13 Best Supporting Characters from 1990s Disney Cartoons
Growing up in the 1990s I had a blast watching the Disney animated series that the studio produced. These shows included DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Gummie Bears, Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers, and, of course, Gargoyles. I’ve started showing these cartoons to my kids, and I’ve been reminded of some of the awesome characters that filled these shows. There are the main characters that we all know and love like Goliath, Darkwing Duck, and others, but I wanted to shine a light on some of my favorite supporting characters in these series that I thought were awesome. These were all characters that I enjoyed seeing when they showed up in these cartoons.
DuckTales* - Launchpad McQuack
Launchpad was Scrooge McDuck's personal pilot, who sometimes acted as his body guard and was idolized as a hero by Huey, Dewey, and Louie's friend Doofus. This was just such a cool character, and he was later involved with Gizmoduck in the Darkwing Duck series.
DuckTales* - Doofus Drake
How sad is it that this poor character was named Doofus? He is a friend of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and Launchpad's sidekick. There’s a reason his name is Doofus though, as he is is a dim-witted and clumsy character, but I loved his positive attitude and the fact that he had a strong moral compass. He worshipped Launchpad, and was kind of delusional at time. He was the center of attention in an episode called "Superdoo!" In the episode he uses some newly acquired superpowers to “save the Junior Woodchucks from catastrophe only to voluntarily relinquish them for the sake of hard work and friendship.”
Sorry. I couldn't find a video featuring this lovable character.
Gummi Bears* - Gruffi Gummi
What I liked about this Gummi character is that he was a skilled craftsman and mechanic. He was the guy who fixed up the old Gummi technology, and also set up traps around the Gummi Glen to deal with humans and ogres. This was a character I really connected with on the show, and I just thought he was the most badass Gummi living in the Glen. He was also respected as the voice of stability when the other Gummis would fall into despair.
Gummi Bears* - Gritty
Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) voiced this character, who is Ursa's lieutenant. He was bias towards humans, which kind of caused some tension with the other Gummis. I always thought he was the Barbics' most badass warrior. I liked that he was completely fearless, and that patch he wore over his eye proves that he is willing to get into some hard core situations.
Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers* - Monterey Jack
Monterey Jack, also known as "Monty" and "Cheeser,” which is what his mom called him, is an adventure enthusiast from Australia who spent several years traveling the world before a chance meeting with Chip and Dale during their first case. The reason his mom calls him “Cheeser” is because he has an overpowering addiction to cheese. The sight or smell of cheese causes him to turn into a crazy moustache-twisting, spiralling-eyed "cheese attack" mouse. Monty also loves to tell stories of his travels, and he often uses colorful "pseudo-australianisms" while talking, such as "Strike me starkers." I’ve always liked adventurous characters like this.
Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers* - Rat Capone
This gangster rat character is based on the legendary gangster Al Capone. The character is responsible for all the illegal handling of the cheese within the Rangers' city. He also has his hand in stealing gold, and one time he even tried to build a gold castle. The Rescue Rangers stopped him though, because no one should own a gold castle! Then there were the two great sidekicks as well, they went by the names of Arnold Mousenegger and Sugar Ray Lizard.
TaleSpin — Wildcat
This lion based character may seem completely clueless and act very childlike, but he’s a mechanical genius. He speaks with a slight lisp, but this dude could fix a smashed telephone in under ten seconds. One of the best parts about this character is that he was the show's moral compass and a good example for kids. He’s honest and truthful, sometimes a little too truthful, which kind of annoys Baloo. Dinosaurs are his favorite animal.
Darkwing Duck - Morgana McCawber
I just loved that Morgana McCawber was a sorceress that brought a cool fantasy element to the series. She was originally a villain, but eventually finds her way to the good side and even becomes Darkwing's girlfriend. Morgana may be powerful, but she does have some issues using her powers. It doesn’t help that she forgets which spell to use at the specific times she needs to use one. She also has a couple of pet bats named Eek and Squeak and a spider. She was like a female duck Doctor Strange.
Darkwing Duck - Gizmoduck
Gizmoduck is freakin’ awesome, and one of my all time favorites. He’s Launchpad's old friend and Darkwing Duck’s rival superhero. He originally appeared as a recurring character in DuckTales. Darkwing hates that Gizmoduck completely overshadows him in fame and attention whenever he’s in St. Canard, and they team up. Of course, Darkwing comes to accept who he is and his lack of powers when he saves Gizmoduck from Megavolt in the episode "Up, Up and Awry".
Darkwing Duck - Comet Guy
This was an alien humanoid superhero from a planet named Mertz. He has several superpowers that consists of throwing fireballs, freeze vision, flight, super strength, and super speed. His biggest weakness is that he’s dull-witted, and the sound of a bell makes him dance. The best part is he can’t stop dancing until he hears a whistle. The character is a failure on his planet where everyone is a superhero, but Darkwing trains him to turn his weaknesses into strengths.
Gargoyles - David Xanatos
He may be a shady character, but I’ve always liked David Xanatos. He is the founder, owner and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises and also a member of the Illuminati. He ends up purchasing the Gargoyles' castle so that he can have it reconstructed on top of his New York City skyscraper, because of the legend that it would awake the six gargoyles on the castle. Without Xanatos, the Gargoyles would have never been able to come back. He was one slick dude, and even had a specialized red armored suit, the design of which was modeled after Goliath.
Gargoyles - Demona
Demona, a.k.a. She-Demon, was such a great and sinister character. She was a member of the Wyvern Clan, and was Goliath's mate. Demona betrayed Castle Wyvern to the Vikings in 995 A.D. She was not frozen in stone like the other Gargoyles. Thanks to a magical spell she was able to live through the thousand years, and over that time she developed a deep hatred of all humans, making her an enemy of the clan. She was also a powerful sorceress.
Gargoyles - Lexington
I was a short kid growing up so Lexington was one of those characters I was able to connect with because he was the smallest of the Gargoyles clan. He was also a technical wizard, who embraced technology. He had a knack for computers and building things, like the motorcycle and helicopter that he engineered. It was his eager and outgoing personality that also drew me to like the character.
*Series debuted in the '80s but aired into the '90s.