Top 50 Cartoon Characters

Boris and Natasha are portrayed as how Americans saw Russians during the Cold War. That doesn't keep these villains from Rocky and Bullwinkle from dispatching some humor.

This cat and mouse team were the inspiration for The Simpsons Itchy and Scratchy (without the gore). Tom and Jerry chase each other, torment each other and generally try to defeat the other. Though Tom has the upper hand more than, say, Sylvester, he still has yet to make a meal of Jerry.

Another anti-hero, Woody Woodpecker lives to cause trouble. His most famous trait is no doubt his cackling, stuttering laugh.

• Extras and Episodes of Woody Woodpecker and Friends DVD

Alvin, lead singer of Alvin and the Chipmunks, is the guts of the operation. He's the one who finds the loopholes in most situations. These rodents are so popular they just released another CD, after the 2007 movie soundtrack.

• More About Alvin and the Chipmunks.

As Mickey Mouse's cynical sidekick, Donald Duck was always my favorite. (Much like Oscar the Grouch was my favorite on Sesame Street. Hm, issues?) It wasn't the raspy voice or fashionable duds, but his eye-rolling attitude and exasperation with most of the world that made him so relatable.

Another Hanna-Barbera staple was the team of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Like other classic Hanna-Barbera characters, Yogi continually found himself in trouble and Boo Boo usually figured a way out. The duo lived in Jellystone Park. Yogi's character is most likely based on the Ed Norton character from The Honeymooners, another reason he was so lovable.

Sure, Space Ghost was a popular character in '60s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, when he battled villains in outer space. But his stint as a late-night talk show host on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast sent him into the stratosphere of stardom.

• See Space Ghost Pictures

Schoolhouse Rock was a set of animated shorts that helped educate kids in the '60s and '70s about conjunctions, the magic number three, and especially, the legislative process. The latter lesson starred a rolled-up paper named Bill, and showed how he went from the House to the Senate and eventually became a law. His "I'm Just a Bill" tune is most memorable.

• Review of Schoolhouse Rock.

Arthur is a highly recognizable character from his own children's book series who made the leap to his own TV cartoon on PBS. And if you're wondering, yes, he's an aardvark.

• Review of Arthur on PBS.