10 Worst Episodes From Popular Animated Shows

Children’s cartoons serve as an introduction to both the wonderful and often misunderstood world of animation and surprisingly complex storytelling. They help shape people’s interests in the kind of media they consume and often act as a good way to teach children moral lessons. The best can even entertain adults alongside children and hold up decades after their release.

Of course, the best shows will have their moments of weakness, and even TV’s mightiest animated classics can make a few bad episodes. From including poor morals to terribly portraying their characters or including overly poor concepts that don’t translate well from paper, these are the worst episodes from the best TV animated shows. Because even SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey, Arnold! can mess it up!

11 “The Great Divide” from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

Season 1, Episode 11, 2005

To many, Avatar: The Last Airbender ranks as one of the greatest animated shows. It combined aspects of Eastern and Western philosophy in a way children could understand with engaging character development and a mix of comedy and mature themes. While its worst episodes were still better than other examples, they still left audiences feeling let down, as was the case with “The Great Divide.”

This episode almost had a good idea: seeing Team Avatar escort refugees from the war is a great way to do some world-building and show the effects of the conflict. However, the bulk of “The Great Divide” is spent showing the two tribes and the main characters getting into petty debates over a conflict that has no value in the grand narrative. The show itself acknowledged this episode’s infamy in its recap episode, “The Ember Island Players.”

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10 “Non-Compete Clause” from ‘My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic’

Season 8, Episode 9, 2018

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic was a breakout show of the 2010s. It found great success among younger and older audiences through its strong morals, pleasing animation style, catchy songs, and quality writing. As the show went on, many of the older writers were phased out for new ones, which resulted in some less-than-stellar episodes.

“Non-Compete Clause” sees Applejack and Rainbow Dash (both Ashleigh Ball) take their students on a field trip as they try to win the Teacher of the Month award. However, they let their rivalry get the best of them and constantly neglect and put their students in harm’s way. Long-term fans were angry to see “Non-Compete Clause” tossing much character development aside as the duo acted more childish than the children they teach.

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9 “Water Park Prank” from ‘Adventure Time’

Season 6, Episode 37, 2015

Adventure Time was known for bringing in guest animators to direct stand-alone episodes. Most of the time, it resulted in some of the show’s most creative episodes, such as “A Glitch is a Glitch” or “Beyond the Grotto.” However, it also resulted in some less-than-stellar examples, as was the case with “Water Park Pranks.”

This episode feels odd and out of place, even by the standards of stand-alone episodes. The plot is incredibly basic, with Finn (Jeremy Shada) and Jake (John DiMaggio) deciding to prank the Ice King (voice-acting legend Tom Kenny) at a water park. “Water Park Pranks” feels like an uninspired relic idea from season one, and the animation is also rather offsetting. It might work in other shows, but it doesn’t fit Adventure TIme’s style.

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8 “Sun Scream” from ‘The Powerpuff Girls’

Season 6, Episode 10, 2004

Fans of early Cartoon Network loved The Powerpuff Girls for its fun play on superhero tropes and the juxtaposition of seeing cute little girls commit surprisingly ruthless acts of violence against villains. It wasn’t afraid to include incredibly dark episodes for a children’s cartoon in service of throwing a good moral message for children to learn. However, the episode “Sun Scream” goes a little too far in presenting its moral.

After the girls fail to put on sunscreen before stopping a solar flare, they experience the worst sunburns of their lives. The rest of the episode is dedicated to showing the girls in as much pain as possible, to the point where a single touch overwhelms them with pain. “Sun Scream” is a discomforting episode that seems to draw wicked glee from making its main characters suffer. There’s also an extensive scene of the girls’ burnt skin peeling off at the climax, which is a bit too much for even the most loyal fans of the show.

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7 “It’s a Wishful Life” from ‘The Fairly OddParents’

Season 5, Episode 10, 2004

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The Fairly OddParents is Nickelodeon’s second longest-running show behind SpongeBob SquarePants. It had a simple but ingenious premise: a ten-year-old boy is given two fairies who can grant almost any wish. The show delighted audiences with its creativity, but it was a lot more hit-and-miss when it tried to deliver an Aesop.

“It’s a Wishful Life,” a retelling of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life, features Timmy (Tara Strong) wishing to see the world as if he had never been born after being repeatedly insulted for doing good deeds. While the message that you should do good deeds for the sake of it and not for credit is good, the disrespect Timmy gets from everyone is way too petty to make the moral work. Then there’s the uncomfortable fact that “It’s a Wishful Life” makes everyone’s lives better without Timmy, making the episode feel mean-spirited and depressing.

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5 “Arthur’s Big Hit” from ‘Arthur’

Season 4, Episode 1, 1999

There are few children’s shows that can match the quality of Arthur. For over twenty-five years, the show introduced children to life lessons, encouraged building social skills between friends and family members, and tackled heavy issues like cancer and personal tragedy. With over two hundred episodes, a few duds would slip in, but none are as infamous as “Arthur’s Big Hit.”

This episode saw Arthur (Michael Yarmush) punch his sister, D.W. (Oliver Grainger), after she broke his model. While Arthur was in the wrong, D.W. escaped punishment despite Arthur telling her multiple times not to touch the plane, making his punishment for lashing out seem unfair in comparison. It gets worse when Arthur gets punched at the end of the episode, and his parents adopt a “Now you know how your sister felt” attitude. Most elder siblings related to Arthur’s frustration, making “Arthur’s Big Hit” a rather unpleasant watch.

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4 “Everyone Knows Its Bendy” from ‘Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends’

Season 2, Episode 2, 2005

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends was a big deal for the mid-2000s Cartoon Network. It was their first show made entirely with flash animation and was another hit from the creative duo of Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust. Unfortunately, it also created one of Cartoon Network’s most infamous episodes.

In “Everyone Knows It’s Bendy,” a new imaginary friend named Bendy (Jeff Bennett) arrives at the home and makes trouble for Bloo (Keith Ferguson) and his friends. Bendy constantly gets them blamed for his misdeeds and evades punishment. “Everyone Knows It’s Bendy” is an episode that relies on the authority figures being idiots, and even the creators have come to despise it as much as the fans.

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3 “Arnold Betrays Iggy” from ‘Hey Arnold!’

Season 3, Episode 46, 1998

Hey Arnold! is one of the most grounded cartoons to come from Nickelodeon. It depicted an honest view of urban life, with all of its trials and tribulations, and contained many important life lessons about growing up and accepting people of all types. Sadly, audiences could not accept the character of Iggy (Joseph Ashton) after the poorly received “Arnold Betrays Iggy.”

When it’s revealed that Iggy wears bunny pajamas, his reputation is ruined, and he blames Arnold (Phillip Van Dyke) for the leak even though he’s innocent. Arnold’s attempts to repair his friendship with Iggy have him treated like a servant and eventually publicly humiliated. It’s never fun to see the main character suffer for something they didn’t do. Ever the kind and supportive fellow, Arnold takes the punishment, including a majorly embarrassing walk of shame that will make every gan cringe. “Arnold Betrays Iggy” is too unfair and uncomfortable to watch. No one paid the price more than Iggy, who never made another major appearance afterward.

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2 “If It Smells Like an Ed” from ‘Ed, Edd n’ Eddy’

Season 3, Episode 22, 2003

One of Cartoon Network’s best-received shows, Ed, Edd n’ Eddy followed the adventures of the Eds as they tried to run numerous scams on the other residents of their Cul-de-Sac. It was well-liked for its memorable characters, exaggerated animation, and unique comedy. While the Eds would occasionally receive punishment for their bad behavior, the episode “If It Smells Like an Ed” took things too far.

When the kids’ Friendship Day float is found ruined, all signs point to the Eds, even though they are innocent. As they attempt to clear their names, it’s revealed that the culprit was Jimmy (Keenan Christensen), who framed them to get back at Eddy (Tony Sampson) for giving him a wedgy. While the idea of Jimmy getting some payback is good, the episode goes too far with his retribution, especially since Ed (Matt Hill) and Double D (Sam Vincent) did nothing to deserve it. “If It Smells Like an Ed” is another case of an episode taking things too far, to the point where the long-awaited punishment for the Eds isn’t satisfying but problematic.

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1 “One Coarse Meal” from ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’

Season 7, Episode 11, 2010

Most fans of SpongeBob can agree that after its first movie, the quality of the show decreased. There are many contenders for the worst episode, such as “Pet Sitter Pat,” “A Pal for Gary,” and “Ink Lemonade.” However, most can agree that “One Coarse Meal” took things too far.

When Mr. Krabbs (Clancy Brown) learns that his rival, Plankton (Mr. Lawrence), is deathly afraid of whales, he begins dressing up as his daughter, Pearl (Lori Alan), to stalk and scare Plankton. This drives Plankton into a paranoid depression that has him attempt self-harm, and Mr. Krabbs suffers no consequence. One of the darkest SpongeBob episodes, “One Coarse Meal” is evil-spirited and just plain cruel, especially considering Plankton is a beloved character whose plans are seldom as wicked.

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NEXT: The 10 Best Nicktoons, Ranked