History ItsAWonderfulPlot / WesternAnimation

** The episode "It's A Wishful Life" did the BetterIfNotBornPlot, where everyone's shown as being better off without Timmy Turner. When Timmy does all sorts of good things for his friends and family [[DudeWheresMyRespect only to get complete ingratitude]], he angrily wishes he was never born just to see how tough things would be without him... only to discover that ''everyone'' actually have ''much'' better lives without him: his parents have a daughter and are rich; his friends are also successful and happy; Mr. Crocker is a normal teacher; Vicky has found a more positive outlet for her sadism; and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the Chicago Cubs finally won a World Series]]. At the end, the whole thing turns out to have been a SecretTestOfCharacter given to Timmy by Jorgen Von Strangle. It ended up being one of the most disliked episodes of the show, with creator Butch Hartman regarding it as an OldShame due to just how cruel the comedy was.

** The episode "It's A Wishful Life" did the BetterIfNotBornPlot, where everyone's shown as being better off without Timmy Turner. When Timmy does all sorts of good things for his friends and family [[DudeWheresMyRespect only to get complete ingratitude]], he angrily wishes he was never born just to see how tough things would be without him... only to discover that everyone in Dimmsdale, including Cosmo and Wanda, actually have ''much'' better lives without him (ex. his parents have a successful daughter, Cosmo and Wanda are now Chester's godparents). A lot of the alternate reality changes were rather stupid and nonsensical (ex. Vicky being a kind nurse who gives kids laughing gas, Crocker being an impressive professor, etc.). Others were just irritating and had ''nothing'' to do with Timmy's existence (ex. AJ having hair, Elmer not having a boil, the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, etc.). At the end, the whole thing turns out to have been a test given to Timmy by Jorgen Von Strangle, even if he was pretty sadistic about it. Viewers were not impressed, and "Wishful Life" is one of the few episodes that showrunner Butch Hartman has said he [[OldShame regrets making]], citing that they did go a bit overboard on the cruelty and that [[AnAesop the lesson]] (you should do good deeds even if you are disrespected or even punished for doing so) wasn't a fit one for kids.

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E9TheLastTemptationOfHomer]]" has Homer's GuardianAngel attempt this to convince Homer to stay faithful to Marge instead of acting on his infatuation with Mindy by showing him a vision of what his life would be like if he married Mindy. It backfires since Homer and Mindy are HappilyMarried and wealthy in the vision. The angel then shows him what Marge's life would be like without Homer. In this vision Marge is doing so well that she's the ''President of the USA'' with soaring approval ratings. The angel immediately stops the vision realizing it's not sending the intended message.

* The series finale of ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' has an odd variation (which doesn't involve travelling to an alternate reality) when Mung Daal shows Chowder what happened to the rest of the cast thanks to his refusal to grow up:
** Mung and Truffles are still working at their catering company, despite the fact that they should have retired and handed over the business to Chowder.
** Schnitzel married Endive because she was willing to put up with his complaints about Chowder.
** Panini is still waiting to marry Chowder and raise a family together. As a result, she vents her longing on her apprentice, Ambrosia, by dressing and treating her like a baby.
** Gorgonzola, now the CEO of a candle company, sees his accomplishment as a hollow victory because he lacks an adversary (particularly Chowder) to gloat about it to. Like Panini, he forces his apprentice, Kabob, to dress up as Chowder and venting his frustrations to him.
** Gazpacho has permanently shut down his fruit stand, left a recorded message about his successful future (which is a lie), and fled to the Shmahara desert.

* ''WesternAnimation/OurFriendMartin'' is an animated special where some kids want to prevent Martin Luther King's assassination. So they go back in time, kidnap him as a child, and bring him back to the present day... only to find segregation and racism still in full force, and many of the main character's best friends are affected. In the end, Young Martin, who guesses that the changes the others observe are ForWantOfANail, bravely decides to return to his own time.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'''s "[[Recap/MiloMurphysLawS1E30WorldWithoutMilo World Without Milo]]" Elliot finds out what it feels like to have [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a world without Milo]] with time travel involved. Everyone is pretty much fine—the exception being Elliot himself, [[VictoryIsBoring whose job is meaningless without the chaos Milo creates]]—but there are a few [[ForWantOfANail unexplained oddities]] (squirrels can now talk).

** The episode "It's A Wishful Life" did the BetterIfNotBornPlot, where everyone's shown as being better off without Timmy Turner. When Timmy does all sorts of good things for his friends and family [[DudeWheresMyRespect only to get complete ingratitude]], he angrily wishes he was never born just to see how tough things would be without him... only to discover that everyone in Dimmsdale, including Cosmo and Wanda, actually have ''much'' better lives without him (ex. his parents have a successful daughter, Cosmo and Wanda are now Chester's godparents). A lot of the alternate reality changes were rather stupid and nonsensical (ex. Vicky being a kind nurse who gives kids laughing gas, Crocker being an impressive professor, etc.). Others were just irritating and had ''nothing'' to do with Timmy's existence (ex. AJ having hair, Elmer not having a boil, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series]], etc.). At the end, the whole thing turns out to have been a test given to Timmy by Jorgen Von Strangle, even if he was pretty sadistic about it. Viewers were not impressed, and "Wishful Life" is one of the few episodes that showrunner Butch Hartman has said he [[OldShame regrets making]], citing that they did go a bit overboard on the cruelty and that [[AnAesop the lesson]] (you should do good deeds even if you are disrespected or even punished for doing so) wasn't a fit one for kids.

* A late season 1 episode of WesternAnimation/TransformersEarthspark has Mo angrily wishing she’d never touched the Emberstone, after doing so resulted in her brother Robby dying from a space disease. She then gets shown a holographic simulation of that, in which things get much worse as a result.