Who is the most influencial cartoon character?

[ElmerFudd]

In your opinions, who do you think is the most influencial cartoon character for animation? Which character really changed cartoons forever? In my personal opinion I would think that it is Daffy Duck because he put craziness and energy into cartoons. Or it could obviously be Gertie the Dinosaur, who also changed animation forever.

[Leviathan]

Felix the Cat, since he was the first cartoon character to become an international superstar.And also the first cartoon character to appear on Television.

[AcmeCoyote]

Well, it seems there are two seperate questions from you here (which is fine since it is making me think more).
1. Who is the most influential character?
2. What character really changed cartoons forever?

For the first question, I really think I have to go with Mickey Mouse.
He was just about as influential as one can get. Everybody in the '30s was copying him and everyone wanted to create the next Mickey Mouse, to no avail. To me, that is what you call influence.

For the second question, I don't think I can say that any one character changed cartoons forever. I like to think of it as a collaborative effort. Felix, Mickey, Daffy, Bugs and others all had a hand in setting the standard for the golden age cartoons.

[houserunner]

I'm not a big fan of Disney cartoons. But, my choice for most influential cartoon character is Mickey Mouse. I think he's the most popular and important cartoon character in animation history.

[David Gerstein]

Most influential?

Felix the Cat
Mickey Mouse
Pluto
Donald Duck
Daffy Duck
Bugs Bunny
Tom and Jerry
The Flintstones
Jonny Quest
Scooby-Doo
Muppet Babies
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Simpsons
Ren & Stimpy
Doug

I'd love to put Oswald, Betty Boop, and Popeye on this list, but I can't see where they had many conscious stylistic imitators. Mickey and the Mickey imitators are arguably really Oswald imitators (in Bosko's case, unquestionably), but the hit made by Mickey's debut left Oswald in a second class position—so much that those who essentially imitated him didn't really see themselves as doing it.
Pluto inspired a trope that is all but dead today: pantomime animals in domestic comedy situations with few, if any, recurring co-stars. Nevertheless, through the 1950s numerous studios aped this style, usually with dull results.
Jonny Quest led a battalion of relatively realistic adventure cartoons; though it didn't feature any actual superheroes, many of its increasingly marketer-safe offspring did—i. e. Spider-Man, Super Friends.
I'm sorry to put Scooby, Muppet Babies, TMNT, and Doug on the list; but through peer pressure once, and nostalgia today, these three series in particular define the themes and formats that the executive class seem to want cartoons to exemplify. Anyone selling an original cartoon today has to deal with their influence, for good or ill.
I perceive most of today's successful series as being derivative of The Simpsons or Ren & Stimpy to enough of a degree that without their influence, they might look completely different. That's why SpongeBob and Family Guy, to name two, aren't on this list.
Tiny Toon Adventures was almost on this list. So was DuckTales. At first both were very influential, but I don't think their influence lasted; at best, each significantly shaped the style of their house studio for a number of years—until the executive class clamped down, leading to Muppet Babies and TMNT clones.

[Matthew Hunter]

I'd add Droopy in there, simply because of the gags Tex Avery used in that series in particular. Chuck Jones cited those cartoons as a major influence, and if you compare some of the Droopy/Spike feuds with the Road Runner, you'll see it!

[Cartman]

We might as well add the Fox and Crow. They influenced Chuck's Coyote/Roadrunner series (the debut cartoon FOX AND GRAPES did anyway with all the coyote-esque gags).

[UncleLina]

Gertie The Dinosaur
Felix The Cat
Mickey Mouse
Betty Boop
Goofy
Donald Duck
Popeye
Daffy Duck
Bugs Bunny
Superman
Tom and Jerry
Droopy
Mr. Magoo
Huckleberry Hound
The Flintstones
Scooby Doo
Fat Albert
Roger Rabbit
The Simpsons
Ren and Stimpy
Toy Story
South Park
Spongebob Squarepants
Shrek

[Marty26]

Classic - Probably Mickey Mouse. He was the first cartoon character to, even today, be completely recognizable by the mainstream. I'm not really a fan of Disney cartoons either, but I must give credit where credit's due. I think Bugs Bunny was almost supposed to be the anti-Mickey.

Modern - Probably Homer Simpson. I bored as I am with The Simpsons, I have to admit that Homer's influence is uncanny. From the get-go (remember the ending for Bart The Genius?), he basically took every sitcom cliche of the American Dad and turned it upside down.

[Alf]

What about Bullwinkle? And let us not forget the Japanese -my vote for most influential anime character would go for Astro Boy.

[Leviathan]

Muppet Babies
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Simpsons
Ren & Stimpy
Doug

I'm not sure If I if those truly fit the bill since all of those are shows as opposed to specific individual characters

[That 70s Mom]

I'd love to put Oswald, Betty Boop, and Popeye on this list, but I can't see where they had many conscious stylistic imitators.

Betty Boop was a big influence on Japanese anime. "Betty-san" was very popular in Japan both before and after the war, and Astroboy's face is said to be inspired by her. :betty:

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Daffy Duck

Without him I don't think we'd have gotten so many antagonistic comic characters like Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Screwy Squirrel, Heckle & Jeckle, Buzzy the Crow, and numerous crazy, heckling one shot characters.

[Leviathan]

Gabby from Gillivers Travels is another one, becuase he was the first "comic relief sidekick" in an animated feature to be spun off into his own cartoons, which still happens today.

[OurGangAlfalfa]

Daffy Duck

Without him I don't think we'd have gotten so many antagonistic comic characters like Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Screwy Squirrel, Heckle & Jeckle, Buzzy the Crow, and numerous crazy, heckling one shot characters.
Actually, the heckling idea can be traced back to the 1931 Mickey Mouse cartoon Fishin' Around. That cartoon plays almost exactly like an early Tex Avery Daffy Duck, or early Lantz Woody cartoon (well maybe not exactly, but it does have a great similarity. I don't know if Avery or Ben Hardaway (who are usually credited as having created this type of character) were actually influenced by it though.

As for the most influential character, it would be Mickey Mouse. Mickey spawned numerous imitators in the early 30s, and the creation of these imitative characters were responsible for being the impetus for the Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and later MGM Happy Harmonies (kind of).

[ohmahaaha]

Mickey Mouse: game, set & match. How many other characters out there have generated an empire equivalent to Disney's? No contest, Baby.