The Cartoon Family

The family unit has always been a great source of material for people in the entertainment industry. Countless movies have revolved around not just one central character, but a family. Likewise, their are probably more television situation comedies about families than any other genre. From the old greats like The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch, through to the 90's favourites of Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier and Roseanne and other hits such as The Cosby Show, Married With Children and Home Improvement, the list just goes on and on.

I think the reason is that this is the one thing that everyone can relate to. Being able to see these families on our screens is a reminder that we are not the only ones that are dysfunctional, we all make the same mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes, when viewed from the outside, are so funny that you end up rolling around the floor laughing.

Just as there have been countless movies and sitcoms based around the family unit, there have also been hundreds of series based around the cartoon family. Once again, there are way to many to mention them all here, but I have hand picked my favourite below. Please let me know if you have a favourite cartoon family I have missed.

My Cartoon Family Favourites

The Jetsons

Produced by Hanna Barbera in the early 1960's, The Jetons were the original cartoon family. George and his wife Jane live some time in the distant future with their two children; Elroy and Judy, and their pet dog Astro. Another major character was Rosie, the household robot. The original 24 episodes were so popular and stood the test of time, that more episodes were created in the 80's. George is a hard working button pusher for Spacely Space Sprockets.

The Flinstones

The prehistoric cartoon family that everybody knows and loves. The Flinstones were also produced by Hanna Barbera in the 1960's, only unlike The Jetsons, The Flinstones took us way way back in time, to a period where cars were propelled using feet power, and you had to vacuum your carpets using a woolly mammoth. Fred and Wilma and their daughter Pebbles, along with their pet dinosaur Dino and Baby Puss lived at 323 Cobblestone Lane, Bedrock. Right next door were the Rubbles; Barney, Wilma and their tough as nails son Bamm Bamm (the rubbles had a pet kangaroo called Hoppy). The Flinstones have remained an evergreen favourite, with movies still being made in their honour.

The Addams Family

They were creepy and cooky, as well as being mysterious and spooky. This cartoon family started off as a comic strip and ended up on everyone's TV screens, bot in sitcom and cartoon form. The antithesis of the perfect American family, The Addams family were rich, eccentric, and well.. just plain weird. The family consisted of Gomez and his wife Morticia and their children Pugsley and Wednesday (Wednesday Friday Addams to be exact). The other main characters that lurked around this scary home were Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Thing, Lurch and Cousin Itt. The family had no idea that they were different from everyone else, and were constantly perplexed at peoples reactions to them.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is the most successful cartoon family of all time. It has been running for over 20 years and shows no sign of letting up any time soon. Homer and Marge live in Springfield with their children; Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They have two pets; Snowball the cat and Santa's Little Helper, the dog. Homer "works" as a safety inspector at the local nuclear power plant, under the watchful eye of his creepy boss - Mr Burns. With well over 400 episodes under it's belt, The Simpsons is not only a cartoon family, but a cartoon town, with literally hundreds of characters that we have grown to know and love.

Family Guy

A more recent release to the cartoon family genre, Family Guy had some starts and stops in it's inception, but has since become a favorite across the country. It is now in it's 7th season and continues to grow stronger every year. The show revolves around Peter Griffin, his wife Lois, and their children Meg, Chris and the most popular character of the show, Stewie. They also have a pet dog called Brian whose vices include cigarette smoking and drinking Martinis.

American Dad

From the same creators that bought you Family Guy, the cartoon family in American Dad has been around for 4 years now. The show revolves around CIA agent Stan Smith and his family; his wife Francine, daughter Hayley, son Steve and their pet goldfish Klaus Heissler. They also happen to have an alien living with them who simply goes by the name of Roger. Roger claims that he was sent to Earth to decide man's fate, and in the process invented Disco in the 1970's.

The Incredibles

A super hero cartoon family that really packs a punch. The Incredibles was released as an action packed feature film in 2004, and lived up to it's promise.  Each member of this dynamic family have a super power and they end up fighting crime as a family unit. We have Mr Incredible (aka Bob Parr), his wife, Elastigirl (Helen Parr) and their children Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. The story revolves around Bob and his wife trying their hardest to not use their superpowers as they live out the normal life in suburbia. Of course, this doesn't go as planned and they end up as a crime fighting super hero cartoon family. Hoping to see a sequel of this sometime in the future. One of my favourites.

These are my 7 picks of cartoon families. Honourable mentions have to go to a few  other shows that are not the atypical family, but hold some semblance of family values within their shows. This includes South Park,  The Lion King, Winnie The Pooh and The Smurfs (one big blue communal family). Feel free to add to this list with your own favourite cartoon family in the comments.