Obnoxious, self centered characters....

[Sage Shinigami]

Why does it seem like there are so many obnoxious, self-centered (and to me, annoying) characters in cartoons these days? Like Bloo, and Jake (My Gym Partner's a Monkey), and it seems like Squirrel Boy seems to follow the trend. Can anyone think of anymore, and why are they so seemingly prevalent in today's toons?

[Aldrius]

Because obnoxious self-centered characters are more interesting than flawless heroic characters. (Look at PotC? Whom are more people attracted to? The heroic boring WIll? Or exciting morally ambigous Jack Sparrow?)

... It really goes back to Homer Simpson... people see 'Stupid Jerk'... and think that's why people like him... 'oy.

[JesseCuster]

Old school Bugs Bunny was always a bit of a jerk. Daffy Duck is another. But it seems that jerks are always the kind of characters/people that draw attention in real life and that is what is being reflected in the art of animation.

[Sage Shinigami]

Old school Bugs Bunny was always a bit of a jerk. Daffy Duck is another. But it seems that jerks are always the kind of characters/people that draw attention in real life and that is what is being reflected in the art of animation.

Yeah, but it seems like those characters (especially Daffy) always got theirs when they were being especially jerky in the end.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Perhaps the biggest and most self centered jerk in current animation with little to no real redeeming qualities (yet isn't totally annoying) has to be Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's his hilarious voice acting and attidue towards life that makes him funny, and in later episodes he does usually seem to pay for his stupidity and jerkiness.

Eddy from Ed Edd n Eddy also brings to mind as a fairly self centered jerk who is still funny, and always seem to get his just desserts for his actions. (And was one of the original CN jerks before they just got really, really annoying like Bloo (in some episodes) and Jake).

[Anarky]

:shake: is the ultimate tool

[tb4000]

People are attracted to jerks. Maybe not for the long term, but those are the ones do always garner the most attention in real life. You can be a jerk and still get girls, yet you can be a nice guy and your chances are actually lowered.

[Sage Shinigami]

Perhaps the biggest and most self centered jerk in current animation with little to no real redeeming qualities (yet isn't totally annoying) has to be Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's his hilarious voice acting and attidue towards life that makes him funny, and in later episodes he does usually seem to pay for his stupidity and jerkiness.

Eddy from Ed Edd n Eddy also brings to mind as a fairly self centered jerk who is still funny, and always seem to get his just desserts for his actions. (And was one of the original CN jerks before they just got really, really annoying like Bloo (in some episodes) and Jake).

Bloo's less annoying than Eddy, at least in my eyes. And Eddy gets his...but from people who also need to get their "just desserts" just as much (Kevin, Sarah), if not more. However, Master Shake isn't really annoying because everyone ignores him or he gets killed or has the crap kicked out of him. (Plus he's hilarious.)

[CartmanChick30]

Let's not forget the character who inspired my namesake....Eric Cartman.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Bloo's less annoying than Eddy, at least in my eyes. And Eddy gets his...but from people who also need to get their "just desserts" just as much (Kevin, Sarah), if not more. However, Master Shake isn't really annoying because everyone ignores him or he gets killed or has the crap kicked out of him. (Plus he's hilarious.)

Well I said in most episodes, since there are some actual redeemable moments where Bloo isn't a jerk (mainly in the pilot "House Of Bloos" and he does actually apoligze to Coco at the end of "Cuckoo For The CoCo Cards") which Eddy didn't really have (though he was less jerky in the earlier seasons). Although I have to agree about getting it from other people who are jerks themselves (most of the time, espically latley at least Kevin has a solid reason For being a jerk back. Can't say the same for Sarah though). Although like I said, Master Shake being killed/beat up/ignored has only been happening latley. There's been a lot of episodes where he was a total jerk and didn't get any comuppance at all, like say in "Ol Drippy". But I do agree on the hilariousness, although I don't think everyone would.

[RedNinja84]

Let's not forget good old Peter Griffin.

[Scirel]

shake is really funny because he's just as much an idiot as he is a jerk. But not in the "Michael J. Caboose" or "billy" type idiot, the "does things without thinking of consequences or regard for anyone else" idiot. He does such random things that usually blow up in his face, and his attitude when he realizes he made a mistake is always priceless. But perhaps it is that he always keeps his cool during the beginning of an absurd situation and takes everything seriously.

[judyindisguise]

Why does it seem like there are so many obnoxious, self-centered (and to me, annoying) characters in cartoons these days? Like Bloo, and Jake (My Gym Partner's a Monkey), and it seems like Squirrel Boy seems to follow the trend. Can anyone think of anymore, and why are they so seemingly prevalent in today's toons?

Well, my vote goes to...you guessed it, Cosmo. At least "new Cosmo" (the inferior reformulation of "Classic Cosmo"). A self-centered, annoying jerk who "never learns from his mistakes". I mean, most of the time when characters fail to grow it's due to bad writers. But the FOP gang did that on PURPOSE. For a LAUGH. (Which lends a whole new layer to the definition of "bad"). Let's hope they can learn from THEIR mistakes...:raven:

[judyindisguise]

People are attracted to jerks. Maybe not for the long term, but those are the ones do always garner the most attention in real life. You can be a jerk and still get girls, yet you can be a nice guy and your chances are actually lowered.

Allow me to set you straight: it just ain't true. For example: one of my sisters granted a divorce to her husband who couldn't deal with the fact she had cancer (he'd bargained on a very-attractive woman with a nice paycheck, not an invalid). That pretty much defines "jerk", doesn't it? But I have another sister who literally married her high school sweetheart - and "sweetheart" is the word for this guy - and they've been married over 20 years and still going strong. It's only in lousy cartoons that women seem to prefer jerks over nice guys. I guess because some jerk in Toonville thinks that's funny. :confused:

[judyindisguise]

Yeah, but it seems like those characters (especially Daffy) always got theirs when they were being especially jerky in the end.

Exactly. Truly obnoxious jerks were the guys Bugs dropped anvils on. Because they were the BAD GUYS, not the ones the audience was supposed to idenfity with. Same with stupid characters. They were the ones Bugs tricked into jumping off cliffs. Because "stupid" was associated with "bad", not with "cool".

Frankly, I think most people are getting pretty sick of the "stupid" character. I'm pretty convinced that's one reason "Over The Hedge" underperformed at the box office - that damn loud stupid obnoxious squirrel... and he wasn't even that bad...

[Leviathan]

The 6-11's and the 18-34's don't care about and can't appreciate good characterization and Network executives have little patience for it, so why come up with a character with redeeming qualities for your show when you could come up with selfish obnoxious ones whose "redeeming qualities" are steady streams of one-liners, pop culture references, wacky, and blatantly contrived plots?

While that was probably a bit acidic, i still feel that the growing prevalence of selfish, obnoxious characters is an indictation of the decline of good characterization. If you look at a jerk like Bugs, Daffy, Homer or even Bloo and Eddy, they can be jerks at times, but they can still have moments of non-jerkiness. The Rest: they're jerks solely for the purpose of one-liners and plot contrivances,

[veemonjosh]

Well, my vote goes to...you guessed it, Cosmo. At least "new Cosmo" (the inferior reformulation of "Classic Cosmo"). A self-centered, annoying jerk who "never learns from his mistakes."

Aren't all the characters like that in the new FOP?

[judyindisguise]

Aren't all the characters like that in the new FOP?

Not Wanda. Or Chester either, I suppose.

[Shirubie]

Seto Kaiba from Yu-gi-oh, who thinks the whole universe revolves around him, his company and his stupid little card game.

[The Landstander]

The 6-11's and the 18-34's don't care about and can't appreciate good characterization and Network executives have little patience for it, so why come up with a character with redeeming qualities for your show when you could come up with selfish obnoxious ones whose "redeeming qualities" are steady streams of one-liners, pop culture references, wacky, and blatantly contrived plots? I don't know, I don't really think a character being a jerk shows a lack of creativity. Of course "jerk character" can be lazy writing, but so can "lovable character". And I don't get the connection to pop culture references.

America seems to be in an anti-hero mode in general, both in animation and beyond. Tony Soprano is one of the most complex and well done characters on TV, and he's also one of the most self-centered and evil.

Perhaps not as bad as Shake, but still, pretty bad.

[Lonestarr]

People are attracted to jerks.

Slight correction: People with low self-esteem are attracted to jerks.

[trayguy]

Kuzco in THE EMPORER'S NEW SCHOOL is overly self-centered too.:evil:

[Scirel]

Kuzco in THE EMPORER'S NEW SCHOOL is overly self-centered too.:evil:

he reminds me of master Shake a lot actually.

[Mr.Penguin]

Kuzco in THE EMPORER'S NEW SCHOOL is overly self-centered too.:evil:

You know, I've seen the show, and that makes NO SENSE! At the end of the movie the point was that Kuzco was now nice and caring at the end. (How'd they forget that?:shrug: )

:shake: rulez! (and so does Bloo)

[Radical]

When I see alot of obnoxious,self-centered,jerky characters like Daffy,Homer,Eddy,Bloo,Jake,Kuzco,Master Shake,Rodney & Cartman for example, I always find them entertaining & funny and when they get what they deserved at the end when they go too far in their jerky habits.