Top 10 "What the Hell" Cartoon Episode Endings

Sometimes you get a cartoon ending that makes perfect sense. Conflict resolved, characters happy, cue the catchy theme song. Other times, you're sitting there staring at the screen, wondering if someone slipped something into your cereal. This list is all about those endings.

One minute the plot is trucking along just fine. Then suddenly someone bursts into song, gets eaten, breaks the fourth wall, or drops a bombshell secret that makes you rethink the entire series. These are the endings that don't wrap things up neatly but instead unravel reality like a sweater snagged on a rusty nail. These are the endings that make you pause, rewind, and mutter, "What the hell just happened?"

Scroll through, relive the madness, and vote for the episodes that had you doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out what you just watched.

The Top Ten

  1. George They're Onto Us (I Had an Accident) - SpongeBob SquarePants

    I never really cared for the episode, and the ending was the main reason for that. It's humor that a twelve-year-old and his friends would come up with. It makes no sense, it's there due to a lack of a creative and good ending, and it's just completely stupid.

    Yeah, I remember that episode when I was younger. It was a bizarre ending, and it still makes me scratch my head. This is considered to be one of the strangest episodes I've ever seen.

    That episode used to scare the crap out of me when I was younger, mainly the gorilla and what he did to SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy. Now I think it's weird and funny.

  2. Everybody Gets Eaten (Chicken Little) - Disney Shorts

    I don't know who's worse, the fox from the original or Buck Cluck from "the one we don't talk about."

  3. Family Dance-Off (Come Sail Away) - The Loud House

    This moment is one of the many reasons why I find Season 1 of this show overrated.

    *Sees image of Loud House family twerking* I think I just lost all interest in The Loud House for good.

  4. Camptown Races (Fresh Hare) - Looney Tunes

  5. Surprise Carnival Day at School (Hooky) - Hey Arnold

    After having a horrible day playing hookey from school, Arnold and Gerald return to find that there was a surprise carnival at school, and they just missed it. This is a very unrealistic ending.

    Unrealistic but funny, I suppose.

  6. Dallas Shower Scene Parody (Da Boom) - Family Guy

  7. Scoutmaster Lumpus Is an Imposter (Lumpus' Last Stand) - Camp Lazlo

  8. Santa Abolishes the Naughty List and Gives Presents to Everyone (The True Meaning of Christmas) - Teen Titans Go!

    The Titans receive no punishment for their actions, and Santa gives in to their demand by abolishing the Naughty List and giving presents to everyone, naughty or nice. The moral of this episode: if you don't get what you want, keep complaining and throwing tantrums until you do. They even got away with murder.

  9. Brawl in the Family (Lethal Weapons) - Family Guy

    After forcing the entire family into anger management, everything comes full circle as the Griffins get into a huge brawl, with each family member beating one another: Peter vs. Lois, Meg vs. Chris, and Brian vs. Stewie. They violently kick the crap out of each other in a fight scene that could only happen in Family Guy.

    I don't know, this is pretty normal stuff for Family Guy.

  10. Steven Learns Rose's Secret (A Single Pale Rose) - Steven Universe

    I needed pills because it was so hard to digest.

    Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond all along?

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Everyone Dreams Within Dreams (Dream Birthday) - Back at the Barnyard

  12. ?

    Malachite Locks Herself in the Ocean (Jailbreak) - Steven Universe

    13. The Contenders

  13. Billy, Mandy, Grim, and Irwin Are Sent to Townsville (My Fair Mandy) - The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

  14. I Made You Eat Your Parents! (Scott Tenorman Must Die) - South Park

  15. Dream within a Dream (Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!) - Phineas and Ferb

    After breaking Phineas and Ferb out of a detention center, Candace realizes that they have both become creatively numb. She tries to bring them back and realizes that it was all a dream. At breakfast, the family says something about Perry the Platypus being a secret agent. They are immediately surrounded and arrested by OWCA agents, and Major Monogram tells Perry that he will have to relocate. That's when Perry wakes up and realizes it was all a dream. It makes more sense if you watch it for yourself.

  16. Kung Fu Creatures on the Rampage 3 (Video Airline) - Garfield and Friends

  17. Everyone Gets Turned into a Marionette (The Great Fusilli) - Courage the Cowardly Dog

  18. Billy Was the Lich the Whole Time (The Lich) - Adventure Time

    Throughout the episode, Finn and Jake are helped by their hero Billy to create a portal to the multiverse in order to banish the Lich from Ooo forever. After collecting all the gems to activate the portal, it is revealed that the Lich had murdered Billy and had been wearing his skin to fool Finn and Jake. The two heroes try to prevent the Lich from entering the portal but are dragged into it. The episode cuts to a different-looking Finn and Jake in another dimension as Finn's mother calls them into their farm home. This ending was the finale of Season 4, and the story would continue in the Season 5 half-hour special premiere.

  19. Pops Sacrifices Himself and the Universe Continues Without Him (Regular Show) - Regular Show

    SPOILER! If you have been watching all the previous episodes before this one, you would know that Pops was the chosen one and had to fight his evil twin brother to save the universe. Long story short, Pops gives his brother a hug, and they fly into the sun. The universe is saved, but Pops is lost. The others move on with their lives, quitting their jobs, getting married, and having kids. After watching the very complicated two or three-episode-long ending, my mouth hung open. After the show, I felt like I needed to process all of that for a while. So was Pops the main character? Hmm...

  20. National No SpongeBob Day (Gone) - SpongeBob SquarePants

  21. Anais Fooled Everyone (The Remote) - The Amazing World of Gumball

    This was actually a really clever episode. The ending came out of nowhere.

    The ending of The Usual Suspects has nothing on this.

  22. I've Been Waiting for You, Patrick! (Bummer Vacation) - SpongeBob SquarePants

  23. The Submarine Is in Squidward's Body (Squidtastic Voyage) - SpongeBob SquarePants

  24. Squidward Goes Insane (Squid's Visit) - SpongeBob SquarePants

  25. Andrew's Valentine's Day Meltdown (My Furry Valentine) - Big Mouth

  26. Oh, It's Just a Mob War (The Twisted World of Marge Simpson) - The Simpsons

    That... wasn't an ending. It's like the episode didn't really go anywhere, and of course, in the next one, it was like nothing at all had happened.

  27. Everyone Is Someone Else (Spy Buddies) - SpongeBob SquarePants

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