Board 8 > Which of these is the most famous fictional character?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Don't ride my ass about Vlad the Impaler being a real person.

Someones getting coal in their stocking.

Maybe... Mickey?

fictional character

Santa Claus

WTF

ninkendo posted...

WTF

life spoilers for real

Another innocence shattered by Anagram

It's Santa by a mile

Of these options, only Mickey and Santa can really compete. Until Disney buys Christmas and we all start celebrating Happy Mouse Day, Santa will probably continue to hold an edge.

Thanks to Super Eyepatch Wolf's latest vid, I am wondering where Garfield will rank among these options. 2nd? 3rd?

To who? The entire world?

SovietOmega posted...

Thanks to Super Eyepatch Wolf's latest vid, I am wondering where Garfield will rank among these options. 2nd? 3rd?

lol wut

Hed be lucky to even be in the top 20.

Garfield is more well-known than half of this list.

KamikazePotato posted...

Garfield is more well-known than half of this list.

Which half

Im seriously curious.

Like I would take secondary characters from most of the franchises on that list over Garfield, not to mention other franchises that were snubbed.

Like I would take almost the entire cast of Winnie the Pooh over Garfield.

Garfield is the 3rd most well known fictional character in the world

redrocket posted...

Like I would take secondary characters from most of the franchises on that list over Garfield, not too mention other franchises that were snubbed.

Like I would take almost the entire cast of Winnie the Pooh over Garfield.

Garfield paperbacks have sold an absurd amount, he's been in newspapers for 40 years, and his merchandise is everywhere. He's the definition of a character that no one cares about but everyone knows. When you look at global outreach, I'd say he outstrips Homer, James Bond, Dracula, and probably Holmes.

It's Mickey Mouse or, maybe, Mario.

Anyone saying Santa is smoking crack. 2/3 of the people in the world don't even celebrate Christmas.

ChichiriMuyo posted...

It's Mickey Mouse or, maybe, Mario.

Anyone saying Santa is smoking crack. 2/3 of the people in the world don't even celebrate Christmas.

You don't need to celebrate it to know who Santa is.

Just for reference some quick googling reports that Pooh merchandise pulls in about $5.5 billion annually compared to about $1 billion for Garfield.

I will admit I underestimated the amount of cheddar that cat pulls in. Could make a lot of lasagna with that.

I thought Mario surpassed Santa and Mickey a few years back.

Also, its not Santa. Large portions of the world have no idea who Santa Claus is. My partner is Turkish (and secular at that) and didnt even know what day Christmas was when we met. Santa is a bubble answer. Its Mario or Mickey Mouse.

Jesus tops the all

Malenia posted...

Jesus tops the all

Ouch. I think you might get some pushback on that one.

I was choosing between Batman and Santa, with Mickey a strong consideration.

Since I am Dutch I have to refuse to vote Santa Claus

Malenia posted...

Jesus tops the all

Jesus is pretty unanimously regarded as real among historians.

By real of course I mean a guy named Jesus of Nazareth existed.

I don't think Mickey is a good answer anymore. Yes Disney's bought out everything under the sun in the last 20 years, but they're not pushing the mouse on everyone like they used to. Unless your family has been to a Disney theme park, I don't think he's that much a part of your 5 year old's life like he used to be.

Right now I'd go with Santa or Mario for the top spot, Mickey third, and I'd put Garfield/Superman/Batman just off the podium in some order.

How well known can Spider-Man be when you don't even know how to write his name correctly?

People still think Mickey Mouse is popular?
In countries that doesn't have Disney Land they don't have a shit of a clue who Mickey Mouse is

Id say that the only character in the poll that really shouldnt be there is Homer Simpson. The Simpsons was huge but not as much worldwide, and less so than it used to be. Dracula is borderline, it is hard to tell how well known he is, and the rest are fine. I would put James Bond over Sherlock Holmes also, Bond is arguably the biggest media franchise in all of Europe and is on a similar level in most of the world except for North America. I dont think Holmes is at the same level.

One that is missing that I would put above almost all of them is Pikachu. I would say with milennials and younger Pikachu is number one or two but is pulled down by the older generations somewhat.

From a worldwide perspective, Winnie the Pooh

Ah damn, shouldve included King Arthur. Oh well.

Sherlock holmes came to my mind before I even looked a the choices, saw he was there and voted.

Barbie should probably be in consideration here, too. I wonder if Star Wars is big enough to include Darth Vader.

Saint Nicholas was a real person. He attended the Council of Nicaea.

I think people underestimate Mickey Mouse a little bit. He doesnt need to appear in new material to still basically be the face of Disney as a whole. Hes probably pretty easily the most recognizable cartoon character on the planet?

Pikachu

Id probably put Goku above at least a few of these too

KCF0107 posted...

It's Santa by a mile

The moment Santa shows up on a list like this it's game over.

I was actually thinking of Dracula when I came in, i just didn't expect to see two autowin options in Mickey and Santa.

Santa broke 40% on Link. How many of these other characters could do that?

I always thought Donald was more popular/wellknown than Mickey.

I voted before seeing Santa was on the list, but I picked Dracula. He's had so many incarnations over so many mediums that the average person probably knows him from something.

Zylothewolf posted...

I always thought Donald was more popular/wellknown than Mickey.

Popular and well known are two different things. Could you know Donald Duck without knowing Mickey Mouse?

Zylothewolf posted...

I always thought Donald was more popular/wellknown than Mickey.

what

I feel like a case could be made for Donald being more popular in the 40's through at least the 60's. Way more classic Donald animated shorts and features, not to mention the huge comic book dynasty. Mickey is more well known as a symbol and logo of sorts, but Donald was more loved.

https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/evolution-duck-1940s-donald-duck-decade

Here is an article by the Walt Disney Family Museum on how Donald became more popular than Mickey.

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

what

I dunno maybe its just a Swedish thing? The by far most popular comic magazine here is called Kalle Anka (Donald Ducks name in Swedish) & Company. About 35% of us watch a Disneycollection which includes short classics and scenes from the early Disney movies every Christmas Eve on TV, and we just call the whole show: Kalle Anka.

I mean sure Mickey is there and all, but hes almost never without Donald. I always thought that Mickey was kinda like Donkey Kong. The first character just like Mickey but then came Mario/Donald and just exploded in popularity. But maybe its just a local thing here?

Yeah thats only a thing in some European countries

Is there a character that's universally known in both China and India? If so that probably wins even if no one from North America knows who it is.

god

I wonder how Goku would do on this

charmander6000 posted...

Is there a character that's universally known in both China and India? If so that probably wins even if no one from North America knows who it is.

buddha

Donald is the Link to Mickeys Mario

Religious figures are not really comparable to fiction created as entertainment.