Person Asked “Show Me The Worst Character Designs You’ve Ever Seen”, And Here Are 39 Of Them
When we were kids, the cartoon characters in the shows we’d watch were absolutely flawless. We’d laugh, enjoy their hilarious antics, and get swept up in the brilliance of their storylines. But as we got older, it became a bit harder to see past the weirdness of some cartoon and anime character designs.
Some are so bad that no amount of good storytelling can hide that fact. That’s why we’re here to ruin your childhood just a little bit more with this list of abominable character designs from movies, shows, and anime.
More info: Reddit
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Cats - Live Action Movie
I'm amused by the theories that covid was a divine punishment for this.
I do too. The cast was clearly having a wonderful time and the dancing was insanely good for the most part. Honestly only Rebel wasn't a dancer, but that was sort of the point and she still put all her energy into it. I was sold on enthusiasm plus the kids giving proper reverence to Judi Densch and Ian McKellen. Dunno why people expected Cats to suddenly make sense as if it weren't already Andrew Lloyd Webber at his cocaniest.
Load More Replies...I saw the musical on Broadway three weeks after it opened. It was wonderful. Somehow making a movie out if it made it grotesque. It destroyed the magic.
The problem with this musical is that it's so abstract that it's impossible to translate it to the big screen. While other musicals, such as The Sound of Music and West Side Story have coherant plots that make them perfect for adapting to the big screen, Cats is basically just a bunch of poems/songs about various cats with a rather loose plot about selecting a cat that will be reborn into a new life.
Load More Replies...Should have gone with actual costumes than this creepy CGI nonsense. The actual costumes for the show are awesome.
and the thing with the stage show costumes is they were designed to minimize the human-ness. Big wide wigs, arm and leg warmers, they help to disguise the human proportions.
Load More Replies...I agree with the reviewers - longterm musical theater fans, mostly - who said that the real problem with the movie was the twin issues of mostly casting non-dancers in a dance movie, and allowing them all to sing at their own pace and expect the orchestra to figure it out in post production. In other words, it was a really bad adaptation. And since the performances didn't draw people out of their seats into the movie, we were all stuck staring at the weird costume/character design choices. If it had been a better MOVIE, we wouldn't have cared as much.
Victoria and Skimbleshanks are principal dancers at the Royal Ballet, and Munkustrap at the New York City ballet.
Load More Replies...Agree 100%, couldn't even finish watching because the characters were so bad
Spiderus From Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends
*pulls out shot gun* i got you *shoots that hecker*
Load More Replies...I’ve never watched this, never even seen this face before, BUT MY BRAIN GAVE IT A VOICE! NOOOOOO
Tika - Barbie Movie
It looks like a Snapchat filter on a girl with false eyelashes lol
Load More Replies...Animators: We have to give the elephant false lashes, so everyone knows it's a girl elephant.
I personally don't feel like this one belongs on this list, she was fairly well designed for her time. When you look at her you clearly see that it is a female elephant, so they succeeded. Also this is barbie: island princess, in case any of you were wondering.
I agree. Tika is a success compared to the rest. Plus, she might have been kicked out without lashes
Load More Replies...Bored Panda has curated this list of terrible, weird, and creepy character designs that people have come across. Although a character’s design isn’t the only thing that makes the show good, it can add a lot to the overall storyline. One of the important parts of designing a good cartoon character is understanding their anatomy.
Designers need to first know the rules of human anatomy before they break them. Many animators don’t understand or choose to ignore anatomy rules and then end up with the oddest characters. According to Pixune, “researching a body shape’s anatomical structure, whether a human, animal, invented creature, or machine, is essential to creating a unique character.”
Globglogabgalab - Strawinsky And The Mysterious House
The podcast "God Awful Movies" covered this movie ("Strawinsky and the Mysterious House") not too long ago, and...um...it's anti-literacy. I'm not making this up, it's a kids' movie about NOT READING.
Dafuque? But, but- there are so many books in scene! Were they trying reverse psychology?
Load More Replies...When I first saw this I thought this was the dude from Wreck-it-Ralph who says not to look at his cousin
That's the yeast of thoughts and minds right there, and nobody can prove me wrong.
It’s a christian move and there are a lot of terrible cgi characters. This one’s just the worst.
Becky - T.u.f.f. Puppy
It keeps alternating between looking like a nose and a hole aaaaahhh
Makes me wonder what is even on her face. I only see eyes, a small mouth, and a few dots, and that weird black hole thing.
Load More Replies...Could have been fine if they switched up the mouth placement, but no.
Jay Jay The Jet Plane
Oh goody, now that stupid theme song from the commercials for the VHS tapes is stuck in my head. "Jay Jay, the Jet Plane!"
The sun is rising high up over Tarrytown, friends taking off and friends touching down. That's where you'll find, that one of a kind, Jay Jaaaaaay. Jay Jay the jet plane (that's me!). There's never been another little guy like this, so much in love with the sky like this. So buckle up tight, it's a magical flight with Jay Jaaaaaay, Jay JAAAAAAAAAAAY, Jay Jay the jet plane (that's me!). You're welcome!
Load More Replies...remember all those creepy memes about the face swap with the face on that toy train? one of the planes here looks like it
No comments from me here. They are already spoken well xDD
Load More Replies...When it comes to misunderstanding realistic or anatomically correct character design, one of the weirdest offenders of this was Paramount Picture’s Sonic the Hedgehog. When the production company released the first trailer for their live-action movie, there was public outcry over how creepy and unsettling the character looked. Many unhappy fans found his teeth to be too detailed and his eyes not conjoined enough.
To Paramount’s credit, they took all the fan feedback into consideration and pushed back the film’s release date by a year. By listening to what people had to say and making Sonic look more cartoon-like, they were able to find the most pleasing character design for their film.
Tales In Mushroom Village
Sonic The Hedgehog
In the new Chip and Dale movie, they reference "ugly sonic" and show close up of their teeth
He looked pretty good after the full remodel actually. I played sonic on the GameCube a lot as a kid and it gave a nice nostalgic feeling. The original design was the thing of nightmares though.
Friendly reminder that the internet cyberbullied the movie company to change the design
This could be better but hey. He’s not *shudders* a C-CAT...M-MAN
Kid - Foodfight
Well, looks like this will be making a guest appearance in my nightmares for the next few weeks.
Another interesting thing to keep in mind about good character design is having identifiable silhouettes. This means that each character’s body shape should be distinctive enough to be recognized by an audience without any other details.
According to Walt Disney, “when designing characters, artists often use a silhouette to test whether the character’s basic design ‘reads’ to the audience. From the silhouette we are able to see a distinctive and recognizable design without details and understand what the figure is saying with its overall form.”
The Problem Solverz
This is what i got in those make a character with google slides things you do in elementary school.
I was wondering what those symbols next to your username mean. What do they mean?
Load More Replies...Only if "MS" is short for "Misanthropy".
Load More Replies...Ain't no one talking about fake brown duolingo in there Edit: those eyes of each of the characters-
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've cancelled 'Megas XLR', redesigned Long Haul the Puppet Trucker, and spammed the channel with that show about the pointy-haired people doing space sit-ups for ever and eternity...we've raised our own bar for showing our hatred towards our viewers, and ever more extreme expressions of disdain are called for. If anyone has any suggestions, any nightmares to offer, please feel free to OH MY FORKING GOD WHAT IN HELL'S SUPPURATING ODOROUS TAINT IS THAT"
Load More Replies...There are many problems I see, so obviously they are not very good at their jobs…
What's that green thing sticking up from between the blue one's legs, hmmm?
Peppa's Guinea Pigs
Every character on Peppa Pig should be pictured here. That show has lazy sloppy illustrators pretending that they're edgy.
im not 100% sure, but I think it may be the style because its a children's show? Anyway, I know that I loved the show when I was a toddler, so I might be biased, but respectfully (you are entitled to your opinion, ofc) I disagree with your statement.
Load More Replies...I don't think Peppa Pig should count because it's a kid's show. It's meant to have a certain charm to it by not looking perfect.
Fanboy & Chum Chum
I remember trying to like this show but the animation creeped me out way too much. I couldn't get into it b/c it was too distracting.
WOAH, that's such a deep cut im going to need stitches. This show was locked so far in the recesses of my mind I dont think I would've ever thought about it again had I not seen this. Really makes you wonder how much stuff that was once a part of our lives just disappears for good so quickly
Some designers also make the mistake of overdesigning their characters by adding way too many details or accessories that make absolutely no sense. It can be an eyesore for viewers and even leave them feeling confused. Animators especially do this when their designs look too similar, and people need to tell the characters apart.
An important thing to keep in mind is that overdesigned characters can create a cluttered mess. With too many colors, body features, and intricate details, the character will look unnatural. Designers should use other distinguishing factors for their animation and give their protagonists a cleaner look.
Peppa The Pig
NOOOOOOooooo!!!!!!!! WHY??!!! I will never UNSEE that >>>>>>[
Load More Replies...If they look to their left, their eyes are on the right side of their heads. If they look the other way, their eyes pop over to the other side of their heads... EEP!
I feel like the people who designed this were vaguely aware that pigs existed, but only because of a slurred description their farm-raised but senile grandpa once gave them.
The animator must be descendants of the illuminators of old texts that drew the messed up animals in the margins.
Load More Replies...Nah, but I want to know how many jobs Miss Rabbit has
Load More Replies...“They won’t let us into play group in account of all our faces looking like pen!ses.”
Having had to watch Peppa Pig on loop for days on end I would say how they look is the least of their problems.
Billy From Monster By Mistake
POV: you are relaxing in the weekend, but you are about to remember your homework
Joshua And The Promised Land
It was made by just one guy, which is respectable, but otherwise it's very very VERY cursed
Load More Replies...OMG PLEASE WATCH THE SABERSPARK REANIMATION AND REVIEWS OF THIS MOVIE ITS SO FUNNY
It's a movie of the telling of a bible story, but the main character is a lion...uh... a lion I guess. The animation is compellingly awful.
Load More Replies...Another movie that was guilty of creating unsettling characters was The Polar Express. The characters in this movie were supposed to look human and life-like, but instead, they had uncanny valley characteristics. Many people found issues with the eyes of the animated characters, which seemed crossed and unfocused.
The film team was also one of the first to use motion capture suits and computer rendering technology on such a big scale. This might explain why the movie’s characters looked so weird while moving and speaking.
Kamichama Karin
I think they do not need noses, they breath through their freakishly big eyes
Load More Replies...I own this manga... I'm fairly certain they are not this cursed in the manga. The entire thing is low key a parody of magical girls (the catchphrase she says when transforming is "i am god"), so it almost feels intentional too
Gakuen Handsome
Buttercup From The Power Puff Girls
For the record, this is the 2016 abomination of a reboot that us original PPG fans don't wish to talk about.
Thank you, I didn't recognize anything about this. Iirc the girls all had a good design
Load More Replies...It’s from an episode of that PowerPuff reboot. Basically, the girls see this super muscular superhero and Buttercup feels inferior so she starts working out and gets super buff. But when this villain called the Gnat (I think) starts attacking, Buttercup can’t help because her muscle makes her too heavy to fly, so Blossom and Bubbles get captured. What is the apparent solution? Make Buttercup get obese to remove the muscle and then work off the fat with cardio… 🤢 The worst part? The episode is called Muscle-Cup. How did they miss the opportunity to call it Buffer-Cup?!?!
Load More Replies...If u didn't look at her 🍒 ur not human And isn't she a kid? Why does she have 🍒?
Cartoons aren’t meant to look realistic or be perfect, but designers should definitely not just throw a bunch of things together to create a character. It’s safe to say that many of the characters in this list are nightmare fuel for that exact reason. That’s why this post received 23k upvotes and 3.8k comments with many of the most jarring examples of character design ever seen. Let us know which of these animations shocked you the most.
Bigby Wolf - Unstable Fables
xxxHolic
I like it, it looks like a cool vibe. Why should they be realistic? Why not be wonderfully different?
It looks a little weird, but not as bad as some. For a more modern example, the cartoon Grimsburg has longer legs and smaller bodies too. Not to this extreme, but it's till noticeable. Gives it a unique style that separates it visually from other animated shows.
Load More Replies...Oh, God, CLAMP is so bad about the proportions of their characters. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles had the exact same problem.
I enjoy this, but it might just be the cool color tones after all the screaming bright colors
Maybe they're both really great at walking on stilts...we don't know, maybe that's their thing 🤣
They'd look nice if it weren't for how distorted and long-legged they look
Teen Girl Wolf - Unstable Fables
Squirrel Daredevil Dan - Foodfight
Howie And Poodle - Almost Naked Animals
The Joker
I am all in for more variety, but Sweet Baby Inc did nothing but lackluster self inserts and badly written BS
Load More Replies...The other ones I could understand could be a result of lack of talent, time, or budget but this is one has none of those excuses.
Sid Phillips - Toy Story
Okay but to be fair people were just learning how to animate and model stuff like that when that movie came out. The design did always kinda scare me as a kid though ngl
Sid was supposed to be scary, so I'm cool with his design
Load More Replies...Nope. Sid is SUPPOSED to be creepy and distressing to look at.
took Pixar 20 years or so to correctly animate humans... this is why
I didn't like the character of course but I think he actually looks cute. Besides he looks a lot like Will Poulter which I don't think is ugly, he just looks different. Why is that a bad thing? I think they both look great
And ok on a side note this one shot is very disturbing but there's that
Load More Replies...Why does he have m#+h mouth? He looks like he's been going hard for decades! D@πn! 😬
Jonny - The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest
He looks like a poorly molded action figure your mom bought you at the dollar store that kind of sort of looks like the character from the show you like but they didn't quite nail it. He also looks like he just got kicked in the nuts or he walked in on his sister and her boyfriend.
"I've got rectangular man-boobs - AND THEY'RE SAGGING. Please, consign me to the landfill of history, lest I ravage all our minds."
Another example of 30 year old animation. I remember about a decade where they were switching from traditional animation to CGI and the CGI was just not good enough. This is one of the victims. There are a few more in this post. I think it's less bad character design, and more limitations of the available tech.
Groucha - Téléchat
This looks like that kind of weird $hit you find on the dark side of Youtube.
This was a really f****d up TV show for kids in the 1980s. If you find Groucha distrubing you shouldn't look at Pubpub or Leguman from the same show.
This picture is tame for the show, I remember the ostrich lady having an amply filled décolleté in some episodes.
Bozz And Doody - Cubeez
for real some guy hired a dude and said, "Hey, can you 3d model?" and the other dude was like "Uhm yep I can put 3 shapes together in blender."
Load More Replies...This was created for children 2-5. Kids...Little kids. it doesn't have to be award winning animation!
Remember the square-ish piggybanks that literally ate coins?
Purple Monarch - Miraculous
Everything about this show is just awful. No offense to the fans out there 🐞
The main character : cringiest high schooler I've ever seen. Creepily obsessed with a random famous dude who later attends her school. Wouldn't watch it if my siblings didn't like it so much
Load More Replies...Even if he otherwise looked normal - that dude is wearing four necklaces / pendants.
This one's just cacophonous and unappealing. A bad design, yeah, but not a 'worst'.
I like how inclusive the show is and the designs and stuff but they really f****d up Marinette's romance
Maury The Hormone Monster - Big Mouth
That's not an accident. The whole cartoon series is about puberty. It's hilarious, but SUUUUPER nsfw.
Load More Replies...Kindergarteners From Leo
I don’t think it’s that bad of a design. It’s just unrealistic cuz it’s a cartoony style, and they look pretty funny
I personally loved them, such a funny & realistic take on kindergartners
They’re animals! Especially the one above the teacher’s butt! The one with the pink shirt
Poor design vs cartoonish design choices are not the same. The fifth graders in Leo looked excellent, and the film was lovely. The way the kindergartners bounce and jabber in the movie for contrast is too funny. As someone who has taught all elementary school grade levels; this was hilarious.
Alpha And Omega
Barb - Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Barb was great! If anyone has a bad design, it's the spaghetti Santa Claus evil guy.
Load More Replies...Love the character, not so much the design. But I guess it fits the film's aesthetic?
I remember watching that movie all the time as a kid. I don't remember her being so ugly!
Ginger - As Told By Ginger
Klasky Csupo sure loved fugly designs. Rocker Power was just as hard to look at.
Was young when this came out, didn't really notice at the time but yah really freaky looking actually
Królestwo Zielonej Polany. Powrót
🎼 "Red ant, Red ant. Red ant, Red ant ... (Theme music from "The Pink Panther")
Load More Replies...There's a lot to unpick here. But I suspect that this has to do with the Balfour Declaration.
Muscle Man - Regular Show
He's perfect just the way he is. Hahah I love this show and all the freaks in it
GOODSHOWGOODSHOWGOODSHOWGOODSHOWGOODSHOW
Load More Replies...Yeah...no. Hard no on including Muscle Man in this list. He's nowhere as egregiously s****y as some of the other designs on this list (I'm throwing chicken poop at YOU, "Problem Solverz"), he fills a niche in the show's overall design, and his character is nuanced and endearing in contrast to his appearance, which makes him memorable and endearing. Hot throbbing greased-up Jesus lord, "Problem Solverz". It's like they knew they couldn't shove a wire hanger into your eyes through a TV screen, so they did what they could despite limitations.
Mr. Rzykruski - Frankenweenie
Great caricature of Vincent Price, an actor known for horror movie roles in the forties and fifties.
Beavis and Butt-Head
While I feel you on this one, they were pretty awful!
Load More Replies...That was then. Now, they are portrayed in a much more realistic way. bevis-and-...98b0c3.jpg
Johnny Test
hey! this one doesnt belong. sure, it had its issues, but it was a solid show
I don't think show quality is the issue here, character design I'd. That being said this design doesn't seem horrible for a kids show.
Load More Replies...Putting "Johnny Test" on a list of bad character designs is a lot like putting a '57 Chevy in a line-up of fruits and vegetables on account of maybe it's cherry red.
More than half of these are just cartoony art styles with unrealistic proportions or exaggerated features to appear funny or ugly on purpose, not genuinely bad character design…
Yep, and a bunch of the rest are early CGI which suffered from technical limitations of the time. How many polygons can we use to create this character? Three. Three thousand? No, THREE!
Load More Replies...half of these are just characters being styalized and people not liking it, that's all
Uhhh. that's pretty much what took "worst design" to mean. Did you think we meant poor load-bearing strength or something?
Load More Replies...The early 3D/computer animation that didnt age well is forgivable, IMO. As for others, I'm all for creativity but do some cartoons have to be downright hideous?
Seriously? No mention of Coredor, the claymation alien with a v4gina for a face from australian children's tv?
All of the above is like Studio Ghibli compared to "Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa". The best part is "Malfunctioning Grandma" (the voice actress recordings for Grandma got messed up when encoding, but the producers put it in anyway. Talk about lack of quality control). Embrace the horror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpVc3EO-6gA
Oh my god, that was funny. Thanks for a good laugh.
Load More Replies...Literally EVERYONE in that kids show 'Wiggles Space Dancing' like they used to give me nightmares! LOOK AT THIS e2fac99e3d...7a6f60.jpg
This list is lazy. There are many designs that were actually bad but instead some that shouldn't be on this list were included
Mental note to self: if I ever want to animate using a computer, buy the GOOD computer software 👍
Most of these can be explained by the fact that most animators are OUT OF THEIR G0DDAMMN MINDS. Source: I was one, went to school with many, and worked with a few more.
More than half of these are just cartoony art styles with unrealistic proportions or exaggerated features to appear funny or ugly on purpose, not genuinely bad character design…
Yep, and a bunch of the rest are early CGI which suffered from technical limitations of the time. How many polygons can we use to create this character? Three. Three thousand? No, THREE!
Load More Replies...half of these are just characters being styalized and people not liking it, that's all
Uhhh. that's pretty much what took "worst design" to mean. Did you think we meant poor load-bearing strength or something?
Load More Replies...The early 3D/computer animation that didnt age well is forgivable, IMO. As for others, I'm all for creativity but do some cartoons have to be downright hideous?
Seriously? No mention of Coredor, the claymation alien with a v4gina for a face from australian children's tv?
All of the above is like Studio Ghibli compared to "Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa". The best part is "Malfunctioning Grandma" (the voice actress recordings for Grandma got messed up when encoding, but the producers put it in anyway. Talk about lack of quality control). Embrace the horror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpVc3EO-6gA
Oh my god, that was funny. Thanks for a good laugh.
Load More Replies...Literally EVERYONE in that kids show 'Wiggles Space Dancing' like they used to give me nightmares! LOOK AT THIS e2fac99e3d...7a6f60.jpg
This list is lazy. There are many designs that were actually bad but instead some that shouldn't be on this list were included
Mental note to self: if I ever want to animate using a computer, buy the GOOD computer software 👍
Most of these can be explained by the fact that most animators are OUT OF THEIR G0DDAMMN MINDS. Source: I was one, went to school with many, and worked with a few more.
