These Cartoon Connections Are So Eerie. Are They More Than Just Coincidence?
These Cartoon Connections Are So Eerie. Are They More Than Just Coincidence?
Doug, Hey Arnold!, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers are four animated comedies with almost nothing in common. Their only obvious similarities are that the first two are classics from Nickelodeon’s heyday while the latter are contemporary, adult-oriented cartoons appearing on Fox Sunday’s Animation Domination. Yet, a closer look at a prominent character appearing in each of these unrelated series reveals design similarities that may be more than just coincidence.
Doug premiered in 1991 as one of Nickelodeon’s original Nicktoons. Twenty years later, Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive developed Bob’s Burger’s for Fox. The shows have no crossover characters or major connections that can be immediately discerned. Yet, Doug and Mr. Frond, the guidance counselor at the Wagstaff School, seem cut from the same cloth. Both are awkward, white males who wear nothing but green sweater vests and khakis. Is this merely a case of coincidental character design?
A more entertaining theory is that things got pretty serious between Doug and his crush, Patty Mayonnaise. The two young lovers went to high school and then college together. In 2009, at a Beats Reunion concert, Doug got down on one knee and proposed to Patty. The date was set and the wedding was planned. Yet, when the long-awaited day finally arrived, Patty inexplicably left Doug at the altar. In his shame, Doug abandoned Bluffington forever and now works under an assumed name as a guidance counselor on the New Jersey coast.
Similarly, 1996’s Hey Arnold! and 1999’s Family Guy couldn’t be more different. Yet, the main character from each show shares a defining physical trait: they each have a football shaped head. This unique characteristic is remarked upon repeatedly throughout each series. On the other hand, it seems to be the only commonality between the two characters as Doug is kind and wholesome, while Stewie is foul-mouthed and occasionally evil. Is the shared shape of their heads a coincidence, or more than meets the eye?
An apocryphal explanation for Arnold and Stewie’s pigskin-themed craniums may be yet another case of romance gone awry. If Arnold and Helga had a love-child while still in high school, they may have felt themselves unable to care for the baby and put it up for adoption. This would explain the shape of Stewie’s head, his penchant for world domination, and why he doesn’t look anything like Peter or Lois.
While there are certainly no canonical explanations for these similarities, it is striking how much alike these cartoon characters look. It is likely that, if asked, the creators would dismiss these shared traits as mere happenstance. Still, it is far more fun to postulate about the possible connections between these characters. Are there any other fan theories as to why Doug, Mr. Frond, Arnold, and Stewie all look so much alike?
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