Greatest animated television episode

C

computernorcal

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What would you consider the single greatest episode of an animated television series of all time? Yes that's right, im asking for an individual episode. It can be from any animated series from any country.

For me, being an enormous fan of classic Simpsons, my pick will definetely come from that show. Choosing which one isn't easy though, because i can think of at least six or seven episodes that i think i have at one point or another considered BEST. EPISODE. EVER. But after a lot of thought, i think i will have to give that title to: Lisa's Wedding. In the unlikely case that someone here doesn't know what episode im talking about, it can be summarised as taking place in the future when Lisa is a young adult, and concerning her approaching wedding with a snobby young man who doesn't take to kindly to her family. The episode has a great story, a fantastic bittersweet ending, and there are probably only a handful of episodes of the show with a greater number of hilarious jokes.
 
This is a really hard question to answer, as there are easily hundreds of thousands of episodes to choose from, much more I'm sure, as this would date back to the early fifties. For me, the greatest episode of any series I have ever seen, I'll limit this to last decade, the ninties were my year. This honor for me, goes to the episode of Animaniacs entitled King Yakko. This episode almost defined the series main characters. They were funny, both by themselves and at others expense without truely being mean spirited. They had charm, charisma, timing, appeal, the list is endless. The music was pheniminal, the animation was well executed, even though it still had Wang's one flaw in my opinion. A great, great episode. I may need to come back to this later, and retry my answer
 
Only one?

I don't think I could possibly do that, not just because my definition of "greatest" will probably contrast greatly from just about anyone else's, but picking one out of dozens of hundreds would take me forever.

I can maybe pick five that I come back to often, but that would be it. The first five that come to mind would probably be:

American Dragon: Jake Long- "Homecoming"

This show was far from perfect, but this episode I think as still very well done. The dragon skulls arc was developing for a little while, and this episode was supposed to be the end of the saga, as well as to give Jake and Rose closure from their relationship. I think out of all the episodes from ADJL, this is where the best combination of tension, sweetness, humor, and character growth were all put together into one explosive punch.

The final fight is still one well-shot event, with the climax a very emotionally high sequence. On top of that, the ending with Jake discovering Rose's lack of memory is very bittersweet, which I think is the best way to end the episode. Jake isn't as naive now as he was at the start of the series, but that little bit of hope he has is what keeps him alive, and made me feel for the character.

Johnny Bravo- "Bravo Dooby Doo"

I've written about this episode a few times in the past, but I think the reason this one sticks to me the most is because it seem to celebrate both the classic and (then) current ages of the Hanna-Barbera studios. If you want to look at it one way, this can seem like a cynical episode, since they call out how corny the original Scooby-Doo episodes could be as well as how twisted modern cartoons like Johnny Bravo tend to be, but to get to why something is so endearing, sometimes you do have to look at the negative aspects.

"Bravo Dooby Doo" was written like a traditional Scooby episode, just with a really messed up guest star like Johnny. The charming chemistry between the cast in classic episodes and witty dialogue in JB mesh together in a way that feels very natural. There are tons of clever jokes such as Fred and Daphne's subtle nudges towards each other and Johnny's responses to the group's shouting of "Jinkies!" that fans of Scooby-Doo will enjoy but at the same time doesn't harm the legacy of the great dane in anyway.

The Cartoon Cartoons were attempts to bring the animation industry forward in terms of writing and animation, but the people who worked on these didn't forget where they came from, since many of them started out at Hanna-Barbera. "Bravo Dooby Doo" is probably just the greatest nudge towards that.

Justice League Unlimited- "Epilogue"

I was considering adding in a few different BTAS episodes, but went with this one instead, since it has basically everything that I think would require a good episode of a DCAU show- a relatively deep conflict between its characters that gets resolved, but at the same time shows a bit of Batman/Bruce's humanity, explores the Batman mythos and reminds us of why we fell in love with Terry McGinnis to begin with. This was a really good way to wrap up the season after the Cadmus saga since it shows that the League and Amanda Waller do end on good terms, and that the JL would continue to save the day. It's also a fitting conclusion to Batman Beyond, which the series didn't really get, but at the same time, it proves that Terry won't give up the mantle.

As much as I enjoyed "Alive" and "Destroyer", I would have been completely satisfied if they ended the DCAU with Terry recreating the flight from "On Leather Wings" like he did here.

King of the Hill- "A Fire-Fighting We Will Go"

One classic bit after another, from the guy's fire hydrant disaster to Rusty Shackleford's appearance to the ending Rashomon tribute. While there are a few KOTH episodes that are emotionally superior, I'd be hard-pressed to find a funnier one.

Rocko's Modern Life- "Wacky Delly"

A bit expected, but this is great for those in the animation industry as well as just about anyone else. "Wacky Delly" is a clever satire that pokes at what sells for kids, but considering who worked on this show, I think it's all done with heart in mind. The ending is a little depressing, but honest and also done with a bit of heart and humor.

And who here wouldn't watch a show like Wacky Delly?:p

Hey, one episode each per the five major animation studios for today. The funny thing is, KOTH aside, none of these shows would really constitute for my favorite show from each studio. I guess that just proves how highly I think of each episode.
 
*Looks up one post*

Well, I'd definitely have to second some of those choices. Specifically that KOTH episode. Every gag is dead on, the Rashomon tribute was a nice touch, and it even contains a pretty funny fart joke literally out of nowhere. For such a great show, this was easily at the top of the heap.
 
Hello, old friend. Long time no type. :p

But I do agree with you on this. Streams of tears were flowing down my cheeks three years ago, dangit. Or was it four...? Eh, anyway. This series is what has defined my view on animation (among others shows) and is in my opinion one -hundred times more affective than any Avatar episode. Of course The Puppetmaster was near perfect. But this episode of Amdrag... This made me believe that my time and energy was very well invested. I and the other few and far a part fans had faith in this series, and it paid off.
 
Wow. That's.. a tough one, considering how many animated series there are out there.

I think,

Cowboy Bebop - Ballad of Fallen Angels
This is the episode inwhich this silly Bounty-Hunting anime opened up a whole new level of depth to the characters. It showed a more serious side of the otherwise, carefree, cocky lead character, Spike, revealing a dark past that he has been hiding from, and a series of melancholy flashbacks of the one that got away. It was also considerably more violent than previous episodes.

If I can list a few others, these would be my picks:

The Ren & Stimpy Show - Stimpy's Fan Club
This episode showed the viewer just how insane Ren truly is, and was also one of the funniest episodes of the series. When Ren feels jealous of Stimpy getting fanmail, Stimpy hires Ren to be President of his fanclub. After spending long nights reading letter after letter praising Stimpy and mocking the "mosquito" who constantly slaps him, Ren finally loses it late one night and contemplates killing Stimpy in one of the most odd and disturbing sequences ever to air on a children's program. The next morning, when Ren finally gets a fanmail letter of his own, he begins to gloat and make all sorts of crazy facial expressions.
John K, (who voices Ren) is absolutely perfect in his delivery of Ren's lines, making him sound completely demented and hilarious.
 
When it comes to comedic shows, I'd have to nominate Duckman's "The Gripes of Wrath". For those who haven't seen it, the plot in a nutshell is that Duckman is dragged to a tech convention by Charles and Mambo. While at a panel for a new supercomputer, Duckman makes an under-the-breath remark about wanting better deodorant, which the supercomputer picks up and uses to completely alter the world for the better (the logic being, once the smaller problems are fixed, the bigger things become more efficient). So the world becomes a utopia, only for it to deteriorate in act three to a complete dystopia.

This is a great 22 minutes of both comedy and social commentary on whether computers improve or harm the world. The pace is fast, the writing is some of the best Duckman ever did, and I love the overall look of this episode, with its recurring motif of entering the human mind to rapidly look at opposing choices a person has, and of course, the utopia and dystopia offers visual variety in the environments and even the look of the characters. It even has an interesting philosophical debate: Is a perfect world an imperfect world?

Some random favorite quotes:

Bernice: (after Duckman drinks the orange juice and spits it out) I thought it was rancid; just wanted to make sure.

Bernice: (reading Duckman's ticket) "Busty Bikini Babe Fest".
Duckman: It's not like it sounds! First prize is a scholarship or, uh... something.

Duckman: Where's the crapper?
Provenheim: QVIET! Have you no discipline? No self control? That's precisely what sets this supercomputer apart from all you lesser life forms! I mean... pretty lights, don't you think?

Duckman: You all think I'm licked. You think I'm licked. Well I'm not licked! I'm not licked!
Old Man: (licking Duckman's foot) I found something! It could be chocolate!

Cornfed: (after introducing his new nymphomaniac girlfriend) Duckman, get a grip on yourself. (beat) Let me rephrase that.

Duckman: You're not mad at me anymore?
Mambo: Well now that we all bow to a higher authority, parents are just meaningless figureheads anyway.

Duckman: I'm tired of it, Bernice! Tired of all of it, especially this pretentious roleplay from a movie nobody remembers!

Cornfed: Easy, Duckman. I know over 200 ways to kill a man.
Sherri: You could glue an open jar of rats to his face and blow torch the other side of the jar, so the rats have to eat their way out through his face.
Cornfed: .....201.

Sherri: (regarding a sex tape she starred in) You said you erased that.
Cornfed: Erased, ran off thousands of copies. It's such a fine line.

Duckman: You were the one who made up this whole new world! You screwed up - not me!
Provenheim: Impossible! I am infallible!
Duckman: I don't care what religion you are!
 
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