11 Best Cowboy Cartoon Characters, Ranked

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The best cowboy cartoon characters do not just wear the hat and boots.

They carry that specific Wild West swagger, the sense that any one of them could stroll into a dusty saloon and turn it into a showdown, a punchline, or both. Animation has given us heroic sheriffs, goofy horse-lawmen, and outlaws who are basically walking sticks of dynamite.

For this ranking I stuck to actual Western characters from cartoons, whether they are folk heroes, parodies, or villains.

If you like big personalities with even bigger reactions, you will probably also enjoy our grumpy cartoon characters and emo cartoon characters once you have holstered up here.

The Best Cowboy Cartoon Characters, Ranked

Sheriff Sam Brown (Home on the Range)

Sheriff Sam Brown, the lawman cowboy cartoon character from Home on the Range

Sheriff Sam Brown is the by-the-book lawman of Home on the Range, the one nominally keeping order while the cows do most of the actual detective work. He is a minor player, but every good Western needs a badge, and he wears it. For more of the type, see our police cartoon characters.

  • Appears in: Home on the Range
  • Cowboy type: town sheriff
  • Known for: upholding the law while the livestock save the day
Cowboy cred: 5/10. A background lawman, but a lawman all the same.

Nasty Canasta (Looney Tunes)

Nasty Canasta, the outlaw cowboy cartoon character from Looney Tunes

Nasty Canasta is Looney Tunes’ go-to Western heavy, a hulking, gravel-voiced outlaw who mostly exists to loom over Daffy Duck in Wild West spoofs. He is the classic toughest-hombre-in-the-territory type, and one of the roster’s great brutish bruisers.

  • Appears in: Looney Tunes shorts
  • Cowboy type: outlaw heavy
  • Known for: menacing Daffy Duck in Western parodies
Cowboy cred: 5/10. A perfect cartoon outlaw built purely to be outsmarted.

Alameda Slim (Home on the Range)

Alameda Slim, the yodeling cowboy villain cartoon character from Home on the Range

Alameda Slim is the villain of Home on the Range, a rotund cattle rustler whose secret weapon is a hypnotic yodel that lures cows straight out of their pastures. He is a wonderfully hammy bad guy, equal parts menace and musical number, mustache and bushy sideburns included.

  • Appears in: Home on the Range
  • Cowboy type: cattle-rustling villain
  • Known for: hypnotizing cattle with his yodeling
Cowboy cred: 6/10. A goofy, surprisingly memorable Western heavy.

El Kabong (Quick Draw McGraw)

El Kabong, the guitar-smashing cowboy alter-ego of Quick Draw McGraw

El Kabong is Quick Draw McGraw’s masked, guitar-swinging alter-ego, a Zorro parody who drops from the rafters to smash his kabong over a villain’s head. Same horse, same voice, wildly different energy, and arguably more fun than the sheriff himself.

  • Appears in: The Quick Draw McGraw Show
  • Cowboy type: masked Western hero (Quick Draw’s alter-ego)
  • Known for: a booming battle cry and a shattered guitar
Cowboy cred: 6/10. One of the great cartoon alter-egos, guitar and all.

Bullseye (Toy Story)

Bullseye, the cowboy's horse from Toy Story

Bullseye is the third member of the Toy Story Western trio, and technically the only one on four legs. He is Woody’s impossibly loyal horse, a wordless, puppy-like sidekick who says everything through those enormous eyes.

  • Appears in: Toy Story
  • Cowboy type: the cowboy’s horse, a Western sidekick rather than a cowboy himself
  • Known for: pure loyalty and dog-like enthusiasm
Cowboy cred: 7/10. Not a cowboy exactly, but no Western trio is complete without him.

Pecos Bill (Melody Time)

Pecos Bill, the legendary cowboy cartoon character from Disney's Melody Time

Pecos Bill is the tall-tale cowboy of American folklore, brought to animated life in Disney’s Melody Time. Raised by coyotes, he lassos tornadoes and rides a horse named Widowmaker, embodying the Wild West as pure, gloriously exaggerated myth.

  • Appears in: Disney’s Melody Time (1948)
  • Cowboy type: legendary folk-hero cowboy
  • Known for: riding a tornado and being raised by coyotes
Cowboy cred: 7/10. The frontier as myth, and one of Disney’s odder deep cuts.

Quick Draw McGraw (The Quick Draw McGraw Show)

Quick Draw McGraw, the horse sheriff cowboy cartoon character from Hanna-Barbera

Quick Draw McGraw is the well-meaning but dim-witted horse sheriff of a classic Hanna-Barbera Western. He bumbles through cases with his sidekick Baba Looey, usually solving them by pure accident, and he is exactly the goofy, lovable lawman the 1960s did so well.

  • Appears in: The Quick Draw McGraw Show
  • Cowboy type: anthropomorphic horse sheriff
  • Known for: bumbling heroics and his sidekick Baba Looey
Cowboy cred: 8/10. A cornerstone of early TV animation and a Western staple.

Lucky Luke (The New Adventures of Lucky Luke)

Lucky Luke, the European cowboy cartoon character of the animated Wild West

Lucky Luke is the man who shoots faster than his own shadow, the coolly competent hero of the beloved Franco-Belgian comics and their animated adaptations. He drifts from town to town setting things right, usually while outdrawing the hopelessly incompetent Dalton brothers.

Cowboy cred: 8/10. A global cowboy icon, especially beloved across Europe.

Yosemite Sam (Looney Tunes)

Yosemite Sam, the hot-tempered cowboy cartoon character from Looney Tunes

Yosemite Sam is the rootin-tootin, red-whiskered embodiment of Looney Tunes rage, forever declaring himself the meanest, roughest hombre west of the Pecos. Whether he turns up as an outlaw or a prospector, he mostly exists to lose loudly to Bugs Bunny.

  • Appears in: Looney Tunes
  • Cowboy type: hot-tempered outlaw and prospector
  • Known for: twin six-shooters and a hair-trigger temper
Cowboy cred: 9/10. The loudest, angriest cowboy in animation history.

Jessie (Toy Story)

Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl cartoon character from Toy Story

Jessie is the yodeling cowgirl of Toy Story 2 and beyond, a spirited, acrobatic Pixar heroine whose sunny energy hides a heartbreaking backstory about being outgrown. She is one of animation’s all-time great cowgirls, full stop.

  • Appears in: Toy Story
  • Cowboy type: cowgirl
  • Known for: her yodel, her red hair, and a gut-punch of a backstory
Cowboy cred: 9/10. The definitive animated cowgirl, and a real tearjerker.

Woody (Toy Story)

Woody from Toy Story, one of the most iconic cowboy cartoon characters

Sheriff Woody is the heart of Toy Story and the most famous cowboy in modern animation, hat, holster, pull-string and all. He is a natural leader wrestling with jealousy and loyalty, and Tom Hanks turned a cowboy doll into one of the great family-movie characters ever made.

  • Appears in: Toy Story
  • Cowboy type: cowboy sheriff (well, a pull-string toy of one)
  • Known for: leading Andy’s toys and ‘There’s a snake in my boot’
Cowboy cred: 10/10. The most iconic cowboy in modern animation, no contest.

My Quick Cartoon-Cowboy Takeaway

Most iconic: Woody
Best cowgirl: Jessie
Funniest: Yosemite Sam
Deepest cut: Sheriff Sam Brown

Cowboy Cartoon Characters FAQ

Who is the most famous cowboy cartoon character? Woody from Toy Story is the clear pick, with cowgirl Jessie and the short-fused Yosemite Sam close behind.

Are there any cowgirl cartoon characters? Yes. Jessie from Toy Story is the standout animated cowgirl, brave, acrobatic, and endlessly loyal.

Is Quick Draw McGraw a horse or a cowboy? Both, really. He is an anthropomorphic horse who works as a Western sheriff, which is very much in the Hanna-Barbera spirit.

What makes a character a cowboy cartoon character? A Western setting plus the classic trappings: hats, horses, six-shooters, saloons, and that unmistakable frontier attitude.

From Andy’s bedroom to the animated Wild West, these cowboy cartoon characters keep the frontier spirit alive.

So who is your favorite cartoon cowboy?

Saddle up and tell me in the comments.