A good character will have some sort of iconic something: an attack, a phrase, maybe even a pose. The character designer's intention is to make their creation recognizable in one way or another, and food is no exception to this rule. Several characters over the years have used food as part of their image, whether it be the central focus or just a minor gag.
Sometimes the pursuit of that special food is the whole point of the series. While Scooby Snacks aren't the main focus of Scooby-Doo!, they're still famous enough to have transcended the series itself. Several other cartoon characters have followed Scooby-Doo!’s example.
10 Scooby-Doo Is Persuaded To Find His Courage & Motivation With Scooby Snacks
The Scooby-Doo! franchise started in 1969 and has thrived to this day with the most recent addition of the 3D animated film Scoob! The origin of Scooby Snacks changes depending on which iteration of Scooby-Doo! fans are watching, but they all have one thing in common: Scooby Snacks are crucial to motivating Scooby and Shaggy to overcome their fears and solve mysteries.
The titular snack has become so popular in the vernacular that they're sold and marketed as snacks for both dogs AND people. The term "Scooby Snack" has even been officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
9 Eddy's Pursuit Of Jawbreakers Sets The Entire Tone For Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy is a classic Cartoon Network cartoon that premiered in 1999. Its production roots started in Canada but the characters themselves aren't explicitly stated as Canadian. Nearly every episode centers around one simple plot device: how can the Eds make enough money to buy some jawbreakers?
The answer is usually found in whatever scheme Eddy has put together to scam the other cul-de-sac kids out of their precious quarters. Unfortunately for Eddy, most of his plans are half-baked failures.
8 SpongeBob & Mr. Krabs Wouldn't Have A Job (Or A Fortune) Without Krabby Patties
In fact, SpongeBob SquarePants' 1999 pilot episode was all about SpongeBob trying to get a job at the Krusty Krab. As a result, Krabby Patties have always held a central role in the series.
They define SpongeBob's love for the Krusty Krab and being a fry cook, and neatly characterize the miserly Mr. Krabs' obsession with money. One of the greatest gags in the show includes Plankton, an antagonist obsessed with profiting off Mr. Krabs' secret recipe —if he can manage to steal it, that is.
7 Popeye The Sailor Man Frequently Solves His Problems With Spinach
Popeye the Sailor is an impressively durable franchise. It started as a comic strip in 1929 and its most recent addition to the lineup is Popeye's Island Adventures, a web series that debuted in December 2018. It's a franchise that has adapted to every age so far and its reincarnations have included both live-action and animated films.
The gimmicks in Popeye varied early on, but by 1932, Popeye was using spinach to give him the physical strength he needed to beat the baddie. The spinach association persists to this day.
6 Winnie The Pooh's Love For Honey Has Gotten Him In Some Sticky Situations
Winnie the Pooh started out as the main character in A. A. Milne's 1926 children’s book, Winnie-the-Pooh. When Disney acquired the franchise in the 1960s, the hyphens were dropped from his name and the franchise has been strong ever since.
Honey (or "hunny," as Pooh spells it) isn't the main theme of the series but nonetheless plays a role as a plot device. In Disney's Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, for example, Pooh runs into more than one mishap while pursuing the sweet treat.
5 Homer Simpson's Iconic Donut Has Represented His Character For Years
While he's not always the best father, Homer is always there for his donuts. The easily recognizable pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles are famous enough to have inspired Krispy Kreme Australia to release a limited-edition Simpson's D’ohnut back in 2018.
Donuts are so important to Homer that he abandons his seemingly perfect life in an alternative timeline during the Simpsons' short "Time and Punishment": his family is rich, Bart and Lisa are well-behaved, and his antagonistic sisters-in-law have passed... but there were no donuts! Unfortunately for Homer, once he left the timeline, it started raining donuts.
4 Garfield's Appetite For Lasagna Got Him Kicked Out Of His Birthplace
The Garfield comic strip officially started in 1978. The franchise has expanded to several mediums, including 3D animated films. According to creator Jim Davis, Garfield was born in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant.
Garfield enjoyed eating lasagna so much that Mamma Leoni had to sell him to a pet shop or risk going out of business. Luckily, it's this that allows him to be adopted by Jon Arbuckle. Lasagna is famously known as his favorite food and has even inspired a multitude of homemade recipes.
3 The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Favorite Snack Is Pizza
Maybe it's because they're teenagers from New York, but the TMNT enjoy their pizza. While the TMNT didn't originally like pizza in the comics, they have loved it since the first cartoon dropped in 1987. The 1987 TMNT cartoon, in particular, displayed the Turtles as very adventurous with their choices in toppings.
From pepperoni and marshmallow to butterscotch and onions with anchovies, the 1987 TMNT seemed willing to put almost anything on their pizzas. New iterations of TMNT eat a variety of junk food, but their preference for pizza has persisted.
2 Wimpy Will Gladly Pay You Tuesday For A Hamburger Today
J. Wellington Wimpy loves hamburgers as much as Popeye loves spinach. The Rough House Café is where he's usually found. It's the ideal location to scam hamburgers from the café patrons, much to the owner Rough House's dismay.
Wimpy is famous for promising to pay for a hamburger Tuesday if he's given one that day, but it turns out that he never shows up on Tuesday to pay his debt! It's surprisingly bold for someone so cowardly to brazenly mooch off others, but Wimpy's quick wits keep him out of trouble.
1 The Quest For Candied Island Keeps Flapjack & K'nuckles Going
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an utterly unique delight. From its combination of surreal art style and occasional stop-motion animation, Flapjack is a treat for those who enjoy the unconventional.
The series takes place in the fictional Stormalong Harbor and follows the titular Flapjack and his friend Captain K'nuckles on their journey to reach the magical Candied Island. The duo's love for candy is a constant motivator and they're often seen at The Candy Barrel pestering Peppermint Larry for candy and maple syrup.