Top Ten Most Disturbing Animated TV Shows

1. Courage the Cowardly Dog

   

   Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American animated horror comedy television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network as part of the network's Cartoon Cartoons block. The show follows a timid pink dog named Courage who lives with an elderly couple in a farmhouse in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas... read more

   This is no doubt the scariest and creepiest Cartoon Network comedy show, also a very weird one as well (top 3 probably). The atmosphere is pretty tight, helped a lot by the colors and art style. The storylines and the characters are also pretty dark and scary. And the endings are many times "sad/bad endings". Something that you rarely see in cartoons, similar to Batman Beyond from this point of view.

   Also, the best ever CN comedy series after Spaced Out, with only Adventure Time contending.

   Most of the shows on this list are on Adult Swim. I'm thinking this list should be made for kids' animated shows - that's what makes it even more disturbing.

   Courage the Cowardly Dog... I grew up with this show. Creepy as hell. Especially the "Return the Slab" and "Freaky Fred" episodes.

2. Happy Tree Friends

   

   Happy Tree Friends (HTF) is an American adult animated flash series created by Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo, Kenn Navarro, and Warren Graff for Mondo Media. While it is disguised as a children's cartoon, the show follows anthropomorphic forest animals whose adventures often end in unexpectedly graphic... read more

   I saw one episode a year ago but I still remember what happened. They were having a lemonade stand (aw, cute). Everything was just fine until one scene. One of them had their eyeball popped out because the lemonade stand's wooden banner fell and landed right on the one who lost their eyeball. The other one, who was blindfolded, mistook it as lemonade. So, the other one cut the eyeball and made it into lemonade. The one who made it into lemonade, or should I say, blood-ade, even drank it. I don't know. It was messed up and disturbing, but somehow I found it entertaining and funny in some way (weird).

   This show (the website series) was pretty disturbing, but it's usually great anyways, and I'm a bit of a fan of this show. I like cute animals, but I'm going to take a break from being reacted over cute things and take it to a whole new level.

3. Mr. Pickles

   

   Mr. Pickles is an American animated television series created by Will Carsola and Dave Stewart for Adult Swim. The series follows the Goodman family, particularly their six-year-old son Tommy, and their border collie, the demonic Mr. Pickles.... read more

   No doubt it's disturbing! The most disgusting and messed up cartoon ever created! Deserves to be number one.

   This is not helping my already strong fear of dogs.

   I saw a little bit of this, and no, it's messed up.

4. Sanjay and Craig

   

   Sanjay and Craig is an American animated sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon from May 25, 2013, to July 29, 2016. The show ran for three seasons and 60 episodes.

   The series follows a 12-year-old Indian American boy named Sanjay Patel and his best friend, Craig, a talking pet snake. They go on surreal... read more

   There was an episode where they stuck their tongues in each other's belly buttons and started eating the lint and sloshed it around in their mouths.

   This really should be number one. Scream day, going inside a digestive system, picking their noses and eating it, etc., it's all disgusting along with Breadwinners.

   This show is creepy. Craig kind of looks cool, but the rest of this is so disgusting. What is American television coming to?

5. King Star King

   

   King Star King is an American animated web series created by JJ Villard and Eric Kaplan for Adult Swim. The series premiered on the network's online video streaming service Adult Swim Video on June 15, 2014. Known for its surreal and violent humor, it later aired on Adult Swim's television channel.

6. Breadwinners

   

   Breadwinners is an American animated television series created by Gary "Doodles" DiRaffaele and Steve Borst for Nickelodeon. The show originated as an animated short created in DiRaffaele's apartment in Studio City, Los Angeles, in collaboration with Borst.... read more

   It's disturbing in the way that it's disturbingly cringy and weird, but not in a good way. It's bad, and that's the biggest understatement in human history.

   This proves that animators today want to make kids dumb and learn about butts. Such a disgrace.

7. Adventure Time

   

   Adventure Time is an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn, voiced by Jeremy Shada, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, voiced by John DiMaggio. Jake is a dog with the magical power to change... read more

   It's REALLY disturbing. There are creepy scenes, and everything is connected in a dark way. It's very hopeless, as the characters all lose their sanity/humanity. Also, it's hopeless in the sense that the world can't be rebuilt, there is no afterlife, and there are mutants everywhere that will try to kill you.

   I love this show, and there are some extremely disturbing things in it. One example is when the fruit witch touches the thing that turns her into an apple, and the other witches eat her. The worst part is that the apple is screaming, and there are bones in it.

8. South Park

   

   South Park is an American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The show centers on four boys: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick, and their adventures in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. It's known... read more

   Of course, this is not the show for you if you are offended by its jokes or bothered by its extreme scenes, but if you like over-the-top comedy, then you're really going to have yourself a time!

   It's really disturbing, but those moments are for a laugh, or they mix it with a really sad premise and end it really sadly, like Kenny dies.

   Blood and gore and woodland creatures that give birth to the antichrist is just plain creepy.

9. Salad Fingers

   

   My friend told me to watch this. I saw 8 episodes in one night, went to bed (with nightmares), and then watched 2 in the morning. So, I talked to him about it, and he told me to watch number 11. Saw it, just... why? Still, I thought it was very cool and creative. Hubert Cumberdale.

   Really weird. There's an idea that he's radioactive, and it's easy to see some of it is in his head. Though he's lonely, so it makes sense he has imaginary friends.

   "I love it when the red water comes out." That line literally had me up for three days straight, and I had to go to the doctor's for staying up that long. It's creepy, yo.

10. Rick and Morty

    

    Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Adult Swim. The series premiered in 2013 and follows the misadventures of an eccentric scientist, Rick Sanchez, and his good-hearted but easily influenced grandson Morty. The show is known... read more

    This show can be disturbing at points, but like Courage the Cowardly Dog, it's the good kind of disturbing.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Over the Garden Wall

    

    Over the Garden Wall is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. It premiered in November 2014 and consists of ten episodes. The series follows two half-brothers as they journey through a mysterious forest and has received critical acclaim for its art... read more

    This show was one of the creepiest Cartoon Network shows I've ever seen. It explores themes of depression and, quite frankly, should be aired on Adult Swim, not the kids' channel.

12. ?

    Amphibia

    

    Amphibia is an American animated television series created by Matt Braly. It originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2019, to May 14, 2022. The show follows a young girl named Anne Boonchuy who is magically transported to a fantastical world inhabited by anthropomorphic amphibians.

The Contenders

13. Peppa Pig

    

    Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series created by Astley Baker Davies in association with Entertainment One. The show originally premiered on May 31, 2004. It went on a hiatus for just over two years and returned with new episodes on February 14, 2015.

14. Family Guy

    

    Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of Peter, Lois, their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic dog, Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog... read more

    10 reasons why this show disturbing:

    1. Quagmire's extreme sexuality

    2. Herbert the Pervert

    3. Peter trying to marry Chris in one episode

    4. Chris teaching his grandfather how to masturbate

    5. Chris masturbating to his own mother

    6. Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q

    7. Brian once tripping out on magic mushrooms

    8. Peter disemboweling a beached whale with a forklift

    9. Lois once starring in a porno

    10. Quagmire trying to have sex with dead bodies

15. Rabbids Invasion

    

    Rabbids Invasion (French: Les Lapins Crétins : Invasion) is a French-American animated television series that premiered on August 3, 2013, on Nickelodeon. The show began airing on Nicktoons during its second season in late 2015.... read more

16. Robot Chicken

    

    Robot Chicken is an American stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root, for Adult Swim. The show features parodies of pop culture using action figures and other toys in short comedic... read more

    When I was younger, I ran into this show on the... Toy Story 4 thing. I didn't understand, but when I saw Buzz getting his head cut off, I was disturbed as hell for a couple of days. P.S. even my parents didn't know what the heck Robot Chicken was.

    When I was about 7-10, the intro disturbed me. I was so frightened by the scientist's eyes and just his animation.

    Dolls that kill each other, blood and gore.

17. Invader Zim

    

    Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim from the planet Irk, who is determined to conquer Earth with the help of his malfunctioning robot assistant, GIR.... read more

    I love the dark humor and plot lines in this show. I mean, Zim has attempted to murder Dib at some points. That is terrifying, mainly because Dib is my favorite, haha.

    That one episode where he steals kids' guts scarred me for life. Bonus points for the chicken costume episode and the one with the fast-food pig. So disgusting, I hate it.

    Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy and Dark Harvest alone are what make it one of the most disturbing shows aired.

18. Beavis and Butt-head

    

    Beavis and Butt-Head is an American animated sitcom created and designed by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge that originally aired on Liquid Television. The show became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s and was revived for new seasons in the 2010s and... read more

    I really like the animation style and the look of the characters besides the two main. Also, the characters actually seem to be like real-world people and are quite well thought out, all except the two main. Yep, they are pretty disturbing.

19. Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"

    

    Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an American adult animated comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi. It was produced by Spümcø for TNN/Spike TV and premiered on June 26, 2003. The series was canceled after only three episodes aired, with the remaining episodes released on DVD in 2006... read more

    I strangely find that this show actually has some hidden beauty in it. I especially love the episode "Ren Seeks Help". I've also seen and loved every cartoon others deemed as "disturbing" on this list.

    Episodes like Naked Beach Frenzy or Ren Seeks Help do count indeed.

    I can relate to Ren in Ren Seeks Help. I can get like that sometimes.

20. The Brothers Grunt

    

    The Brothers Grunt is a Canadian-American animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci, the creator of Ed, Edd n Eddy. It originally aired on MTV from August 15, 1994, to April 9, 1995. The show was known for its surreal humor and distinctive animation style.

21. Catdog

    

    CatDog is an American animated television series created by Peter Hannan for Nickelodeon. The show centers on conjoined brothers, with one half being a cat and the other a dog. The series explores their daily lives and the challenges that arise from their very different personalities.

    Where do the cat and the dog go to the bathroom? They need buttocks and genitals to poop and pee. Using their mouths is a lot more gross compared to Johnny Knoxville's Jackass!

    The nightmare episode was disturbing enough, especially with the "the end" sign covered in blood!

    That's what Peter Griffin described Catdog as. "That would be like a living hell, Brian!"

22. The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

    

    The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in North America on June 5, 2008. The show features Van Orman as the voice of Flapjack, a naive young boy raised by a talking whale named Bubbie and mentored... read more

    I just hate it. What can I say? It's stupid, and it makes me feel like the younger kiddos will grow up with some mental problems.

    I'm really starting to miss those cute, cuddly, and innocent cartoons from the 50s. Now, we've got this pure horror to show our kids.

    That episode where everyone got bit by Flapjack's rat was beyond disturbing! I had nightmares about it as a kid for a week!

23. Aqua Teen Hunger Force

    

    Aqua Teen Hunger Force is an American adult animated sitcom created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim. The series premiered on December 30, 2000, and ran for eleven seasons until August 30, 2015. It follows three anthropomorphic fast food... read more

    Totally disgusting. Should be number one.

24. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

    

    Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. It premiered on October 29, 1994, and aired until December 6, 1997. The show follows three young monsters, Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm, as they attend a monster academy located beneath a city dump... read more

25. Drawn Together

    

    Drawn Together is an American adult animated sitcom which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004, to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and uses a sitcom format set in a reality TV-style house with characters parodying various animation styles. A feature-length... read more

    This show is really sick gross-out humor.

26. The Simpsons

    

    The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening. It originally aired as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show starting April 19, 1987, and debuted as a standalone series on December 17, 1989.

    As of 2026, it remains the longest-running animated sitcom. The show follows Homer Simpson... read more

    Love The Simpsons, but want disturbing? When their bodies turn inside out, the dolphin episode attacking everyone, the Professor is turned into a turkey that is eaten.

    There's this one episode where Homer forgets to pick up Bart after a soccer practice, and Bart is left in the rain. Then, when Homer picks Bart up during the trip home, Bart hallucinates, and Homer's face melts off and looks so disturbing.

27. Oggy and the Cockroaches

    

    Oggy and the Cockroaches is a French animated comedy series created and produced by Xilam Animation in collaboration with Gaumont Film Company. The show features Oggy, a blue cat, constantly battling three mischievous cockroaches named Joey, Dee Dee, and Marky. It has gained international popularity... read more

    This show is as disturbing as Happy Tree Friends, only no blood and veins are in it.

    They had a picture of a naked lady in one episode.