Animated kids’ shows usually have lovable, relatable, and funny characters that younger viewers can identify with and have fun watching, but many shows have included characters that end up being hated by viewers of all ages. Animated shows aimed at children are often lighthearted and with stories that offer a moral lesson, while the purpose of many is to educate their young audience. To achieve these goals, animated kids’ shows have to have likable characters that attract the audience’s attention, but these shows also need some balance.
Animated kids’ shows also have antagonists who are usually as fun (or sometimes more) as the main character(s), but sometimes these characters have gone a bit too far and have earned the dislike and hate of viewers. In many cases, the most hated characters were those who were suddenly introduced and never returned due to their negative reception, others were so hated that they marked a turning point in their show’s history, while others were actually the main characters, and as such, they couldn’t be removed but also weren’t improved, either.
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10 Terrifying Characters In Animated Kids’ Shows
While most animated kids’ TV shows have funny and relatable characters, some feature truly terrifying characters that are the stuff of nightmares.
10 Otto Rocket – Rocket Power
Otto was highly competitive & a terrible friend
Although Otto Rocket is one of the main characters in Rocket Power, he’s also one of the most hated ones in the show. While it’s undeniable that Otto was skilled in various sports, he was highly competitive, arrogant, and selfish, and wouldn’t hesitate to sabotage his loved ones for his own benefit. Otto once cheated in a competition just so his best friend Twister, who turned out to be better at that particular activity than him, wouldn’t win, he made Sam feel bad for being better than him at another sport, and sabotaged his father’s wedding so he could go to a skating competition. In a show that was all about sports and being a team, Otto was the worst leader and teammate.
9 Randall – Recess
Nobody likes a snitch
Randall Weems was the most hated kid in school in Recess and became the show’s most hated character, as well. Randall’s only friend is Miss Finster, to whom he reports everything he sees and hears in the playground during recess, especially if those things get his classmates into trouble. Although Randall tried to be accepted by his classmates on different occasions, he just couldn’t stop snitching. Randall got a kick out of snitching on everyone, particularly T.J. and his friends, and seeing them be punished, which, understandably, made him a very unlikable character and classmate.
8 Bendy – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends
Bendy was emotionally manipulative & a troublemaker
Bendy appeared one time in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and that was enough for him to become the most hated character in the show. Bendy was a yellow creature with large, black eyebrows, a spiky hairstyle, and black stripes across his torso who arrived at the show to cause trouble. Bendy blamed everyone for his vandalism and would cry when the ones he blamed claimed their innocence and pointed out his guilt to gain sympathy. Bendy received so much backlash and hate from the audience that the creators of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends made him a non-canon character and never appeared again.
7 Sparky – The Fairly OddParents
Sparky appeared once & that was enough
Sparky was a fairy dog introduced in season 9 of The Fairly OddParents and never seen again. When Timmy wanted a dog but was banned from all the pet stores in town, he adopted Sparky from Fairy World and the audience wished he never did. Sparky was hyperactive but sad because everyone who adopted him returned him due to his craziness. Sparky caused trouble for everyone around him, was obnoxious, annoying, selfish, and showed some villainous traits. Due to his unpopularity, he was never seen again.
6 Dodie Bishop – As Told by Ginger
Dodie constantly proved she was a horrible friend
Dodie Bishop was Ginger’s best friend, but throughout As Told By Ginger, she showed the terrible friend she was on multiple occasions. Dodie was desperate for popularity and craved attention, which led her to do awful things, like almost revealing to the entire school that Courtney had lice and faking an injury to join the pep squad. She was also a very jealous and possessive friend and even tried to sabotage Ginger’s relationship with Darren as she wasn’t getting all her attention anymore. Dodie matured as the series progressed, but she didn’t do much to prove she was the true, honest, and supportive friend that Ginger needed.
5 The Great Gazoo – The Flintstones
The Great Gazoo marked the beginning of The Flintstones’ decline
The Flintstones‘ Gazoo is the best example of a character being so bad that he marked the decline of the show. Gazoo is a tiny, green alien exiled to Earth as punishment for inventing a doomsday machine. Gazoo was found by Fred and Barney when his flying saucer crashed, and from then on, he constantly caused problems for them. Gazoo is hated not just because of the troubles he caused for the main characters, but because his presence in The Flintstones made no sense and altered the premise and dynamic of the show.
4 Sam Manson – Danny Phantom
Sam was too hypocritical & undeserving of being Danny’s love interest
Sam Manson was Danny’s best friend and later girlfriend in Danny Phantom, but that doesn’t mean that she was a likable character. Sam was responsible for the accident that turned Danny into a human/ghost hybrid, and while she’s good-hearted and caring, her worst qualities are brought out more often than the good ones. Sam has been criticized for being very hypocritical, especially when offering “advice” to Danny on how he should use his powers, and she’s also bratty and a show-off. Sam also lacks accountability, which has led to her being deemed a bad partner for Danny.
3 Elmyra Duff – Tiny Toon Adventures
Elmyra was actually pretty cruel to animals
Elmyra Duff was the Tiny Toons’ equivalent of Elmer Fudd, except that she was a small girl who, instead of hunting animals, loved them to (literal) death. Although Elmyra was a sweet girl, she was spoiled and took her love for animals to dangerous extremes, accidentally smothering them. Elmyra’s “love” was actually quite cruel and can be considered animal abuse, even if she didn’t kill animals on purpose. Aside from how she treated animals, Elmyra wasn’t the most enjoyable character, but for some reason, she also appeared in Pinky and the Brain and the spinoff Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain.
2 Scrappy-Doo – Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
The franchise became aware of how hated Scrappy-Doo is
The Scooby-Doo TV shows are some of the most beloved cartoons of all time, but the most unpopular episodes and shows are those involving Scooby’s nephew, Scrappy-Doo. When Scooby-Doo was facing low ratings, Hanna-Barbera introduced Scrappy-Doo in an effort to appeal to younger viewers and thus get better ratings – and while the idea worked, Scrappy-Doo quickly became a hated character due to his over-the-top, naive, and annoying personality. The Scooby-Doo franchise became aware of how hated Scrappy-Doo is and used it to its favor, turning him into an antagonist and even the villain in the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie.
1 Angelica Pickles – Rugrats
Angelica caused problems in-universe & behind the scenes
Angelica Pickles is one of the main characters in Rugrats who serves as both an ally and an antagonist, depending on the situation, though she’s mostly the latter. Angelica is an only child, and as such, she’s spoiled by her parents, who pay little attention to her, and she’s selfish, a liar, manipulative, and craves attention, which leads her to do awful things to get it. Angelica is always bullying her cousin Tommy and his friends as she takes advantage of being the oldest child, but her toddler cousin isn’t afraid to stand up to her.
Angelica’s role as the bully of the show sparked some problems among the creators and writers of the show, as during the first seasons of Rugrats, she crossed some lines with her actions against the babies – however, she was a big hook for the audience, so Angelica was never removed from the show and its extended media.
