Childhood is a time for watching cartoons. But, it’s also a time for sexual awakening. It’s not uncommon for these phenomena to overlap, as evidenced by the multitudes on Twitter who are gushing about their cartoon crushes. On Tuesday, comic book writer Gail Simone (she’s written some of the best Batgirl comics of the 21st century) innocently posted a question about people naming the first animated character they’ve ever had a crush on. And thus, the hashtag #1stCartoonCrush was born.
Now, as of Wednesday, thousands of people are willingly admitting to having crushes on a variety of cartoon characters, half of which are animals, and some that are Pokemon.
Stupid Question Of The Day:
Name the first animated character you ever had a crush on. Which animated character did you first think was super kissable, even if it sounds weird now?
Please use hashtag#1stCartoonCrush
— GAIL SIMONE Thinks the Punisher Should Smile More (@GailSimone) May 21, 2019
She was wrong about one thing: It clearly wasn’t a stupid question. In the day or so since she hit send, thousands of people have answered it, and their responses are revealing, to say the least.
Lots of people had crushes on characters whose animators, in the Betty Boop tradition, took advantage of the flexibility of the medium to draw imagined bodies that are literally impossibly attractive.
Jessica Rabbit ❤️'s Flex Seal. pic.twitter.com/CcnIqvyHM2
— Flex Seal (@GetFlexSeal) May 21, 2019
For the #1stCartoonCrush tag, there really was no competition. pic.twitter.com/SQy6rzLBJU
— Craig (@_omnishambles_) May 21, 2019
and of course, Disney did (some of) its princesses good #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/dN6zoWFOBZ
— Kainat Naeem (@kainatn) May 22, 2019
#1stCartoonCrush
And still ..
princess jasmine from aladdin 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6HUCQ8BaLr— ico-NIC (@NICKIMINAJl11) May 22, 2019
Bonus points to Tarzan, a super-muscular dude who literally just wore a loincloth throughout the movie.
Ridiculously, 'adult' when Disney Tarzan was released and I had my #1stCartoonCrush
Maybe it was the frame and lack of clothes. pic.twitter.com/KQd2qqwjNJ— Who Wants To Know? (@porfyria) May 22, 2019
Given how often children’s cartoons feature animals, we suppose it isn’t surprising that plenty of people found themselves attracted to other species.
Since #1stCartoonCrush is a thing: pic.twitter.com/RUOIGqZHsl
— Ewan Woolford (@EwanWoolford) May 21, 2019
Guys this is the only right answer why is it even a debate #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/7v5LX7mVkk
— Cecilia 'Kamala For The People' London (@authorclondon) May 21, 2019
Twitter, you’re playing a dangerous game #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/8YjLeRvC4o
— Chello (@chellovate) May 22, 2019
We learned that Ryan Reynolds is not the most attractive person in the Pokémon universe.
Still the cutest and favorite 😁#Ash from #Pokémon 😅#1stCartoonCrush 😂 pic.twitter.com/syAPx8cRJ3
— Maham 🇵🇰 (@MahamPak) May 22, 2019
misty forever #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/D18JK0N0gN
— SungWon Cho (@ProZD) May 21, 2019
And while we’re not here to judge, some people’s crushes were…surprising.
assigned furry at birth #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/Kt9rWWBCwP
— miss sam ☆ (@asexualtedbundy) May 21, 2019
I see #1stCartoonCrush trending and not one person talking about my baby daddy pic.twitter.com/G8teeznscr
— Jacob Vignone (@jmviggy) May 21, 2019
Sally from Pixar's Cars. Don't judge me. #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/PXsR4vTw1b
— ŚÉÁŃ (@denwallz) May 22, 2019
Lots of folks tweeted jokingly or lustfully, but a few did take the chance to express some more wholesome nostalgia.
#1stCartoonCrush i just wanna say they made my childhood a great one and brings back good memories I LOVE THEM SO MUCH ASHIOAHSASHI 😔💞💕💝💟💓💗💖💘 pic.twitter.com/lkH513LarJ
— ren 🌼 (@asamuren) May 22, 2019
#1stCartoonCrush I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I TRULY LOVE THEM ALL AND THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE PART OF MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES ✨ pic.twitter.com/9zcoS5NBMU
— eli • tobio protection squad 💙 (@giantobio) May 22, 2019
All of this is enough to make us wonder which modern cartoon characters today’s children will be tweeting about in a decade or two.
youre doing something wrong if ryder from paw patrol wasnt your first cartoon crush #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/NGj7BqoWxu
— 美 fun factory (@orbitsrise) May 22, 2019
And yeah, this is happening, so yeah, maybe Ryan Reynolds does have some staying power after all.
This is my 1st cartoon crush (blame my 6 years old mind) Fight me y'all.Who wouldn't like pikachu? #1stCartoonCrush pic.twitter.com/LNOJukeR9b
— 𝔂𝓼𝓼𝓪 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓵𝓾𝓿 | (@dorkablebangtan) May 22, 2019