The Most Influential Animated Characters

Animated films are very popular. It is easy to come up with a list of many great characters from the vast arena of Disney feature films. Other animators were already in the industry before the likes of Snow white and Dumbo. The top 10 most influential animated characters include:

The Cameraman from The Cameraman’s Revenge

Ladislaw Starewicz was the father of object – animation in cine. He used real insects in the Cameraman’s revenge. The dead animated animals seem so real and authentic as if they had been trained to perform. The models and sets used were of high standards. Their movements were smooth and there was attention to detail. Starewicz influenced the works of Jiri Trnka and Terry Gilliam

Gertie the Dinosaur

Winsor McCay’s masterpiece was Gertie the Dinosaur which featured the first cartoon and was based on Brontosaurus skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History.

Felix the Cat

Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan Studios created Felix the cartoon figure. Felix was based on Charlie Chaplin and underwent a lot of transformation and became more rounded and pleasing to look at.

Mickey Mouse

A mouse was developed by Disney and made first appearance in Plane Crazy (1928) and was seen with sound a little later. Mickey was not very developed as a character at first, later became an icon. Mickey was featured on his own starring role in Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 (1999).

Betty Boop:

Max Fleischer created Betty as one strong and popular female cartoon character. Betty debuted in 1930 and started off as a minor character, later developed and became a star in her own series.

Bugs Bunny:

It emerged in 1940. It was one of the best characters to come out of Warner Bros. It took a while for it to be developed.

Tom & Jerry:

They are the original cat and mouse who are always in long running rivalry combined with extreme violence. The animation emerged in 1940.

Road Runner:

Coyote was created in 1948 and the audience always sympathizes with it. Road Runner, a non-talking character in a talkie, is in a battle with Coyote. This is the basis of the humor in the film.

The little grey wolf cub

It is mainly about memory and childhood and a little grey wolf is the main developed character. The wolf cub has been animated to discuss the themes of memory, history and political undertones.

Jan Svankmajer’s inanimate objects

Svankmajer’s Alice (1988) is a darker interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. The sock caterpillar has been animated and is full of imagination.