
"Well, not all day. We did have a little break to have a little kiss in the closet."note
Smiling Friends has been praised for not only its comedy but for its positive message and themes of optimism. It's a far cry from most modern adult cartoons in the best way possible. open/close all folders
General
- Any time a client smiles. There's even a little musical flourish and chime when they do!
- The simple goal of the Smiling Friends company: to make people smile.
- It’s not even about the simple goal of making the client smile. Pim and Charlie help their clients through their issues to not only ensure that they smile, but that they also live a much happier life.
- In spite of his creepy behaviors and appearance, Mr. Boss is a nice, caring employer to his workers. Not to mention very good at his job since the company's worth billions of dollars and he seems to be the CEO.
- He's also more than willing to spend absurd amounts of money to make his clients smile.
- Pim is just one big ball of optimism and by far the most enthusiastic about his job at Smiling Friends. He always tries his best for his clients, and in spite of the unsettling and sometimes horrific situations he finds himself in, he never stays down for long.
- The way the Smiling Friends interact really gives the impression that they genuinely care about one another and see each other as friends. It stands in contrast to a lot of modern adult animated shows where characters treat each other horribly for the sake of comedy.
Season One
Desmond's Big Day Out
- Pim’s heartfelt speech to Desmond to convince him to let the Smiling Friends him.Um, hello there sir. I know you don’t know who I am, but my name is Pim. I know right now that things seem bleak, but I promise to you that by the end of this beautiful day, you will have a big, gorgeous smile on that handsome face of yours. Oh, won’t you give us a chance?
- Pim's mom tells his dad to sit at the table for dinner because Pim is home.
- After Pim gets insulted for his age at the party, Charlie comforts him by essentially saying that getting old is just part of life and they have to accept it, with even the suicidal Desmond agreeing with him.
- While he develops Blood Knight tendencies, Desmond finds his purpose in life; becoming a bliblie exterminator.
- Charlie comforts him by assuring him that shooting the bliblie was something that had to be done.
- Note that Desmond actively steps forward in front of Charlie and Pim to intercept the bliblie charging at them all. Suicidal as he may have been, he held no hesitation in protecting the two guys who simply wanted to help him smile.
- Alan gets his cheese back and playfully bites Charlie's nose.Note
- Despite its abrupt appearance, the alien coming out of the Television Portal at the very end to cheerfully thank the viewers for watching the episode is very sweet, especially with the onscreen text that accompanies the alien's arrival.hello thank you for watching :-)
Mr. Frog
- Glep's downright adorable smile and equally cute dance he does upon landing the role of the new Mr. Frog.
Shrimp's Odyssey
- The montage of Pim imagining himself falling in love with Shrimpina, getting married, starting a family, becoming grandparents, and passing away peacefully together with a smile on their faces after a long, fulfilling life filled with happiness is surprisingly heartfelt for such a surreal show. Even the jokes in it, such as Pim's children being super fast and the screaming duck, don't change how genuinely touching it is, especially due to the incredibly moving cover of Raymond Lauchengco's song So It's You sung by Jason Paige that plays over it.
- Despite the amount of pain he unintentionally puts Shrimp through, Charlie's sympathetic towards his situation, even offering to buy him a drink to make up for not being able to get him back together with Shrimpina.
- Pim ultimately decides to do right by Shrimp by introducing him to Shrimpina, despite his own feelings... even though her actual name is Jennifer and he went to the wrong store.
- While he doesn't get Shrimpina back, Shrimp scores Jennifer by being himself.
A Silly Halloween Special
- Pim's brief song while picking up twigs that's capped off by a bird whistling the tune. He even gives the bird a little kiss as thanks!
- It's short-lived, but Pim tries to make the best of his situation of being stranded in an abandoned, rundown shack by picturing his future wife and kids living inside.
- While the situation quickly escalates into violence, the Halloween party attendees make it immediately clear that they have zero tolerance for racism when they mistake the Forest Demon's appearance for Blackface.
- And when the crowd degenerates into mauling and then eating the demon, Pim, Charlie, Charlie's girlfriend, Alan, Glep, and Glep's girlfriend don't join in, but (sans Charlie) look on in horror, seeing that as going way too far.
Who Violently Murdered Simon S. Salty?
- Despite Salt & Pepper being Sickening Sweethearts, Charlie genuinely shows support for their relationship after the two of them admit they snuck away from their day shift to kiss in the closet.Charlie: Alright, noted. Um, that's just straight up beautiful, by the way.
- Charlie, of all people, fulfils Century egg's dying wish of being buried in a forest near Changbai in China, after he seemingly only promised so to get the security camera footage.Alan: Did we had to come all the way to China to do this?
Charlie: It's what the egg wanted, Alan.
Enchanted Forest
- A minor moment, but when Charlie asks Allan and Glep to turn down their game because of his headache at the start of the episode, the two are happy to do so and very understanding of his explanation for why.
- In a flashback, when a young Pim asks his dad if they could go into the Enchanted Forest, instead of shutting him out or demeaning him, his dad explains that the forest is for "heroes with unrelenting dedication, bravery, and wisdom." Not only is this a great take on the old "young version of main character is insulted for his wishes" scenario, but it shows how Pim's father tried to encourage him to work hard for his dreams.
- This is especially heartwarming when you consider how he was in the pilot. Perhaps they're taking him a more uplifting direction?
- Almost immediately after Mip dies, Charlie and Pim apologize to each other for their earlier behaviors.
- The Princess finding relief knowing now that Mip's dead, he won't bother her anymore.
- Alan calling the hospital after Charlie gets sick from drinking Mip's potion despite his denial in an attempt at saving face. It once again shows how much these guys care for each other.
Frowning Friends
- Charlie & Pim trying to cheer up 3D Squelton due to how the normally cynical and mildly standoffish Charlie tenderly asks the lil' 3D fella, if there's anything that makes him feel better, causing Squelton to respond that he likes balloons, causing Charlie to suggest that he start making them for a living, which genuinely cheers him up and causes him to make an oddly adorable smile. Too bad Grim and Gnarly come by to ruin it.
- Even though their whole purpose is to embody negativity and spread misery, Grim and Gnarly both openly say that they love each other.
- Despite threatening them with the M-16, The Boss reassures a terrified Grim that he was impressed by the success of their business enough that he went crazy from losing $2.4 billion. This causes Grim and Gnarly to smile.
Charlie Dies and Doesn't Come Back
- Jeremy comforts the tubby imp after all his attempts to intimidate Charlie fail.
- Charlie's interactions with his doting grandmother. She calls his attention by calling him her "beautiful grandson" and offers him hard candy before he leaves. Charlie in turn says he considers it unreasonable that she was sent to hell just for saying "Damn!" in 1958 and is overall very polite to her even when turning down her offer, thanking her for the consideration.
- Charlie's interaction with one of the damned souls is a small one, as he wants to apologize to him due to being unable to think of anything to say, only for him to comfort the soul and assure him that he doesn't need to feel bad for that.Damned Soul: I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything to say.
Charlie: Naw, there's no pressure man, it's all good. You didn't- You didn't have to say anything. - Sure he's the Prince of Darkness, but even Satan acts polite to the food delivery man and is sympathetic when the worker says that he was confused about where the address was.
- The fact Charlie agrees to help Satan of all people smile is quite something. Sure, it was under the agreement that he'd be brought back to life if he succeeded and the Devil, being the Devil, backs away from their deal in the end. But you have to admire Charlie for putting a conscious effort to helping him.
- The second Charlie is brought back to life, Pim apologizes to him for the argument they had and hugs him.
The Smiling Friends go to Brazil
- After spending a good chunk of the episode bickering over who was supposed to book for the hotel for them to stay, Pim apologizing over all the hotels being booked for Mardi Gras, thus Charlie and Alan reassure that everything's fine and they just picked a bad time to go.
- A small blink-and-you-miss-it example but the way Glep was eating the fries while the boys try to hash out a solution was an adorable easter egg.
Season Two
Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4K (Anniversary Director's Cut)
- Gwimbly, having grown apart from or outlived his old co-stars, choosing to befriend Troglor to help him through his own rough patch after the death of his CEO. Its then that Troglor gets the idea to start a Mascot Fighter with Gwimbly and other IGBG characters to give everyone the spotlight they deserve.
- Charlie and Pim go out of their way to help Gwimbly sit on the ground when the second time he did his iconic dance took a number out of him.
- Despite treating him horribly throughout the episode, the stinger reveals James was genuinely grateful towards Charlie for his efforts in making him smile and berates himself for pushing him away.
Mr. President
- The Stinger reveals Vice President Jimble retiring to the beach. Despite how utterly incompetent he was, none of the harm he did was intentional, so it's nice to see him happy and relaxed.
- Despite loathing Jimble and agreeing with the worm conspiracy, Charlie refuses to join their manipulation of the media because he "can't betray my friend." Even at his breaking point, Charlie stands by his friend no matter what.
A Allan Adventure
- Both Pim and even Charlie are genuinely excited for the mission they've been given, and return home at the end of the episode happy. Charlie even gives Pim a peck on the head as they head out. Granted, we never actually get to see it, due to it being an Allan focus episode, but it's comforting to know that, considering the hell they get put through usually, there are moments where working for Smiling Friends can be a positive experience.
- The Old Shop Keeper even giving Allan some advice from beyond the grave on how to get out of his situation was still awfully sweet, regardless on how he ended up in Hell. Guess he was just that thankful of Allan for his shop.
Erm, The Boss Finds Love?
- After being freed from Brittney's curse, Mr. Boss decides that his true love is the work he does for Smiling Friends.
Brother's Egg
- When Professor Psychotic's homunculus egg hatches during him and Doug fighting, the two brothers immediately cease their tussle, amazed and proud at Psychotic having created life, and decide they should put their differences aside and raise the homunculus together. The two make up with a brotherly hug.
- The first thing the homunculus does after hatching is to yell at Professor Psychotic and Doug to stop fighting.
- When Doug and Professor Psychotic begin to fight in their living room, the camera quickly cuts to an understandably horrified Pim and Charlie, but in a brief moment you can see Pim lifting his arm up almost as if he is trying to protect Charlie. It's easy to miss but very sweet in showing how much he cares for his friend.
The Magical Red Jewel
- While he doesn't remember it, Allan seems genuinely ashamed from how uncomfortable he made Charlie by sucking on his nose, who brought up the incident with the intention of talking it out so they can actually hang out more in the future without it being an elephant in the room.
- Notably, in the next episode, Charlie is very friendly and complimentary to Allan, so it does seem like he got his concerns off his chest and they managed to work it out.
- When Oscar realizes just before executing him that Pim is one of his pen pals, he immediately stops the execution to greet Pim properly, telling him that Pim helped him through his worst moments of insecurity over his singular eye. Pim responds by comforting him, saying that he's not alone and that there's nothing wrong with his eye. Though Oscar does take a moment to laugh at Pim's own mismatched eyes, getting to meet up does still clearly help his mental state judging by him letting Pim and Mr. Boss go and removing Spamtopia's rule against direct eye contact.
- Worthy of note is that once Oscar recognizes Pim, he doesn't object to Pim looking right at him immediately afterward, showing that he really does trust Pim not to judge him.
- In a twisted sort of way, the fact that Mr. Boss was willing to give Pim a Cyanide Pill so he could die quickly instead of the agonizing death Oscar had ready for him.
- When Jason is reborn as a butterfly, Allan and Pim are genuinely amazed by it and call it beautiful. However, the moment quickly takes a downward spiral once Jason starts emitting dust that hurts everyone in a multitude of ways.
- Right after Jason is reborn, Allan and Charlie embrace in their relief, a nice contrast to their fight earlier on who was to blame for his death.
- While at the beginning of the episode, The Boss is casually prejudiced towards the Spamtonians, by the end he learns to see them as equals, saying there is no such thing as a bad culture.
- When Mr. Boss fires the iconic fifth Smiling Friend, Tyler, at the beginning of the episode, Charlie becomes fiercely protective of him, planning on quitting or getting himself fired alongside Tyler. Tyler talks him out of it and leaves, with Charlie promising to meet up with him for drinks later, both asserting that they love each other. The Stinger shows Charlie keep that promise, even showing support for Tyler continuing to pursue a career in music.
Pim Finally Turns Green
- Pim is at his best when he has the Good-Times Montage playing in the snow with Rotten. Especially when they ice skate and Pim has a bit of an Animation Bump when his small body smoothly moves to keep himself in balance, looking adorable.
- When Allan suggests to take Rotten somewhere cold so he'll live forever, Charlie begins to compliment Allan for his intelligence and his looks. When Allan tells the rest he built Mr. Boss's rocket boots, the Boss confirms this rest are very impressed and compliment him further. It's a genuinely wholesome moments amongst the employees, with the Boss giggling at how he loves his boys.
- Despite Rotten dying after getting knocked over at a beach, he's able to come to terms with his mortality and tells Pim he's had a good life before passing. However, he manages to reincarnate as a tidal wave in the ocean to the group's surprise, with the Boss surfing on it and saying Merry Christmas to them (despite it being 6 months later).
- At the end of the episode, Charlie takes a moment to share how much he loves everything in his life. It's a surprisingly heartfelt moment to close out the season on, and a good contrast to the ending of "Brother's Egg", where Charlie told Pim that the world they live in stresses him out, showing that even someone as cynical as Charlie can appreciate the good things life has to offer.Charlie: God, the boss, is funny, he really- no I'll- I'll tell you something, he really is funny. He should do stand-up. And I love Bill Nye's ghost, and that's awesome. And Allan built the rocket shoes and Pim, you made that snowman come to life with the flower... Wow, I just love my friends, and I love my God, and I love my country. Um, and God bless America, I guess. What else can you say? (jets fly overhead emitting smoke trails colored red, white, and blue)
Season Three
Le Voyage Incroyable de Monsieur Grenouille
- The extremely bittersweet ending. Mr. Frog eats the Bug of Knowledge and reemerges as a simple, ordinary swamp frog. Surrounded by the quiet swamp atmosphere, a place he previously noted to make him feel at peace, he smiles.Mr. Frog: Goodbye.
- Mr. Frog's life flashing before his eyes, every moment that was significant to him, and some of those moments were him, Charlie, and Pim hanging out, meaning their efforts didn't go unnoticed by him, even if the last moment was him kicking poor Pim.
- Charlie and Allan putting up a nice face for Pim's sake after returning to work injured because of Mr. Frog's assault, making sure he doesn't feel down about his looks.
Curse of the Green Halloween Witch
- Throughout the episode Pim is treated with unusual cruelty, from Mr. Boss making him be his 'flashlight bitch' to Charlie claiming the witch's curse was his fault when Pim was the only one to try and give her a dime. Thankfully, this is revealed to be because the events of the episode took place in a false vision from the witch's orb, and Charlie makes special note of how uncharacteristically mean he was towards Pim and apologizes for it despite it not actually happening.
- Mr. Boss chokeholds the Green Witch after seeing her illusion depicts being horrible towards Pim, showing how much he really cares and values his workers and doesn't like it when they're being threatened, especially for a dime.
- The Stinger has the Witch's husband in the middle of a TV session, and immediately cuts it off to rush to comfort the now sobbing Witch entering the house after the (albeit understandable) mistreatment from the main cast. Although, he immediately asks about her promise of oral earlier, he quickly wises up, seeing she went through a lot.
Pim and Charlie Save Mother Nature
- Pim and Mr. Boss dapping each other up and sharing a hug over their shared love of Super Monkey Ball.
- Pim's interactions with Mother Nature and her many "children", especially during the "Clean Up" song, tending to the area and giving affectionate little kisses to everyone. Mother Nature even rewards Pim with a giant blueberry!
- During the "Clean Up" number, Charlie initially refuses to help when Mother Nature's "children" plea for him to do so, and he only takes up the offer once Pim asks him.
- The very silly animation of Pim eating the giant blueberry counts as this and a funny moment.
- Even putting aside THAT notorious scene, Mr. Boss and Alan's chemistry in the episode is pretty sweet, as Mr. Boss encourages Alan to quit doing extra credit work during vacation and to just enjoy himself for once.
- Hell, pretty much the entire episode, really! Especially compared to what came immediately before, it's just the boys in general bonding on a wholesome (for the most part) camping trip with nothing particularly morbid or cruel happening to any of them for once.
Squim Returns
- Pim immediately hitting it off with Squim is pretty adorable, with the two building each other up and bonding over their shared positivity, even if Squim’s Innocently Insensitive behavior later grates on Pim.
- Pim and Mr. Ice Cream reminiscing over the latter’s late wife. Too bad Squim ruins it.
Shmaloogles
- Charlie freaking out upon seeing Pim and a lone Shmaloogle get captured by the Wizard, and immediately rallying the rest of the Shmaloogles with a Training Montage to save them even if they initially perceive themselves to be helpless and weak.
- Not to mention the fact that Charlie's main motivation was to save Pim. Lazy and irresponsible as he is, he does NOT play when it comes to his best friend.
- The first thing Pim does when seeing Charlie come to his rescue? Squeal out his name and run up to him for a hug, complete with Foot Popping.
The Glep Ep
- Initially, nobody was sure what Glep's role in the Smiling Friends was, and he angrily quit when confronted about it. Turns out there is a reason he's there: in 1992, Mr. Boss was financially ruined, homeless, and on the verge of killing himself. Glep gave him a little dance and made him smile, which gave him an idea to co-found the company with the mission to make other people smile.
- Glep returned to Smiling Friends HQ to check on how things are going, only to see everything has gone horribly wrong. Mr. Boss realized Glep's role in founding the company and quickly rehired him.
- And there’s the fact that Glep was willing to acknowledge Mr. Boss' point of not doing anything and apologize to him, only for Mr. Boss to assure him that he does not need to apologize, and ask him if he wants to come back, and he answers "Yeah."
- The ending of this episode has all of the Smiling Friends employees enjoying a Christmas dinner with their friends and family.
Friend-Bot (Version 12589218731809213528796879521)
- Pim calming his friends down after a fight over Friend-Bot once Glep unplugs him as he reminds them what they have become. Soon enough, Charlie, Alan and Mr. Boss apologize to each other for being selfish and for acting crazy and then got into a group hug with Pim joining.
- Even sweet, Pim's choice with Friendbot wasn't selfish unlike Charlie, Alan and Mr. Boss. He decided to let Friendbot help people smile.
Charlie's Uncle Dies and Never Comes Back
- Charlie defending Pim when his uncle tries to choke him to death.
- The final In Memoriam Credits Gag of the series is a Crowded-Cast Shot of many of the artists who had worked on the show. The joke is that they're all badly Photoshopped as per usual and labeled as "victims of the attacks", but that doesn't diminish it being a sweet sendoff to the crew.
