The characters of The Jetsons include:
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The Jetsons
Meet George Jetson...
Voiced by: George O'Hanlon (1963-1989), Jeff Bergman (1989-present)
George J. Jetson, the patriarch of the Jetson family. He is the husband of Jane and the father of Judy and Elroy Jetson.
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: The last regular episode of the series, Spacely for a Day, has George left in charge for an absent Mr. Spacely, and the ensuing power quickly goes to his head; as he begins bossing his employees, clients and even his family around (unbeknownst to him; he was being manipulated by Mr. Cogswell into making a massive sprocket order that wasn't going to be paid for. Also, unknown to George - Elroy had manipulated the score of an aptitude test after George flopped his test - not helped by Spacely deliberately interrupting to make it easier to cut George's pay).
- Adaptational Jerkass: George Jetson in the 1960s-70s Charlton Comics is way more of a jerk for some reason. Almost every comic has him yelling and one comic called “Rise Slaves!” he was extremely horribly sexist (Which was way worse than his sexism in “Jane’s Driving Lesson”). Also bizarrely George really hates Rosie in most of these stories for no reason. Not only is he almost always yelling at her if she makes any mistake, but in “Rosey is Replaced” he even angrily hit her with a golf club! In said story he also purposely replaced her and claimed she was “just a machine”. This is literally the opposite of George treats Rosie in “Rosie Come Home”, where he would never replace her and considers her one of the family like the others too.
- Bumbling Dad: His personality is that of a well-meaning, caring father, but he is often befuddled and stressed out by the problems of both his work and family lives.
- Boss's Unfavorite Employee: He remains Bad Boss Cosmo Spacely's only employee to be visibly and audibly dismissed ("Jet-SSSOOOOOOONNN! You're fired!") constantly, for any damn reason Mr. Spacely could think of. George has also been made the guinea pig for an indestructible outfit (the outfit survived the rigorous tests, George not so much), shipped to Places Worse Than Death (Outer Moongolia, for example) and endured varying amounts of physical abuse from his Mean Boss.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: He's overprotective of Judy because of how boy-crazed she is. Especially evident in "A Date With Jet Screamer".
- Butt-Monkey: In addition to getting fired every episode, George is also on the receiving end of a lot of slapstick.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He's not above ogling a pretty lady (at least until getting yelled at), but he would never even consider cheating on Jane. One of Jane's friends even tried to talk her out of a jealous fit by noting how devoted George is to her.
- Cowardly Lion: A meek subordinate who prefers to avoid bodily harm, but he'll go ballistic if his family is in danger.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He hates it when other men flirt with Jane.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: He sometimes blurts out derisive snark about Spacely in front of him and immediately has to backtrack.Spacely: And the way to my heart is through my stomach.
George: You have a heart?
Spacely: WHAT WAS THAT?!
George: I said, uh, you'll have a hearty meal. - Didn't Think This Through: One of the finest examples. George has a terrible habit of letting his emotions get the better of him or do something on impulse, and even as a Well-Intentioned Extremist in the worst of cases, it almost always backfires horrifically. One example was "Instant Replay", where he got a device of the "Replayola" that let him rewind, redo and erase time, only to let it get so deeply to his head with his riches and power that a moment of being a Crazy Jealous Guy accidentally made him erase his wedding — and thus his own children — from history, immediately realizing how badly he screwed up and scrambling to accept his mundane, mistreated, middle-class life he used to have just to get them back.
- Gag Nose: Has a cartoonishly large nose.
- George Jetson Job Security: When it comes to Mr. Spacely, George has absolutely zero protection, and when he isn't fired, he loses whatever bonuses he obtains from being part of Spacely's latest scheme just as easily. Spacely threatens to fire George for any reason that he can threaten him for, from arriving late to work up to not voting in favor of Spacely's dog in a canine competition or winning a Family Feud-style game show that had the Jetsons and the Spacelys facing off (thankfully for George and his family, the second prize was exactly what they needed).
- Happily Married: Although he's oogled a few other women, he really does love his wife, Jane.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be bossy and loud, but he deeply loves his family. Even Astro.
- Papa Wolf: Sometimes. The Movie offers one of the most notable examples, as George finally tells off Spacely after Elroy is injured as a result of his actions. Spacely is too intimidated to engage in his usual bluster.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the first season, he's more likely to express irritation with Astro, due to how clingy the dog is around him. In the other seasons, he's much less of a grouch about it and demonstrates more concern about Astro's well-being. It's justifiable, as Astro was a new addition to the family and George's already stressful life and an extra mouth to feed on the allegedly meager wages Spacely pays out.
- Vocal Evolution: His voice got higher and goofier in the 80's revival and movie.
- Workaholic: His obsession with nonstop work is one of his defining character traits.
His boy, Elroy...
Voiced by: Daws Butler (1963-1988), Patric Zimmerman (1988-1990), Trevor Devall (2015-)
Elroy Jetson is the seven-year-old son and youngest child of George and Jane Jetson who is very intelligent and has a knack for creating unique technology.
- The Ace: Good grades, a genius with technology, and he's also quite the athlete.
- Child Prodigy: He excels at space science and mathematics at an elementary school educational level, no less. In the '80s episodes, he develops a program to debug R.U.D.I., wins a science fair, develops an electronic dog trainer, and invents a device that can accelerate evolution, temporarily turning Astro into a genius.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He's gifted with technology having built several robots and gadgets throughout the show's run.
- Heroes Love Dogs: He brought Astro home when he found him outside all alone. He is Astro's most persistent defender whenever George or someone else is annoyed by him.
- Nice Guy: He is a mild-mannered and friendly child.
- Wise Beyond His Years: He's very intelligent for someone still in elementary school.
Daughter, Judy...
Judith "Judy" Angela Jetson is the sixteen-year-old daughter of George and Jane Jetson who acts just like a normal teenage girl only with more futuristic tastes.
- A Day in the Limelight: She gets her chance in the made for television "Rockin' with Judy Jetson" film, where she gets the main focus. In said film, Judy gets her usual Bratty Teenage Daughter traits toned down, becoming a Plucky Girl instead.
- Alliterative Name: Judith "Judy" Jetson.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: She's a stereotypical teenage girl with interests in shopping, fashion and boys. To emphasize this, her default outfit shows off a little bit of the belly.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: She usually acts much like a typical rebellious American teenage daughter whose interests include clothes, hanging out with boys, and revealing secrets to her diary.
- Daddy's Girl: She's very close to her father, even if she uses his money for herself.
- Drives Like Crazy: Zig zagged in "Rosie Come Home" when she takes her test. She does fine, until she spots Rosie in a crowd; she then swerves all through traffic to get to her and bring her home. The frazzled instructor only agrees to give Judy a license on the grounds that he never has to be in a car with her again.
- Fangirl: Judy is very fond of a futuristic rock singer named "Jet Screamer".
- Girly Girl: She enjoys shopping, boys, and fashions.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She sometimes also likes exercise and sports.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: She's obsessed with boys, to the point where George often feels uncomfortable.
- Leitmotif: Represented in the theme song by a wild jazz trumpet solo, courtesy of Pete Candoli.
- Nice Girl: Though she may be usuallly bratty and sassy, Judy is also very sweet, loving and kind to her family.
- Pink Means Feminine: Judy's default outfit is usually this.
- Really Gets Around: She gets plenty of boyfriends throughout the series, forgetting about them by the end of the episode.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: Judy is this for no boy in particular. Often, the object of her affections will be some famous rock star, whom she inevitably meets and then forgets about by the next episode.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Looks nearly identical to her mother, just with white hair.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Judy has this as, despite being a Girly Girl, she can also be very tomboyish.
Jane, his wife...
- Voiced by: Penny Singleton (1963-1990), Grey DeLisle Griffin (2006-present)
The matriarch of the Jetson Family. She is the wife of George and the mother of Judy and Elroy Jetson.
- Absurdly Youthful Mother: She doesn't look any different than 16-year-old Judy. In the first episode it is revealed that she's 33.
- Alliterative Name: Jane Jetson.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Although she is usually pleasant natured, she'll get rather pissed if you push her to her limit.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She doesn't appreciate George ogling another woman. George once lied about having a party while she was away (as he wanted her to think all was well back home), but she immediately rushed back home to slap him upside the head and get into it with whatever woman she found there.
- Drives Like Crazy: She has terrible driving skills, turning her driving instructor, a gangster and her husband into nervous wrecks ("Jane's Driving Lesson").
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Wears a purple dress and is very feminine.
- Happily Married: She genuinely loves and supports George.
- Housewife: She is a homemaker (although it is Rosie who does most of the work).
- Mama Bear: She is quite protective of her family and she can be angered whenever they are threatened.
- Nice Girl: She's sweet, motherly, and tries to be kind to everyone. Though she has her limits.
Astro
Voiced by: Don Messick (1963-1990), Frank Welker (2015-)
Astro is the family dog.
- Big Friendly Dog: He’s about the same size as most of the adults on the show when he’s on his hind legs (in some cases, he’s even larger). He’s also very affectionate and gets his feelings hurt very easily.
- Dogs Are Dumb: He can talk, but it doesn't mean he's too bright.
- Hates Baths: Though considering it involves being locked in a chamber filling with water and getting manhandled by robotic arms, can you blame him?
- Innocently Insensitive: He does get George hurt through his own stupidity as shown in the ending credits, but he means well.
- Riches to Rags: While the Jetsons aren't wallowing in poverty, they are substantially less well-off than Astro's original owner. Astro does consider all the perks he'd get by living in a millionaire's house (he's not that stupid, after all), but he'd rather stay with the family he loves.
- Speech-Impaired Animal: "Roh roy, Rorge!" He actually predates the Trope Codifier, Scooby-Doo, by seven years. Much like Scooby, this characteristic is subtly dropped around the 80s revival, notably during The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. Though it is brought back for The Movie.
- Talking Animal: Although most of what he says starts with an R.
- Undying Loyalty: To the whole family, but especially George and Elroy.
- Vocal Evolution: His voice is higher-pitched in the 1980s revival seasons.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: In "Millionaire Astro", J.P. Gottrockets' attorney tells the family that Tralfaz is the real name of the dog the Jetsons call Astro:Astro: "Tralfaz"? Yecch!
Rosie, the Robot Maid
Voiced by: Jean Vander Pyle (1963-1990), Tress MacNeille (2008-present)
She may be "only nuts and bolts", but she's loved like a member of the family all the same.
- Advertised Extra: In the original run from the 60s, she was treated as a main character but appeared in only two episodes. She appeared much more often in the revival.
- Affectionate Nickname: Refers to George and Jane as "Mistah J" and "Missus J" respectively.
- Fembot: Definitely female through her voice and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: A robotic version of then-contemporary sitcom maid Hazel. This characterization was retained in the 80s revival despite it no longer being even remotely topical.
- Related in the Adaptation: In the Hanna-Barbera Beyond continuity, she's George's mother, who chose to transplant her consciousness into a robotic body instead of suffering and dying in her aged human body.
- Robot Maid: Possibly the Trope Codifier.
- Servile Snarker: Usually she makes sarcastic comments.
- Tin-Can Robot: She was introduced by a robot salesperson as an "old-fashioned" model in the very first episode she appeared.
- Token Robot: A Fembot for the titular family.
Montague Jetson
Voiced by: Howard Morris
George's 110-year old grandfather and the great-grandfather of Elroy and Judy.
- Cool Old Guy: He's still an active daredevil at 110 years old, and even fills in as Judy's partner at the father-daughter dance to spare her the embarrassment of dancing with her dad.
- Dirty Old Man: In "Grandpa and the Galactic Gold Digger," he falls in love with a teenager. Nova Neutron was a Fille Fatale con artist who seduced Montague and is, as the title states, a Gold Digger.
Orbitty
A little alien first introduced in "Elroy Meets Orbitty" and a pet of the family. Introduced in the 1980s revival.
- Amusing Alien: He does wacky things like hang from the ceiling.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Barring a few cameos and small scenes to show he's still there, he doesn't appear as often in the third season, likely due to his lack of popularity. He was completely absent from the TV specials and feature film as well.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: Or fur, rather. His fur changes colour depending on his mood (e.g. yellow for fear and pink for affection).
- Last of His Kind: Is implied to be the only one remaining of an endangered species that hasn't been seen for over 800 years.
- Mr Fix It: He can repair electronic devices.
- Pet Baby Wild Animal: He was adopted by Elroy after having just hatched out of the egg he found on an asteroid. A rare example where the animal stays.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Is a very adorable and fluffy animal.
- Spring Coil: Has spring-loaded legs that can stretch out to incredible length.
Other characters
Cosmo S. Spacely
Voiced by: Mel Blanc (1963-1989), Jeff Bergman (1989 onward)
Owner of Spacely's Space Sprockets, where George works.
- Adaptational Villainy: While he was usually portrayed as a Mean Boss to George in the series, in The Movie he veers into straightforward Corrupt Corporate Executive territory, without almost any of his redeeming qualities of the series.
- Big Bad: While he isn't exactly a bad man, he is often the main antagonist of George in many chapters and plots focused in him. And effectively he is the main antagonist of The Movie.
- The Chains of Commanding: George realizes in "Fantasy Planet" that Spacely doesn't just hector him all day; he instead keeps the company running and profitable with lots of paperwork and crucial decisions. George reasons Spacely went bald from pulling his hair out, due to all the stress.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Shows shades of this in the main series. He's greedy and has fired George, at least once an episode. Veers straightly in this territory in The Movie: he is knowingly destroying an alien colony for raw materials...
- Dinner with the Boss: The premise of the first episode. "Space Bong" has him come over again, and it's mentioned to be a fairly regular occurrence. He likes Jane's cooking that much.
- Everyone Has Standards: He is willing to give George and others the benefit of the doubt if something goes horribly, horribly awry, especially in his own hare-brained schemes. He definitely tries to avoid being a jerk to someone like Elroy if he can help it. And at one point even though it was mostly just to get George back into work, he still brings a highly proficient doctor straight to the man's home to make sure he actually is okay (George just had hypochondria over a bad exercise session). Say what you will about his jerk methods, he wouldn't be where he was if he was completely apathetic to George's plight. This goes out the window in The Movie.
- Expy: Of J.C. Dithers, considering both have lazy bums as employees.
- George Jetson Job Security: He frequently fires the Trope Namer, only for George to get his job back later.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: His temper goes off once an episode.
- Henpecked Husband: To his wife Stella just like his Expy.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be harsh towards his employees, especially George, but does express genuine care for them when it matters.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Whenever he's badgering George for coming in late or sleeping on the job.
- Large Ham: Especially when he's about to fire George.
- Lonely at the Top: In the Hanna-Barbera Beyond continuity, he's one of the three richest people on Earth but was so focused on building his fortune he never had time to find a loved one. Somewhat implied to be the case in the cartoon as well, where his relationship with his wife is portrayed as heavily strained.
- Mean Boss: The most iconic example in media. He's often like this to George. In fact, the only episodes where George doesn't fear for his job at least once are the ones Spacely isn't even in.
- Never My Fault: Mr. Spacely sometimes fires George for incidents that were caused by Spacely himself.
- The Napoleon: For his dwarfish size, he has a huge temper.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Mr. Spacely's wife towers over him in both height and build.
- Vocal Evolution: He sounds almost unrecognisably soft spoken at the start of the original series, only sporadically roaring at Jetson for humour effect. Mel Blanc gave him a more consistent gravelly bellow as the series continued, especially in the 80s revival, by which point you'd wonder if Yosemite Sam were one of his ancestors. By the time of the film, Mel Blanc's advanced age made vocal inflection more difficult, making Spacely sound constantly strained.
Spencer K./"W.C." Cogswell
Voiced by: Daws Butler
Owns Cogswell's Cosmic Cogs, the chief competition to Spacely Sprockets.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the Hanna-Barbera Beyond continuity, he never does anything to sabotage Spacely or antagonize the Jetsons.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He is a more straight-up example than Spacely, who is more a Mean Boss than straight-up evil.
- Eviler than Thou: Sure Spacely has Jerkass moments, but Cogswell makes him look like a saint.
- Expy: He looks hardly any different from Fred Flintstone's boss, Mr. Slate.
- Jerkass: All of Spacely's abrasiveness, with none of the redeeming qualities.
- The Rival: To Cosmo Spacely.
- Shadow Archetype: He's what Spacely would be if he was completely devoid of any positive qualities.
Henry Orbit
Voiced by: Daws Butler
The superintendent and all-around handyman of the Jetsons' apartment building.
- Cool Old Guy: Though elderly, he's very knowledgeable and a pretty cool guy.
- Mad Scientist: In the sense he often creates things that were better left not existing, with parts that had no business being used for it.
- Mr. Fixit: Part and parcel with being the super.
- Percussive Maintenance: How he typically solves problems.
M.A.C.C.
Voiced by: Don Messick
A robot who works for Henry. He looks like a filing cabinet with an upside-down bucket for a head.
- Murderous Malfunctioning Machine: Being made of random parts by Henry, he tends to act very childlike and unreasonable at times, often destroying things by accident and threatening people.
- Robo Romance: With Rosie, which made him act even wonkier than usual.
- There Was a Door: A huge Running Gag with him, despite Henry's best efforts to teach him otherwise.
- Verbal Tic: "*whirr* Bing!"
Sentro
Cogswell's robotic guard dog.
- Angry Guard Dog: Basically his entire character. But as a robot.
- Continuity Snarl: In his first appearance, he isn't a real robot but a hollow body operated as a mech suit by a very short employee of Cogswell's. In all of his later appearances, he is a fully functioning robot with AI capable of functioning independently and even has a personality. It's possible the first Sentro with the man inside was a prototype that Cogswell rejected in favor of a full robot after failing. This is supported by George using what seems to be the original, hollow Sentro suit to pose as the current fully independent version in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.
- Evil Counterpart: To Astro.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: As befitting the guard dog of Cogswell, he comes equipped with a variety of Inspector Gadget-like doo-dads that can pop out of various points of his body, including, but not limited to a video camera that comes out of his head and a laser gun in his chest. He even has a safe in his chest (which somehow doesn't interfere with the laser there).
- Lean and Mean: He's all sleek curves and sharp angles, emphasizing his dangerousness.
- Slasher Smile: Complete with Scary Teeth.
- Spikes of Villainy: In some versions, he wears a spiky dog collar.
Uniblab
Voiced by: Don Messick
A robot Spaceley bought and hired to serve as a manager at Spaceley Space Sprockets. He was an insufferable Jerkass to all the human employees, but especially George.
- Agony of the Feet: As a Running Gag, George would kick Uniblab and injure his foot.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Presents himself as an on-the-level employee for show, but reveals his true duplicitous and trollish nature whenever the boss isn't looking. Uniblab even pretended to commiserate with George over his annoyance with Spaceley, but secretly recorded everything George said to get him in trouble with the boss.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After George got the better of him a few times, Uniblab largely stopped being a Jerkass. He became more like a coworker, occasionally playing cards with George.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: When George was drafted into the outer space military, Uniblab was his drill sergeant. He treated George and the rest of George's unit as badly as he did the Space Sprockets employees.
- Drinking on Duty: He became this after George and Henry spiked his oil supply. He revealed his true Jerkass personality to Spaceley and the Space Sprockets executives, including his recordings insulting Spaceley. Spaceley immediately fired him and George tossed him in a junkyard.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: He didn't look or sound human at all, but he was as petty and unpleasant as any human on the show.
- Sabotage to Discredit: This is how George usually got his revenge with help from Henry.
- George got him fired from Spaceley Space Sprockets by spiking Uniblab's oil supply to make him Drinking on Duty. Uniblab angered Spaceley and the Space Sprockets board when he played his recordings insulting Spaceley, and was immediately fired.
- When Uniblab was their Drill Sergeant Nasty in the military, George and Henry replaced his AC battery with a DC one. Uniblab later malfunctioned and exploded in a commanding officer's face.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He treated George like dirt both at Spaceley Space Sprockets and in the military when George was drafted. In both cases, George got him back by sabotaging his batteries or oil supply.
