"The Art of the Sucker Punch" was written using "retroscripting," where each cast member completely improvised their lines, though certain script material was provided by co-creator and episode director Loren Bouchard.

Despite very low ratings, the episode received generally positive reviews, with multiple commentators noting its portrayal of relatable life problems.

Aspiring filmmaker and eight-year-old Brendon Small discovers that his best friend, Jason, has been physically harassed by local neighborhood bully Shannon on a daily basis.

Vowing vengeance on Shannon for this crime, Brendon challenges the bully to a brawl, despite lacking both the physical aptitude and knowledge to actually engage in a fight.

Throughout his training process, several members of his community note their complete disbelief in Brendon's chances of actually coming out of the fight victoriously.

[3][4][5] In order to convincingly make the child characters sound like actual children despite being portrayed by adults, recordings of the actors' performance in the episode were electronically altered.

A bonus feature on the DVD allows for an optional audio commentary track, recorded by Small, Bouchard, and Benjamin, to play over the episode.

In his book, Drawn to Television: Prime-time Animation from The Flintstones to Family Guy, M. Keith Booker cited the episode as an example of the series' prolific implication of simple, modern themes as a means of comedy.