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Film and TV expert Drew Wentworth shares some of the most iconic cartoon characters with big noses
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It’s fascinating what a big nose can indicate about a character. You may notice three fascinating archetypes as you peruse the roster of all-time greatest schnozes: the thin nose on the evil villain, the round nose on the goofy comedic relief, and the distorted nose of the unlucky rube. Along with this long list of TV, movie, and cartoon characters with big noses, we’ll also discuss why so few of those characters are women, as well as some of the nasty stereotypes surrounding big noses.

10

Zeniba (Spirited Away)

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  1. The first female character on our list is basically an old witch, and she won’t be the last one. The “witchy nose” archetype is an unfortunate byproduct of misogyny and anti-Semitism. There’s a centuries-old stereotype that Jewish people have big, hooked noses, and the “witch” is deeply rooted in Christian fears surrounding heretics and magic. The two ugly elements combined over time, which is why many “evil witch” characters have large noses.[2]
    • So is Zeniba an anti-semitic character? No. At this point in history, the hook-nosed witch trope has been around so long that many people don’t even make the connection anymore. There’s nothing in Zeniba’s character or behavior to suggest any nasty stereotyping is going on. She just happens to be a witch with a big schnoz.[3]
22

Ichabod Crane (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)

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  1. The protagonist of the short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Crane is often depicted as a thin, nervous type with a long, thin nose. The most popular and iconic nose-based depiction of Ichabod comes from the 1949 animated film, but there are other popular depictions out there that make the same flourish.
    • The character in Washington Irving’s short story is originally described to have the iconic nose, so it’s not a modern invention. The narrator writes, “His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle neck to tell which way the wind blew.”[4]
30

Cyrano de Bergerac (Cyrano de Bergerac)

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  1. The oldest character on our list is the titular character in the1897 French play Cyrano de Bergerac. The character is in love, but he’s worried that he’s not attractive enough to make a move on his crush. In fact, he’s especially worried that his nose is too big. It’s a semi-comedic element throughout the play.
    • Fun fact: The play, written by Edmond Rostand, is based on the real life of the writer Cyrano de Bergerac. So, the play is about a character named Cyrano de Bergerac, it’s titled Cyrano de Bergerac, and it’s based on a guy named Cyrano de Bergerac. As a bonus fun fact, the real-life Cyrano actually had a huge nose.[5]
37

Gargamel (The Smurfs)

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  1. The villain of the Smurfs universe, Gargamel, is a lonely wizard who wants dearly to steal the Smurfs and use them to manufacture gold. It’s actually pretty silly when you say it out loud; that’s a very weird motivation for a villain. Still, he’s got a big, bulbous nose.
    • Why is Gargamel kind of notorious? There’s a lot of debate over whether Gargamel is an anti-semitic character since he fills so many Jewish stereotypes. He’s greedy, got a big nose, and wants to use the smurfs to further his gains, which is comparable to the disgusting and very bigoted “blood libel” conspiracy theories. The creator has always claimed its just a good-hearted show and denies the claims, though.[6]
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42

Watto (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)

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  1. Watto is a big-nosed character from the Star Wars universe. He may have seemed like a pretty fun, goofy character when you first saw him on the big screen, but between the Jamaican-coded Jar Jar Binks and Watto’s anti-semitic character design, it’s a dark mark on George Lucas’s legacy.[7]
    • Why do people say Watto was an anti-semitic character? Unlike Gargamel in The Smurfs, this one is pretty cut and dry. Watto is even given a Yiddish accent. It’s considered one of the more racist depictions in popular media from recent memory. Lucas still denies the allegations, but even if he didn’t intend to, it’s pretty clear the Yiddish-accented slave driver who is cheap and has a huge nose is a nasty stereotype.[8]

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About This Article

Drew Wentworth
Co-authored by:
Film and TV Expert
This article was co-authored by Drew Wentworth and by wikiHow staff writer, Eric McClure. Drew Wentworth is a film & TV expert and content creator based in Tampa, FL. Since 2022, Drew has been creating content alongside his brother on their social media @WentworthBros. With a combined over 3M followers across platforms, their content focuses on cartoons, animated TV and films, and nostalgic pop culture. This article has been viewed 13,776 times.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: June 10, 2026
Views: 13,776
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