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It’s time to go back! Back to Animation! That’s right GCRN Fans the NEXT Top 100 is here! This time we are counting down the GCRN’s Top 100 Animated Characters. We return to our animated roots, to give you the ultimate geeky cartoon characters countdown ever! So tune into Part 2 to hear which of your favorite toons ended up as #75 through #51! And as always “UNLEASH THE GEEK IN YOU!”
Geeks
Kevin “OptimusSolo” Thompson
Amanda “HardCandiMandi” Kosowiec
Dan “MovieRevolt” Clark
Andrew “Sketch84” Hingson
UNLEASH THE TOON IN YOU!!
Okay, I’m digesting this list, but, yeah, there’s a lot of headscratchers on this one. Not all bad, but, well,…
WILE E. COYOTE & ROAD RUNNER-Since you mentioned that I had these paired, and they were 12th on my ballot, and I have to say, I’m not sure, how or why some of these were separated and some we’re paired. I had Wallace & Gromit, for instance, at 17, and-, I mean, yes, there’s one or two major cartoons with the Coyote without the Road Runner, but only Gromit? It’s not like there’s a bunch of Gromit cartoons out there, they’re always together!! That was the standard for me, like, is there a reasonable, consistent, noted basis in which, these characters are found outside of the pairing, and, I just don’t see it with some of these. I mean,sure I can think of a few good cartoon with Sylvester and Tweety, separate and without each other, but do you ever think of them, separately? I had Tom & Jerry, 3rd on my ballot, I had, Rocky & Bullwinkle, which is starting to scare, ’cause with the lack of adult series characters on the list, I’m starting to think those two might not make it separately or together, but I don’t get, how anybody could separate some of these characters, who are iconic as pairs? That’s one of the most confusing things on the list so far.
QUEEN ELSA- I had her, the second-highest ranked, Disney Princess, I had her 16th, and I don’t understand against her. She’s a strong independent woman? Really? I think the whole point of her, was that, she wasn’t able to be anything else, and that made her, fragile. First off, I’m sorry for those who disagree, but “Frozen” is a masterpiece, and most of it, is because of her. She’s the most internally-conflicted animated character I think I’ve ever seen. She incapable of controlling her emotions, so she becomes standoffish, she explodes and damns the world because they find out her secrets, she builds an ice palace, becomes a literal ice queen, sings, what is essentially a villain song, which I think people don’t realize about “Let It Go” and why it deserves all the overplay. It sounds joyous and uplifting on one level, but if you look an in-context, it is frightening! And, she’s doing all these bad things, still, to protect the ones she loves, but because she’s like this, she’s ostracized her from those loved one! Fuck me! And this is one character! Find me a Disney Princess or any animated character with that much inner and outer conflict! I can think of maybe a couple anime characters, but from DISNEY!? There’s no reason she shouldn’t be Top 20, way, way, way, too low! (Also, something about “Frozen” that I think gets overlooked, not to be too sidetracked, but this is the like the first Disney animated feature that, to me, represents the huge influence of Broadway into their movie, most of their other musicals were influenced by movie musicals, but there’s a lot of “Les Mis” or “Sweeney Todd” in “Frozen”, especially the music, and I don’t think it’s compared enough to things like that, which is where it should be compared, ’cause to me, instead of looking at “The Lion King” or for some reason, “Tangled” that it’s compared to, it should be compared to those kind of projects instead.)
MUFASA-Speaking of “The Lion King”, I had Simba on my list, I mean he’s the Hamlet of the film, so yeah, he belongs on there, who is the only one I thought deserved it, sure Timon & Pumbaa are good side characters, comic relief, but I didn’t think that was enough to put them on the ballot, but I gotta say, I don’t get Mufasa being on here. I guess, my favorite, animated Dad, I wouldn’t think of him, although from animated movies, yeah, he’d make that list, but I didn’t even seriously consider him, and I’m shocked, he overtook the other “The Lion King” characters, which, I-yeah, I never ranked “The Lion King” as upper-tier Disney either; it’s second-tier to me. Very good, not great, another reason why three characters from it seems weird to me. I don’t get Mufasa, he’s not in it enough, he’s there to die, yeah, I wouldn’t rank him.
JIMINY CRICKET-I kinda thought the same with him and Tinkerbell, they’re important characters in the mythos of Disney, but are they actually that interesting? I’d argue no, not interesting enough for this list.
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS-As to Cartoon Network, alright, I’ll let Johnny Bravo and Dexter go, I did consider them; they didn’t make my ballot, and especially Johnny Bravo, I’m not really sure they hold up, but I’m sorry Powerpuff Girls was one of the stupidest things I ever saw. Just…-ugh, that, I’m actually kinda shocked that they made it and that they were so high. I actually don’t hate some of the supporting characters on the show, but yeah, no, no, those three…- I swear, those things were so dumb they hurt my head somedays when they first came out. I know there’s a new version, I’ve heard that it’s oh-kay, but I don’t know. I’m kinda shocked to see them on the list.
MALEFICENT- First off, it’s interesting nobody even mentioned the movie Maleficent is from, “Sleeping Beauty” which is good reason ’cause it sucks, and sure, you can argue she’s the best thing about that film, but I have never understood her appeal, even as a villain. (Hell, they made here a hero in the recent remake, that’s how little she made sense as a villain.) And, I don’t get the appeal of her. Fine, she turned into a scary dragon in the end, which was scary, but… (Shrugs) she sucked as a character. She made an entrance at a party she wasn’t invited too, (I can see why) and it’s all spitefulness. She’s basically a villain, because the movie needed a villain, and that’s why I knock her down; she’s really arbitrary.
SADNESS-Well, I did just rank “Inside Out” on my Top Ten List on 2015 on my most recent blogpost #BlatantSelfPromotion but I gotta disagree, I thought, well, first of all I hope Riley is on the list ahead of both of them, instead of just, all her emotions, because,well they’re all in her! So…. but I think Joy should be higher. It’s actually, her that learns and changes and grows the most, and is the one that realizes that, Riley and her, needs Sadness in order to have a complete Riley, it’s her that grows and changes, so I don’t get Sadness being on the list, especially with Joy being so far back.
BIG BIRD-I renew my objection with Elmo, Big Bird should be disqualified. The word was “Animated” not, “Children’s Characters” and I love Big Bird, but he’s not an animated character! Right now, I’m very curious who, made 101 and 102 on the list, ’cause for all-intensive purposes, they should be on the list instead.
FIEVEL-Yeah, I didn’t like the first “An American Tale”, um, (Shrug) I hated the sequel and-eh, the fact that there’s more shocks me. I really, don’t think Don Bluth that many great characters in general; (Or movies for that matter) I know that’s a bit blasphemous to say, but um even by that standard, Fievel’s like-, He’s one of those characters who’s almost too designed to be beloved by kids to be liked by me. I can’t quite explain it, but there’s the hat, the smile, the outfit that’s oversized ’cause he small… Okay, the immigrant story, kinda cool and unusual but, (Shrugs) I don’t get him on the list.
THE GRINCH-Okay, well, there were other animated specials and shorts with the Grinch, not just the main one, wanted to correct you guys on that; that said, uh, I didn’t include one character who technically only appeared in one major cartoon piece he’s known for, and that was Michigan J. Frog, but eh, I didn’t really consider The Grinch. Yeah, it’s one really good cartoon, and a few other really, kinda lousy ones he was in, but also, he’s more of a character from a book, to me. I don’t know if he’s distinctive enough as an animated character to really consider, unlike say, the Peanuts characters which have, loads of animated material in film and television to consider, (And somehow not one of them have made the list yet…! WTF, I had six of them on my ballot, and couldn’t made an argument for maybe four or five others?!)
TOTORO-I love Miyazaki and i had about, three or four of his characters on the list, but I don’t get Totoro. I mean, good movie, I guess, interesting character, I’d argue the two little sisters are more interesting, but yeah, I think there’s something that, I’m not getting from that character. He’s kinda like Ghibli’s Jiminy Cricket or Tinkerbell, the character that’s a major figure as a mascot figure, but really isn’t that interesting a character within their own work. I didn’t even consider Totoro, and I wouldn’t rank him.
ALADDIN- Alright, I have a huge issue with Aladdin being on the list; I don’t think he’s interesting, at all. I mean, take Genie out of that movie, and it’s arguably the most boring modern Disney film. Aladdin, really isn’t that interesting. He’s got the character archetype, diamond in the rough, coming out of the gutter and marrying his way to the top, but that’s an archetype; he’s not really an interesting and memorable character. I’m shocked he’s on the list honestly; I didn’t even seriously consider him. You got it almost right, everyone around him is interesting, or more interesting than Aladdin, most of them, sorta. Yeah, “Aladdin”‘s really boring without Genie, I hope we were smart enough to put him on the list and a lot higher.
STERLING ARCHER- Glad to see, something from Primetime on here. I had Sterling Archer pretty high; that show’s funny as hell. I always describe it to people as “Arrested Development” meets “Get Smart”, and yes, there’s a lot great characters on the show, I could’ve made an argument for almost all of them, I had only two on my ballot, but Sterling, definitely is the clear centerpiece, so if there’s only one from the show, I’m okay with it being just him.
Still, I don’t get…- where’s all “The Simpsons” or “South Park” or “Family Guy” or well-, I didn’t have a “Futurama” character on my ballot, but there’s so many great characters from those shows and some others, I really hope that, people didn’t just say, “Okay, I got Homer Simpson, I’m covered” or whatever, there’s a reason why these franchises and series are the longest-running and most influential series and a lot it is that they have all these great important and influential characters; there’s a lot of great ones on those shows. I get why, somebody would say, “I don’t want it to be too one-sided towards these shows and not include anything else,” but, it’s not a series list, or an animation franchise list. I mean, there’s three from “The Lion King” already, and none from “Peanuts”! or “Rocky & Bullwinkle” or any Mike Judge character! You got some Looney Tunes and some more Disney, although not the ones I would’ve put there, but if it’s a really true list of animated characters, it really should be more slanted towards the more major franchises, and I hope that happens much more, later down on the list.
I mean, it’s like, remember when VH-1 was watchable and cared about music, and they did Top 100 Lists that weren’t embarrassing? Like the Top 100 Artists List, that first one was a great and fairly accurate list, the Beatles were number one, Stones, 2, Hendrix 3, Zeppelin 4, Dylan, 5, etc. etc. Well, then they did, the Best Songs Lists, right. And they didn’t have one Sex Pistols song or one Pink Floyd song even, or one Madonna song, or U2 or… I mean, they’re great, great bands with arguably a song or two that could’ve or should’ve made the list, but 9 Beatles songs made the list, 5 Stones, 4 Dylan’s, 4 Zeppelin’s etc., and why not, they’re the “best” at music, so they should have more of the best songs, right? That’s sorta what this list, should look like to me. Disney, Looney Tunes, Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Peanuts, etc. and some major movie characters scattered throughout, maybe one or two others, sporadically that are too important to leave out, that’s what the list should look like, you know? It’s not quite looking like that to me, yet, which is a bit concerning.
“Lion King is second tier Disney”….I’m sorry I can’t take anything else you say seriously after that statement
agreed!!
From the Gummi Bears to the little mermaid to the lion king, that was the second coming of disney excellence!!!
Hold on, it’s still really good, but “The Little Mermaid” and especially “Beauty and the Beast” were the great ones of the Disney Renaissance, “The Lion King” was very good, and that was about it. I like it a lot, but really, you guys rank that one up with those two? I don’t, and I think it’s particularly hard to do so after “Toy Story” the following year rewrote everything. No, my theory on “The Lion King” popularity is that, because it wasn’t obviously a direct retelling of a traditional fairy tale or story that kids automatically knew going in, that it gets pushed up a bit because it seemed more new and unique, which, in terms of Disney it was, but no, I’ve never understood those that think it’s one of Disney very best films.I think it’s the best of the second tier, if that helps, but no, I don’t rank it among their upper tier.
I agree that it was almost all excellent that era of Disney; I just don’t see that era and put “The Lion King” and the top of that era.
looking at late 80s thru the 90s which I consider the second coming of great disney films…. without the little mermaid we wouldn’t have gotten Aladdin, lion king and the like…. The Lion King tells a story of family, tragedy and a son coming to terms with his actions or lack thereof. It is very deep story telling in my mind.
Here’s the list from 1988 to 1999 of the disney films released….
Oliver and Co
The Little Mermaid
Rescuers Down Under (which I saw in theaters and loved!)
Beauty & the Beast
Aladdin
Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Each of these films has a unique characters, some of the stories are adaptations like Pocahontas and hunchback and all that. But snow white was an adaptation too. Has Disney had duds.. YES, but if you go back and watch these films again with an open mind, you might just discover what you are missing. Wth Mulan that is all about female empowerment, because she has to live up to her father’s legacy, and she breaks out and succeeds! With Oliver and Co it’s all about a girl who is so lonely that she just needs a friend Oliver comes along, and so do the dodger and the gang, and they turn into one big family. Again that was an adaptation of oliver twist, but still… one of the better adaptations!
I do love “Oliver & Company” which I saw originally in theaters, btw, and I think “The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ and “Tarzan” are pretty underrated, and I would add-eh, “The Great Mouse Detective” right before “Oliver & Company” the year as the early predecessor of what would become the Renaissance, but still, “The Lion King” is a distant third on this list to me. “Beauty and the Beast” way up there at the top, “The Little Mermaid” right near, but “The Lion King” is the best of the rest. I think it’s a really good movie, but I saw it in theaters at the time too, and it is spectacular, but I don’t rank it as great as everybody else does. As to “Mulan”, eh, okay, it was female empowerment, it’s got that great action sequence when she causes the avalanche, that spectacular. Still, that’s, well probably above “Pocahontas” which I think we can agree is the worst of the bunch, right? I like it more than that one, but not much. I mean, yeah, she’s a pretty interesting and different heroine for Disney at the time, but I never liked the music of that film; I don’t think any of the side characters or stories were that interesting, and I find it mostly forgettable. I like that it went outside, the realm of white, Anglo-American characters and worlds, that was cool, but I don’t think they did it well, and when you compare it to, say San or Lady Eboshi in “Princess Mononoke” which came out around that time, I think Mulan falls short. There are more interesting and unique female animated characters around.
And “Toy Story” was distributed by Disney, so I think it can count. I remember thinking of it as a Disney/Pixar film at the time, I’m counting it.
And Oliver & Company is more about Oliver than the girl, she’s got one song, that was terrible in the movie, and we follow Oliver the whole way, as he becomes part of Fagan’s gang and the Artful Dodger, etc. It’s not about the girl. Well, it is in the sense that it’s about the side characters that Oliver runs into, which is also the problem with “Oliver Twist” in general, he’s the least interesting character in the novel, and therefore the least interesting character in every version and re-imagining of the story, but c’mon, can you even remember the Girl’s name without looking it up in “Oliver & Company”? Yeah, it wasn’t about her.
her name was Jenny! O & Co from disney is a #1 fav of mine, plus it has freakin billy joel as the dodger.
you are right the story is about oliver, but I’m saying I think Disney tried to make more outta it… where they made it about Oliver and Jenny finding each other… in order to help both character out.
The last scene of that movie is still Oliver and Dodger on the street; and the adventure is with him and the rest of Fagan’s gang. I think you’re really stretching the importance of Jenny in that film. And that’s not that far a stretch from any other “Oliver Twist” story, he always ends up finding a home in the end.
Oliver is the main point, but in the disney version the writing team also makes a point to show you that Jenny needs love besides a butler. Oliver as a new pet is that, because let’s face it Georgette ain’t a loving pet. The whole film is about family and Oliver does find his with the gang, BUT the middle part is all about Oliver and Jenny!
you cannot count toy story as disney when it was released, because that was Pixar, and the mouse had not bought them yet.
For WILE E. COYOTE & ROAD RUNNER I agree they probably should have been paired. Not sure why they weren’t. Could relate to how people voted.
I do think you are selling The Powerpuff Girls short. It’s a lot smarter than its concept may lead you to believe. I didn’t rank them on my list but their is some hidden brilliance in that show.
When I created my list I rarely had more than three people from any movie or TV show. For franchises like Loonie Tunes and Disney I had more, but for me I didn’t want to flood it with The Simpsons, South Park, or any show really.
Plus one thing to consider is just the vast amount choices available with a list like this. Its much more of a crap shoot when putting it together. Peanuts perhaps should be better represented but honestly I didn’t rank more than two because I don’t particularity love Peanuts nor find the need to go beyond that with that show. Should there be three Lion King characters? No. Especially two of the three.
I also think the song comparison is different. Because you are comparing a song vs another songs Every song gets to stand on its own, but with characters its different. Is it fair to rank the 9th side character in The Simpsons vs the main character in a Pixar film or another animated series.
Uhhh on the Elsa comment– inner and outer conflict– the little mermaid. She went against everything she was and ever knew-Literaly changed her self into a DIFFERENT FRIGGIN SPECIES just to be a part of a world she desperately wanted to experience. She gave up something invaluable just to do that. So Elsa hiding from her issue all those years just to throw a fit and fuck a town that doesn’t understand her doesn’t make her top 100 worthy.
Agreed.
Oh c’mon, I love Ariel, but she was just a whiny teenager compared to Elsa. I mean, first of all, Ariel did it voluntarily, Elsa was born with it, and then it lead to her ostracizing the person she loved most. Ariel, just made a deal with a drag queen octopus, after her father broke her stuff and even then, it was, originally only for three days. Elsa had years of self tragedy, personal tragedy and now she’s got to run a kingdom, (Or Queendom?) And she didn’t throw a fit, she accidentally revealed her biggest secret that she kept all her life and the townspeople were trying condemn her after she revealed it. They made her explode, especially after years of keeping such a dramatic secret from her closest confidants. And was it invaluable what Ariel gave up? She didn’t seem to value it, first chance she got, “Oh, my voice, for a shot at humanity? Deal!” Didn’t seem that valuable to her, she was easily willing to give up her species because her dad was angry and she got a little crush on a sailor. Ariel was a young girl who tried to grow up faster than she should’ve. Elsa was a grownup woman, who had to grow up faster than she should’ve. She had no choice, her parents died, her sister and everyone else in danger from her just by her existence, and she the one Princess who actually becomes Queen and has the duty of having an entire kingdom to protect when she was old enough. In essence, she didn’t have a childhood, the one thing Ariel was rather easily willing to give up No, you’re way, way, way off on Elsa, not only is she Top 100, she should’ve easily been top 20! Ariel, good character, made my ballot and pretty high herself, but really, I can’t understand the argument that she has more depth because she wanted something desperately and got it. It takes a minute to psychoanalytically diagnosis Ariel, it would take a year to get to the bottom of all Elsa’s problems.
“Elsa was born with it, and then it lead to her ostracizing the person she loved most.”
Does that mean because I was BORN with Cerebral Palsy (because of a drunk doctor botching my birth) that I’ll ostracize everyone in my life? NO.
That right there is just a damn bad excuse. YES Elsa is to blame for her emotions exploding, but it was because her parents basically forced her to hide them her whole life. Instead of trying to teach her how to use her “powers” they instilled FEAR in her, in the film it is even said that she could destroy the world. I think……
Instead of embracing and trying to help her, they basically shamed her into hiding. Frozen is the single worst disney film in the past 15 years.
Oh please, it’s the best Disney film of the past fifteen years! I might argue it’s their best since “Beauty and the Beast”. It completely circumvents and reinvents the Disney Princess genre, gives us two great Princess characters, a story that’s about sisters, of all things which you never see, and it’s an emotional journey that’s actually delineates between family and true love, is full of amazing songs, Broadway-esque, hell, it’s even got a Broadway structure, something Disney really hasn’t done in their movies before. Most of their influences have been film musicals before, but they’re work on Broadway over the last two decades has really seeped into their work, especially in “Frozen”. This movie is borrowing from such things as “Sweeney Todd” and “Les Miserables” instead of just the traditional Disney influences. And it’s actually emotional and frightening at times, somethign most Disney films only flaunt with. And yes, their parents instilled this fear, and made her hide them, and that’s fucking torturous to her! And then they died, don’t forget that, so that’s the last message they left her with! You’re telling me that’s not more interesting and compelling and complex! Yeah, you were born with CP and I’m sorry for that, but your parents didn’t react and teach you the same way they taught Elsa, and that got ingrained in her. You came out differently, and good for you, but that’s dismissing the whole premise of “Frozen” that these two sisters, both grew up, with extreme personality traits that made them act, fairly irregularly went presented with the outside world, and that’s what makes them fascinating. (Princess Anna, just missed my ballot, she would’ve made a Top 110) One’s overly extroverted and unknowing to the point of getting married the first time she meets anyone, the other shuns and rejects the world the first time her true self is revealed. I’m sorry, but this is quite complex. And it’s not like her parents were wrong or uncaring, they were putting both of their lives at risk, hers and her sister’s. This wasn’t just a syndrome or disease that affected one of them, it was dangerous to others, including loved ones. The fact that the parents might not have been as knowing as they should’ve been, doesn’t make them lesser characters, it makes them stronger ones.
I think you’re giving “TPG” too much credit, but as to the song comparison, I’d argue it’s not fair, but I wouldn’t argue that it’s not reality either. Sometimes something is that important and influential. (Wait, you don’t love “Peanuts”? That’s, no I don’t get that. Well, we’ll deal with that later) The 100 Songs list I mentioned, I just looked at it, because it had nine Beatles songs on it, the lowest was “A Hard Day’s Night” at 79, number 80 was “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor. Now, however you think of that ranking, that was the only entrant for Taylor on the list, and he’s got a Hall of Fame career full of great songs. In fact, the 9th’s highest-ranked Beatles song, actually did rank higher, than every song by, among others, Jefferson Airplane, Prince, Bob Marley, AC/DC, Wilson Pickett and Van Halen, and those were artists got a song on that list, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, U2, Madonna, Sam Cooke, Tom Petty and dozens of others aren’t better than the top 9 best Beatles songs at a minimum, according to this list. So, I’d argue that it’s probably likely that the ninth biggest Simpsons character, eh, would probably be higher ranked than many historic film and TV characters. And I’m not even a big “Simpsons” fan, but yeah, I had a hard time arguing not putting a bunch on the list.
As to movie and characters, one of the things I did was make three original lists, one for franchises with multiple characters worthy of considering and then, another for other characters from TV shows, and then another for movie characters and then composed the final list from those lists. I didn’t go, straight 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 either afterwards, but it helped a lot and it’s a lot to consider whether a movie character is greater than just a TV character or vice-versa, but I think that’s the name of the game, isn’t it?
Okay, I’m digesting this list, but, yeah, there’s a lot of headscratchers on this one. Not all bad, but, well,…
WILE E. COYOTE & ROAD RUNNER-Since you mentioned that I had these paired, and they were 12th on my ballot, and I have to say, I’m not sure, how or why some of these were separated and some we’re paired. I had Wallace & Gromit, for instance, at 17, and-, I mean, yes, there’s one or two major cartoons with the Coyote without the Road Runner, but only Gromit? It’s not like there’s a bunch of Gromit cartoons out there, they’re always together!! That was the standard for me, like, is there a reasonable, consistent, noted basis in which, these characters are found outside of the pairing, and, I just don’t see it with some of these. I mean,sure I can think of a few good cartoon with Sylvester and Tweety, separate and without each other, but do you ever think of them, separately? I had Tom & Jerry, 3rd on my ballot, I had, Rocky & Bullwinkle, which is starting to scare, ’cause with the lack of adult series characters on the list, I’m starting to think those two might not make it separately or together, but I don’t get, how anybody could separate some of these characters, who are iconic as pairs? That’s one of the most confusing things on the list so far.
QUEEN ELSA- I had her, the second-highest ranked, Disney Princess, I had her 16th, and I don’t understand against her. She’s a strong independent woman? Really? I think the whole point of her, was that, she wasn’t able to be anything else, and that made her, fragile. First off, I’m sorry for those who disagree, but “Frozen” is a masterpiece, and most of it, is because of her. She’s the most internally-conflicted animated character I think I’ve ever seen. She incapable of controlling her emotions, so she becomes standoffish, she explodes and damns the world because they find out her secrets, she builds an ice palace, becomes a literal ice queen, sings, what is essentially a villain song, which I think people don’t realize about “Let It Go” and why it deserves all the overplay. It sounds joyous and uplifting on one level, but if you look an in-context, it is frightening! And, she’s doing all these bad things, still, to protect the ones she loves, but because she’s like this, she’s ostracized her from those loved one! Fuck me! And this is one character! Find me a Disney Princess or any animated character with that much inner and outer conflict! I can think of maybe a couple anime characters, but from DISNEY!? There’s no reason she shouldn’t be Top 20, way, way, way, too low! (Also, something about “Frozen” that I think gets overlooked, not to be too sidetracked, but this is the like the first Disney animated feature that, to me, represents the huge influence of Broadway into their movie, most of their other musicals were influenced by movie musicals, but there’s a lot of “Les Mis” or “Sweeney Todd” in “Frozen”, especially the music, and I don’t think it’s compared enough to things like that, which is where it should be compared, ’cause to me, instead of looking at “The Lion King” or for some reason, “Tangled” that it’s compared to, it should be compared to those kind of projects instead.)
MUFASA-Speaking of “The Lion King”, I had Simba on my list, I mean he’s the Hamlet of the film, so yeah, he belongs on there, who is the only one I thought deserved it, sure Timon & Pumbaa are good side characters, comic relief, but I didn’t think that was enough to put them on the ballot, but I gotta say, I don’t get Mufasa being on here. I guess, my favorite, animated Dad, I wouldn’t think of him, although from animated movies, yeah, he’d make that list, but I didn’t even seriously consider him, and I’m shocked, he overtook the other “The Lion King” characters, which, I-yeah, I never ranked “The Lion King” as upper-tier Disney either; it’s second-tier to me. Very good, not great, another reason why three characters from it seems weird to me. I don’t get Mufasa, he’s not in it enough, he’s there to die, yeah, I wouldn’t rank him.
JIMINY CRICKET-I kinda thought the same with him and Tinkerbell, they’re important characters in the mythos of Disney, but are they actually that interesting? I’d argue no, not interesting enough for this list.
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS-As to Cartoon Network, alright, I’ll let Johnny Bravo and Dexter go, I did consider them; they didn’t make my ballot, and especially Johnny Bravo, I’m not really sure they hold up, but I’m sorry Powerpuff Girls was one of the stupidest things I ever saw. Just…-ugh, that, I’m actually kinda shocked that they made it and that they were so high. I actually don’t hate some of the supporting characters on the show, but yeah, no, no, those three…- I swear, those things were so dumb they hurt my head somedays when they first came out. I know there’s a new version, I’ve heard that it’s oh-kay, but I don’t know. I’m kinda shocked to see them on the list.
MALEFICENT- First off, it’s interesting nobody even mentioned the movie Maleficent is from, “Sleeping Beauty” which is good reason ’cause it sucks, and sure, you can argue she’s the best thing about that film, but I have never understood her appeal, even as a villain. (Hell, they made here a hero in the recent remake, that’s how little she made sense as a villain.) And, I don’t get the appeal of her. Fine, she turned into a scary dragon in the end, which was scary, but… (Shrugs) she sucked as a character. She made an entrance at a party she wasn’t invited too, (I can see why) and it’s all spitefulness. She’s basically a villain, because the movie needed a villain, and that’s why I knock her down; she’s really arbitrary.
SADNESS-Well, I did just rank “Inside Out” on my Top Ten List on 2015 on my most recent blogpost #BlatantSelfPromotion but I gotta disagree, I thought, well, first of all I hope Riley is on the list ahead of both of them, instead of just, all her emotions, because,well they’re all in her! So…. but I think Joy should be higher. It’s actually, her that learns and changes and grows the most, and is the one that realizes that, Riley and her, needs Sadness in order to have a complete Riley, it’s her that grows and changes, so I don’t get Sadness being on the list, especially with Joy being so far back.
BIG BIRD-I renew my objection with Elmo, Big Bird should be disqualified. The word was “Animated” not, “Children’s Characters” and I love Big Bird, but he’s not an animated character! Right now, I’m very curious who, made 101 and 102 on the list, ’cause for all-intensive purposes, they should be on the list instead.
FIEVEL-Yeah, I didn’t like the first “An American Tale”, um, (Shrug) I hated the sequel and-eh, the fact that there’s more shocks me. I really, don’t think Don Bluth that many great characters in general; (Or movies for that matter) I know that’s a bit blasphemous to say, but um even by that standard, Fievel’s like-, He’s one of those characters who’s almost too designed to be beloved by kids to be liked by me. I can’t quite explain it, but there’s the hat, the smile, the outfit that’s oversized ’cause he small… Okay, the immigrant story, kinda cool and unusual but, (Shrugs) I don’t get him on the list.
THE GRINCH-Okay, well, there were other animated specials and shorts with the Grinch, not just the main one, wanted to correct you guys on that; that said, uh, I didn’t include one character who technically only appeared in one major cartoon piece he’s known for, and that was Michigan J. Frog, but eh, I didn’t really consider The Grinch. Yeah, it’s one really good cartoon, and a few other really, kinda lousy ones he was in, but also, he’s more of a character from a book, to me. I don’t know if he’s distinctive enough as an animated character to really consider, unlike say, the Peanuts characters which have, loads of animated material in film and television to consider, (And somehow not one of them have made the list yet…! WTF, I had six of them on my ballot, and couldn’t made an argument for maybe four or five others?!)
TOTORO-I love Miyazaki and i had about, three or four of his characters on the list, but I don’t get Totoro. I mean, good movie, I guess, interesting character, I’d argue the two little sisters are more interesting, but yeah, I think there’s something that, I’m not getting from that character. He’s kinda like Ghibli’s Jiminy Cricket or Tinkerbell, the character that’s a major figure as a mascot figure, but really isn’t that interesting a character within their own work. I didn’t even consider Totoro, and I wouldn’t rank him.
ALADDIN- Alright, I have a huge issue with Aladdin being on the list; I don’t think he’s interesting, at all. I mean, take Genie out of that movie, and it’s arguably the most boring modern Disney film. Aladdin, really isn’t that interesting. He’s got the character archetype, diamond in the rough, coming out of the gutter and marrying his way to the top, but that’s an archetype; he’s not really an interesting and memorable character. I’m shocked he’s on the list honestly; I didn’t even seriously consider him. You got it almost right, everyone around him is interesting, or more interesting than Aladdin, most of them, sorta. Yeah, “Aladdin”‘s really boring without Genie, I hope we were smart enough to put him on the list and a lot higher.
STERLING ARCHER- Glad to see, something from Primetime on here. I had Sterling Archer pretty high; that show’s funny as hell. I always describe it to people as “Arrested Development” meets “Get Smart”, and yes, there’s a lot great characters on the show, I could’ve made an argument for almost all of them, I had only two on my ballot, but Sterling, definitely is the clear centerpiece, so if there’s only one from the show, I’m okay with it being just him.
Still, I don’t get…- where’s all “The Simpsons” or “South Park” or “Family Guy” or well-, I didn’t have a “Futurama” character on my ballot, but there’s so many great characters from those shows and some others, I really hope that, people didn’t just say, “Okay, I got Homer Simpson, I’m covered” or whatever, there’s a reason why these franchises and series are the longest-running and most influential series and a lot it is that they have all these great important and influential characters; there’s a lot of great ones on those shows. I get why, somebody would say, “I don’t want it to be too one-sided towards these shows and not include anything else,” but, it’s not a series list, or an animation franchise list. I mean, there’s three from “The Lion King” already, and none from “Peanuts”! or “Rocky & Bullwinkle” or any Mike Judge character! You got some Looney Tunes and some more Disney, although not the ones I would’ve put there, but if it’s a really true list of animated characters, it really should be more slanted towards the more major franchises, and I hope that happens much more, later down on the list.
I mean, it’s like, remember when VH-1 was watchable and cared about music, and they did Top 100 Lists that weren’t embarrassing? Like the Top 100 Artists List, that first one was a great and fairly accurate list, the Beatles were number one, Stones, 2, Hendrix 3, Zeppelin 4, Dylan, 5, etc. etc. Well, then they did, the Best Songs Lists, right. And they didn’t have one Sex Pistols song or one Pink Floyd song even, or one Madonna song, or U2 or… I mean, they’re great, great bands with arguably a song or two that could’ve or should’ve made the list, but 9 Beatles songs made the list, 5 Stones, 4 Dylan’s, 4 Zeppelin’s etc., and why not, they’re the “best” at music, so they should have more of the best songs, right? That’s sorta what this list, should look like to me. Disney, Looney Tunes, Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Peanuts, etc. and some major movie characters scattered throughout, maybe one or two others, sporadically that are too important to leave out, that’s what the list should look like, you know? It’s not quite looking like that to me, yet, which is a bit concerning.
“Lion King is second tier Disney”….I’m sorry I can’t take anything else you say seriously after that statement
agreed!!
From the Gummi Bears to the little mermaid to the lion king, that was the second coming of disney excellence!!!
Hold on, it’s still really good, but “The Little Mermaid” and especially “Beauty and the Beast” were the great ones of the Disney Renaissance, “The Lion King” was very good, and that was about it. I like it a lot, but really, you guys rank that one up with those two? I don’t, and I think it’s particularly hard to do so after “Toy Story” the following year rewrote everything. No, my theory on “The Lion King” popularity is that, because it wasn’t obviously a direct retelling of a traditional fairy tale or story that kids automatically knew going in, that it gets pushed up a bit because it seemed more new and unique, which, in terms of Disney it was, but no, I’ve never understood those that think it’s one of Disney very best films.I think it’s the best of the second tier, if that helps, but no, I don’t rank it among their upper tier.
I agree that it was almost all excellent that era of Disney; I just don’t see that era and put “The Lion King” and the top of that era.
looking at late 80s thru the 90s which I consider the second coming of great disney films…. without the little mermaid we wouldn’t have gotten Aladdin, lion king and the like…. The Lion King tells a story of family, tragedy and a son coming to terms with his actions or lack thereof. It is very deep story telling in my mind.
Here’s the list from 1988 to 1999 of the disney films released….
Oliver and Co
The Little Mermaid
Rescuers Down Under (which I saw in theaters and loved!)
Beauty & the Beast
Aladdin
Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Each of these films has a unique characters, some of the stories are adaptations like Pocahontas and hunchback and all that. But snow white was an adaptation too. Has Disney had duds.. YES, but if you go back and watch these films again with an open mind, you might just discover what you are missing. Wth Mulan that is all about female empowerment, because she has to live up to her father’s legacy, and she breaks out and succeeds! With Oliver and Co it’s all about a girl who is so lonely that she just needs a friend Oliver comes along, and so do the dodger and the gang, and they turn into one big family. Again that was an adaptation of oliver twist, but still… one of the better adaptations!
I do love “Oliver & Company” which I saw originally in theaters, btw, and I think “The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ and “Tarzan” are pretty underrated, and I would add-eh, “The Great Mouse Detective” right before “Oliver & Company” the year as the early predecessor of what would become the Renaissance, but still, “The Lion King” is a distant third on this list to me. “Beauty and the Beast” way up there at the top, “The Little Mermaid” right near, but “The Lion King” is the best of the rest. I think it’s a really good movie, but I saw it in theaters at the time too, and it is spectacular, but I don’t rank it as great as everybody else does. As to “Mulan”, eh, okay, it was female empowerment, it’s got that great action sequence when she causes the avalanche, that spectacular. Still, that’s, well probably above “Pocahontas” which I think we can agree is the worst of the bunch, right? I like it more than that one, but not much. I mean, yeah, she’s a pretty interesting and different heroine for Disney at the time, but I never liked the music of that film; I don’t think any of the side characters or stories were that interesting, and I find it mostly forgettable. I like that it went outside, the realm of white, Anglo-American characters and worlds, that was cool, but I don’t think they did it well, and when you compare it to, say San or Lady Eboshi in “Princess Mononoke” which came out around that time, I think Mulan falls short. There are more interesting and unique female animated characters around.
And “Toy Story” was distributed by Disney, so I think it can count. I remember thinking of it as a Disney/Pixar film at the time, I’m counting it.
And Oliver & Company is more about Oliver than the girl, she’s got one song, that was terrible in the movie, and we follow Oliver the whole way, as he becomes part of Fagan’s gang and the Artful Dodger, etc. It’s not about the girl. Well, it is in the sense that it’s about the side characters that Oliver runs into, which is also the problem with “Oliver Twist” in general, he’s the least interesting character in the novel, and therefore the least interesting character in every version and re-imagining of the story, but c’mon, can you even remember the Girl’s name without looking it up in “Oliver & Company”? Yeah, it wasn’t about her.
her name was Jenny! O & Co from disney is a #1 fav of mine, plus it has freakin billy joel as the dodger.
you are right the story is about oliver, but I’m saying I think Disney tried to make more outta it… where they made it about Oliver and Jenny finding each other… in order to help both character out.
The last scene of that movie is still Oliver and Dodger on the street; and the adventure is with him and the rest of Fagan’s gang. I think you’re really stretching the importance of Jenny in that film. And that’s not that far a stretch from any other “Oliver Twist” story, he always ends up finding a home in the end.
Oliver is the main point, but in the disney version the writing team also makes a point to show you that Jenny needs love besides a butler. Oliver as a new pet is that, because let’s face it Georgette ain’t a loving pet. The whole film is about family and Oliver does find his with the gang, BUT the middle part is all about Oliver and Jenny!
(Shrugs) I don’t know, it’s like 25 minutes of the movie at most and it’s the most boring part of that film. The best part of that middle I remember is when the other dogs come in and try to save Oliver. “If this is torture, chain me to the wall!”, that’s the best line in the movie! I gotta be honest, I’m kinda confused, you’re pretty eh, invested in the fact that this girl really loves this cat. I mean, I can think of, other reasons to be invested but yeah, a kid wanting a pet, you have to pull off that off really well, at least for me, and again, I gotta disagree, I don’t see it as a major part of the film and I think it slows the film down. It’s not a bad interpretation of the book, ’cause that’s a problem with the novel as well…. Still, I feel like I’m talking about “Casablanca” and going, “Ilsa & Rick were interesting, but that young couple who Rick fixed the roulette game for that were begging Claude Rains for help out of the country, they were the real heart of the movie.” (And actually if you’re paying attention their is interesting sideplot in that film with that couple, but yeah, it’s one of the trivial parts of the movie.) Yeah, I just don’t think “Oliver & Company” and think Jenny, I think, well, Oliver and, well his Company.
you cannot count toy story as disney when it was released, because that was Pixar, and the mouse had not bought them yet.
For WILE E. COYOTE & ROAD RUNNER I agree they probably should have been paired. Not sure why they weren’t. Could relate to how people voted.
I do think you are selling The Powerpuff Girls short. It’s a lot smarter than its concept may lead you to believe. I didn’t rank them on my list but their is some hidden brilliance in that show.
When I created my list I rarely had more than three people from any movie or TV show. For franchises like Loonie Tunes and Disney I had more, but for me I didn’t want to flood it with The Simpsons, South Park, or any show really.
Plus one thing to consider is just the vast amount choices available with a list like this. Its much more of a crap shoot when putting it together. Peanuts perhaps should be better represented but honestly I didn’t rank more than two because I don’t particularity love Peanuts nor find the need to go beyond that with that show. Should there be three Lion King characters? No. Especially two of the three.
I also think the song comparison is different. Because you are comparing a song vs another songs Every song gets to stand on its own, but with characters its different. Is it fair to rank the 9th side character in The Simpsons vs the main character in a Pixar film or another animated series.
Uhhh on the Elsa comment– inner and outer conflict– the little mermaid. She went against everything she was and ever knew-Literaly changed her self into a DIFFERENT FRIGGIN SPECIES just to be a part of a world she desperately wanted to experience. She gave up something invaluable just to do that. So Elsa hiding from her issue all those years just to throw a fit and fuck a town that doesn’t understand her doesn’t make her top 100 worthy.
Agreed.
Oh c’mon, I love Ariel, but she was just a whiny teenager compared to Elsa. I mean, first of all, Ariel did it voluntarily, Elsa was born with it, and then it lead to her ostracizing the person she loved most. Ariel, just made a deal with a drag queen octopus, after her father broke her stuff and even then, it was, originally only for three days. Elsa had years of self tragedy, personal tragedy and now she’s got to run a kingdom, (Or Queendom?) And she didn’t throw a fit, she accidentally revealed her biggest secret that she kept all her life and the townspeople were trying condemn her after she revealed it. They made her explode, especially after years of keeping such a dramatic secret from her closest confidants. And was it invaluable what Ariel gave up? She didn’t seem to value it, first chance she got, “Oh, my voice, for a shot at humanity? Deal!” Didn’t seem that valuable to her, she was easily willing to give up her species because her dad was angry and she got a little crush on a sailor. Ariel was a young girl who tried to grow up faster than she should’ve. Elsa was a grownup woman, who had to grow up faster than she should’ve. She had no choice, her parents died, her sister and everyone else in danger from her just by her existence, and she the one Princess who actually becomes Queen and has the duty of having an entire kingdom to protect when she was old enough. In essence, she didn’t have a childhood, the one thing Ariel was rather easily willing to give up No, you’re way, way, way off on Elsa, not only is she Top 100, she should’ve easily been top 20! Ariel, good character, made my ballot and pretty high herself, but really, I can’t understand the argument that she has more depth because she wanted something desperately and got it. It takes a minute to psychoanalytically diagnosis Ariel, it would take a year to get to the bottom of all Elsa’s problems.
“Elsa was born with it, and then it lead to her ostracizing the person she loved most.”
Does that mean because I was BORN with Cerebral Palsy (because of a drunk doctor botching my birth) that I’ll ostracize everyone in my life? NO.
That right there is just a damn bad excuse. YES Elsa is to blame for her emotions exploding, but it was because her parents basically forced her to hide them her whole life. Instead of trying to teach her how to use her “powers” they instilled FEAR in her, in the film it is even said that she could destroy the world. I think……
Instead of embracing and trying to help her, they basically shamed her into hiding. Frozen is the single worst disney film in the past 15 years.
Oh please, it’s the best Disney film of the past fifteen years! I might argue it’s their best since “Beauty and the Beast”. It completely circumvents and reinvents the Disney Princess genre, gives us two great Princess characters, a story that’s about sisters, of all things which you never see, and it’s an emotional journey that’s actually delineates between family and true love, is full of amazing songs, Broadway-esque, hell, it’s even got a Broadway structure, something Disney really hasn’t done in their movies before. Most of their influences have been film musicals before, but they’re work on Broadway over the last two decades has really seeped into their work, especially in “Frozen”. This movie is borrowing from such things as “Sweeney Todd” and “Les Miserables” instead of just the traditional Disney influences. And it’s actually emotional and frightening at times, somethign most Disney films only flaunt with. And yes, their parents instilled this fear, and made her hide them, and that’s fucking torturous to her! And then they died, don’t forget that, so that’s the last message they left her with! You’re telling me that’s not more interesting and compelling and complex! Yeah, you were born with CP and I’m sorry for that, but your parents didn’t react and teach you the same way they taught Elsa, and that got ingrained in her. You came out differently, and good for you, but that’s dismissing the whole premise of “Frozen” that these two sisters, both grew up, with extreme personality traits that made them act, fairly irregularly went presented with the outside world, and that’s what makes them fascinating. (Princess Anna, just missed my ballot, she would’ve made a Top 110) One’s overly extroverted and unknowing to the point of getting married the first time she meets anyone, the other shuns and rejects the world the first time her true self is revealed. I’m sorry, but this is quite complex. And it’s not like her parents were wrong or uncaring, they were putting both of their lives at risk, hers and her sister’s. This wasn’t just a syndrome or disease that affected one of them, it was dangerous to others, including loved ones. The fact that the parents might not have been as knowing as they should’ve been, doesn’t make them lesser characters, it makes them stronger ones.
I think you’re giving “TPG” too much credit, but as to the song comparison, I’d argue it’s not fair, but I wouldn’t argue that it’s not reality either. Sometimes something is that important and influential. (Wait, you don’t love “Peanuts”? That’s, no I don’t get that. Well, we’ll deal with that later) The 100 Songs list I mentioned, I just looked at it, because it had nine Beatles songs on it, the lowest was “A Hard Day’s Night” at 79, number 80 was “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor. Now, however you think of that ranking, that was the only entrant for Taylor on the list, and he’s got a Hall of Fame career full of great songs. In fact, the 9th’s highest-ranked Beatles song, actually did rank higher, than every song by, among others, Jefferson Airplane, Prince, Bob Marley, AC/DC, Wilson Pickett and Van Halen, and those were artists got a song on that list, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, U2, Madonna, Sam Cooke, Tom Petty and dozens of others aren’t better than the top 9 best Beatles songs at a minimum, according to this list. So, I’d argue that it’s probably likely that the ninth biggest Simpsons character, eh, would probably be higher ranked than many historic film and TV characters. And I’m not even a big “Simpsons” fan, but yeah, I had a hard time arguing not putting a bunch on the list.
As to movie and characters, one of the things I did was make three original lists, one for franchises with multiple characters worthy of considering and then, another for other characters from TV shows, and then another for movie characters and then composed the final list from those lists. I didn’t go, straight 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 either afterwards, but it helped a lot and it’s a lot to consider whether a movie character is greater than just a TV character or vice-versa, but I think that’s the name of the game, isn’t it?
I’m really disappointed to see Sailor Moon so low. I’m glad that several people including myself had her in their top 10, I just wish more people did. She really has had an incredible impact on animation in the last 25 years.
Hey she made it though! I think it is probably most due to certain people just not being exposed to the character/show. I have never seen an episode of it myself.
When it comes to anime I say grade us on a curve. Add 20 to the spot a character falls and that’s their real location. (Maybe that is cheating)
Yeah we here at the GCRN…. (most of us are not die hard anime fans) That’s why we bring in 20 to 40 other people to make their lists which then make up the final master list.
Yes! Sailor Moon is a top tier character easily. Should be in the top 20 or 15.
I’m really disappointed to see Sailor Moon so low. I’m glad that several people including myself had her in their top 10, I just wish more people did. She really has had an incredible impact on animation in the last 25 years.
Hey she made it though! I think it is probably most due to certain people just not being exposed to the character/show. I have never seen an episode of it myself.
When it comes to anime I say grade us on a curve. Add 20 to the spot a character falls and that’s their real location. (Maybe that is cheating)
Yeah we here at the GCRN…. (most of us are not die hard anime fans) That’s why we bring in 20 to 40 other people to make their lists which then make up the final master list.
Yes! Sailor Moon is a top tier character easily. Should be in the top 20 or 15.
I get not liking minnie much.
For me what really sold me on mickey and minnie as a team was the story April Winchell told in 2012 on Talkin’ Toons With Rob Paulsen. They were talking about how Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor would do the voices, because they were actually married to each other.
You can listen here, go to about 12:40 or 12:45 and just listen.
Great job on the countdown so far everyone. TV’s Mr. Neil… now that was a surprise guest, was not expecting that, but lovin’ it.
and hey Amanda you and I agree on a dislike of Elsa, but I blame her parents and the townspeople for the way she turned out.
100% agree with you on this. Will need to check out that podcast now.
She threw a fit and fucked up everything bc ppl didn’t like her and then she left. Not cool.
You’re right, but it also falls to bad parenting, they would have rather had her hidden away and not allow her to learn that her powers were based on her emotions.
You guys are selling Minnie too short. Seriously as a character she has lasted nearly 100 years. You don’t have Mickey without Minnie. Generally speaking, Minnie is incredibly sweet, often tame, and highly intelligent. More so than Mickey half the time. Because of this, she tends to be the one to keep the ordinance in her circle of friends, as well as in the life of Mickey, who’s constant mischief leads to chaos, ranging in relevance and danger. This also gives a motherly persona, which is seen whenever she is dealing with animals or children Her nature, kindness, and tendency to see the good in others also ties into the fact that she’s a hopeless romantic, as well as deeply affectionate. These are the traits of a great character.
I disagree, I would argue that you could 100% have Mickey with Minnie never have existing.
If you are going to put the Power Puff girls together you should but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together as well. That does not make sense to me why one would be together and the other wouldn’t be.
Glad to see Archer make it. That is consistently one of my favorite TV shows and Archer is a great character.
There is a lot of behind the scenes that you guys can’t see or aren’t privy to. I agree which characters to include and which not to becomes dicey. It mainly came down to HOW the participants casts their votes. You do have to draw a line somewhere though
You guys are selling Minnie too short. Seriously as a character she has lasted nearly 100 years. You don’t have Mickey without Minnie. Generally speaking, Minnie is incredibly sweet, often tame, and highly intelligent. More so than Mickey half the time. Because of this, she tends to be the one to keep the ordinance in her circle of friends, as well as in the life of Mickey, who’s constant mischief leads to chaos, ranging in relevance and danger. This also gives a motherly persona, which is seen whenever she is dealing with animals or children Her nature, kindness, and tendency to see the good in others also ties into the fact that she’s a hopeless romantic, as well as deeply affectionate. These are the traits of a great character.
I disagree, I would argue that you could 100% have Mickey with Minnie never have existing.
I am surprised no one brought up the fact there have been zero Winnie the Pooh characters so far. There are a lot of characters on that show that are very much deserving.
If you are going to put the Power Puff girls together you should but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together as well. That does not make sense to me why one would be together and the other wouldn’t be.
Glad to see Archer make it. That is consistently one of my favorite TV shows and Archer is a great character.
There is a lot of behind the scenes that you guys can’t see or aren’t privy to. I agree which characters to include and which not to becomes dicey. It mainly came down to HOW the participants casts their votes. You do have to draw a line somewhere though
Well have to say I may not agree with every choice but the randomness of this list has made it the most entertaining. No idea what to expect with each pick. Can’t wait until the next part of the countdown.
Thanks! I think this is one of the most interesting lists we have ever done and I love the diversity of the characters and the conversations stemming from them!
I am surprised no one brought up the fact there have been zero Winnie the Pooh characters so far. There are a lot of characters on that show that are very much deserving.
Well have to say I may not agree with every choice but the randomness of this list has made it the most entertaining. No idea what to expect with each pick. Can’t wait until the next part of the countdown.
Thanks! I think this is one of the most interesting lists we have ever done and I love the diversity of the characters and the conversations stemming from them!
I don’t think I have ever seen a top 100 animated character list so this is cool to see. Need more love for some of the adult animated shows though. Archer is great but if he makes the list and Bender or some South Park characters don’t that will be a crime against humanity.
Other sites like IGN and stuff have done them, but 1 character per page for 100 pages. We have kinda broken the mold on top 100s with doing podcasts instead of clickbait. Glad you are enjoying it.
Oh god those were so awfu. That type of thing should be illegal.
yes, yes, it should!
Fox did a special last year about the greatest animated characters of all time but it was so bad. 75% of the list was Simpsons, Family Guy and other Fox primetime shows haha
Maleficent is the Dr. Doom of the Disney universe. She is a bad ass and is not afraid to show it. Her look is one of the most iconic of all time and there is no other Disney villain that comes close to how wicked she is. I was shocked to see her fall so soon.
That’s a good point. Maleficent is a badass like Doom. That’s a power couple I’d like to see.
I was as shocked as you were!
I don’t think I have ever seen a top 100 animated character list so this is cool to see. Need more love for some of the adult animated shows though. Archer is great but if he makes the list and Bender or some South Park characters don’t that will be a crime against humanity.
Other sites like IGN and stuff have done them, but 1 character per page for 100 pages. We have kinda broken the mold on top 100s with doing podcasts instead of clickbait. Glad you are enjoying it.
Oh god those were so awfu. That type of thing should be illegal.
yes, yes, it should!
Fox did a special last year about the greatest animated characters of all time but it was so bad. 75% of the list was Simpsons, Family Guy and other Fox primetime shows haha
Maleficent is the Dr. Doom of the Disney universe. She is a bad ass and is not afraid to show it. Her look is one of the most iconic of all time and there is no other Disney villain that comes close to how wicked she is. I was shocked to see her fall so soon.
That’s a good point. Maleficent is a badass like Doom. That’s a power couple I’d like to see.
I was as shocked as you were!
THANKS glad you are liking them, and the site, along with all our other content.
When we started with Top 100 Animated Series in 2011…. the goal was every 2 years or so….. because these are such big projects, doing them more than that… or more than once a year… might be overkill. Plus since 2011 life has sometimes gotten in the way of us being able to do one when we wanted. I understand everyone loves them, and I’m happy our fans do, but look at all of the Top 100s generally each one with all the podcasts adds up to 10 hours of content or so.
Because of that my thinking has always been “hey, we just did (top 100 etc), lets give it a few years, and spring the next one on them!” LOL
And you are right this ids the best way to do them…. The GCRN has never relied on clickbait unlike some other sites. Thanks for listening!!
This is my first time commenting on thid site and I am absolutely loving the countdown so far. I am a big fan of lists and countdowns in tv,movies, music, pro wrestling, etc and these shows are great listens. I have went back and listened to the other top 100 podcasts you have done and they are great also. You guys do them better than any other site I know and your right it’s great you do it in podcast form instead of clickbait as I enjoy hearing the panel’s thoughts and opinions on each animated character. I wish you guy’s did these more than once a year as they are so good. I can’t wait for Part 3 to see what characters come next.
THANKS glad you are liking them, and the site, along with all our other content.
When we started with Top 100 Animated Series in 2011…. the goal was every 2 years or so….. because these are such big projects, doing them more than that… or more than once a year… might be overkill. Plus since 2011 life has sometimes gotten in the way of us being able to do one when we wanted. I understand everyone loves them, and I’m happy our fans do, but look at all of the Top 100s generally each one with all the podcasts adds up to 10 hours of content or so.
Because of that my thinking has always been “hey, we just did (top 100 etc), lets give it a few years, and spring the next one on them!” LOL
And you are right this ids the best way to do them…. The GCRN has never relied on clickbait unlike some other sites. Thanks for listening!!
I get not liking minnie much.
For me what really sold me on mickey and minnie as a team was the story April Winchell told in 2012 on Talkin’ Toons With Rob Paulsen. They were talking about how Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor would do the voices, because they were actually married to each other.
You can listen here, go to about 12:40 or 12:45 and just listen.
Great job on the countdown so far everyone. TV’s Mr. Neil… now that was a surprise guest, was not expecting that, but lovin’ it.
and hey Amanda you and I agree on a dislike of Elsa, but I blame her parents and the townspeople for the way she turned out.
100% agree with you on this. Will need to check out that podcast now.
She threw a fit and fucked up everything bc ppl didn’t like her and then she left. Not cool.
You’re right, but it also falls to bad parenting, they would have rather had her hidden away and not allow her to learn that her powers were based on her emotions.