The Top 50 Cartoon Characters - They Aren't Your Favourite, They're Just Drawn That Way

[Issun]

I was a vote for Nausicaa. While I did eventually read the manga and found it to be much deeper, obviously, I find I appreciate what the story does in both mediums. I think that Lohman's voice work really defined Nausicaa for me, it's so good. For those who don't know, Allison Lohman had a couple of roles in the early Aughts (2002's White Oleander and 2003's Matchstick Men, though she was also pretty good in Where the Truth Lies, even if the film itself wasn't great) before kind of disappearing (she was also in Drag Me to Hell, which I am lead to understand is a good Raimi horror flick, but not something one can turn in a tour-de-force performance in). I'm not sure if it was burnout, a bad agent, or both or something else, but it's a shame she never went on to become the noted actress she had the potential to be.

Anyways, I really like Nausicaa in both forms, and Allison Lohman is great.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Nausicaa is #1 on my list. Here's the blurb I typed out for Johnny:

01.) Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) - The archetype Miyazaki-protagonist. Incredibly influential and important in cartoon history. And just a really great role model for kids to model after as well. A poignant and potent combo of strength, empathy, compassion, and a triumph of pacifism. Very much the GOAT.

The role model aspect I think is very much under appreciated. Nausicaa was soaring above the clouds as a strong female protagonist in a time, in an industry, and in a culture that drips with unrelenting misogyny. Placed in that context, it's no small miracle that something like Nausicaa even exists.

Impossible for me to pick a favorite Miyazaki protagonist but Nausicaa sure is a contender.

She's not my favorite protagonist from a Miyazaki film, but she's undoubtedly the most important. And that's why I put her #1 on my list. She's the base template. She is the Ur example. Without her, there is no Studio Ghibli. And the cause-and-effect ripple that would have on the rest of the artform would be tremendous. Not just Japan, but globally. You wouldn't have Pixar Studios as we know it without her and her film. I know many people really like the manga this is based off of, but I've never understood the impulse to outright slander the film because of it. It's just incredible in its own right.

Nausicaa was a strong contender for my list, though I think I didn't include her on the technicality of her being a manga character.

I mostly tried to adhere to this ethos, but I made a few exceptions. Especially when the animated versions took on lives of their own or vastly eclipsed the popularity of their source material. Nausicca was one such exception. Yes, a manga preceded it. That's only because the studio told Miyazaki he couldn't make the movie he wanted to make without it being based on something pre-existing because it didn't want to take risks. He wanted to make this Nausicaa film. So he didn't let that stop him, so a life-long animator put his career on pause, picked up a pencil, and started making comics because he wouldn't be thwarted. The comic is incredible and took on a life of its own. But it was - as conceived at its heart - the most elaborate storyboard ever done for a film so I give it a pass here.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

15. Wile E. Coyote

106 Points, 4 Lists, #2 Violentvixen ​

“I like the way that roles out. Wile E Coyote. Ssssssssssuper Geniussssss.”

Source Material: Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies

Voice Actor: Mel Blanc, Richard Andrews, Joe Alaskey, Dee Bradley Baker, Maurice LaMarche, James Arnold Taylor, JP Karliak, Eric Bauza

Wile E. Coyote is a coyote living in the American badlands near the highway. Wile’s major goal is to capture and eat the Roadrunner, an ostrich-like bird that runs at impossible speeds. As Wile E cannot catch the bird through conventional means, he tries to use his wits in order to make up for them, concocting various traps and employing various devices. And to this end, he is a frequent customer of Acme products, which he mail orders in order to enact his plans. However, invariably the coyote is foiled either by a flaw in an Acme item or, more often, his own error.

But the coyote’s plans don’t just fail, they tend to backfire spectacularly, often resulting in pain and humiliation. And often being blown up, crushed by a boulder or dropped down a cliff. Though the Roadrunner, who seems largely oblivious to or unconcerned with the coyote, is his primary target, he has also tried to catch Bugs Bunny. Interestingly, it is only in these interactions with Bugs where he seems more arrogant and talks, where in his efforts to catch the Roadrunner, he remains silent.

Looney Tunes is so great at creating wonderful antagonistic duos but the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons are something else. Compare how much screen time the Coyote gets. It’s a lot more as we see him set up a plan, the split second when the Roadrunner shows up (sometimes he doesn’t even) then the failure. Then sometimes the creator manages to top failure on failure on failure in a single attempt. It kind of ups the nature of cartoon slapstick to bizarre new levels. And I don’t think it would work without the right characters. Though these are cartoons of excess in madness, the coyote is simplicity itself. He’s you when you are beating your head against a problem. The coyote probably could live his life happier ordering food in. The actual meal will never match up with the effort and suffering but he NEEDS to, in his mind. He lives a Sisyphean life and he could probably just let it go but invariably he engineers his own destruction. He still like him, even if he’s trying to kill an innocent animal. He’s always going to lose and while I don’t know if we want him to win, we are still rooting for him in our way.

Plaintiffs:

Defense:

“Pretty sure the other guy wins as often as our guy loses so let’s settle hard.”

 

[Issun]

This is the first entry that probably would have been on my list had I remembered. And it's not like I didn't have a Looney Tune on my list, it's just that I somehow forgot this one. This is why you don't throw your list together at the last minute.

Pour one out

 

[Kirin]

 

[Bulgakov]

He’s you when you are beating your head against a problem. The coyote probably could live his life happier ordering food in. The actual meal will never match up with the effort and suffering but he NEEDS to, in his mind.

So Wile E. Coyote is what happens when I know someone is wrong on the internet.

 

[Adrenaline]

Possibly the most pathetic fictional entity in history

 

[Octopus Prime]

Wile E was on my original list, but, with regrets, I wound up cutting him.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Wile E was on my original list, but, with regrets, I wound up cutting him.

Same here but I had him on my long list of candidates.

 

[Kirin]

Contrariwise, Wile E was actually the only Looney Toon I kept, on the theory that he is their distilled essence. Just non-stop escalating prat-falls, no frills or novel context necessary. He is the consummate 'toon, existing only to be squashed and stretched.

Incidentally, the episode of Steven Universe that suddenly turned into a Wile E sketch was amazing.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

14. Optimus Prime

107 Points, 5 Lists, #12 Daikaiju, JBear and Purple ​

“You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!”

Source Material: Transformers

Voice Actor: Peter Cullen, Ron Hayden, Neil Kaplan, Garry Chalk, Robert Belgrade, David Kaye, Jon Bailey, Tesshō Genda, Satoshi Hashimoto, Toru Ohkawa, Katsuyuki Konishi, Taiten Kusunoki, Hiroki Takahashi, Toshiyuki Morikawa

Optimus Prime is an alien robot from the planet Cybertron. His people, the Autobots, as in eternal conflict with their warmongering and power-hungry foes, the Decepticons. Prime is the leader of the autobots, as he holds the sacred object, the Matrix of Leadership. Their battle at some point took them to Earth, where both sides were offline for millions of years. After being re-awakened, the war began anew with the Decepticons trying to find Energon on Earth, a powerful power source that they create from other power sources.

Prime, like most Cybertronians, is capable of transforming to an alternate form and when he landed on Earth decided to take the form of a transport truck. Prime was once known as Orion Pax, who was a robot soldier who admired a team of transforming robots and wished to be one of them. However, the robots the looked up to would eventually become the evil Decepticons who would nearly kill him. Pax survived through an experimental procedure to reformat regular robots into transforming ones and found himself stronger than before.

The 80s brought forth a ton of toyetic cartoon heroes and Optimus Prime is easily the most iconic. It helps while he has the same forthrightness as many of those heroes but unfortunately a lot of them come off as dull (I’m looking at you, Duke). Optimus’ advantage was, aside from a cool look, was Peter Cullen, a voice actor who brought real weight to a very silly show about carbots. He’s the one with the voice you feel not only has weight but can earn your trust entirely and even brings humanity to characters who, even more than the other shows, look like a collection of toys.

JBear

To be honest, I'm not a huge Transformers fan, which makes it all the more notable that I have a deeply rooted, almost instinctive respect and reverence for the voice of Optimus Prime. If he tells me to roll out, fuck me if I won't run out the door.

Plaintiffs:

Defense:

“I intend to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, unlike our client, she ain’t a beautiful sight.”

 

[Johnny Unusual]

13. Coach McGuirk

110 Points, 4 Lists, #4 JBear ​

“I've got trademark products all over my body because I was drunk one night. Don't live like me.”

Source Material: Home Movies

Voice Actor: Jon Benjamin

John McGuirk is an elementary school soccer coach at an unnamed school in an unnamed city. Despite being a soccer coach, McGuirk has never played soccer and doesn’t even particularly seem to like it, one of the many reasons he is not a particularly good coach. He coaches Brendon, a shy boy who wants to make movies, and Jason and Melissa, two other kids who help Brendon make his movies. McGuirk often considers himself to be a mentor figure to the kids, even though he is often rude or even bullying them (an attitude he also applies to his co-workers). McGuirk apparently served jail time and may have been a war vet and professional wrestler.

Coach McGuirk often sarcastic and rude but he does seem to genuinely care for his kids to the point that he thinks of them as his friends. He seems to lead a very lonely life outside of school and sometimes reaches out to other parents and teachers for companionship, including being romantically interested in Brendon’s mom, Paula. However, his poor behaviour, attitude and often thoughtless or even mean behaviour often hurt his chances for friends outside of the kids he coaches. McGuirk is often a terrible decision maker and is often very vocal about his own regrets. Though they are often quite different, he talks a lot with Brendon, trying to give him advice, much of which is questionable. He tends to be insecure and when things go wrong for him, he tends to take it very badly.

McGuirk is definitely the break-out star of Home Movies and the break-out role for Jon Benjamin. Yes, he was in Dr. Katz (which is related to this show) but I feel this is the one people noticed before he hit big with Archer and Bob’s Burgers. This one feels like that it helped define the various facets of Benjamin characters, even though many of them are also quite different. But there are running themes and they run through this guy; insecurity, breaking down or acting rashly when things don’t go their way. But the McGuirk character is a character who stands on his own as an extremely flawed guy whose major personality issues make him hard at normal adult relationships but we still sort of want this lovable loser and full-grown man to continue his friendship with small children. And we’ll continue to groan when he makes his next bad decision.

JBear

I love H. Jon Benjamin, and he's played several iconic roles that I considered putting on this list, but in the end, he'll always be the weird lonely school coach to me.

Plaintiffs:

Defense:

“Oh, we are lucky. It’s rare my client is the one less likely to be drunk and hurling racial epithets.”

 

[Mogri]

First one on the list I haven't heard of.

 

[Kirin]

I hadn't either until recently when my partner introduced me to Home Movies which is... a weird little show. Like, it's pretty obviously radio plays that someone animated in terms of format and feel. And then bam, there's this proto-Archer in it dispensing his extremely bad advice to children.

Anyway, I didn't actually vote for Coach as I've only seen a little of him, but I did vote for Optimus because why wouldn't I vote for Truck Dad?

 

[Violentvixen]

Wile E. Coyote is magical and I love him. Another that could have been a #1 on a different day. The use of music (or maybe more accurately individual instruments) in those sketches and the striking colour choices of the Southwest deserve a mention too.

I hated Home Movies. I had a lot of friends who loved it but I didn't connect with the characters, they just came off as the spoiled rich kids in the suburbs I already had to deal with in my life and hated.

Continue to be mad I forgot Transformers entirely.

 

[Rascally Badger]

I love Home Movies (it is the source of my handle) and McGuirk is great. He is just so awful and weird, but also there's this core of loneliness to him, where he really just wants friends. I also love that Benjamin voiced another character on the show, who never interacts with McGuirk because, if I remember correctly, Benjamin did not want to do conversations talking to himself.

It is sadly hard to find good Home Movies clips on youtube.

 

[Issun]

I've never watched Home Movies but I can appreciate a vote for H. Jon Benjamin.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Trick to enjoying Home Movies is to not look at the screen at all and treat it like a podcast that happens to air on tv.

Because Lordy, do the visuals not help it

 

[ThornGhost]

I can't tell if this makes Dr. Katz more or less likely to show up.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

12. San

112 Points, 4 Lists, #2 RT-55J ​

“Ugh, I smell like a human.”

Source Material: Princess Mononoke

Voice Actor: Yuriko Ishida, Claire Danes (English)

San is a human who lives in the Cedar Forest and was raised by giant wolves. When San was a baby she was abandoned by her parents as they fled from the Goddess of the Wolves, who attacked them of damaging the forest. San, also known as the Princess Mononoke, was raised by the mononoke, the spirits of the forest. Hating her own humanity, San considers herself one of them and wants to end Irontown, a nearby community whose industry comes at the cost of the forest. San believes if she were to kill Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, she can end Irontown’s attacks on the forest.

San is skilled warrior who fights fiercely against the humans who threaten her forest. Her rage is driven by her deep love of nature and disgust for those who do it damage. Though on the surface, she may seem cold, to non-humans she is extremely caring and compassionate and will risk her own life to defend them. After meeting and bonding with another human, Prince Ashitaka, she is slowly able to give grudging respect for him and empathize a bit more with humans. Despite her short-temper and general misanthropy, San is a deeply loving person who eventually opens her mind and learns to accept the humans as they learn to respect nature. Man, wish this reflected real life.

Despite being the title character, San is more of a co-lead in this series but more than that, she’s also part of an equation, as she is also defined very much by her relationship with Lady Eboshi, her nemesis. Princess Mononoke holds up very well with its complex character and the only character who feels like an out-and-out villain is an outsider who takes advantage of the two’s rivalry. Both are strong women who want to protect people close to them and will go to considerable lengths and are two busy waging a war for the people they love than to make peace. San is a character who starts as a good person but is willing to become a better one by the end, as is Eboshi, as they find new paths to understanding.

Wisteria Hysteria

Fierce, determined, passionate, powerful, and dignified. She kicks butt, she is relentless in her will to protect her own, and she has great empathy. He has no regal lineage but she carries herself like a queen of her domain. She's the best. And while stubborn almost to a fault, she has enough empathy and intelligence to open her mind to new possibilities.

Plaintiffs:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTYyMmExNzYtZDFhYS00MTVjLWFmOGItODRlNmQ2Y2Q1OTgxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc3NDgwNzU@._V1_.jpg

Defense:

“Our client has eaten one fewer granmas… than can be proven.”

 

[Adrenaline]

McGuirk remains H. Jon Benjamin's best character.

 

[Violentvixen]

I actually like Lady Eboshi as a character more than San, sadly neither of them made my final cut but Lady Eboshi stayed in for a while. Seriously this list was so hard to make.

 

[RT-55J]

In the moment before that image loaded I did a double take thinking "wait I voted for Sans???"

One thing I appreciate about San's character is that they didn't feel the need to pair her off. Despite the fact that she and Ashitaka became unlikely allies in the film, the ending very clearly spells out that she's not interested in a romantic relationship with him. I like the groundedness of her not being swept off her feet by the first decent human being she meets.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

11. Steven Universe

112 Points, 4 Lists, #1 JBear ​

“♫ I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me.

I don’t need you to love me, I love me.

But I want you to know you could know me,

If you change your mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind♫”

Source Material: Steven Universe

Voice Actor: Zach Callison

Steven Universe is a half-human/half-gem living in Beach City. Steven’s mother was Rose Quartz, a revolutionary against the Gem Empire, an intergalactic empire of sentient gems, who fought with her allies, the Crystal Gems, to protect the Earth. Eventually, she was reborn/gave birth to her son Steven with Greg Universe, a would-be rock star. Steven was raised by Greg and the Gems and began living with the Gems regularly so they could train him to use the powers that they know he has. Over time, Steven learns to use his powers and understand the exact nature of Gems and the nature of the war that ended centuries ago. In doing so, he comes to understand how he must grow as a person beyond his power once his worldview expands.

Steven is a boy who wants to be a brave hero but is also intensely empathetic and emotional. Steven is very talented at making friends and though he is excited about the prospect of being a monster fighting hero, his nature is to connect with people, even those who are trying to kill him. Steven can also be selfless to a fault, a fact that he doesn’t reckon with until he gets older and needs to learn better self-care. Though he can be childish, he soon develops and displays a deep level of emotional intelligence that also allow the people he love to grow as well. Steven also has a strong love of food, music (which he makes, often on his ukulele) and pop culture, the latter of which he filter’s his experiences through and though he values escapism, learns to reconfigure his expectations.

At first, Steven Universe looked like it was a continuation of the Adventure Time aesthetic but after a few goofier adventures revealed itself to be an altogether different show. Both are very philosophical shows under the guise of goofy kids entertainment but while Adventure Time is about the Big Questions of life, Steven Universe is more focused on love in all it’s form and no character better exemplifies that than the title character. Steven is incredibly open and accepting and even though he’s a kid going through a coming of age journey, he is in many ways aspirational, if naïve. He’s wise, funny, goofy and most important, rarely afraid to be vulnerable (though the epilogue series notes he might be more afraid than he appears). He’s a person who is there for you and wants to sit and listen and help, rarely in a forceful way. The show is also smart enough to question Steven’s nature at time without ever denying all the good and beauty within him.

JBear

It's rare that I get to feel this good about my #1 for a list, but Steven has that effect on people. He's just great. He's complicated, and has to deal with a lot of shit that someone his age probably shouldn't have to, but never loses his humanity or his empathy along the way.

Plaintiffs:

Steven Sugar

Defense:

“Well, the bad news, since Sugar has the ability to draw backgrounds, he can constantly create his own change of venue, so we got to be on the watch out for that”

 

[Issun]

Steven's a good kid. Even if he did almost unleash the evil of Together Breakfast on the world.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

10. Scrooge McDuck

113 Points, 4 Lists, #3 THE Lumber Baron ​

“I made on the seas, and in the mines, and in the cattle wars of the old frontier! I made it by being tougher than the toughies, and smarter than the smarties! And I made it square!”

Source Material: Ducktales, various Disney Media

Voice Actor: Dallas McKennon (1960), Bill Thompson (1967), Alan Young (1974–2016), Will Ryan (Sport Goofy in Soccermania), John Kassir (Mickey Mouse; 2016–present), David Tennant (DuckTales reboot), Eric Bauza (Legend of the Three Caballeros), Enn Reitel (Kingdom Hearts III, Disney park appearances)

Scrooge McDuck is a ultra-wealthy duck living in the city of Duckberg and is known as the world’s richest duck. Growing up poor in Scotland, the young McDuck gained his first dime through a backbreaking day of shoe shining, which he treasured and would consider to be sacred to him. Over time through hard work and ingenuity, McDuck would go on many adventures and amass a fortune unlike the world has ever seen, to the point where he keeps it in a large fortress he calls the Money Bin. Over time, McDuck was given charge over the nephews of Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie and they would join him along his adventures. Other friends include the maid, Mrs. Beakley and her granddaughter Webby, his butler Duckworth (confusingly not a duck), his personal pilot Launchpad McQuack and the inventor Gyro Gearloose.

Scrooge is incredibly, openly and proudly greedy, hoarding massive amounts of wealth. However, despite that, he has a strong sense of ethics and feels he must win his money “square”. He doesn’t mind outwitting a competitor in a deal but he generally doesn’t like stealing and finds there are lines of trickery that he will not cross. He also equates the search for wealth as an adventure and is incredibly hands on, willing to risk his own life for whatever he is looking for. Scrooge is also notoriously cheap, willing to find cost cutting measures that are sometime practical but often boarder on irresponsible. Despite his cheapness and greed and the fact that he’s willing to take a loved one on an adventure, he will always be willing to sacrifice his own glory for someone he cares for, even if he’s a bit hesitant to give up. He’s pugnacious, stubborn, sometimes a bit mischievous (though like his nephew Donald, often doesn’t like when the tables are turned) and does not suffer fools.

Scrooge McDuck is the highest ranked character to debut outside of animation but while in many ways quite similar, the Scrooge McDuck in Ducktales is a bit different. Though rough around the edges, he is a little more of a family man. But I feel like his cartoon incarnation is weird in the way he is very 80s. Yes, yes, he’s made small animated appearances prior but I think even as good as the Mickey’s Christmas Carol is, we are very much in mind of his Disney Afternoon/Disney XD variants. Very much from the greed is good school, the two series often have his greed as a bit of a flaw but never really fatal one and is practically celebrated. So then why does this character work so well when he feels like he should be a relic of the 80s. It’s more than just “pop will eat itself”. He isn’t just a loveable jerk (I mean, he is a bit), he’s a complete hero who’s starting motivation is generally self-interest and glory, something harder to sell now. But he still works, in part because it’s thesis in both Ducktales series are “adventure is fun and life is an adventure”. Like, the kind of pride he has feels like it would be ultra-toxic in real life, as it seems what his money means to him is a sign that he’s accomplished so much but within the context of the show, they manage to sell the character thanks to his humanity and inability to give up. And everything is so outsized in his world, and yet we usually have smaller moments that make what I feel is Disney’s true “tall tale” hero work.

Plaintiffs:

Defense:

“We convince the jury we are merely a bit of overdone potato.”

 

[Octopus Prime]

Definitely my favourite duck.

Sorry, Other Ducks, you had your chance

 

[Violentvixen]

A late cut for me and I wish I hadn't cut him now.

 

[Dracula]

Catching up:

Optimus Prime is of course a bit important to me. I give voice actor Peter Cullen a lot of credit for what he brings to the character. When asked about his inspirations for the role, he often describes a combination of the larger-than-life affectations of John Wayne with the real-life heroism of Cullen's older brother Larry, a former marine. His goal was to portray a hero with a lot of presence but a gentle core - the kind of hero who can make a good speech but would also dash into a burning bunker to rescue just one of his soldiers. In the best moments of the original TF show you can often see these qualities emerge.

Cullen went on to voice Optimus in lots of other roles and though there have been several other fantastic voice actors to lend their talents to the character, in the modern era, if Cullen isn't the voice, then it's someone trying to imitate Cullen's performance.

I love Princess Mononoke and I'm overdue for a rewatch.

I wasn't a fan of Home Movies when it aired on AS, mostly because of the sketchy style. I think I'd enjoy it a bit more nowadays in the way Octo suggested.

Steven Universe is probably one of the most important cartoon characters of our modern age. He breaks many of the typical "boys' adventure" genre traditions - he's defined by his empathy rather than his skill; his special power is defensive and healing; he ignores cultural gender boundaries. I say often that Steven Universe is the best Transformers show - in a show where characters frequently transform, both physically and philosophically, Steven's transformations often carry the weight of the main plot. It's tremendously satisfying to see him start the show as a soft egg to be protected and end it as a soft egg who commands the Crystal Gems to fight back against an ancient galactic hegemony with unimaginable powers.

DuckTales is one of those nebulous nostalgic things for me still. Unlike many of the cartoons I grew up with, I've never given any of the Disney Afternoon shows another look. I don't remember much about the show, though I had the movie on VHS. I've been told repeatedly by many people that I must watch the modern one.

 

[Kirin]

Steven and San are both great picks. Drac sums up Steven nicely above - he's really the poster boy for a recent crop of shows that realize Feelings are Good, Actually, and working through and with them is how you grow, and it's so great that these shows exist.

Scrooge is a tricky one. On the one hand, he's the gruff but ultimately kind center of a rollicking adventure show, and that's the Scrooge everyone loves - on the other, he's obviously a capitalist bastard hoarding untold wealth, of the kind that we rightly decry in real life. He is seen to "give back" in some circumstances, but he still keeps that giant money bin. But of course, DuckTales isn't real life - does Duckburg have any systemic poverty? I'm really not sure.