Since its launch, Netflix's animation library has kept expanding and expanding. Featuring hits such as Bojack Horseman, F is For Family and Castelvania. Among these and other animated titles, there've been dozens of fathers shown. Fathers who either nurtured their child's well-being or stripped away their self-esteem. These dads have ranged from bad to good on the morality and parental scale. And while there is no such thing as a perfect dad there is a clear distinction between a decent and poor father. And just because they've made mistakes it doesn't necessarily mean they're poor parents.
The dads below were judged on their parenting skills and how they affected their child(ren)'s lives, for better or worse.
BEST: Frank Murphy from F is For Family 2015-present
Frank's the well-meaning but problematic father of Kevin, Bill, Maureen, and baby daughter. He's frustrated by his demeaning job, sometimes insolent kids, and the evolving times. In season four, it is shown his father was belligerent and physically abusive and this has carried over into his own parenting. At the end of the day, he loves his children but still struggles to withdraw his anger and be more understanding towards them.
WORST: Randall Crawford from Paradise PD 2018-present
Randall is Kevin's disgruntled father in Paradise PD. While the two were close in his son's childhood their relationship changed forever after Kevin accidentally shot a gun (which was left out and the safety was off) at Randall's genitals. Afterward, he blamed the loss of his manhood and divorce on Kevin even though his wife left him because of his sexism and unbridled rage. Randall continued to verbally abuse and blame his son until he saw the error of his ways. Despite making some progress he's still got a long way to go.
BEST: George and Lance from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 2018-2020
The fathers of Bow in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Despite being adoring and loving parents they were overprotective of Bow and tended to not always hear him out. This caused their son to lie about his participation in The Rebellion for a long time until the truth eventually came out. Following this reveal, their relationship became stronger than ever and they accepted him for who he truly is.
WORST: Marty Globerman from Big Mouth 2017-present
Marty's only child is his son Andrew. On Big Mouth, Marty's shown to be a neglectful, abusive, and uncaring father. He constantly barks at his son, points out his flaws, and offers little to no guidance.
Throughout Andrew's puberty, he's been unsympathetic and caused his son to regress his emotions. Marty even implied he didn't love Andrew when he listed off the people he loved (which didn't include him).
BEST: King Harrow from The Dragon Prince 2018-present
On The Dragon Prince, Harrow's the former ruler of Katolis, stepfather of Callum and father of Ezran. Despite his checkered past, he was a dutiful leader and loved both of his sons immensely. Callum was initially wary of treating Harrow like a father figure since he wasn't related to him. However, Callum did refer to him as dad before Harrow's passing (whether or not Harrow heard it was up for debate). He also saw great potential in his children. As heir to the throne, he was confident Ezran would make a competent king, and in his last letter, he entrusted and requested Callum to be Ezran's advisor.
WORST: Mr. Fitzsimmons from F is For Family
The father of Jimmy and Bridget. Mr. Fitzsimmons is an alcoholic who is a school janitor and has a couple of other odd jobs. He's strict with his son and constantly berates and beats him. Meanwhile, he's usually too scared of his daughter to discipline or treat her with any type of aggressive behavior besides yelling. In season four, it's revealed Jimmy has been purposely kept out of the house for some unmentioned amount of time.
BEST: Lio Oak from Kippo and the Age of Wonderbeasts 2020-present
A scientist and father of Kippo. In Kippo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Lio's a dedicated, supportive, and compassionate dad. Following his wife Song's disappearance, he raised Kippo alone and stilled his love of music and science. Before her birth, he and his wife were working to unearth how animals became mutated. Their test subject Hugo became like an adopted son to them until they were forced to leave to hide Kippo's existence.
WORST: Viren from The Dragon Prince
Viren was Harrow's main advisor and the father of Soren and Claudia. He was once a devoted father but his personality became more selfish and cold over time. He hit the deep end after using dark magic to revive his son Soren which resulted in his wife divorcing him.
Viren played favorites and preferred Claudia as she reminded him of a younger version of him. This caused the siblings to squabble and to make matters worse he didn't care less. Despite some bonding moments he inevitably used his children as a means to an end.
BEST: Elliot Birch from Big Mouth
Elliot is shown to be a proud father on Big Mouth. When listing his achievements he included raising his three kids Jud, Leah, and Nick. Along with his wife Diane, he encourages his children and is incredibly nurturing. As of the result of their parenting, the Shame Wizard had little effect on Nick due to his astounding self-esteem. Elliot comes across as a pushover and could gain a backbone but at the end of the day, he has his children's best interests at heart and loves them.
WORST: Butterscotch Horseman from Bojack Horseman 2014-2020
Since Bojack was a baby, Butterscotch treated his son like dirt and blamed him for his miserable life. Throughout his childhood, Butterscotch rarely gave his son the time of day, and when they did interact he was verbally and or physically abusive. He used to get plastered in front of him and even forced alcohol on him so Bojack wouldn't tell his mother Butterscotch cheated. Even when he tried to bequeath his son "advice" it was usually ill-advised and toxic.