Cartoon characters you feel sorry for (Woobies)

I kind of agree about Lord Hater, but he IS a tyrant who wants to control the whole universe. Like Dr. Robotnik from Adventuresof Sonicthe Hedgehog, it's implied that he only loses because of Wander. Otherwise he's very dangerous and effectual.

Here are my examples:

Blurr from Transformers Animated. Poor, doomed Blurr...

Edd from Ed Eddn Eddy. I always love it when he goes into Bewarethe Nice Ones mode, though.

I know someone's said this before, but I agree: Squidward Tentacles. Dear God. I know he was quite the bully in the earlier seasons, barely does ANY work around the Krusty Krab (he's Brilliant, but Lazy), and I've seen him at his worst; I've seen "Can You Spare a Dime?"... but in the later seasons... poor Squidward gets all kinds of abuse from EVERYONE, for little to no reason at all, that after a while watching it, I just want to give him a hug. A gentle one.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=400660526642610&set=a.147404425301556.25799.147101001998565&type=3&theater This very striking image from Enchanted Tiki Dreams sums up Seasons 4 to 6 nicely.

I'd say Plankton was pretty sympathetic, too, but the movie already showed me just what he was capable of.

I'm very much into Jerkass Woobie s, as you've noticed, so Michael Scott from The Office definitely counts. He's obnoxious, but he only wants to be loved. He's one of my favorites.

Oh, and this poster below made a very good point on Cogsworth; so thank you, whoever you are!

edited 30th Sep '13 2:04:42 PM by youfeelingluckypunk27

edited 15th Sep '13 9:09:34 PM by MsCC93

Even when I was a little girl, I always felt bad for Cogsworth. I know he's supposed to be this pompous stick-in-the-mud character, but it always felt to me like he was just a guy (or clock) who was just trying to do his job. And for that, he deserves to be the Butt-Monkey? Not fair....

Astro Boy in the 2009 adaption. Why? The president dosen't give a fucking shit when he does genocide on pre-Astro. YOU FUCKING MONSTER.

I definitely felt bad for Cogsworth and it only got worse after I read his Alternative Character Interpretation entry which made me draw parallels between him and the guy I recently bumped this thread just to include. It really doesn't help that I can naturally identify with both of them.

edited 25th Sep '13 10:56:39 PM by PPPSSC

Astro-Boy is a Astro-Woobie!

I actually wholly agree with you on Cogsworth. Poor guy gets picked on throughout the movie!

NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ON ASTRO, DON'T THEY?!

Well, if only we watched the show. Explain how he's a woobie.

And although My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has a lot of Woobies, I totally feel for the Cutie Mark Crusaders (in episodes like "One Bad Apple), Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Trixie (being a Jerkass Woobie).

If I may, I'd like the clarify on my first three Woobies (Meg, Tootie, and Maurice).

• I feel bad for Meg because she never gets any permanent happiness, and we're expected to laugh at people treating her like she's the scum of the earth (yeah, and being a Bratty Teenage Daughter hardly qualifies as justification for being treated that way, because, guess what? Whiny, melodramatic, only thinking of yourself? That's (to some extent) all teenagers! Boys and girls (I'm sick of people giving boys a pass on that one; having had 3 of my four brothers go through their teen years, I know they can be just as bad, but I digress)). Also, I hate how people judge her just on "her bad days." It just comes off as hollow and disingenuous when the other characters regularly do things just as bad and worse...
• I feel bad for Tootie because her older sister makes her life miserable (and it seems that their parents allow this to happen, which to me is just as bad as if they were abusing her themselves), and the way I see it, that might be why she's so clingy to Timmy; maybe she's just looking for affection that she's not getting elsewhere. I also feel like she could be an interesting character if she didn't just seem like a Satellite Love Interest to Timmy (whatever you think about the live-action movies, they at least give her some development).
• And I feel bad for Maurice because it seems he (at least) somewhat resents his lot in life. The only fathomable reason I think he stays faithful to King Julien is that they're forced to live together (at least other servile characters usually have the option of quitting). And the one time he did get away (in the pilot), the penguins were kind enough to bring him back. Also, I think that Maurice has a similar trait to my other two Woobies in that he could be interesting if his identity wasn't dependent on reacting to the other characters (I mean, at least Cogsworth has something of an identity outside of his Butt-Monkey status).

...Now I just want to give these guys a big group hug!

edited 3rd Dec '14 6:59:17 PM by Luna87

Every protagonist in Wreck It Ralph. To wit:

• All Ralph wants is to be accepted as an equal by the people in his game, and they won't do it because he's literally the Designated Villain.
• Vanellope is an outcast because of a disorder she has, even though she wasn't programmed to be an outcast in the first place.
• Calhoun has the "most tragic backstory ever." She was basically programmed to have PTSD over a false memory.
• Felix, though less of one than the other three, still has to deal with having his opinion completely disrespected by his fellow citizens when it involves treating Ralph as an equal.

Also, poor Blanket in The Brave Little Toaster who seems to be perpetually a child in need of a hug and who desperately clings to the memories he has of his master he hasn't seen in a decade. The other more mature appliances typically don't go easier on him for it, either. Come on, guys, why won't you cuddle a blanket? Toaster does eventually start looking out for him, though.