Old Man Cartoon Characters: Grumpy Grandpas and Icons

Carl Fredricksen is the heart of Pixar’s Up. He starts out as a stubborn 78-year-old who has just lost his wife, and he is in no mood for company.

• The grumpy retiree at the center of Up, from 2009
• Ties thousands of balloons to his house to fly it to South America
• Gets stuck on the trip with a chatty young boy named Russell
• Grumpy on the outside, but soft underneath

Mr. Wilson is the original grumpy cartoon neighbor. He just wants peace and quiet, and the boy next door, Dennis, makes sure he never gets it.

• The long-suffering neighbor from Dennis the Menace
• Battles his garden, his back, and a five-year-old
• Secretly kind, even when Dennis pushes him to the edge

Uncle Scrooge is the richest duck in the world, and he guards every coin like his life depends on it. He is greedy, gruff, and somehow still lovable.

• Scrooge McDuck, the billionaire at the heart of DuckTales
• Uncle to Donald Duck and great-uncle to Huey, Dewey, and Louie
• Loves a treasure hunt almost as much as he loves money
• Swims through gold coins in his giant Money Bin

Charles Montgomery Burns is the villain of The Simpsons. He owns the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and he would happily block out the sun if it earned him a dollar.

• The frail, ancient owner of the nuclear plant
• Cruel, greedy, and strangely powerful
• Leans on his devoted assistant, Smithers, for everything
• Famous for steepling his fingers and purring “Excellent”

Abraham “Grampa” Simpson is Homer’s dad, and he is the king of the rambling old-man story. Give him a minute and he will tell you about something that never happened.

• Homer’s father and the family’s resident old-timer
• Lives at the Springfield Retirement Castle
• Tells long, confused tales of his past and his war days
• Forgetful one minute, surprisingly sharp the next

Grandpa Lou is the easygoing grandfather from Rugrats. He is more fun than strict, which is exactly why the babies love getting left with him.

• Tommy, Dil, and Angelica’s grandfather
• A relaxed, playful babysitter who naps on the job
• Full of tall tales from his younger days
• Voiced first by David Doyle, then by Joe Alaskey

Alfred Pennyworth is not really grumpy, but he is the wise older man every version of Batman needs. He runs the house, patches up Bruce, and never loses his cool.

• Bruce Wayne’s butler and father figure in Batman: The Animated Series
• Calm, loyal, and quietly funny
• Keeps Batman fed, healed, and grounded
• Voiced with real warmth by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Reginald Fletcher is Ferb’s British grandfather, and he is far livelier than he looks. The boys call him Grandpa, and his old stories never disappoint.

• Ferb’s grandfather and Lawrence Fletcher’s dad
• A former daredevil who went by “The Flying Fishmonger”
• Married to Grandma Winifred Fletcher
• Still up for a stunt, aches and pains and all

Grandpa Max Tennyson is the kind of grandpa who takes you on a summer road trip and ends up fighting aliens. He is calm, capable, and tougher than he looks.

• Ben Tennyson’s grandfather in Ben 10
• Wise, funny, and always ready for an adventure
• A steady hand when things get dangerous
• Voiced by Paul Eiding

Eustace Bagge is the meanest old farmer in cartoons. He lives out in the middle of Nowhere with his wife Muriel and their dog Courage, and he loves scaring that poor dog.

• The cranky farmer from Courage the Cowardly Dog
• Greedy, grouchy, and short on patience
• Torments Courage every chance he gets
• Married to the much kinder Muriel

The Genie technically belongs here, even if he does not look a day over 40. He has been stuck in that lamp for ten thousand years, which makes him the oldest character on this list by a mile.

• The big blue wish-granter from Aladdin, from 1992
• Ancient, but bursting with energy and jokes
• Has watched empires rise and fall from inside his lamp
• Voiced by the one and only Robin Williams