Brutal Honesty

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Top 5 Cartoon Characters of All-Time

In appreciation of all things drawn I thought it only appropriate to create a top 5 list to the cartoon world. Many people view cartoons as juvenile or useless, but I disagree. Not only can cartoons provide plenty of education and entertainment(as evidenced by my nephew Paul's repeated requests to watch Boundin'), but I think that cartoons might provide the best comedy on TV.(with the exception of Arrested Development and The Office). So here goes:

#1 Homer Jay Simpson: While the Doh! and pounding Duff's, are probably what Homer is best known for, he is extremely more complex then just the obvious stereotypes. Homer is a somewhat committed father, a semi-pious man(who has had numerous visitations from God), and an avid sportsman. Some classic Homer moments include: Homer in heaven telling Dean Martin that he wasted his talents, Homer tripping out on Chilean insanity peppers, and the best line of all occurred when Homer changed his name to Max Power(statement is directed at Marge), "Nobody snuggles with Max Power. You strap yourself in and feel the G's!"

#2 Stewie and Brian Griffin: First off what is more classic then a talking baby and a talking dog? Secondly, they improve on #1 by making the baby some sort of evil genius, and by making the dog superior intellectually then his owner. Could any other show on TV get away with lines like this, Stewie (to one of the prostitutes at Cleveland's house): "So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?"

#3 Bender: Originally I thought that Futurama was not very good, but as I watched the show it grew on me. What is more classic then a robot with serious attitude. Whoever, decided to pull this show made a huge mistake. In Bender's own words, "This is the worst kind of discrimination. The kind against me!"

#4 Jonny Quest: Is there anything more cool then a kid who runs around with his little Indian friend named Hadji, his little yappy dog(Bandit), and a random guy with grey hair named Race? Just one question, where was Jonny's dad during all this fun? I seem to remember him only appearing occasionally.

#5 Senor Cardgage: While technically not a cartoon in the TV sense, few things are funnier then this web-created cartoon. The creepy Strongbad lookalike with a beer-belly and a wicked combover has some of the funniest lines around. For those of you who don't know Senor, "Get a leg up on the pile and refinance your dreams!" http://homestarrunner.com/senormortgage.html

5 Comments:

At 9:16 AM, Blogger a random John said...

Of all time? Hmmmmmmm... Johnny Quest but no Scooby-Doo or Rocky and Bullwinkle? Stewie and Brian but not the Professor and his boy Sherman?

Homer I'll give you. All the rest are too new/obscure. Are you limiting yourself to TV? I think that Mickey and Bugs have to be on any such list even though they are not as relevant now.

 
At 10:55 AM, Blogger slink said...

The Professor and Sherman almost made an appearance. As far as the others go there comedic value is lacking. While my list is fairly new I think that as far as laugh's go it is pretty accurate.

 
At 11:37 AM, Blogger a random John said...

Johnny Quest counts as comedy? You could put the Super Friends on if mocking outdated shows is comedy. You could throw in Thundercats too.

Pinky and the Brain probably deserves a spot as well if funny to adults is what you want.

I just think that if you are making a list of "All-Time" characters you have to take into account past giants and their influence. You wouldn't make a "greatest basketball players of all time" list and leave people off because they wouldn't have an impact in today's NBA.

So that said, characters you would have to at least consider:

Rocky & Bullwinkle
Underdog
The Professor and Sherman
Mickey Mouse & co
Bugs Bunny & co
Woody Woodpecker
Popeye
Tom & Jerry
Betty Boop
Scooby Doo
The Smurfs
Yogi Bear
The Flintstones (there would be no Simpsons without them)

 
At 11:58 AM, Blogger slink said...

Pinky and the Brain also got a lot of consideration. Jonny Quest was thrown in more for the odd cast of characters then for anything else. Feel free to disagree, but I am ticking to MY top-5.

 
At 11:07 AM, Blogger FishHead said...

whitney said she would have liked to have seen a little bit of this:
HomeStarRunner

 

Post a Comment

<< Home