http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FunnyAnimal

Duckman, Duckman "I am not an animal! Well, okay, I'm kind of an animal. My features are animal-like, I don't wear clothes, and I smell a bit outdoorsy most of the time. But I have a job, and I talk and stuff too, so when I say I'm not an animal I think technically I'm on solid ground."

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They're animals who think, talk and act mostly like human beings. The Funny Animal has almost all the mannerisms of a human being. Sometimes, only their appearance distinguishes them from the hairless primates who draw them. Indeed, one of the main incentives in using such characters are that they are more distinctive, and hence easier to draw, as recognizable individuals than ordinary humans.

On the Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism, these fall somewhere between the Civilized Animal and the Beast Man. As there can be some confusion between all the anthropomorphism tropes, here's a guideline:

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Practically any cartoon series from The Golden Age of Animation, or video games aimed at children younger than 13 have at least one such character.

Funny Animal is the technical term used by cartoonists to refer to the genre and characters. Also note that the "funny" in the title isn't literal: Funny Animals can be serious characters too.

Frequently overlaps with Animal Superheroes. May live in a World of Funny Animals. May suffer from Carnivore Confusion and Furry Confusion.

For further tropes pertaining to funny animals, furries and the tropes that appear frequently in their genres, see Funny Animal Tropes. Compare Intellectual Animal. Closely related to Beast Fable, which is the ancient form of the genre.

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Examples:

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Advertising

Elsie the Cow was a popular mascot for Borden-brand dairy products in the 20th century. In at least one of her incarnations, she was speaking, living in a house, and wearing clothes, and her son was riding a bicycle.

Anime and Manga

Pokémon In the anime, Meowth of the Team Rocket trio taught himself "human talk" and how to stand on his hind legs, all for the love of a female Meowth named Meowzie who said that a human could do more for her than anything he could (as in, the food, housing and adoration), only to be rejected as now she considers him a freak. In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, a story arc centers around the kitten of the very same Meowzie; she's found in a Poké Ball the gang purchases (unable to get captured herself, the mother pops her kitten into an unsold ball to ensure that whoever finds her will give her a good home). When Team Rocket, and thus Meowth, come around making trouble, Meowth meets this kitten and instantly sees her mother in her face and shining coin. Then she tells him it's creepy how he acts like he's a human. Oh heartbreak. Mewtwo seems quite human-like, but his psychic powers make that easy. In Pokémon Adventures, he actually has Blaine's DNA and is thus a Half-Human Hybrid.

In Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso (The Crimson Pig) the main protagonist is a pig, or more exactly a "pig-headed" human as he has the complete anatomy of a stout person except for the head. He is the only one of his type and lives among a human society who, while aware of his difference, don't find it bizarre and sometimes openly point it out. It's stated that he somehow became a Baleful Polymorph, given that there are pictures (and a flashback) showing him in human form.

Princess Tutu's Mr. Cat looks exactly as his name implies, and occasionally meows and cleans himself with his paws, but is otherwise a marriage-obsessed ballet instructor. While he is the most prominent one and has the most screen time, there are other guest characters that also fall under this trope.

Shirokuma Cafe is pretty much about this, as well as their interactions with humans. Inverted with Mr. Shoebill from Episode 8. He does not talk or act anthropomorphosized, but he is still sentient as the Funny Animal characters and is the editor in chief of a local food magazine. Is lampshaded in one episode where a nameless human (Nicknamed Mr. Necktie) visits from out of town. And is bewildered that animals can walk and talk and tries to study them. (Despite it's been shown that Funny Animals are everywhere in that universe)

For viewers (and readers) who are only familiar with Dragon Ball Z, it can be quite jarring to watch the first anime adaptation of Dragon Ball and see just how common anthropomorphic Funny and Talking Animals apparently are in-universe. Oolong (a pig) and Puar (a cat) start off as two of Goku's close companions, but barely appear more than once in the series' second half. Even the King of the World (it's a Fictional Earth) is a dog. With a mustache.

Comic Books

Films — Animation

Films — Live-Action

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Deconstructed by Rocket Raccoon. He's a walking, talking raccoon that can stand on two legs, hold and fire heavy weaponry, pilot spacecraft, and so on because he had multiple painful experiments performed on him in the past. Rocket: I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some... some little monster! Played straight with Howard the Duck in his handful of short appearances.



Literature

Live-Action TV

Adventures in Wonderland 's White Rabbit counted as this. Oddly enough, the March Hare in the same show was more humanoid. Kermit (and other frogs), Piggy (and other pigs), Fozzie, Rowlf, and assorted other characters on The Muppet Show. (Scooter, Bunsen, the band and the Whatnots are probably meant to be humanish, Statler, Waldorf and the Swedish Chef are definitely Muppet humans, and Gonzo is ... whatever.)

In the spin-off to Kabouter Plop called Plop & de Peppers all three of the animal friends that is with Plop appear this way. The Magicians: Fillory has many, of every common species. Apparently many of them also have relationships with human Fillorians.

Music

With the exception of vocalist Ranko, every BUTAOTOME member has an anthropomorphic animal persona: Paprika is a cat, Comp is a polar bear and Ranko no Ane is a pink rabbit.

Kids Praise: Charity Churchmouse is simultaneously a mouse and a gospel singer. She lampshades this at one point: Psalty : My dog is flying the plane?! Charity : I'm a mouse. What's the difference? Risky Rat, the go-to villain for the series, also appears to be this. In his visual appearances, he's covered in fur and has a tail.



Mythology and Religion

Older Than Dirt: The Ancient Egyptians apparently liked funny animals. The story of The Mouse As Vizier features talking animals who have a very human political system, and several papyri depict animals such as mice, cats, hyenas, antelope, crocodiles, donkeys, monkeys, and lions playing board games, using weapons, drinking out of goblets, and playing musical instruments. Except for standing on their hind legs, they aren't anthropomorphic at all. And they completely ignore natural predator-prey relationships. They even herd livestock and ride chariots pulled by normal animals.

A fancy Sumerian lyre, dated to c. 2600 BCE, features inlay scenes that depict funny animals. A bear, jackal, and donkey play music, while a lion and an antelope serve beverages. Except for standing on their hind legs and having hands, they look like normal animals.

Pinball

In Police Force, almost everyone is a Funny Animal, wearing little to no clothing and exhibiting natural body proportions.

Podcasts

Interstitial Actual Play has the party visit a Sonic the Hedgehog world and thus change form accordingly. Marche becomes a Cockatiel, Edith becomes a mouse, and Criss Angel becomes a bat. Subverted with Roxanne, who is already an anthropomorphic dog-person. She becomes human.

Print Media

The Onion published an excellent article based on this trope in the editorial section, titled "Stop Anthropomorphizing Me" , written by Gerald the Dog.

Professional Wrestling

The Estonian Thunderfrog. He's a wrestling frog!

Puppet Shows

Topo Gigio is an Italian franchise very popular in the Latin World about a funny mouse who uses different kind of clothes (including pajamas and a sleeping hat), lives in a house with proportionally made furniture and even has a miniature pet cat.

Toys

Certain characters from GoGo's Crazy Bones are this trope. Case in point: Lucky Rab, an anthropomorphic rabbit.

Video Games

Visual Novels

Squeaker in Fleuret Blanc, a dog who acts exactly like a human except for the occasional bark. Le Neuvieme even says he is a "perfect French gentleman". Nobody except Kant finds this odd.

Web Animation

Chicken and Moose are these, though they also appear to be made of metal.

Webcomics

Web Original

Western Animation