Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My!: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}{{Needs Image}}

{{quote|'''Teacher''': So the first Little Pig went to the store. He asked the merchant, 'I'd like to buy some straw please.' And what do you think the man said?<br />

[[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s are handy. Because they're animals that act human without ''looking'' human, they can add a sense of whimsy or comedy to a piece; seeing a group of ''animals'' go about ordinary human lives can help to accentuate just how absurd we are sometimes. If they're played with "realistic" animal traits ([[Most Writers Are Human|or as realistic as circumstances allow]]), they can allow for a unique brand of comedy. If they're being used seriously, they can help give the impression of a different world. Heck, [[Furries Are Easier to Draw|they might just be easier to draw]]. However, in many works that use them, they are a "human substitute." It might get a little too weird [[Fridge Logic|to consider]] what it would be like having both humanoid "animals" and "ordinary" humans running around in the same world--especiallyworld—especially if there are ''regular'' animals [[Furry Confusion|running around as well,]] and even more so if some of them ''[[Talking Animal|talk!]]''

Some writers don't care, however. And thus you get worlds where [[Animal Crossing|pointy-hatted young women buy their groceries from six-foot-tall raccoons]], little girls go on play dates [[Little Bear|with grizzly bears]], preteen kids [[My Gym PartnersPartner's a Monkey|go to school with monkeys]], and plenty of other [[Hilarity Ensues|assorted hijinks]] go down between humans and what most people consider "[[Furry Fandom|furries]]." To make things even ''more'' baffling, some of these worlds have ordinary [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s as well, generally making everyone's heads hurt. And... don't bother asking what everyone eats. [[Carnivore Confusion|Seriously... just don't.]]

If the cast is mostly human, expect the talking animals and anthros to be an [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]. If the cast of a work is mostly composed of animals, a human may be thrown in as [[Token Human|the furry equivalent of a]] [[Token Minority]]. And if the [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s in question are very small and typically go unnoticed by humans, it's a [[Mouse World]].

== Anime &and Manga ==

* ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'' has many [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s in it, who often live among humans. Major ones are Oolong, a pig who walks upright, talks, and wears clothing (including a Zhongshan/Mao suit), and Korin, an immortal cat, but there are [http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Animals many others]. There's Shu for instance, an anthropomorphic ninja dog who serves Emperor Pilaf. In the first episode of the anime, he and his woman partner Mai are chased by pack of wolves who are fully zoomorphic (don't stand upright and don't talk). Also, the few times he appeared, the President of the World was an anthropomorphic fox as well. Some of the animals are zoomorphic in body form, but are capable of human speech, such as Turtle, who is [[Shaped Like Itself|the turtle]] companion of Master Roshi, so this is also a case of [[Furry Confusion]]. ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' also featured funny animals on a smaller scale, but [[Continuity Drift|they became less and less present]].

* ''[[Princess Tutu]]''. Most of the main cast is human--excepthuman—except for Ahiru, who is a duck that can magically turn into a girl--butgirl—but many of the secondary characters are anthropomorphic animals, including Neko Sensei (the ballet teacher).

* [[Cerebus]] was basically the only [[Talking Animal]] in a world of humans (there were a couple of other aardvarks, but they only made small, if significant, appearances). [[Elephant in Thethe Living Room|Nobody ever seemed to comment on this or think that it was odd]]. He even [[HotImprobable SkittySpecies On Wailord ActionCompatibility|had a completely human-looking child with another human]].

* ''[[Howard the Duck (Comic Bookcomics)|Howard The Duck]]'' was essentially in the same boat as Cerebus, except that the human world he inhabited happened to be the Mainstream [[Marvel Comics]] universe.

* Most characters in the French comic ''[[De Cape Etet Dede Crocs]]'' are human, but the leads are a fox and a wolf (with a rabbit sidekick trailing behind). They are acknowledged as such (for example, when they fall into the sea : "One cannon and two canines overboard!"), but definitely fit into the category of [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]. They each have a human love interest, although we eventually learn Don Lope, the wolf, used to be in love with another wolf ; there are a few other background characters who are various species of animals, and none of this is ever commented upon. However, [[Carnivore Confusion]] is actually addressed, in a hilarious way.

* ''Fable'' -- both—both the anthropomorphic and realistic animals are capable of speech and human intelligence. It kind of makes you wonder how the Three Little Pigs react to eating their real-world counterparts.

* ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'' in the alternate world of Jade anyway has all sorts of human hybrid creatures, most of them from the "were-" category (werewolf, were-ceetah, wererats etc) along with a bunch of other races (elves, dwarves, dragons, amazons, humans. Seriously this series is a regular [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink]]). There are a few of these characters that reside on Earth too, but mostly work under a [[The Masquerade|Masquerade]].

** And the abysmal [[Filmation]] movie, ''[[Pinocchio and Thethe Emperor of Thethe Night]]'' has obvious [[Expy|Expies]] of each of these characters.

* ''[[G-Force (Film)|G-Force]]'': The guinea pigs are capable of walking on twos, data hacking skills, display of human emotions, and can even speak provided they are given english translators. While the film tries to explain that they were genetically enhanced by the government, it doesn't add up as to why the animals they meet at the pet store are capable of the same human-like feats as they do. Of course, then there's the spoiler at the end of the movie.

* For the most part, ''[[Night Onon the Galactic Railroad]]'' uses cat-people as stands-in for people... but then about 75 minutes in, three humans get on the train.

* ''[[The Ant Bully]]''

* ''[[Bee Movie]]''

* ''[[The Rescuers (Disney film)|The Rescuers]]'' and ''[[The Rescuers Down Under (Disney film)|The Rescuers Down Under]]''

* In ''[[The Legend of the Titanic]]'', humans slowly start interacting with animals. In its sequel ''In Search Of The Titanic'', everyone seems to interact with everyone, including some [[Animate Inanimate Object|Animate Inanimate Objects]]s.

*** It's nothing too bizarre. In the last couple pages of ''Magician's Nephew'', it says King Frank's children married the local magical creatures -- naiadscreatures—naiads and wood-spirits and such. By the time of the Pevinsies, there are just some magicals with a touch of human blood. The human population post-Caspian, and all the kings through the rest of the series, are all Telmarine stock (descended from pirates that accidentally slid into the Narnian world).

* The land of Vision in ''[[Brave Story]]'' is populated by both humans and several types of animal people. One of the main characters, Meena, is a [[Catgirl]].

* In ''[[The Wind in Thethe Willows]]'', most of the animals live in burrows (albeit in very human-like comfort) and have little or no interaction with humans. Mr. Toad, on the other hand, lives in an actual house, drives cars, is put on trial in a human court, held in a human prison, and escapes by disguising himself as a human washerwoman. During his escape no one suspects that he's Mr. Toad until he actually announces it when he rides off with a barge woman's horse. And he also interacts on a more-or-less equal basis with all the other animals.

* ''[[Alice in Wonderland (Literature)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' has a variety of [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s, [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]]s, and [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s interacting with Alice and human(ish) individuals like the Queen of Hearts and her court.

* In ''[[Babar]]'', we have intelligent elephants who can communicate with humans and rule a kingdom of anthromorphic crocodiles and monkeys.

* ''[[Wicked (Literaturenovel)|Wicked]]'', featuring Dr. Dillamond, the Cowardly Lion, and the important distinctions between Animals and animals.

** Which is, of course, based on ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Literature)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''.

* [[Paddington Bear (Literaturenovel)|Paddington Bear]] is a lone bear in a world of humans. No wonder he's always in trouble.

* [[The Adventures of Fox Tayle (Literature)|Fox Tayle]] was created in a secret government labratory, but the project was cancelled. Shep and Wolf were killed, but Fox escaped and now the FBI is chasing him. He's left as the [[Last of His Kind|only]] anthropomorphic animal on the planet.

* ''[[The Magic Pudding]]'' has [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s interacting with humans in an Australian setting (the hero is a Koala).

* Kermit the Frog and co. from ''[[The Muppets]]'' interact with humans on a daily basis, and Pepe the King Prawn dates human women (although the Swedish Chef still sees all animals as food).

* Snoopy from ''[[Peanuts]]'' plays baseball, decorates his dog house, but still is treated as if he was a regular dog for the most part.

* The cats in the ''[[Garfield]]'' comics, movies, specials, and the two TV shows [[Garfield and Friends]] and [[The Garfield Show]].

* In [[Wicked (Theatretheatre)|Wicked]], many of the citizens of Oz are animals who generally interact normally with the human Ozians-such as the [[Wacky College|Shiz University]] history [[Politically -Motivated Teacher|professor]] [[Talking Animal|Dr. Dillamond]]. Although, the prevalence of talking animals in Oz starts to change as [[Fantastic Racism|the]] [[Humanity Is Superior|plot]] [[Propaganda Machine|starts]] [[Unperson|to]] [[And I Must Scream|unfold]].

* ''[[Animal Crossing]].'' You and your fellow [[Player Character|Player Characters]]s are the only humans in a village full of [[Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal|Half Dressed Cartoon Animals]]. To be fair, the other species you meet seem to come in short supply too, so you're all kind of [[Token Minority|Token Minorities]].

** [[Fridge Logic]] sets in when you realize that there are house items that are animals. ''Normal'' animals. Your robin neighbors don't seem alarmed when they come to your house see your birdcage. Heck, ''they'' can have their ''own'' birdcage!

** Banjo might not be a small bear, Humba Wumba could be a shamanistic pixie.

* The [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] series moved to this kind of world starting with ''[[Sonic Adventure (Video Game)|Sonic Adventure]]''. Before then, there was no telling where Robotnik came from.

** In fact, the series seems to make a distinct differentiation between humans, anthropomorphs, and regular animals. Sonic will go to great lengths to save animals then reward himself by [[Carnivore Confusion|eating a chili dog]] and the other characters aren't able to communicate with [[Team Pet|Chao or Big's pal, Froggy]]. Early promotional "origin stories" and the original plans for Sonic 1 gave Sonic [[Interspecies Romance|a human girlfriend]]. This element would later find itself in [[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 (Videovideo Gamegame)||Sonic the Hedgehog 2006]] and your mileage WILL VARY depending on the extent human-hedgehog relationships [[Berserk Button|make you want to break stuff]].

* For great justice, [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]] makes the cut. In addition to humanoids (the vast majority, and perhaps [[Super Mario Bros (Franchise)./WMG|all]], of them are part mushroom too), there appears a dragon-turtle hybrid with 8 offspring, bipedal dinosaurs with magical eating powers, walking flowers, several monkeys and gorillas, and to cap it all off, a bunch of [[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|slightly digital-looking nutcases]].

* ''[[Beyond Good and& Evil (Videovideo Gamegame)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' features both humans and several species of [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s (the most common seem to be goats). Pey'j, one of the heroes, is even a pig!

* ''[[Sequential Art (Webcomicwebcomic)|Sequential Art]]'' has a main character sharing his living space with an anthropomorphic cat and a less furry but still anthro penguin. In fact, it soon begins to seem like normal animals are the minority in the comic (and most women are furries, but [[Author Appeal|that's a different matter]]).

* This was the case at one point in ''[[Jack (Webcomicwebcomic)|Jack]]''. What happened to all the humans is prime manure for [[Epileptic Trees]].

* The [[Web Comic]] ''[[Kaspall]]'' takes place in a [http://kaspall.xepher.net/index.php world that's mostly populated by anthropomorphic characters], but humans (and other species) frequently get transported there by accident and have to try to integrate into its society.

* ''[[Achewood]]'' does this in an abstract and weird sense: while the main cast consists of funny animals and a few robots, it's stated occasionally that they actually live in [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118082130/http://achewood.saddestthing.com/wiki/index.php/Underground an underground world] that exists alongside the human world (note [https://web.archive.org/web/20090103041616/http://m.assetbar.com/achewood/uua5xj1JB this strip]). This means that every once in a while they'll run into a human character, such as Mark Twain or the preserved head of Keith Moon.

* ''[[http://vickifox.com The World of Vicki Fox]]'' has humans in it, but they appear very seldom (usually only in crowd scenes) and have little impact on the stories.

* ''[[Digger (Webcomic)|Digger]]'' has a human village not too far from a pack of (sapient) hyenas. And of course, the main character is a wombat.

* The Webcomic ''[[Freefall (Webcomic)|Freefall]]'' has Florence Ambrose and Sam Starfall (okay, an alien octopusoid in a suit), the first being a sort of science experiment, and the second being a former accidental stowaway. To a certain extent, subverted with Sam, who seems like the [[Elephant in Thethe Living Room|Alien In The Living Room]], but is revealed to have been of a bit more interest before news spread around and [[First Contact]] with his species was written off as a wash. Florence is quick probably the only one of her species on the planet, and other than the greeting of "Doggy!" doesn't get much species-related attention.

* ''[[Housepets (Webcomic)|Housepets]]'' milks this for all its worth. It's a setting where [http://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/25/i-kid-people-i-kid-youre-a-good-crowd/ police dogs can give Miranda warnings], [http://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/09/28/stranger-danger/ a regular wolf might drop in for tea] and [http://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/10/14/see-you-at-the-party-officer/ have his own house for all practical definitions]. Then we get into the magical [[Animorphism]] and [http://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/12/09/munchies-and-crunchies-in-here-somewhere/ you get some really awkward questions].

* Played with in [http://www.awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=052807/please-explain-this-anomaly this] [[Awkward Zombie]] comic.

* ''[[Frog Raccoon Strawberry]]'' takes place in such a world.

* ''[[The Whiteboard (Webcomic)|The Whiteboard]]'' ended up this way because [[Furries Are Easier to Draw]] at first, and has added more and more anthro characters as time goes on.

* ''[[Stubble Trouble (Webcomic)|Stubble Trouble]]'' has a world where over half the population is anthropomorphic animals and no one seems to care. Human/furry relationships aren't a taboo, either.

* The ''Little Bear'' books (and TV show) had [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s (Little Bear and his family), [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s (most of Little Bear's friends), Little Bear's friend Emily and her grandmother (who were both humans), ''and'' Emily's non-anthropomorphic, non-talking dog.

* In the various incarnations of [[Rupert Bear|Rupert]] (also a bear), both humans and animals lived in Rupert's world. Most of the citizens of Rupert's hometown were animal, though several of Rupert's friends, [[The Professor]] and [[Chinese Girl|Tiger Lily]], were human, as were residents of several nearby towns like Appleton. Nutwood Forest is also populated by sentient but otherwise "normal" [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s!

* ''[[Bonkers (Animation)|Bonkers]]'' had "toons" and realistically drawn humans in the same world.

** Not surprising since Bonkers was a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?|Roger Rabbit]].

* Quite a few [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoons had this. While a lot of HB 'toons featured run-of-the-mill [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s, there were also shows such as ''[[Top Cat]]'', ''[[Hong Kong Phooey]]'' and more, I'm sure.

* ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks]].'' Songwriter finds (abducts?) some (freakishly large) talking chipmunks in the forest, puts them in co-ordinated clothing and makes them sing pop songs. And they befriend three giant female talking chipmunks owned/parented by some wealthy dowager. Nothing weird about that. [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made Onon Drugs?|Nothing at all]].

* Part of the premise of ''[[My Gym PartnersPartner's a Monkey]]'', where the human Adam Lyon is enrolled into a school of nothing but Funny Animals.

* ''[[Family Guy]]'' takes the idea and goes into some weird places. Brian, the Griffin's dog, talks and walks same as the human cast. In the first few episodes he was treated as a dog who just happened to talk, but in later seasons he starts dating humans (who don't even seem to be that much concerned that he is a dog), almost has an affair with Lois, and even has an illegitimate ''human'' child.

** He also has a gay cousin named Jasper, who has a human boyfriend. Yet his mother was an ordinary, non-sapient dog, and apparently so were his brothers and sisters.

{{quote| '''Cleveland''': Aaah, a bear!<br />

* ''[[American Dad (Animation)|American Dad]]'' has Klaus, a talking goldfish. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that he is actually an East German Olympic skier who had his brain transplanted. [[Voodoo Shark|Because that's so much more plausible]].

** And Kraken are magical aliens.

* A couple of episodes of ''[[Cat DogCatDog]]'' showed the existence of humans, including one particularly disturbing incident in the episode "CatDogPig", involving an experiment in democracy. Tired of being unable to agree on anything with Dog, Cat started strapping other animals (all of different species, to prevent their new combined name from repeating itself) to his and Dog's conjoined body in repeated unsuccessful attempts to increase votes for his side and become the majority. In the scene that shows the logical conclusion, a bat is recruited into the resulting conglomeration... ''by a naked bald human.''

** There was also a minor character who appeared periodically named [[Ironic Nickname|Mr. Sunshine]]. He looked like a small green humanoid with a pig's tail. None of the characters know exactly what species he is.

* [[Disney]] has used this idea in several animated series (besides the aforementioned ''[[Bonkers (Animation)|Bonkers]]'').

** In ''[[The Mighty Ducks (Animationanimation)|The Mighty Ducks]]'', the titular heroes and their [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|evil reptilian overlords]] bring their conflict to [[Another Dimension]]--namely—namely Anaheim, California.

** In ''[[Quack Pack (Animation)|Quack Pack]]'', [[Donald Duck]], Daisy and the nephews are the only [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s in an all-human world. No explanation is given.

* The 1972 series ''[[Western Animation/The Houndcats|The Houndcats]]'' is a [[X Meets Y|mash-up]] of ''[[Mission: Impossible (TV series)||Mission Impossible]]'', ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'' and the short-lived ''[[The Bearcats]]''. As with ''[[Quack Pack (Animation)|Quack Pack]]'', the titular heroes are the only [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s in their world (in this case, the American Southwest circa [[World War OneI]]).

* ''[[Biker Mice From Mars]]'' has a similar setup to ''[[The Mighty Ducks (Animationanimation)|The Mighty Ducks]]'', as [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s from another world wind up fighting their enemies in [[The Windy City|Chicago]].

* ''[[Chowder]]'' is all over the place with this. Its world is populated by humans, [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s, [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s, [[Mix -and -Match Critters]], mythological creatures, and extinct animals.

* The world of ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]'' is populated by anthropomorphic sea life (and one squirrel), with humans only appearing when they are seen abovewater. However, there is Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who are ordinary-looking humans (and, contrary to the name, not merpeople at all). The same thing applies to most of their [[Rogues Gallery]], partucularly Man-Ray. King Neptune and his daughter Mindy in [[The Movie]] are full-on merpeople, as was the alternate version of Neptune seen in the episode "Neptune's Spatula".

* ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' is an excellent example. Humans (both with regular skin colours and [[Amazing Technicolor Population|odd ones]]), anthropomorphic animals, regular animals, aliens, and robots all exist in Mobius, and there seems to be no problem.

* The film ''[[Cats Don't Dance (Animation)|Cats Don't Dance]]'' is set in an alternate 1930s during the [[Golden Age of Hollywood]] where animals are trying to break into movies (and act as stand-ins for ethnic and social minorities).

* ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'' is even more-so this than the original [[Looney Tunes]], as its premise involves Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other equally anthropomorphic animal characters from the Looney Tunes Show living their day-to-day lives amongst an otherwise human populace, without either sort ever batting an eye at the differences between each other when put into direct confrontation. A little different from the original Looney Tunes, as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck's human-like behaviors were often implied to be outside of the norm for animals in their world, and characters like Sylvester and Tweetie seemed to communicate with their master in the same way that [[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]] did.

* ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]'' has anthropomorphic mice that talk to the human Cinderella, and are transformed into non-morphic horses.

* [[Harvey Birdman, Attorney Atat Law]] Is especially guilty of this. Although most of the animal characters are anthropomorphic (being Hanna-Barbera characters), such as Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. However, are also non-anthropomorphic characters as well, such as Birdman's eagle (who's his legal secretary) and a bear that works for Birdman's law firm that randomly pops in each episode. In one episode, Mentok the Mind Taker switches the brains of an attorney with an ordinary, non-sentient dog and in another, Phil Ken Sebben tries to house train Augie Doggie and break him among a group of ordinary dogs after Mentok sentences him to aggressiveness training after being accused of baring his teeth at the judge during a trial case for biting someone.

* ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]'': Although when you have a world populated by dragons, vampires, fluffy people, candy people, why-wolves, elementals, gem people, undead, rainicorns, plant creatures, hot dog people, gods and a sentient game console, talking animals such as Jake the dog are the least strange thing in the Land of OOO. However, Finn is the only human seen in the series (with the exception of the mutant human tribe he meets in one episode), and his species is considered endangered according to the Adventure Time wiki page. Most of the inhabitants that resemble humans in OOO are classified as humanoid or mutant.

* ''[[The Lionhearts (Animation)|The Lionhearts]]'' has a literal example, with the title lions in a world otherwise populated by humans.

* Gromit from ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' acts like Wallace's sidekick but is still treated like a dog at times (he winds up sleeping in a dog house, for example).

* ''[[Scooby Doo]]'', depending on the writer.

* ''[[Family Guy]]'', depending on the joke.

* Most ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', and ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'' animal characters, depending on the episode or short.

* ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]''

* ''[[Little Bear]]''

* ''[[Top Cat]]''

* ''[[Adventures Fromfrom the Book of Virtues]]''

* One episode of ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]] [[The Animated Series]]'' dealt with the team finding themselves in a hidden village populated by [[Funny Animal]] people who believed [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|Humans Are Bastards]].

[[Category:Trope{{PAGENAME}}]]