Cartoons can teach us so many things about our world, in it lies beauty and ugliness. Many cartoons of the past would double down on ugly characters being evil villains to show their corruption, and some of them did turn to their life of crime due to rejections.
But there is still good in the world, and while others are mocked for their appearance, there are still characters who draw on their inner strength or humor and serve as inspirations to a world that turned on them.
It is with this that we show the two sides of the mirror, the Top 25 list of Ugly Cartoon Characters that are entertainment gold.
Top 25 Ugly Cartoon Characters
25. Ren Hoek – Ren and Stimpy
- Age: 53 in dog years
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: John Kricfalusi (Season 1-2) and Billy West (Season 3-5)
This chihuahua is the source of many slapstick and crazy antics in the show. Ren is the angry and crazy character that abuses Stimpy in many episodes.
He is seen to be selfish, manipulative, and easily angered, as he will panic and scream over the smallest of reasons.
Ren will dish out pain and lash out at poor Stimpy instead of accepting responsibility for his actions, which can range from slapstick to psychotic.
24. Beavis – Beavis and Butthead
- Age: 14-17
- Height: 5’4
- Voice Actor: Mike Judge
This slacker teen co-stars with Butthead as the name of their show suggests. Beavis is a crazy dude whose only goal in life, like his friend, is to score chicks.
He is an idiot whose impatiences land him in many situations that Butthead has to sometimes step in and defuse.
When Beavis is super-hyper, he will pull his shirt upwards and assume a different character named Cornholio, who needs a “teepee for his bunghole.”
23. Gargamel – The Smurfs (1980)
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Paul Winchell
The blue-skinned smurfs have their work cut out for them by Gargamel, who has been obsessed with capturing the smurfs to turn them into gold or eat them.
He is an ugly man whose tragic appearance reveals a sad backstory of his mistreatment by his mother and other people.
He is a powerful wizard who knows many spells, he even transformed into Baby Smurf and made Smurfette so he could track down the smurfs in their village.
22. The Green Goblin – Marvel Productions Universe
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Neil Ross
An iconic villain of the Spider-Man franchise, The Green Goblin is a malicious trickster who wants to kill our favorite webslinger.
His first identity was Norman Osborne who fueled his obsession for power with a chemical that drove him crazy enough to make this villain alias. His son, Harry would also take on this identity.
The Green Goblin uses a number of technologies to deal with Spiderman, including a rocket glider as well as his enhanced abilities from the gas.
21. Swamp Thing – Swamp Thing (1990)
- Age: –
- Height: Variable due to form
- Voice Actor: Len Carlson
The ugliest cartoon characters would often come from the strangest of places. Meet Swamp Thing, a freak accident that caused Dr. Alec Holland to mutate into a hulking biomass.
His origins are as noble as his deeds, as Alec wanted to discover a self-sustaining bacteria to solve the food shortage forever.
The Swamp Thing had elemental mastery and super strength that defeated Batman. It is a good thing that he still retains his human side, though this is very tragic.
20. Herbert the Pervert – Family Guy
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Mike Henry
A lot of older cartoon characters tend to be ugly. While innocent and harmless looking, the old man is known for his pedophilic tendencies towards young boys, especially Chris Griffin.
Herbert’s whispery, calm voice and kind-heartedness mask his true intentions as he acts out the stereotypical behavior of pedophiles.
This makes Herbert one of the ugly characters from cartoons to laugh or cringe at.
19. Lord Farquaad – Shrek
- Age: –
- Height: 4’6
- Voice Actor: John Lithgow
While physically challenged and compensating for something, Lord Farquaad exiled the fairy tale creatures to Shrek’s swamp.
His maniacal plans have led Shrek to work for him to rescue Princess Fiona, crown him King of Duloc, and expand his realm.
When Farquad did see Fiona’s ogre form, he was disgusted by her appearance and ordered to lock her in a tower forever. It’s a good thing he was eaten by a dragon as his reign came to a short end.
18. The Fates – Hercules
- Age: Immortal
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Carole Shelley (Lachesis), Amanda Plummer (Clotho), Paddi Edwards (Atropos)
The three ugly sisters are commonly seen in black robes, sharing one eye to see the adventures of Hercules as he proves himself to be a hero.
As the weavers of mortal lives, it is their job to oversee lifespans, represented by a life thread. They were specially ordered by Hades to monitor Zeus’ son and end him.
They fail to cut Hercules’ life thread when he saves Meg and ascends to become a Greek god.
17. Quasimodo
- Age: 20
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Tom Hulce
The bellringer from Notre Dame is known for his tragic title of “hunchback.” Quasimodo has a massively deformed body that affects his face and back.
Fearing his own appearance, Quasimodo chose to take sanctuary at the bell tower as a servant of his caretaker, Judge Frollo. This changes when he meets a gypsy woman named Esmeralda.
Quasimodo was left in the friend zone, but at least in the sequel movie, our hunchback gets a better love story and ending.
16. Cruella de Vil – 101 Dalmatians
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Betty Lou Gerson
Disney likes to design their villains with old age, mean streaks, and negative personalities. One such villain is Cruella de Vil, whom animal rights activists hold as the icon of animal cruelty.
She’s known to have raging eyes and drives a red and black car furiously as she searches for the puppies.
It was only when the Dalmatian group used wit and disguises that they were able to escape this vile woman.
15. Roz – Monsters Inc.
- Age: 60
- Height: 6’0
- Voice Actor: Bob Peterson
To continue the list of ugly cartoon characters with glasses, we have Roz from Monsters Inc.
Her appearance is that of a slow, old, and raspy-voiced green slug. She takes her role seriously as a key master and administrator for a scare floor at Monsters, Inc.
Roz always reminds Mike Wazowski of his missed paperwork, and in the film, she worked undercover as the head of the Child Detection Agency.
14. Sideshow Bob – The Simpsons
- Age: –
- Height: 6’3
- Voice Actor: Kelsey Grammer
Modern-day pop culture brands clowns as popular nightmare fuel for kids. That is the case with Sideshow Bob, one of the ugly cartoon characters with dreads.
His obsession to kill Bart Simpson stems from an old case where he attempted to kill his former co-star, Krusty the Clown.
He has many returns in seasons that focus on his attempts to kill off Bart. But at least the latest episodes show his reform and peace after years of hatred.
13. Mr. Mackey – South Park
- Age: 50
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Trey Parker
The show South Park features a wacky cast of characters. One such man is Mr. Mackey, who works at South Park Elementary as its guidance counselor.
He is a rational adult who does his job for the kids, subbing for some teachers when they are absent, fired, or killed.
Mr. Mackey has a verbal tick with “m’kay” while teaching kids about the many dangers of drugs, alcohol, and adult stuff.
12. Mr. Denzel Quincy Crocker – The Fairly Oddparents
- Age: 40s
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Carlos Alazraqui
Another educator lands on the list as Timmy’s teacher. Mr. Crocker or Denzel as he is called by his mother, is a crazy man, obsessed with the belief that fairies are real.
As a teacher, he usually gets his kicks from giving students like Timmy an “F” on their test papers.
It’s revealed in one episode that he used to be a good kid who even had Cosmo and Wanda as his fairies, and it’s Timmy who indirectly led Crocker to be who he is now.
11. Hades – Hercules
- Age: Immortal
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: James Woods
As the lord of the underworld, Hades is a fickle god among the others on Olympus. His job is as ugly as its soul, and he is jealous of his brother Zeus.
When Hades does find out about Hercules’ growing threat, he schemes to become ruler of Olympus by unleashing the Titans.
As ugly as he is, with red flames raging when anger boils, he manages to keep it cool with his charismatic personality.
10. Philoctetes “Phil” – Hercules
- Age: –
- Height: 5’0
- Voice Actor: Danny Devito
One of the best parts about Hercules is meeting his mentor, Phil. His mythological creature is a satyr whose role is to train Hercules in the boy’s quest to prove himself worthy of being a hero.
When Hercules meets him, Phil performs a musical number about training other heroes, and he serves as Hercules’ coach for the rest of the film.
Though ugly, he gets to score with the beautiful goddess Aphrodite at the end of the movie.
9. Rasputin – Anastasia
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Christopher Lloyd
This character gave many children nightmare fuel with his ghastly appearance. Rasputin is the antagonist of Anastasia and a loose interpretation of the real mad monk.
As a powerful sorcerer who sold his soul to the devil, he then used this power to influence soldiers and the public to kill the Romanov family.
He would drown and return in undead form to finish the job, but Anastasia was brave enough to finally defeat Rasputin and end the curse.
8. Oscar the Grouch – Sesame Street
- Age: 43
- Height: 5’10
- Voice Actor: Caroll Spinney (1969-2018) Eric Jacobson (2015-Present)
The greenish muppet from Sesame Street is an ugly cartoon character. Oscar is a grouchy and snarky character who hangs around with the other Muppets.
He generally does not like anything else except fans of the show, as he teaches them about recycling and the environment.
As for his trash can, it can absolutely move around with his legs, and the insides are even bigger with his personal house for himself, his pets, and a gate to his hometown.
7. Two-Face – Batman the Animated Series
- Age: –
- Height: 6’0
- Voice Actor: Richard Moll
A modern-day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Two-Face is a three-dimensional villain who switches personalities and has been a major threat to Batman.
His origins in both comics and cartoons have been shown in an accident where half of his face was acid-spilled by a criminal. This, combined with psychological trauma, transformed him.
Two-face would then use a coin to influence his decisions, with the head being to do good things and the scarred bottom being to do bad things.
6. Edna Mode – The Incredibles
- Age: Early 50s or 60s
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Brad Bird
Though it was hard to include her on the list for her looks, Edna Mode is a passionate fashion designer for superheroes.
Mr. Incredible needed this suit fixed, so he went to see an old friend. Viewers got to meet an overbearing and dramatic character whose iconic expressions of “dahling” and “fabolous” make her a fan favorite.
She even made sure that Elastigirl regained her confidence in her role as a woman and a mother.
5. Yzma – The Emperor’s New Groove
- Age: 80
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Eartha Kitt (2000-2008) Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (2012-Present)
As Kuzco’s former adviser, Yzma is a calculating villain who, after being fired, saw it as a chance to take over the throne.
Her plot is simple: turn the emperor into a llama and be rid of him forever.
Kuzco notes Yzma’s ugliness with her dry and sagging skin, coupled with hideous teeth and a bony figure. She’s still seen in a cartoon show called The Emperor’s New School as Kuzco’s disguised principal, Amzy.
4. Squidward – Spongebob Squarepants
- Age: 22
- Height: 10 inches
- Voice Actor: Roger Bumpass
A struggling musician and a low-wage employee of the Krusty Krab, Squidward is everything opposite to his yellow sponge neighbor.
He dislikes many things, like his job or how nobody appreciates his talents. This could be due to how highly he regards himself over others.
Though some episodes show how much Squidward really cares, he does not have too much fun. Maybe because he is a satire of adulting.
3. Sid – Ice Age
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: John Leguizamo
The sloth named Sid takes the third spot on the list of ugly cartoon characters and is characterized by two different-sized eyes, a wonky body, and an annoying voice. He is the odd one out and could be the group’s idiot or genius.
We first meet Sid and his deal with Manny to migrate to warmer places as the Ice Age is coming. When they met Diego, Sid was initially wary but warmed up to the sabertooth as time went on.
His use of tools and convincing power make him an ingenious sloth whose ideas have a huge impact on the group’s survival. One example was when he made fire by scratching two flints and accidentally sparking the wood, which made him “Lord of the Flame.”
2. The Grinch – The Grinch (2018)
- Age: 61
- Height: 6’2
- Voice Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch
Not everyone likes Christmas, especially the Grinch, whose bitterness over the holiday in Whoville is referenced by his many sad childhood experiences.
He lives on Mt. Crumpit with a dog named Max as his only friend. In many versions of the tale, the Grinch is capable of making gadgets and is smart enough to plan.
Frustrated by Christmas singing and merrymaking, he sets out to do the impossible, by stopping the people of Whoville from celebrating Christmas with his trickery and crimes.
One plan involves him taking Santa’s role and stealing as many presents as he can, but he encounters a Whoville girl named Cindy Lou-Who, whose innocence and kindness managed to make the Grinch change his outlook on Christmas and grow his heart by two sizes; hopefully, that doesn’t reflect his medical condition.
1. Shrek – Shrek
- Age: 7 (Shrek the Musical)
- Height: 7-8 ft tall
- Voice Actor: Mike Myers
Ogres are horrible fairy tale creatures, and in pop culture, they are depicted as ugly characters from cartoons and movies. They have green or purple skin, bad odors, sharp teeth, muscles that can crush skulls, and have become an enemy of men. But one such movie defies this stereotype.
When we meet Shrek, he is the best example of what an ogre is. It’s just that he prefers to live alone in the swamp. Having fairy tale creatures squat over his land gave him the reason to lead him to his adventures of saving a princess with an annoying donkey.
His ugliness and rude behavior mask a good heart. He is loyal to those he protects and just wants appreciation and quiet from the world that rejects him.
That’s it!
This is a list of 25 ugly cartoon characters that are entertainment gold. From crazy villains bent on revenge for their looks and vanity over heroes with hearts of gold and would be mirrors of reflection for treating other people better.
Hopefully, this can serve as a lesson of respect and caution about people’s appearances, for a kinder world.