History NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished / WesternAnimation

* In a similar vein, the episode "Can You Spare a Dime?" of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' features Squidward quitting his job over a misunderstanding. When he ends up losing his house, [=SpongeBob=] selflessly takes him into his own home, and takes care of him. Squidward "thanks" him by becoming a freeloader, forcing [=SpongeBob=] to wait on him hand and foot, and throwing violent tantrums when he does not comply to Squidward's whims to every detail.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Timmy Turner seems to run into this trope a lot. It's most noticeable on the Christmas specials. He is usually in universe and by fans called out on his selfishness and unwillingness to share. However, in the movie AFairlyOddChristmas as well as Merry Wishmas, Timmy is condemned for being generous because he's "muscling in" on SantaClaus' territory.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had an episode, "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith," the CIA believes that Avery has dementia and orders Stan to have him mind-wiped, which would make him a vegetable. Stan rebels and saves Avery, only to find his behavior becoming stranger and more nonsensical until he steals a nuclear submarine. Eventually, Stan comes to terms with Avery's dementia and tries to euthanize him with a bullet to the head. However, Stan's bullet hits and destroys a mind-scrambling chip, planted by another CIA agent as retribution for Avery's bullying. Instead of thanking Stan for saving his life and sanity, Avery punishes Stan with a demotion because he didn't follow orders.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had one episode where Stan is ordered by the higher ups of the CIA that his boss, Avery, has dementia and is to be escorted to a deserted location so that the CIA can wipe Avery's memory, making him a vegetable. Stan decides to go against orders and keep Avery away from the CIA, even though Avery's behavior becomes more nonsensical and he eventually steals a nuclear powered submarine. Stan refused to believe Avery's brain was turning to mush, but after a while, Stan comes terms over Avery's condition and shoots him in the back of the head. It turns out that a mind scrambling chip was shot instead and it was planted there by the CIA themselves for reasons unknown. Instead of thanking Stan for saving his life and sanity, Avery punishes Stan with a demotion because he didn't follow orders.

* There's a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon short where Donald gives an ant a bit of sugar out of kindness. In return for his good deed, the ants invade his house for more and eventually cause it to blow up, presumably killing Donald.

* {{Subverted}} in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Presents the Ridonculous Race.'' In the Vietnam challenge, the [[AllLovingHero ridiculously-nice]] {{Surfer Dude}}s allows the [[JustFriends Best Friends]] to reach the Chill Zone first, causing them to come in last and get eliminated. However, a few episodes later the Best Friends have to quit [[NonGameplayElimination due to Devin's injury]]; when asked to pick a losing team to replace them in the race, they naturally choose to repay the Surfer Dudes. [[spoiler:The Surfer Dudes wind up winning the race in one of the two canon endings]].

* It's pretty common for people to find the titular ''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'' and choose to look past his violence and theft and try to help him get on the right track. [[DeconstrucitveParody Because of the]] [[CrapsackWorld nature of this show]], Kevin abuses their kindness and mistreats and steals from them. One episode had him build a friendship with the Widow Coulson, and even though he grew to care for her, he stole her medication.

* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'': In "The Good Deed", Wander finds his every attempt to do good [[DisasterDominoes leads to bigger troubles]], to the point he drives [[BigBad Lord Hater]] to try and blow up the sun. He starts to [[HeroicBSOD literally sinks into despair]] until Sylvia gives him a pep-talk.
* {{Subverted}} in ''TotalDrama Presents the Ridonculous Race.'' In the Vietnam challenge, the [[AllLovingHero ridiculously-nice]] {{Surfer Dude}}s allows the [[JustFriends Best Friends]] to reach the Chill Zone first, causing them to come in last and get eliminated. However, a few episodes later the Best Friends have to quit [[NonGameplayElimination due to Devin's injury]]; when asked to pick a losing team to replace them in the race, they naturally choose to repay the Surfer Dudes. [[spoiler:The Surfer Dudes wind up winning the race in one of the two canon endings]].

* It's pretty common for people to find the titular ''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'' and choose to look past his violence and theft and try to help him get on the right track. [DeconstrucitveParody Because of the]] [[CrapsackWorld nature of this show]], Kevin abuses their kindness and mistreats and steals from them. One episode had him build a friendship with the Widow Coulson, and even though he grew to care for her, he stole her medication.

** Azula, [[BigBad of all]] [[ManipulativeBastard people]], [[ShipperOnDeck ships]] her brother and best friend together. The result? [[spoiler:Mai [[HeelFaceTurn betrayed her]] [[LoveRedeems for Zuko]] [[HumiliationConga and that]] [[SanitySlippage was just]] [[VillainousBreakdown the beginning]].]]

** Frank Grimes saves Homer from drinking a vial of acid, but smashes it against a wall. Burns chews out Grimes for wasting his precious acid ([[NoOSHACompliance Though who keeps acid in the dining area?]]), and even worse, had Frank not saved Homer, Homer might have died.

** In ''The Old Man and the Lisa'', Lisa decides to help Mr. Burns after he goes broke on the advice of yes men. Lisa encourages him to become an honest business man and help people. But Burns' morality is so twisted, he decides to help people by ''recycling sea animals'' into a slurry.

** Azula, [[BigBad of all]] [[ManipulativeBitch people]], [[ShipperOnDeck ships]] her brother and best friend together the result: [[spoiler:Mai pulls a HighHeelFaceTurn betrayed her for Zuko and that was just the [[HumiliationConga beginning]].]]

** Averted with Chief Wiggum, who was also helped by Homer's mom. Unlike Mr. Burns, he was very grateful and helped to smuggle her out of town.

* There's a DonaldDuck cartoon short where Donald gives an ant a bit of sugar out of kindness. In return for his good deed, the ants invade his house for more and eventually cause it to blow up, presumably killing Donald.
* In a similar vein, the episode "Can You Spare a Dime?" of ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' features Squidward quitting his job over a misunderstanding. When he ends up losing his house, Spongebob selflessly takes him into his own home, and takes care of him. Squidward "thanks" him by becoming a freeloader, forcing [=SpongeBob=] to wait on him hand and foot and throwing violent tantrums when he does not comply to his whims to every detail.
** In "Porous Pockets" Spongebob gets his hands on a fortune and generously buys ice cream to a stranger. Cue an enormous crowd of moochers skulking for free money until he's bone dry.
* Happens to Zuko in a season 2 episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' when a village he saves from corrupt guards instantly turns on him because he was a Firebender.[[note]]And not just ''any'' Firebender. Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai[[/note]]
** 3 years earlier when he spoke out against sacrificing newly-recruited soldiers, he got burned and banished for it.

** And Haru in season 1, who saved an old guy from a cave using Earthbending, but was turned in to the Fire Nation soldiers by said guy.
** Azula [[BigBad of all]] [[ManipulativeBitch people]] [[ShipperOnDeck ships]] her brother and best friend together the result: [[spoiler:Mai pulls a HighHeelFaceTurn betrayed her for Zuko and that was just the [[HumiliationConga beginning]]]]
** In TheLegendOfKorra, [[DoggedNiceGuy Bolin]] tries to cheer Korra up after she was rejected by his brother. [[ShipTease He spends an entire evening showing her Republic City]]. What does he get? [[spoiler:He gets to see Korra kissing his brother]].

* ''EekTheCat'''s catchphrase was "It never hurts to help!" [[AmusingInjuries It always did]], though [[ThePollyanna he often didn't notice]].
* [[TheSimpsons Homer's]] mom became a runaway outlaw once she helped Mr. Burns after a bunch of hippies walked all over him. Even the producers [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this in the commentary by saying that "Never act in kindness" was the moral.

** Frank Grimes saves Homer from drinking a vial of acid, but smashes it against a wall. Burns chews out Grimes for wasting his precious acid ([[NoOSHACompliance Though who keeps acid in the dining area?]]), and even worse, had he not saved Homer he might not have died.
** Also, Ned Flanders attempted to be kind by allowing two female college students to stay while they sleep and work on their studies. How do they repay him? By using the room he rented out to them as a studio for a soft-core video site, sexy slumber party. Similarly in the same episode, Flanders attempts to be a good neighbor to his town and to Homer, but his attempts at good deeds are repaid by Homer leaking the video to the whole town, as well as the town cheering on the girls when he evicts them, and mocking him behind their backs.
*** And speaking of Ned Flanders, there's his ''epic'' ReasonYouSuckSpeech to all of Springfield... except this was after they'd selflessly tried to help rebuild his house. It ended in failure, but they ''did'' try, which is lampshaded and derided in the speech itself by Ned.
** Bart, as the Shadow Knight, decides to do a good deed and sacrifice two thirds of his life to resurrect an elf, Marge, although Marge tends to Bart, the same can't be said for the rest of the characters, deciding that his action meant he was easy pickings, and decided to take advantage of his weakened state by brutally slaughtering him. While Bart lost interest on the game anyway, Marge decided to [[spoiler:avenge him]].
** When Homer [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome became smart]] he sends a safety report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This leads to everyone losing their jobs.
** During the episode about Jessica Lovejoy, Bart realized she's even more mischievous than he is, after he witnessed her steal the money out of the church collection plate. After he refused to go along with it, she leaves right when the members of the church noticed Bart with the empty collection plate. If not [[HypocriticalHeartwarming Lisa's determination to defend her brother]], Bart would have gotten ran out of Springfield.

* [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] from ''InvaderZim,'' constantly. Perhaps most obvious in "Room With a Moose," where the kids mock, wedgy and ostracize him as he tries to warn them about Zim, and then has to ''use'' their cruel treatment of him to save their lives. He even considered dooming them despite knowing he'd doom himself as well.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' where Finn shares his food with a man who turns out to be a wizard. The wizard turns him into a giant foot for his kindness. The moral that this wizard was trying to teach Finn? [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop People are jerks and you shouldn't help them.]]

* In the WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry cartoon "Buddies Thicker than Water", Tom is out in the snow and begs Jerry to help him. Jerry lets Tom into the penthouse apartment he lives in, warms Tom up, and gives him a hot meal. When the owner returns home and attempts to throw Tom out, he ingratiates himself to her by grabbing Jerry and throwing him out in the snow. Of course, this gives Jerry the justification he needs to scare Tom out of the house again and then ignore a second plea for help at the end of the cartoon.
** Granted this was also recycled with the roles reversed in "Snowbody Loves Me". After a frozen Jerry knocks on Tom's door, he opens it, with Jerry sneaking in and locking Tom out in the cold. Similarly an indignant Tom manages to get back in and kick Jerry out, though suffers a JerkassRealization and lets him back in, this time with more upbeat results.
* ''XMenEvolution'' has the end of season 2: The sentinel is released, and by sticking around to fight it, the mutants are forced to reveal themselves, causing mass witch hunting and prejudice against them, even after they prove that they weren't responsible for the Sentinel and were the good guys there. Then, as the end of the series proves, the same thing happens when [[spoiler: They defeat Apocalypse, and its revealed that mutant hatred will continue, more, and more powerful, sentinels will be built and used, one of their closest allies will be consumed by darkness, and at least two of them will be noticibly missing in the future line up. Hey, at least Magneto will become good and the Brotherhood will join SHIELD, but since it was SHIELD who were placed in charge of Sentinel production in the present, that might not be a good thing.]]
* In the ''{{Popeye}}'' cartoon "A Dream Walking", Popeye saves Olive from sleepwalking at a construction site and brings her back to her room. However, when she wakes up, she thinks Popeye is being a PeepingTom and throws stuff at him.
** In "Little Swee'pea", Popeye saves Swee'pea from the zoo animals and bring him home safely. Popeye decides to entertain him with a toy monkey, which scares him, causing Olive to think he's scaring him and promptly cleans his clock.
-->"No ifs, ands or maybes, I'll never has babies/I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" ''(toot-toot)''

* The FairlyOddParents: Timmy Turner seems to run into this trope a lot. It's most noticeable on the Christmas specials. He is usually in universe and by fans called out on his selfishness and unwillingness to share. However, in the movie AFairlyOddChristmas as well as Merry Wishmas, Timmy is condemned for being generous because he's "muscling in" on SantaClaus territory.

* In one WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry cartoon, Tom is out in the snow and begs Jerry to help him. Jerry lets Tom into the penthouse apartment he lives in, warms Tom up, and gives him a hot meal. When the owner returns home and attempts to throw Tom out, he ingratiates himself to her by grabbing Jerry and throwing him out in the snow. Of course, this gives Jerry the justification he needs to scare Tom out of the house again and then ignore a second plea for help at the end of the cartoon.
** Well, Jerry didn't exactly ignore the second plea. He [[spoiler:threw out skis and ice skates]].

* Happens to Zuko in a season 2 episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' when a village he saves from corrupt guards instantly turns on him because he was a Firebender.[[hottip:*: And not just ''any'' Firebender. Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai]]

** During a [[HalloweenEpisode Treehouse of Horror]], there was a story where Lisa helped a dolphin to escape back to sea. Said dolphin eventually lead other dolphins in taking the surface away from mankind. (They claim they used to live at the surface before being ran out of it by humans) Also, when Lisa noticed a dolphin with a nose stuck at a can ring, she helped him and he hit her.

* In a similar vein, the episode "Can You Spare a Dime?" of ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' features Squidward quitting his job over a misunderstanding. When he ends up losing his house, Spongebob selflessly takes him into his own home, and takes care of him. Squidward "thanks" him by becoming a freeloader, forcing [=SpongeBob=] to wait on him hand and foot.