Brilliant cartoon characters that are cooler than you

You've probably grown up a bit from the days of The Poddington Peas and Ren & Stimpy - nowadays, you're more likely to watch Archer or Family Guy. But the truth remains: cartoons have always been a wonderful way of escaping into a fantasy world.

You only have to watch the Bob's Burgers movie on the big screen to see how life affirming cartoons can be. And that's because, the cartoons we know and love would be nothing without the characters that shape and define them.

From Johnny Bravo in his tight-fitting clothes to Bugs Bunny and his ubiquitous carrot, here are 25 cartoons we've always loved - who sadly, are also a lot cooler than us...

Coolest cartoon characters

With the coolest chat up line in the world, cocky attitude and healthy diet, Bugs Bunny is the undisputed King of Cartoons. He even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame such is his power.

Every mission he is in goes very wrong but that doesn't stop Archer from being super cool. Yes, he has mummy issues, girlfriend issues, drink issues, but he is always there with a quip and eventually figures everything out for the rest of the crew. Also, he once sported a Magnum PI moustache and that adds ultimate cool points

Best friends with a strung-out hippy and still remains upbeat. And his voice. Need we say more?

There can't be a more debonair cartoon than the Pink Panther. Even his theme tune just screams funky.

Cute, wily and impossible to pin down, Jerry could give us all a lesson or two in how to outsmart our demons - especially if our demons involve a very irritated cat named Tom.

The wisecracking, smart arse Daffy is one of the more complicated cartoon characters of bygone years.

Rippling pecs, perfect hair and the ability to make a woman weak at the knees just by looking at her? He may be totally vacuous and about as interesting as a bar of soap, but if you could get that body without even trying, wouldn't you?

Aggressive, violent and grumpy, all Sam's flaws can be forgiven when you look at his awesome outfit. The huge hat, cowboy boots and yellow bandana help to mask his multitude of sins.

You have to admire Dick Dastardly for his tenacity. Not many people could get out of bed every day when faced with those awful clothes, horrible moustache and losing streak - but he did, and never stopped trying to win those Wacky Races despite clearly being terrible at it all. At least he had a wheezing, giggling pup for companionship.

There will always be people trying to catch you up and bring you down (and eat you for dinner with a giant knife and fork). But if you're like Road Runner, you'll always outsmart your enemies - with a huge smile on your face - and you can probably run faster than Usain Bolt while doing it.

One of Time's 100 most important people of the 20th century, Bart is a cartoon rebel without a cause. Mischievous, rebellious, but ultimately lovable, he's spawned so many catchphrases, T-shirts and other useless memorabilia that it would be impossible to ever erase him from the pop culture psyche.

The leader of the pack, everyone looks up to wise guy T.C. - and why wouldn't they, when he sports such an excellent hat and waistcoat combination?

Peter is, quite simply, an absolute moron. But he's a moron who has survived everything, from a world apocalypse to a vicious fight with an angry chicken, and if we can't respect endurance and the will to keep on going in tough times, what can we respect?

He made people's wishes come true, he cracked hilarious jokes and he was voiced by Robin Williams - three magical qualities for any great cartoon character. So cool even Christina Aguilera wrote a song about him.

He never says a word and like a cat he has (at least) nine lives, surviving several attempts to kill him. What could be cooler than that?

Like a nineties Stewie Griffin, Dexter built incredibly high-tech creations from the comfort of his bedroom, only to be foiled by his moronic family. Add to his genius his indeterminate but intelligent-sounding accent and you have the perfect geek chic hero.

The reason this list exists is because of Bob Belcher. He is the coolest. He loves food, loves his family, is fluid in his sexuality and is just hilarious when he wants to be. He's the constant in the world of chaos that is Bob's Burgers and we love him because of that

Originally a supporting character in Beavis And Butthead, Daria Morgendorffer became a fully fledged star thanks to her marvellous TV show. She's brilliant - a teenage girl with snark, suspicion, insight, levity, brevity... she understands the idiocy of the world and let's the world know that she knows

Fred Flintstone always got all the attention, but Barney was clearly the better man. Musically talented, happy with his lot and a caring father to Bamm-Bamm, who he took in and raised as his own after finding him on his doorstep. Plus, he was such a good friend to Fred that he didn't even mind him stealing the limelight. Every. Single. Episode.

Lucy van Pelt is the child psychiatrist we all wanted as a friend. She is sometimes seen as bossy but she is nuanced, with a fantastic amount of confidence and insight. She will help her friends understand their issues (for cash) and is a big fighter for women's rights. Oh, and she has fallen in love with a musician which makes her even cooler.

We all have little things about ourselves that we hate. But imagine if you could turn your crooked nose, thick eyebrows or ugly feet into lean, mean flying machines? Now that's what we call cool.

Sure, Hercules was the star of, erm, Hercules, with his huge muscles, important family and gorgeous girlfriend. But Phil is the one we'd all want to be friends with: funny, brash and confident despite his unimpressive appearance.

Just one of many hazy, unclear characters in Alice in Wonderland, the caterpillar stands out for his excellent hookah smoke skills, his adeptness at tongue twisters and his absolute unashamed indolence. If we ever go to a magical place like Wonderland, we want to chill on the leaf next to his.

Often dismissed as the annoying sister in Rugrats but, boy, is she so much more than that. Who else would be able to have a gaggle of babies obey her every word? Oh, and she could wrap the adults around her finger, too. Then there's business acumen she seems to have, as well as offering up real talk to the nursery, so the rugrats don't grow up thinking the world is wonderful. Bossy is good, folks, don't let anyone tell you any different.

Forget the strange green outfit and cocky attitude, Peter Pan has two qualities we'd kill for: the ability to fly and the ability to never grow up. Wouldn't you trade those skills in for anything on a gloomy Tuesday afternoon?

• These are the coolest characters in literature.

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.