I Am Not Weasel: Difference between revisions

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A [[Talking Animal]] (or at least someone who looks like one) is constantly mistaken for another species as a [[Running Gag]]. Often, it can be their [[Berserk Button]], particularly if they consider it a [[Fantastic Slur]]. This trope often leads to [[Insistent Terminology]].

Trope name is a reference to ''[[~~Cow and Chicken (Animation)|~~Cow and Chicken]]'' spinoff ''[[I Am Weasel]]''. Not to be confused with [[I Am Not Shazam]]. Contrast this trope with its [[Inversion]], [[Ass in A Lion Skin]], for when an animal ''wants'' to be taken for another species.

Trope name is a reference to ''[[Cow and Chicken]]'' spinoff ''[[I Am Weasel]]''. Not to be confused with [[I Am Not Shazam]]. Contrast this trope with its [[Inversion]], [[Ass in a Lion Skin]], for when an animal ''wants'' to be taken for another species.

See [[Mistaken Nationality]] when it is happening with humans for ethnicities or nationalities, or [[My Name Is Not Durwood]] when dealing with proper names.

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* ''[[One Piece]]'''s Tony Tony Chopper is frequently mistaken for a tanuki in his hybrid form and a yeti(at least once) in human form. Of course, his real form is that of a reindeer. Franky has also referred to him as a "Gorilla" and even "Gorilla-Deer" when he realized he was a Devil Fruit user.

** In the ''Funimation'' dub, Chopper is also frequently called a "raccoon-dog".

* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh GX]]'', Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin is called a fish by Judai, and replies that he is a mammal.

* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin is called a fish by Judai, and replies that he is a mammal.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Xiao May is thought to be a cat by everyone in Amestris, but she's really a tiny panda bear. Note that the Chinese word for panda literally means "bear-cat".

* ''Shadows of Spawn'' -- a manga adaptation of Todd McFarlen's ''Spawn''. Ken Kurosawa (who is the series' Spawn) encounters an intelligent wolf spawn named Mangler, whom he often mistakes for a dog.

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== Fan Works ==

* Used in ''[[~~Turnabout Storm (Fanfic)|~~Turnabout Storm]]''; [[Ace Attorney|Phoenix Wright]] calls [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ~~(Animation)~~|Twilight Sparkle]] a "Talking Horse" shortly after first seeing her, she is quick to correct him (doubling as a small [[Comically Missing the Point]] moment from Phoenix's perspective).

* Used in ''[[Turnabout Storm]]''; [[Ace Attorney|Phoenix Wright]] calls [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Twilight Sparkle]] a "Talking Horse" shortly after first seeing her, she is quick to correct him (doubling as a small [[Comically Missing the Point]] moment from Phoenix's perspective).

{{quote| '''Twilight Sparkle:''' Excuse me! I am not a horse, I happen to be a pony.

'''Phoenix Wright:''' OH! Okay! A talking '''''PONY''''', [[Sarcasm Mode|that explains everything!]] }}

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== Films -- Animation ==

* Inversion. Ratigan from ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]'' is a rat, but to call him one is seriously pushing his [[Berserk Button]]. He prefers the title of "a big mouse". The Basil of Baker Street book series (on which this movie was based) has "Padraic" Ratigan as a mouse.

* ''[[Over the Hedge (~~Film~~)|Over the Hedge]]'' features a turtle who corrects anyone who call him an amphibian. It also features a pest exterminator with a freakishly strong sense of smell:

* ''[[Over the Hedge (animation)|Over the Hedge]]'' features a turtle who corrects anyone who call him an amphibian. It also features a pest exterminator with a freakishly strong sense of smell:

{{quote| '''Pest exterminator:''' ''(sniff)'' raccoon, squirrel, two opossums, skunk, amphibian--

'''Vern:''' ''(under his breath)'' -- ''reptile''.

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** There is some confusion when Mulan meets Mushu for the first time, hence the page quote. He's just not the size you'd expect for a dragon.

** Of course, Mushu goes on to call Mulan's horse a cow for the rest of the movie.

* Call Pumbaa from ''[[~~The Lion King (Disney)|~~The Lion King]]'' a pig only if you're in a ''real'' hurry to die. Simba and Timon can get away with it, though.

* Call Pumbaa from ''[[The Lion King]]'' a pig only if you're in a ''real'' hurry to die. Simba and Timon can get away with it, though.

* In ''[[~~Tangled (Disney)|~~Tangled]]'', Flynn keeps referring to Rapunzel's chameleon sidekick Pascal as a frog.

* In ''[[Tangled]]'', Flynn keeps referring to Rapunzel's chameleon sidekick Pascal as a frog.

* At one point in ''[[Scooby Doo]] and the Cyber Chase'', [[It Makes Sense in Context|Fred attempts to bullfight a lion]]. At first he shouts, "Toro, toro!" which causes the lion to look around in confusion, as if to say "Bull? Where?". Fred thinks for a moment, then shouts, "Leo, leo!<ref> ''Technically'', he should be saying "león", but eh, details</ref>"

* Elsa the Pterodactyl from ''[[~~Were~~ Back a ~~Dinosaurs~~ Story]]'' apparently hates being referred to as a bat.

* Elsa the Pterodactyl from ''[[We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story]]'' apparently hates being referred to as a bat.

* Lampwick from ''[[Pinocchio (Disney)|Pinocchio]]'' refers to Jiminy Cricket as a beetle just right before he turns into a donkey.

* Lampwick from ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]'' refers to Jiminy Cricket as a beetle just right before he turns into a donkey.

{{quote| "You mean to tell me you take orders from a grasshopper?"}}

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'': Never call an Ent a "tree". Mocked by the [[~~Rifftrax~~]] of ''The Two Towers'' movie.

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'': Never call an Ent a "tree". Mocked by the [[Riff Trax]] of ''The Two Towers'' movie.

{{quote| "TreeBeard some call me."

"Well then, why did you get so upset when we called you by half your name?!" }}

** Though this is only the case in the movie; it never comes up in the book. Still, it probably makes sense -- most shepards wouldn't like being called "sheep", even if their name is Mr. Sheep-Herd.

* From the [[~~MST3K~~]] take on ''[[Eegah]]'':

* From the [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] take on ''[[Eegah]]'':

{{quote| '''Character from film:''' It's not a monster! It's a giant!

'''Crow:''' There is a big difference! }}

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* In the ''[[Redwall]]'' books by Brian Jacques, the heroic and generally weapon-ready hares absolutely cannot stand being referred to as rabbits. (Rabbits in the ''Redwall'' world tend to be quiet and passive.)

* The Librarian from ''[[Discworld]]'' (who is an orang-utan) gets ''very upset'' when people call him a monkey. Typically, he expresses it by hanging them by their ankles and banging their head against the floor. To the point they fear to just say the ''word'' monkey, when trying to tell someone not to call him a monkey....

** Well, not ''all'' the time. At one point in ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'', Glod thwarted a prank by UU students with "These boys called you a monkey. I'd make them feel sorry, if I were you..."

** Well, not ''all'' the time. At one point in ''[[Discworld/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'', Glod thwarted a prank by UU students with "These boys called you a monkey. I'd make them feel sorry, if I were you..."

** Not to mention a few gags where a very, ''very'' overstressed character calls the Librarian a monkey, everyone else flinches, and he pats their hand and offers a soothing "ook" instead. ([[Pet the Dog|Aw.]])

** Although, in one case, a drunken perpetrator is [[Crowning Moment of Funny|mysteriously pitched over the side of a bridge]] on his way home that evening.

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'''Nobby:''' Nobby Nobbs, Hogfather.

'''Death:''' {{smallcaps|And have you been a good bo... a good dwa... a good gno... a good individual?}} }}

* The [[Violent Glaswegian|Nac Mac Feegles]] of ''[[Discworld]]'' also insist that they are not the generic "gnome", but "Pictsies". And [[Spell My Name ~~With~~ an "S"|the spelling is also important:]] They are not "pixies".

* The [[Violent Glaswegian|Nac Mac Feegles]] of ''[[Discworld]]'' also insist that they are not the generic "gnome", but "Pictsies". And [[Spell My Name with an "S"|the spelling is also important:]] They are not "pixies".

* In one scene in ''Wolf Speaker'', Daine is telepathically communicating with Tkaa, who then passes on her message to Numair, while riding in the mind of a marmot named Quickmunch. Later on in the conversation, Daine informs Numair that if he keeps on incorrectly identifying Quickmunch's species, the marmot will bite him.

* In the first ''[[Percy Jackson]]'' book, Percy meets the Greek-mythological dragon known as Echidna. He mentions the [[wikipedia:Echidna (disambiguation)|Australian mammal]] called the echidna, which was named after the mythological dragon. Echidna is [[Berserk Button|irked by this comparison]]; she always hated having a small anteater named after her.

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{{quote| '''Amy:''' You look human.

'''Eleventh Doctor:''' No, ''you'' look Time Lord. We came first. }}

* Occurs with human John Crichton in ''[[~~Farscape (TV)|~~Farscape]]''. Due to being pretty much physically identical ([[Bizarre Alien Biology|at least externally]]), he is often mistaken for a Sebacean, which is unfortunate since they're mostly bad guys.

* Occurs with human John Crichton in ''[[Farscape]]''. Due to being pretty much physically identical ([[Bizarre Alien Biology|at least externally]]), he is often mistaken for a Sebacean, which is unfortunate since they're mostly bad guys.

* Data, one ''[[Star Trek ~~the~~ Next Generation]]'', would occasionally correct people that he is an android, not a robot.

* Data, one ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', would occasionally correct people that he is an android, not a robot.

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== New Media ==

* Extremely common on [[~~E Bay~~]], where anything with spots will half the time be labeled as "tiger pattern", and vice versa.

* Extremely common on [[EBay]], where anything with spots will half the time be labeled as "tiger pattern", and vice versa.

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== Video Games ==

* Upon creating a Holy Dragon in ''[[Disgaea 3]]'', it'll take a moment to inform your other characters, that despite looking like a dog, it's indeed a dragon, after which it says [[Hypocritical Humor|"woof"]].

* Upon creating a Holy Dragon in ''[[Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice]]'', it'll take a moment to inform your other characters, that despite looking like a dog, it's indeed a dragon, after which it says [[Hypocritical Humor|"woof"]].

* Buzz Buzz, an insect of indeterminate species who provides much of the exposition early on in ''[[Earthbound]]'', introduces himself thus: "A bee I am... not..." Shortly afterward, Lardna Minch mistakes him for a dung beetle and squishes him.

* In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'', it's common knowledge that nobody ever should call a Bangaa (the reptilian humanoid race of Ivalice) a lizard; that is, common knowledge to everyone but the protagonist, who crashlanded in the world almost immediately before. Said innocent confusion instead leads to Marche almost getting, one would expect, killed. Likewise, upon their first prolonged meeting, Marche confuses Montblanc, a Moogle, for a ''stuffed animal''...

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{{quote| '''Ruby:''' Hel-'''''lo'''''! Time for your eye exam! I am not a cat!}}

** In the predecessor, ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete|Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'' Nall, another creature who appears to be a flying-cat, [[Berserk Button|reacts rather badly]] when anyone refers to him as such, although he is at a loss as to what he actually is until almost the end of the game.

* In ''[[Sonic Storybook Series ~~(Video Game)~~|Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'', the Djinn Erazor repeatedly calls Sonic a "blue rat", even when he was [[And I Must Scream|sucked back inside of his lamp for the rest of eternity.]] And each time he did, Sonic repeatedly reminded him that he was a hedgehog, and not a rat. Sonic got the last word in that argument.

* In ''[[Sonic Storybook Series|Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'', the Djinn Erazor repeatedly calls Sonic a "blue rat", even when he was [[And I Must Scream|sucked back inside of his lamp for the rest of eternity.]] And each time he did, Sonic repeatedly reminded him that he was a hedgehog, and not a rat. Sonic got the last word in that argument.

* In the Nintendo DS RPG ''[[~~The World Ends With You (Video Game)|~~The World Ends With You]]'', Shiki sewed herself a stuffed cat named "Mr. Mew", and she gets extremely angry when Neku (repeatedly) mistakes it for a pig. [[Calling Your Attacks|"Go, Mr. Mew!"]] [[Combination Attack|"Get 'em, piggy!"]]

* In the Nintendo DS RPG ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', Shiki sewed herself a stuffed cat named "Mr. Mew", and she gets extremely angry when Neku (repeatedly) mistakes it for a pig. [[Calling Your Attacks|"Go, Mr. Mew!"]] [[Combination Attack|"Get 'em, piggy!"]]

* In ''[[Sam and Max Hit The Road|Sam & Max Hit the Road]]'' a fisherman catches a giant fish:

{{quote| '''Fisherman''': Holy mackerel!

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* In ''[[Fletcher Apts]]'', the main character Bob, a hamster who is rather ambiguous-looking, is mistaken for different rodents (a squirrel [http://www.fletcherapts.com/archive/20060505.html here] and a rat [http://www.fletcherapts.com/archive/20060724.html here]) and produces a rant about it, which no-one pays attention to.

* George Fennec, from ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'', is often thought to be a rabbit. (A fennec is a type of fox with huge ears.)

* In ''[[~~Freefall (Webcomic)|~~Freefall]]'', Florence Ambrose, a red wolf, get almost invariably mistaken for a dog on first contact.

* In ''[[Freefall]]'', Florence Ambrose, a red wolf, get almost invariably mistaken for a dog on first contact.

* In ''[[~~Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|~~Schlock Mercenary]]'', the title character is often mistaken for a pile of dung.

* In ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'', the title character is often mistaken for a pile of dung.

== Web Original ==

* In ''[[We Are Our Avatars (Roleplay)|We Are Our Avatars]]'', [[Haruhi Suzumiya ~~(Light Novel)~~|Kyon]] once mistook [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Silver]] for, of all things, a parrot. Later [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Hohenheim]] mistakes him for a parakeet. And mind reading Pikadevil revealed that he believes that he is a hen. His being mistaken for a bird has become a Running Gag. And then The [[Lost Vikings]] came along, and mistook him for a platypus, a duck, a swallow, a goat, a cow, and an elephant of all things and later on, he learns that he's 1/16th bird.

* In ''[[We Are Our Avatars (Roleplay)|We Are Our Avatars]]'', [[Haruhi Suzumiya|Kyon]] once mistook [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (video game)|Silver]] for, of all things, a parrot. Later [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Hohenheim]] mistakes him for a parakeet. And mind reading Pikadevil revealed that he believes that he is a hen. His being mistaken for a bird has become a Running Gag. And then The [[Lost Vikings]] came along, and mistook him for a platypus, a duck, a swallow, a goat, a cow, and an elephant of all things and later on, he learns that he's 1/16th bird.

** Klonoa's a Phantomillian; he's not a Mobian, he's not a rabbit, and not a nekomata.

* In a video of "[[Chip Cheezum]]"s, where they're Retsupuraeing someones LP of "Okami", the kid starts calling Ammy a...bunny. Chip then rages that Ammy is not a bunny, she's a ''dog''. Of course several youtubers then pointed out Ammy is actually a ''WOLF''. The original description read "IT'S A DOOOOOOOOG", but later "SHUT UP IT'S A WOLF" was added.

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* Quark, of ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', is constantly being mistaken for a duck, despite being human. "I'm not a duck!"

* ''[[The Angry Beavers]]'' are constantly mistaken for weasels. Or, more commonly, for "pointy bird things". It's not surprising at all -- even for a kid's show, they don't look remotely like beavers except their tails.

* In the ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (~~Animation~~)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' episode "Out of Scale", "Ratso" Ratskiwatski sends his two thugs out for squirrels for his daughter. They pick up Chip and Dale. ''None'' of the humans can tell the difference, and call them squirrels throughout, each time corrected with a "[We're] chipmunks!" from one or both of them. Not that they ever pick up on this...

* In the ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' episode "Out of Scale", "Ratso" Ratskiwatski sends his two thugs out for squirrels for his daughter. They pick up Chip and Dale. ''None'' of the humans can tell the difference, and call them squirrels throughout, each time corrected with a "[We're] chipmunks!" from one or both of them. Not that they ever pick up on this...

* Fang from ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'' is always being mistaken for a monkey. She even is delighted that when she meets her idol, he calls her a human. (Even after him doubting for a second.)

* In the 60s [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoon [[Wally Gator]], the title character had been mistaken for a lizard, a dinosaur, a dragon, a wolf, and a monster.

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** On the same show, [[Meaningful Name|Heffer]] was often referred to as a cow, and would have to correct people (usually his father) that he was technically a steer. This is justified in that a "cow" is a female bovine, while a "steer" is a male that was neutered as a calf. It's very much like calling a eunuch a "girl" or "woman". Some people tend to get mad when you refer to them as the wrong gender. Of course, his saying that he's a ''steer'', rather than a bull, raises some [[Unfortunate Implications]].

*** Actually, his father will correct others for the mistake too.

* In one episode of ''[[The Simpsons (~~Animation~~)|The Simpsons]]'', Bart and Lisa are rescued by a clan of hillbillies. The patriarch claims that he married a bear after wandering away from a school excursion. His (human) wife keeps loudly insisting that "I ain't a bear!" He's so convinced that he responds to everything she says with "Raar raar raar! No one understands you, she-bear!"

* In one episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Bart and Lisa are rescued by a clan of hillbillies. The patriarch claims that he married a bear after wandering away from a school excursion. His (human) wife keeps loudly insisting that "I ain't a bear!" He's so convinced that he responds to everything she says with "Raar raar raar! No one understands you, she-bear!"

* Not quite animal, but Larry the Cucumber of ''[[~~Veggie Tales (Animation)|~~Veggie Tales]]'' is often mistaken for a pickle, which bothers him.

* Not quite animal, but Larry the Cucumber of ''[[Veggie Tales]]'' is often mistaken for a pickle, which bothers him.

* In the first episode of ''[[~~Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|~~Xiaolin Showdown]]'', Raimundo refers to Dojo (who is a small dragon) as a gecko. Dojo is... not pleased, and shapeshifts into his larger form to intimidate him. This may be a reference to the ''[[Mulan]]'' example.

* In the first episode of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'', Raimundo refers to Dojo (who is a small dragon) as a gecko. Dojo is... not pleased, and shapeshifts into his larger form to intimidate him. This may be a reference to the ''[[Mulan]]'' example.

* Done with much humor in one of the episodes of ''Disney's Legend of [[Tarzan]]'', where a greedy scientist catches a supernatural silver gorilla with healing abilities. Much to his annoyance he repeatedly has to remind his henchman that it is an ape, and not a "giant monkey".

* ''[[~~Spongebob~~ SquarePants]]''. This has happened to Sandy Cheeks a few times, especially in the episode "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy", where townsfolk mistake a naked Sandy for a ferret and even a goat among other things.

* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]''. This has happened to Sandy Cheeks a few times, especially in the episode "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy", where townsfolk mistake a naked Sandy for a ferret and even a goat among other things.

* ''[[Aaahh Real Monsters]]''. Ickis is [[Berserk Button|rather insistent]] that he is ''not'' a bunny.

* ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'':

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'''George Liquor:''' Atta boy, Rex. }}

* A [[Kids WB]] promo for ''[[Channel Umptee 3]]'' had [[Jim Cummings]] mistakenly identifying Ogden the Ostrich as a chicken.

{{quote| '''Ogden:''' ''[points to [[Animaniacs ~~(Animation)~~|Chicken Boo]]]'' See? Chicken! ''[points to himself]'' Not a chicken!

{{quote| '''Ogden:''' ''[points to [[Animaniacs|Chicken Boo]]]'' See? Chicken! ''[points to himself]'' Not a chicken!

'''Cummings:''' Well, ya do ''look'' like a chicken...

'''Ogden:''' Do not! }}