ANIMATED CONVERSATION
Scottish Field’s top ten Scottish cartoon characters
Groundskeeper Willie, The Simpsons (1991)
Easily spotted with his flaming red hair and sporting a seriously bad attitude, Willie has been the groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary since 1991. The proud Scot often reminisces about his native land and his home on the Orkney Islands, telling anyone who will listen of Scotland’s beauty. And in the run-up to the Scottish referendum, he even offered himself as a candidate to lead the country with an ‘Aye or Die’ motto emblazoned on his yellow chest.
Stoick, How to Train your Dragon (2010)
Stoick the Vast, voiced by Gerard Butler, is the fictional Scots-Viking chieftain who is father to Hiccup and protector of the village of Berk from Cressida Cowell’s hugely popular books. The gruff Stoick digs his traditional heels in against the ideas of a younger generation and – much like many a Scottish male – rails against the inevitability of change.
NANETTE, GNOMEO & JULIET (2011)
In an animated reworking of the classic tale of Romeo & Juliet, nurse’s character Nanette (voiced by Ashley Jensen) steals the show as a romance-loving frog who is kind, loyal and partial to a wisecrack or two. It may not be Shakespeare as we know it, but it raises a smile.
LOBEY DOSSER (1949)
Bud Neill’s pint-sized county sheriff of Calton Creek in Arizona (all the inhabitants were from Glasgow’s Calton district) has been thwarting baddie Rank Bajin’s (‘rank bad yin’s’) plans since 1949. It first appeared in the Evening News mixing Glasgow vernacular with puns and surreal drawings that now attract a cult following.
Minnie the Minx, Beano (1953)
Appearing in The Beano since 1953, the Scottish tomboy is the third-longest running Beano character behind Dennis the Menace and Rodger the Dodger. Created by Leo Baxendale, Minnie’s popularity grew until she got her own full-colour page, which is when the red hair and striped jersey first appeared.