text: why do the cartoon characters only have four fingers? when i see cartoons on the tv, all human characters seem to have only four fingers. why do the cartoonists draw them with only four fingers? this trend actually started from disney.disney found out that eliminating one finger could give a more plastic movement to the figure's hands.also it is much more easy to draw because you have a less complexe pattern to follow within the limited space required for a cartoon's hand.    then the trend was passed on from disney to other creators of the era including the great osamu tezuka who made his astro-boy character with four fingers only.suprisingly it worked so well that even today's characters such as the simpsons have one finger less!