April 8, 2017

Bojack Horseman, “Humans with Animal Heads” Animals, Furry Reminders, and The Aversion of Informed Species

One show that features animals as basically “humans with animal heads” is the Netflix show Bojack Horseman. They are completely animal in the head and completely human in the body down to having completely human hands and feet and not having a tail even if their species has one.

Unlike Arthur, there are no Informed Species, animal characters that have a species name, but hardly or very vaguely look like the species that they are said to be (like Taz the Tasmainian devil in Looney Tunes, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic the Hedgehog). Informed Species can also look like a completely generic form of a given type of animal despite having a specific species name of that type of animal (like Baloo from the Disney animated The Jungle Book having the look of a generic bear despite being called a sloth bear).

Interestingly, the animals show a fair number of Furry Reminders, behaviors that remind the audience of the species that the given characters are outside of their appearance. Also, the chickens at the chicken farm in one episode, including one named Becca, behaved like normal, nontalking chickens despite wearing clothes and being as anthropomorphic in body shape as all the other animal characters.

April 7, 2017

Sliding Scale of Animal Species and Type Ambiguity and Accuracy

A) Cartoon Creature or Ambiguous Animal Type and Species

No set animal type or species

Ver 1) Little or no resemblance to any real world species or animal type

Ver 2) Vague resemblance to a real world animal type and little or no resemblance to any real world animal species

Ver 3) Close resemblance to a real world animal type and either little to no or a vague resemblance to a real world animal species

Ver 4) Close resemblance to a real world animal species

B) Informed Animal Type

Set animal type and no set animal species, but has little or no resemblance to any real world animal species or its respective animal type

Ver 1) Little or no resemblance to any real world animal type

Ver 2) Greater vague resemblance to another real world animal type

Ver 3) Greater close resemblance to another real world animal type

C) Informed Species and Animal Type

Set animal species, but little or no resemblance to its respecitve species or even its respective animal type

Ver 1) Little or no resemblance to any real world animal type or species

Ver 2) Greater vague resemblance to another real world animal type

Ver 3) Greater close resemblance to another real world animal type

D) Generic Set Animal Type

Set animal type and no set animal species, identifiably and obviously its respective set animal type (cartoon monkeys, frogs and toads, turtles, and songbirds commonly fall into this trope)

Ver 1) Little to no resemblance to any real world species within its respective animal type

Ver 2) Vague resemblance to a real world species within its respective animal type

Ver 3) Close resemblance to a real world species within its respecitve animal type

E) Informed Species Obvious Set Animal Type

Set animal species, identifiably and obviously its set animal type, but has little or no resemblance to its respecitve species within its set animal type

Ver 1) Little or no resemblance to any real world species within its respective animal type

Ver 2) Greater vague resemblance to another real world species within its respective animal type than to its respective species

Ver 3) Greater close resemblance to another real world species within its respective animal type than to its respective species

F) Biologically Inaccurate Obvious Set Species

Identifiable and obvious set animal species, but can have a few or some major or glaring biological inaccuracies in their character design (like rabbits with pawpads and dog or cat noses and insects with four legs)

G) Mostly Biologically Accurate Obvious Set Species

Identifiable, obvious, and mostly accurate set animal species; can be rendered or drawn in a stylized manner as long they don’t have any major or glaring biological inaccuracies in their character design (blinking snakes and owls that move their eyes are biological inaccuracies but very minor ones)

H) Completely Biologically Accurate Obvious Set Species

Identifiable, obvious, and completely accurate set animal species; hard to do except in photorealistically rendered animated works

April 7, 2017

Animal Anthropomorphism Levels: The Difference Between Maus and Mickey and Friends

Speaking of the “humans in animal suits,” “animals heads on human bodies,” and “humans with animal traits” levels, I understand why Maus is the way it is. The characters in Maus are actually human characters and have very anthropomorphic animal shapes to the viewer. Maus appears to be “animal heads on human bodies,” but the character’s animal shapes are metaphorical, making it easier to suspend disbelief toward the treatment of them as human characters.

The Mickey and Friends verses (like the Mouse comics and the Duck comics) goes the “humans with animal forms” route with its more anthropomorphic (“Animals with Many Human Traits” appearance-wise) animals like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and Ludwig von Drake. However, unlike Maus, the animal forms are literal, they are half dressed (shirtless mice and pantsless ducks), and what kind of human sounds quacky in a typical natural voice. This makes it harder to see them as basically humans who just happen to be done with animal forms.

It’s easier to see Goofy, Max, the Beagle Boys, Duckworth (he’s not a duck), and their ilk (Dogfaces), as well as Pete and PJ in Goof Troop, A Goofy Movie, and An Extremely Goofy Movie, as being basically “humans with animal forms” because even though their animal forms are still literal, they are more anthropomorphic, either “humans in animal suits,” “animals heads on human bodies,” or “humans with animal traits” (like Roxanne in A Goofy Movie) in appearance. They also dress as fully as any human – shirt, pants, shoes, and all.

Also, there are some less anthropomorphic animals (Milton the cat, Chip n’ Dale, Humphrey Bear, And Louie the mountain lion) and slightly anthropomorphic animals (Pluto, Dinah the Dachshund, Butch the Bulldog, Fifi the Peke, Chainsaw, Figaro, Mr. Pettibone, and Waffles) who are portrayed either as “normal animals” or “animals with human traits.” This, along with making the “normal animals” pets to the anthropomorphic animals (Mickey has Pluto, Goofy has Mr. Pettibone and Waffles, Pete and Peg have Chainsaw, and Minnie has Fifi and Figaro), only makes these universes rife with Furry Confusion.

April 7, 2017

Furry Confusion, Humanoid Female Animal, and Adults Are More Anthropomorphic

I’ve heard of a trope called Furry Confusion, where the less, slightly, and not anthropomorphic animals and the more and very anthropomorphic animals (some of whom so anthropomorphic that they are basically like humans in animal suits or humans with animal traits) of same (like Pluto and Goofy), similar, and related species share the same universe.

There are also a few companion tropes to this one, Humanoid Female Animal in which the female animals are more anthropomorphic than the male animals (e.x., Tiny and Candy Kong to the male Kongs in the Donkey Kong games), and Adults are More Anthropomorphic, in which adult and older animals are more anthropomorphic than baby, child, and younger animals (e.x., Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his 420 bunny children in Epic Mickey). Some examples of both these tropes are so pronounced that they overlap with Furry Confusion itself.

The two cats in Disney’s Pinocchio, the male kitten Figaro and the dumb, mute, adult tomcat Gideon are a pronounced example of Adults Are More Anthropomorphic as well as one of Furry Confusion. They are the only two cats in the movie, they are both mute, and the adult one is the more anthropomorphic of the two, wearing clothes and walking bipedally whereas the kitten wears no clothes and walks quadrupedally. Also, there are neither anthropomorphic kittens nor nonanthropomorphic adult cats in the movie.

April 7, 2017

Animal Anthropomorphism Levels in Looney Tunes, Animal Talk, and Talking Animal

Unlike most other Looney Tunes animals who are usually “animals with human traits” to varying degrees, Porky Pig kind of has this Donald Duck like portrayal in terms of anthropomorphism level to him. Like Donald Duck, he is pantsless and has a body shape roughly like his no anthropomorphic counterpart. Also like Donald Duck, he is frequently portrayed like a “human in an animal suit.”

Porky Pig is also the only character cast with Sylvester who can’t talk to (“Kitty Kornered” is the exception to the rule). Sylvester is shown to be able to talk to Daffy Duck, Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, and other animals. He is even able to talk to humans like Elmer Fudd and Granny (when disguised as a bellboy in “Canary Row”). Sylvester is also shown to be unable to talk to a non-anthropomorphic orange pig in “Too Hop to Handle,” so he may just be unable to talk to pigs despite being able to talk to other animals, including humans.

The Animal Talk trope lets animals with the exception of humans talk to and understand each other*, but Sylvester is able to talk to humans and unable to talk to hogs. Is there something about swine that makes Sylvester mute toward them?

The Looney Tunes, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and The Brain universe, by in large, runs on the Talking Animal trope, in which animals can talk to and be understood by humans, so when some cartoons or episodes appear to run on the Animal Talk trope (like many Rita and Runt and Goodfeathers segments), it’s just for that cartoon or episode or the segment type just plays that way and is not applicable to the whole universe. Plus, some cartoons and episodes shows the characters as toons, animated actors, and toon actors in-universe. Those type of cartoons are Talking Animal in nature.

* The Animal Talk trope would make more sense if it included humans among the animals that are able to talk to and understand each other because humans are animals.

April 7, 2017

Animal Anthropomorphism Levels (Appearance and Behavior)

  1. Non-Anthropomorphic (Animals with no human traits)
  2. Slightly Anthropomorphic (Animals with very few human traits)
  3. Mildly Anthropomorphic (Animals with a few human traits)
  4. Somewhat Anthropomorphic (Animals with some human traits)
  5. Moderately Anthropomorphic (Animals with many human traits)
  6. Largely Anthropomorphic (Humans in animal suits)
  7. Very Anthropomorphic (Animals heads on human bodies)
  8. Extremely Anthropomorphic (Humans with animal traits)

Levels 1, 2, and 3 can be portrayed as “normal” animals. Levels 6, 7,and 8 are “humans in animal forms” levels.

February 15, 2014

Cat Coat Color and Pattern Artistic License

In cartoons, comics, animated movies and TV shows, and other fictional media (even more realistically drawn cats like in Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter), there are cats with coat colors and patterns that would be impossible in real life. This doesn’t need to be an outright green, blue, purple, or magenta cat, which are clearly impossible in real life. It could just be a solid orange cat or an all-white cat with a black nose.

General Examples of Cat Coat Color and Pattern Artistic License Include:

  1. True solid orange and cream cats (Red/orange/ginger and cream cats can be genetically non-agouti or solid, but even they still show the tabby pattern at least a little. Orange and cream cats that don’t show the tabby pattern much are said to have “low-contrast” patterns.)
  2.  Black noses on all-white cats and any cat without solid black or seal point Siamese fur (i.e., an orange, cream, cinnamon, fawn, chocolate, lilac, or grey cat with a black nose.), with or without white spotting.
  3.  Tabby cats with stripes on the back and not on the legs. (Tabby stripes on a mackerel tabby cat are usually more distinct on the legs, and there are tabby cats with stripes on the legs and not on the back.)
  4.  The variation of the white spotting pattern the fictional cat has doesn’t show up in real life. Examples include:
  • The black, grey, tabby, orange, cream, e.t.c. cat that has the whole belly and/or chest be white but the feet are left colored (A cat can have a white locket or button marking on the throat, chest, and/or belly without having white paws though.)
  • The cat is white but the paws, face, muzzle, and/or belly left colored (The white part of the white spotting pattern starts on the chest, belly, and paws. The last areas of the body left colored are the tail, top of head, and ears.)

Specific Examples of White Spotting Pattern Artistic License:

  • Penelope Pussycat from Looney Tunes is a black cat with a white chest, belly, and muzzle but not feet. Real life cats with white chests, bellies, and muzzles also have white feet.
Specific Examples of Nose Color Artistic License:
  • Heathcliff and his girlfriend, Sonya in Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats have a black nose even though they are an orange cat and white cat respectively. Orange cats and white cats have pink noses in real life.
  • The titular character of Top Cat and the five other members his gang all have black noses even though none of them are black cats.
  • Tom of Tom and Jerry is a grey or blue and white cat with a black nose. Realistically, he would have a pink because he has a white muzzle or as grey fur is a dilute of black fur, his nose should be the dilute of a black nose, which is grey.
Other Specific Examples:
  • Sawyer from Cats Don’t Dance is an all white cat with a cream-colored face. Real life cats that appear all white with cream faces are cream point Siamese and also have cream colored paws, ears, and tail. Also, since they are Siamese point cats, they would have blue eyes in real life, instead of Sawyer’s orange eyes.
January 9, 2014

Female Animal Characters Without Stereotypical Feminizing Gender Signifiers

So many female animal, monster, and alien characters have stereotypical feminizing gender signifiers distinguishing them from the male ones, but there are a few who don’t. Many of the few who don’t tend to be mistaken for male, but not all of them are.

Female Animal Characters Without Feminizing Gender Signifiers

  1. Terk the gorilla and Sabor the leopard from Disney’s Tarzan
  2. Joanna the goanna monitor lizard and Marahute the giant wedge-tailed eagle from The Rescuers Down Under
  3. Blue, Magenta, and Green Puppy from Blue’s Clues
  4. Chirp the robin from Peep and The Big Wide World
  5. Martha, the titular dog from the Martha Speaks books and TV series
  6. Chi, the titular kitten from Chi’s Sweet Home 
  7. Matilda the White Bird from Angry Birds
  8. Tina the Tyrannosaurus rex in The Amazing World of Gumball
  9. Kitty, the titular cat from the Bad Kitty book series
  10. Linny guinea pig from Wonder Pets
  11. Tigress from Kung Fu Panda
  12. Mama Buzzard from the Looney Tunes cartoon “Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid.”
  13. Giant Realistic Flying Tiger from Uncle Grandpa
  14. Freddi Fish, the titular yellow fish from the Freddi Fish game series.
  15. Butter, the baby otter from PB&J Otter
  16. Precious the pug from The Nut Job
  17. Olive the titular Jack Russel Terrier from Olive the Other Reindeer
  18. Snowball I, Snowball II, and Snowball V the cats from The Simpsons
  19. Kevin the bird from Disney/Pixar’s Up.

In the original series of three 10 minute films of Peep and The Big Wide World, Peep the yellow chick was female and Chirp the baby red robin was male, but in the main series, Peep is male and Chirp is female.

The main cast of the Cartoon Network show, Uncle Grandpa, still follows the Smurfette Principle because the only female character in the main cast of five is the static photographic cutout of a tiger, Giant Realistic Flying Tiger. Unlike most examples of the Smurfette Principle, she is no more marked with stereotypical feminizing gender markers as not male than the four male characters (Uncle Grandpa, Belly Bag, Pizza Steve, and Mr. Gus) are marked as not female.

In Angry Birds, there is Female White Bird, who is basically White Bird, but with with feminizing gender markers (a bow on her head, eyelashes, rose cheeks, and lipstick on her beak). But since the original White Bird, Matilda, is female, Female White Bird would be a “Ms Female Character” instead. In the cartoon series,  Angry Birds Toons, Matilda the White Bird has been feminized and given pink accents on her head and tail feathers, rose cheeks, eyelashes, and much thinner eyebrows to make it clear that she is female, but she keeps her original, masculine look in the games. 

There is even a female alien character without any feminizing gender signifiers. Her name is Kodos, who is from The Simpsons. She not only doesn’t have any feminizing gender signifiers distinguishing her from her brother Kang, she even looks the same as him. Kodos is not a “Ms Male Character” the way so many other female alien, animal, and monster characters are.

Sadly, female animal, alien, and monster characters not distinguished from male characters by stereotypical feminizing gender markers are the exception rather than the rule.

September 29, 2013

“Animal” Roles and “Human” Roles

There are five basic types of anthropomorphic animals based on the role they play in their world.

Type 1) These anthropomorphic animals stay on all fours or otherwise keep the stance of their species. They also stay within the trappings of their species behavior-wise and play mostly or mainly “animal” roles. Some of them are speech capable, some are not.

Type 2) Like Type 1, these anthropomorphic animals stay on all fours or otherwise keep the stance of their species. However, they talk, act more like humans than Type 1, and can play a mix of “animal” and “human” roles or mostly “human” roles.

Type 3) These anthropomorphic animals talk, walk on two legs, and act like humans at least to some extent, but like Type 1, still play “animal” roles.

Type 4) These anthropomorphic animals talk, walk on two legs, and act like humans. These animals play a mix of “animal” and “human” roles.

Type 5) These anthropomorphic animals not only talk, walk on two legs, and act like humans they play mostly or mainly “human” roles as well.

“Animal” Roles: Roles animal characters play that are like the roles their species usually have in real life. (i.e., chickens living in a chicken coop, ducks living in and near a pond, rabbits living in a burrow)

“Human” Roles: Roles animal characters play that are like the roles humans usually have in real life. (i.e., having a “human” job or career, owning a house)

September 29, 2013

Guide to the Levels of Animal Anthropomorphism

This animal anthropomorphism guide outlines thirteen levels of physical anthropomorphism in animal characters.

Level #0: Complete natural body type of their species; move completely like their real counterpart; is quadrupedal if a naturally quadrupedal species; have completely natural stance depending on the species; paws and hooves don’t have the ability to gesture or grasp things the way human hands can; birds have completely naturalistic wings that gesture like normal bird wings; has facial expressions completely like respective species

Level #1: Complete natural body type of their species; move completely like their real counterpart; is quadrupedal if a naturally quadrupedal species; have completely natural stance depending on the species; paws and hooves don’t have the ability to gesture or grasp things the way human hands can; birds have completely naturalistic wings that gesture like normal bird wings; like Level 0 but has the full range of facial expressions that humans have

Level #2: Complete or near complete natural body type of their species; move completely or mostly like their real counterpart; is quadrupedal if a naturally quadrupedal species; rarely walks on two legs in most cases and not able to walk that way as well as they can on all fours; can sit up on their haunches (depending on the species in question), stand with their knuckles on the ground (if a nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical natural stance; paws and hooves can have either a full or limited ability to gesture and even grasp things the way human hands can; birds have naturalistic wings that can gesture and even grasp things like human arms and hands

Level #3: Body largely, mostly, or completely keeps the naturalistic or basic shape of their respective species, despite being partly bipedal; naturally four-legged animals can walk on two legs as well as they can walk on all fours, but like Level 2, they can’t run on two legs as well as they can run on all fours; can sit up on their haunches (depending on the species in question), stand with their knuckles on the ground (if a nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical two-legged stance, whether with bent or straight legs; paws and hooves gesture and grasp things like human hands; birds have naturalistic or partially arm-like wings that grasp things and gesture like human arms and hands

Level #4: Body largely, mostly, or completely keeps the naturalistic or basic shape of their respective species, despite being bipedal; naturally four-legged animals can walk and run on two legs as well as they can on all fours; can sit up on their haunches (depending on the species in question), stand with their knuckles on the ground (if a nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical two-legged stance, whether with bent or straight legs; paws and hooves gesture and grasp things like human hands; birds have either naturalistic or partially, mostly, or nearly arm-like wings that grasp things and gesture like human arms and hands; seldom has human-like breasts

Level #5: Body has a basic or simplified bipedal shape; body can keep some or a little of the respective species’ shape; can sometimes have humanlike shoulders; naturally four-legged animals can walk and run on two legs as well as they can on all fours; can sit up on their haunches (depending on the species in question), stand with their knuckles on the ground (if a nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical two-legged stance, whether with bent or straight legs; paws and hooves gesture and grasp things like human hands; birds have either naturalistic or partially, mostly, or nearly arm-like wings that grasp things and gesture like human arms and hands; seldom has human-like breasts

Level #6: More anthropomorphic variant of Level 5; Body has partially, largely, mostly, or even nearly human-proportioned, but not humanoid arms and legs on a body that otherwise keeps either the basic shape of their respective species or a basic Level 5 body type; can sometimes have humanlike shoulders; quadrupedal animals can walk and run on two legs just as well as they can on all fours; stand with their knuckles on the ground (if a nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical two-legged stance, whether with bent or straight legs; can either have human-like breasts even if not a mammal or not have them; birds have either naturalistic or partially, mostly, or nearly arm-like wings that grasp things and gesture like human arms and hands; occasionally has human-like breasts; compromise between Levels 5 and 7

Level #7: Body partly like their respective species and partly humanoid; either humanoid legs and non-humanoid torso, a humanoid torso and non-humaniod legs; or semi-humanoid all over; male ones with a humanoid torso and partially humanoid or non-humaniod legs sometimes have top heavy torsos; often have humanlike shoulders; quadrupedal animals can walk and run on two legs just as well as they can on all fours; stand with their knuckles on the ground (if nonhuman ape or a generic cartoon monkey), or stand with a typical two-legged stance, whether with bent or straight legs; birds have either naturalistic or partially, mostly, or nearly arm-like wings that grasp things and gesture like human arms and hands; can either have human-like breasts even if not a mammal or not have them; compromise between Levels 6 and 8

Level #8: Looks like the animal’s head and tail (where applicable) on a body that looks like a fur, feather, scale, or otherwise animal accented human body; body shape can reflect the animal’s species a little, but has to be human-shaped; head that is either completely, largely, or half the shape of that of the respective species; have the muzzle, beak, or bill of their respective species; feet are either plantigrade or digitigrade (or unguligrade if a hoofed animal); feet are normally shaped completely mostly, or largely like that of their species; feet can be nearly, mostly, largely, or partially human-shaped, but has to be animal-accented; usually has human-like breasts even if not a mammal

Level #9: More anthropomorphic variant of Level 8; has a largely, mostly, or nearly human-shaped head with the animal’s ears and full or partial muzzle, beak, or bill; has animal-accented, completely human-shaped hands; completely humanoid body shape; has human-proportioned, plantigrade, animal-accented feet that are either completely, mostly, or largely human-shaped; usually has human-like breasts; compromise between Levels 8 and 10

Level #10: Looks like an animal-accented human face and body frame with the animal’s ears, nose, tail (where applicable), markings, and often fur, feathers, scales, or sembance thereof on a nearly human-shaped head with some, little, or no semblance of their species’ muzzle; can have a human nose bridge, but has still has the animal’s nose, completely human hand and foot shape; has the beak or bill respective to their species that is small regardless of their species if a bird; usually has human-like breasts and humanlike hair (or hairlike feathers if a bird)

Level #11:  Looks like an animal-accented human face and body frame with the animal’s tail (where applicable), markings, and sometimes a sembance of fur, feathers, or scales on a nearly human-shaped head with no semblance of their species’ muzzle; has largely, mostly, or completely human ear position, but either have the animal’s ear shape or some semblance thereof; can either have a completely human nose or have the animal’s nose on a human nose bridge; can have claws, fangs, and/or horns of the species; has completely human hand and foot shape; can have a catlike shape to the lips if a cat, can have a beaklike shape to the lips if a bird; usually has human-like breasts and humanlike hair (or hairlike feathers if a bird)

Level #12: Looks completely human with completely human skin, but with the animal’s ears, tail, and sometimes claw, fangs, and/or horns of the species; has a completely human nose; has no semblance of the animal’s muzzle; can have a catlike shape to the lips if a cat or cat-based; ears can have either partially or mostly humanlike position (between human ear position and that of most mammals), a completely humanlike ear position, or ear position mostly or totally like that of the respective species