Heartwarming / Inanimate Insanity

At first glance, a show about anthropomorphic objects doesn’t seem like the type of show with drama and emotional breakdowns. Once Cerebus Syndrome hits and things begin to get heartbreaking, it makes these kind of sweet moments warm us up a lot more.

All spoilers are unmarked.

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Season 1

• Journey Through Memory Lane:
  • After OJ wins the million and Pickle asks how he wants to spend it, OJ stands at the edge of the Crappy Cliff and gives a very impactful speech.
    OJ: Y’know, sometimes people let greed take over their lives. People put all their efforts into doing something to give them a sense of purpose, whether it is becoming a millionaire or going on a murderous rampage. I think in 4S's last moments, he realized what it is that really makes you feel fulfilled, and I think I have too. It's whether or not a person has some nice friends around them for support. Sometimes life can get about as crappy as a cliff-dive into elephant feces, and your friends are the only ones there to make the hard times not so bad. So I'm gonna put the million dollars towards something for all of us. ‘Cause there’s nothing more valuable than friendship!

Season 2

• Marsh On Mars:
  • When Apple reveals why she hated Marshmallow (she ended up ruining Christmas for her), Marshmallow confesses that she and Paintbrush were just trying to make her feel better and preserve her belief in Santa. Apple realizes that their rivalry was trivial and the two make amends. Unfortunately, the moment is ruined when Marshmallow is hit by a boulder and sent flying into space.
• Everything’s A-OJ:
  • After Suitcase is unfairly eliminated by OJ and treated so harshly by him, Baseball is shown throughout the episode being very upset at what OJ did and losing Suitcase, showing that he really cares about Suitcase and that he is like a big brother to her. He later shows happiness when MePhone4 brings her back in the game.
  • It is minor, but when the eliminated contestants from episodes 1 through 6 come out of the closet, OJ is at first angry at them for trespassing, but after hearing from them that they were locked in there against their wills, he gets really angry and sues MePhone4 for his unspeakable misdeed. OJ even shows sympathy for Tissues when he tries to explain why they were in there, showing that for all of OJ's faults, he does have a soft and caring side.
    • Side note: it is also one of the rare, brief moments that Tissues is looked at with sympathy from other characters.
  • Knife, despite angrily telling Suitcase to mind her own business when she tries to tell Knife to try a random act of kindness, takes her advice to heart and tells Pickle not to let one bad experience from his past- i.e. his betrayal by Taco- ruin his life and to move on and keep going. Despite immediately denying that he was helping and was only talking about the video game, Knife smiles warmily knowing he had helped Pickle and Pickle sees through Knife deny and thanks him.
  • OJ making a deal with MePhone4 to devote a portion of the hotel to all of the eliminated contestants so they don't have to be in the small, locked closet. When the eliminated contestants arrive, OJ immediately shows them to their rooms and are given a warm welcome by everyone in there, despite their oddities.
• Kick The Bucket:
  • Despite their differences and his outburst toward Suitcase in "Everything's A-OJ", Knife helps Suitcase and gives her a pep talk about "making her presence known". He takes on a strict big brother role towards Suitcase and guides her. At the end of the episode, after Suitcase accidentally takes Knife's advice the wrong way and makes things worse, Knife comforts Suitcase and asks her what is an alliance to her, to which she doesn't respond but still takes it to heart.
• Alternate Reality Show:
  • After the disastrous results of the painting challenge, Lightbulb pays a visit to Paintbrush, who is sitting in the Calm Down Corner. They apologize for telling her they shouldn't work together, and when Lightbulb unintentionally annoys them by calling them a "guy", she learns that they are non-binary. Paintbrush sadly confesses that they never brought this up out of fear of being spurned by the others, so Lightbulb validates them in her own "Lightbulb" way. This scene very likely resonates with any non-binary viewers having trouble coming out.
    Lightbulb: It's "C", isn't it? None of the above!
    Paintbrush: ...that's why I don't bring it up. I don't think they even know there is a "C".
    Lightbulb: Really? Well...Baxter here knows there's a "C". He loves the "C". Without it, he's just a rab.
  • Paintbrush's elimination is both this and a Tear Jerker. Lightbulb gives them Baxter as both a farewell gift and a way to remember her if they ever feel down. Paintbrush accepts the gift, gives her a thumbs-up, and walks into the Rejection Portal with a bittersweet smile as their former teammates watch and Test Tube wraps her arm around Lightbulb. Isn't she kind?
  • A Freeze-Frame Bonus in the post-credits shows a picture of Balloon and the other members of Team Chickenleg◊ (except Taco), which implies that he's finally been able to make amends with them. The picture's origin is revealed in a comic posted on the website.
• Hatching the Plan:
  • Baseball and Suitcase begin to mend their friendship in this episode. After Suitcase betrayed the alliance in "Kick The Bucket", Baseball had nothing but scorn for her and treated her terribly, but now they seem to be making up with each other and truly listening to one another.
    • Double heartwarming when one considers Baseball and Suitcase having a brother-and-sister relationship throughout the show and them making up parallels that of a older brother making up with a younger sister.
  • Test Tube going mad with worry when Fan gets abducted by aliens and does whatever it takes to save him.
    • What makes this even more heartwarming? Fan and Test Tube had a soul-crushing fight with each other in the previous episode and never made up, yet Test Tube does whatever it takes to save him anyways. Now that's true friendship!
  • When Test Tube tries to apologize to Fan for what she did and the fight that they had, Fan immediately quiets her and tells her that he was at fault. Aww!
  • Test Tube and Fan finally make up with each other and Test Tube gives Fan a new phone to replace his damaged one. Double Aww!
    • What's the new screensaver on Fan's new phone? A picture of Fan and Test Tube holding the egg they both took care of for so long. Triple Aww!
  • Lightbulb hugging Fan and Test Tube when they are eliminated and going home to Hotel OJ. She even wordlessly forgives Fan for accidentally killing and shattering her in the previous episode based on that hug.
    • Test Tube good- naturedly telling Lightbulb to stir up some chaos for them when they leave, something that Lightbulb agrees to do.
  • It is subtle, but, Paintbrush has Baxter in his room and they are shown to be taking good care of him. Fan, being Paintbrush's roommate, also talks to Baxter and finds comfort in him.

Season 3

• The Shame of the Name:
  • Test Tube showing concern and worry for Fan when he is unfairly eliminated by Cabby. She also shows concern for Fan when he is hit by the Fist Thingy. She also develops a strong dislike towards Cabby for what she did to Fan.
    • Also, she takes the time to listen to Fan when he whispers something suspicious to her about Cabby. Something that Test Tube promises to do, whatever it is.
  • In an odd sort of way, The Pinkers that had voted out Fan only did so because of them being manipulated by Cabby. Even though Bow finds Cabby friendly at first, even she finds voting out Fan and allying with her to be going too far and so does Goo, causing the both of them to question Cabby's motives. Clover only voted for Fan because of her being too innocent to know any better (as well as being bribed with a butterfly- which should tell you how much of a jerk Cabby is). And Test Tube did not vote for Fan but instead for Cabby due to her being so mean towards Fan. It just goes to show that The Pinkers had nothing personal against Fan and that Cabby is just a huge, manipulative jerk overall.
    • Fan going back home to Hotel OJ is heartwarming in his own right because it goes to show that he is growing as a person, even though he is a fan of the show, he knows when to draw the line when things go too far, thus, he decides to go home so as to not get hurt anymore and him finally standing up for himself.

• Snapshot Showdown:
  • Balloon and Nickel finally get along after their previous rivalry in season 2.
• The Overthinkers:
  • The fact that Paintbrush is now comfortable enough with their teammates to just casually mention that they're non-binary without much fanfare when Yang proposes making a "boy's club". Relatedly, the fact that even Yang, as much of a jerk as he can be at times, has enough decency to accept Paintbrush's gender identity and change his suggestion accordingly rather than deliberately misgendering them.
  • The Thinkers all doing a group cheer at the end of the episode to affirm their friendship. Highlights include:
    • Yang reluctantly allowing Yin to initiate the cheer, much to the latter's delight. After he's spent most of the season until then just being annoyed about Yang's antics, it's sweet to see Yin finally smile and be happy again.
    • Silver Spoon still being allowed to join in despite having just alienated the rest of the team by gloating about his successful voting strategy. As a matter of fact, Candle actively pulls him in. He's visibly touched by the gesture.
    • OJ and Silver Spoon putting their hands on the ground to allow The Floor to join in despite his lack of limbs.
• Tragedy At 60 Feet:
  • Everybody shows concern and worry for Box when he falls off the 60 foot cliff and catches on fire. Even MePhone4 gets concerned about Box and gets a doctor to the show grounds to save him! Aww!
  • It's small, but we see the eliminated contestants on Indefinite Island doing OK.
• Try Not To Laugh Challenge:
  • Seeing Yin laugh is very sweet considering what he has to put with being fused with Yang.
  • While it is somewhat sad, Clover stays away from the other contestants so as to not have her "luck" hurt them like it did with Box. She even holds guilt over what happened to Box and wonders how he is doing.
  • Bow and Goo declare themselves the "Cheer Factory" and spend the episode trying to cheer everyone up even when it's against their team's best interests, namely by trying to get Clover out of her funk following Box's accident and counseling The Floor about his stage fright.
  • In stark contrast to the disaster that occurred when they were separated in "Tri Your Best", in this episode Yin and Yang voluntarily hand over full control of their body to each other in order to make it through the episode's challenge for their team. It's especially this from Yang's side; in Season 2 he spent all his time deliberately sabotaging for his team and had to be physically restrained in order to get him to re-fuse with Yin, while in this episode he switches Yin in the second he starts to break. Candle's advice to the two truly has done wonders.
  • In a very odd sort of way, it is very cathartic to see MePhone4 get a taste of his own medicine and locked up in jail (again) for breaking his own rule.
  • Balloon and Nickel finally beginning to become friends and make amends with each other.
  • Even though Tea Kettle is eliminated by Balloon and Nickel, she doesn't hold it against them and understands why they voted for her and calls them her "boys". Like a mother. Aww! She then gives them a big hug, making Balloon chuckle affectionately, and affectionately pinches Nickel's cheek.
  • Tea Kettle coming to the rescue to feed everyone stuck on Indefinite Island after the island runs out of Indefinite coconuts. Before that, Lifering catches her in midair and gently sets her down so she does not hurt herself landing hard on the ground.
• Best Served Cold:
  • Nickel and Ballon have become such good friends that they are now building sandcastles with each other. Also, when MePhone4 makes new teams, Nickel and Balloon are split from each other. What does Nickel do? He angrily calls MePhone4 out on it because of them being split apart. Also, when Test Tube fixes the Pic-Nix table, he asks Test Tube to look after Balloon. Aww!
  • In a Catharsis Factor, Test Tube avenges Fan and his unfair elimination from "The Shame of the Name", by exposing Cabby for who she really is and getting her eliminated and calling her out big time for what she did and continues to do, having seen just far Cabby has taken her manipulations towards everybody and not just Fan. Test Tube even mentions Fan when calling her out, showing that she is still very upset over what Cabby had done to him. In the end, not only did Test Tube avenge Fan, but she also saved the other contestants from ending up like Fan because of what Cabby did and continued to do. Now, that's a friend and a true ally!
• Out Of Body Exprience
  • A small example, but when MePhone went over to make Bot go back to the challenge, he sees the exposed robotic chunk of their head, along with Bot asking him not to go back, he calmly reassures them that he'll deal with it, which is saying something considering how MePhone usually is.
• Title TBD:
  • Yang makes good on his promise to treat Yin better, admitting that he feels bad about how upset Yin got when he found out that Yang had burned his stuffed dinosaur Riggity Rex. Yang then produces a new toy dinosaur, this one only burnt on one half, much to Yin's delight.
• A Jury Of Your Fears:
  • Fan ends up meeting Bot for the first time since their transition, and immediately accepts them.
• You Can't Do This Forever:
  • Upon seeing Springy's Bot toy and how much it upsets Bot, Cabby gets so angry on their behalf that Balloon has to physically hold her back.
  • Silver being genuinely kind and encouraging to the other finalists goes to show how far he's come even just in the past couple episodes, and not just that, willingly working together with them to save MePhone4 and convince the Unvitational Committee to not melt him, and succeeding.
  • MePhone4's vision of MePhone4S encouraging him.
    4S: Sure. You've made your mistakes. But we all realize sooner or later, with all that you've been gifted... there's no happy ending without you, MePhone4.
  • All of the closing remarks, describing the development the finalists have gone through over the course of the season.
    Balloon: I feel like so much of what I’ve accomplished has been with someone else by my side. But that doesn’t mean the game was easy. Alliances take time to nurture. For a while I felt I’d never figure it all out. But now that I’ve made it to the top, I can look back down on everything I did to get here. And, for the first time. I’m proud of myself. Even when my social-game wasn’t perfect, it was mine. I feel like a winner no matter what anyone says.
    Cabby (holding a file with a silhouette of her on it): I thought, after I gave the wrong first impression, I needed to explain these, or hide them. I started drowning in this false perception about them that everyone believed- that I started to believe. But… I can’t be me without them. So, instead of laying down my sword and becoming what everyone wanted me to be, I marched forward. I helped form a new alliance, and stuck with it till I was the last one left, because nothing’s more important than the friends you find out here. So, no more sorry’s. Just… thanks for listening.
    Silver Spoon: I believe I’ve already explained myself well-enough to the jury. But. There is one out there who I believe I should’ve listened to better along the way. Now, I won’t name names, but even though I’m aware I don’t deserve her vote tonight, I hope after I, or whomever, is crowned— We can try again.
  • MePhone acknowledges Floory's hard work both as a contestant and his assistant.
  • Many of the votes certainly count as heartwarming:
    • Just the fact that Cabby and Balloon both got so many votes, being contestants that have struggled socially.
    • Fan votes for Cabby even though she was the one who got him eliminated.
    • All of the Season 1 contestants vote for Balloon—even OJ, who hasn't always been on the best terms with him.
    • In response to Silver's apology, Candle does end up voting for him.
    • After a full season of resenting and misunderstanding her, Test Tube's vote ends up being the one that seals Cabby's win.

Comics

• The entire comic of "Letters" is this. Balloon tries to tell everyone through letters that he is truly sorry and how he wishes he can be friends, speaking from his heart, taking the advice from Suitcase from season 2 episode 9. All of the residents of Hotel OJ are shown reading the letters and have sympathy for him as they read. Later, they start to warm up to him and talk and play games with him. They even take a picture with him with Team Chickenleg from season 1 forming the picture.
• The comic "Butterflies" is also quite heartwarming as Cherries, having learned their lesson from season 2 episode 2, do a harmless prank with help of Yin-Yang, by scaring Trophy with butterflies but also giving him butterflies to take pictures of. The real heartwarming part? Yin-Yang actually agrees with the prank after Cherries explains the prank.
  • The mere fact that Yin-Yang actually find common ground with each other when it comes to being in nature.
  • Not to mention, Yin-Yang and Cherries having a healthy friendship with each other and being good roommates.
• Paper helping OJ with the Complaints desk in "Complaints" is also quite heartwarming. Even if it has... consequences to say the least.
• The comic "Snow Bow", is very cute. It is snowing outside and Apple invites Bow to play with her outside. But, being a ghost trapped in the mansion, cannot go outside. What does Apple do? She goes outside to collect snow and bring it inside so Bow can play in the snow, too. Aww!
  • Bow finds it so nice and awesome that Apple would do that for her.
• In the comic, "Everything's About OJ", Fan and Paintbrush are shown to have made up and have become good friends as Paintbrush supports Fan and smiles at him. Test Tube also has shown to have become friends with both of them.
  • Paintbrush is also shown to be holding Baxter in their hands.

Inanimate Shorts

• In "Seas The Day", Paper explains to Pickle and Cheesy that he is afraid of water because, being a piece of paper, he will become soggy. So, what do they do? They take Paper's picture from earlier and put it on a projector, then have Paper tied to a rope and hoisted him up to make it seem like he is swimming.
  • It is subtle, but the fact that Tissues was invited to the Christmas party, as shown in the flashback, is quite heartwarming in itself, considering next to no one likes him as a friend because of his "condishawn".
  • In the flashback, everyone (sans Soap) shows sympathy and concern for Paper when he gets soggy by the "emergency wash".

Fan's Fantastic Features

See here for the page.

Other

• In the Anniversary T-Shirt video, Yin-Yang, Box, and Tissues are playing video games together while talking about the new Inanimate Insanity store online. How cute!
  • Yin-Yang even tells Tissues to explain everything that’s online. It is one of the rare times that someone is nice to Tissues.
• When Yin talks about the merchandise, Yang mentions he couldn't care less like the jerk he is, but Yin points out the Yin-Yang sandals..., and Yang actually finds the sandals adorable! Aww!
• This video shows Tissues actually smiling and being happy. Double Aww!
• What's even more heartwarming? In the background, one can see a picture on the wall consisting of OJ and the eliminated contestants up until that point posing for a picture and (some of them) smiling. It is so cute.
  • It just goes to show that OJ really meant it when he said he would treat the eliminated contestants with the upmost respect and that he truly cares for the contestants as if they are family. Aww!