The greatest duos in animation

At the forefront of animated duos, there’s Beavis and Butt-Head. The two debuted in the 1990s, the perfect time for a pair like this, but Beavis and Butt-Head have had more legs than expected. In fact, the duo has effectively outlived MTV, and they still have cache in a world where the music video is minimized.

Not everybody on this list is a titular team of the “X and Y” variety, but that certainly helps when it comes to being an iconic animated duo. Phineas and Ferb are a little more family-friendly than Beavis and Butt-Head, as the brothers delighted Disney audiences for many years with their inventive antics. They really knew how to make the most out of summer vacation.

We didn’t go with Homer and Marge, but The Simpsons still brings us several beloved cartoon pairings. Lenny and Carl have long been linked as friends and coworkers of Homer. Rarely do you see one without the other, and the boundaries of their friendship have often been pushed to intense places. They are the foremost friends in Springfield.

Thanks to the magic of animation, there are plenty of animal pairings on this list. Now, unlike some of the future animal duos, Tom and Jerry aren’t all that anthropomorphic, and for most of their run together, they could not talk (though eventually, they would, much to the dismay of Jarvis Cocker). They are the foremost cat-and-mouse team in pop culture, paving the way for a Simpsons parody in Itchy and Scratchy.

In 2022, Chip and Dale were propelled back into the limelight with a self-referential movie on Disney+. The erstwhile Rescue Rangers were at the forefront of a film designed to be enjoyed by millennial parents and their children in equal measure. The chipmunks are popular even with people too young to realize one dresses like Indiana Jones and the other dresses like Thomas Magnum.

Within the Mystery Machine crew, two are always intertwined. That would be Norville “Shaggy” Rogers and his dog pal, Scooby-Doo. They are often paid off, mostly because they are always scared. Also, always hungry, especially for Scooby Snacks.

The Animaniacs — Yakko, Wakko, and Dot — are a famed trio, but within their show, we find an iconic duo. Pinky and the Brain are a classic comedic pairing. We have two lab rats, one an evil genius, the other a happy-go-lucky doofus. They proved so popular they got their own show.

The cheese-loving guy and his dog have appeared in several films over the years. While the distinct style of animation used by Aardman isn’t for everybody, Wallace and Gromit have proved quite popular to many, especially fans of dry British humor. The two even starred in a film that won the Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

The Simpsons is so full of duos that we had to include one more. While we considered Sherri and Terri — two twins always together — or Patti and Selma, we ended up going with Kang and Kodos. The alien pairing go hand in hand, appearing in “Treehouse of Horror” episodes for decades at this point.

Lilo and Stitch wasn’t expected to be a big film for Disney. It was conceived as a smaller filler movie for the studio. Then, it became a big hit that spawned sequels and a TV show. The Hawaiian girl and her alien buddy are now huge stars in the Disney world, even though only one of them can talk.

They are secondary characters, to be fair, but for a little while, Timon and Pumbaa practically take over The Lion King. After all, we only really need to say “Hakuna Matata,” and that pretty much sums it up, does it not?

Rick and Morty started as a raunchy parody of Back to the Future, but eventually, it became its own show and had to flesh on the concept. Now, the show is the biggest thing on Adult Swim. Not just now, but possibly ever. The boy and the amoral scientist still have a little of that Marty-and-Doc dynamic but in a decidedly more nihilistic way.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a few iconic villains. There’s Shredder, there’s Krang, and then, of course, there are Bebop and Rocksteady. Popularized by the cartoon, the mutant warthog and rhinoceros are memorable baddies from the world of TMNT. They even made the cut for the video game.

Much like Shaggy and Scooby, Mr. Peabody and Sherman are classic boy-and-his-dog team, or in this case a dog-and-his-boy team. Mr. Peabody is a rather smart dog, and Sherman is, at least, an enthusiastic partner in time travel.

One last time, a guy and a dog make the cut as a famous animated duo. Dıck Dastardly was the villainous driver in the world of Wacky Races, and by his side was Muttley, a henchdog if there ever was one. The two proved so popular they got a spinoff, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

Maybe you know them better as the Wonder Twins. Zan and Jayna needed to work together as a duo to make their superpowers work. That ensured that the two were always considered a pairing and that pairing helped solve all sorts of problems in the world of DC comics and TV shows based on them.

Nickelodeon has given us many animated shows over the years, but the biggest duo from the bunch are Ren and Stimpy. The Chihuahua and cat team were one of the original three Nicktoons, and their scatological style of comedy struck a chord with audiences — both kids and adults. While Ren and Stimpy aren’t for everybody, they are quite popular with many.

Woody, obviously, had a life before Buzz, and at first, the two toys weren’t really a pairing. Ultimately, though, the Toy Story series would be built around the dynamic of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. They are the faces of the immensely popular movie series and Pixar in general. Not bad for a cowboy and a spaceman.

Can you be an iconic duo if you exist in direct opposition to one another? After all, Wile E. Coyote has seemingly dedicated his entire life to trying to catch and eat the Roadrunner. Every time, he fails. They are nemeses, not friends. On the other hand, the two are forever synonymous with each other. In the world of Looney Tunes, they were always paired off, and you think of them together. Thus, they had to make this list.

One of the first beloved teams in television cartoons, Rocky and Bullwinkle were always together. Sure, Fred had Barney, but he also did plenty without Barney (like eating Fruity Pebbles). Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the moose were always joined at the hip. They are a true team, through thick and thin.