The cartoon world is vast and ever-changing, but with each new era of animation, cartoon villains still find ways to stand out. Cartoon antagonists are full of exuberant energy. Being a villain in animated series comes with plenty of perks. Many live-action productions treat villainy with serious tones that reflect the real world. In cartoons, villains can be brighter, sillier, and more appealing.

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Cartoon villains benefit from stylish flair, lenient sentences, comedic story arcs, and much more. The heroes may be the stars of the show, but many animated villains quickly rise to fan-favorite characters. SpongeBob SquarePants and Powerpuff Girls, just to name a couple, showcase unique villains that prove being evil in cartoons can be entertaining and even beneficial.

10 Redemption Is Still An Option For Villains

Plankton getting his mug shot taken while standing next to a ruler in Spongebob

While there are some cartoons specifically geared for adults, most animated series will fall under children's media. Villains in cartoons usually have more redemptive qualities that appeal to younger audiences. Because of this, cartoon villains have the unique ability to receive some type of redemption.

From the "F.U.N." episode of SpongeBob SquarePants where SpongeBob befriends Plankton to Hordak's iffy redemption arc in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, all can usually be forgiven whether villains commit war crimes or simply attempt to steal Krabby Patty secret formulas.

9 If Villains Don't Succeed, They Try, Try Again

Ludo smiles with glossy eyes in Star Vs The Forces Of Evil

A lot of cartoon shows are more episodic rather than serialized. This means that there is always some kind of reset within the show that reverts the status quo with each episode, so most characters and environments can remain the same and still be entertaining.

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Villains no doubt benefit from this episodic approach since they are able to try their schemes more than once. Characters like Ludo from Star vs the Forces of Evil or even Hawk Moth from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir repeat their same tried and true methods of villainy multiple times.

8 Cartoon Villains Don't Worry About Practical Outfits

HIM maniacally laughs Powerpuff Girls

Almost all cartoon characters are more fashionable than their live-action counterparts, but cartoon villains are playing in a different ballpark altogether. Live-action characters have to consider practicality, especially villains who engage in combat.

HIM from The Powerpuff Girls struts in heels while brawling and someone like Toffee from Star vs the Forces of Evil wears a business suit while commanding a war. Audiences also usually hold live-action shows to higher standards of realism and will criticize series that take suspension of disbelief too far, but cartoon villains get to have their fun.

7 Cartoon Villains Are Allowed Relationships

Skulker laughing in Danny Phantom.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Thanos had daughters and "children" who followed him, but he was a lonely character who pursued a quest few others believed in. Cartoon villains are allowed to have friends by their sides. The best villains in animated series don't have to stew in their own emptiness. Instead, they play off of side characters for comedy.

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Characters like Skulker and Technus from Danny Phantom formed a type of friendship with each other and other ghosts in the show. In Infinity Train's rebellious group The Apex, everyone is practically family and their relationships are thoroughly fleshed out throughout the show.

6 Cartoon Heroes Make More Mistakes

Hawk Moth wears armor in Miraculous Ladybug

No hero is ever perfect or else there would be no show to watch, but cartoon heroes are a little different. With the episodic nature of most cartoons, villains use the heroes' mistakes to escape. Team Rocket always blasts off into space after suffering a defeat, but they return over and over again. Ash could simply report them to the authorities.

For example, Hawk Moth from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir has gone through many transformations, becoming Shadow Moth and Monarch. These new identities aligned with the power he gained from the mistakes Ladybug unfortunately made.

5 Villains Are More Physically Interesting

Amoeba Boys hold an envelope in Powerpuff Girls

Live-action shows and movies still have to worry about the suspension of disbelief but thankfully, cartoons get a lot more leeway. Every cartoon character can have a design that would be scrutinized if it were in live-action, but animators really have fun with their villains.

One example of this would be in the Amoeba Boys from The Powerpuff Girls. This group of bad boys are exactly what they sound like; they are simple single celled organisms with bad attitudes. The Powerpuff girls themselves are also stylized, but they are certainly not anything like these instantly recognizable floating blobs.

4 Cartoon Villains Avoid Jail Time

Calvin Fischoeder in Bob's Burgers

Cartoons exist outside the social conventions of the real world, so the concept of jail is a little skewed. However, even cartoons that do their best to mimic real life still see their villains somehow avoid the jail time they deserve. This also plays into cartoon's episodic nature with villains avoiding serious punishment to return the following week.

People like Mr. Fischoeder from Bob's Burgers have admitted to multiple crimes throughout the series but has faced no repercussions. The Bob's Burger's Movie even comments on this by basing the whole premise on how the Fischoeder brothers have never been to jail despite being "naughty little nellies."

3 Only Select People Can Beat Certain Villains

bill cipher from gravity falls

Some villains just have incredible plot armor that allows them to continue their villainous ways, even after numerous failures. Even if some cartoon antagonists find themselves in a sticky situation with other characters, they'll eventually weasel their way out.

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Great live-action villains also find ways to escape the heroes as well as the standard authorities. Cartoons emphasize heroes. Forms of police may exist, but the hero is usually "the only one who can stop the villain." An example of this would be the character of Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls and how the mythic Cipher Wheel wasn't even the thing that defeated him. Instead, a simple Pines switcheroo bested him.

2 Cartoon Villains Can Overcome Death

Fire Lord Ozai will become the Phoenix King in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Cartoon villains fortunately exist in cartoons that can target younger audiences. Therefore, ending violence with violence is out of the questions, and even the most heinous villains live on to fight the hero another day. Villains like Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender cheat death because of the heroes' kindheartedness.

More specifically, some cartoon villains will never taste death. They can fight for ages and even give heroes ample reason to kill them. Animated series play with the idea of death in unique ways. Even if a character "dies," good writers and animators will find ways to resurrect them.

1 Villains Display A Full Range Of Emotions

Infinty Train Simon and Grace

Animators create expressive worlds and characters in animation, allowing for a wider range of emotions. Cartoon villains are only limited by their art style and creators. They can be as grand and colorful as they like, compared to live-action projects where, without the use of CGI, characters are often limited by reality.

Familial trauma deeply affected Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender which led to her dramatic conclusion. Another example would be how Grace's perceived betrayal of Simon led to him experiencing many negative feelings all at once in Infinity Train.

NEXT: 10 Worst Things About Cartoon Villains