There are thousands upon thousands of fictional characters out there, but it might surprise you to learn that there are quite a few famous fictional frogs! This isn’t a new phenomenon either, with some fictional frogs coming about over 100 years ago. There’s just something about these small, hoppy creatures that enthralls our imagination and makes us want to personify them in our books and movies.
The 15 Famous Fictional Frogs
1. Kermit
| Origin: | The Muppets |
| Year Introduced: | 1955 |
If you’re looking for the most famous frog cartoon characters in the world, it’s no surprise that Kermit is at the top of our list. As a member of The Muppets, Kermit first met the world in 1955 with the rest of The Muppets crew, but since then, he’s been in numerous shows, books, television series, and so much more.
2. Tiana
| Origin: | The Princess and the Frog |
| Year Introduced: | 2009 |
Disney is well-known for making lovable fictional characters, and with The Princess and the Frog in 2009, they created a well-known masterpiece. Tiana isn’t a frog throughout the entire movie, but she is during a portion of it, more than earning her a spot on this list!
| Origin: | The Princess and the Frog |
| Year Introduced: | 2009 |
Prince Naveen is Tiana’s counterpart in The Princess and the Frog, and since he’s a frog throughout almost all of the movie, it makes sense to include him on this list. Only once he kisses a princess can he turn back into a human, and when he kisses Tiana at the end of the movie, this finally happens!
4. Michigan J. Frog
| Origin: | Looney Tunes |
| Year Introduced: | 1955 |
Well-known for his complex and over-the-top musical notes, Michigan J. Frog isn’t the most well-known fictional frog in the world, but he’s no slouch either. He’s constantly making music in his Looney Tunes appearances, and while you might not recognize his name, we’re sure you’d recognize him with his top hat and cane.
5. Pepe the Frog
| Origin: | Boy’s Club |
| Year Introduced: | 2005 |
While Pepe the Frog took the world by storm as a meme in 2010, he actually stemmed from a comic called Boy’s Club about 5 years earlier. He quickly became a controversial figure because of things completely unrelated to him in any of his comics, so don’t let all that overly taint your image of poor Pepe.
6. Toad
| Origin: | The Wind in the Willows |
| Year Introduced: | 1908 |
Mr. Toad has the honor of being the oldest frog character on our list, first coming into existence in 1908. Kenneth Grahame wrote the book with this anime toad, and to this day, it’s a literary classic, with over 2 million copies sold. In fact, this book is so well-loved that a first-edition copy once sold for over £32,000.
7. Frog
| Origin: | Frog and Toad |
| Year Introduced: | 1970 |
Frog, from the iconic series Frog and Toad, first hit bookshelves in 1970, and through the years, Arnold Lobel created numerous stories with these two loveable characters. They’re some great stories with some even better morals, but Frog and Toad certainly don’t have the most unique character names.
8. Frogger
| Origin: | Frogger |
| Year Introduced: | 1981 |
Were you a Nintendo gamer in the 80s and 90s? If so, you already know all about Frogger. Frogger had numerous iconic games, and the title of the games included nothing but his name: Frogger. Trying to get across the road, logs, and lily pads is what Frogger is all about, and he’s led to countless hours of fun and frustration!
9. Froakie
| Origin: | Pokémon |
| Year Introduced: | 2013 |
Pokémon first took the world by storm in 1996, but it was 17 years later when they introduced Froakie the Pokémon. Because of this, many old-school Pokémon players don’t recognize the name, but most newer players know all about Froakies and what they can do.
10. Hypnotoad
| Origin: | Futurama |
| Year Introduced: | 2001 |
Hypnotoad is a classic anime frog in Futurama, even though he only appears in one episode. Still, he made quite an impact on fans of the show, and he had an extremely prominent role throughout that entire episode, emitting a droning, “hypnotizing” sound.
11. Frankie
| Origin: | Meet the Robinsons |
| Year Introduced: | 2007 |
Meet the Robinsons isn’t Disney’s most popular movie, but it’s still well enough known that most people will know what you’re talking about and have seen the movie. Frankie doesn’t star in the movie, but he does make a few appearances in different musical scenes throughout.
12. King Harold
| Origin: | Shrek |
| Year Introduced: | 2004 |
King Harold first appears in Shrek 2 as Princess Fiona’s father, and it isn’t really known that he was once a frog until the end of the movie. However, for all subsequent Shrek movies, he’s a frog the entire time, so the more you follow the series, the more you start to equate him to a frog.
13. Jean-Bob
| Origin: | The Swan Princess |
| Year Introduced: | 1994 |
This list is full of frogs that were once princes and princes that turned into frogs, and Jean-Bob is the latter. Jean-Bob is always trying to get Odette to kiss him to turn him back into a human, but it never really seems to work out for him.
14. Froggy
| Origin: | Froggy |
| Year Introduced: | 1992 |
Froggy is yet another frog character from a children’s book, although it is a bit newer than many other options on our list. There are tons of Froggy books to pick from, allowing your kids to learn all sorts of lessons as they follow Froggy through his various adventures.
15. Throg
| Origin: | Marvel |
| Year Introduced: | 1986 |
Throg is far from the most well-known Marvel character, but if you’re an avid comic book and Marvel fan, you probably already know a bit about him. He first came into the Marvel Universe in 1986, and he’s essentially the frog version of Thor. He has superhuman strength, but he’s still a frog, so he’s not quite as impressive as other superheroes.
Conclusion
With so many fictional frog characters out there, it’s easy to mix them up from time to time, and it wouldn’t surprise us a bit if there are more to come in the future. You don’t even have to pick a favorite, but if you haven’t heard of any of the options on our list, now would be a great time to check them out and learn a bit more!
Featured Image Credit: Andrea Danti, Shutterstock
