captain Planet, who isn’t slinging puns like he usually does, incredibly angry with Skumm for going too far. They defeat the villain, but the trauma remains.

“The Powerpuff Girls” (1998-2005)
This episode of the Cartoon Network original series is as memorable as it is heart-wrenching and tragic. When Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup want a new sister to help them fight crime, they haphazardly recreate the professor’s experiment and make Bunny, who comes out a bit off. After Bunny messes up crime-fighting and is sent away by the girls, she eventually returns to beat up every criminal in Townsville before exploding from her body’s instability, saving the day for the first, and final time. Admit it, just the description of this episode was enough to bring a tragic tear to your eye.

“Adventure Time” (2010-18)
The Ice King is easily one of the most interesting characters in “Adventure Time,” as well as one of the most tragic, as seen in this two-part episode. After discovering his hidden video tapes, Finn and Jake learn the dark story behind the mad ice wizard: that he was once Simon Petrikov, an antiquarian who discovered the Ice Crown. As the crown corrupted his mind, Simon was driven mad, causing him to drive away the love of his life, leaving him a shadow of his former self. This tragic origin story made “Holly Jolly Secrets” one of the series’ darkest episodes, even more so than “Evergreen.”

“Teen Titans” (2003-06)
Obsession can really mess with a person, and in “Teen Titans,” Robin is that person. In this episode of the hit series, Robin ponders over Slade’s defeat and wonders if he is truly gone, a question that begins to haunt him as he starts to see the villain everywhere he goes. Robin is driven to the brink by the hunt for Slade, who turns out to be nothing more than visions caused by a hallucinogenic chemical. The whole affair serves as a metaphor for paranoia and PTSD, which is what makes this episode one of the darkest in the series.

“Young Justice” (2010-13, 2019-22)
“Failsafe” is easily one of the most relentless and horrific episodes of a kids’ cartoon in recent memory. It kicks off with the death of the entire Justice League following an alien attack. To make matters worse, The Team is forced to take League’s place and defend the Earth themselves. But, after Artemis dies, the rest of The Team is picked off one by one, before suddenly waking up and finding that the whole scenario was a simulation made real by Miss Martian’s powerful psychic mind, leaving everyone devastated by these real emotions for a fake experience. We know “Young Justice” was supposed to be mature, but not that mature.

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” (2005-08)
One of the most dangerous things in the world of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is bloodbending, the act of bending the water within a person’s blood to control their movements. It’s first introduced in “The Puppetmaster,” which tells the story of Hama, a former prisoner of the Fire Nation who escaped by developing this dark technique, which she continued to use to harm innocent civilians. Desperate to stop Hama and save her friends, Katara is forced to use bloodbending herself; an act that leaves her in tears. With such a dark premise, a tragic villain, and a horrifying technique, “The Puppetmaster” is perhaps the darkest – and creepiest – episode of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

“Invader Zim” (2001-06)
This is, without a doubt, the most messed up thing ever to be aired on Nickelodeon. When Zim fears that his alien biology will reveal his origins, he attempts to make his body appear more human and the episode quickly devolves into a full-blown horror movie as Zim harvests organs around the school, replacing them with everyday objects, until his hunt finally ends when he steals Dib’s lungs. Seriously, how did this one make it past the big-wigs at Nick? The plot doesn’t exactly make for great children’s television, but it does make for one unexpectedly dark and unforgettable kids’ cartoon episode.

What cartoon scene rattled you as a kid? Let us know in the comments.