Caillou, SpongeBob, And 17 Other Characters From Childhood Shows Who Are Actually Horrible People

    You either die a SpongeBob or live long enough to become the Squidward.

    Hannah Marder
    by Hannah Marder

    BuzzFeed Staff

    A while back, Reddit user u/Competitive_Owl7085 asked, "Who was the most unlikeable main character of a TV show?" and people had plenty of characters to nominate...including, oddly enough, characters from kids TV shows. Here are kids characters people cannot stand — along with some more submissions from this Reddit thread!

    1. DW from Arthur

    PBS

    "She was a complete monster and fuck the parents for enabling her to carry on with her shitty behaviour."

    —u/drax3012

    "D.W. Reed is the most spoiled, annoying, entitled four-year-old in the history of cartoons. That little twerp makes Caillou look like Francis of Asissi. Arthur has shown incredible restraint in not caving her head in."

    —u/RayAnselmo

    "Spoiled, rude, condescending, narcissistic and all around a genuine witch. She genuinely takes joy seeing other people suffer, and finds it 'unfair' when anyone besides her is given any sort of affection. She deserved it when she caught chicken pox and couldn’t go to the fair."

    —u/Lichruler

    2. Peppa Pig from Peppa Pig

    Nick Jr.

    "I can't stand that whiney little spoiled brat, Peppa Pig. And the adults let her act however she wants. I remember one episode, her and her little brother were playing pretend. They both wanted to pretend to be butterflies, but Peppa said only she could be the butterfly and George had to be a worm. When Grandpa Pig hears this, he doesn't say, 'Shut up Peppa, you can both pretend to be butterflies,' like you would expect him to say. Instead, to make Peppa happy, he tries to convince George that it's fun to pretend to be a worm."

    —Traditional_Self_658

    "She also fat shames her father even though he is the same size as the other adult characters."

    —u/Familiar_Wrap

    3. Phineas from Phineas and Ferb

    Nickelodeon

    First of all, I'm convinced that Phineas knew Isabella had a crush on him and purposely took advantage of that fact to get the Fireside Girls' help. Also, I feel like there is a reason Ferb doesn't really talk, and I just know that fucker is responsible. And finally, he was awful to Candace! He was constantly cooking up dangerous schemes — that sometimes got Candace hurt (remember when she turned into a puddle???) and she was just trying to stop him (he also never let her get involved, and when he did he blamed things going wrong on her!). Then he'd gaslight her and lie to their parents. I always wanted to see her finally get him caught...I think he did get caught in their last movie, but I never made it that far.

    4. Caillou from Caillou

    a little boy pinching a baby's cheek
    PBS

    "That bald whiny little punk is the worst."

    —u/langtont1

    "Seriously. Kid threw tantrums every few minutes and parents responded with such unrealistic bullshit patience at the veeeery very end of the episode, usually bribing or conceding in some way, and little twerp never learned a thing. He taught my first kid the *concept* of making a fuss just for attention, and of using a whiny tone when you don't get what you want, and of hating vegetables. Show was banned in my house before my second kid emerged. He's a self-entitled, obnoxious bully."

    —u/GawkieBird

    5. Tori from Victorious

    Tori telling Beck to kiss him, the two of them kissing, and Beck's girlfriend looking upset
    Nickelodeon

    Suggested by u/Mermaid89253

    "It's weird in retrospection how much she was thirsting for Beck despite him being with Jade...even if Jade was toxic, but like, still, WTF, LOL."

    —u/ItsTtreasonThen

    "Yes! No matter what she does, she's always in the right! I especially hate the prom episode. It craps all over Jade, even though Jade was the one constantly wronged by Tori and her desire to have a prom, which the school never even had."

    —u/Konzern

    "She literally doesn’t ever care about her friends’ problems unless it makes her look good, and she has no real flaws so nothing is ever her fault, and god, she’s just so annoying."

    —u/WrittenInTheStars

    6. And also Robbie from Victorious

    Nickelodeon

    What the heck was up with this dude??? He was always so mean and creepy toward women when it came to Rex, his puppet, who HE CONTROLLED. Also, does anyone else remember how he had his locker decorated with rubber nipples??? Didn't he also creepily look through Tori's window for a bit? 

    7. Jimmy from Jimmy Neutron

    Nickelodeon

    "Fucker saw a problem, made an invention, invention fucked everything up, which then fucked everybody's days up, fixed the problem, then everybody thanked him for saving them from the problem he created."

    —u/Fast_Hornet5964

    8. And also Carl from Jimmy Neutron

    Nickelodeon

    "I always hated Carl from Jimmy Neutron because anytime he got a little power he turned into a complete dick. I always got pissed about characters who are supposed to be friends with the main character turning on them when they think they have a leg up. It's like why are you friends with someone you would immediately shit on when you had the chance?"

    —u/Aninvisiblemaniac

    Also, he had a really creepy crush on Jimmy's mom, Judy.

    9. Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place

    Disney Channel

    When I was younger, I thought Alex was sassy and funny, but looking back, she was actually really mean. Some of her dialogue still holds up (mostly her comments on running, LOL), but a lot of it makes her seem like a mean girl despite the fact that she made fun of the so-called mean girls like Gigi. She was a bad friend to Harper and was so selfish and entitled when it came to magic — I'm still mad she won the family wizard competition, tbh.

    10. DeeDee from Dexter's Laboratory

    DeeDee asking her brother what he has, he says nothing while trying to hide his invention, then she grabs it and smashes it while saying "I guess I shouldn't touch"
    Cartoon Network

    "Just because she was cheerful and playful doesn't make her any less of a bully to her brother. She made him cry on occasion."

    —u/NotSoGreatOldOne

    "He wants to be left alone and all she wants to do is wreck his shit. The parents were terrible for letting it go on like that."

    —u/DaemonDrayke

    11. Sam from iCarly

    Nickelodeon

    Sam was SO mean to Freddie consistently. She would literally physically beat him up constantly, and it's not at all funny watching it back. I like enemies-to-lovers stories, and I remember loving Freddie and Sam together as a kid, but looking back, I can't believe they were ever a couple with how physically abusive she was to him. She also was so vindictive, like when she revealed to everyone Freddie had never been kissed, and then he got bullied.

    12. Jerry from Tom and Jerry

    WB Kids

    Suggested by Prior-Resist4486

    "OK, but actually. That's why I can't watch the show; [I] hate seeing that smug little shit win every time."

    —u/possumpussie

    "That fucking mouse was loathed in our household."

    —u/Michael_konadu_69

    13. Ash Ketchum from Pokémon

    TV Tokyo

    "He's a sore loser and he does nothing but lose over and over. He acts like he learns a lesson, then makes the same mistakes, all while making himself the victim. He's just an awful person."

    —u/Drachenreign

    14. Max from Max & Ruby

    Treehouse TV

    "I've always had a huge disdain for Max from Max and Ruby. He would give me anxiety. Basically every episode was, 'Hey, I'm Ruby. I'm going to do my very best to do things responsibly and rigidly to get a good outcome' and then Max was always, 'Nah, fuck that noise. I'm going to do whatever I want, and then get the best possible outcome every time anyway, sometimes at Ruby's expense.' Like how is that supposed to teach responsibility and cause/effect to young children?"

    —u/TerpinSaxt

    15. But also, tbh, Ruby from Max & Ruby

    Treehouse TV

    "She was always criticizing Max and here he is a three year old little Bunny trying to live his best life. Ruby was just a buzzkill."

    —u/Blackbeltchicken

    16. Naruto from Naruto

    TV Tokyo

    "The series is literally named after him, but he’s the most unbearable character to watch. I’m aware of why his personality is the way it is but it doesn’t make him less annoying, unfortunately.

    Beyond his terrible temper and impulsiveness, probably the worst thing about him is his Main Character Syndrome. He needs to be at the center of every conflict, sometimes he demands that he be the only person fighting, there’ll be several higher ranking and/or smarter people around and yet he’s barking orders, etc etc. Like I completely understand why but he’s so frustrating to watch."

    —u/MurkMorena

    17. SpongeBob from SpongeBob SquarePants

    squidward enjoying waking up at his leisure until spongebob shows up to start asking questions
    Nickelodeon

    "Fucking SpongeBob. When I was a kid, I always rooted for Squidward and wanted Spongebob dead. He's annoying and keeps bothering Squidward, who's the only likable character in the series for me. Man, he deserved better."

    —u/wearingmyseatbelt

    "SpongeBob was a good character in the early seasons. He was just a bubbly guy who wanted to brighten everyone's day. And he was somewhat cultured too. Apart from Squidward and Mrs. Puff, he was actually fairly well-liked around town.

    Modern seasons SpongeBob though is a straight up nuisance. Like remember that episode where everyone in Bikini Bottom (even Patrick) got so annoyed with him that they started celebrating 'No Spongebob Day?'"

    —u/Working_Elephant_302

    18. And also Patrick from SpongeBob SquarePants

    Nickelodeon

    "They ruined him this modern era."

    —u/bonniebull1987

    "Even putting the whole 'Stephen Hillenburg didn't want any spin offs' thing aside, [Patrick's spin-off] still shouldn't have been made. Patrick had already become annoying and extremely one note. Like his only personality trait was being stupid, and the show just turned that up to 11."

    —u/Working_Elephant_302

    "They turned Patrick from a lovable idiot to an obnoxious prick."

    —u/ElderCunningham

    "He was borderline emotionally abusive to Spongebob at multiple points."

    —u/ImDemandingARefund

    19. And finally, Dora from Dora the Explorer

    Nickelodeon

    "All she does is ask questions and wait on us to solve the problems. Then at the end, she's all, 'WE DID IT!' WTF you do, Dora? I did it! Me! Me and my kids! You're like a shitty coworker!"

    —u/HealthyBox5

    "Damn bro, god gave you bug ass eyes, yet you can’t even see the fucking fox in front of you?"

    —u/Seaworthiness69

    "Not much of an explorer if her whole journey is literally mapped out."

    —u/1nterrupt1ngc0w

    What kids show characters can you not stand? Let us know in the comments!

    Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.