Uncanny Valley/Other Media

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Examples of Uncanny Valley/Other Media include:


Dolls & Puppets

  • Bunraku puppets dance in and out of the valley. What's frightening is that they don't move like any other sort of puppet, they move exactly like little tiny people. This is why they usually perform bunraku shows some distance away from the audience.
  • "RealDoll" sex dolls. Film technicians who have worked with Real Dolls for movies report that handling them is creepily like handling corpses. Obviously, they, their flawless sexiness and their eternal sexual submission is massive Fetish Fuel and/or an alternative to prostitution / free-willed women for some, thus enabling the uncanny valley to be ignored a bit. Sankaku Complex appears a disturbing amount of times here.
  • Reborns. Baby dolls created to resemble the real thing as much as possible. Women also carry these things around and treat them like they're real babies. Yes, it combines babies, which are horrifying in themselves, and dolls, which are extremely horrifying in themselves. Warning: Nightmare Fuel.
  • The Japanese tradition/hobby/fetish of kigurumi - cosplaying human and humanoid anime characters using masks and bodysuits - seems to back into the Uncanny Valley from the human side, due to the mad creepy effect the results sometimes have.
  • The mega-marionette that's made appearances at parades and festivals all over Europe has a limited head and facial animation that still manages to be creepily human in execution.
  • This abomination [dead link], which looks like the bastard offspring of Jynx and Lucy the Slut made real. Made worse by the fact that it's played by a man.
  • Jeff Dunham's first puppets fell right into the valley. The ones he uses now are heavily stylized and cartoony so they don't look as unrealistic and uncanny. However, Achmed Jr. who looks more realistic and also happens to have half his skin and muscle blown off falls head-first into the uncanny valley.


Robots

  • Kokoro, the new Actroid robot from Japan, is probably the best example for robots having reached the other side and now making it out of the valley. This hasn't been lost to the creators, with the word kokoro having the meaning of heart or soul, and probably being a direct allusion to the uncanny valley effect.
  • Some of John Nolan's strange animatronics.
  • Lo and behold, it's HRP-4C, described as a "Bishoujo android". Say hi to her. Preferably with a rocket launcher.
  • This robot that looks like a fleshy armless mermaid.
  • While the Big Dog robot doesn't really resemble any living creature, it is the robot’s leg movements that seem a little unsettling (especially at around 1:12). It looks like two footless humans walking head to head.
  • The AFFETTO child robot could really use some work in the design.
  • The Geminoid. The most disturbing part is how perfect it is. It looks exactly like a real person right up until you realize OH MY GOD IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY ARMS OR LEGS AND IT'S PLUGGED INTO A DAMNED DESK!
  • Three disembodied android faces singing "Freedom" in robotic voices. Excuse me while I go hide under my desk.
  • The way this robotic mouth moves it's throat is creepy enough, but its the the demonic sounds that make it your nightmare for the next few days..
  • Tara the Android. Having made her debut in Fantastic Hey Hey Hey, she has returned to wander the earth spreading even more incomprehensible and terrifying videos. Watch anything on her Youtube channel and you might well die in seven days.


Other

  • Models made using Pixologic's Zbrush, although the artists must have incredible skill.
  • An online portfolio embodies this trope more often than not.
  • The Hands Resist Him, anyone? Not to mention the albeit brilliant Bill Stoneham's other creepy work.
  • Primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are known to provoke this ocassionally: When Queen Victoria first saw an ape (an orangutan) she described it as frightful, and painfully and disagreeably human'.'
  • In a non-human example, this thing.
  • Big Tex, the mascot of the State Fair of Texas.
  • When primitive photographs of human beings were first exhibited at a public gallery, even the most sophisticated visitors got seriously creeped out by the images, which were vastly more realistic than anything painted or drawn. Some even swore the figures were moving, despite the photos being a low-grade, grainy monotone.
  • Those who heard the first human voice ever recorded probably thought of this trope. While the technology is highly impressive (the recording is thought to date back to 1860), to hear "Au Claire de la Lune" in such poor (by our standards) quality is more than a little off-putting.
  • Photoshopped photographs. The removal of all skin blemishes as well as whitening of eyes, improved symmetry etc, often create a flawless but unnatural appearance.
  • Computer-animation is getting much better with each passing year, but it's....just...there's still something off about the cg pasted face of this woman no matter how realistic and complex it appears.
  • Quite a few unidentified John/Jane Doe reconstructions fit this trope, especially if they appear fairly true to life. Those links are just a few notable examples.
  • Japanese animatronic clocks. They're supposed to provide hourly entertainment for tourists, but still...
  • Police composite sketches. Yes its justified as the person drawn has to be as realistic and recognizable as possible, but it still doesn't make it any less creepy.
  • Tattoos of children's faces. This post even references the trope in comments.
  • Wax museums are known for this trope. They're staples of the horror genre because of it.
  • The Uncanny Valley is often why people prefer to draw toony or animeseque styles, especially on Deviant ART. Even if you can draw people and animals realistically, there's always something that makes them look VERY off.
  • So many listed from China's animation series'.
  • The animatronic Elvis bust falls squarely into this category.
  • Any type of CG face that is made to show what someone (usually a historical figure) might have looked like. Then again, Tutankhamen supposedly looks like Boy George.
  • Most Disney mascot costumes are either animal suits (Mickey, Donald, etc.), extremely cartoony humans (Lilo, Pinocchio), or just regular people in costumes (Aladdin, the princesses), avoiding the valley. Captain Hook, on the other hand, is just disturbing; he bears an unsettling resemblance to V. Or rather, V looks like him.
  • The animatronics at the Disney Theme Parks can have this effect at times, especially in rides that have a large number of human animatronics like It's A Small World.
  • Slowly decreasing as technology advances, but the CGI characters that interact with Disney Theme Parks guests in real-time in shows like “Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor” and “Turtle Talk With Crush” have a decent yet finite amount of facial expressions. The lip movements don’t always match the words and the transition from ‘normal face’ to ‘comically shocked’ is like whiplash. None of the characters are supposed to be realistic, being cartoony monsters and turtles and such, but the way the eyes and mouths can move around and still be flat is unnerving. This was improved a good bit with interactive-Stitch in the very short-lived “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” but the rest of the show sucked so bad that the whole thing was scrapped within a few weeks.
  • Postmortem photography, the Victorian custom of taking pictures of corpses posed as if they were alive. They sit in chairs, they hold each others' hands... but they're horribly, obviously dead. The modern versions of such photography are worse. Color photography plus the discoloration skin undergoes due to decomposition equals Very Very Wrong.
  • Nintendo, in an effort to promote their WiiSpeak microphone, has a demo set up in their Nintendo World store in New York City, where kids can gather around and talk to a virtual representation of Mario, Wario, and others who will respond back. Whoever is speaking as the Italians (maybe Charles Martinet, maybe just a really good impersonator) does a fine job providing the voices of these characters, but the characters themselves are like some horrible cross between old cartoony graphics and videogame graphics, resulting in Mario and Wario looking creepier than they ever have in history. This isn't helped by the fact that they can apparently play with their faces ala the interactive face in Super Mario 64.
  • This Picture of apples with faces.
  • The 8,000 terracotta warriors in Mausouleum of the Chinese Emperor Qin.
    • Evidence suggests that each one was based on a real individual, and they were placed there in lieu of being buried alive, so at least it's better than the alternative.
  • "Untooning", which involves digital pictures of cartoon characters with photorealistic details regarding the skin, hair, eyes, texture, etc, while KEEPING the cartoon proportions and the size and shape of the features.
  • How would a typical woman look with Barbie's figure? (BBC News Magazine)
  • This "virtual" interview. Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode recorded an interview with Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, then broadcast it a few weeks later...and this was the result. It's not exactly creepy, but it's incredibly...weird.
  • This animatronic bottom-half-of-a-face. Would it be more frightening if it were actually speaking instead of making those awful random noises? You, the viewer, decide!
  • In a promotional tie-in with Sprint Smallville produced a spin-off CGI series called "Smallville Legends: the Oliver Queen Chronicles" that fell really, really hard into the Uncanny Valley.
  • The website MorphThing.com allows users to morph two or more faces of celebrities and famous fictional characters. The mixes of these faces are a lot creepier and photo realistic, especially if Gollum's face is included.
  • NBC's Saturday Morning Cartoon bumpers from Fall 1990 fall deep into uncanny valley for some. here it is .
  • Buy these earrings! The creepy mannequin's curse might not get you.
  • Ladies and Gents, 'Phineas and Ferb: The Best Live Tour Ever' gives us some new nightmares. The eyes...THE EYES!
  • Photorealistic, CGI furries. Too animalistic to be people, too humanoid to be animals.
    • Sometimes, even traditionally drawn furry characters can slip into Uncanny Valley. It mostly depends on the style of the artist and how much animalistic or humanoid they look. Some artists like Lizardbeth makes them look cartoony enough to avoid this.
  • Ventriloquist dummies, when realistically built, can fall right into the valley. It also doesn't help when they make movements that look way too unrealistic.
  • This video depicting Gary Oldman as the ventriloquist dummy from Magic deliberately evokes this effect.
  • Lifelike sculptures of Beavis and Butthead that were done by special effects make artist Kevin Kirkpatrick. BE VERY AFRAID!!!
  • 16th century painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo's brilliant portraits of people made up entirely of everyday objects such as fruit and vegetables, flowers, fish, cooking utensils, and even tinier humans.
  • Spray-on tans appear this way - skin should not be that orange!
  • This girl turned herself into a real life Barbie Doll. Reports that you can find her in your room at night holding a kitchen knife are still unconfirmed.
  • Any time someone has no eyebrows. One of those things you don't really notice until it's gone.
  • Outdoor plazas, municipal parks, battlefields, and any other place that has life sized statues of people. In broad daylight, the statues are obviously bronze or stone. At night, the statues become hulking black human sillohetes that may or may not be watching you... and if the statue is not lit up at night, so much the worse.
  • Michael Jackson was falling into it by the end there.
  • Whenever people have dental procedures to make their teeth straight and flawless, then have it whitened as well. Once they smile, their unnaturally perfect set of teeth give off a creepy feeling, unlike imperfect teeth that show character and are at times endearing.
  • After the primitive graphics of Facebook's Horizon Worlds were widely mocked as Wii Shovelware tier, Mark Zuckerberg was quick to announce it would be receiving updated graphics which fall headfirst into the Uncanny Valley.

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