When given the freedom to do so, cartoonists can be very creative with character designs. This has led to a number of strange-looking and unusual personalities across the medium, whether it be a heroic piece of toast, a man with an alien living inside his giant head, or a creature that holds its eyeballs in its hands.
It's not just the appearance of a cartoon character that can make them strange, though. A particular voice can turn a regular-looking creature into something else entirely. The personality of the character can also be what makes them odd. They could look like a normal person, but their interests and mannerisms could be completely off the wall.
10 Krumm Holds His Eyeballs & Sleeps In A Microwave (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters)
The Nickelodeon show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, which ran from 1994 to 1997, is full of weird, creepy-looking monsters, but perhaps the strangest of all is Krumm. Krumm is short, smelly, and holds his eyeballs in his hands, revealing his hairy armpits. Along with Ickis and Oblina, Krumm is one of the main characters of the show. He sleeps in a microwave and keeps his eyeballs in a glass when he goes to sleep.
9 Boomhauer Is A Mysterious Lad Who Talks Too Fast To Fully Understand (King Of The Hill)
One of Hank's neighborhood cronies, Jeffrey Dexter Boomhauer says a lot without actually saying anything. There's an air of mystery surrounding him that stems from his fast-talking, which makes it difficult to make out what he's saying other than a few odd words. But he has shown himself to be a fan of sci-fi, a Texas Ranger, and a wise old soul, despite him spending most of his time drinking beer with Hank and the rest of the gang.
8 Cow Has A Voice Unlike Any Other (Cow And Chicken)
Mischievous but with a heart of gold, Cow is Chicken's 7-year-old, 600-lb younger sister. Of all the characters in the cartoon, Cow is the most outlandish, in large part because of her voice.
She's voiced by Charlie Adler, who also voices Chicken, Red Guy, and I. R. Baboon in the show, but Cow's voice is so shrill and nasally that it's the most eccentric and weird. Cow has an alter-ego, Supercow, who can fly, has super strength, and is practically invincible.
7 Jake Tucker Has An Upside-Down Face (Family Guy)
Jake Tucker is the son of Stacy Tucker and Quahog 5 News anchorman Tom Tucker, and he has an upside-down face. Jake is a surly character who typically has his arms crossed. He was once used by Meg as her boyfriend to make Neil Goldman jealous, was on the news for getting caught using drugs, and could play the organ as long as the sheet music was turned upside-down.
6 Powdered Toast Man Is A Heroic Piece Of Toast With A Muscular Body (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
The Ren & Stimpy Show is full of quirky, surreal characters, but a piece of powdered toast atop a muscular body is a particularly strange sight. Powdered Toast Man routinely saves America by performing feats such as helping the President with a zipper problem, or saving a Pope from a diabolical fish using his hyper-corrosive croutons. When he gets a call from Washington, Powdered Toast Man's toast particles disintegrate.
5 CatDog Is A Hybrid Of Two Household Pets With Opposite Personalities (CatDog)
CatDog, as the name implies, is an animal that is half cat, half dog. The feline/canine's very existence raises anatomically related questions. For example, how and where does it go to the bathroom? It can also be an issue when figuring out which direction to go in. The two may share a body but their personalities couldn't be more different, with Cat being sullen and miserly and Dog being naive and goofy.
4 Him's Presence Is Unsettling, Especially For A Children's Show (The Powerpuff Girls)
Him, the devil-like villain from The Powerpuff Girls, is a weird and unsettling character, particularly for a kids' show. His evil laugh, incongruous schemes, and otherworldly voice that can change on a dime make him an ominous and unpredictable foe. Him's mind was so sinister and twisted that he once decided to give everyone candy because the idea of torturing people by giving them cavities was more enjoyable to him than outright destroying them.
3 Hans Moleman Is Incredibly Unlucky (The Simpsons)
Nobody really knows who Hans Moleman is, what he does, or where he came from. All that is known is that he's extremely unlucky. He's only 31 years of age, but drinking too much has turned his body into that of an old man.
Some of his most random moments include exploding in his car, getting in a knife fight with Moe, giving a lesson on how to eat an orange, being on death row, being a short film director, and becoming part of the Simpson family.
2 Mr. Hankey The Christmas Poo Was Created When Trey Parker Refused To Flush The Toilet (South Park)
When Trey Parker was being toilet-trained, he didn't want to flush the toilet, so his father told him that his poo, Mr. Hankey, would come to life and kill him if he didn't flush. And that's how Mr. Hankey was born. He caused quite the uproar when he first appeared in episode 9 of season 1. When his Christmas song was released, it reached the top 10 in the British charts for Christmas 1999.
1 A Purple Alien Popped Out Of Jim's Head (The Head)
The Head was a short created in 1993 by Eric Fogel that was on MTV's Oddities, a sister program to Liquid Television, which aired animated series. It features Jim, a trade school student whose head grows to outlandish proportions. In the first episode, it was revealed that Jim was out walking late at night when he saw flashing lights in the sky, and then he was suddenly in bed with a giant head. Later, a purple alien called Roy popped out of Jim's head, shook his hand, and introduced himself before going to the bathroom.