Cartoon Characters with Big Eyes

Cartoon characters with big eyes have captivated audiences with their adorable and innocent appearances for decades. These oversized peepers are a powerful tool for animators, allowing them to convey a wide range of emotions and imbue their characters with a sense of wonder.

Whether it is a blue cartoon character with big eyes like Sonic, or a classic Disney icon, these designs stick in our memories. Big eyes have become a staple in animation, from anime and manga to beloved classics like The Powerpuff Girls.

I decided to take a nostalgic look back at the characters that defined my childhood (and some from my kids’ generation) to see who has the most iconic stare.

The Ultimate List of Big-Eyed Characters

Garfield

Garfield ranks #1 for me simply because I adored the show growing up. A Garfield Christmas remains a top pick among my seasonal traditions. CBS aired the animated Garfield TV show from 1988 to 1995, showcasing this lazy, overweight orange cat.

While his eyes are often half-closed in boredom, when they pop open, they are massive. Jim Davis mastered the art of drawn cartoon eyes that could convey pure apathy or sheer terror without a single word being spoken.

Pluto

As a child, I didn’t pay much attention to Pluto, but this cartoon character with big eyes became a household name when I had my own kids. Unlike Goofy, Pluto doesn’t speak, so his animators had to rely entirely on his eyes and facial expressions to tell the story.

His large eyes, usually white with simple black pupils, are the window to his very simple thoughts. Whether he is suspicious of a chipmunk or confused by a magnet, you know exactly what he is thinking.

Scooby-Doo

I fondly remember Scooby as one of my top shows. Generations of kids have laughed at the adventures of Scooby-Doo. His cartoon eyes are unique because they are often drawn quite small and beady when he is normal, but they expand to the size of dinner plates when he sees a ghost.

That visual gag of eyes popping out of the head is a staple of the Hanna-Barbera style, and Scooby mastered it.

Jerry Mouse

Jerry uses those expansive peepers to effectively express emotions ranging from feigned innocence to pure mischief. In the early Tom and Jerry episodes, Jerry sported large eyes to make him look sympathetic, even when he was dropping an anvil on a cat’s head. Those big, adorable eyes are his primary defense mechanism.

Goofy

Believe it or not, Goofy used to terrify me as a kid at Disney World because he was so tall! Goofy is a classic male cartoon character with big eyes that are set close together, emphasizing his lack of intelligence but abundance of heart. His eyes usually roll around in his head before he takes a pratfall, a classic trope of drawn cartoon eyes from the 1930s.

Stewie Griffin

In Family Guy, Stewie Griffin is iconic for his football-shaped head and massive eyes. The exaggerated eyes artistically highlight the disparity between his astute, villainous mind and his tender age. When he narrows them, you know a diabolical plan is hatching.

Minnie Mouse

Minnie boasts a large, round head and is a classic mouse cartoon character. Her big eyes are always accentuated by long, stiff eyelashes—a common shorthand in early animation to distinguish female characters from males. Typically, her eyes sparkle with a “pie-eye” cut (in the vintage versions) or a white highlight in modern versions.

Elmer Fudd

Elmer Fudd is Bugs Bunny’s archenemy. His large, round eyes give him a baby-faced appearance, which makes his constant failures to catch the rabbit even funnier. He doesn’t look like a villain; he looks like a confused man who just wants some peace and quiet.

Donald Duck

With his sailor shirt and cap, Donald is a classic blue cartoon character with big eyes (at least in terms of his iconic outfit). Donald’s most famous personality trait is his explosive temper. His eyes play a huge part in this—they go from normal to “flaming red with rage” in seconds.

Patrick Star

Patrick Star is known for his laid-back personality and utter lack of intelligence. His big, simple eyes are used to show his innocence and lack of understanding of… well, everything. He often acts as a comic relief, and his blank stare is one of the funniest things on TV.

Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge is the ultimate cartoon character with big eyes and glasses. His pince-nez glasses perch on his beak, magnifying his eyes when he is inspecting a coin or yelling at Donald. The glasses add a layer of intellect and age to the character, distinguishing him from the other ducks in the Disney universe.

Daffy Duck

Daffy’s character design is characterized by his large, round head and big, bulging eyes. His eyes are usually black with white pupils (or vice versa in earlier versions). The comically exaggerated actions of his eyes convey his greed and jealousy toward Bugs Bunny perfectly.

Tom Cat

Tom is an anthropomorphic blue cat (technically a Russian Blue) with huge yellow/green eyes. He is the definition of a blue cartoon character with big eyes. Throughout the show, his eyes are constantly bulging, turning red, or popping out of his skull as he fails to catch Jerry.

Elsa (Frozen)

Elsa represents the modern era of cartoon characters with big eyes. In CGI animation, eyes became larger to allow for more subtle emotional acting. Her massive blue eyes became a trendsetter for all Disney princesses that followed, including Moana and Rapunzel.

Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker has observed a steady evolution in his character design. Initially, he was portrayed with insane, crossed eyes to match his chaotic personality. Over the years, they became more refined, but they remained large and green, emphasizing his manic energy.

Mickey Mouse

Created in 1928, Mickey has undergone many changes. Originally, he had “pie eyes” (black eyes with a triangle slice cut out). Later, he developed the modern drawn cartoon eyes with whites and pupils that we know today. He is the mascot of animation itself.

Tweety

Among the characters in Looney Tunes, Tweety is probably the cutest. His huge blue eyes take up about 60% of his face. This was a deliberate design choice to make him look helpless, luring Sylvester the Cat into a false sense of security before Tweety drops a bowling ball on him.

Betty Boop

In the 1930s, Betty Boop was the queen of drawn cartoon eyes. Her massive, heavy-lidded eyes with giant eyelashes were a parody of the “flapper” style of the era. She represents a very specific time in animation history where characters were essentially just giant heads on tiny bodies.

Anna (Frozen)

Like Elsa, Anna is a prime example of the modern female cartoon characters with big eyes aesthetic. Her eyes convey her optimism and naivety. Disney animators use the size of the eyes to make the princesses appear more youthful and expressive.

Glenn Quagmire

This character always annoyed me, but I have to include him. Glenn Quagmire has bulging eyes and a massive chin. In Family Guy, the size of his eyes is often used for visual gags, popping out when he sees something… appealing.

Eric Cartman

Eric Cartman is known for his simple, paper-cutout design. However, his eyes are distinct—they are larger and more angled than the other boys, especially when he is angry. It’s a subtle design choice that emphasizes his aggression.

The Powerpuff Girls

This show wasn’t originally for me, but you can’t have this list without them. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have eyes that take up 90% of their heads. It was a stylistic revolution in the 90s, blending anime influence with western superhero tropes.

Pinky (Pinky & The Brain)

I always wanted Brain to win and take over the world, but Pinky usually ruined it. Pinky’s massive, misaligned blue eyes and overbite make him look completely vacant, which is the perfect foil to the serious, heavy-lidded Brain.

Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic isn’t just fast; he is the ultimate blue cartoon character with big eyes. Interestingly, in his original design, his two eyes were actually fused into one giant eyeball with two pupils! Whether in games or cartoons, his green eyes are a staple of his “cool” 90s attitude.

Franklin

I was too old when this show first came out, but I recognize the design. Franklin the turtle has simple black dots for eyes, which differs from the “bug-eyed” look of other characters on this list. It gives him a softer, storybook appearance.

Who Has the Biggest Eyes in Cartoons?

When it comes to big-eyed cartoon characters, some stand out from the rest for being downright strange.

• Anime Characters: Shows like “Death Note” or “Sailor Moon” feature eyes that take up half the face to convey emotion.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas: I have to mention Sally. She is a cartoon character with big eyes that are hauntingly beautiful, giving her that creepy, gothic vibe.
• Mr. Garrison (South Park): He has oddly enormous eyes compared to the other adults in South Park, which makes his expressions hilarious.

Why Do Cartoon Characters Have Big Eyes?

Who doesn’t love big, expressive eyes? Cartoon Network characters use them as a stylistic choice to make them more endearing. This is actually based on biology—humans are hardwired to find things with big eyes (like babies and puppies) cute.

Besides the cuteness factor, big eyes make it easy for animators to show complex emotions without dialogue. A single widen of the eyes can scream “fear” or “love” instantly.