Sleep Squashing

Yeowch, now that must hurt.

DJ: Ahh...I tell ya, Al. I slept like a baby last night! My dreams were filled with nothing but unicorns playing saxophones. I think it might've had to do with the mattress. It was just so comfy, for some reason! ... Al? Where are you? Are you alive? (realizes Alejandro is stuck to his back)
Alejandro: Uggh… that is because I was your mattress, mi amigo grande.

— Total Drama Returns, Chapter 40

Two or more characters sleep together, whether by choice or reluctantly when There Is Only One Bed. There may be problems if one character is larger, heavier, or stronger than another: as they roll, turn, or fidget in their sleep they accidentally inflict Slapstick harm on their bed-mate.

The small character may get Squashed Flat as the bulky one rolls on top of them, get slapped or pummeled by unconscious movements, or get wrapped in a crushing hug by a strong character who likes to snuggle. If they are not strong enough to resist, then their only relief is to wake up the one squishing them — but if that character is a Heavy Sleeper (Pun intended) there is no chance.

Compare Clingy Sleepers (which is less Slapstick and more Sleep Cute) and Blanket Tug O' War. See also Butt Sticker, Belly Flop Crushing.

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Examples

Anime & Manga

• Pokémon loves doing this with Snorlax.
  • In the first movie short, Pikachu's Vacation, after Charizard blows a feuding Pikachu and Raichu off a cliff, they bounce off a sleeping Snorlax's belly before landing on the floor next to it... it then rolls over.
  • In the third movie short, Pikachu and Pichu, Pikachu and the Pichu Bros. are being chased by a Houndour. Pikachu and the Pichu brothers jump over a fence and bounce off a sleeping Snorlax's belly, and when Houndour follows, Snorlax rolls over, causing Houndour instead to crash on the concrete. Snorlax then rolls back over, crushing Houndour.
    • The same scenario happens to Houndour again in the Pokémon Channel exclusive short, The Pichu Bros. In Party Panic!, making it a Running Gag.
  • Anime episode 41, "Wake Up Snorlax!" The exhausted Team Rocket trio crashes to the ground, complaining about missing their chance to steal a Snorlax. That Snorlax happens to be sleeping nearby, and it rolls over on top of them.
• Potemayo has an episode where the titular character is sleeping with her bird on top of her head. She nods (whilst asleep) and the bird falls off. She then rolls over and the bird gets squished.

Comic Books

• Horribly used in one Punisher story: a morbidly obese woman suffers a heart attack and falls on her eight-year-old son. He eats his way out before the cops find him. In the present, he's living in a pile of dead bodies brought to him by the city's homeless.

Films — Animation

• The Rescuers Down Under: Wilbur is asleep on the wheelwell of a plane, with Bernard and Bianca sitting on the seats on his back. When Bernard tries to wake him up, Wilbur just rolls over, lying on top of his passengers.
• Robin Hood (1973): during the lead-in to the climax, as Robin steals sacks of gold from Prince John's own bedroom while the tyrant is sleeping, John starts laughing in his sleep because Sir Hiss' tongue is tickling his foot. He accidentally kicks Hiss in the face, waking him up for a moment; Hiss' annoyed expression implies that this isn't the first time this has happened.

Live-Action TV

• Played for Drama in CSI, when a morbidly obese woman accidentally suffocates her partner, and pretends it was murder because she can't stand the humiliation of the potential jokes.
• In Picket Fences episode "Squatter's Rights", a 500-pound woman confesses to murdering her husband by sitting on him. The cops figure out that the husband actually died accidentally after she rolled over on him in bed, and she was too embarrassed to admit it.
• A flashback in Scrubs shows that Turk once had this done to him voluntarily, because All Men Are Perverts and the only woman who would have sex with him at the time was very heavy.

Myths & Religion

• Played for Drama in The Bible: The account that named Judgment of Solomon starts with two prostitutes with one baby each who live together. One of them rolls over on her baby and kills it, and neither can prove to whom the surviving child belongs. Solomon gets the mother (who really cares about the child) to reveal herself by suggesting that they cut the baby in half with a sword so each of the women can have part.

Webcomic

• Lola and Mr. Wrinkles: Mr. Wrinkles pokes the sleeping Hugo, who rolls over on him. Unable to breathe and blacking out from lack of oxygen, the cat reluctantly sinks his claws into Hugo's side. It works.

Western Animation

• The Amazing World of Gumball:
  • "The Treasure": while Gumball is sleeping in his parents' bed, Richard grabs him in his sleep. Gumball shrugs it off, but Richard starts moving again, and starts pushing Gumball with his hands. Eventually, Richard just rolls over him, and Gumball has to squeeze his way out.
    Gumball: Oh, that was like being born.
  • Later, in "The Night," we see the same thing from the point of view of Nicole and Richard's dreams, where Nicole's dream of sitting at a peaceful beach gets increasingly ruined by Richard's snoring and rolling around, until finally she gets buried under a tsunami as Richard rolls on top of her.
• Family Guy
  • "Emission Impossible" When Stewie is sleeping in Lois and Peter's bed. Stewie tells Peter to roll over; but he rolls over him.
  • "Mr. & Mrs. Stewie" has Peter accidentally crushing Lois in his sleep, which leads to Sleeping Single, which leads to Peter going to Quagmire for cuddling and later crushing him as well.
• Looney Tunes
  • "What's Brewin', Bruin?" Junyer Bear breaks his bed, so he goes to sleep with Papa Bear. Junyer keeps rolling over Papa, flattening him. Papa tries holding up a hat pin to stop Junyer, but it just gets bent, so Papa just nails some planks to keep Junyer on his side of the bed.
• A Robot Chicken sketch features a cat getting horrifically crushed to death when the fat guy on the couch rolls over.
• Total Drama: In "Broadway Baby", Owen is revealed to have fallen asleep on top on Noah. Noah is rather peeved no one noticed he was missing all night.
• The Simpsons:
  • Inverted in "King-Size Homer". when Homer gains weight in order to get on workers' comp, he weighs his side of the bed down so much that Marge is rolled on top of him. He thinks she's there to "cuddle".
  • Referenced in "The Girl Who Slept Too Little", in which Lisa starts sleeping in her parents' room when the graveyard is moved next door. When Lisa tells Bart she's sick of sleeping in their bed every night, he replies "If Dad rolls over, you're dead."
• The 1944 Tom and Jerry cartoon "Puttin' On The Dog" has Tom attempt to capture Jerry within a dog pound. At one point, Tom ends up underneath a large Saint Bernard, which promptly lies down for a nap. The sound of cat bones going crunch is heard. This happens twice.

Real Life

• This is why co-sleeping with babies and young children is controversial in the United States.

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