Simpsons tops best cartoon poll

The Simpsons show is now in its 16th year

The Simpsons has beaten veteran cartoon cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry to win a poll to find the UK's favourite animated characters.

The Simpsons topped a list of 100 cartoons to be unveiled on Channel 4 on Sunday night.

Tom and Jerry were second, while the foul-mouthed junior denizens of South Park made it into third place.

In fourth place were the Toy Story films, and in fifth the animated series Family Guy.

The honour cements the popularity of The Simpsons, which is now in its 16th year.

TOP 10 CARTOONS 1 The Simpsons 2 Tom and Jerry 3 South Park 4 Toy Story/Toy Story 2 5 Family Guy 6 Shrek/Shrek 2 7 The Lion King 8 Spirited Away 9 The Incredibles 10 Bugs Bunny Source: Channel 4

The list saw some surprise entries in the top 10, including a strong showing from recent computer animated films such as Shrek and The Incredibles, which beat the vintage Bugs Bunny into ninth place.

The list, surprisingly, saw old favourites including the Walt Disney staples miss out on high placings.

Mickey Mouse could only take number 30, while Donald Duck only just scraped into the top 50 at number 48.

British cartoons to feature in the top 50 included Wallace and Gromit (15), Danger Mouse (24) and satirical series 2DTV (47).