Appeal
Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor.
Historic Example
For an animation to be engaging the characters must have appeal. Appeal is like charisma it doesn’t have to be endearing, it can be evil, comedic or scary. Anything that draws an audience in, and makes the character engaging. In early animation most of the appeal came through character design such as in Gertie the Dinosaur, the series of performances, relies heavily on the appeal of the characters design rather than it’s development.
Contemporary Example
In contemporary animation the development of character is viewed equally important as its design when it comes to appeal. An example is Carl from Disney Pixar ‘Up’. Not only does his design appeal to the audience as he looks like a cute grandpa, but his character development does to, he arcs from youthful and adventurous, to an old depressive grouch, to fun loving and fatherly. It’s this transition that really appeals to the heart of the audience and makes the film so successful.
Jess Spiers