King of the Hill was a seminal, adult animated series renowned for its writing and quirky characters. Very much in the spirit of its main characters, King of the Hill never depended on shock value or quippy writing. Instead, it let the inherent hilarity of mundane, Texas life work its magic.
It’s not something that every executive would bet on, but there was just something special in what is arguably Mike Judge’s best work. One of the most hilarious characters to come out of the series is none other than lil’ Bobby Hill, whose laziness and childish innocence perfectly juxtaposed Hank’s dryer, colder exterior. While it’s unclear if he ever became a stand-up comic, his time in King of the Hill sure was filled with some funny lines.
Updated on June 2nd, 2022 by Jacob Wallin: King of the Hill was a hugely successful series that has remained popular even since its cancellation in 2009. Now that a new revival of the show is supposedly on the way it is time to look back at some of its best moments. The show was full of great characters, but Bobby Hill was easily one of the best. Bobby had an infectious attitude and was absolutely full of iconic quotes. King of the Hill is currently available to stream on Hulu for those that want to catch up before the revival, or just enjoy it again.
Bobby Hill Tries Soccer
“Why do you hate what you don’t understand?”
Though Hank Hill has far from been the strictest of fathers, he’s never been the most understanding father, and he rarely tries to really see Bobby at eye level. Most of his stories with Bobby often deal with him clashing with his son’s various interests and plans.
In “Three Coaches and a Bobby,” the infamous episode where a Texas kid tries out soccer, Hank berates Bobby time and again for betraying the great American sport of football. This leads to the hilarious line above that is equal parts comedic timing and genuine frustration with living with Hank.
Bobby and the Birthday
“Think about it, Luanne. Why would you bring a child to a department store to buy a dryer when his birthday is three-and-a-half weeks away? It just doesn’t make sense!”
Even though Bobby does struggle a lot in school, he makes a very valid point here. Why on earth would a family ever go out to buy a dryer several weeks from someone’s birthday? It’s all just a long ploy to scout out birthday presents. There just isn’t any other rational reasoning besides, well, just needing a new dryer.
“Hank’s Dirty Laundry” is another beloved episode that’s mostly famous for Hank’s battle with a dysfunctional computer system and the porn industry itself, but it does have a fairly entertaining B-story where Bobby thinks every little thing relates to his very distant birthday.
Bobby Hill, the Comedian
“And white people always be walking around like this…like they be crushing diamonds in there or something! Look at me! I’m white!”
“Traffic Jam” is a classic episode that saw the Hills essentially cross paths with a very young, far from famous Chris Rock. This episode sees a lot of suburban culture clash with def jam comedy. Most characters seem to be very on board with it, Hank himself is very frustrated with it and comedians as a whole, and Bobby goes through a little identity crisis of his own.
After meeting Chris Rock’s character, Roger “Booda” Sack, Bobby starts doing his own def jam routines with some incredibly cringe-inducing results! Following Booda’s lead, Bobby’s stand-up makes fun of white people, leading to some of his best and worst comedic moments.
Bobby vs. Paranoia
“My dad sure wants me to be at that haunted house. Last time he wanted me to be somewhere so bad, I woke up without tonsils!”
Bobby Hill really does know how to turn the dial up to 11. In the Halloween special, “Hilloween,” Hank tries to salvage Bobby’s last, true Halloween despite the campaign by an evangelical neighbor to get the holiday banned in its entirety. Though his father is very adamant about keeping the holiday classically scary, Bobby buys in to the religious cawing.
He becomes easily scared of Hank’s journey to keep Halloween as is and even starts to look back at any of his past actions in horror. If his dad is willing to egg houses, how can he trust him with his own tonsils?
Bobby’s Go-To Response
“Okay”
The main humor behind Bobby’s near catchphrase is in the calm delivery and the ridiculous things it is usually in response to. Bobby uses the simple “okay” as everything from a polite brush-off to accepting a huge responsibility.
One of Bobby’s hilarious “okays” comes after he tells his mother she used to be beautiful. Peggy responds that she still is, and Bobby hits her with this single word. Another classic comes after Dale a SWAT team that he wants Bobby to shoot him because he knows Bobby will put him down clean. Once again Bobby grabs a rifle and utters a single “okay”.
Dear Diary
“Good-bye, Luanne. I just wanted you to know that I never read your diary, even though you suspected I did on June 18th, 1985.”
One of the best rapports in the entire series is between Bobby and the hilariously naive Luanne Platter. Though they are cousins, the two developed a close, almost sibling-like relationship that had the two either bonding or competing with one another.
The two sides of this family coin are perfectly portrayed in “Texas City Twister,” when Bobby wants to comfort Luanne before she leaves while also still trying to cover up his tracks for reading her diary. It’s what any good, little sibling would do.
Bobby’s Hectic Schedule
“I was getting ready, but I worked up an appetite looking for dress pants, so I ordered a pizza, and that ate up a chunk of time.”
A huge part of what makes Bobby Hill a fan favorite is the fact that he’s incredibly relatable and is a strong contender for being the U.S.’s national animal. Despite having a dad that is the pure embodiment of hard work, Bobby himself is just a very slothful and chubby kid.
In “Born Again on the Fourth of July,” he’s hilariously forced to confront his various bad habits when one, lazy day made him steal from his mom’s purse. However, to be fair, he worked really hard to look for his dress pants.
A Few of Bobby’s Favorite Things
“Donuts were one of life’s little joys. If the government bans puppy breath and good yawns, I’ll have nothing left to live for!”
King of the Hill has always been about typical, suburban Texans grappling with a changing world, and one of the series’ best examples of this during its later years was the episode “Trans-Fascism.” Here, Kahn and Ted Wassanasong are shamed by some investors from New York when they discover that Arlen hasn’t banned the use of trans fats.
This has Ted start a fear campaign that has Arlen’s local government ban all foods with trans fats. For a kid like Bobby Hill, this almost seemed like a death sentence. Bobby only has so many interests in King of the Hill, and they included fatty donuts.
Bobby and the Bride
“Luanne, I know we’ve had our differences, but I was kinda hoping we could make up and not get married.”
This line just sounds so bad yet even more hilarious out of context. In “The Wedding of Bobby Hill,” Bobby and Luanne get into a bit of a prank war after the two fight over the attention of Luanne’s new boyfriend. This eventually leads to Luanne stuffing Bobby’s fruit pies with dirt, and Bobby replacing Luanne’s birth control pills with chewed-up candy.
Wanting to have a little fun for themselves, Hank and Peggy convince Bobby that, because he replaced Luanne’s birth control, he inadvertently got Luanne pregnant. To teach him a lesson (and an important one about where to draw the line, and bodily autonomy), his parents force him to “marry” his cousin.
Bobby the Ladies Man
“I’m a little worried about being a slut.”
One of Bobby’s most famous lines comes from only the second episode of the show. When Arlen’s school district begins a sex-ed program, Peggy is the only teacher left who will teach it. She is very uncomfortable with the assignment, especially since her own son will be in the class.
In order to make it less awkward, Peggy talks to Bobby in his room to give him an introduction. She asks Bobby what he knows about sex, and his only response is this classic quote. There are lots of great quotes from this episode, but Bobby’s fear may be one of the best.
Bobby Goes Fishing
“I’m wet and I don’t even know it.”
Hank Hill has tried several times throughout the series to get Bobby interested in more outdoorsy activities. In the episode “Phish and Wildlife”, that activity happens to be fishing. Hank gives Bobby some advice that to catch a fish, he has to think like a fish. To get into the mind of a fish, Bobby puts his hands on his neck like gills and utters this gem of a line.
The line is not only just plain funny, it captures Bobby’s unique style of thinking perfectly. Despite getting into their heads, Bobby never does manage to catch any fish.
Bobby Gets Bored
“To tell you the truth, Dad, that sounds boring. It’s okay if you’re into boring, but I’m not.”
King of the Hill isn’t really known for really roasting other people or its own characters; but with this line, Bobby just slammed Hank. Bobby is infamously aversive to his father’s attempts at having him work, take responsibility, or do anything adult, and one of his most underrated features is his ability to dismiss his father’s advice with total sass.
He’s been creative in the ways that he’s gotten out of sporting events, chores, and small jobs, and this line right here pretty much sums up that entire attitude.
Bobby Tries Prop Comedy
“Hey look at me! I’m Eddie Cheddar!”
One of Bobby’s biggest dreams in King of the Hill is to become a prop comic. He gives Hank and the audience their first glimpse of this in the episode “Hank’s got the Willies”. After meeting Willie Nelson, Hank goes to find his precious guitar Betsy, only to find that Bobby has gotten to it first.
Hank takes the guitar back and asks Bobby why it smells funny. Bobby admits he has been playing it with cheese, so that he could call himself Eddie Cheddar, a reference to Pearl Jam’s frontman Eddie Vedder. It’s a reference not everyone would get, but a great one nonetheless.
Kicking It
“I don’t know you! That’s my purse!”
Bobby Hill has had plenty of classically funny moments across the series but few have ever touched the same, viral heights as anything in “Bobby Goes Nuts.” It’s obvious that Bobby isn’t the strongest or fastest kid which makes him easy prey for some of the more brash boys in his school.
Wanting to defend himself, he tries to enlist in some self-defense classes at the local YMCA, only to find that the only one available was a women’s self-defense course. It’s there that he learns the humble art of dealing low blows to every man around as well as his famous mantra that still strikes fear into people today.
Bobby Hill vs. Sloppy Joe
“My Sloppy Joe is all sloppy, and no Joe.”
If there is one thing that Bobby loves throughout the show, it is food. He is somewhat of a connoisseur, so he can easily pick out when something is missing from one of his favorite meals. In the episode “Death and Taxes”, a distracted Peggy forgets to add the key ingredient of meat to the family’s sloppy joes.
As Bobby watches the sauce drip out of his sandwich, he informs the family of the predicament with this iconic line. Bobby’s delivery of the line is somehow even funnier than the quote itself, cementing this as not only one of Bobby’s funniest lines, but one of the entire show’s.
