What is the single best cartoon episode of all time?
SpoilerBugs Bunny has done more than anyone in history to get kids to listen to classical music.
I once aced a friggin' Opera category on Jeopardy! because of all the Looney Tunes I watched as a kid. That stuff sticks.
I'm from the UK and the only reason I still know all the US states is because of Wakko Warner
The Rabbit Of Seville is where it's at
Credit where due to copyright expiry. Classical music is free
Fourth wall breaking episode where Daffy gets into a fight with the animator
Duck Amuck
Counterpoint: “🎵Hello, my baby…🎶”
One Froggy Evening. Michigan J. Frog's only appearance for the entire original run and he still became absolutely iconic.
It’s a brilliant bit of physical comedy too. No dialog, but you understand every scene.
Also, fun fact, they made up at least one of the songs (I believe it's Michigan Rag)
“Whaddaya expect in an opry, a happy ending?”
"That's Opera, Doc." I believe.
User deleted comment
1mo
Oh mighty warrior of great fighting stock,
Might I inquire to ask, eh, what's up dooooooooc?
(Every time I'm reminded of this cartoon, I have to go re-watch it)
Marge vs. the monorail
It's not a full episode, but the best 2 minute clip ever of the Simpsons is the planet of the apes musical.
Dr. Zaius Dr. Zaius.
Ooh help me Dr. Zaius!
"Can I play the piano anymore?
Of course you can.
Well I couldn't before!"
Comedic genius.
I hate every ape I see.
From chimpan-a to chimpan-z
I’d say it’s the one thing I quote at least monthly. “He can talk, he can talk. I can siiiiiiiing”. “Oh my gosh I was wrong, it was earth all along”. “I love you dr Zaius”.
Whenever my band covers Rock Me Amadeus, I slip a cheeky "Dr Zaius" into one of the choruses.
I'd counter this with Cape Feare as the single best episode in the golden age of the show. It's hilarious joke per second rate is off the charts.
When I say Hello Mr. Thompson and stomp on your foot, you smile and nod.
My single favorite Simpsons gag. The pregnant pause, Homer blinks..."I think he's talking to you..."
My single favourite joke in any cartoon is the dialogue with Sideshow Bob at his parole hearing.
"What about the tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say 'Die Bart, Die'?"
"Oh my, no. That's German for 'The Bart, The'!"
"Well anyone who speaks German couldn't be an evil man. Parole granted!"
Yup, that one is right there too.
BART! Do you want to see my new chainsaw and hockey mask?
I’m not sure if it counts as a single episode, but ‘The Wrong Trousers’ should be in this discussion.
Bugs Bunny Barber of Seville
Yes you’re next
Youuuuuuure so next
Theeeeere... You're nice and cleeeeeean...
Although your face... looks like it might have gone through a ma-chine...
Come in to my shop
Let me cut your mop
The Wet Painters episode of SpongeBob SquarePants is some of the most entertaining slapstick comedy in a kids cartoon ever.
This one, Band Geeks, and the episode where they sell chocolate bars.
I was going to chime in with band geeks, that might be one of the most quotable episodes of all time.
no patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument
My god the bit where the flag twirlers twirl so hard they take flight and crash into a blimp then everyone bows their heads in respect with the trumpet playing and squidward going foetal absolutely kills me
BIG. MEATY. CLAWS.
My absolutely favourite part of that one is:
"Kicking? I wanna do some kicking!"
kicks Sandy
"Why you..."
Patrick and Sandy tussle out the door, followed by a long scream from Patrick
long pause before Patrick pokes his head back in
"Whoever's the owner of the white sedan, you left your lights on."
parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp parp
And the pizza delivery one
What if Squidward was some guy in an ambulance?
We did it! We painted the whole house without getting a drop of paint on anything but the FLAPPIN FLOTSAM WHATS THAT?!!
I'm Mexican and this is the first time I see this line not in Spanish. Hahaha
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
"WAIT SPONGEBOB! We aren't cavemen. We have the technology..." proceeds to smash the dollar with a 90's PC. I am 35 years old and still laugh far too hard at this gag.
Same age as you. Same deep love for SpongeBob
That one and Chocolate With Nuts were absolute bangers when I was a kid. I literally remember watching both for the first time and losing my shit
The pioneers rode these babies for miles! (Love that ep)
We still say “they’re selling chawkolate” in my family as an inside joke today.
Or the scene where Spongebob gets Patrick a job at the Krusty Krab.
Alright now Patrick get a jar.
(Patrick presents a pickle)
Patrick that's a pickle.
.....yes.
You need a jar.
The delivery of the scene kills me 😄
How you gonna ignore the episode where they bury the health inspector?
NONSENSE!
Good one, but nothing will ever top Frankendoodle for me
The imagination box episode still gets me to tears of laughter as a 27 year old
Luck of the fryrish - futurama
I think this one is the best ep. Yancy was a good brother in the end.
Also the one where fry can go into his moms dreams was emotionally devastating. Especially because they made her out to be not very caring in episodes before.
Omg thank you - everyone always says the one where Fry’s dog dies is the saddest, but for me Luck of the Fryrish is more touching and the one where he can go into his moms dreams leaves me absolutely weeping.
I still tear up at the end of both those episodes no matter how many time I’ve seen both
Soundtrack to Breakfast Club will always hit because of that moment at the end
"I'm going to name you Philip J Fry, in honour of my little brother"
😭😭😭😭
It gave us the biggest tear jerking line in the series for me: “Here lies Philip J Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit.”
But it also gave us in the span of 3 minutes:
“You’re twice the THE he ever was” and “There! Now no one can’t say I don’t own John Larroquette’s spine”.
He stole my name, he stole my clover, punches statue And now he broke my hand. His legend lives on.
THAT'S MY PURSE! I DON'T KNOW YOU!
She bluffing! Finish her!
THATS MAH PURSE! AH DUN KNOW YEEEEEW!!!
22 Short Films About Springfield
It's an Albany expression.
Well Seymour, you're an odd fellow but you steam a good ham
"Do you find something comical about my appearance when I'm driving my automobile?"
You Only Move Twice is a great one as well.
You Only Move Twice is my personal choice, but I think the meme rabbit hole of the Steamed Hams bit might put 22 Short Films About Springfield out ahead.
So many cartoons I've never seen, and too many I've seen and loved, but one that really blew my mind was "Boondocks," season 1, episode 9, "Return of the King," an alternate-universe romp in which the 1968 shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr, rather than killing him, left him in a coma in a facility in Florida until he woke up shortly after George W. Bush became president.
It was wildly, audaciously hilarious from beginning to end.
That’s a really fucking funny premise coming from The Boondocks. I might watch this one tonight.
Boondocks is fucking genius for premises.
Riley was here, The fundraiser, and The Itis are my top 3
Holy shit the twist at the end of Itis still blows me away. Aaron is such a tremendous writer.
This is the episode that really defined the Boondocks for me, the one where they decided to push the boundaries and just go for broke. Legendary.
"This is it!? This is what I got all those ass whippins for!?"
This one and the r Kelly one aged beautifully
Duck Amuck.
Wabbit season
Duck season!
Duck season. Wabbit Season. Wabbit Season. DUCK SEASON! FIRE!! ... I hate you.
South Park: Season 10, Episode 8
Make Love, Not Warcraft
Too many good South Park episodes, but my favorite is season 13, episode 3: Margaritaville.
The satire is top-notch, and the episode had everything: - Randy as a central character - Hilarious take on current events - Quotability ("AAAAND IT'S GONE!") - Social commentary/criticism on America's views of spending, the economy, and religion - A perfect ending tying it all together with Kyle (Jewish character) sacrificing himself by literally paying the debts of everyone in town.
This one is an absolute banger
How do you kill that which has no life?
We can’t entrust the Sword of a Thousand Truths to a noob!
Haha, I'm all about Season 10, episode 7 ironically
Tsst!
Where Cartman gets brought to heel by Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer
I would argue Scott tenerman must die
Both are top tier, but fun with weapons is absolutely hysterical.
LET'S FIGHTING LOOOOVVVEEEEEEE
W-w-woof
This had 13 year old me and my friend in STITCHES.
“Look- I can wave to this guy over here. Hello!”
The "Hunting Trilogy" of Looney Toons by Charles M. Jones:
- Rabbit Fire
- Rabbit Seasoning
- Duck, Rabbit, Duck
The premise is incredibly simple, and the same for all three episodes. Elmer Fudd is going hunting, and Daffy is trying to get him to shoot Bugs. What makes is priceless is just how superbly executed they are. Mel Blanc is doing ALL the voices, and his delivery and comic timing is just magical.
The Tom & Jerry episode where Tom GOES TO HELL.
(Video is very bad quality)
Well, first, he dies, being crushed by a piano.
Then he goes to Heaven, but he's done so many bad things to Jerry over his life, that they won't let him in. They offer him a deal: If he can write an apology to Jerry, and get it signed by Jerry, he can go to Heaven.
So he spends the rest of the episode trying to get Jerry to sign an apology. But Jerry never does.
So then Tom actually goes to HELL, is thrown in a pot of boiling stuff, and is repeatedly thrashed by the Devil, played by the Bulldog.
What was particularly terrifying, was when Tom was standing outside the Pearly Gates of Heaven, other cats who died are being let in. One cat was run over by a steamroller, another lost a fight with a bulldog ....
But there were three KITTENS who just got to Heaven, and it was apparent that they were DROWNED IN A SACK.
How joyful for a little kid to watch that!!!
the kittens in a sack were a very old trope. as in it was a very wide spread and socially acceptable quote unquote humane way to kill unwanted animals. back before people could get a pet fixed, there were lots more unwanted litters of kittens and puppies. it's not even the only time Tom and Jerry used the trope. it wasn't something that would have been considered horrifying for kids to know about.
Edit to say: definitely horrific for kids to know about.
When I was in elementary school we had neighbours (he was also my band teacher) that would bag kittens and throw them in the ocean to drown. I was horrified and it still upsets me to think about to this day, 40 years later.
Fuck you and your family, mr. Jabour.
That show was complete bullshit, Tom is just a cat being a regular cat. Jerry goes out of his way to fuck with him and Tom always gets the blame
There's a theory that Tom actually likes Jerry but he has to chase him all day to protect him or big momma will get another cat and this one will probably kill Jerry.
That theory would only stack if Jerry didn't do shit like regularly set Tom on fire.
Batman The Animated Series had some great ones. Tiger Tiger was my personal favorite. The Mr Freeze episode, noraaaaa!, and Clayface are up there, too.
It's either Heart of Ice or Almost Got 'Im.
Almost Got 'Im is such a masterclass in storytelling, it left a huge impression on me as a kid. I didn't know the episode by name, but I thought about it for 30 secs and knew exactly which episode it was.
Ivy: Hello, Harvey. You’re not looking half bad.
Two-Face: Half of me wants to strangle you.
Ivy: What does the other half want?
Two-Face: To hit you with a truck.
Ivy (to the others): We used to date.
Joker, Penguin, Killer Croc: Ohhhhhhh.
It was a big rock.
Heart of Ice is amazing
The View From Halfway Down on Bojack Horseman, I feel is the greatest episode in animated history. The writing, the comedy mixed with the seriously dark tone, and the overall message of it, it was beautiful and saddening. Brilliant
"Oh Bojack no...there is no other side. This is it."
This line chills me to the core more than any horror movie. Bojack is so fkin good, I really gotta watch it again.
Escape from LA, for me.
"Do I think LA is a tar pit? No. No, I think you're the tar pit."
Everyone is always talking about this episode and I barely remember it compared to Free Churro
I usually have my phone in my hand and am distractedly playing a game or browsing Reddit while I'm watching tv. But about 3 minutes into Free Churro, I put the phone down and just listened.
It's 22 minutes of Bojack monologuing. There aren't any other lines from any other characters. It's just him. Talking. About his mother. And his life. And all of it.
And it's amazing
Even when you include the cold open, the entire episode only features Will Arnett’s voice since he also voices Butterscotch
Free Churro was a masterpiece.
Free Churro is one of the most outstanding masterpieces of animated television that I've ever seen.
I'm doing a Bojack Horseman rewatch right now and the way the writers subtlety foreshadowed that episode early on (including the opening credits from the beginning) is absolutely wild.
It's an incredible episode that I will absolutely never watch again.
Was going to post this. But there’s so many good ones. “Times Arrow”, “Free Churro”, and “That’s too much man!” are all up there for me too. “Fish Out of Water” too for the premise, nuance, and soundtrack.
100% agreed, and it's not even close.
But for anyone who's never seen the show, this is the penultimate episode of the series and cannot be watched in isolation. The show must be watched in order from the beginning. But you won't regret it as it's the best animated show ever made imo. Just get through the first season.
The best episode of television that I will absolutely never watch again.
One Froggy Evening
Hello my baby, Hello my honey, Hello my ragtime gal... Etc
Ba Sin Se tales, from avatar
"Happy birthay, my son. If only I could have helped you"
The tales of Ba Sing Se?
“Tales from Ba Sing Se” is the episode itself, and “The Tale of Iroh” is the one that makes us all bawl.
Leeeeaaaaaaves from the viine.
Leaves from the vine hits so hard
Fun (ok not fun it's actually super sad) fact: leaves from the vine was one of the last things that Mako (Iroh's VA) recorded before he passed away, and to this day the new VA for Iroh, Greg Baldwin (who was a friend of Mako, with Mako basically beinf his mentor) refuses to ever record a new version of that song, out of respect for his mentor.
He was mourning his own death. He knew his time was short, makes a heartbreaking song even more painful 😭
SpongeBob - Rock Bottom
I. *pbbt* DON'T. *pbbt* UNDERSTAND. *pbbt* YOUR *ACCENT.* *pbbbbt*
"What's Opera, Doc?"
King of the Hill, when Luanne becomes a communist
ATLA’s finale is great. But specifically the last Agni Kai between Azula and Zuko. Visual masterpiece.
Visual and audio. The "air pump" sound effect for the massive flames and the understated score were genius.
That episode of Rugrats where Chucky eats the watermelon seed and Tommy and the gang all shrink themselves into his body to remove the seed.
Parasites lost - Futurama
Lots of amazing endings in Futurama episodes, but normal Fry practicing the holophone poorly at the end of that episode always ripped me up.
SpongeBob - Band Geeks
As I've gotten older, rewatching that episode makes me really happy for Squidward.
He got himself in over his head, tried to make it work but it all came crashing down as it always does for him. Genuinely crushed & defeated thinking he could for once make it work, Spongebob steps up his neighbor & helps Squidward finally end an episode on top in one of the greatest endings to a TV episode ever produced.
That freezeframe of Squidward jumping for joy at the end is one of the best moments in SpongeBob history.
Plus, the episode is fucking hysterical.
I was gonna say Krusty Krab Pizza, but actually I think you're right with Band Geeks.
AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE - HANDBANANA
ALL I KNOW IS BALL. AND GOOD.
AND RAPE.
Adventure Time - I remember You
Ren and Stimpy, Space Madness.
You could probably make a successful PhD thesis defense in psychology based on that one single cartoon.
"See this red button? DONT TOUCH IT!!!"
I have had this ice cream bar since I was a child! People... always trying to take it from me! Why won't they leave me alone!
Futurama episode with Fry’s dog
Hillbilly Hare, Bugs Bunny.
Absolute classic
Bugs bunny and daffy duck on vacation, they take a wrong turn in Albuquerque and end up in Nepal and Meet mr. Abombinal who makes daffy his friend George, and is going to love him and hug him and squeeze him.
Charlie Brown's Christmas
So many of Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes episodes are great because they play to a broad audience. Preschool to adults. Road Runner latin names are a throw away joke at the intro to the episodes. But ... kill da wabbit... ya ... brilliant writing.
X-men 97’s episode 5: Remember it.
SPOILERS if you haven’t watched it.
I’m 41. Ever since I was 10 years old, I knew I was going to name my kid Remy, thanks to the OG cartoon.
I can’t express in words how grateful I was that ‘97 nailed Gambit’s characterization so perfectly, and that he had so many incredible moments in that epic episode. Then they stuck the landing with his bad-fucking-ass sacrifice. Perfection.
Amazing storytelling in that episode. Magneto protecting the children. Rogue going apeshit with rage. Nightcrawler just being Nightcrawler.
I’m inclined to agree that this might be the answer.
Ace of Base is probably wondering why they suddenly had an uptick in listens.
"It's a newer entry, sir, but it checks out."
Weirdmageddon - Gravity Falls
I vote for "Not What He Seems".
Everything Stan has struggled towards comes to a head. Soos shows that he'd die for the kids. And Mabel faces the ultimate choice.
Dipper begs her to think with her head.
But, since she's Mabel, she chooses to think with her heart.
Archer season 2 episode 2, 'A going Concern'. A masterpiece.
Edit: Courage The Cowardly Dog episode when Courage, Muriel & Eustache deal with the cursed slab of Ramses
Jurassic Bark. 😭 😢 🐕
Roswell That Ends Well is damn near perfect as well.
What do we want?!
Fry's dog!
When do we want it?!
FRY'S DOG!!
He said BEST, not most emotionally traumatizing
I am still more devastated by Luck of the Fryish, and I love animals.
"Here lies Phillip J. Fry
Named for his uncle;
To carry on his legacy."
Ren & Stimpy "Black Hole"
Bluey "Flatpack"
First episode of Futurama is hands down the best. It's a not stop ride that is extremely hilarious. I love every minute of the episode.
Bluey - The Sign
Yes it's a kids show. Regardless, Bluey is extremely consistent in its quality, in that there are several episodes (10 at least) that people always have argued over which is the best.
However once "The Sign" came out, it's pretty much considered the best episode of the show. There's so many callbacks and references, in addition to the episode just being really funny, touching, and full of heart.
Easily the best episode of any kids show, but I'd put it up there with the best of ANY cartoon.
My god this fucking show destroys me. I have no kids and my wife and I watch it most weekdays when it’s on tv.
Watch ‘Cricket’ and ‘Sleepytime’ too. Just perfect.
Homer at the bat
The Venture Bros has some really incredible episodes. "The Invisible Hand of Fate", "Operation: P.R.O.M.", "Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel", the entire "Morphic" trilogy... It really is the best animated series ever imo. Every episode is quality.
Graveyard shift episode of spongebob. Absolutely legendary.
Rubber Nipple Salesman. Ren and Stimpy.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - “The Blue Spirit”
Arcane - “The Monster You Created”
Avatar: The Legend of Korra - “Venom of the Red Lotus/Enter the Void” (2-part S3 finale)
SpongeBob SquarePants - “Band Geeks”
Rugrats - “Sand Ho!”
Futurama - “The Luck of the Fryrish”
The Simpsons - “Treehouse of Horror V” or “Cape Feare”
South Park - “Scott Tenorman Must Die”
Rick & Morty "The Ricklantis Mixup" is absolutely incredible for a 20 minutes video.
Archer season 2 episode 9: Placebo effect. Episode 8 is pretty much “part 1” but there are so many good Archer episodes it’s hard to pick just one
The Rabbit of Seville
Bugs Bunny- Bully for Bugs circa August 8, 1953
Bugs Bunny finds himself inadvertently embroiled in a bullfighting spectacle while en route to the Coachella Valley for a carrot festival.
Kill da wabbit