Cartoon characters have shined brightly, bringing joy to children throughout TV history. With so many best cartoon characters of all time out there, from SpongeBob SquarePants to The Simpsons, to the likes of Looney Tunes and even Tom and Jerry, it seems nearly impossible to create a conclusive list of the greatest cartoon characters on TV, however, it must be done. At Quick Read Magazine, we’ve compiled a list of the best cartoon characters in TV history. The list features funny looking faces, iconic voices and crazy animated shows.
The question is, as a South African, what are some of your favorite cartoon characters?
List Of the 22 Best Cartoon Characters
1. Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)
Creators: Ben Hardaway, Tex Avery
Voices: Mel Blanc, Jeff Bergman, various others
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character, created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. It is one of the most popular classic cartoon characters of all time.
2. Homer J. Simpson (The Simpsons)
Creator: Matt Groening
Voice: Dan Castellaneta
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and one of the main characters of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. Homer Jay Simpson is the bumbling husband of Marge, and father to Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson.
3. Charlie Brown and Snoopy (Peanuts)
Creator: Charles M. Schulz
Voice: Peter Robbins, Bill Melendez, various others
Charlie Brown is the principal character of the comic strip Peanuts, syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world.
4. Tom and Jerry
Creators: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Voices: William Hanna, various others
Tom and Jerry is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
5. SpongeBob Squarepants
Creator: Stephen Hillenburg
Voice: Tom Kenny
SpongeBob SquarePants (also simply referred to as SpongeBob) is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. SpongeBob SquarePants has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, 18 Kids’ Choice Awards, and two BAFTA Children’s Awards.
6. Mickey Mouse
Creators: Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks
Voices: Walt Disney, Bret Iwan, various others
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney, and is the mascot of The Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse is one of the most popular cartoon characters in South Africa. He has appeared in over 130 films, for which he received numerous accolades. In 1932, Walt Disney was presented an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
7. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers
Creators: Joe Ruby, Ken Spears
Voices: Casey Kasem, Don Messick, various others
Norville “Shaggy” Rogers is a fictional character in the Scooby-Doo franchise. He is generally depicted as a detective and cowardly slacker and the long-time best friend of his equally cowardly dog, Scooby-Doo.
8. BoJack Horseman
Creator: Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Voice: Will Arnett
BoJack Horseman is an American adult animated tragicomedy sitcom created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. BoJack Horseman is the washed-up star of the 1990s sitcom Horsin’ Around, which centered around a young bachelor horse trying to raise three human children who had been orphaned.
9. Winnie the Pooh
Creators: A. A. Milne, E. H. Shepard
Voice: Sterling Holloway, Hal Smith, Jim Cummings
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928).
10. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (The Powerpuff Girls)
Creator: Craig McCracken
Voices: Cathay Cavadini, Tara Strong, E. G. Daily, various others
The Powerpuff Girls is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network. The show centers on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers.
11. Eric Cartman (South Park)
Creators: Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Voice: Trey Parker
Eric Theodore Cartman, often referred to just by his surname, is a main character in the adult animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and is voiced by Parker. He is one of the series’ four central characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick.
12. Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones)
Creators: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Voices: Alan Reed, Jeff Bergman, various others
Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series’ run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintstone and together the family live in their homely cave in the town of Bedrock.
13. Tina Belcher (Bob’s Burgers)
Creator: Loren Bouchard
Voice: Dan Mintz
Tina Ruth Belcher is the oldest child. She is a hopeless romantic with a powerful s*x drive and minimal social skills. She likes horses, rainbows, zombies, writing erotic fiction, and movies, as was revealed in Crawl Space.
14. Rick and Morty
Creators: Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon
Voice: Justin Roiland
Rick, an alcoholic sociopath and scientist, lives with his daughter Beth’s family. Apart from building gadgets, he takes his morally right but dimwit grandson Morty on absurd intergalactic adventures
15. Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales)
Creator: Carl Barks
Voices: Dallas McKennon, Bill Thompson, Alan Young, David Tennant, various others
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet.
16. Mordecai and Rigby (Regular Show)
Creator: J.G. Quintel
Voices: J.G. Quintel, William Salyers
A blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby work as groundskeepers at a local park and get into surreal misadventures whenever they attempt to slack off.
17. Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)
Creator: Matt Groening
Voice: Nancy Cartwright
Bartholomew JoJo “Bart” Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short “Good Night” on April 19, 1987.
18. Phineas and Ferb
Creators: Dan Povenmire, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh
Voices: Vincent Martella, Thomas Sangster
Phineas and Ferb embark on various adventures during their summer vacation, while trying to keep their sister from interfering with their plans.
19. Ed, Edd & Eddy
Creator: Danny Antonucci
Voices: Matt Hill, Samuel Vincent, Tony Sampson
Like any boys trying to survive their adolescence, Ed, Edd and Eddy are as clueless about girls as everything else. Eddy may not be the brains of the trio, but he’s the “idea guy,” always scheming and dragging his buddies along. Ed, Edd and Eddy go on summertime adventures involving part-time jobs, treehouses and of course, girls.
20. Yogi Bear
Creators: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Ed Benedict
Voices: Daws Butler, Greg Burson, various others
Yogi Bear is a anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show.
21. Johnny Bravo
Creators: Van Partible
Voice: Jeff Bennett
Johnny Bravo is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. It is the second of the network’s Cartoon Cartoons, which aired from July 14, 1997 to August 27, 2004.
22. Peppa Pig
Creators: Neville Astley and Mark Baker
Voice: Lily Snowden-Fine, Harley Bird
Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series by Astley Baker Davies. The show revolves around Peppa, an anthropomorphic female pig and her family and peers.
These are some of the most popular cartoon characters loved by South Africans.
Image Courtesy: officialpsds.com