Description
As I've said before, the protagonist is essentially the main character in a form of media. Now you have protagonists who are really good and you can undersand and realte to them more than anybody in the world. So, earlier I posted up my top 10 top main protagonists:
. Just because one character can be a protagonist, that doesn't mean that they are meant to be likable. I mean, they don't have to be the protagonist at all. IT could go to a better character. Some of these protagonists here are the worst because they're bland, unlikable, stupid or just generic assholes. They don't go through a lot of struggles or have flaws that make you want to root for them and they are just unrelatable.
If ANY of you like these characters, I respect your opinions.
And now that I have done the top 10 best main protagonists, here are the top 10 WORST protagonists.
1. Davy Stone(Eight Crazy Nights)
I heard a LOT of complains about this guy from Duckyworth , Carriejokerbates and various other fellow friends on here abut this guy. So I figure, why not give this movie a chance? I consider it a guilty pleasure for the most part as I love the animation in the movie being from the dudes who did The Iron Giant, the songs are pretty catchy with my favorite being Bum-Biddy and if you change the voice and gross stuff a bit, Whitey is probably one of the NICEST charcters in the movie, bar none. However, Davey on the other hand? You know you want to have a jerk you want to feel sorry for or a jerk who's likable at some parts who does redeem nevertheless? Not Davey, every chance he has to redeem himself, he just relapses in five seconds(come on, he pushed Whitey down a port-a-potty and froze him in a ice sculpture and left him to die had the deer not come to help him). ALso, his backstory where his parents died is sad and understandable, but it's not healthy for him to take his frustrations on alcohol and causing vandalism among the locals. And then he humiliates Whitey AND his sister at the hockey rink just ecause they bring up his sob-story and finally tries to dodge arrest after he just had a moment where he can finally grieve for his parents. If I were to write Davey as a protagonist, I would've made him more like how Kuzco where he can be likable even if he is a jerk.
2. Greg Heffley(Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
Okay, I have to admit, I did read some of these books as a kid, and I did catch the movies(inclduing the atrocity known as The Long Haul), but there's just something about Greg Heffley that jus tturned me off. One would expect him to be like Charlie Brown that you'd like to root for them to get through middle school life and be the best kid there is. THe problem is...Greg isn't. There's mischieveous kid, there's Bart Simpson mischieveious and there's sociopathic mischieveious. Greg would have to go to the latter tier because of his laziness, arrogance, dishonesty and frequent jealousy to those around him who seem to have the better luck. One major example is that he allows his friends to do his work for him, but then take the credit for it or trying to find a scapegoat to get out of a situation. And he's also not a good family member or friend as he makes Rowley more of his sycophant servant and is instantly jealous of his brother Manny upon birth. And he wants to be rich and famous, but doesn't want to put in the work effort of it like studying in school to go to college so he can GET that career he wants to make him that. I know, for hte majority of it, some of those are just normal kid stuff, but I also keep in mind that Greg's worst traits are basically exaggerated jsut for the sake of him trying to prove to the readers he's in the right most of the time. Again, there were times where Rowley or Roderick shoudl be the protagonist here.
3. Oscar(Shark Tale)
While I mentioned thath Moses was one of Dreamworks BEST protagonist, I think it's time that I would tell you guys Dreamworks WORST protagonist. THat title goes to Oscar. Oscar, aka the Will Smith Fish by the online community, is basically one of the most selfish protagonists I have ever seen. Look, I have seen protagonists who are selfish, BUT....they have shown again and again that they can be likable in their own douchy way and they do have the chance to redeem themselves. Or they want to be better, but just need someone to help them in the right direction. Oscar has been a consummate liar. He lied about his IOUs to his boss for his get-rich-quick schemes, lies to make himself look good in front of Lola who is obviously a gold digger and the whole plot happens because he lied about killing Frankie just so he can escape the punishment he's already enduring. I also felt that while I want to ship Oscar and Angie, I felt that his sudden love for her came around last minute insted of somewhere towards the middle while he was dating Lola and he bets her grandma's pearl on horse race when he should've used the money he got from it to pay his boss back. I know he ahs a good friendhsip with Lenny and Angie, but if they were explored more and more genuine enough, he would've joined up with the other Dreamworks heroes.
4. Bella Swann(Twilight)
While I didn't read the books(thank God), I DID however catch a few clips of the movies while I was researching for how to make a good heroine. There are A LOT of problems with this character that I have issues with, but I'm going with the most obvious: she's very selfish. And not in a "selfish, but still has a heart of gold way,", but this brat is so selfish. She whines about moving to Forks and when everyone tries to become her friend, she dismisses them and when she does get human friends, she either decides not to hang with them or just brush them off all together. Oh, and her love triangle with Edward and Jacob is a mess. Like a literal hot mess(not just because I prefer classic vampires and werewolves). Normal love triangles work because you want to root for the main character to end up with either guy...but it has to be a main character who is layered and can be likable. As much as both Edward and Jacobs are creeps in their own right(if someone watches you sleeping, scream and punch them in the face being one of the cases, the other don't want to mention), Bella, to me, is the WORST because she can't stop lingering to either one of them...mostly on Edward's that when he breaks up with her...she tries to put herself in danger just so that way he can sweep her off her feet and save her...not a good dating tatic. I'm not even going to mention the other movies because I could just roast this character so much, but I honestly don't give a crap about her to do so.
5. Dodger Dare(Shorty McShort Shorts: The Imperfect Duplicates of Dodger Dare)
For those who are curious, the short series would've predated the Gravity Falls episode Double Dipper(the one where Dipper clones himself so he can do his things to do at the karaoke party and get a chance to dance with Wendy). Only major issue is that while Dipper is mostly a great developed character, this asshole is not.
Dodger Dare has one goal in his mind: date any of the hottest girl he sees. Kind of like Johnny Bravo, except Johnny has his redeeming qualities. Dodger has one friend Beauty(in a nod to the fairytale Beauty and hte Beast to the point of her being a bookworm) who has a crush on him, but Dodger doesn't seem to notice, nor look like he seems to really care. And he had the nerve to just call her "just you" as if he knows how shallow he is. When he makes his clones, he treats them like garbage when all they want to do is just understand what their purpose is in life(specifically try to be the one to date Amber Von Owen, Dodger's crush of the day). And water kills them. Look, I understand clones are not perfect, but some at least have feelings you know, Dodger.
Personally, I wish Beauty was the main protagonist. She has a great design and for her personality: she's kind, yet she's a lot more level headed than her Casanova wanna be best friend and if she were to meet a guy, sure he'd be a jerk, but at least he'd treat her better than Dodger does and actually would grow as a person, just like in the fairytale. Oh, and his name would be Bastion or "Beast" as a nickname.
For the short in question: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqPtns…
6. Donny Berger(That's My Boy)
Okay, okay, I know I said that htis movie is my guilty pleasure a bunch of times. However, I can't stand Donny as a protagonist. In the 1980s, this 13 year old kid had a crush on his teacher. Pretty understandable. Kids have their crushes, but Donny's went a little too far when not only did he find out his teacher Miss McGarricle had mutual feelings, but they went into a....intimate relationship which is VERY inappropriate for me to describe.:vomit: After finding out said teacher was pregnant from said incident, Donny took it to raise his son Han Solo. But, being a father is not in the teen's description especially when said kid grows up, moves out and becomes a rich buisnessman and all while disowning him for his poor parenting. Then, Donny makes a jackass out of himself with him trying to make amends with his son...all the while trying to get him to visit his mom in prison for a lot of money. The only GOOD thing he did was save his son from marrying a cheating and squicky bitch of a bride that is Jamie(not Lannister though I'd like to joke on that). Other than that, Todd should'e been the main protagonist.
7. Roy(Roald Dahl's Dirty Beasts: The Anteater)
Roald Dahl's childrens in his books are mostly goodhearted little children. However, there are a few exceptions like the four bad kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...and this little brat. Roy, the protagonist of my favorite poem The Anteater, is a spoiled and very stupid boy living in San Francisco. Whatever he wanted, Daddy would always buy for him. After getting bored with his usual toys and shoes, he decides to get an exotic pet. He chooses a giant anteater. Granted, due to my love for The Ant and the Aardvark, I have grown fond of anteaters and aardvarks in general so, it was clear on who I was going to feel bad for. After Daddy buys an anteater from a man in New Dehli, India, Roy orders the malnourished anteater to find some ants instead of giving him some. That's like refusing to feed a malnourished cat or dog and telling it to go find food itself. So, when Roy's AUNT Dorothy comes to visit and he orders the anteater to say hello to her. But the way he says it which is prounounced like ant instead of aunt, causes the anteater to think that she is a giant ant(pinchers and all) and devour her alive. As for Roy...well, I'm going to let the last verse speak for itself becuase karma is a bitch.
"But anteater came crawling in, already it was much less thin
It said to Roy, "You little squirt. I'll think I'll have you for dessert."
8. Loralei Lee(Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
Marilyn Monroe is just such a great actress for her time. She has been in iconic roles and she even has a couple of biographical films about her(with one of them a upcoming one on Netflix). However, not all of her iconic roles are heroines or love interests. Loralei Lee is one of those examples of that. Loralei is a showgirl who has this ideal marriage based on money and wealth and income. Which is one of the reasons her fiance's father is very suspicious of her. During her tour in Europe, she flirts with a couple of guys before she sees dollar signs in the form of this old rich millionaire and seduces him into stealing his wife's diamond tiara. But the other main obstacle is to get Ernie Malone, the private eye her fiance's dad hired behind her and her fiance's back.The only reason that she gets away with it was because she was compelled by the law. I know Dorothy's a good friend who is wiling to have her back, but she kind of was a bit of a bitch if you think of it futher.
9. Earwig(Earwig and the Witch)
Normally in movies where there's a young boy or girl wanting to be the apprentice to a magical being, be it a wizard or a witch, normally I, along with the majority of the audience would love to root for them due to thier optimistic nature and clumsy antics. They do tend to be impatient, but they are just so endearing that you can't help, but root for them. We've seen it with Luz Noceda and Akko Kagari.
But this brat....enthusiasm, optimistic and clumsy are out the window.
This little girl gets adopted by a witch and her assistant and she is a stubborn, little brat. I'm not kidding you. She first brags about not getting adopted because everyone can wait on her hand and foot at the orphanage she grew up in. Then after the witch and her assistant Bella Yaga and Mandrake take her in, she whines and complains about having to do grunt work(chores) in exchange for magic lessons. However, this little girl is not used to chores and tries escaping, but when that doesn't work, she literally cheats and uses a spell with the help of Thomas the cat to grow extra on Bella Yaga to dismiss her from her chores.
Even if Bella Yaga and her assitant are no saints themselves, Earwig basically wraps them around her finger and she completely has them under her control.
And the movie ends with Earwig's biological mother greeting her? Okay movie, if you are going to add hat part in, you should at least give her a little more likability so that way she can EARN the chance to prove her worth in magic and seeing her biological mom again. Maybe if you could just give her and Bella Yaga a chance to bond as surrogate mom and daughter making them learn to be better instead of her being a stubborn brat. God...I just can't with her.
10. Beasto(The Haunted World of El Superbeasto)
As much as I found this movie funny, I personally think the movie could've worked better if Beasto was more of a comic relief sidekick to the REAL protagonist Suzi X(who actually did a lot more kicking ass and can still be a bit of a sassy tough girl). Beasto is not only a wrestler, but he also is a porn star and director. However, his mian thing in this whole movie is....chasing some beautiful women. ANY beautiful woman(though the only one he wouldn't touch is Suzi X, so I"m happy he has his standards). However, even if Beasto did deliever the final blow on Dr. Satan, it was really all Suzi X that did all the fighting and such than this guy ever did. At leaste Johnny Bravo was more likable and when HE tried to flirt with women, he get the shit beaten out of him...and it's much much funnier. Still, I really enjoy this movie.
*Dishonerable Mentions*
*Rob(High Fidelity)
*Kayley(Quest for Camelot; I still like her, but Garrett would've been a better protagonist)
*Gene(The Emoji Movie)
*Light Yagami(Death Note)
*Vanellope Von Schweetz(Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet)
*Dracula(Hotel Transylvania)
*The Griffin Family(Family Guy)
*The Smith Family(American Dad)
*Robin(Bebe's Kids)
*The Teen Titans Go! version of the Teen Titans(Teen Titans Go)
*Bloo(Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
*Taki Tachibana(Weathering With You)
*Ren and Stimpy(Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon)
*Annie(Bridesmaids)
*Juliane Potter(My Best Friend's Wedding)
*Noah(The Notebook)
*Troy(Fences)
*The Drawn Together Cast(Drawn Together)
*Peter Decker(The War with Grandpa)
*Jake(I'll Be Home for Christmas)
*Nick Curran(Basic Instinct)
*Johnny Test(Johnny Test)
*Caillou(Caillou)
*Buddy(Looney Tunes)
*Candace Flynn(Phineas and Ferb; since her brothers are satellite characters, she's technically the protagonist)
*Alice Kingsleigh(Alice in Wonderland 2010)
*Jake LaMotta(Raging Bull)
*Patrick Star(Spongebob Squarepants-The Patrick Star Show)
*Peppa Pig(Peppa Pig)
*Henry Roth(50 First Dates)
*Jack and Jill Sadelstein(Jack and Jill)
*North(North)
*Mikey Miller(Dharr Mann videos)
*Scott Carlin(The King of Staten Island)
Meme; (C) HorrorExplorer