5 Animated Villains That Stop Being So Villanous When You Grow Up

Of course, it would be silly to attack children's cartoons and demand some kind of realism from them.

They are made to entertain and educate children, to get them to spend their time on something worthwhile, and to be satisfied with the end result.

However, if you're a parent or an older sibling, chances are you'll revisit half of the cartoons when you're older.

And that is when you realize that things are not what they seemed a few years ago. Suddenly, all the good guys turn out not to be so good, and all the bad guys start to deserve your sympathy a lot more.

Here are the top 5 cartoon characters you despised as a kid, but understand much better as an adult.

Tom The Cat (Tom & Jerry)

If you have seen at least one episode of Tom and Jerry, you know how annoying this little mouse was and how desperately Tom tried to catch him.

All the theories about them being friends aside, Tom was just trying to do his job as a house cat, knowing that he would be punished if he didn't.

Ken (Bee Movie)

The Bee Movie is certainly not the movie to watch as an adult to keep your sanity, but if you do, you may find yourself feeling much more compassion for Vanessa's boyfriend than for any of the movie's protagonists.

Would you be against your girlfriend hanging out with a bee?

Squidward (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Squidward was never a real villain, but he was definitely portrayed as the antagonist of a story next to a lively SpongeBob.

However, as he grows up, the melancholic and quietly depressed Squidward becomes much more palpable, as he clearly resonates more with a standard adult.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)

Technically, he's still a villain, but you can't say that you didn't feel pity for him at least once during the series. The man is so clearly lonely and traumatized that he needs therapy more than anyone else.

He has also become a really good father to his daughter, which is admirable (and a sign of compensation for his own horrible childhood).

Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

All this poor guy was trying to do was get revenge on a person who cut off his hand, which is not so crazy.

Especially when you consider that the same person also stole children from their homes and probably caused far more chaos and despair to families than Hook could ever do.