Sarcasm Blind / Western Animation

Sarcasm-Blind characters in Western Animation.

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• Happy of The 7D doesn't quite have a grasp on Grumpy's wisecracks.
• Stan Smith from American Dad! frequently falls into this...
  Francine: If it's so darn important for you to dance with the homecoming queen, why don't you just go with Betty Sue?
  (Stan does that)
  Betty Sue: I hope this isn't awkward.
  Stan: Awkward? Don't be silly, it was Francine's idea.
  Francine: I was being sarcastic! Or don't you get sarcasm, genius?
  Stan: Oh, I think I get sarcasm, and I'm hardly a genius, but still, thank you; that's awfully sweet of you.
• In an episode of Arthur, Arthur suggests that he travels through time to find an event he missed funny, and Buster unsurprisingly thinks he has one.
• Most characters on Avatar: The Last Airbender are pretty quick on the uptake, but Aang, due to his optimism and shining idealism, demonstrates this characteristic at least once, when he is reluctant to kill the Big Bad, but the rest of the Gang wants him to.
  Aang: Maybe we could make some big pots of glue, and then I could use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore!
  Zuko: Yeah! And then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again!
  Aang: Do you really think that would work?
  Zuko: NO!
  • The Legend of Korra: While on a stake-out, Bolin and Asami descide to play a game of Pai Sho, only to realise that the earth-bending street kid and the fire nation aristocrat had been taught different versions of the game.
    Bolin: That's no help at all. Korra, as the Avatar, you need to standardize these Pai Sho rules.
    Korra: [exasperated] Okay, I'll put that on my to-do list, right after bringing back the Air Nation and taking down the group that tried to kidnap me.
    Bolin: [sincerely] That's cool, whenever you get to it.
• Beavis from Beavis and Butt-Head. If told "Tell me something I don't know." he'll do exactly that. He thinks "Stick it where the sun doesn't shine." means "Put it under your pillow."
• In Bob's Burgers, Louise is always snarky and sarcastic all the time, but this backfires on her in season 8 "The Hurt Soccer". When Linda asks Louise if she would like to sign up for soccer, her answers were very sarcastic. Linda took them at face value, and Bob had to point out to her that Louise didn’t mean what she says, but eventually both were tire of trying to figure out if she was being sarcastic or not and simply signed her up.
  Linda: Hey, look, an e-mail from Harley's dad. He's asking if Louise would want to join Harley's soccer team.
  Think she would?
  Bob: I've met Louise, so probably not.
  Linda: Louise, do you want to sign up for soccer?!
  Louise: (offscreen, sarcastically) Yes! Please sign me up for soccer!
  Linda: Oh!
  Bob: She's being sarcastic.
  Linda: Are you being sarcastic?!
  Louise: (sarcastically) No!
  Linda: Aw, yeah, you're right.
  Bob: Well, wait, now I'm not so sure. Louise, do you want to sign up for soccer?!
  Louise: (sarcastically) Uh-huh!
  Linda: I guess she wants to do it. Should we double-triple-check?
  Bob: No, I-I don't want to yell anymore.
• At one point in Bunnicula, Bunnicula makes an idea, to which Chester sarcastically says it's a great idea. When it works, Harold is impressed at how it worked, and Chester angrily says he was being sarcastic. Cue Harold asking "What's a sarcasm?"
• In Central Park, Season 1 "Live It Up Tonight", when Mayor Whitebottom asks why they're meeting in her car, Bitsy tells him she has to get her hair done and be back at the hotel before the award ceremony begins. Whitebottom tells her as mayor of New York, he has nothing he's supposed to be doing before then, which Bitsy replies with "Good" until Whitebottom points out he's being sarcastic.
• In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown is none too pleased to discover he has received no Christmas cards, so he goes up to Violet and says:
  Charlie Brown: Thanks for the Christmas card you sent me!
  Violet: I didn't send you a Christmas card, Charlie Brown! (walks off)
  Charlie Brown: Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?!
• Daria:
  • Much of the cast (aside from Daria and Jane, obviously), to much comic effect. Particularly the stupidest characters (Brittany, Kevin, Sandy/Quinn, Mr. O'Neil...).
  • This ends up being a minor plot point for Jake in "Is It Fall Yet?" along with his inability to tell a joke.
• Doug would occasionally fall into this, usually with his Deadpan Snarker of an older sister. There was even an entire episode where he was worried when Patti invited him over for a dinner party and said they were having his favorite: liver and onions. He actually hated liver and onions and even made a speech in front of the class about how much he hated them. It never dawned on Doug that Patti was only kidding until she flat out told him at the end of the episode, after he had practiced eating liver and onions until he could convincingly pretend to enjoy it.
  • In "Doug's Chubby Buddy", Patti asks Doug if he thinks she's fat, and Doug sarcastically responds with "Yeah, you're huge!" She ends up taking it at face value and nearly develops an eating disorder.
• Inverted with one Running Gag in Family Guy, involving an ambiguously foreign man who has just barely mastered English, and insists on pointing it out and laughing uproariously whenever somebody says something sarcastic, as if he's proud of himself for getting the joke.
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends:
  • Used hilariously in an episode: Bloo has no idea what sarcasm is, despite the fact that he uses it all the time.
    "Oh, yes, I'm sarcastic all the time."
    "You're doing it right now!"
  • Later in the episode, when a man defends a pretty ludicrous deceit with "I was being sarcastic," Mac and Bloo are able to call him out, and back it up with extensive research.
  • Also gets mixed with Mind Screw in that episode, right after Mr Herriman proved that he 'wasn't' being sarcastic about getting Bloo and Mac jet cars:
    Mr. Herriman: Yes, could I be any more sarcastic?
    (Mac and Bloo are still sitting there, trying to figure that one out, well into the credits.)
  • In a later episode when Bloo has eaten all of the food on a camping trip and has to fish for breakfast:
    Bloo: I said I wanted bacon and eggs!
    Mac: Okay, let me just go back in time and prevent you from eating the ones we brought!
    Bloo: You can do that?
• During the episode "Snake Hunt" of Jackie Chan Adventures we get an abusing scene after a television show host, posing as an archeologist, deliberately sabotages a cave drawing while Chan is preoccupied with the Dark Hand.
  Rank: And thus, "Just the Artifacts" has the exclusive scoop on this infamous Snake Talisman, whatever that is. You do think everyone was fighting over the chalk drawing, don't you?
  Stefanson: Maybe we should ask an archeologist.
  Rank: I AM AN ARCHEOLOGIST!
  Stefanson: Oh right, destroying 4,000 year-old drawings, yeah that's what archeologists do.
• Jimmy Two-Shoes:
  Lucius: Well, I hope you're happy, Two-Shoes.
  Jimmy: Aw, Thanks Lucy. I'm a little bummed about the plane and Jez, but other than that I'm pretty happy!
• Used hilariously in Justice League. In the episode "Eclipsed", a general is possessed by an evil spirit, which wants to pass itself along to a member of the Justice League. Asking a subordinate how to get the attention of the Justice League, the subordinate replies, "Put on a gaudy costume and threaten to hurt a lot of people." So he does. The costume he puts together is a Shout-Out to one of the more garish of the old school super villains, Eclipso.
• Kaeloo and Stumpy are generally oblivious to Mr. Cat's sarcasm.
• In The Legend of Tarzan, Terk gives Tantor a sarcastic compliment. When Tantor acts smug, she follows it up by saying that he's really good at detecting sarcasm, as well. Tantor continues acting smug.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
  • From the episode "Winter Wrap Up":
    Spike: Well, you're good at a lot of things. Just not nest making, ice skating, animal waking, snow clearing...
    Twilight Sparkle: Thanks a lot for making me feel so much better.
    Spike: That's what I'm here for, sister.
  • Pinkie Pie seems to be especially prone to this. In "Feeling Pinkie Keen":
    Pinkie Pie: (observing the frog conspicuously clinging to Twilight's head) Uh, Twilight, you got a little something on your face there.
    Twilight Sparkle: Oh? Did your "Pinkie Sense" tell you that too?
    Pinkie Pie: No, I could just see it. (hops off) La la la la laaaa....
  • In "Griffon the Brush Off", Rainbow Dash's old friend Gilda Griffon observes Pinkie with a wary eye:
    Gilda: I know what you're planning.
    Pinkie Pie: [giggles] Well, I hope so. This wasn't supposed to be a surprise party.
    Gilda: I mean, I've got my eye on you.
    Pinkie Pie: And I got my eye on you.
    [...]
    Gilda: Hey, I'm watching you. Like a hawk.
    Pinkie Pie: Why? Can't you watch me like a griffon?
  • And again in "Over a Barrel," where it backfires on Rainbow Dash because Pinkie Pie takes her quip about Fluttershy being a tree out of context.
    Rainbow Dash: When we get to Appleoosa, you think we'll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?
    Pinkie Pie: What tree? You mean Bloomberg?
    Rainbow Dash: (sarcasm) No. Fluttershy.
    Pinkie Pie: Fluttershy's not a tree, silly.
    Twilight Sparkle: What's going on?
    Pinkie Pie: Rainbow Dash thinks Fluttershy's a tree.
    Rainbow Dash: I do not think she's a tree, I was just...
    Twilight Sparkle: Did you say she was a tree?
    Rainbow Dash: No... well, yes... but... not exactly ...
    Twilight Sparkle: You know she's not a tree, right?
    Pinkie Pie: She's not a tree, Dashie.
    Fluttershy: ...I'd like to be a tree.
  • And once again in "A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1", after showing off what she had planned for the wedding reception:
    Pinkie Pie: I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?
    Princess Cadance (actually Queen Chrysalis): Perfect! ...if we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party.
    Pinkie Pie: (gasps) Thank you!
  • In "The Crystal Empire, Part 1":
    Twilight Sparkle: I love research papers!
    Rainbow Dash: Yeah, (nudges Pinkie) who doesn't?
    Pinkie Pie: Oh, oh, oh! Let me guess! Is it Spike? No, no, Fluttershy! Rarity?
  • In "Gauntlet of Fire'', Spike makes several sarcastic remarks towards Garble, all of which Garble takes at face value.
    Spike: It's nice to see you too, Garble.
    Garble: I didn't say it was nice to see you. It's not! I don't like you! Was I not clear about that?
• Phineas from Phineas and Ferb. Case in point: Candace, his snarky (and proud of it) sister, flat-out informs him that she's being sarcastic, and he's happily shocked and goes off track to compliment her for her believability.
  Phineas: Well, y'know how we do something new every day?
  Candace: (in phony shock) Nooo...
  (Beat)
  Phineas: ...Oh, well, we try to build some big project, or do something—
  Candace: I'm aware of the concept, Phineas, I was just being sarcastic.
  Phineas: ...Really? Hey, that was pretty good. Wow, I totally fell for it. Ferb, I totally fell for it!
• In The Powerpuff Girls a truant officer parody of Joe Friday tells the Gangreen Gang that he is going to make sure that they go to school. Ace tells him that they have never been to school before and the officer pretends he is shocked. When Ace continues the officer explains that he was being sarcastic, which someone would only know if they went to school.
• Razzberry Jazzberry Jam: Any and all snark just flies over Buddy’s head. For instance, take this exchange between him and Krupa in “Helping Hands” (for context, Ella had just gotten frustrated with the Keymaster 3000 and thrown it down a flight of stairs).
  Krupa: No, after crashing down the stairs like that I’m sure they’ll be in perfect working order.
  Buddy: Phew! That’s a relief.
• Rugrats: Tommy and his friends can never comprehend whenever Angelica is being sarcastic. Ironically, Angelica herself falls into this trope when she overhears Miss Carol state that the real catchphrase of the show is "she thinks they're all little—" (Sound-Effect Bleep) and Angelica thinks it's sincere. This leads to a quite disastrous turn of events.
• Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?: In "What a Night, For a Dark Knight!", while in Gotham City, Shaggy sarcastically agrees to go to a "spooky abandoned department store in the middle of the night in one of the toughest towns, like, ever". Fred (who's driving at the moment) replies with "That's the spirit, Shaggy. Let's hit it!" and turns the wheel to the left to get to the store, much to Shaggy's annoyance.
  Shaggy: (frowning) One of these days, Scoob, I’m gonna have to teach Freddy the meaning of sarcasm!
  Scooby: Yeah! [Beat] What's sarcasm?
• The Simpsons:
  • Homer can exhibit this sometimes. For example, in "Bart Carny":
    Chief Wiggum: Just sit down and wait for Detective "Like I Give a Damn."
    Homer: Thank you so much.
    (Beat)
    Lisa: Dad?
    Homer: Honey, Daddy's waiting for the detective.
  • Also, in "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy":
    Lisa: Maybe they're all reverse vampires and they have to get home before dark.
    Kids: AAAAAAHHHHH!!! REVERSE VAMPIRES!!!
  • Barney also shows this in one famous scene in "Homer At The Bat":
    Barney: And I say England's greatest Prime Minister was Lord Palmerston!
    Wade Boggs: Pitt the Elder!
    Barney: LORD PALMERSTON!
    Boggs: PITT! THE! ELDER!
    Barney: Okay, you asked for it, Boggs! (punches out Boggs)
    Moe: Yeah, that's showin' 'im, Barn! "Pitt the Elder"...
    Barney: LORD PALMERSTON! (punches out Moe)
  • In "Marge Be Not Proud", Bart sees Bonestorm advertised for 99 cents in a store window.
    Bart: I want to buy a copy of Bonestorm. Here's 99 cents.
    Comic Book Guy: Allow me to summarize the proposed transaction: you wish to purchase Bonestorm for 99 cents. Net profit to me, negative $59. Oh, oh please, take my $59. I don't want it. It's yours.
    [Bart reaches for the money, Comic Book Guy stops him by deflecting his hand with a pen]
    Eh, eh, eh — seeing as we are unfamiliar with sarcasm, I shall close the register at this point and state that 99 cents is the rental price.
  • In "The Last Temptation of Krust" Bart is looking for Jay Leno and doesn't recognize him when Leno arrives. Leno comments that someone should get him a TV and Bart thanks him for the gift.
  • In "Old Money" the family takes Grampa to spend the day with them on his girlfriend's birthday despite his protests and finds out she died while he was away. At the funeral Homer tries to apologize but Grampa pretends that he doesn't hear anything. Homer bemoans the loss of Grampa's hearing.
• South Park:
  • Used in the movie "Imaginationland". The military is interrogating Stan and Kyle, trying to find a way into Imaginationland, and a specialist accidentally lets slip that they have a secret portal there. The general shuts him up, sarcastically saying, "Why don't you just tell them everything about Project X?!" The specialist starts describing it until the general cuts him off by pointing out he was being sarcastic.
  • This is the main plot of the episode "Sarcastaball". Randy complains about new rules enforced in junior football to make the sport safer, saying it might as well played with a balloon while all the players wear bras and tinfoil hats, hugging their opponents and giving them compliments. He ends up being team coach after the school board takes him seriously when he says he'd love to coach the new sport.
  • The Canadian Health Control Head explained in a video about puberty that queefing into a man's face results in having a baby since that is what his wife told him.
• SpongeBob SquarePants frequently falls into this due to his naïve and innocent nature, particularly whenever he talks to Squidward.
• In Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Miss Heinous tracks down "Princess Marco" to force "her" to make a statement recanting the Rousing Speech that lead the students of St. Olgas to rebel and throw her out. Marco does so, emphasising that he's totally doing so of his own free will, and definitely not because Miss Heinous is threatening him and his family. Miss Heinous assumes he's being completely sincere. In fact the very concept of deception appears to be alien to her, as she continues to believe the "Princess Marco" disguise, referring to Marco by female pronouns and addressing the Diazes as "Your Highness", even though it's blatantly obvious that Marco is a boy and a commoner.
• Super Mario World: In "Gopher Bash", Yoshi eats the Piranha Plants that Cheatsy planted in place of Dome City's crops. A Monty Mole gets stuck trying to save the last one, and Cheatsy sarcastically commands the rest with "Don't just help him! Stand there!" The other Monty Moles end up doing just that before Cheatsy clarifies what he meant: "Get him out! NOW!"
• In the Tiny Toon Adventures episode, "Take Elmyra Please", when Elmyra asks her dad if he will be on the news on the day of his new discovery (a clean-burning alternative fuel made from cholesterol), her sarcastic teenage older sister, Amanda, tells her, "No, they're coming over to give you your own show, Elbow-head!". Since Elmyra is unable to understand sarcasm, she really believes what she just said, and as a result, she thinks that George and Leonard, who are sent by their boss, Arthur Jabba, to capture her and hold her for ransom, are the executives for her new show and that their warehouse is the studio for the show.
• Total Drama:
  • Lindsay, much to the chagrin of Deadpan Snarkers like Gwen and Noah.
    Noah: Throwing balls, gee, another mentally challenging test.
    Lindsay: I know, right?
  • In the special:
    Izzy: Noah, I'm counting on you for three gallons of diesel fuel.
    Noah: Sure thing. I'll just get my unicorn to deliver it.
    Izzy: Perfect!
  • Max from the third generation cast. When he attempts to turn a rabbit evil with one of his inventions (and fails):
    Max: Isn't it terrifying?!
    Scarlett: Goose bumps, Max. I have goose bumps.
• In Voltron: Legendary Defender, Lance falls into this sometimes. A good example from the first episode:
  Lance: (referring to Keith's motorcycle) Can't this thing go any faster?
  Keith: We could toss some non-essential weight.
  Lance: Oh, right! (Beat) ...Okay, that was an insult. I get it.
  • And later in the first season:
    Lance: Hey, does Allura ever talk about me when I'm out of the room?
    Hunk: Oh, yeah, all the time.
    Lance: (excitedly) Really?
• Nigel from The Wild Thornberrys is terrible at recognizing sarcasm. When Debbie mentions it in The Movie, he says he likely never had an ability to recognize it and that he never noticed how sarcastic his daughter was before.
  Nigel: We'll be gone until after the eclipse. Will you be alright with Donnie?
  Debbie: Are you kidding? This will be the highlight of my young life.
  Nigel: That's the spirit, poodles!
  Debbie: Dad, have you completely lost your ability to recognize sarcasm?
  Nigel: I'm not sure I ever had it, Deborah.
• Omi of Xiaolin Showdown is often slow to catch on to sarcasm, due to his youth and sheltered upbringing.
  Omi: (In a dungeon referred to as a hospitality suite) Oh...perhaps I am misunderstanding the meaning of the word hospitality.
  Kimiko: Or the meaning of sarcasm!

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