Make-believe

Fictional characters live the fantasy life every Hollywood star dreams of — they never grow old and they never die.

Hand-drawn in pen and ink, computer-generated in over-saturated Technicolor or brought to three-dimensional life in faux fur and molded plastic, the fictional characters on the Hollywood Walk of Fame read like a who's who of American cultural exports: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Kermit the Frog, Bugs Bunny and The Simpsons.

And unlike their celluloid contemporaries, they endear and endure long after their peak performing years as cultural phenomena and merchandising empires.

The movie studios behind their creation — Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. — ensure their evergreen in perpetuity with lines of licensed products and theme park characters.

And while these animated icons have by and large avoided the scandals (arrest, adultery and addiction) that have engulfed lesser stars, they are not immune to the lure of ego and entitlement. Indeed, the Walk of Fame is awash in fictional stars, but no sidekicks.

There's Mickey but no Minnie, Donald but no Daisy, Kermit but no Miss Piggy, Big Bird but no Oscar the Grouch, Bugs but no Elmer Fudd, Snow White but no Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.

Oh, the humanity.

— Brady MacDonald, who writes the Funland theme park blog for the Los Angeles Times and once appeared at a high school football game as a griffin, a fictional character with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle (and the team's mascot).

Two thoughts about Make-believe

Share a thought about The Times’ “Make-believe” category

  • Which star best represents the group?
  • Does everyone here deserve to be on the list?
  • Who has been overlooked?

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