‘A Celebration of Animation’ book is a debate starter of cartoon’s best characters

Michael Jordan or LeBron James?

Marlon Brando or Jack Nicholson?

“Citizen Kane” or “Casablanca.”

We’ve all had these debates. Who’s the greatest basketball player ever? Greatest actor? Greatest movie? The categories are endless, as are the debates.

Author Marty Gitlin (a former News-Herald writer) and cartoonist/cartoon historian Joe Wos teamed up to dive deep into another debate: What TV cartoon character is the greatest of all time?

Talk about a list of heavy hitters up for discussion. Some included in the recently released book “A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History” span decades in the past and others are still on TV.

In 2012, Gitlin authored “The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch,” which, he said, took him back to his youth when he grew up on the east side of Cleveland. He now resides in Westlake.

That book was more of a encyclopedia of cereal, whereas this effort is two men’s attempt to dwindle thousands of TV cartoon characters into a top 100 list.

Gitlin said when he and Wos began the project a little less than three years ago, they had a list of about 2,000 characters. It took a while condensing their list, but their No. 1 produced little discussion.

“We agreed Bugs Bunny was No. 1,” said Gitlin.

Rounding out the book’s top 5 is No. 2 Homer Simpson, then SpongeBob SquarePants, Daffy Duck, and Stewie Griffin.

Some might say, “What about Snoopy? Or Charlie Brown? Or Batman? Or Fred Flintstone?” It’s a safe bet most favorites are somewhere in the book’s top 100, but if not ...

“That’s what this book is all about — friendly debates,” said Gitlin.

Each character is numbered according to their ranking and includes “Toon-Up Facts” such as the creator, voice, plus other facts and tidbits along with an explanation of the ranking.

At the end of the book are 15 top-10 lists. The categories include the likes of cartoon villains, dogs, cats, theme songs, superheroes and more. There’s also a foreword by Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Saturday-morning cartoon shows, some will argue, reached their heyday in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. It was a time Gitlin, and millions others cherished as kids.

“Back then, it was the only time all week kids could watch cartoons,” he said.

The advent of cable TV, and now streaming services, changed all of that. The love of cartoon characters and their place in pop culture lore is still strong, but cartoons no longer own a day’s time slot.

Many young, middle-aged and older readers likely will enjoy “A Celebration Animation.” It’s a portal into a time when cartoons ruled the weekend, but also a reminder there’s still plenty to go round these days.

Put it on your coffee table next time friends and family are over, and let the debate begin.

“A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History (Lyons Press, $35) is now available.

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