Super Hot Cartoon Characters Who Definitely Made Girls Question Their Sexuality
Cartoon television for children is surprisingly more influential than parents may realize. Some of our earliest experiences with entertainment are often cartoons. The characters we become familiar with as children can even help us start to form opinions about what we find attractive.
School-aged boys everywhere probably count down the seconds until Lola Bunny struts on screen with her signature curvy swagger. What's less obvious for many people is how characters like Lola Bunny also have an impact on countless young girls who are figuring out their personal relationship with sexuality. Here are some of the super hot female cartoon characters that, quite frankly, made even straight girls feel some type of way.
Tinkerbell - "Peter Pan" (1953)
Tinkerbell from the classic animated film "Peter Pan" is immediately attractive to the audience in her tiny green dress with bouncing blonde hair.
Though she appears delicate and cute at first, Tink's sassy personality is larger than life and she makes no apologies for her individuality. Her fiery attitude and determined heart make her one of the earliest cartoon crushes for a lot of people.
Veronica Lodge - "The Archie Show" (1968)
Archie Bunker might just be the luckiest loser on the comic book planet, with two of the hottest (albeit very different) girls constantly competing for his affection.
Veronica definitely had that snobby rich girl vibe and she leaned into it. For some reason, it was pretty attractive that Veronica could buy your love, even though she didn't need to. I mean, look at her.
Betty Cooper - "The Archie Show" (1968)
Betty Cooper embodied the ultimate girl next door crush.
She was smart, talented, friendly, and compassionate, limited only by her obsession with Archie. She was super easy to like for all the right reasons and loved a little competition with her best friend Veronica.
Daphne Blake - "Scooby-Doo Where Are You!" (1969–1970)
It's true that some young closeted girls found themselves relating to the quirky, awkwardly styled character of Velma. But when it comes to straight-up attraction, it's hard to pass over Daphne.
A quick-thinking redhead, Daphne was always ready to solve a problem. She was a fast runner in high heels and could rock the hell out of her purple dress-and-leggings combo. It's pretty evident why Fred was all heart-eyes for her.
Wonder Woman - "Super Friends" (1973–1985)
Let's be honest, there were not a lot of female heroes to idolize back in the '70s and '80s. Wonder Woman's appearance in "Super Friends" was so popular that it created a Wonder Woman spin-off show.
Importantly, the majority of the women on this list were certainly designed and animated by men, meaning a lot of women with small waists, long hair, and large breasts. Nonetheless, some of those exaggerated physical characteristics helped many young girls realize early signs of attraction to the same sex.
Jessica Rabbit - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)
Jessica Rabbit is a lot to unpack. Seriously, can you imagine the weight she's carrying on her chest alone?
Her basic instinct is seduction and she knows how powerful she is. Another redhead coming in hot, Jessica Rabbit's voluptuous body combined with her passionate personality made young viewers everywhere do a double-take.
Ariel - "The Little Mermaid" (1989)
Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" was immediately loved for her bubbly and witty personality; she was friendly and relatable and also a little silly.
Her seashell bra dropped impressionable jaws worldwide and her long, flowing red hair captivated both Prince Eric and the young boys and girls watching her.
Princess Jasmine - "Aladdin" (1992)
Princess Jasmine, the gorgeous desert Princess who stole Aladdin's heart, also made a lasting impression on young girls who both wanted to be like her and were strangely attracted to her beauty.
Girls can be attracted to Jasmine too, okay? It's a whole new world.
Sailor Moon - "Sailor Moon" (1992)
Sailor Moon was many young girls' first introduction to manga and anime-style cartoons—and her group of crime-fighting bad a** friends did not disappoint.
Of course, she was cute, super silly, and relatable, and she was one of the original cat ladies who prioritized her cat bestie over most things. We can totally respect that. Plus, they wore those awesome color-coordinated outfits for crime-fighting.
Storm - "X-Men: The Animated Series" (1992–1997)
While many girls couldn't take their eyes off the shredded abs of Wolverine in the X-Men series, many others couldn't help but stare in amazement when Storm took the screen.
Not only could she control the weather, but she took the men and the bad guys in her life head-on and made no apologies. She was confident, intimidating, and giving new life to white hair.
Poison Ivy - "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992–1995)
Poison Ivy is a villainess who loves to flirt with danger as much as she does with men. She's Batman's sworn enemy but also his complicated lover. Her obsession with plants, botany, and environmentalism did not go unnoticed by many young girls and women who felt an attraction to her kind of earthy, manipulative beauty.
She uses powerful potions created with her plants to control people quite easily, although she hardly needs to use any magic to get her way. (P.S. point for team redheads.)
Cat Woman - "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992–1995)
The elusive, mysterious Catwoman is cunning and curvy, duh. She's a professional cat burglar and sometimes lover to Batman. We can't help but love a villainess who knows what she wants and capitalizes both on the world of high crime and vigilante justice.
She also makes it quite clear that she needs no man, which makes her that much more intriguing.
Mary Jane Watson - "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" (1994–1998)
There's a reason Peter Parker was completely smitten with Mary Jane, the girl next door to Aunt May and Uncle Ben's place.
She was the center of his attraction, but also caught the attention of a lot of teen girls who found themselves equally drawn to the emotional redhead who dazzled everyone she met.
Pocahontas - "Pocahontas" (1995)
Pocahontas was a native warrior princess who befriended and eventually fell in love with a white settler named John Smith. John was the euro-white handsome man who was a lot easier on the eyes than some of his fellow colonists.
Still, Pocahontas's unique native beauty features like her tan skin, long black hair, and sharp jawline did not go unnoticed by young viewers. She was, in a word, majestic.
Lola Bunny - "Space Jam" (1996)
Lola Bunny's personality was a collision between femme fatale and tomboy. She could hang with the boys, but she absolutely knew how sexy she was.
She was always no-nonsense, able to flex her peak athletic abilities, and downright seductive. Same, Bugs. Same.
Esmeralda - "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" (1996)
Esmeralda was a classic Romani beauty. She loved vibrant colors, layered jewelry, and was extremely self-expressive. She made no apologies, challenged every oppressor, and was a kind, selfless soul wrapped up in a strikingly beautiful woman.
It was exceptionally easy to love Esmeralda and her rebellious ways as she danced in bright dresses and gold bracelets.
Mulan - "Mulan" (1998)
Mulan was basically the heroic tomboy of teen girls' dreams. She chopped her hair, boldly cross-dressed, and smashed the gender norms that she was confined by.
She was a beautiful representation of courage and defiance, rebelling against the social expectations of a young Chinese woman at the time. Mulan was outspoken, loyal, and adorably clumsy. And when she's dressed like a soldier? Swoon.
Sedusa - "The Powerpuff Girls" (1998–2005)
Fittingly named for her seductive ways, Sedusa was one of the antagonists in "The Powerpuff Girls" series.
If we're being honest, she gives off not-so-subtle dominatrix vibes that may have been as effective on teen girls as it was on Professor Utonium in the show. If you happen to have a crazy chick fetish, Sedusa is the disguise-loving villainess for you.
Megara (AKA Meg) - "Hercules" (1997)
Meg was not the average Disney woman. Heartbroken from a former lover, she was always a bit cynical, snide, and overly cautious. She's one of the few characters who are completely free-spirited and independent.
Meg has a super low opinion of men, which is rare for the doting Disney love interest. She uses her disinterest to her advantage and is able to figure out Hercules's weak spots fairly easily.
Turanga Leela - "Futurama" (1999–2013)
If you think it's weird to include a cyclops in this list, you're totally right because this list is super weird to begin with. Nonetheless, Leela from "Futurama" makes the cut for being a certified purple-haired hottie. Voiced by the incredible Katey Sagal, Leela was the no-B.S. captain and pilot on board the Planet Express ship.
Young kids were undoubtedly confused by the attraction they felt to the sassy alien woman (if they managed to stay up past their bedtimes to catch an episode).
Alex, Sam, And Clover - "Totally Spies!" (2001–2013)
Believe it or not, the "Totally Spie!" girl gang definitely sparked a sexual awakening for some teen girls.
The crime-fighting fashionistas had varying personalities so we decided to include all of them. They navigated high school, crushes, and high crime with a valley girl attitude that was quirky and cute.
Nani Pelekai - "Lilo & Stitch" (2002)
The "hot older brother" trope is well-worn in cartoons and pop culture, but Nani Pelekai from "Lilo & Stitch" brought new meaning to the hot older sibling.
Nani was the main caretaker for her mischievous younger sister and always managed to look great while doing it. When she wasn't showing off her killer tan and surf moves at the beach, she was wandering around in a breezy summer wardrobe and being cool.
Shego - "Kim Possible" (2002–2007)
Of course, Kim was cute and talented. But Shego, she was downright hot and unforgiving.
Shego was explosive when angry, but her fierce persona was sometimes limited by her moral compass, despite her "bad guy" reputation. Her sultry strut, green and black suit, and abrasive attitude officially make her a glowing bombshell. Something about a bad girl.
Elastigirl - "The Incredibles" (2004)
Elastigirl is definitely not the first super hot Disney/Pixar mom who teenagers encountered, but she did make a lasting impression on some of them.
Her tight red spandex suit and thigh-high boots are only moderately less distracting than the idea that she can wrap her limbs all the way around...well whatever she wants.
Nikki Wong - "6teen" (2004–2010)
Nikki Wong had an effortlessly cool way about her. She was sarcastic most of the time and had a fairly snarky attitude.
Nikki prided herself on being rebellious toward a conforming society and she rocked purple hair and facial piercings long before everyone else jumped on those trends. Nikki never dressed overly feminine, was not a huge romantic, and always kept her no-nonsense attitude which made her 100% crush-worthy.
