Cartoon Characters on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

J

Jestep

New member
When looking at a list of fictional characters on the HWOF, I was suprised to find only 10 cartoon characters have a star. They are the following:

Bugs Bunny
Mickey Mouse
Donald Duck
Snow White
Tinker Bell
Shrek
The Rugrats
The Simpsons
Winnie The Pooh
Woody Woodpecker

Any thoughts on other characters that are deserving? Here's my list so far:

Popeye
Daffy Duck
Goofy
Tom and Jerry
Scooby Doo
Spongebob Squarepants
Betty Boop
Felix The Cat
Charlie Brown and Snoopy
Eric Cartman
 
Shrek and The Rugrats really should not be on that list of recipients of the HWOF star, in my opinion. At most, they were characters that held their appeal for a while as part of a fad, but quickly faded. Neither of these franchises hold much relevance today, nor will they hold relevance in the future.

It remains to be seen if characters like Spongebob will be able to stay relevant in the years to come, but at least in the present he is much more relevant than The Rugrats ever were.
 
:^:Agreed on Rugrats. I like the show and all (well, the really old, pre-movie stuff anyways), but I question who made the call to give it that award, especially considering how quickly and unceremoniously Nickelodeon kicked it to the curb after Spongebob took over the reins as their new favorite son. It might come back into relevance sometime in the next 10 years or so (if 90's nostalgia plays in its favor), but otherwise, yeah, Rugrats is almost a forgotten relic nowadays. I don't really consider it "timeless", in the sense that a Bugs Bunny or a Mickey Mouse are, either; "fad of its time" probably is more appropriate.

...and as far as some of those other potential candidates go, I could see some of those characters or properties (Daffy, Scooby Doo, Charlie Brown/Peanuts, Popeye) being fairly deserving. In fact, I could definitely see Scooby getting one, at some point. I mean, it's not an overly popular "megahit" or anything, but look at how long it's been on. Most cartoon series, as a whole, are lucky to last 10 years, let alone 20... yet the Scooby franchise has been alive and kicking for over 40 years now. I'd say that probably qualifies it as Walk of Fame worthy. Longevity is a worthy accomplishment, especially in Hollywood.
 
I can kind of understand Shrek, but I agree with you on Rugrats. I worked at a daycare once and when one of the employees said when she was younger people said she looked like Angelica Pickles, all the little kids were like "Who?".
 
I agree with everybody about Shrek and The Rugrats. I wonder how that happened? You'd think they'd wait a certain number of years to see if the characters have actually cemented their image in the public eye or burn brightly for a while then fade away. With Shrek and The Rugrats it certainly seems like the latter ... while both arguably huge (at least at some point in their lives) they don't strike me as particularly prominent or timeless.
 
From reading on Wikipedia, the selection process for the Hollywood Walk of Fame is that anyone of merit can be nominated, as long as their management agrees with it, and donates $30,000 to pay for the star and upkeep to the Walk of Fame.

In the case of Shrek and Rugrats, it must seem that Dreamworks and Nickelodeon weren't shy about the donation fee.
 
I guess it's good for whoever is up keeping these awards and such and a good way to get money (Which all companies need), but I always thought of the Wall of Fame as a far more exclusive thing.

I get that still trying to get there in the first place is pretty hard, but having Shrek and Rugrats there because the two companies were able to pay the donation fee makes it feel less... Special I guess? Not sure on the word.
 
Well, Snow White was the first full-length animated feature to have ever been made, so it's probably on a more "revolutionary" scale. If Bambi or Dumbo was the first animated feature, they would probably be there instead.

I'm just a bit confused as to some of the randomness of the choices. Mickey + Donald, no Goofy? Tinker Bell but not Cinderella? Woody Woodpecker but no Daffy Duck? Warner Brothers certainly has (had since it was back in the day?) enough money to make the donation fee for another star, I would assume. Odd.
 
Correction, it's the first full-length animated feature to be made for the english speaking world.
The oldest surviving animated film is The Adventures of Prince Achmed.
 
Considering his importance to animation as a whole, I'm surprised Felix the Cat doesn't have a star on the HWOF. He was a huge star in the 1920's-30's and pretty much opened the door for later stars like Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and the like.

Other nominees I'd think would be worthy...Betty Boop, Daffy Duck, Tom & Jerry, Superman, Yogi Bear, Batman and Rocky & Bullwinkle.
 
I can actully understand why shrek's on the walk of fame
in the era of CGI cartoons shrek was the first real star that wasn't disney unlike pixer
I don't think thered be a dreamwork animation without shrek
 
I'd be willing to accept that if the Shrek films had been consistently wonderful and groundbreaking. I enjoyed the first Shrek, and while the original film didn't warrant a sequel, I did enjoy some parts of Shrek 2 also. Unfortunately, from that point on Shrek quickly devolved into being the very thing that the original film sought to make fun of: a Disney-fied cash cow franchise that's only in it for the money.

Shrek has been on the wane for years now, and I doubt it'll be on as many peoples' minds 15 or 20 years from now. Shrek got a star on Walk of Fame because Dreamworks put up the money to give him one, period. It had nothing to do with the quality of the character or the franchise.

Also, the fact that the Rugrats and the Simpsons got stars on the WoF before Goofy and Daffy Duck is a travesty. Rugrats was basically a fad that like Shrek only got in because its' parents paid to get them in, and while there's no denying the Simpsons' iconic status, Goofy and Daffy should've already gotten stars long before Bart, Homer and Lisa. And I know I'm being a total guy here, but there's something seriously wrong in a universe where Tinker Bell has a star on the WoF and Superman and Batman don't.
 
If cartoon characters are going to get in on the Hollywood Walk of Fame then it should be reserved for the truly revolutionary characters that either left a deep positive mark on the world or have become a long-term focal point for years and years to come, not popular characters that have been popular for a short time and then died of. Shreck doesn't deserve a star in Hollywood and neither do The Rugrats, but characters such as Mickey and Bugs certainly do and as much as I hate to say it, Spongebob does as well.
 
Porky Pig deserves to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Remember, before Bugs Bunny became a cartoon superstar at Warner Bros., it was Porky Pig, so Porky needs to be considered for such an honor.
 
I agree with all of those, and i would also like to include the Pink Panther and the Smurfs. I also think that maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should be there. It's true that those guys were largely a fad, but they did manage to remain extremely well known even after the fad ended and remain so to this day.
 
While reading this thread, this just popped into my head: I can just imagine Daffy ranting about how HE should have a star, and not Bugs, and doing everything in his power to get one, only for his sidekick, Porky, to get one instead.
 
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