Most Unlikable Protagonists

[Oscarfan]

Is Cartman technically a protagonist? Because I hate him so much. He's a complete jerk to everyone, selfish, racist, fear-monger, etc. and yet he rarely receives comeuppance for his actions. He killed someone's parents because a teenager was screwing with him, as if that's the hoorah we were waiting for.

 

[beatnikchick300]

• EVERY racer in Wacky Races that isn't Dastardly and Muttley. Dastardly stops to cheat? He's a horrible character that even the narrator berates. But here's the thing. Watch an episode. EVERY one of the racers cheats, and they constantly have it out for each other. Not a word is spoken about it, and no comeuppance is given. Then again...heh hee... I have a Dastardly and Muttley biased.
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I'd call that "Protagonist Centered Morality," but I don't think that show had enough of a set protagonist for that to apply. Also, I didn't care too much in that case, since I never liked Dick Dastardly, because he's basically all of the villain cliches I hate rolled into one (dark clothes, twirling his mustache, maniacal voice, does evil just For the Evulz, etc.). That, and he's mean to his dog. Dude, that's just messed up. Even Maleficent was nice to her pet (the raven, remember?).

Anyway, back to the subject:

• Carly and Sam (iCarly) -again, a case with two characters who do things just as bad as villains they come across, but you aren't supposed to notice, because they're the protagonists. Sam is just a bullying thug, not to mention she usually gets away with it, and Carly enables her best friend's bullying, even to her other friend, who has a crush on her.
• Jimmy Neutron -because he's a smug jerk, and most of the problems he solves were caused by him to begin with. Also, it seems like most of the other characters only exist to make him look good by comparison.

 

[Eyeball]

Is Cartman technically a protagonist? Because I hate him so much. He's a complete jerk to everyone, selfish, racist, fear-monger, etc. and yet he rarely receives comeuppance for his actions. He killed someone's parents because a teenager was screwing with him, as if that's the hoorah we were waiting for.

But that's equally why we love him lol oh and he does get his comeuppance quite a lot like in cartmanland and casa Bonita to name a few, but to answer your question, no he is not the protagonist he is just the main character of the show (well 1 of 4). But back on topic I really couldn't stand Jordan Belford in the wolf of Wall Street I just thought he as a bit of a knob, oh and I also hated Mike in monsters inc, wow just what a jerk he was for a majority of the movie.

 

[Drtooth]

• Jimmy Neutron -because he's a smug jerk, and most of the problems he solves were caused by him to begin with. Also, it seems like most of the other characters only exist to make him look good by comparison.

The more I watch the show, the more I realize that's the point. There are times he actually pays for it and attests to it. They just don't happen enough.

 

[beatnikchick300]

The more I watch the show, the more I realize that's the point. There are times he actually pays for it and attests to it. They just don't happen enough.

He never actually learned to not act like a smug jerk, though. And the times he pays for it and admits he was wrong happen so rarely that he's barely better than some of the Karma Houdini characters (Roger and Sam come to mind) I've mentioned previously in this thread. At least with regard to that.

I have a few more:

• Rigby (Regular Show) -I remembered him because someone else mentioned Mordecai. Both of them are plenty irresponsible and also cause most of their own problems, but it's Rigby who I think is just flat-out unlikable. He actually is the one who starts a lot of their misadventures (stealing Benson's grilled cheese deluxe to share with Mordecai in that astronauts episode comes to mind), not to mention he's a bad friend to Mordecai (anyone remember/see "Do Me A Solid"?), but "Wall Buddy" is what was the final nail for me. Benson yells at the two for their room being messy. Mordecai rightly says it's Rigby's side, so he should clean it up, and Rigby spends the next part of the episode trying to get out of cleaning. When Mordecai confronts him, Rigby accuses him of being a bad friend, for telling Benson it was all his mess. What really made me mad is that the episode expected us to side with Rigby (which is actually a problem with most, if not all, of the other characters I've mentioned).

 

[jvcarroll]

Hmmm...I never found Jerry Seinfeld very likable. Even though the self-absorption of the cast was at the heart of the Seinfeld program, I found something to like about everybody else but him. It wasn't until Curb Your Enthusiasm that I figured out that most of the show's humor belonged to Larry David. So, anyway. Jerry Seinfeld.

 

[Drtooth]

He never actually learned to not act like a smug jerk, though. And the times he pays for it and admits he was wrong happen so rarely that he's barely better than some of the Karma Houdini characters (Roger and Sam come to mind) I've mentioned previously in this thread. At least with regard to that.

I agree and I actually like the show! But you know who's a worse protagonist? Sheen. They removed the one thing that made him funny (the Ultra Lord obsession) and basically turned him into the same arrogant Karma Houdini, only completely stupid. Now, normally I love a good stupid character, but there's only so much stupid I can take. I'd say Planet Sheen is essentially the "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue" of Jimmy Neutron. As in Sheen didn't need to be there, and they could roughly put any character as the lead, and it's the same show. It's not a Fanboy and Chum Chum level of awful, but just pretty much a useless show.

Adding to the list:

Nightscream in Transformers Beast Machines. Sure, the characters in the show have huge problems. Optimus Primal had his head up his butt through most of the series, the protagonists got into at least 3 fights per episode. The only character I found to be likable was Rattrap, and even then they screwed up his design terribly. But Nightscream is a special level of unlikable. First off, look at his robot mode...

Ugly, right? And this is ugly for a show full of ugly character designs. Secondly, let's just say he was the annoying emo kid before emo was a thing. Third? Remember how I said that the characters angrily argue at least 3 times an episode? Wanna guess who started some of those fights? He pretty much turns into the good guy equivalent of Starscream, only passive aggressively suggesting to Cheetor that Optimus has (eh, well, as I said) his head up his butt as a leader. He's right, but this causes even more arguments and friction between Optimus and Cheetor. The only time he ever got called on his paranoid teenager jerkitude was when he passive aggressively grumbles about how they lost the Beast War, and Rattrap was about to pound the energon out of him saying "I lost friends in that war." Even when he's not an argumentative, constantly brooding doofus, he's an annoying and useless character. But don't take my word for it, even his Transformers Wiki entry hates him.

 

[mr3urious]

• Rigby (Regular Show) -I remembered him because someone else mentioned Mordecai. Both of them are plenty irresponsible and also cause most of their own problems, but it's Rigby who I think is just flat-out unlikable. He actually is the one who starts a lot of their misadventures (stealing Benson's grilled cheese deluxe to share with Mordecai in that astronauts episode comes to mind), not to mention he's a bad friend to Mordecai (anyone remember/see "Do Me A Solid"?), but "Wall Buddy" is what was the final nail for me. Benson yells at the two for their room being messy. Mordecai rightly says it's Rigby's side, so he should clean it up, and Rigby spends the next part of the episode trying to get out of cleaning. When Mordecai confronts him, Rigby accuses him of being a bad friend, for telling Benson it was all his mess. What really made me mad is that the episode expected us to side with Rigby (which is actually a problem with most, if not all, of the other characters I've mentioned).

Yeah, Rigby is often the catalyst to their conflicts, though I do like how he and Mordie often fix their mistakes despite never learning from them. Plus, it was refreshing to see a recent episode in which Benson himself was at fault for ruining his own life.

 

[Drtooth]

Rigby's a special case of fridge brilliance. The attributes that make him unlikable are those of a manchild with a major case of arrested development. I mean, he clearly has brother issues for one thing. But also, he seems the most reluctant to grow up, especially considering that Mordecai has had enormous character development, and shows signs of growing up. Rigby finds it threatening that Mordecai may just be moving on, especially when there's a woman involved. If something major changes, Rigby's world is going to come crashing down, and he acts out as a result. Every other character has been developing and changing and growing, Rigby hasn't. Regular Show, for all it's 80's references and weird supernatural stuff is a coming of age story.

Now here's a character I'm surprised no one mentioned. Allen Gregory. The show with no likable character (maybe the "Magical black guy" adding to the unfortunateness of the series), but Allen just... ugh. In a different time, a different place, with better writers who weren't trying to be so different they alienated the audience, the show could have worked. But as for the character himself... normally, I LOVE an arrogant, oblivious doofus as a protagonist. Inspector Gadget, Hong Kong Phooey... but those characters were likable. The flaws were what made the show funny, and the characters weren't nasty, just deluded, and most of the cast was enjoying that ride. Here, we got a power hungry jerkwad that made Daffy Duck look modest and respectable... and at least Daffy gets his beak blown off every so often. He's insufferable, but suffers for it. Allen just... if the statement that spoiled rich kids are twats, the message was lost in the concept. I like Jonah Hill, but I find this abomination of animation a bigger inexcusable act of homophobic hostility than calling that paprazzi guy the F word (even though Paparazzi deserve everything celebrities put them through).

 

[Oscarfan]

Rigby's a special case of fridge brilliance. The attributes that make him unlikable are those of a manchild with a major case of arrested development. I mean, he clearly has brother issues for one thing. But also, he seems the most reluctant to grow up, especially considering that Mordecai has had enormous character development, and shows signs of growing up. Rigby finds it threatening that Mordecai may just be moving on, especially when there's a woman involved. If something major changes, Rigby's world is going to come crashing down, and he acts out as a result. Every other character has been developing and changing and growing, Rigby hasn't. Regular Show, for all it's 80's references and weird supernatural stuff is a coming of age story.

I just want them to do something major with the Rigby/Eileen thing. There was a small hint in the episode with Mordeci and CJ's date, but I'd prefer something more, overt.