Watching cartoon series have really got nothing to do with age and you might still find yourself watching cartoons with the kid beside you. Black cartoon characters have entertained us over the years and have held a special place in audiences’ hearts.
Although, racial disparity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries made black cartoon characters a rare phenomenon, they soon picked up pace in mainstream animation and started gaining a proper share of representation in popular series.
So, whether it is Storm from X-Men, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids or Monique from Kim Possible, black and white cartoon characters have been around over generations.
Here are the top 20 best black cartoon characters we have picked for you.
1. Princess Tiana
Cartoon Series Name
The Princess and the Frog
Created By
John Musker and Ron Clements
Voiced by
Anika Noni Rose (Tiana as a child) and Elizabeth Dampier (Tiana as an adult)
Description
With Princess Tiana, Disney introduced its first black cartoon character, female, about a decade ago. She is a bright, strong willed and talented young girl from New Orleans who likes to live her life her way.
2. Susie Carmichael
Cartoon Series Name
Rugrats
Created By
Arlene Klasky
Voiced by
Cree Summer
Description
One of the most popular black cartoon characters, female, of all time, Susie came as a breath of fresh air when she was introduced in what started off as a series with a whole lot of fair skinned children. Audiences had loved the girl in yellow take on the bully alongside Tommy and his company.
3. Numbuh 5
Cartoon Series Name
Code Name: Kids Next Door
Created By
Tom Warburton
Voiced by
Cree Summer
Description
The character who goes by the name Abby in the cartoon series is one of the few black cartoon characters female in it. She is cool headed, composed and also both book and street smart. She is often seen ironing out differences among the group members when they are at loggerheads with clashing ideas.
4. Penny Proud
Cartoon Series Name
The Proud Family
Created By
Bruce W. Smith
Voiced by
Kyla Pratt
Description
This teenaged black cartoon character female from The Proud Family is ambitious and trying hard to get through her growing up years. She is seen grappling with regular teen concerns like trying to balance school and friends along with a desire to find a boyfriend.
5. Suga Mama
Cartoon Series Name
The Proud Family
Created By
Bruce W. Smith
Voiced by
Jo Marie Payton
Description
Suga Mama is yet another popular black cartoon character female from the popular series The Proud Family. She is Penny grandmother who is sharp-edged, audacious, eccentric and comes across as a breath of fresh air.
6. Garnet
Cartoon Series Name
Steven Universe
Created By
Rebecca Sugar
Voiced by
Estelle
Description
Garnet is a black cartoon character female who is shown as the melding of two gemstones- Ruby and Sapphire. She is one of the few cartoon characters who is shown to be involved in a lesbian relationship.
7. Storm
Cartoon Series Name
X-Men
Created By
Stan Lee
Voiced by
Iona Morris and Alison Sealy Smith
Description
Storm or Ororo Munroe is one of the most famous black cartoon characters female of all time. Unlike her counterpart from the remake of the series in the live action movie, Halle Berry who is seen in an all-black avatar, Storm is seen in an all-white uniform. She possesses the power to control the weather.
8. Keesha Franklin
Cartoon Series Name
The Magic School Bus
Created By
Joanna Cole
Voiced by
Erica Luttrell
Description
Among the entire gang of students seen in this series most cartoon lovers grew up watching, Keesha who was the most prudent and mature. She stood out from the other students and is remembered as the one who was always out to “get the facts”.
9. Maxine Gibson
Cartoon Series Name
Batman
Created By
Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm
Voiced by
Cree Summer
Description
Maxine sticks out among the characters of the animated series Batman largely because of her dark complexion, black eyes and the hard to miss purple hair. This black cartoon character female rose through the ranks having hailed from a broken home but reached the top through sheer intelligence.
10. Valerie Grey
Cartoon Series Name
Danny Phantom
Created By
Butch Hartman
Voiced by
Cree Summer
Description
This much admired black cartoon character female can be seen in the Nickelodeon show Danny Phantom. She enters the story as a well-off girl who is very popular but starts on the wrong foot with her classmate Danny. Their relationship however builds up as the series progresses and they become good friends.
11. Riley and Huey
Cartoon Series Name
The Boondocks
Created By
Aaron McGruder
Voiced by
Regina King
Description
Riley and Huey come as a bundle as both brothers are extremely popular and well-liked. These black cartoon characters male are merely ten years old but are often seen embroiled in activities and situations that pertain to adults.
12. Gerald Johanssen
Cartoon Series Name
Hey Arnold!
Created By
Craig Bartlett
Voiced by
Jamil Walker Smith
Description
This black cartoon character male from popular Nickelodeon series Hey Arnold, is best friend to the central character Arnold. He is also the most pragmatic and level headed among his group of friends. His ability to remain collected and his street smartness is what makes him so special.
13. Cleveland Brown
Cartoon Series Name
The Cleveland Show
Created By
Seth Mac Farlane
Voiced by
Arif Zahir and Mike Henry
Description
Although Cleveland started off as a part of the show Family Guy, the black cartoon character male garnered so much popularity that he warranted a show of his own and came back with The Cleveland Show. While an intelligent character, he is sometimes perceived as slow and dull largely because if his paced out way of talking. He is a likeable character because he is forbearing and nice to his family.
14. Fat Albert
Cartoon Series Name
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Created By
Bill Cosby
Voiced by
Bill Cosby
Description
Fat Albert is an obese black cartoon character male who is dependent on his childhood friend for his living. They are seen picking up quite a few interesting characters as friends that range from Mushmouth and Russel to Weird Harold.
15. Little Bill
Cartoon Series Name
Little Bill
Created By
Bill Cosby
Voiced by
Gregory Hines
Description
An imaginative and inquisitive boy, Little Bill is one of the most iconic black cartoon character male of all time. He was first seen on Nickelodeon and was instantly liked by audiences because of his hyper active imagination. The happy and smart fellow cooked up a novel scenario every day and ended up learning a new lesson by the end of it.
16. Franklin
Cartoon Series Name
Peanuts
Created By
Charles M. Schulz
Voiced by
Shawn Fonteno
Description
Although Peanuts character Charlie Brown steals the show, this black cartoon character male is not far behind. Franklin is seen growing as the series progresses from one who did not have much of a clue about anything to being a developed member in the Peanuts gang who is also a great dancer and can play a variety of instruments.
17. Oscar Proud
Cartoon Series Name
The Proud Family
Created By
Bruce W. Smith
Voiced by
Tommy Davidson
Description
In this famous Disney channel series, Oscar Proud is seen as the patriarch of the Proud Family who owns a snack factory. His age bears no consequence in the series as he is often seen making mischief and having audiences in stitches.
18. Robert Freeman
Cartoon Series Name
The Boondocks
Created By
Aaron McGruder
Voiced by
Late John Witherspoon
Description
Freeman is yet another popular black cartoon character, male from The Boondocks. He is Huey and Riley’s grandfather and despite his advancement in years, he is not the best role model they could vouch for.
19. Virgil Hawkins
Cartoon Series Name
Static Shock
Created By
Dwayne Mcduffie, Denys Cowan
Voiced by
Phil LaMarr
Description
This young black American boy is shown as a savior who, with the help of his super powers, fights crime. The show ran for four years in the early 2000s and tracked the life of teenager Virgil Hawkins who gets exposed to mutagen gas in the course of a fight.
20. Dr. Hibbert
Cartoon Series Name
The Simpsons
Created By
Matt Groening
Voiced by
Harry Shearer
Description
This is one of the longest running cartoon series of all generations and one of its most popular characters is Dr. Hibbert. A well-known black cartoon character male, Dr. Hibbert is believed to be the best doctor in town albeit charging exorbitantly high rates from his patients. He keeps the ambience light hearted with his patients.
Is it possible to download cartoon characters to watch offline?
Now watch your favorite cartoon character anytime and on any device with the help of downloading software- StreamGaGa Crunchyroll and StreamGaGa Funimation. You can watch the animated series at your convenience offline and on larger screens with these downloaders that make your viewing experience top notch with downloading quality of 1080p and 720p.
A great feature that makes downloading shows with this software, easy and less cumbersome is that you can download videos in bulk with the batch download option. So you can download multiple cartoon characters, shows and series quickly and without restrictions.
Above all, the downloaders let you download and view your shows completely ad-free. Here’s a detailed look:
Features and advantages of Crunchyroll and Funanimation downloader
- Download high quality videos at 1080P
- No commercials
- Save subtitles in your preferred language either in SRT format or Remux Text format
- Batch download
- Save videos in MP4 format that is compatible and user friendly
- High Speed downloading
Crunchyroll- Download cartoon videos faster than lightening!
The Steps
Step 1:
Go to “Streaming Services” and Select Crunchyroll to play a video
Step 2:
Sign in and select the video you wish to download along with audio and subtitles of your preference
Step 3:
Start downloading
Funimation: Download cartoon videos like never before!
The Steps
Step 1:
Go to “Streaming Services” and Select Funimation to play a video
Step 2:
Sign in and select the video you wish to download along with audio and subtitles of your preference
Step 3:
Start downloading
FAQs
Is Madame Medusa one of the most ugly black cartoon characters of all time?
Madame Medusa from The Rescuers, with her almost gray light purple colored skin along with short red hair and green eyes, is certainly one of the ugliest cartoon characters of all time. Along with her ugly looks, she is also involved in deeds that are dark and sinister.
Which are some of the best black and white cartoon characters of all time?
Felix the Cat, Snoopy and Woodstock, Pepe Le Pew the Skunk, Sylvester the Cat, Mickey and Minnie, Mickey Mouse.
Which was the first cartoon show that had an all-black character?
The first cartoon show to have an all-black character was Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids by Bill Cosby. The show also dealt with, in a singalong light hearted comic manner, certain issues faced by black children of those times.
Final Words
Cartoon series are shows that just about all of us have seen during our growing up years and sometimes have followed us well into out adult life as well. Black cartoon characters have been an integral part of our list of favorites which include everything from the classic to the millenial. There is a host of black characters ranging from hood black cartoon characters and ugly black cartoon characters to black and white cartoon characters and male and female black cartoon characters, to pick from. So whether it is Huey and Riley Freeman or Susie Carmichael, they have done more than their share to grace your TV screens over the years.
