Stereotypes of animals
Encyclopedia
When anthropomorphising
a (non-human) animal there are stereotypical
traits which commonly tend to be associated with particular species. Often these are simply exaggerations of real aspects or behaviours of the creature in question, while other times the stereotype is taken from mythology
and the true origins are forgotten. Some are popularised or solidified by a single particularly notable appearance in media, for example Disney's
1942 film Bambi
which portrayed the titular deer
as an innocent, fragile animal. In any case, once they have entered the culture as widely-recognized stereotypes of animals, they tend to be used both in conversation and media as a kind of shorthand for expressing particular qualities.
While some authors make use of these animal stereotypes "as is", others undermine reader expectations by reversing them, developing the animal character in the exact opposite direction (e.g. a fastidious pig or a cowardly lion
).
Many modern stereotypes of animals have a long tradition dating back to Aesop's Fables
, which drew upon sources that included Ancient Egypt
ian animal tales. Aesop's stereotypes were so deeply ingrained by the time of Apollonius of Tyana
that they were accepted as representative of various animals' "true" natures:
notions which are unfair to impose upon actual animals in nature. Thus, while a shark
is instinctively feeding in the way its nature intends, in folklore it tends to be classified as "cruel", a word which implies a conscious and immoral choice to cause unnecessary pain. Yet conscience
and morality
are metaphysical
attributes which are imposed by humans and do not exist as such within the shark's world. Likewise, some stereotypes are based on mistaken or grossly oversimplified impressions, e.g. spotted hyena
s are stereotypically portrayed as cowardly scavengers, but in reality they are efficient pack hunters with a complex social structure who care for their young.
Despite these considerations, the use of such animal stereotypes is generally much less problematic than it is for human stereotypes (to which some of the same issues apply), for obvious reasons.
, and its later derivatives such as the Hitopadesha
. Throughout these fables, the talking animals
behave as humans (unlike the Aesop model where animals behave as animals), and, are used to invoke characters with stereotypical personalities. There is also a distinction between wild and domesticated animals. Some of the common stereotypes include:
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
a (non-human) animal there are stereotypical
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
traits which commonly tend to be associated with particular species. Often these are simply exaggerations of real aspects or behaviours of the creature in question, while other times the stereotype is taken from mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and the true origins are forgotten. Some are popularised or solidified by a single particularly notable appearance in media, for example Disney's
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
1942 film Bambi
Bambi
Bambi is a 1942 American animated film directed by David Hand , produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten...
which portrayed the titular deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
as an innocent, fragile animal. In any case, once they have entered the culture as widely-recognized stereotypes of animals, they tend to be used both in conversation and media as a kind of shorthand for expressing particular qualities.
While some authors make use of these animal stereotypes "as is", others undermine reader expectations by reversing them, developing the animal character in the exact opposite direction (e.g. a fastidious pig or a cowardly lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
).
Many modern stereotypes of animals have a long tradition dating back to Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
, which drew upon sources that included Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian animal tales. Aesop's stereotypes were so deeply ingrained by the time of Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. Little is certainly known about him...
that they were accepted as representative of various animals' "true" natures:
Discussion
It is important to note that many animal stereotypes reflect anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
notions which are unfair to impose upon actual animals in nature. Thus, while a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
is instinctively feeding in the way its nature intends, in folklore it tends to be classified as "cruel", a word which implies a conscious and immoral choice to cause unnecessary pain. Yet conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
and morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
are metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
attributes which are imposed by humans and do not exist as such within the shark's world. Likewise, some stereotypes are based on mistaken or grossly oversimplified impressions, e.g. spotted hyena
Spotted Hyena
The spotted hyena also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species' prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save...
s are stereotypically portrayed as cowardly scavengers, but in reality they are efficient pack hunters with a complex social structure who care for their young.
Despite these considerations, the use of such animal stereotypes is generally much less problematic than it is for human stereotypes (to which some of the same issues apply), for obvious reasons.
Bats
- The bloodthirsty or evil batBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
- Among 1.000 species of bats, only 3 feed on blood. This stereotypical image is based on vampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
stories. - Bats are often said to be blind, such as in the expression "as blind as a bat", when in reality bats are not blind, but MicrobatMicrobatThe microbats constitute the suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera . They are most often referred to by their scientific name...
s have poor visual acuity. In contrast, some MegabatMegabatMegabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera . They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes.-Description:...
s have very good vision. - Another stereotype associated with bats is that the animal will fly into your hair. This is an urban legendUrban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
since bats can navigate very well in the dark thanks to their echolocationAnimal echolocationEcholocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
system.
- Among 1.000 species of bats, only 3 feed on blood. This stereotypical image is based on vampire
Bears
- The dumb bearBearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
- Examples: Winnie the Pooh, Yogi BearYogi BearYogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
, Humphrey BearHumphrey the BearHumphrey the Bear is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney studio in 1950. He first appeared in the Goofy cartoon Hold That Pose, in which Goofy tried to take his picture. After that he appeared in four classic Donald Duck cartoons: Grin and Bear It, Bearly Asleep, Rugged Bear, and Beezy...
, BalooBalooBaloo is the fictional bear featured in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book from 1894 and The Second Jungle Book from 1895.-Name and species:He is described in Kipling's work as "the sleepy brown bear"...
, Brer Bear
- Examples: Winnie the Pooh, Yogi Bear
- The cuddly, sweet bearBearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
- An image based on the teddy bearTeddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
: The Care Bears, Winnie the Pooh, SnuggleSnuggleSnuggle is the brand name of a fabric softener sold by Sun Products in the United States and Canada. It features as its mascot, a teddy bear, named Snuggle the Fabric Softener Bear or "The Snuggle Bear", previously voiced by Micky Dolenz and originally voiced by Corinne Orr...
- An image based on the teddy bear
Bulls
- The aggressive bullBullBull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
who attacks everyone and everything with the color red- This stereotype can be found in many comic strips and cartoons and is based on bullfightingBullfightingBullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
where the bullfighter taunts the bull by waving a small red cape (muletaMuletaMuleta is the name of the stick that the red cloth hangs from in the final third of a bullfight. It is different from the cape used by the matador earlier in the fight ....
). This has led to the urban legendUrban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that bulls will attack anything in the color red. In reality bulls are dichromatic and attack the waving cape instead of the color. The reason those capes have the color red is its association with blood and the tradition itself.
- This stereotype can be found in many comic strips and cartoons and is based on bullfighting
Cats
- The cool cat
- Portrayed as sly, charming or sneaky and sometimes playing jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
; notable examples include The AristocatsThe AristocatsThe Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story...
, Top CatTop CatTop Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
, Fritz the CatFritz the CatFritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focuses on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently goes on wild adventures that sometimes involve sexcapades. Crumb began drawing this character in homemade comic books when he was a...
, The Hep CatThe Hep CatThe Hep Cat is a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, animated primarily by Robert McKimson, and set to a musical score composed by Carl Stalling. This cartoon is notable as the first color Looney Tunes short, but was re-released in the "Blue Ribbon...
,...
- Portrayed as sly, charming or sneaky and sometimes playing jazz
- The lazy cat
- Many syndicated comics feature lazy cats, perhaps most notably Jim DavisJim Davis (cartoonist)James Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
' GarfieldGarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
.
- Many syndicated comics feature lazy cats, perhaps most notably Jim Davis
- The evil/villainous cat
- Many cartoons portray cats as mischievous, crafty, unreliable and antagonistic. Examples: Pegleg Pete, Tom from Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
, the cats in An American TailAn American TailAn American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
, Sylvester, Mr. Jinks, Lucifer, Catnip, The Cat from "Pinocchio" - In ancient superstitionSuperstitionSuperstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
a black catBlack catA black cat is a feline with black fur. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed. The Bombay, known for its sleek black fur, is an example of a black cat. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats...
is often believed to bring bad luck. - Witches are often accompanied by black cats.
- A cruel game where the hunter teases his victim before finally striking him is called a cat-and-mouse game in many languages. The concept is based on the behaviour that real cats often showcase before killing their prey.
- Other pejorative expressions associated with cats can be found in the Dutch language. "Kattengejank" literally means "screaming cats" and is used to describe the sounds people make who cannot sing. "Kattenkwaad" (literally: "Evil cat behaviour") is used to describe bad children's behaviour.
- Many cartoons portray cats as mischievous, crafty, unreliable and antagonistic. Examples: Pegleg Pete, Tom from Tom and Jerry
- The cute kittenKittenA kitten is a juvenile domesticated cat.The young of big cats are called cubs rather than kittens. Either term may be used for the young of smaller wild felids such as ocelots, caracals, and lynx, but "kitten" is usually more common for these species....
- FigaroFigaro (Disney)Figaro is a fictional character who first appeared in Disney's Pinocchio.-History:He is probably best known as the pet cat of Mister Geppetto and Pinocchio too. Figaro has also starred independently in a number of Disney shorts, as the pet of Minnie Mouse, which was a common theme for Disney...
in the film PinocchioPinocchio (1940 film)Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
, the little kittens in The AristocatsThe AristocatsThe Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story... - The Garfield character Nermal and the Krypto the SuperdogKrypto the SuperdogKrypto the Superdog is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the DC Comics character Krypto. The show premiered on Cartoon Network on March 25, 2005 and aired on Kids' WB! in September 2006...
character Snooky Wookums are ironicIronyIrony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
representations of this stereotype.
- Figaro
Dogs
- The loyalLoyaltyLoyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause There are many aspects to...
or heroic dog- Dogs are often called "man's best friend". Many stories feature them as heroes who save the day or help their master in dangerous situations. Detectives and police man often use them to search criminals. They are also often used as watch dogs.
- Many stories, especially cartoons, portray them as the natural enemy of cats.
- Examples: PlutoPluto (Disney)Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown , medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression...
, Old YellerOld YellerOld Yeller is a 1956 children's novel by Fred Gipson, which received a Newbery Honor in 1957. It was illustrated by Carl Burger. The title is taken from the name of the big yellow dog who is the center of the book's story...
, BenjiBenjiBenji is the name of a fictional dog who has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the Benji series....
, Rin Tin TinRin Tin TinRin Tin Tin was the name given to a dog adopted from a WWI battlefield that went on to star in twenty-three Hollywood films. The name was subsequently given to several related German Shepherd dogs featured in fictional stories on film, radio and television.-Origins:The first of the line Rin Tin...
, LassieLassieLassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
, 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the TrampLady and the TrampLady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
, Ace the Wonder DogAce the Wonder DogAce the Wonder Dog was a German Shepherd that acted in several films and film serials from 1938 to 1946. His first appearance was in the 1938 Lew Landers film...
, SnowySnowy (character)Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...
, DogmatixDogmatixDogmatix is a fictional character, a tiny white dog who belongs to Obelix in the Asterix comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French his name is Idéfix, itself a pun on the French expression idée fixe meaning an obsession...
- The dim-witted dog
- Examples: GoofyGoofyGoofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
, Odie the Dog, RantanplanRantanplanRantanplan is a fictional hound dog created by Belgian comics artist Morris and French writer René Goscinny. Originally a supporting character in the Lucky Luke series, Rantanplan later starred in an eponymous series. Rantanplan is a spoof of Rin Tin Tin, as idiotic as Rin Tin Tin is clever...
, MarmadukeMarmadukeMarmaduke is a newspaper comic strip drawn by Brad Anderson from 1954 to the present day. The strip was created by Anderson, with help from Phil Leeming and later Dorothy Leeming , and Paul Anderson. The strip revolves around the Winslow family and their Great Dane, Marmaduke...
, Santa's Little HelperSanta's Little HelperSanta's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
, 2 Stupid Dogs2 Stupid Dogs2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...
, Scooby-DooScooby-DooScooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
- Examples: Goofy
- The vicious bull dog
- Examples: , Spike (Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
), Butch (the nemesisArchenemyAn archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
of PlutoPluto (Disney)Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown , medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression...
), Hector the Bulldog
- Examples: , Spike (Tom and Jerry
- The depressed or low-key behaving bassett hound
- Droopy, Gai-LuronGai-LuronGai-Luron is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created on July 12, 1964 by Gotlib. Originally published in the comics magazine Vaillant, the character joined Nanar, Jujube et Piette, which Gotlib had drawn since 1962, but eventually headlined a hit series of its own...
- Droopy, Gai-Luron
- PoodlePoodleThe Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
s are portrayed as being either posh and/or snobbish. They sometimes speak with a French accent- Georgette in Oliver & CompanyOliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
- Georgette in Oliver & Company
- Saint Bernards are often portrayed carrying a small barrel of brandy around their neck to warm victims lost in the snowy mountains. This is however an urban legendUrban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
, caused by a painting by Edwin Landseer called "Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler." (http://www.cracked.com/article/105_the-6-most-frequently-quoted-bullshit-animal-facts/)- Examples: Swiss MissSwiss MissSwiss Miss is a brand name for cocoa powder and pudding products sold by American food company, ConAgra Foods, Inc. Created with a blend of "dark European cocoa", Swiss Miss is a well-established brand of instant hot chocolate in America...
, the Disney cartoon Alpine Climbers, the Looney Tunes cartoon Piker's PeakPiker's PeakPiker’s Peak is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Friz Freleng. It was originally released on May 25, 1957. The title is a pun on Pike's Peak.-Plot summary:...
, the TV series TopperTopperTopper may refer to:Objects:* A top hat* Harley-Davidson Topper, a motor scooter manufactured between 1960 and 1965* Camper shell, a small housing mounted atop the rear bed of a pickup truck* Topper , a class of sailing dinghyPeople:...
- Examples: Swiss Miss
- Apart from bull dogs, pit bullPit bullA Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
s or dobermannDobermannThe Doberman Pinscher or simply Doberman, is a breed of domestic dog originally developed around 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann. Doberman Pinschers are among the most common of pet breeds, and the breed is well known as an intelligent, alert, and loyal companion dog...
s people don't often portray dogs as villainous or dangerous characters.- A few examples are CujoCujoCujo is a psychological horror novel by Stephen King. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982, and was made into a film in 1983....
, MuttleyMuttleyMuttley is a Hanna-Barbera animated fictional character created by Iwao Takamoto and originally voiced by Don Messick. In the 2000 Wacky Races videogame he was voiced by Billy West.-Bio:...
, The Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
, CerberusCerberusCerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, hellhoundHellhoundA hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
s, SpikeSpike (MGM cartoon series)Spike was a short-lived animation cartoon series by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. All of the original, 1940s-50s shorts were directed by Tex Avery, it was a spin-off from the Droopy series as opposed to the Spike from the Tom and Jerry cartoons.-Cartoons:...
(nemesis of Droopy), Gnasher (dog of Dennis the Menace)
- A few examples are Cujo
Donkeys
- The stubborn or stupid assDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
- Examples: Nick BottomNick BottomNick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream who provides comic relief throughout the play, and is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of an ass by the elusive Puck within the play.- Overview :...
, DonkeyDonkey (Shrek)Donkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
, stupid and naughty children are transformed in donkeys in PinocchioPinocchioThe Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
,... - In previous centuries schools often forced naughty or "dumb" pupils to sit in a class room corner with a donkey eared hat on their head.
- Examples: Nick Bottom
- The hornySexual arousalSexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
or virile donkeyDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
/stallionStallion (horse)A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
/bullBullBull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
Elephants
- The unforgetting elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
- From the folk-sayingAdageAn adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....
"An elephant never forgets"
- From the folk-saying
- The mice-fearing elephant
Foxes
- The wily, cruel, cunning or intelligent foxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
- Reynard the FoxReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
, a character in stories from medieval Europe, is depicted as a tricksterTricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
. - In the fableFableA fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
The Fox and the CrowThe Fox and the Crow (Aesop)"The Fox and the Crow" is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 124 in the Perry Index. There are early Latin and Greek versions and the fable may even have been portrayed on an ancient Greek vase. The story is used as a warning against listening to flattery....
by Jean de La FontaineJean de La FontaineJean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
the fox tricks a raven with a piece of cheese in a tree into singing so that he can pick up the cheese and eat it. - In the fable The Fox and the Stork the fox tricks a stork by stealing his food, only to be tricked himself when the stork puts all his food in a long tube that only his bird beak can reach.
- See also The Fox and the Cat in PinocchioPinocchioThe Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
, The Fox and the GrapesThe Fox and the Grapes"The Fox and the Grapes" is one of the traditional Aesop's fables and can be held to illustrate the concept of cognitive dissonance. In this view, the premise of the fox that covets inaccessible grapes is taken to stand for a person who attempts to hold incompatible ideas simultaneously...
,... - Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's book Fantastic Mr. FoxFantastic Mr. FoxFantastic Mr Fox is a children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970 by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The book was later published with new illustrations by Jill Bennett, Tony Ross and Quentin...
shows the fox as an intelligent saviour.
- Reynard the Fox
Hippopotamuses
- The female hippopotamusHippopotamusThe hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
who acts like a fat human lady- Hippos are often portrayed as fat females: FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
, Madagascar (2005 film)Madagascar (2005 film)Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked...
, The WuzzlesThe WuzzlesDisney's Wuzzles is an American animated television series created for Saturday morning television, and was first broadcast on September 14, 1985 on CBS. An idea of Michael Eisner for his new Disney television animation studio, the Wuzzles are crossbred animals which sport a combined appearance of...
, Rocko's Modern LifeRocko's Modern LifeRocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town...
- Hippos are often portrayed as fat females: Fantasia
Horses
- The noble horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
- Horses are traditionally seen as noble creatures since humans use them for transport. In quite a few countries, like Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, eating horse meat is therefore seen as a tabooTabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
. Many languages describe the horse's paws as "legs", an honor that few other animals receive. - Examples of noble horses: Black BeautyBlack BeautyBlack Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate bestseller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, long enough to see her first and only...
, RocinanteRocinanteRocinante is the name of Don Quixote's horse, in the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.-Etymology: in Spanish means work-horse or low-quality horse , but also illiterate or rough man. There are similar words in French , Portuguese and Italian . The etymology is uncertain. The name is,...
, TriggerTrigger (horse)Trigger was a palomino horse, made famous in American Western films with his owner/rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers.-Pedigree:...
, Silver, Jolly JumperJolly JumperJolly Jumper is a horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series Lucky Luke, created by Belgian artist Morris. Described as "the smartest horse in the world" and able to perform tasks such as chess-playing and tightrope walking, Jolly Jumper accompanies his master in their travels across the...
, PegasusPegasusPegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
, SleipnirSleipnirIn Norse mythology, Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...
,...
- Horses are traditionally seen as noble creatures since humans use them for transport. In quite a few countries, like Great Britain
- The virile horse.
- A studStud (animal)A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
has a very large penisPenisThe penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
, which has led to many jokes about women preferring to have sex with a horse. The word "stud" is in many languages a synonymSynonymSynonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for a strong, virile man.
- A stud
Hyenas
- The comical / always-laughing hyenaHyenaHyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
- From the uncanny resemblance its call bears to a human laugh
- Example the Hyenas in the films Lady & the Tramp and The Lion KingThe Lion KingThe Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
- The cruel, bullying hyena
- Example: the hyena-possessed bullies in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "The Pack"
Kangaroos
- The boxing kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
- Jack the Boxing KangarooBoxing KangarooThe boxing kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia, frequently seen in popular culture. The symbol is often displayed prominently by Australian spectators at sporting events, such as at cricket, tennis and football matches, and at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. The flag is also highly...
, Das Boxende KänguruhDas Boxende KänguruhBoxing Kangaroo is an 1895 German short black-and-white silent documentary film, directed and produced by Max Skladanowsky, which features a Kangaroo boxing against a man against a white background at the Circus Busch...
- Jack the Boxing Kangaroo
- Another myth associated with the kangaroo is that people can climb inside its pouchPouch (marsupial)The pouch is a distinguishing feature of female marsupials ; the name marsupial is derived from the Latin marsupium, meaning "pouch". Marsupials give birth to a live but relatively undeveloped fetus called a joey. When the joey is born it crawls from inside the mother to the pouch...
and be carried around. This general misconception was famously debunked in The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Bart vs. AustraliaBart vs. Australia"Bart vs. Australia" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995. In the episode, Bart is indicted for fraud in Australia, and the family travels to the country so Bart can apologize...
.
Lemmings
- The suicidal lemmingLemmingLemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
- Lemmings tend to migrate in large numbers, which can include jumping off cliffs into the water and swimming great distances to the point of exhaustion and even death. However in these cases it's pure accidental and not intentionally trying to kill itself. Lemmings don't even deliberately throw themselves off cliffs. This stereotype was influenced by a Disney documentary, White Wilderness (1958) where the animals were chased off a cliff by the documentary makers, purely for some sensational images.
Lions
- The proud, brave, noble or royal lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
- From the assumed position at the "top" of the food chainFood chainA food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
, the lion is often referred to as the "King of Beasts" or "King of the Jungle", (even though lions do not live in jungles) and is frequently portrayed as the literal ruler of the other animals in a given territory - Examples include The Lion KingThe Lion KingThe Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Kimba the White LionKimba the White Lion, known in the United States as Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950, it was the first color animated television series created in Japan. The manga was first published in serialized...
, the first movement of Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
' musical piece Carnival of the Animals, King Nobel in Reynard the FoxReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
, King Franz Ferdinand in Alfred Jodocus KwakAlfred Jodocus Kwakis a cartoon television series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V. and TV Tokyo and first shown in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes. The series characters were designed by Harald Siepermann...
, AslanAslanAslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
in The Chronicles of NarniaThe Chronicles of NarniaThe Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
series, King Richard in Disney's Robin HoodRobin Hood (1973 film)Robin Hood is an 1973 American animated film produced by the Walt Disney Productions, first released in the United States on November 8, 1973... - Many European regions and countries use a lion in their coat of armsCoat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
or flagFlagA flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
.
- From the assumed position at the "top" of the food chain
Mice
- The quiet mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
- Mice are frequently portrayed in animation as shy and physically frail, often bookish, nerdNerdNerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
y and/or glassesGlassesGlasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
-wearing.
- Mice are frequently portrayed in animation as shy and physically frail, often bookish, nerd
- The heroic mouse
- Mice are often depicted as heroic characters who have to fight enemies bigger than they are. This is actually ironic, since mice are considered verminVerminVermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded by some as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area to area and even person to person...
by most people. Examples of heroic mice: Mickey MouseMickey MouseMickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, ReepicheepReepicheepReepicheep is a fictional character from C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia series. He appears in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and also in The Last Battle. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier, and wears a red plume tucked in his golden circlet...
, Jerry (Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
), Speedy GonzalesSpeedy GonzalesSpeedy Gonzales is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent...
, Mighty MouseMighty MouseMighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.-History:The character was created by story man Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named Superfly. Studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a cartoon mouse instead...
, Stuart LittleStuart LittleStuart Little is a 1945 children's novel by E. B. White, his first book for children, and is widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. Stuart Little was illustrated by the subsequently award-winning artist Garth Williams, also his first work for children...
, the mice in RedwallRedwallRedwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
, The Lion and the MouseThe Lion and the MouseThe lion and the mouse is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 146 in the Perry Index. In the Renaissance the fable was provided with a sequel condemning social ambition.-The fable in literature:...
- Mice are often depicted as heroic characters who have to fight enemies bigger than they are. This is actually ironic, since mice are considered vermin
Moles
- The blind or near sighted moleMole (animal)Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
- Examples: The Mole (Happy Tree Friends), Henk the Mole in Alfred Jodocus KwakAlfred Jodocus Kwakis a cartoon television series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V. and TV Tokyo and first shown in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes. The series characters were designed by Harald Siepermann...
, Bottles (Banjo-Kazooie), Speckles the star-nosed mole in G-ForceG-Force (film)G-Force is a 2009 spy-fi comedy film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for Walt Disney Pictures in Disney Digital 3-D. Written by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the film is the directorial debut of Hoyt Yeatman, whose earlier work includes contributions in the area of visual effects...
- Examples: The Mole (Happy Tree Friends), Henk the Mole in Alfred Jodocus Kwak
Moose
- The slow-witted mooseMooseThe moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
- The cartoon characters Bullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
and Lumpy are portrayed as slow-witted.
- The cartoon characters Bullwinkle J. Moose
Pigs
- The greedy, ugly and/or filthy pig
- Both aspects are due to the natural pig lifestyle (when raised on a farm rather than a feedlotFeedlotA feedlot or feedyard is a type of animal feeding operation which is used in factory farming for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations . They...
)—"greedy" from the way they devour any food put in front of them, "filthy" from the fact that a pig-styStyA sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote. Pigsties are generally fenced areas of bare dirt and/or mud. Both "sty" and "pigpen" are used as derogatory descriptions of dirty,...
is generally a soup of mud and fecesFecesFeces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
which the pigs don't seem to mind at all (this also gives rise to the saying "Happy as a pig in shit"). - The stereotype may also derive in part from Judeo-Islamic cultures, whose concepts of kosherKashrutKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
/halalHalalHalal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
teach that pigs are "uncleanUnclean animalsUnclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...
" for various reasons. - Examples of greedy and filthy pigs: Napoleon and other pigs in Animal FarmAnimal FarmAnimal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
- "Pig" is a pejorative nickname for a filthy or ugly person in many languages.
- Example of an ugly pig: Miss PiggyMiss PiggyMiss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
. - Pigs are also portrayed as straight men or sidekicks (for example Porky PigPorky PigPorky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Orson (U.S. AcresU.S. AcresU.S. Acres is a comic strip that originally ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. When the strip was launched, Jim Davis expected it to become quickly popular, but it ended after 3 years in 1989...
), CornfedDuckmanDuckman: Private Dick/Family Man is an American animated sitcom that aired from 1994–1997, created by Everett Peck and developed by Peck. The sitcom is based on characters created by Peck in his Dark Horse comic...
,...
- Both aspects are due to the natural pig lifestyle (when raised on a farm rather than a feedlot
- The cute piglet
- Sympathetic pigs are usually portrayed as piglets
- Examples: The Three Little Pigs, the piglet in Green AcresGreen AcresGreen Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, BabeBabe (film)Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
, ...
- The Wise Pig
- Korean culture stories
Rabbits/Hares
- The hornySexual arousalSexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
or hareHareHares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
- Following naturally from the phrase "(to) breed like rabbits". Another stereotype derived from the wild behaviour of rabbits during mating season is the expression "as mad as a March HareMarch HareHaigha, the March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.The main character, Alice, hypothesises,...
." - The hyperactive / fast-running rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
/ hareHareHares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
(Again, generally not distinguished from each other.)- See the Hare in The Tortoise and the HareThe Tortoise and the HareThe Tortoise and the Hare is a fable attributed to Aesop and is number 226 in the Perry Index. The story concerns a hare who ridicules a slow-moving tortoise and is challenged by him to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, decides to take a nap midway through...
, Roger Rabbit
- See the Hare in The Tortoise and the Hare
- The smart rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
or hareHareHares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
- Examples: Br'er RabbitBr'er RabbitBr'er Rabbit is a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories of the Southern United States. He is a trickster character who succeeds by his wits rather than by brawn, tweaking authority figures and bending social mores as he sees fit...
, Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, El-ahrairah
- Examples: Br'er Rabbit
Raccoons
- The criminal or scavenging raccoonRaccoonProcyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
- From the bandit-like black "mask" over its eyes
- Examples: Lifty and Shifty, Happy Tree FriendsHappy Tree FriendsHappy Tree Friends is an American Flash cartoon and made by Mondo Mini Shows, created and developed by Aubrey Ankrum Rhode Montijo Kenn Navarro and Warren Graff. The show has become a popular Internet phenomenon and it's since debut and has also won a cult following.As indicated on the official...
Rats
- The evil or kleptomaniaKleptomaniaKleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
cal ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
- In contrast with mice, rats are almost always depicted as villains or dangerous creatures. This image is also derived from the rats' reputation as a carrier of The Black Death and other diseases : The rat in Lady and the TrampLady and the TrampLady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
, Professor Rattigan in The Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse DetectiveThe Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures...
, the rats in RedwallRedwallRedwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
and in the films Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
, WillardWillard (1971 film)Willard is a 1971 horror film starring Bruce Davison and Ernest Borgnine, directed by Daniel Mann. The movie is based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best picture...
, RatsRATSRATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...
, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des GrauensNosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauensis a classic 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok...
, ... - Ben, the title character in the film Ben, Remy in RatatouilleRatatouille (film)Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
and The Rats of Nimh in The Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
are an exception, being depicted as generally quite civilised.
- In contrast with mice, rats are almost always depicted as villains or dangerous creatures. This image is also derived from the rats' reputation as a carrier of The Black Death and other diseases : The rat in Lady and the Tramp
Seals
- The comical, playful sealPinnipedPinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
- Robby in PinguPinguPingu is a British-Swiss stop-motion claymated television series created by Otmar Gutmann. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio for Swiss television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic penguins at the South Pole. The main character is the family's son and title...
, AndreAndre (film)Andre is a 1994 feature film starring Tina Majorino about a child's encounter with a seal. The film is an adaptation of the book A Seal Called Andre, which in turn was based on a true story.-Plot:...
, the little seal in Mickey and the SealMickey and the SealMickey and the Seal is a cartoon short created by Walt Disney in 1948. It was nominated for Academy Award for Animated Short Film, but lost to Tom and Jerry cartoon The Little Orphan.-Synopsis:...
,...
- Robby in Pingu
- The ferocious, predatory leopard sealLeopard SealThe leopard seal , also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic...
- The animated films The Pebble and the PenguinThe Pebble and the PenguinThe Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 animated musical film, based on the true life mating rituals of the Adelie Penguins in Antarctica, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film was released to theatres on April 11, 1995 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the United States and...
and Happy FeetHappy FeetHappy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
both feature a leopard seal attempting to catch and eat penguinPenguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s (their natural prey in real life)
- The animated films The Pebble and the Penguin
Simians
- The funny monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
/apeApeApes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
- Examples: King LouieKing LouieKing Louie is a fictional orangutan who kidnaps Mowgli in Disney's 1967 animated musical adaptation of The Jungle Book. He is voiced by Louis Prima in the film and therefore has his same mannerisms...
, CheetahCheetahThe cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
in TarzanTarzanTarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
, Abu
- Examples: King Louie
- The mischievous monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
- Examples: Curious GeorgeCurious GeorgeCurious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.When...
, Abu
- Examples: Curious George
- The monstrous or brutish ape (usually a gorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
)- Examples: King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, General Ursus, many BigfootBigfootBigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
stories, the YetiYetiThe Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
- Examples: King Kong
- The amorous ape who lusts for human women
- Examples King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
and Emmanuel FrémietEmmanuel FrémietEmmanuel Frémiet was a French sculptor. He is famous for his sculpture of Joan of Arc in Paris and the monument to Ferdinand de Lesseps in Suez....
's 1887 sculpture Gorilla Carrying off a Woman
- Examples King Kong
Skunks
- The smellyOdorAn odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...
skunkSkunkSkunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
- Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
' Pepé Le PewPepé Le PewPepé Le Pew is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, first introduced in 1945. A French skunk that always strolls around in Paris in the springtime, when everyone's thoughts are of "love", Pepé is constantly seeking "l'amour" of his own...
is one of the best-known animated skunks and propagates the idea that the animals emit their scent continuously. Human characters often run in panic from the mere sight or smell of a skunk.
- Chuck Jones
Sloths
- The lazyLazinessLaziness is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is often used as a pejorative; related terms for a person seen to be lazy include couch potato, slacker, and bludger....
slothSlothSloths are the six species of medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae , part of the order Pilosa and therefore related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws.They are arboreal residents of the jungles of Central and South...
- SlothSloth (deadly sin)In the Christian moral tradition, sloth is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called sins because they supposedly destroy the charity in a person's heart and thus may lead to eternal death.-Definition:Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional...
, one of the seven deadly sinsSeven deadly sinsThe 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
, meaning spiritual apathy. - Sid the prehistoric sloth in the Ice AgeIce Age (film series)Ice Age is a series of animated films produced by Blue Sky Studios, a division of 20th Century Fox, and featuring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Chris Wedge. Three films have been released in the series thus far, Ice Age in 2002, Ice Age: The Meltdown in 2006, and Ice...
films is depicted as lively and fast-talking, in contrast to the stereotype.
- Sloth
Weasels
- The sneaky and thieving weaselWeaselWeasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
who always manages to flee.- From the sayings: "As scared as a weasel" and "to weasel out of a situation".
- The weasel in the song Pop Goes the WeaselPop Goes the Weasel"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.-Lyrics:There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song...
is also fleeing from the monkey. - The weasels in The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
- The weasels in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Wolves
- The cruel or evil wolf
- The evil wolf is an image frequently depicted in fairy tales such as Little Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
, The Three Little Pigs, The Wolf and the Seven Young KidsThe Wolf and the Seven Young KidsThe Wolf and the Seven Young Kids is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 5. It is Aarne-Thompson type 123., but has a strong resemblance to The Three Little Pigs and other Aarne-Thomspson type 124 folktales, and to the variant of Little Red Riding Hood that the Grimms...
, Peter and the WolfPeter and the WolfPeter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
. - The werewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
is another evil stereotype in association with wolves.
- The evil wolf is an image frequently depicted in fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood
- The honorable wolf
- Through the latter half of the 20th century, the wolf was increasingly portrayed in the opposite manner of the evil wolf, as an especially dignified and capable wild form of dog and symbol of natureNatureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. (e.g. the Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
film, Dances with WolvesDances with WolvesDances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
)
- Through the latter half of the 20th century, the wolf was increasingly portrayed in the opposite manner of the evil wolf, as an especially dignified and capable wild form of dog and symbol of nature
- The solitary or renegade wolf
- From the phrase "lone wolfLone WolfLone Wolf or lone wolf may refer to:*Lone Wolf , British singer-songwriter Paul Marshall*Lone wolf *Lone wolf *Lone Wolf , a Kiowa chief*Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, a town in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States...
"
- From the phrase "lone wolf
Chickens
- The stupid and or easily frightened chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
- Nanny from Count DuckulaCount DuckulaCount Duckula is a British animated television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall, and a spin-off from DangerMouse, a show in which the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. The series first aired on September 6, 1988 and was produced by Thames Television for 3 seasons and...
- Nanny from Count Duckula
- The cock/rooster who has delusions of grandeurDelusions of GrandeurDelusions of Grandeur is an album by Fleming and John that was released in 1995.-Track listing:# "I'm Not Afraid" — 3:13# "Break The Circles" — 3:01# "Delusions Of Grandeur" — 3:45# "Love Songs" — 4:33# "Letters In My Head" — 3:56...
or is vainVanityIn conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
- The "Chanticleer and the Fox" tale from The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
. - Foghorn Leghorn
- Tortellini the rooster from the 1997 film The Fearless Four (based on the Town Musicians of BremenTown Musicians of BremenThe Town Musicians of Bremen is a folktale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Despite the title of the fairy tale, the characters never actually arrive in Bremen...
)
- The "Chanticleer and the Fox" tale from The Canterbury Tales
Crows/Ravens
- The ominous ravenRavenRaven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
or crowCrowCrows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
- Ravens or crows often foretell death and destruction, as portrayed in Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's poem "The Raven." Also, in Celtic and Irish myths, goddesses of war often appeared in the form of a raven or crow. The stereotype of ravens portraying death could stem from the fact that they are often seen feasting on the gore of dead soldiers after battle.
- Ravens or crows often foretell death and destruction, as portrayed in Edgar Allan Poe
- The Afro-American crow
- In the 19th and early 20th century white Americans often compared black peopleBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
with crows, due to the black colour of the bird. Crows in these stereotypical depictions speak in jive. - Examples: Jim Crow, the crows in DumboDumboDumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
, the comic strip and animated version of Fritz the CatFritz the CatFritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focuses on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently goes on wild adventures that sometimes involve sexcapades. Crumb began drawing this character in homemade comic books when he was a...
- In the 19th and early 20th century white Americans often compared black people
Ducks
- The overconfident, arrogant duckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
who isn't as smart as he thinks.- Examples: Daffy DuckDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
, Plucky DuckPlucky DuckPlucky Allen Duck is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is also the titular character in Gary A. Lewis's Plucky Duck in the Summer Job. He is arguably the third main character on the show after Buster and Babs. Plucky is voiced by Joe...
, Ed/Ollie/Waddle from Sitting DucksSitting DucksSitting Ducks is a lithograph created by Michael Bedard in the late 1970s. It depicts a literal interpretation of the idiom "sitting duck". Three ducks are relaxing in the sun on white chairs by the poolside, one looks up and notices two bullet holes in the wall.Bedard then went on to create an...
, Donald DuckDonald DuckDonald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
, Darkwing DuckDarkwing DuckDarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...
, Count DuckulaCount DuckulaCount Duckula is a British animated television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall, and a spin-off from DangerMouse, a show in which the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. The series first aired on September 6, 1988 and was produced by Thames Television for 3 seasons and...
, Howard the DuckHoward the DuckHoward the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
, DuckmanDuckmanDuckman: Private Dick/Family Man is an American animated sitcom that aired from 1994–1997, created by Everett Peck and developed by Peck. The sitcom is based on characters created by Peck in his Dark Horse comic...
- Examples: Daffy Duck
Eagles
- The child-stealing eagleEagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
- Eagles are often depicted in stories as creatures who like to attack humans and especially children and then pick them up with their clawClawA claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
s to feed them to their own children. This is a myth, since eagles can only lift up to 4 pounds and are more likely to attack other, smaller animals. (http://www.american-bald-eagle-photos.com/american-bald-eagles-photos-general-information.htm)
- Eagles are often depicted in stories as creatures who like to attack humans and especially children and then pick them up with their claw
- The proud, noble eagle
- The bald eagleBald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
is the official symbol of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Sam the EagleSam the EagleSam the Eagle is a character from the syndicated television show The Muppet Show, performed by Frank Oz. The name "Sam" is possibly derived from Uncle Sam. The Bald Eagle is the official symbol of the United States, and Sam's patriotic spirit differentiates him from the rest of the Muppet cast, as...
, a character in The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
who parodies RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politicians, is a bald eagle.
- The bald eagle
Magpies
- The thieving magpieMagpieMagpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
- Magpies are often depicted as thieves who steal shiny things. Examples: the opera The Thieving Magpie by Gioacchino RossiniGioacchino RossiniGioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
, the magpie in Alfred Jodocus KwakAlfred Jodocus Kwakis a cartoon television series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V. and TV Tokyo and first shown in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes. The series characters were designed by Harald Siepermann...
and cartoons such as Mr Bean
- Magpies are often depicted as thieves who steal shiny things. Examples: the opera The Thieving Magpie by Gioacchino Rossini
Ostriches
- The nervous ostrichOstrichThe Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
- Ostriches are often portrayed as being nervous and are widely thought to bury their heads in the sand at the first sign of danger. In reality this is not true; the ostrich is more likely to respond by fleeing, or, failing in that, delivering powerful kicks, easily capable of killing a man or a lion.
Owls
- The wise owlOwlOwls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
- In Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, AthenaAthenaIn Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
is the goddess of wisdom and is regularly associated with the owl. - Other examples: The wise owls in Winnie the Pooh, The Animals of Farthing Wood, Guardians of Ga'HooleGuardians of Ga'HooleGuardians of Ga’Hoole is a fantasy book series written by Kathryn Lasky and published by Scholastic. The series, which ended in 2008 with the publication of The War of the Ember, has a total of fifteen books. Apart from the main series there are a few more books and spin offs set in the same universe...
, Bambi and The Sword in the StoneThe Sword in the Stone (film)The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theaters on December 25, 1963... - Although owls are often associated with wisdom and intelligence this image is not timeless, nor universal. During the Middle Ages, owls were seen as dumb, stupid and evil helpers of witches. On many paintings of Hieronymus Bosch the bird can be seen as a symbol of stupidity and/or evil. The Dutch profanityProfanityProfanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
word "uilskuiken" ("owl chick") is used to insult a stupid person and the Dutch saying "Wat baten kaars en bril als de uil niet zien wil?" ("What use are a candle and glasses if the owl refuses to see?") still reminds people of this totally opposite view of owls. In Asian culture owls are traditionally seen as dumb animals instead of symbols of wisdom.
- In Greek mythology
Parrots
- The talkative, annoying, and/or smartypants parrot/cockatoo (no distinction)
- Example PauliePauliePaulie is a 1998 family film about a talking parrot named "Paulie". It was directed by John Roberts and written by Laurie Craig, and it was produced by Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn, and Allyson Lyon Segan for Mutual Film Company and DreamWorks...
, Flip in JommekeJommekeJommeke is the name of a Flemish comic book series and of its main character. It deals with the adventures of Jommeke, a boy of about 11 years old and his friends. The creator of Jommeke was Jef Nys.-History:...
, IagoIagoIago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
in the Disney film Aladdin - Parrots are also often portrayed as if they can actually conversate with people, whereas real parrots can only mimick certain sounds.
- Example Paulie
Peacocks
- The proud peacock
- From the saying: "as proud as a peacock".
- Peacocks are often used as a symbol of vanityVanityIn conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
and pridePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
.
Penguins
- The formal penguinPenguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
- From the typical colouring which resembles a tuxedoBlack tieBlack tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...
or Black tieBlack tieBlack tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...
suit—they are often portrayed as upper-class restaurant waiters, prime examples occurring in the Disney movies Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (film)Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
and Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
. - The stereotype is reversed in Tacky the Penguin by Helen LesterHelen LesterHelen Lester was born in 1936. She is an American children's author, best known for her character Tacky the Penguin in many of her children's stories....
- From the typical colouring which resembles a tuxedo
Pheasants
- The stupid, nervous pheasantPheasantPheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
- Mr and Mrs Pheasant in The Animals of Farthing Wood
Storks
- The baby-delivering storkStorkStorks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
- In western folklore, parents have told their children for centuries that babies are delivered by a stork. Examples can be found in the film DumboDumboDumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
and the short Lambert the Sheepish LionLambert the Sheepish LionLambert the Sheepish Lion is a Disney animated short film that was released in 1951.The 8-minute film focuses on Lambert, a lion that is mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork. Lambert lives his life thinking he is a sheep until he is forced to defend the flock from an attack by a hungry...
.
- In western folklore, parents have told their children for centuries that babies are delivered by a stork. Examples can be found in the film Dumbo
Crocodiles
- The weeping and hypocritical crocodileCrocodileA crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
- Many political cartoons, legends and stories feature crocodiles who claim to be sad about someone else's grief and then cry fake tears as a result. This stereotype is based on the fact that in real life crocodiles can often be observed with teary eyes while they consume their dead prey. The reason for this behaviour lies is that crocodiles are unable to chew and thus forced to rip their food into chunks and swallow them whole. Since the glands that keep their eyes moist are right near their throats this eating habit actually forces them to produce tears. This observation lead humans to believe that crocodiles are crying about the death of the animal they hypocritically just killed themselves and created the expression "crying crocodile tearsCrocodile tearsCrocodile tears are a false or insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief. The phrase gives its name to crocodile tears syndrome, an uncommon consequence of recovery from Bell's palsy where faulty regeneration of the facial nerve causes sufferers to shed tears...
", which means that one shows emotions without really meaning it.
- Many political cartoons, legends and stories feature crocodiles who claim to be sad about someone else's grief and then cry fake tears as a result. This stereotype is based on the fact that in real life crocodiles can often be observed with teary eyes while they consume their dead prey. The reason for this behaviour lies is that crocodiles are unable to chew and thus forced to rip their food into chunks and swallow them whole. Since the glands that keep their eyes moist are right near their throats this eating habit actually forces them to produce tears. This observation lead humans to believe that crocodiles are crying about the death of the animal they hypocritically just killed themselves and created the expression "crying crocodile tears
- The villainous crocodile/alligator
- Crocodiles and alligators are often cast as evil characters in stories, for example the crocodile in Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
(although it only attacks the main villain Captain Hook), LeatherheadLeatherhead (TMNT)Leatherhead is a fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. He was created in 1987 by Mirage Studios artist Ryan Brown, who also went on to create the Saturday morning cartoon series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa for the ABC television network...
(whom assist the turtles later on), The Enormous CrocodileThe Enormous Crocodile-Synopsis:One day an enormous crocodile goes tramping through the forest telling all the animals he's going to eat children. The animals tell him that it's a horrible thing to do but he tries to use his tricks to eat the tasty children nonetheless. However, every time he tries, the animals of the...
, Brutus and Nero in The RescuersThe RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
, AlligatorAlligator (film)Alligator is a 1980 monster movie, directed by Lewis Teague with a screenplay by John Sayles. It stars Robert Forster, Robin Riker, and Michael V. Gazzo...
, Crocosaurus, How Doth the Little CrocodileHow Doth the Little Crocodile"How Doth the Little Crocodile" is a poem by Lewis Carroll which appears in his novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It's recited by Alice in Chapter 2...
,... .
- Crocodiles and alligators are often cast as evil characters in stories, for example the crocodile in Peter Pan
Dinosaurs
- The fearsome, terrifying TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
- Examples: FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
, Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, The Land Before TimeThe Land Before TimeThe Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
, GodzillaGodzillais a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
(although this character is sometimes heroic)
- Examples: Fantasia
- The vicious, cunning VelociraptorVelociraptorVelociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...
- Examples: Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
- Examples: Jurassic Park
Frogs/Toads
- Toads and frogs are often anthropomorphized into fat people.
- Examples: Mr. ToadMr. ToadMr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book.-Character:...
in The Wind in The WillowsThe Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
- Examples: Mr. Toad
Snakes
- The evil or untrustworthy snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
- From its depiction in the Book of Genesis where it deceives Adam and EveAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
into the first sinSinIn religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation... - Examples: Sir Hiss, KaaKaaKaa is a fictional and exceptionally long Python molurus from the Mowgli stories written by Rudyard Kipling. Kaa is one of Mowgli's mentors and friends. He, Baloo and Bagheera sing for Mowgli "The Outsong" of the jungle. First introduced in the story "Kaa's Hunting" in The Jungle Book, Kaa is a...
(in Disney's The Jungle Book) Nag, Nagaina and Karait from Rikki-Tikki-TaviRikki-Tikki-TaviRikki-Tikki-Tavi is a short story in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling about the adventures of a valiant young mongoose.The story is notable for its frightening and serious tone. It has often been anthologised and has also been published more than once as a short book in its own right... - Exceptions: Adder in The Animals of Farthing Wood and KaaKaaKaa is a fictional and exceptionally long Python molurus from the Mowgli stories written by Rudyard Kipling. Kaa is one of Mowgli's mentors and friends. He, Baloo and Bagheera sing for Mowgli "The Outsong" of the jungle. First introduced in the story "Kaa's Hunting" in The Jungle Book, Kaa is a...
in The Jungle BookThe Jungle BookThe Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
(Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's original book); both of them, while disturbing to other characters, prove to be helpful allies
- From its depiction in the Book of Genesis where it deceives Adam and Eve
Turtles/Tortoises
- The patientPatiencePatience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the...
or slow-witted turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
/ tortoiseTortoiseTortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
- Verne from Over the HedgeOver the HedgeOver the Hedge is a syndicated comic strip written and drawn by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. It tells the story of a raccoon, turtle, a squirrel, and their friends who come to terms with their woodlands being taken over by suburbia, trying to survive the increasing flow of humanity and technology...
- Verne from Over the Hedge
- Exception: Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
Sharks
- The bloodthirsty sharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
- Examples: JawsJaws (film)Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
, Deep Blue SeaDeep Blue SeaDeep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...
, Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus, ...
- Examples: Jaws
Whales
- The man-eating whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
- Examples: Monstro in PinocchioPinocchio (1940 film)Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
, Moby-DickMoby-DickMoby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
- Examples: Monstro in Pinocchio
- The gentle whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
or orcaOrcaThe killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
- Examples: Free WillyFree WillyFree Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
- Examples: Free Willy
Ants
- The diligent antAntAnts are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
- This stems mainly from a fableFableA fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
, The Ant and the GrasshopperThe Ant and the GrasshopperThe Ant and the Grasshopper, also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant , is one of Aesop's Fables, providing an ambivalent moral lesson about hard work and foresight. In the Perry Index it is number 373...
, in which the ant works hard to prepare for the winter while the grasshopper wastes the summer and fall having fun, only to have to beg food from the ant or starve.
- This stems mainly from a fable
- The militant ant
- Ants, like many animals that form colonies or hives, are known for working together like an army. Some popular culture have the ants portray as militaryMilitaryA military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
soldierSoldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s.
- Ants, like many animals that form colonies or hives, are known for working together like an army. Some popular culture have the ants portray as military
- The thieving/bothersome ant.
- Ants are often portrayed stealing food from picnics, kitchens, etc. Examples can be found in many cartoons, like Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
.
- Ants are often portrayed stealing food from picnics, kitchens, etc. Examples can be found in many cartoons, like Tom and Jerry
Bees
- The dopey (or "bumbling") bumblebeeBumblebeeA bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
- The workaholicWorkaholicA workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
bumblebeeBumblebeeA bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
- Barry B. Benson from Bee MovieBee MovieBee Movie is a 2007 computer animated family comedy film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is directed by Simon J...
.
- Barry B. Benson from Bee Movie
Crickets
- The cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
who plays violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Male crickets are known for the chirping sound they make. In some cultures this sound is seen as a sign of good luck, while in other cultures it is associated with bad luck. Some cartoons depict crickets as violinists because the movements they make to produce their chirping sound resemble someone playing a violin.
Grasshoppers
- The lazy / carefree grasshopperGrasshopperThe grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
- This stems mainly from a fableFableA fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
, The Ant and the GrasshopperThe Ant and the GrasshopperThe Ant and the Grasshopper, also known as The Grasshopper and the Ant , is one of Aesop's Fables, providing an ambivalent moral lesson about hard work and foresight. In the Perry Index it is number 373...
, in which the ant works hard to prepare for the winter while the grasshopper wastes the summer and fall having fun, only to have to beg for food from the ant or starve. For this reason, grasshoppers are also sometimes characterized as social parasites (as in the PixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
movie A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
). - An exception is the Old-Green-Grasshopper in Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
, who is portrayed as a well-mannered gentleman and musician.
- This stems mainly from a fable
Mantises
- The patient mantisMantisMantis is the common name of any insect in the order Mantodea, also commonly known as praying mantises. The word itself means "prophet" in Latin and Greek...
- Because mantises are able to wait for hours for food to approach them.
- The sinister/evil mantis
- The She-Mantis in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Teacher's Pet"
- Queen Bakrakra/Katheter in InsektorsInsektorsInsektors was a 1994 French animated TV series about a conflict between two tribes of anthropomorphic insects: the Joyces and the Yuks . Made in a small studio, Fantome, in France, it was the 1994 recipient of a "Children and Young People" Emmy Award...
Spiders
- The evil spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
- Spiders often scare people due to their strange appearance. ArachnophobiaArachnophobiaArachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. It is a manifestation of zoophobia, among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others...
is still the most common phobia. Although all spiders are venomous, only a small number of them are dangerous for humans. In horror stories the giant spider is a popular monster, for instance ShelobShelobShelob is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears at the end of the fourth book, second volume , of The Lord of the Rings.-Literature:...
, TarantulaTarantula (film)Tarantula is a 1955 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Leo G. Carroll, John Agar, and Mara Corday. Among other things, the film is notable for the appearance of a 25-year-old Clint Eastwood in an uncredited role as a jet pilot at the end of the film.-Plot summary:The plot...
, ArachneArachneIn Greco-Roman mythology, Arachne was a great mortal weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than that of Minerva, the Latin parallel of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts. Arachne refused to acknowledge that her knowledge came, in part at least, from the goddess. The offended...
, The Giant Spider InvasionThe Giant Spider InvasionThe Giant Spider Invasion is a low-budget 1975 film produced by Transcentury Pictures, a partnership owned by the film's director Bill Rebane. The film is about giant spiders that terrorize the town of Merrill, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. The Giant Spider Invasion was given a U.S. release...
, Eight Legged FreaksEight Legged FreaksEight Legged Freaks is a 2002 comedy horror directed by Ellory Elkayem and stars David Arquette, Kari Wührer and Scott Terra. The plot concerns a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions and begin killing and harvesting...
,... - Rare examples of a positively depicted spider include AnansiAnansiAnansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...
, Itsy Bitsy SpiderItsy Bitsy Spider"Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a popular nursery rhyme that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends and reascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system...
, Charlotte from Charlotte's WebCharlotte's WebCharlotte's Web is an award-winning children's novel by acclaimed American author E. B. White, about a pig named Wilbur who is saved from being slaughtered by an intelligent spider named Charlotte. The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.The novel tells the story...
and Miss Spider from James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
.
- Spiders often scare people due to their strange appearance. Arachnophobia
Squid
- The man eating monstrous giant squidGiant squidThe giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species...
who attacks and destroys ships- The giant squidGiant squidThe giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species...
has been a staple of sea folklore for centuries and has been featured in tales like The Kraken, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeaTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeaTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax...
.
- The giant squid
- Octopuses are also often portrayed as dangerous sea creatures.
- Many propaganda posters often portray persons or ideologies as an octopus sitting on a globe spreading its ben truemans to take over the entire world
- Ursula the Sea Witch in Disney's The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
has octopus-like tentacles much akin to the squirming arms of the great "Ayesha Drury" of "pixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
" fame. - Examples: Mega Shark Versus Giant OctopusMega Shark Versus Giant OctopusMega Shark Versus Giant Octopus is a monster/disaster film by The Asylum, released on May 19, 2009, in the United States and on August 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. It was directed by Ace Hannah and stars singer Debbie Gibson and actor Lorenzo Lamas...
Termites
- The destructive termiteTermiteTermites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
- Because of the termite's reputation of eating wood and wrecking homes and buildings, which is greatly exaggerated in cartoons
Wasps
- The wanton and vicious waspWaspThe term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
- Wasps are often portrayed as deliberate stingers of humans.
Common East Asian animal stereotypes
Animal stereotypes in East Asian cultures (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) include:- The loyal / savage dog
- While domesticated dogs were welcomed, wild dogs were dangerous to both humans and their cattle.
- The royal elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
- Most notable in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and India, elephants are symbols of royalty.
- Most notable in Thailand
- The proud horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
- The thieving mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
- As a mouse was a common pest, they were likened to thieves. However, in Japanese tradition, a mouse also guarantees a good harvest.
- The comical or lecherous octopusOctopusThe octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
- In Japanese culture, the octopus is sometimes used in sexual situations. One famous example is a woodcutWoodcutWoodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
entitled The Dream of the Fisherman's WifeThe Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, also known as Girl Diver and Octopi, Diver and Two Octopi, etc., is an erotic woodcut of the ukiyo-e genre by the Japanese artist Hokusai. It is from the book Kinoe no Komatsu , a three-volume collection of shunga erotic prints first published in 1814, and is the most famous shunga Hokusai ever...
. A subset of HentaiHentaiis a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
makes use of octopus-like creatures in tentacle porn.
- In Japanese culture, the octopus is sometimes used in sexual situations. One famous example is a woodcut
- The stupid / rich pig
- The lucky / acquisitive cat
- Cats are said to bring luck to business ventures. Many Japanese video games feature anthropomorphic cats ("neko") in mercantile roles (e.g. SquareSquare (company)was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Secret of ManaSecret of ManaSecret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
) as well.
- Cats are said to bring luck to business ventures. Many Japanese video games feature anthropomorphic cats ("neko") in mercantile roles (e.g. Square
- The cute kittenKittenA kitten is a juvenile domesticated cat.The young of big cats are called cubs rather than kittens. Either term may be used for the young of smaller wild felids such as ocelots, caracals, and lynx, but "kitten" is usually more common for these species....
- CatgirlCatgirlA catgirl is a female character with cat traits, such as cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, and in particular Japanese anime and manga where they are more commonly referred to as Neko or Nekomimi , in...
s occupy a niche in Japanese otakuOtakuis a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
culture, most often as females dressed to some degree as a humanoid with cat elements like cat ears and a tail.
- Catgirl
- The devoted / tricky rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
- The former is from a BuddhistBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
story where a rabbit offered itself as a gift to BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
by leaping into a fire. In KojikiKojikiis the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...
, a white rabbit appears as a trickster. This is also due to the mythology of the rabbit in the moon. - In a Korean folktale, a wise rabbit rescues a man from a greedy, ungrateful tiger.
- The former is from a Buddhist
- The friendly snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
- The proud tigerTigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
- The cruel tigerTigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
- The folktales about man-devouring tigers appear frequently in Korea. At times tigers can be gullible or loyal.
- The wise and old turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
/ tortoiseTortoiseTortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise... - The protecting wolf
- The wolf protected Japanese farmers crops from raiders.
- The grateful/loyal magpieMagpieMagpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
- In Korea, a magpie chirping near one's house indicates that long-anticipated guests are finally coming.
- In one Korean folktale, a magpie sacrifices herself to save the man who rescued her chicks from a serpent.
- In Japanese folklore, the kitsuneKitsuneis the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
and foxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
represent the tricksterTricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
, similar to the jackalJackalAlthough the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
in Africa, or coyoteCoyoteThe coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
and fox in North America.
Indian animal stereotypes
India has a rich tradition of animal stories and beast fables, including one of the world's oldest collections of stories, the PanchatantraPanchatantra
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
, and its later derivatives such as the Hitopadesha
Hitopadesha
Hitopadesha is a collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse written in the 12 century C.E. It is an independent treatment of the Panchatantra...
. Throughout these fables, the talking animals
Talking animals in fiction
Talking creatures are a common theme in mythology and folk tales, as well as children's literature. Fictional talking creatures often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities but appearing as a creature...
behave as humans (unlike the Aesop model where animals behave as animals), and, are used to invoke characters with stereotypical personalities. There is also a distinction between wild and domesticated animals. Some of the common stereotypes include:
- Lion: Is king of the forest, and demonstrates all the royal strengths and weaknesses. Is brave, noble and proud animal, but can also be haughty and foolish. Has a natural rivalry with the elephant.
- Jackal: Is greedy and cunning (akin to the fox in European tradition), and sometimes gets punished but often gets away. Is often a manipulative minister to the king.
- Hare: Is small and vulnerable, but compensates for it by being crafty, outwitting stronger rivals.
- Elephant (wild or domestic): Is noble, proud and strong, and an enemy of the lion, but like the lion can also be naive, and, when in rut, wild and unpredictable.
- Cat (domestic or wild): Is cunning and hypocritical, with a calm appearance hiding murderous intentions.
- Dog: Is considered unclean and impure, and is reviled—not a pet but a pest. Is considered to lack self-respect.
- Mongoose (domestic): Is a loyal and useful pet, best known for its natural enmity toward snakes. See The Brahmin and the MongooseThe Brahmin and the MongooseThe Brahmin and the Mongoose is a folktale from India, and "one of the world's most travelled tales". It describes the rash killing of a loyal animal, and thus warns against hasty action. The story underlies certain legends in the West, such as that of Llewellyn and his dog Gelert in Wales, or...
.