History SelfDeprecation / WesternAnimation

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': The Season 4 ClipShow "Remembrances" has several jabs at the less than stellar handling of the LoveTriangle from Seasons 1 and 2, Mako's relationship issues with Korra and Asami, and Unalaq is treated like TheFriendNobodyLikes when compared to [[MagnificentBastard Amon]], [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]], and [[HeroKiller Zaheer]].

** In "Alone Again, Unnaturally", Tails claims his new inventions uses "[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis blast-processing technology]]".

** In "In the Midnight Hour", Sticks [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight (correctly)]] claims that the villagers are being hypnotized by a villain who goes by the name "[[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcaster]]".

** There's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D56T-r3Dz28 new opening for Season 10]], where the theme song portrays Timmy as being unreasonably selfish in his refusal to share his fairy godparents with his neighbor Chloe Carmichael.

** Music/{{Beck}}, voicing himself in "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E13BendinInTheWind Bendin' in the Wind]]", takes a number of shots at himself:

** In "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver", Buster creates a self-aggrandizing cartoon based around his own imaginary adventures. Describing the premise to his friends, Arthur notes that to make things worse, Buster's show is also supposed to be "edutainment," which causes everyone to recoil in disgust.

** In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow'', the Eds find a glass case in Eddy's brother room marked "In Case of Movie Break Glass"... with nothing in it but a single peanut. Ed quips "Cheap movie!"

** At the end of "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons," the main characters sit down together to watch the finale of InUniverse cartoon Ducktective...which has the exact same plot twist that ''Gravity Falls'' did two episodes ago.
--->'''Mabel:'''[[spoiler: He had a twin brother all along?]] ''That's'' the big twist we were waiting for?\\

** "Merry Christmas, Asshole!", which focuses around a behind-the-scenes look at the series. Series director Dave Bigelow describes the show as "paint-by-numbers", and follows that with "There's only so many ways to tell the same dick joke, and it was wearing thin a long time ago," and how the show is "pretty much just people drinking and swearing with the odd flash of nudity to give the impression that its somehow risque."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' ran for 100 episodes, then caps it off with a skit where Music/OneDirection watches the show and sings a parody of "Best Song Ever" calling it the worst show ever. It only made sense that the show do this a lot given that [[Magazine/{{MAD}} the source material]] is famous for it and even provides the image on the main page. For more examples, they had a skit where WesternAnimation/WallE attacks their studios for being the "biggest producers of garbage," and one where The Watcher awkwardly avoids answering Captain America's question of whether ''MAD'' wins an Emmy in the future.

** In "Gauntlet Of Fire", when the Dragon Princess Ember ends up befriending Spike, she makes it clear to him that their friendship won't consist of "picking flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do", a jab at the series' own reputation for SweetnessAversion. "Triple Threat" also has her LeaningOnTheFourthWall regarding the similarities in both name and design between Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty

** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS8E3ThePassionOfTheJew The Passion of the Jew]]", Stan says "This is just like when we got our money back for ''Film/{{BASEketball}}''," a film starring Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone.

** In the episode "Too Far", Peridot notes in a personal audio diary that while she's grown to (begrudgingly) respect Pearl, she can't rationalize her "spontaneous singing, crying, ...[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs singing while crying]]," a dig at the tendency of the show's main characters to cry or sing whenever things get emotional.

* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt'' reveled in self-deprecation, parody and self-parody. Most notably in the episode "Yogi's Heroes," where Dick Dastardly and Muttley capture Snooper and Blabber and torture them by making them watch old ''[[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines Dastardly & Muttley]]'' cartoons.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' takes a few shots at itself in "[[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs The Ember Island Players]]", where the Gaang goes to see play done in tremendous detail about everything that happened to them since Aang's awakening. In an early episode ("The Great Divide"), the group stopped at a canyon and wound up trying to resolve the differences between two feuding clans. Many fans felt it was the worst episode in the series. In the play when the actors playing them spot the canyon they point out its existence... [[DiscontinuityNod and then decide not to stop and just keep going]]. Also, during the scene based on "The Drill", much of the audience is visibly bored. The Gaang acts as the AudienceSurrogate for both the audience and the Ember Island Players.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': The Season 4 ClipShow "Remembrances" has several jabs at the less than stellar handling of the LoveTriangle from Seasons 1 and 2, Mako's relationship issues with Korra and Asami, and Unalaq is treated like TheFriendNobodyLikes when compared to [[MagnificentBastard Amon]], [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]], and [[HeroKiller Zaheer]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Creator/MattGroening has occasionally taken shots at himself, including having his ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' comics have coffee deflected onto them from a superior comic, showing himself willing to sign anything at a comic convention, and having Homer insult his work being in an art gallery.
** Groening's appearance in ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'' takes it even further: it is revealed even he doesn't know whether his name is pronounced "Groan-ing" or "Grain-ing"; he introduces himself as "animation's greatest luminary" only for Bart and Homer to blurt out "Creator/SethMacFarlane?", and he is a [[BossBattle level boss]] that Simpsons have to fight. Once he's defeated, the family chide him for [[CashCowFranchise milking their franchise]].
** In ''another'' shot at Groening, they passively encourage fans to hassle him by pretending he enjoys it:
--->'''Milhouse:''' Mr. ''Groaning'', will you autograph my Bender doll?\\
'''Matt Groening:''' Sure! I'm happy to give anyone my autograph! Anytime or anywhere! On the street, in a store, or on my private property. But why be happy with just an autograph? What about an original sketch or snippet of my hair? And don't forget to pull my beard. They say it's good luck.
** The Comic Book Guy is also lightly based on Groening; specifically how he believed he would be perceived by fans.
** And at the start of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', we have Homer chastising viewers for watching in a cinema something they could watch for free at home.
** In the Meta-episode, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E10TheSimpsons138thEpisodeSpectacular The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular]]", an impromptu interview with Mr. Groening has the camera barge into his office, to find an old, shriveled man with one eye doing tequila shots, who promptly picks up a gun and shoots the cameraman.
---> '''"Groening":''' ''GIT OUTTA MAH OFFICE!'' *BANG* *BANG*
** From the same episode:
---> '''Troy [=McClure=]:''' Yes, the Simpsons have come a long way since an old alcoholic made humans out of his rabbit characters to pay off his gambling debts.
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E17GumpRoast Gump Roast]]" also has the song "They'll Never Stop the Simpsons" (to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire") in which the line "Have no fears, we've got stories for years" is presented as BlatantLies. A similar joke occurs in "Behind the Laughter", which ends with Homer concluding that the plot of the episode being filmed ("I can't believe we won another contest!" "The Simpsons are going to Delaware!") indicates that this will be the last season. (And yes, they did use that dialogue the following season in "Simpsons Tall Tales".)
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E15HomerSimpsonThisIsYourWife Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife]]", Creator/RickyGervais takes a swipe at himself, as Homer dismisses his schtick as "You take forever to say nothing!"
** The series frequently makes fun of the fact it's animated overseas in Korea. Once they recruited Creator/{{Banksy}} to help them.
** Rupert Murdoch, owner of Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios[=/=]Fox's then parent company News Corporation/21st Century Fox before the company was sold to Creator/{{Disney}} in 2019 and the current owner of the unrelated Fox Corporation [[note]] which composes of the assets Disney didn't acquire from the buyout, such as Fox News, Fox Sports, and the domestic Fox Broadcasting Company, the same network that the show airs on [[/note]] , appears as himself in "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" and refers to himself as "the billionaire tyrant." He also sends his goons after Homer and the others for breaking into his sky box, complete with summoning them via a smoke bomb and yelling "SEIZE THEM" like a super-villain.
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E6PranksAndGreens Pranks and Greens]]" is about Bart trying to help an adult prankster named Andy do something with his life. He's satisfied with getting him a job on Krusty's show, although Lisa still thinks he's a loser for being a comedy show writer.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E9SideshowBobsLastGleaming Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming]]", Bob laments "My crusade against television has come to an end so formulaic it could have spewed from the power-book of the laziest Hollywood hack!" Also in that episode, Sideshow Bob's rant against TV is interrupted by [[BitingTheHandHumor Rupert Murdoch]] who's angry because he owns 61% of the network being insulted. ''He's one of Bob's inmates in prison.''
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E3GuessWhosComingToCriticizeDinner Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?]]":
---> '''Lisa:''' Wow, my first published article! Although someone else's name is on it...\\
'''Homer:''' Welcome to the humiliating world of professional writing!
** The opening subtitle of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS26E6Simpsorama Simpsorama]]" reads: "A show out of ideas teams up with [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} a show]] out of episodes."
** Krusty takes a shot at the show's own writers (and all writers by extension) in one episode when his network executives are [[ExecutiveMeddling pressuring him]] to make his show appeal more to girls. His response?
---> '''Krusty:''' If my writers knew how to appeal to girls ''they wouldn't be writers!''
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Each episode opens with a disclaimer that includes "[[ThisIsAWorkOfFiction All characters and events in this show--even those based on real people--are entirely fictional]]. All celebrity voices are impersonated ... poorly."
** "Cartoon Wars", a two episode-long Take That toward ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', takes a couple jabs at itself when a stranger drops Kyle off to save ''Family Guy'', "I know the show is just joke after joke with no structure, but I kinda like that. At least it's not all preachy and up its own ass with messages, you know?" [[note]] the episode was written before ''Family Guy'' began writing preachy episodes such as the infamous "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven". [[/note]]
*** At the start of the episode, Terrance and Phillip complain to the network president about their encounter with Mohammed being censored, in which the president responds with "Your show has become so preachy and full of messages that you've forgotten how to be funny!"
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS8E3ThePassionOfTheJew The Passion of the Jew]]", Stan says "This is just like when we got our money back for ''Film/{{BASEketball}}''," a film starring Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone.
** An in-universe example: Several times Cartman actually helps out with the jokes directed toward him, saying a large structure compared to his ass is nowhere close to rivaling him. That might be due to Cartman ComicallyMissingThePoint combined with his [[{{Pun}} massive]] ego.
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS11E9MoreCrap More Crap]]", Randy is going for the "Biggest Crap" Record. There are a few jabs at [[Music/{{U2}} Bono]] they would occasionally flash the words "Emmy Award Winning Series" on the bottom of the screen during the moments where the episode was reaching absurd levels of stupidity or being completely low-brow, like Randy constipated on the toilet grunting and groaning.
** ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' features the kids going to see in-universe TV show Terrence And Philip's own TheMovie. At the end they complain about the film's lame animation, and then have an [[HypocriticalHumor especially badly-animated walk away from the theater]].
** The season 16 episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS16E9RaisingTheBar Raising the Bar]]" features this dialogue:
--->''Kyle:'' How did shamelessness get to this? Did it start with fat people on scooters or did the bar get lowered way before that? And then I started thinking that maybe it was us. I don't know, but maybe somehow we lowered the bar... a long time ago and now we're just sitting in the stink of it all.
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS4E17AVeryCrappyChristmas A Very Crappy Christmas]]", after the boys recreated the 1995 "Spirit of Christmas" and showed it to the town:
---> '''Mayor:''' "Kids, that cartoon was fabulous. How would you like to have your own show and make 100 more of them?"\\
'''Stan:''' "Are you kidding? I think we'd rather stab ourselves in the head."
** ''Terrance and Philip" mocks their potty humor and jokes.
** "[[Recap/SouthParkS21E9SuperHardPCness Super Hard PCness]]" is a more serious example of this. Much of the episode's plot involves Kyle becoming disillusioned with "Terrance and Phillip", and expressing dismay at how he used to think it was funny. He denounces it as mean-spirited and cynical, saying it thrives on tearing others down, and that it corrupted the morals of his generation. Since "Terrance and Phillip" is generally used as a stand-in for the show itself, it's essentially a meta-commentary.
** "[[Recap/SouthParkS17E7BlackFriday Black Friday]]":
--->'''Cartman:''' You know what pre-ordering means? It means committing to pay for [[VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth something that some asshole from Colorado hasn't even finished making]].
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': In "Operation: S.A.F.E.T.Y.", a Senator proposes a law that bans cartoons that make fun of adults. (The whole idea of ''this'' cartoon.)
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'', ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} points out how incredibly stupid it is that Spider-Man uses a [[MerchandiseDriven Spider-Cycle]] when he can already get anywhere he needs to by using his webs.
* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'':
** Many episodes in the second and third season contain jokes about how bad the show is.
*** One notable example is "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree", where the gang finds out that their show was given a negative review by ''Entertainment Weekly''. While the episode doubles as a TakeThatCritics by portraying the person who gave the negative review as an unflattering amalgam of every kind of person the show makes fun of, the characters agree that the criticism is well-deserved.
*** Another example that stands out is in the two-part episode "Lost in Parking Space", where it is revealed that Hot Topic makes lots of money by allowing their patrons to torture despised cartoon characters and the ''Drawn Together'' cast are stated to be extremely reviled, which leads to Foxxy Love and Princess Clara being added to Hot Topic's prisoners against their wills.
** One scene in the direct-to-video movie has the cast listen to the audio commentary in order to find out how to get out of their current problem. They get very impatient in waiting for the creators to reveal how they solve their problem, with Wooldoor Sockbat even asking in an irritated tone who would even bother to listen to the commentary.
* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' frequently takes shots at its own writers. In addition to all the examples listed on WhoWritesThisCrap, there are the lyrics for the theme song to the [[ItsAWonderfulPlot Wonderful Life]] Christmas special: [[StockParodies "Our writers aren't gifted!/The story has been lifted..."]]
** ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresHowISpentMyVacation'' featured [[FourLinesAllWaiting a series of plot threads revolving around the different characters.]] It also included a CreditsGag suggesting a possible moral of the story as "Feature-length movies should not have 18 different plots".

* The debut episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' did this kind of joke when they do a theme for the show using the ''Animaniacs'' melody:
-->It's Freakazoid and friends\\
It's what your dentist recommends\\
To patients who chew gum\\
This show is really dumb\\
It's Freakazoid and friends

* The creators of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' occasionally insert themselves into sketches, usually for jokes at their own expense, and each season finale ends with the show's cancellation (necessitating the renewal of the series in each subsequent season premiere).

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** In "Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?", Eddy makes a remark about Ed's [[MediumAwareness "badly-drawn fingers".]] Later in the episode, Eddy's response to a guilty monologue from Edd is [[WhoWritesThisCrap "Who writes this guy's material?"]]
** In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow'', the Eds find a glass case in Eddy's brother room marked "In Case of Movie Break Glass"... with nothing in it but a single peanut. Ed quips "Cheap movie!"
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' had Timmy trying to impress Trixie by winning a movie award. When he finally does, she still rejects him. When he asks why, she says:
-->'''Trixie''': Because, anonymous voice from nobody, you won an award for comedy, and everyone knows that comedy is the lowest form of entertainment, next to animation.
** There's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D56T-r3Dz28 new opening for Season 10]], where the theme song portrays Timmy as being unreasonably selfish in his refusal to share his fairy godparents with his neighbor Chloe Carmichael.
* ''WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum'' frequently takes jabs at itself for the excessive use of ToiletHumor and puns. An example from "Little Glop of Horrors":
-->'''Fanboy''': Hey Kyle! It's pizza day! Come play pizza monkeys with us!\\
'''Kyle''': You two are...pizza monkeys? What do you do, throw your poop-aroni?\\
''Fanboy and Chum Chum burst out with laughter''\\
'''Kyle''' (sighing): I'm witty day after day - and this is what they laugh at.
* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt'' reveled in self-deprecation, parody and self-parody. Most notably in the episode "Yogi's Heroes," where Dick Dastardly and Muttley capture Snooper and Blabber and torture them by making them watch old ''[[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines Dastardly & Muttley]]'' cartoons.
-->'''Blabber:''' Our brains will turn to mush!

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' did this quite a few times.
** D.W.'s re-enactment of Arthur on TV in "And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids":
--->'''D.W.''': Here's Arthur on TV: ''[puts her fingers around her eyes to imitate Arthur's classes]'' "My name is Arthur and my dog is named Pal. And blah-dee blah-dee blah! Isn't that interesting?" And here's the audience watching Arthur on TV! ''[she lies down and snores]''
** The same episode also features an in-universe version of the live-action "And Now a Word from Us Kids" interstitial. They poked fun at the usually choppy segment, with some of the kids not knowing much about the topic and Arthur's friends saying that they're probably only on their show because their parents work on it.
** "Mei Lin Takes a Stand" opens with Mei Lin stating that she "does not agree with all of the show's views" and complaining about the lack of episodes starring kids under the age of three.
** "The Contest" opens with Arthur and his friends watching ''[[SelfParody Andy and Company]]'', pointing out all the FridgeLogic in the show.
-->'''Muffy''': Why does he always call for his mother when his little sister bothers him? She's like a slave!\\
'''Brain''': If they're animals, does their school serve bugs and garbage for lunch?\\
'''Francine''': I'd like to know how a mouse has a pet dog. Wouldn't the dog eat him?\\
'''Arthur''': [[ViewerSpeciesConfusion Andy's not a mouse, he's a... something. I forget.]]
** In "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver", Buster creates a self-aggrandizing cartoon based around his own imaginary adventures. Describing the premise to his friends, Arthur notes that to make things worse, Buster's show is also supposed to be "edutainment," which causes everyone to recoil in disgust.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'':
** In the episode "My Fair Mandy", Grim introduces the kids to an underworld makeover artist. Grim then says that she made him what he is today and once looked like a "total nerd". It then cuts to a picture of creator Maxwell Atoms.
** From the episode where Billy, Mandy, and Grim go to the Sassy Cat Amusement Park:
--->'''Grim''': [[HypocriticalHumor Cartoons are stupid]]!\\
'''Mandy''': I agree.
** There are a few times that Maxwell Atoms' other, far less successful show, ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'', is mentioned and mocked. An example from the episode "Fear and Loathing in Endsville", when Billy and Mandy are apparently watching ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' on the TV.
--->'''Contestant:''' I'll take cancelled TV shows for 300, Alex.\\
'''Alex Trebek:''' Okay, this show starred a bear with an evil brain attached...oh come on, surely someone has seen that show!
** The opening credits to ''[[TheMovie Big Boogey Adventure]]'' state "Cartoon Network Presents...A Stupid Billy & Mandy Film."
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' episode "Manga Madness", there's this little exchange:
-->'''Ami:''' Thank goodness we're back in Japan, we can catch up on all the manga and anime we've missed.\\
'''Yumi:''' Tell me about it. [[HypocriticalHumor American cartoons are terrible!]] ...[[AsideGlance Oops. Just kidding.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has had characters respond negatively to Pinkie Pie's OnceAnEpisode singing a number of times:
** The very first song of the series is sung by Pinkie in the second episode, prompting the following exchange:
---> '''Pinkie Pie:''' ''When I was a little filly, and the sun was going dooown...''\\
'''[[MetaGuy Twilight]] [[DeadpanSnarker Sparkle]]:''' Tell me she's not--\\
'''Pinkie Pie:''' ''The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frooown...''\\
'''Rarity:''' She is.
** Pinkie Pie's announcement that she's written a song about Zecora in "Bridle Gossip" is immediately preceded by eye-rolling and a weary "Here we go" from Rainbow Dash. After the song finishes, Pinkie is met with an awkward silence and bewildered stares.
** In "Over a Barrel", after watching Pinkie Pie's song about sharing and caring, Chief Thunderhooves announces that he's found something he and Sheriff Silver Star agree on: "That was the worst performance we've ever seen." An [[NiceJobBreakingItHero ill-timed reprise of the song]] later on actually [[BerserkButton angers Thunderhooves]] into going through with his attack on Appleloosa.
** In "Baby Cakes", Pinkie's attempt to cheer up Pound and Pumpkin Cake with her [[{{Parody}} excessively juvenile]] "Piggy Dance" song actually makes them stare at each other in disgust and start crying all over again.
** In "A Friend in Deed", Cranky Doodle Donkey is repeatedly annoyed by Pinkie's songs.
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' features a scene where Twilight and the human versions of her friends hold hands and declare "Friendship is magic!", and are then quite shocked when this doesn't actually do anything. The commentary confirms this is a deliberate reference to the number of times the show has resorted to essentially doing this same thing as a DeusExMachina (including the previous movie).
** In "Rarity Takes Manehattan", Rainbow Dash remarks that she's not usually into musicals. "Ponies bursting into song at the drop of a hat? Who ''does'' that?" This is immediately followed by Rarity bursting into song.
** In "Slice of Life", the show's 100th episode, DJ Pon-3's mobile DJ booth is shown jumping over a plush shark, implying that the show itself has [[JumpingTheShark "jumped the shark."]]
*** The episode also takes a jab at the fandom when it depicts the DJ booth falling after running into the "Twilicane", a gag in the episode "Princess Twilight Sparkle" turned into a meme by the fans. As a [[PanderingToTheBase fan-pandering episode]], it is chock-full of references to other fandoms and to its own fandom's quirks.
** In "Gauntlet Of Fire", when the Dragon Princess Ember ends up befriending Spike, she makes it clear to him that their friendship won't consist of "picking flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do", a jab at the series' own reputation for SweetnessAversion. "Triple Threat" also has her LeaningOnTheFourthWall regarding the similarities in both name and design between Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer.
** "All Bottled Up" features a gag where the Mane Six are attempting to solve a RoomEscapeGame in record time, and once they (seemingly) solve it, the entire group breaks out into a musical number. Not only did they not actually finish the puzzle (the key had to be turned for the challenge to be completed) the musical number took so long that they fell short of the puzzle record by ''two seconds''. It was even lampshaded by their guide, who told them the song wasn't necessary. The song itself was even a SelfParody of the typical musical number the show usually does.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'', the main protagonists are captured by the villains and forced to watch the original live-action film endlessly as torture.
* The ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "A Glitch is a Glitch" opens with Finn doing some crude animation of the Ice King on a computer. He soon becomes impatient with his progress:
-->'''Finn''': Man, I don’t have the patience for this animation junk. Whoever does this must have no life whatsoever. *Punches himself in the face* Why did I do that?
* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'':
** The show's first disclaimer said that they are stupid cartoon people completely made up by this [[Creator/MikeJudge Texas guy whom we hardly even know]].
** Additionally, in "Animation Sucks", they both agree that [[HypocriticalHumor animation sucks]] after seeing the hundreds of dead people that they drew turn into 2 repeatedly dying people. Plus, said dead people looked just like them. Earlier in the same episode, Van Dreissen goes on a lengthy spiel about the wonders of bringing your ideas to life with animation. During the entire speech, we simply see Beavis and Butt-Head just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing.
* The ''Franchise/StarWars: Droid Tales'' specials take jabs at some of the less than popular elements of the franchise, such as the focus on things like taxation and trade routes in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Palpatine being ObviouslyEvil, [[AllPlanetsAreEarthlike every planet having breathable oxygen]], and much more.
* Done a few times on ''WesternAnimation/{{Brickleberry}}'':
** In "Trip to Mars", Woody Johnson finds out that all of the progresses NASA made in space travel have been staged and that everyone involved is an actor. He ponders whether he is an actor and is on television right now, but concludes that in the time slot he's in "no one's watching this shit".
** The season 2 finale "A-Park-alypse" has a Native American remark that Brickleberry lasted more seasons than he expected.
** In "High Stakes", Malloy responds to Woody's claim that he made friends with a bigger asshole than himself by asking if he means that he made friends with Daniel Tosh, who happens to be Malloy's voice actor.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E02KayshonHisEyesOpen Kayshon, His Eyes Open]]": Rutherford notes that Jet has two pips on his collar at the end of the episode. He responds that it's just a corn kernel, and if it appears that someone has the wrong rank, it's because someone has corn on their collar. This is a response to some crew members in the show having different ranks in different episodes of the season without it being mentioned.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** In the episode "Too Far", Peridot notes in a personal audio diary that while she's grown to (begrudgingly) respect Pearl, she can't rationalize her "spontaneous singing, crying, ...[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs singing while crying]]," a dig at the tendency of the show's main characters to cry or sing whenever things get emotional.
** The ShowWithinAShow, "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Crying Breakfast Friends]]", is an even bigger example of this, mocking the show's art style and overt emotion, as each episode has highly cartoonish characters cry and hug constantly: Steven is the only one who really likes the show, with almost every other character being confused by it. One of the shorts has him wonder [[SeriesHiatus how long he'll have to wait]] [[ScheduleSlip for the next episode]], referencing the show's tendency to go for long periods of time without airing a new episode (Though that may be the network's fault more than the creator's). Heck, the creator of Crying Breakfast Friends, Samantha Pepper, is a parody of Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe itself.
** The last ''WebAnimation/TheCrystalGemsSayBeAntiRacist'' short, "Be an Ally", has the Crystal Gems address their uncertainty of the [=PSAs=] they've been filming truly being effective in solving the issue of racism.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' ran for 100 episodes, then caps it off with a skit where Music/OneDirection watches the show and sings a parody of "Best Song Ever" calling it the worst show ever. It only made sense that the show do this a lot given that [[Magazine/{{MAD}} the source material]] is famous for it and even provides the image on the main page. For more examples, they had a skit where WesternAnimation/WallE attacks their studios for being the "biggest producers of garbage," and one where The Watcher awkwardly avoids answering Captain America's question of whether ''MAD'' wins an Emmy in the future.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** In one episode, Grunkle Stan tells Mabel that animation is made by moving things around one frame at a time, by an anti-social shut-in. Soos says that those people are called "animators".
** At the end of "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons," the main characters sit down together to watch the finale of InUniverse cartoon Ducktective...which has the exact same plot twist that ''Gravity Falls'' did two episodes ago.
--->'''Mabel:'''[[spoiler: He had a twin brother all along?]] ''That's'' the big twist we were waiting for?\\
'''Grenda:''' What a ripoff!\\
'''Soos:''' I predicted that, like, a year ago.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'' episode "Debbie Meddle", Debbie and Randy agree that the show's title sounds ridiculous, complete with an AsideGlance.
* Although ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is notorious for [[TakeThatCritics insulting its detractors]], it takes potshots at ''itself'' just as often. One suspects that the writers are aware of the show's infamous reputation and just [[TheGadfly enjoy playing it up]]. [[note]] a lot of the people who worked on the show actually worked on the original ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', including the developers of the original show Glen Murakami and Sam Register, the latter of whom is the current president of Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation. [[/note]]
** "The Fourth Wall" has Control Freak reveal that he created the show by rebooting the universe of [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 the original series]] and he informs the Titans that his plan to win praise for creating the show has failed because nobody likes it. He also shows the Titans the original series, with the Titans being just as disappointed as the original show's fans that it got cancelled.
** "Wally T" is filled to the brim with jokes about the show's dismal reception, the most notable one being Robin expressing his skepticism at the idea of the show having a fan. Wally T also non-verbally shows that he prefers the original show and the Titans at one point lose their fan by attempting to pander to his favorite aspects of the show, leaving them with no fans at all.
** "[[Recap/TeenTitansGoSP1TTGVPPG TTG v. PPG]]", a crossover with ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'', goes out of its way to show the Titans as incompetent idiots. Mojo Jojo states that heroes don't care about fighting crime in the TTG universe, Cyborg and Beast Boy are shown as complete imbeciles who are easily deceived into helping Mojo Jojo create his monkey army, and Starfire, Raven, and Robin insistently patronize Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup and dismiss them as being "babies". In addition, the Powerpuff Girls prove to be better crime-fighters and they and their narrator waste no time in calling the Titans out on their incompetent and unheroic ways.
-->'''Narrator:''' And so, once again, the day is saved, no thanks to the Teen Titans! Seriously, what's wrong with these guys?
* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' reveled in this, especially the original series.
-->'''Narrator:''' And so we come to the end of another load of...(''catches himself'') another amazing adventure.
* As a cross between Self Deprecation and TakeThat, several segments of the ''WesternAnimation/GarbagePailKidsCartoon'' showed parents and MoralGuardians decrying the cartoon (which is something that actually happened in real life). The first episode even begins with a bespectacled woman stating that it's terrible anyone would put a show like it on TV and demands the audience to change the channel.
* The introduction to ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Madballs}} Madballs: Gross Jokes]]'' does this. It states, in the form of a SnicketWarningLabel, that watching the cartoon will give the viewer "premature baldness, swelling of the nose, throat, and abdomen, and loss of facial hair" and that watching it is only recommended if you are "seriously considering a rewarding, challenging career as a lawn ornament." Then, when the characters are being introduced, Bash Brain (the host of the show) says "I've never seen anything so awful in my entire life."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'':
** Mr. Cat takes quite a few digs at the show. For example, in one episode, Stumpy proposes that they create a TV show with the same premise as the actual show they are on, and Mr. Cat says nobody would want to watch a show like that.
** The show has a tendency to have zombies randomly become involved in the plot for some reason. In one of the season 3 episodes, Stumpy gets access to a bunch of {{Portal Door}}s leading to alternate dimensions and when he finds one where everyone is a zombie, he turns to the audience and remarks:
--->'''Stumpy:''' I'm starting to get tired of the zombies, aren't you?
* The {{tagline}} for the third season of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is "Only a show this smart can be this stupid."
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'':
** The original run had an episode titled "Johnny X... Again?", alluding to the overuse of plots involving Johnny's superhero alter ego (this was roughly the tenth episode using him, and the second-to-last before the show ended).
** The Creator/{{Netflix}} {{revival}} has a scene where an {{Evil Librarian|s}} uses a device to steal Johnny's voice, in the process interrupting his utterance of the show's SharePhrase "Didn't see that coming." Without it, he begins making whipcrack sound effects similar to the ones that the old show was infamous for, and she remarks that people have all had enough of those sounds and uses the same device to steal them, too.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "Full Meta Jackrick", when fighting a group with [[BreakingTheFourthWall knowledge of the fourth wall]], Rick remarks that they're permanently eroding the show's credibility and that every second they spend with them "is the equivalent of ten [[Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy Space Jam cameos]]".
* ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' has a lot of fun at the expense of itself and its original incarnation.
** "Let's Play Musical Friends".
--->'''Tails''': Try this video game. You run, roll and collect rings as fast as you can.\\
'''Cubot''': Ah, that sounds terrible!
** In "Alone Again, Unnaturally", Tails claims his new inventions uses "[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis blast-processing technology]]".
--->'''Sticks''': "Blast processing technology"? Those are just some phony-baloney buzz words to fool the simple-minded!\\
'''Knuckles''': Blast processing technology?! GIMME GIMME GIMME!
** In "In the Midnight Hour", Sticks [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight (correctly)]] claims that the villagers are being hypnotized by a villain who goes by the name "[[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcaster]]".
--->'''Tails:''' That's the worst name I've ever heard.\\
'''Sonic:''' It's not so bad!\\
'''Knuckles:''' Yeah! [[ComicallyMissingThePoint The "er" at the end is kinda nice.]]
** In "Mech Suits Me", Amy comments on how studios should stop recycling properties and try making something original. Followed by a very awkward silence.
** In "Mister Eggman", Team Sonic is trying to keep a washer ring away from Eggman. Sonic complains that catching rings is boring.
** "[=FiendBot=]" probably tops the list with their comments on Tomatopotamus 2.
--->'''Tails''': That's the best one in the entire series! Tomatopotamus never worked in 3D.\\
'''Knuckles''': Game companies always ruin their beloved franchises.\\
'''Sonic''': They never should've changed the color of Tomatopotamus's legs.
* A lot of the humor in ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces2017'' comes from its frequent jabs toward itself, its writing, and the general consensus about reboots. In fact, as season 2 came along, this became one of the things that the show ran on, to the point where it can be a challenge to name an episode that ''doesn't'' have this type of humor.
** "40 Yard Dash" is basically an entire episode of this, with [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall everyone calling out the racers for, contrary to the title being Wacky Races, not actually doing a lot of racing.]] This pretty much drives everyone to the brink of war.
** Near the end of "Peter 2.0", the racers have a conversation about [[HypocriticalHumor rebooting a classic animated TV show.]] After some debating, they eventually decide that it’s just a cheap ploy to make money.
** "Much Ado About Wacky" is an episode where Dick Dastardly tries to make the show more "cultured", citing that the show emphasizes smarmy inside jokes and slapstick comedy.
** In "Wackyland", Brick Crashman states that the titular races are a [[invoked]][[PeripheryDemographic marginal cult success with several users of the Internet...]]and not anyone else.
** "Muttleys Are Forever" gives us Dr. Doomsdoctor [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment threatening to show Dastardly & Muttley the first part of the episode again]] if they don’t listen to him, with them reacting in terror.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' does it subtly: this show's Webbigail is an ActionGirl with NoSocialSkills. In her room, she has a doll of her model from [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 the original series]] (a frequent DamselScrappy) pinned to the wall with an arrow through the heart.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/BeanyAndCecil The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil]]'' did this kind of joke in the episode "Framed Freep", where Dishonest John complains about Princess Princess always crying "Help, Beany, help" and asks if that is all she'll say in the episode. The princess answers that it is all she'll say and proves it to Dishonest John by giving him a copy of the show's script. Dishonest John looks at the script and then remarks "What kind of jerk wrote this?"
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''[='=]s GrandFinale, [[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS3E13Mitefall "Mitefall"]], has a few:
** The plot sees Bat-Mite trying to invoke JumpingTheShark and features both Creator/HenryWinkler ([[Series/HappyDays the actor involved with the very scene that spawned the term]]) as ComicBook/AmbushBug, who's trying to stop it, and Creator/TedMcGinley (himself being considered the patron saint of the term as well due to joining ''Happy Days'' and ''Series/TheLoveBoat'' when they were on their last legs), who's involved an InUniverse case of another frequent example of "Jumping the Shark" (Bat-Mite invokes TheOtherDarrin by replacing Aquaman's [[Creator/JohnDiMaggio usual voice]] with [=McGinley=]'s).
** After Bat-Mite makes various changes, the episode cuts to a father and son watching the show. The father (voiced by Creator/DiedrichBader, the voice actor for the series's version of Bruce Wayne) remarks the show has taken a nosedive this season.
* Various incarnations of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' have taken shots at themselves or previous shows in the series. For example, the ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' episode "The Siren's Song" has Daphne come across a statue of [[TheScrappy Scrappy-Doo]], only for Fred to pull her away, saying that they promised not to speak of him anymore, mocking Scrappy's infamous unpopularity among fans and his disappearance from the series as a result.
* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': One of Garfield's quotes right after the title sequence had him state that there will be a quick look inside the writers' joke vault. He then adds "That's right, we're examining both jokes."
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': In "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS1E1LateForBreakfastBummerJobs Late for Breakfast]]", the scrolling list of credits for the Patrick Show includes strange jobs like "[=GrandPat's=] personal nurse" and "Ouchie's body double". The people supposedly in these roles are slightly altered versions of real names of people who worked on the show.

** The ShowWithinAShow, "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Crying Breakfast Friends]]", is an even bigger example of this, mocking the show's art style and overt emotion, as each episode has highly cartoonish characters cry and hug constantly: Steven is the only one who really likes the show, with almost every other character being confused by it. One of the shorts has him wonder [[SeriesHiatus how long he'll have to wait]] [[ScheduleSlip for the next episode]], referencing the show's tendency to go for long periods of time without airing a new episode (Though that may be the network's fault more than the creator's).

** "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E11WhereNoFanHasGoneBefore Where No Fan Has Gone Before]]" has the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' cast performing self-deprecating versions of themselves; with Creator/WilliamShatner playing his reputation for self-importance, as well as his failed attempts at music, to the hilt. Say what you like about the guy's acting, he does have a great sense of self-parody.

** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS8E3ThePassionOfTheJew The Passion of the Jew]]", Stan says "This is just like when we got our money back for ''Film/{{BASEketball}}''," a film starring Creator/MattStoneAndTreyParker.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' does it subtly: this show's Webbigail is an ActionGirl with NoSocialSkills. In her room, she has a doll of her model from [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 the original series]] (TheChick and a frequent DamselScrappy) pinned to the wall with an arrow through the heart.

* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': One of Garfield's quotes right after the title sequence had him state that there will be a quick look inside the writers' joke vault. He then adds "That's right, we'll be examining both jokes."

** Taken UpToEleven with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D56T-r3Dz28 new opening for Season 10]], where the theme song portrays Timmy as being unreasonably selfish in his refusal to share his fairy godparents with his neighbor Chloe Carmichael.

** Quagmire is starting to become this, pointing out the flaws and many things disliked by the fans. It reached its peak in a TakeThatScrappy at ''[[AuthorAvatar Brian.]]''

** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS10E17ForgetMeNot Forget-Me-Not]]", an amnesiac Peter finds a jukebox and turns it on. The song "Surfin' Bird" starts playing, but Peter shuts it off after about three seconds and remarks "Boy, that got old real fast". This is, of course, a dig at the RunningGag of Peter's literally fetishistic[[note]]As in, [[CargoShip he had sex with the album]][[/note]] obsession with the song.

--->'''Tails''': That's the best one in the entire series! [[PolygonCeiling Tomatopotamus never worked in 3D.]]\\

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} points out how incredibly stupid it is that Spider-Man uses a [[MerchandiseDriven Spider-Cycle]] when he can already get anywhere he needs to by using his webs.

* Although ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is notorious for [[TakeThatCritics insulting its detractors]], it takes potshots at ''itself'' just as often. One suspects that the writers are aware of the show's infamous reputation and just [[TheGadfly enjoy playing it up]]. [[note]] a lot of the people who worked on the show actually worked on the original ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', including the developers of the original show Glen Murakami and Sam Register, the latter of whom is the current president of Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation. [[/note]]
** "The Fourth Wall" has Control Freak reveal that he created the show by rebooting the universe of [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans the original series]] and he informs the Titans that his plan to win praise for creating the show has failed because nobody likes it. He also shows the Titans the original series, with the Titans being just as disappointed as the original show's fans that it got cancelled.

** In "Gauntlet Of Fire", when the Dragon Princess Ember ends up befriending Spike, she makes it clear to him that their friendship won't consist of "picking flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do", a jab at the shows' own tendency to [[TastesLikeDiabetes taste like diabetes]]. "Triple Threat" also has her LeaningOnTheFourthWall regarding the similarities in both name and design between Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer.

** Music/{{Beck}}, voicing himself in "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E3BendinInTheWind Bendin' in the Wind]]", takes a number of shots at himself:

* The ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' episode, "[[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS23E9DieselDoRight Diesel Do Right]]" features an ImagineSpot where Devious Diesel and the other diesels spoof the infamous Big World Big Adventures theme song.

* The ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' episode, "[[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS23E9DieselDoRight Diesel Do Right]]" features an ImagineSpot where Devious Diesel and the other diesels spoof the infamous Big World Big Adventures theme song.