History EurekaMoment / WesternAnimation

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timy is trying to save Dimsdale from a continuous series of natural disasters. As he tries to think of how to protect the city from an earthquake, his dad comes by and gives him some gelatin dessert. "No matter how much it shakes, the broccoli stays perfectly inside." He then wishes for the entire city to be encased in a gelatin mold which acts as a shock absorber to keep the city unharmed.

** First, after ending production on ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheFatheads'', Ralph wants to create an artistic masterpiece. However, his network contract states that he has to make one more show before they can let him go, but he has no ideas. When he tells this to Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt, Heffer suggests that Ralph's new show be about deli meats. Filburt says that idea is so bad, it'll get Ralph kicked out of his contract. When Ralph hears this, he decides to go with Heffer's idea.

'''Bart:''' Rocks... shatter... [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers jagged cliff...]] Lis, you've just given me an idea for [[ZanyScheme the most insane, hair-brained, fool-proof scheme ever]]!\\
''(Lisa groans in exasperation)''%%

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': In "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS1E23TheStarryAwardsBlorpsgiving The Starry Awards]]", [=GrandPat=] tries to take the "#1 Dad" mug Patrick gave to Cecil, saying that he ([=GrandPat=]) deserves "all the awards!" This gives Squidina the idea to host an AwardShow.

** In the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS35E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXXIV Treehouse Of Horror XXXIV]]" segment "[=Ei8ht=]", Lisa has grown up to become a criminal psychologist and is investigating a ThemedSerialKiller with Nelson, now a police officer. Lisa is confused by the killer all saying all the victims are "the first," since they obviously can't all be. It wasn't until Sherri's funeral, where Terri mentioned Sherri was her ''older'' sister, that Lisa realized the victims were all the '''first'''-born children in their families.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': In "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS1E23TheStarryAwardsBlorpsgiving The Starry Awards]]", [=GrandPat=] tries to take the "#1 Dad" mug Cecil gave him, saying that he ([=GrandPat=]) deserves "all the awards!" This gives Squidina the idea to host an AwardShow.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode "Tails New Home", Sonic tries to find Tails a home (due to Sonic's concern for Tails' well-being after the latter gets injured as a result of Scratch and Grounder) and he eventually finds Tails' real parents... or so he thinks, as right after Sonic leaves Tails, it's revealed to be a trap set by Robotnik. Meanwhile, Sonic gets depressed over Tails being gone and has a flashback to when they first met and Sonic gave him the nickname Tails due to him hating his real name Miles, and then after remembering Tails' "father" saying "Tails belongs with his own kind", he then realizes that if those were actually Tails' real parents, that they would've called him Miles, not the nickname Sonic gave him (since they'd have no way of knowing it), and Sonic then immediately springs into action to save Tails from his fake parents and Robotnik.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' has some moments like its predecessor, as well.
** In "[[Recap/TheBatmanS1E13TheClayfaceOfTragedy The Clayface of Tragedy]]", Bruce [[DeducingTheSecretIdentity deduces the true identity of Clayface]] after saving Alfred from being attacked by a sample of the clay.

** "The Big Clam-Up": The Planteers get sent to San Francisco to investigate a series of mysterious food poisoning incidents and Ma-Ti, who's become fascinated by noir novels, tries his hand at detective work. After several false conclusions as to who was responsible for the poisonings, he manages to figure out something from all the clues he picked up from each mishap, realizing that they're all items that one gets from a seafood restaurant. He checks the matchbook for the restaurant's name and its address.

* The penultimate episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' sees [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz]] undergo this on a personal level. "For the Future" sees Luz [[spoiler:truly realize what it is that she's always wanted her whole life. Understanding, specifically understanding from her mother. After Camila assures Luz that it's okay to fail and to embrace her nerdy nature, with Camila stating that her own greatest failing as a parent was in ever trying to surpress that side of Luz. Thanks to Amity explaining that the thing she wanted was something abstract, specifically freedom, that caused her to bond with Ghost, Luz's own Palisman Stringbean awakens at that moment with Luz herself voicing that she can't believe it took her so long to realize that was what she had always wanted for so long]].

** In "[[Recap/TheBatmanS1E13TheClayfaceOfTragedy The Clayface of Tragedy]]", Bruce deduces the true identity of Clayface after saving Alfred from being attacked by a sample of the clay.

** In "Dexter's Rival", Dexter has an internal conversation with himself after Mandark, who had forced him to shut down his lab, asks for him to set him up on a date with Dee Dee, leading to Dexter getting an idea for revenge.

--->'''Dexter:''' Make my own doll?! I am just a little boy! Doll-making requires specialized tools and equipment, hi-tech machinery! In order for me to make a doll, I would need...''(beat, before his eyes narrow wickedly)'' ...a ''laboratory''. ''(Gives off an EvilLaugh)''

* After SayingTooMuch to Jérémie, ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'''s fake-Franz Hopper's words give the young genius the clues to find that Franz couldn't possibly have known that "[he] was the one who let XANA ''destroy [Franz's] diary,''" flashing back to an earlier episode about it. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Nice job, XANA.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', Buster Baxter solved a case involving missing quarters thanks to a comment from Alan, a.k.a. "Brain".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E8FuneralForAFiend Funeral for a Fiend]]":
--->'''Millhouse:''' My feet are killing me.\\
'''Lisa:''' Feet... killing... We have to save Bart!
** Used on several of the earlier Sideshow Bob episodes, with "Big shoes to fill" and "Tonight on ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}''" being two of the phrases that trigger Bart to figure out Bob's evil schemes.
** Not to mention, in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E6TheGreatLouseDetective The Great Louse Detective]]" ([[RecruitingTheCriminal where Sideshow Bob is the detective for once]] and Homer is the would-be victim), he discovers who's trying to kill Homer after Chief Wiggum mentions the work a mechanic did on the parade float. He then flashes back to the wrench that was used to prevent Homer from escaping a sauna and the oil fingerprint on the invitation letter to said sauna, as well as the mechanic that he and Homer had met earlier.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E13AndMaggieMakesThree And Maggie Makes Three]]", several people congratulated Homer because Marge had become pregnant (with Maggie). Homer, himself unaware of the pregnancy, misinterpreted these comments (even the ridiculously direct ones) as regarding his new job.[[note]]That's "ridiculously direct", as in "Hey, Homer, way to get Marge pregnant!" "This is getting increasingly abstract, but yes, I do enjoy working at the bowling alley"[[/note]] Then Maude congratulates him on the new job, prompting Homer to respond, "New job? MARGE IS PREGNANT!?"
** When the family is trying to figure out a way to keep Apu from being deported during "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E23MuchApuAboutNothing Much Apu About Nothing]]", Abe mentions he could try living in a balloon. Lisa exclaims "That's it!", leading Bart to declare that she's as dumb as him. She explains that she connects Abe being a grandfather with grandfather clause, with his statement being irrelevant.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E3MilhouseOfSandAndFog Milhouse of Sand and Fog]]", when Bart and Milhouse's scheme to end Kirk and Luann's rekindled romance backfires horribly, resulting in yet another marriage crisis between Marge and Homer:
--->'''Lisa:''' Mom and Dad have a marriage on the rocks, and they need to work through it in therapy to make sure it doesn't shatter.\\
'''Bart:''' Rocks... shatter... [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers jagged cliff...]] Lis, you've just given me an idea for [[ZanyScheme the most insane, hair-brained, fool-proof scheme ever]]!\\
''(Lisa groans in exasperation)''
* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo'' runs on this trope. Every use of the eponymous character's "Bird Brain" is either this, or a full-on IWasJustJoking, depending on [[RuleOfFunny which would be funnier.]] Either way, it's played for laughs, as the ideas he gets are usually ridiculous... but always manage to work.
* According to ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', Albert Einstein has conceived his famous mass/energy equivalence formula (you know, E=mc^2) while watching Wakko writing "Acme" backwards (his "a" looked like a "2"). In a similar episode, the Warners were cleaning [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] chimney (badly, of course) and humming an obnoxious tune that went a little something like "Hm hm hm hmmmmmmmm". As they're leaving, ol' Ludwig finally has the inspiration for his Fifth Symphony. The next house on the Warners' route is "that Van Gogh grouch again", and Wakko picks a sunflower to help cheer him up.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', Cyril is accused of stealing a gem during a blackout. Bert is trying to solve the crime but is stumped until he sees Cedric drop his OpaqueNerdGlasses in the river. It's then that he realizes that the gem was not stolen but knocked in an aquarium, and was rendered invisible by water refraction, same as Cedric's lenses.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' says that Pinky has one of these every time Brain asks him "AreYouPonderingWhatImPondering", but since Pinky's thought processes are rather [[CloudCuckoolander unique]], neither the audience nor the Brain can figure out what Pinky's talking about.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' had a recurring delayed reaction to this. When the heroes have exhausted all their obvious options, Jimmy starts thinking about the episode's events. One completely ordinary-seeming event would pop into his mind, he'd shout "Brain Blast!", and he'd come up with a solution based on that event.
** A similar thing happens in ''WesternAnimation/ChicoBonBonMonkeyWithAToolBelt'' whenever Chico panics and a character suggests that he needs to take a Banana Break.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Sent up in a RunningGag in "[[Recap/SouthParkS7E1Cancelled Cancelled]]". The astronomer investigating Cartman's satellite dish implant draws several correct conclusions after increasingly absurd free association sessions based on conversations with Chef.
** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS5E11TheEntity The Entity]]", [[DepravedHomosexual Mr. Garrison]] struggled to invent a new vehicle until Mr. Hat [[TalkingToThemself commented]] "Boy, that Music/EnriqueIglesias can sure gyrate his hot ass around" and decided on a gyroscope.

* From ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode "The End 3"; Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg are being beaten senseless by their {{Evil Knockoff}}s:
-->'''Beast Boy:''' Dude! I had no idea I was this tough!\\
'''Cyborg:''' You're not! I could kick your butt any day of the--\\
''[[[BeatPanel beat, as they all figure it out]]]''\\
'''Starfire:''' If we cannot defeat ourselves, maybe we can defeat each other!\\
'''Beast Boy & Cyborg''' [[OpponentSwitch SWITCH]]!\\
''[they tag hands, they swap enemies, fight starts again, they make short work of the villains]''\\
'''Cyborg:''' Told ya I could kick your butt!
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTroubleInTokyo'', Starfire's offhanded use of the word "fear" reinvigorates Robin's belief in trouble brewing in Japan. Now, if only it hadn't happened [[MomentKiller when they were about to kiss.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Jack vs Aku" starts with three of his attempts on Jack's life failing [[EpicFail even worse than they usually do.]] The villain curses the shoddy attempts by the robots, slumps in his throne, and mumbles, "Guess it's true what they say, you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself..." Then his eyes open wide as he gets an idea (lure Jack into a trap by challenging him personally), which kicks off the episode's main plot.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' episode "That Darn Katz!":
-->'''Farnsworth:''' Amy, technology isn't intrinsically good or evil. It's how it's used. Like the Death Ray.\\
'''Amy:''' Maybe you're right. I guess science has to keep pushing forward, with the hope that... That's it! ''Pushing forward''. Professor, I know how to restart the Earth!\\
'''Farnsworth:''' Pssh. You can't suddenly know something by assembling a committee of words... That's it! I'll assemble your committee!
* Finn from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has one in which the word "RENCE" on one half of a murder weapon makes him think of Clarence, whom he had met several minutes prior.
-->'''Jake:''' "Rence"?\\
'''Finn:''' Some Donkus's real name must have been.... [[FridgeBrilliance Reee[=eE=]EEEE]]'''[[FridgeBrilliance EEEEE]]''[[FridgeBrilliance EEEEENCE?!?!]]'''''
** In "Apple Thief", Finn solves a case when he's tipped off by the sentence, "This place could use a scarecrow."
* Creator/{{Terrytoons}}' TV character WesternAnimation/TomTerrific will usually get a Eureka Moment when Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog says something off the cuff to try to weasel out of a situation. In "Go West, Young Manfred," Tom is looking for a way to get back to the settler with his cap full of gold:
-->'''Manfred:''' Please, Tom. Don't saddle me with your problems.
-->'''Tom:''' Saddle. Pony. Pony Express! That's it, Manfred! We'll go by Pony Express!

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'', Johnny gets the [[SarcasmMode smart idea]] to shrink the clutter in his house to microscopic size because:
-->'''Dukey:''' You got ''all'' of that from me saying "little".
-->'''Johnny:''' [[BluntYes Yeah, that's right.]]
* A minor example: in the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Log Date 7 15 2", Peridot spends much of the episode trying to understand why [[spoiler: Garnet]] enjoys being fused all the time. She ultimately figures it out when it's put in the terms of her favorite Earth TV show:
--> [[spoiler:'''Garnet''']]: I'm Percy and Pierre.
--> '''Peridot:''' ...oooooh!!!
** In "The Trial" Steven has been brought to the Gem Homeworld to be put on trial for [[spoiler: Rose shattering Pink Diamond]]. While trying to prepare his case, the Zircon defense attorney is exasperated to learn that Steven doesn't really remember what happened way back when- and realizes that the reason he's being put on trial at all is because the official story has glaring contradictions.
--->'''Defense Zircon:''' ...You don't know how it happened. I get it. There's a reason why they want you to explain how you did it. It's because it ''doesn't make sense!''
*** [[spoiler:Then again, the ''real'' story manages to explain how no one else was able to actually know how Rose Quartz got close to Pink Diamond: Rose ''was'' Pink Diamond all along! The only one else who knew about the real story was her Pearl, the one who sided with the Crystal Gems.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/SpacePOP'', Rand not disposing of his trash properly inspires Athena to dress the band up as garbage workers to bypass Geela's fleet.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' "Code of Hero", an early human picks up the makeshift hammer Dinobot made with a stick and a stone. He is at first surprised when he uses the hammer to easily split open a coconut. Then the same giant snake that consumed another early human at the beginning of the episode lunges at him. He instinctively kills the snake with the hammer. He then holds the hammer aloft and yells in triumph as he realizes what tools like the hammer can do.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' GrandFinale "The Death of Superman", the Super Powers Team (the rethemed Superfriends) visit the Fortress of Solitude to put Superman's items in order after sending his body into the sun. As they do, they're aided by a Superman robot who gives them a brief tour. At one point, the robot mentions that Superman had developed a technique to slow down Kryptonite poisoning. Firestorm, who had been with Superman when he had died, realized Superman had been in that same position when he found him. This makes the team realize Superman wasn't dead and they rush to rescue him from the sun and revive him.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' episode "Video Game References", the Titans are all put in simulations parodying video games. Beast Boy's is a parody of ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'', where after several failed attempts to cross the road, he thinks about the words "cross the road" and decides that it'd be easier to cross as a chicken, so he turns into a chicken and is able to cross without getting run over... only to get eaten by a gator.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode "Tails New Home", Sonic tries to find Tails a home (due to Sonic's concern for Tails' well-being after the latter gets injured as a result of Scratch and Grounder) and he eventually finds Tails' real parents... or so he thinks, as right after Sonic leaves Tails, it's revealed to be a trap set by Robotnik. Meanwhile, Sonic gets depressed over Tails being gone and has a flashback to when they first met and Sonic gave him the nickname Tails due to him hating his real name Miles, and then after remembering Tails' "father" saying "Tails belongs with his own kind", he then realizes that if those were actually Tails' real parents, that they would've called him Miles, not the nickname Sonic gave him (since they'd have no way of knowing it), and Sonic then immediately springs into action to save Tails from his fake parents and Robotnik.
* Invoked and subverted on ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman''. [=BoJack=] complains about how unrealistic mystery stories are and wishes he could get a random detail of his own that would help him connect the dots. When Princess Carolyn mentions Matthew Perry, it makes [=BoJack=] recall a moment with Hollyhock where they talked about the time Matthew Perry hosted SNL and starred in a skit called "Chandler's List." Instead of everything immediately falling into place on its own, the mention of Matthew Perry is what motivates [=BoJack=] to do the dirty work himself of finding out who Hollyhock's mom is.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017''[='s=] GrandFinale, [[Recap/DuckTales2017S3E22TheLastAdventure "The Last Adventure!"]], [[BigBad Bradford]] has the Duck-[=McDuck=] family on the ropes as he has Scrooge bound to a MagicallyBindingContract that states that Scrooge can only have his family if he gives up adventuring. As Bradford attacks the Ducks, the triplets get the contract and look it over. It seems iron-tight until Louie mentions that Scrooge can only get his family if he gives up adventuring. [[spoiler:It makes everyone realize that there was a loophole in the contract - Scrooge can't give up adventuring for his family because "Family is the greatest adventure of all!" Bradford thinks it's the stupidest thing ever until the contract disintegrates.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HoppityHooper'': When Uncle Waldo got an idea how to make profit or execute a ZanyScheme, he'd make several funny poses, accompanied by mechanical sound effects.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Louise has one regarding the therapy doll killer while discussing Literature/OldYeller with Millie.

* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall,'' [[SatanicArchetype the Beast]] offers to save [[CheerfulChild Greg]] if [[ClassicalAntiHero Wirt]] becomes the new lantern-bearer.
-->'''The Beast:''' ''([[VoiceOfTheLegion distorted]])'' [[DealWithTheDevil I'm trying to help you]].\\
'''Wirt:''' You're not trying to help ''me!'' You just have some weird obsession with keeping this lantern lit! I-It's almost like...[[spoiler:''[[SoulJar your]]'' [[SoulJar soul is in this lantern]]]].
* The penultimate episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' sees [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz]] undergo this on a personal level. "For the Future" sees Luz [[spoiler:truly realize what it is that she's always wanted her whole life. Understanding, specifically understanding from her mother. After Camila assures Luz that it's okay to fail and to embrace her nerdy nature, with Camila stating that her own greatest failing as a parent was in ever trying to surpress that side of Luz. Thanks to Amity explaining that the thing she wanted was something abstract, specifically freedom, that caused her to bond with Ghost, Luz's own Palisman Stringbean awakens at that moment with Luz herself voicing that she can't believe it took her so long to realize that was what she had always wanted for so long]].
** [[spoiler:This is also a '''''huge''''' [[InUniverseCatharsis psychological breakthrough moment]] for her as it directly addresses the root causes for her extreme self-loathing, first talking her GuiltComplex by emphasizing that life is all about making mistakes and learning from them with her mother finally acknowledging to Luz's face not just that Camp Reality Check was a mistake on her part but also ''why'' it was, and two the fact that Luz has in some way been rejected by literally every person she has ever met prior to meeting Eda, so hearing another human being particularly her mother not just accept but outright praise all of her weird eccentricities especially when combined with Camila’s admittance of guilt is incredibly [[HealTheCutie healing]] for Luz’s mental health]].
** [[spoiler:Despite having made a FoundFamily, TrueCompanions, and a [[OfficialCouple Loving Girlfriend]], with people who love her for exactly who she is, none of them are human and thus can’t quite grasp some of the difficult intricacies in Luz's struggles in her life in the Human Realm the way that Camila can, the same way Witches and Demons can understand her in ways that humans can’t (Camila for example clearly can’t see what’s so appealing to Luz about the Boiling Isles, at least at first.) Luz had the latter the entire series, but she needed the former to be psychologically whole, especially after all the trauma she’s been through, trauma that even in the best cases would exacerbate a person’s underlying psychological issues]].
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': In "[[Recap/ReadyJetGoS1E11MissionToMarsSoundsAbound Sounds Abound]]," after Sean sees his friends making music with cooking items, he realizes how he can perform his sound experiment. He even shouts "Eureka!" followed by "Whatever that means."

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': In the episode [[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E23ComfortAndJoy "Comfort and Joy"]], the Flash sets out to find a DJ Rubber Ducky toy as a Christmas present for the kids at the Central City orphanage. The problem is that the toy is so popular that every store the Flash visits is sold out. At the last store he tries, he sees a display for Santa's Workshop in the window. This inspires him to "go to the source", running to Japan to get a toy from the manufacturing company.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': In one episode, the Guys in White have taken over the Fenton lab and kidnapped Sam and Tucker in a plan to attempt to destroy the Ghost Zone. To access the Fenton ghost portal, they need a password, and the interrogation leads to this exchange.
-->'''Operative K:''' Says who\\
'''Tucker:''' Says me!\\
'''Operative K:''' Says me... says-a-me, ''[[ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish open sesame!]]''
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFiarlyOddParents'', Timy is trying to save Dimsdale from a continuous series of natural disasters. As he tries to think of how to protect the city from an earthquake, his dad comes by and gives him some gelatin dessert. "No matter how much it shakes, the broccoli stays perfectly inside." He then wishes for the entire city to be encased in a gelatin mold which acts as a shock absorber to keep the city unharmed.