"Here I come to save the day!" Porky Pig is probably best known for his stuttered signature, "That's all, folks!" That doesn't keep these villains from dispatching some thickly accented humor. When he first appeared in 1935's "I Haven't Got a Hat," Porky Pig was indeed rotund, and his hapless stutter would probably be considered insensitive by today's standards. Paramount Studios later took over theatrical production of Popeye shorts and also produced a TV series in the early 1960s. Modeled after "The Honeymooners," another TV comedy hit, "The Flintstones" was the first animated show in prime time. The kid who never kicks the football, whose dog is more popular than he is, and who has a crush on the Little Redheaded Girl steals our hearts every year during annual repeats of not just his Christmas special but also in the school-musical staple, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.". The caped crusader first appeared in DC Comics in 1939 and made the leap to TV in the 1960s, first as a live-action show and later as a cartoon. But is he a true superhero since he only has powers because he's an alien from another planet? Before Andy Kaufman lip-synched Mighty Mouse's theme on "Saturday Night Live," Mighty Mouse had been through many incarnations. Although Mel Blanc, then Ben Hardaway, originally voiced the character, Lantz's wife, Grace, voiced Woody Woodpecker from 1948's "Banquet Busters" through 1972. Madame Tussauds debuts Spider-Man, the attractions newest super Marvel super hero figure, on the Campanile Tower at The Venetian Las Vegas on May 2, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hanna-Barbera followed "The Flintstones" with "The Jetsons," a space-age take on the same domestic comedy formula that made its predecessor so appealing. 1 hit "The Chipmunk Song." If you were a kid in the '60s, '70s, or '80s, then after-school cartoons meant watching Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and their teen pals solve mystery after mystery. or outwitting a nasty knight in the Oscar-winning 1958 short "Knighty Knight, Bugs," that rascally rabbit Bugs Bunny always gets the last laugh. Boris was voiced by Paul Fees, who was also Burgermeister Meisterburger in "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." Bugs Bunny 2. Since his debut in 1987, Bart Simpson has become an icon in his own right, appearing in every episode of "The Simpsons" but one. Bugs Bunny has been making people laugh with his catchphrase "What's up, Doc?" The Biggest List of Green Cartoon Characters Ever, The Top Easter Movies for Kids and Families, Top 12 Valentine's Day Movies for Families and Kids, 9 Great TV Cartoons Turned Into Feature Films, 6 Spooky Cartoons You Might Have Forgotten. The show ran until 1985. TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time. Creator William Hanna with Fred Flintstone. He doesn't just misbehave at home; Bart looks for trouble everywhere. Homer Simpson 3. which closed out many a Warner Brothers cartoon. (She's older than the babies.) A star of the silent era, Felix first appeared in movies in 1919. And if you look at Homer's profile, a bit of his hair and his ear form the initials "MG.". If you doubt the popularity of George of the Jungle, just watch the cartoon on Cartoon Network, or rent the DVD of the live-action film starring Brendan Fraser. If not for Fred Flintstone, there might never have been a Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin. Hard to believe the many transformations this superhero has seen through the years, especially on television. Arthur is a highly recognizable character from his own children's book series, created by Marc Brown in 1976. Dr. Seuss created many characters who made the leap from books to TV, but none as easily and successfully as The Grinch. I'm going home.". He can never catch the Road Runner, no matter how many defective Acme gadgets he seems to buy. ", Loosely modeled on silent film star Clara Bow, Betty Boop made her cartoon debut in 1930. The show first premiered in 1998 and ran until 2005. Bart Simpson is Homer Simpson's son—and his archnemesis. Created for the animated opening credits of the 1963 film starring Peter Sellars, the Pink Panther was such a hit that he was soon a cartoon star in his own right. animates Dr. Seuss' book about the grouchy green cave-dweller who attempts to ruin Christmas for the Whos down in Whoville. He's the leader of an alley cat gang who just wants to make a quick buck. It doesn't really matter. "Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats" were part "Scooby-Doo" and part "The Monkees." But Underdog was a cartoon hit when his show appeared on TV in 1964. or "Eat my shorts." Like a certain cat-mouse combo at Warner Brothers, Tom and Jerry chase, torment, and generally try to defeat the other. The Mystery Machine rolls on in endless syndication, not to mention new TV productions and a 2002 film. Josie was the Beyoncé of her times, leading a girl pop group and taking on the world—and she wore that groovy cat costume. A major cartoon star of the 1930s, Betty Boop found new fame in the 1950s when her film shorts were syndicated on TV, and again in the 1980s with a cameo feature in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". "Rugrats" crawled onto Nickelodeon in 1991. ", Comedian Bill Cosby began telling funny stories about Fat Albert and his gang of childhood friends in the late '60s, and the character was featured in a number of his stand-up recordings. A creation of Mike Judge, Daria got her own show on MTV in 1997, which ran until 2002. Like many classic cartoon characters, Popeye began life as a comic strip. The crew went on to star in a number of feature films, beginning with "Rugrats: The Movie" in 1998. Most of the classic episodes produced by director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese are stellar examples of silent cinema; Coyote only found his voice when paired opposite Bugs Bunny. The show ended its run in 1997, having earned critical acclaim and public condemnation for its adult humor. Is there a more famous rabbit in the world? Yogi (smarter than the average bear) continually found himself in trouble, and Boo Boo usually figured a way out. Underdog began as a cartoon pitchman for General Mills cereals when he was first created by ad man W. Watts Biggers. As Walt Disney liked to say, it all began with a mouse. Walter Lantz created Woody Woodpecker. Eric Cartman and the rest of his potty-mouthed pals have been trading insults with one another since "South Park" debuted on Comedy Central in 1997. Warner Brothers/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images. Underdog battled evildoers Riff Raff and Sinister Simon as he rescued and wooed his love, Polly Purebred. "George of the Jungle" originated in 1967, a parody of the Tarzan story. He interviewed human guests (via a TV screen) and bantered with his cohosts Moltar and Zorak. The pair first debuted on "The Huckleberry Hound Show" in 1958, then earned their own cartoon titled "The Yogi Bear Show" in 1961. But as his career evolved, Porky slimmed down and transitioned from a buffoon to a good-natured everyman. Lovable lug Fred Flintstone, his wife, Wilma, and their pals Barney and Wilma Rubble made prehistoric living seem downright modern. Bugs Bunny . In addition to his own shorts, Bugs has made equally memorable cartoons with some of the other stars on this list. Unlike Bart and Homer Simpson, Bobby and his father enjoy a good relationship, even when Bobby's ambitions get the better of him. In 2011, MTV brought the duo back for one more season. The extremely nearsighted Mr. Magoo made a career out of avoiding one disaster after another, time after time. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby made the leap from CBS to ABC in 1976, where they would appear in various iterations of the show until 1991. Sure, Space Ghost was a popular character in '60s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, when he battled villains in outer space. In 1980, Robin Williams and Shelley Duval appeared as Popeye and his girlfriend, OIive Oyl, in the Robert Altman film "Popeye.". Another antihero, Woody Woodpecker lives to cause trouble. Daffy Duck is to Bugs Bunny as Wile E. Coyote is to the Road Runner. She is the most familiar character from "Rugrats," but possibly only because she is the meanest and talks the most. The Oscar-winning 1959 short "Donald in Mathmagic Land" became one of the leading educational films of its age, and like Mickey, Donald has become an icon of the Disney entertainment empire. Over the decades he transformed from a clumsy clown to the sarcastic character we know today. Felix the Cat is perhaps the oldest cartoon character on this list. She's smart and witty, a teenage girl trying to figure out how to be her own person and still have a boyfriend while dealing with stressed-out parents. He debuted in 1937's "Porky's Duck Hunt." LiveAbout uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. His unemotional, pragmatic view toward achieving his goals has resulted in many dire circumstances, as well as catchphrases like, "Screw you guys. The characters still inspire TV today, for instance, in the form of Foxxy Love on "Drawn Together." Top Cat is another product of '60s Hanna-Barbera animation. The show only lasted a year, but Alvin, along with his brothers, Simon and Theodore, lived on with additional novelty records, a second animated series in the 1980s, and five films as of 2017.