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Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:ssoa_05-5v_1879.png|frame|[[
{{quote|''Here is a thought! Who amongst you have seen the sight of man turned beast? A hapless few, we trust!...And yet...though we are repelled at the sight of man turned beast...we revel to see beast turned man! When you pass along this thought...remember you saw it in '''Mad!'''...And now, our story...''|'''[[
[[Anthropomorphic Personification]] means, loosely translated, Humanlike. Since there are many humanlike characters in fiction (for [[Most Writers Are Human|obvious reasons]]), this page is here to make it clearer what the differences between different levels of anthropomorphism are. Note that the differences are often rather ambiguous. Some characters could actually fit into a few categories. Can get [[Mind Screw|even weirder]] when trying to categorize an [[Animate Inanimate Object]] on this list.
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** [[Catgirl|Catgirls]] are a subtrope. The Eastern versions usually just give females the ears and sometimes the tail of whatever animal they supposedly are and males are [[Petting Zoo People|anthropomorphic animals]] (though of course there might be exceptions), along with a very few defining characteristics and [[Animal Stereotypes|a personality that matches their animal]].
* Borderline [[Little Bit Beastly]] - This form is basically a [[Petting Zoo Person]], but with a more or mostly (but not completely) human-like head. This is what you get when you combine [[Petting Zoo People]] traits with [[Little Bit Beastly]] traits. They are often treated more like [[Petting Zoo People]] than like [[Little Bit Beastly]].
** [[Beast Folk]] - a human (male or female) with animalistic physical and often behavioral traits. Cheetara from ''[[
* [[Petting Zoo People]] - These are human in as many ways as they are inhuman. On the one hand they will act human, and if you look under the fur you'll find a human skeletal system, for the most part, but they have animal heads instead of human heads, and often tails, wings, and the like. [[Furries Are Easier to Draw]] comes into play, as they don't have difficult-to-draw human faces, but the obviously human traits make the characters less alien to the audience, making them easier to take seriously. Also using multiple species makes a cast easier to differentiate, another plus in medias that suffer from [[Only Six Faces]]. Females will of course have [[Non-Mammal Mammaries|the obvious sign]] they are female.
** [[Humanoid Female Animal]] - What happens when you combine [[Petting Zoo People]], [[Funny Animal]], or [[Civilized Animal]] with [[Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism]]. The older females will (almost) always be a step or two closer to human than the males are. At the lower end, they may have long hair or [[Non-Mammal Mammaries]]. Where there are bigger differences, they may be a step higher up the scale from males. If a show focuses on [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]] and/or [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]], expect the female(s) to be [[Petting Zoo People]]. If the main cast are mostly [[Petting Zoo People]] then the girl will be only a [[Little Bit Beastly]] or a borderline [[Little Bit Beastly]]. Cleo the cat from ''[[
** [[Intelligent Gerbil]] - A science-fiction/fantasy method of [[Characterization Tropes|characterization]] for [[Petting Zoo People]], [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]], and [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]]. These are aliens/fantasy races who are, by amazing coincidence, [[Call a Rabbit
* Borderline [[Petting Zoo People]] - This is what you get when you combine [[Petting Zoo People]] traits with [[Funny Animal]] traits. Sometimes they will be treated more like [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]], other times, they will be treated more like [[Petting Zoo People]]. Male animals of this type are often [[Top-Heavy Guy|Top Heavy Guys]].
* [[Funny Animal]] - This is where we hit characters who could be human, but [[Furries Are Easier to Draw]]. Generally, the majority or most of their mannerisms are that of a human. In some cases, almost all their mannerisms may be that of a human. Artistically, they are usually bipedal and have hands, but otherwise need not resemble humans at all. [[Mickey Mouse]] is a terrific example. He is a character who has become humanized to the point that you could replace him with a human and the plot would be nearly identical. He always wears clothes, he goes to work and lives in a house, and... [[Furry Confusion|he has a pet dog]]. This term hails from the golden age of comics.
* [[Civilized Animal]] - This is an intermediary stage between animals who talk and animals who might as well be human. They generally have half the mannerisms of of a human and half the mannerisms of the animal. [[Bugs Bunny/Characters|Bugs Bunny]] would be an excellent example: he lives in a hole in the forest and is hunted by Elmer Fudd -- and he stands upright, wears [[White Gloves]], and tries to take vacations to Aruba. Brian the dog in ''[[
** [[Mouse World]] is a subtrope of Civilized Animal in which intelligent, well-dressed animals live on the fringes of humanity. Beatrix Potter's ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit
* [[Partially-Civilized Animal]] - This is the intermediary stage between the Largely Normal Animal/[[Speech-Impaired Animal]]/[[Talking Animal]] level (animals who are still unarguably animals, and have mostly animal behavior) and the [[Civilized Animal]] level. Generally, the majority of the mannerisms are that of the animal. Examples include the cats and dogs of, well, ''[[
* [[Talking Animal]] - This is an animal who can talk as well as a normal human, and who can communicate with humans. However, they still are unarguably animals, and usually have mostly animal behavior (the humans might not like what such animals have to say about them). They may occasionally act more human-like if the need (and [[Rule of Funny]] / [[Rule of Cool]]) calls for it. Examples include ''[[Dinotopia]]'s'' Ambassador Bix the Protoceratops, TV's [[Mister Ed]], and the animal denizens of [[Narnia]] and the [[
** [[Uplifted Animal]] is usually here - it's an animal that can talk THANKS TO SCIENCE! or sometimes MAGIC.
* [[Speech-Impaired Animal]] - A animal who can't quite talk. They can usually be understood, but there can and often will be misunderstandings. Like [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]], they may occasionally act more human-like if the need (and [[Rule of Funny]] / [[Rule of Cool]]) calls for it. [[Scooby Doo]] is practically the [[Trope Maker]]. This could also include counting horses and [[Shapeshifting|transformed humans]].
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== Mechanical ==
* Human - What you probably are. Of course, some of you may have a pacemaker or a couple of artificial ribs or something, or even an artificial limb, but when it starts encroaching on the below territory, you get a...
* [[Cyborg]] - Human, but with artificial components - they tend to blend with transhumans above. They can range from relatively small replacement parts (Geordi LaForge's eyes in the ''[[Star Trek:
* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]] - Robots that are unnecessarily human. They're so human, in fact, that it's hard to distinguish them from real humans. Examples include T-800 from ''[[Terminator]]'' series.
** [[Robot Kid|Robot Kids]] - Robots that are designed to be children. [[Astro Boy]] is an example.
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