Some cartoon characters are defined by one thing: their love of sleep. They doze through class, nod off mid-sentence, and treat every flat surface as a potential bed. I relate to most of them more than I would like to admit.
Here are some of the best sleepy cartoon characters ever drawn, from a giant napping Pokemon to a lasagna-loving cat, with a few facts about each one along the way.
Cartoon Characters Who Sleep a Lot
These are the characters who never met a nap they did not like. No particular order here, just the sleepyheads I love most.
12Flower (Bambi)
Flower is the bashful little skunk from Bambi, and he is one of the gentlest characters Disney ever made. He spends a good chunk of the movie either blushing or dozing.
- The shy skunk who befriends Bambi in the forest
- Soft-spoken, sweet, and easily flustered
- Like a lot of forest animals, he curls up to sleep through winter
- Named, simply and perfectly, “Flower”
11Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
Homer Simpson naps anywhere: on the couch, at the dinner table, and most famously at his job. He is the patron saint of sleeping on the clock.
- The lovable, lazy dad of The Simpsons
- Naps at home, in public, and at the nuclear plant
- His safety-inspector job involves a lot of shut-eye
- Beer, donuts, and sleep, in roughly that order
10Snorlax (Pokemon)
Snorlax might be the ultimate sleepy character. This enormous Pokemon basically exists to eat and then sleep, and I respect the commitment.
- A giant Normal-type Pokemon known for endless sleeping
- Wakes up mainly to eat, then goes right back to sleep
- Famously blocks entire routes in the games
- You need a Poke Flute to wake one up
9Paddi (Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf)
Paddi is the sleepy sheep of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, a hugely popular Chinese cartoon. In a cast full of clever goats, he is the one most likely to be found napping.
- The laziest member of the goat gang
- Always nodding off, especially in class
- Would rather sleep than do just about anything
- A fan favorite for exactly that reason
8Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
Zoro is the sword-wielding powerhouse of the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece, and one of the strongest characters in the series. He is also asleep half the time you see him.
- Master swordsman of the Straw Hat crew
- Fights with three swords at once
- Naps in the strangest places, mid-adventure
- Fiercely loyal to his captain, Luffy
7Peppermint Patty (Peanuts)
Peppermint Patty is the tomboy of the Peanuts gang, and she is almost always asleep at her desk. School and Patty have never really gotten along.
- The athletic, freckle-faced Peanuts character
- Notorious for dozing off in class
- Collects D-minuses on nearly every assignment
- Big-hearted and loyal under the bluster
6Pooh (Winnie the Pooh)
Winnie the Pooh moves through life at the pace of a long afternoon nap. Between honey and snoozing, he keeps a schedule I can only envy.
- The honey-loving bear of the Hundred Acre Wood
- Happy to nap under a tree at a moment’s notice
- Slow, gentle, and rarely in a hurry
- Created by author A.A. Milne
5Owl (Winnie the Pooh)
Owl is the self-appointed wise one of the Hundred Acre Wood, full of long-winded advice. He earns a spot here for a simple reason: real owls sleep all day.
- The know-it-all owl of Winnie the Pooh
- Always ready with a lecture or a story
- As an owl, he is built to doze through daylight
- More talk than action, but well-meaning
4Grampa Simpson (The Simpsons)
Abe Simpson, Homer’s father, is asleep more often than he is awake. He can fall asleep in the middle of his own sentence, usually right as the story gets good.
- The elderly patriarch of the Simpson family
- Lives, and naps, at the Springfield Retirement Castle
- Famous for dozing off mid-ramble
- Full of long, winding tales nobody asked for
3Garfield (Garfield and Friends)
Garfield is the lazy, lasagna-loving cat who turned napping into a personality. If there is a sunbeam or a soft chair nearby, he is in it.
- The orange tabby created by Jim Davis in 1978
- Loves eating and sleeping, hates Mondays and diets
- Starred in Garfield and Friends from 1988 to 1994
- The blueprint for every lazy cartoon cat since
2Lazy Smurf (The Smurfs)
Lazy Smurf is exactly what the name promises. In a village of busy little blue workers, he is the one snoozing in a hammock.
- The perpetually sleepy member of the Smurf village
- Naps while everyone else is hard at work
- Easygoing to the point of horizontal
- Still beloved by the other Smurfs
1Sleepy (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Sleepy is the droopy-eyed member of the Seven Dwarfs, and he wears his whole personality in his name. He can barely keep his eyes open long enough to work.
- One of the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White
- Heavy-lidded and yawning in nearly every scene
- Still pulls his weight down in the mine
- A loyal friend to Snow White
A Few Sleepy Cartoon Facts I Like
A handful of extras worth a mention:
- Snorlax is now the official mascot of Pokemon Sleep, a real app built entirely around tracking how you sleep. Fitting.
- Garfield’s love of eating and sleeping was modeled partly on creator Jim Davis himself, who has joked that he puts Garfield on a diet whenever he goes on one.
- Charles Schulz drew Peppermint Patty and the rest of Peanuts for nearly 50 years, all by his own hand.
That is my roundup of the sleepiest characters in cartoons, from a hibernating skunk to a thousand-pound napping Pokemon. Who is your favorite sleepy character? Let me know in the comments.
