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What Measure Is a Non-Human?/Western Animation: Difference between revisions
What Measure Is a Non-Human?/Western Animation (view source)
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{{trope}}
* [[Transformers|Optimus Prime]] has a very clear opinion on this, with his famous "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" motto. The series, though, have sometimes defined sentience in an unsatisfying way - [[Our Souls Are Different|not having a spark]] renders you a 'drone' even if said 'drone' clearly thinks and feels. In a non-canon series of ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' comics (with a few [[Out of Character]] moments, though mostly confined to Megatron being generically evil instead of a [[Magnificent Bastard]]) Bumblebee is told by Optimus not to mourn for {{spoiler|Afterburn}} because he was a sparkless drone, and it's not clear who is right ( {{spoiler|Afterburn}} appears to think and feel, and Bumblebee cared about him and it sure seems a [[Jerkass]] move to callously tell him that the friend he just saw torn in half was just a drone and thus not worth any worry, but he ''was'' a {{spoiler|Decepticon infiltrator, only pretending to be friends with Bee or ''anybody,'' was killed by Megatron in a [[You Have Failed Me...]] moment, and could ''well'' have been acting according to the "make nice with the mark" programming you'd expect an advanced but nonsentient infiltration-bot to have. And since whether he was real or not, any friendship he had with the Autobots clearly wasn't, he kinda ''isn't'' worth crying over either way.}} Still, be nice to [[The Woobie|poor Bee]], huh?)
* Human characters who don't regard ''[[Transformers]]'' as sentient beings are, in general, not treated sympathetically by any series in the franchise. However, it's apparently okay for younger viewers to see a Transformer die, even in a time slot where killing off a human character would bring down the wrath of the [[Media Watchdog|Media Watchdogs]] upon all involved. This may be more of a method of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].
** The Dinobots in ''[[Transformers Animated|Animated]]''. After the incident that gives them the ability to function on their own, Prowl is the only one to suspect that they're truly alive. They are huge, lumbering, and destructive, and Prowl is shocked when, after their defeat, Optimus Prime agrees with the decision to melt them down. {{spoiler|So he and Bulkhead sneak out in the middle of the night and transport the Dinobots to a forested island where, concealed by holograms, they can live peacefully.}} Later, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Porter C. Powell]] argued that since Transformers have no legal status, it's not a crime to do anything to them. (He's a villain, and we're not meant to agree with him.) Later they use their lack of legal status to threaten (and eat) him with impunity. (Don't worry, Grimlock spits him back out unharmed; these are the ''Autobots'' we're talking about.)
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** Still, the extent of carnage and violence Tartakovsky indulged in under sole excuse of this trope is unsettling. It's not just that robots can be killed on-screen - they can be killed in ''horrifying'' ways on-screen. They are burned, dissolved in acid, disemboweled in slow-mo, cannibalised and ''devoured alive by a huge monster''. At this they sometimes clearly express emotions, namely pain and horror, and other times they look exactly like living beings right until the moment of death.
* In the penultimate episode of ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', this issue became a plot point in more ways than one since the subject in question is both a [[Half-Human Hybrid]] ''and'' a clone:
{{quote|'''Danny''': She's not just a ghost, she's also a ''girl''. And if Vlad [[Never Say "Die"|destroys]] the ghost half, the human half is destroyed along with it.
'''Valerie''': No, that's not my problem. She ''is'' a ghost, and I destroy ghosts!
'''Danny''': Fine! Destroy ghosts! But can you really take part in destroying a ''human''? }}
** Also called up in Danielle's premiere episode- Vlad became [[Moral Event Horizon|fully irredeemable]] when he treated her as less than human in the climax-
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** Mix [[Carnivore Confusion]] into the issue, and you've got yourself ''The Problem With Popplers'' episode.
* [[Pixar]] seems to like this trope. To wit:
** ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' has Woody react this way when he sees what Sid did to the other toys. Especially when they drag a wounded Buzz off ...
** Jessie's song in ''Toy Story 2''
** Remy the rat has to fight hard for respect in ''[[Ratatouille]]''.
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{{quote|'''Brian:''' ''"That joke's not in bad taste, right?"''
'''Stewie:''' ''"Who cares? He's a cheeseburger."'' }}
* In the initial ark of [[Superman: The Animated Series]] a bunch of [[Starfish Aliens]] stumble upon [[
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