On first viewing, many cartoon characters are annoying for both the heroes and audiences. For every enjoyable character out there, there’s one who’s just as detestable. Usually, these unlikable characters are either portrayed as villains or annoying antagonists.
However, rewatching some of these unlikable characters, particularly through adult eyes, there are a fair few who are capable of garnering just as much, if not more, likability than the protagonists. Some of them are just enjoyably unlikable while some of them have a sympathetic backstory that made them who they are. Others have a more relatable perspective than the heroes.
8 Tom The Cat Goes Through Way More Than Necessary
Fans of any version of Tom and Jerry likely remember laughing and cheering whenever Jerry the Mouse foils Tom the Cat’s attempts to capture or eat him. His quick-witted thinking creatively foils the much larger and stronger Tom.
Viewers are rarely meant to root for Tom. However, he almost always loses, even when he doesn’t deserve it. Jerry is mostly responsible for instigating their conflicts in multiple episodes. Moreover, Jerry’s retaliation toward Tom is rather extreme, even when the latter doesn’t do much to provoke him. Tom’s repeated losses make him easy to sympathize with and make it more satisfying on the few occasions he does win.
7 Debbie Thornberry Had It Hard As A Teen
Eliza Thornberry’s older sister, Debbie Thornberry from The Wild Thornberrys is easy to criticize due to her rudeness and overall cynical attitude towards her nature-loving family. However, on closer inspection, there’s a legitimate reason for her behavior.
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Debbie was a teenager forced to globe-trot around the world with her family. Due to this, living in a small RV, and the chaos that ensued while visiting various locales, she had no stability in her life, nor was she able to keep any friends her age. While she was unable to relate to her family’s love of nature, whenever they were in a tight spot, she always came through.
6 Zapp Brannigan Is Ignorant But Goofy
Zapp Brannigan from Futurama is somewhat lacking in terms of likable qualities. He’s very arrogant and convinced he’s always right, regardless of what happens. His incompetence endangers several of his subordinates and others, yet he always gets away with his actions and is considered a hero at the end of the day. That said, his unlikable qualities are played in such an over-the-top manner that it makes him hilarious to watch whenever he’s on-screen.
Furthering Brannigan’s hilarity is his voice actor, Billy West. The sleazy voice he provides for this character makes him someone fans love to hate whenever he’s on-screen.
5 There’s A Squidward In Everyone
When watching SpongeBob SquarePants, young audiences no doubt connect with SpongeBob’s never-ending optimism. At the same time, they may be upset with Squidward Tentacles’ grouchiness towards SpongeBob’s fun and life in general.
Older audiences can see Squidward’s grumpiness stems from an all too relatable place. SpongeBob makes too much noise as a neighbor and a co-worker, and he interrupts Squidward’s peace, which he seldom gets at home or work. Furthermore, he’s stuck in a minimum wage job with a greedy boss. Despite having passions in music and art, he can never achieve success, nor does anyone recognize his genius. Any adult who’s endured one of these struggles makes Squidward far more relatable.
4 The Joker Is Delightfully Despicable
No matter the version of the character, the Joker has committed no shortage of terrible acts in his career, and the version from Batman the Animated Series is no exception to that. He’s ruthless and deranged in his actions, devoid of any logic or reasoning merely for the sake of chaos.
This is one aspect that makes him a fascinating and complex individual to explore. The other aspect is that Mark Hamill’s voice acting breathes life into the character, on par with the incarnations on the big screen. The way he revels in evil and the things he considers funny and unfunny provide him with a charismatic personality.
3 Helga Pataki Was The Product Of A Dysfunctional Family
Helga Pataki from Hey Arnold is sometimes a bully towards her peers and even her crush, Arnold. But multiple episodes featuring her and her family have shown there’s a lot more to her than just that.
Between having an alcoholic mother, a neglectful and inattentive father, and an overly perfect sister her parents dote on, Helga had it rough. All this makes it difficult for her to express herself, especially given she’s still very young. Her mean ways are the only ways she knows, and it makes her an especially complex character for a Nickelodeon show.
2 Daffy Duck Makes For An Entertaining Foil
As a foil character to Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes, Daffy Duck has his fair share of negative qualities that make it hard to root for him. He’s narcissistic and selfish, especially in the face of his foes. He’s a coward, has a big ego, is short-tempered, and also greedy.
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Despite this, Daffy is an endearing character who always gets his comeuppance. The writing exaggerates his negative traits to humorous lengths, and they’re further exaggerated, the funnier and more satisfying it is when his schemes ultimately backfire. Even when it happens more than once a short, each occurrence cleverly builds on top of the other.
1 Angelica Pickles Gets What She Wants
Angelica Pickles from Rugrats is almost always the main villain of the series. She’s depicted as a spoiled brat who’s doted on by her parents and capable of manipulating the adults and babies to achieve her selfish needs.
While some of her acts were contemptible even by her standards, her pettiness and cunning methods to get things her way are particularly impressive to viewers. Thankfully, whatever terrible acts she pulls in an episode are met with the right amount of punishment. Combined with the unique voice provided by her voice actress, Cheryl Chase, these aspects make for an evil but still enjoyable character.
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