History Main / AmplifiedAnimalAptitude

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[[quoteright:162:[[ComicBook/RexTheWonderDog https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wonder_dog.png]]]]

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Judy]], Doctor [=McNinja=]'s gorilla receptionist, can read and write, drive cars, and is in general treated like a human character. [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Yoshi]] the raptor mount is somewhat more animalistic, but is able to communicate with Judy and understand concepts like writing, even if he can't read. Later, when fully sapient dinosaurs take over the world in a BadFuture alternate timeline, they [[spoiler:try to make him intelligent, but even then he has rather limited linguistic abilities and is only capable of YouNoTakeCandle-style speech]].

* [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Monkey]] in the Dial M for Monkey segment on ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Film- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* All ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays''' pets understand them. Justified, because Fisk, Zon and Komodo are all cryptids who look like ordinary animals, but aren't.
* Blip the monkey in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' understands Jan and Jayce.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''
** Wonder Dog understands Wendy and Marvin.
** And Gleek understands [[ComicBook/WonderTwins Zan and Jayna]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' as well as Butch the dog and any other animals appearing in their cartoons have easily human intelligence.

** ''Birdman'''s golden eagle Avenger understood Birdman well enough to follow commands.
** The titular character of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' talks at human level, albeit in ThirdPersonPerson, and like Quacker, in an animal-like voice.

* [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Monkey]] in the Dial M for Monkey segment on ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''.
* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' being that they were all realistic animals, and while they all spoke to each other, they never understood humans and mistrusted them all equally except The Warden of White Deer Park, who was vouched for by the Park residents as being a man with the animals' safety first in mind.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has strange combo-animals that fall under this trope ''and/or'' behave like ordinary one-type animals.
** Appa is a straight example: he flat-out seems to understand everyone.
** Jun's mount didn't seem to understand humans.
** The Giant Badger-Moles in "The Cave of Two Lovers" like music and apparently understood Sokka enough to allow him to ride them to safety.
** Avatar Roku's dragon and the old Fire Lord Azulon's dragon seemed to understand them.
** Momo is a deliberate subversion. When Katara and Sokka are incapacitated from illness, Katara asks Momo to bring water. Momo understands the "go get" part but spends the entire episode bringing back random objects, no matter how slowly Katara speaks and tries to communicate 'water'.
** In an episode of Avatar, a messenger hawk is intercepted by a bigger hawk. The larger hawk was able to tie up the smaller hawk with a couple of ribbons, take the message, and fly it back to its owner.
*** The messenger hawk example is the only one that doesn't fit the usual pattern: animals with bending powers (sky bison, badger-moles, dragons, maybe lion-turtles) have human or near-human intelligence. Others are just animals - however, companion animals like Momo are consistently able to tell human friends from neutral humans from enemy humans, with an appreciation for when someone changes categories, and react to them accordingly. Most animals vocalize if spoken to, as if responding. Momo clearly understands some things... just not everything.
*** "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe The Tales of Ba Sing Se]]" is a shining example of this trope; go to the recap page for the details.

* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'':
** Penny's dog Brain is smarter than her uncle and saves his life several times per episode. This is not as true in [[Film/InspectorGadget the movie]], though.
** Mad Cat (Doctor Claw's henchcat) also fits the mould, but For Great Evil. At times the not-so-good doctor has ordered Mad Cat to launch guided weapons. CatsAreMean, but missiles?
* Rufus the naked mole rat from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' was able to understand and read English as well as go WAY out of the way to save his human, Ron, and managed to figure out which buttons to push to release the bonds holding the heroine and sidekick. In the episode 'Naked Genius', he [[spoiler:became even smarter when he accidentally had Project Phoebus used on him, infusing him with the intelligence of the smartest men on the planet along with taking the villain of the day's (Doctor Drakken) intellect, making it so the blue madman was unable to do more than doodle at the level of a kindergartener]]. It was only for that episode, as the effects eventually wore off on all parties.
* Tracy, in Creator/{{Filmation}}'s live-action series ''The Ghost Busters'' and the later animated series ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters''. The latter took this trope to ''insane'' levels.
* Brian from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is a dog that speaks perfect English, walks on two legs, drinks alcohol, and is generally more intelligent than anyone else on the show. He might well be a parody, as he not only talks, but also interacts with other people the way normal humans would, and this is never pointed out by anyone. And, [[MyInstinctsAreShowing if his instincts don't get the best of him]], he usually takes the role of OnlySaneMan in the show. But he is one of only a handful of such animals shown, as most animals are shown to be just like regular ones. Two notable exceptions are the monkey in Chris's closet and the dog that replaced Brian in one episode when the Griffins believed Brian was getting too old. Also Brian's gay cousin, Jasper, but for some reason, not all of his other relatives.
* Perry the Platypus in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. He can't speak and does nothing but stand around on all fours whenever the kids are around, but when he sneaks away he lives a double life as a secret agent, as do most of the other animals who work at the Agency.
-->'''Major Monogram:''' Carl, remind me again why all our agents are animals?
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', a pig is somewhat able to ride a motorcycle.
* Gromit from ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit''. He's clearly more observant and grounded in reality then his [[GeniusDitz smart]] but [[CloudCuckoolander spacey]] owner Wallace.

* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': This trope makes animals even harder to spot since every character other than Jimmy and Heloise ([[AmbiguouslyHuman maybe]]) is a monster. In ''Jimmy and the Big House'' it seemed the only difference between animals and people is if they could talk. Cerbee (explicitly called a dog [[CallASmeerpARabbit despite looking nothing like one]] was intelligent enough to give an AsideGlance and such, while in one scene the others talked before Molotov [[AchievementsInIgnorance reminded him he couldn't]].
* {{WesternAnimation/Sagwa|TheChineseSiameseCat}} and her siblings can read Chinese characters and write calligraphy using their tails
* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/PolePosition.'' Through most of the series, Kuma's species was never identified (best guess would be some kind of lemur, maybe). In the last episode, we learn that Kuma is a genetically engineered life form bred by an eccentric scientist.
* Owlowiscious, Twilight Sparkle's pet owl in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', is extremely intelligent and a capable assistant librarian, and manages to save Spike from a full grown dragon. Practically all animals on the show are fully sapient and may exhibit civilized traits, even the ones who cannot talk. Fluttershy can communicate with them and treats them just like people.
* While ''{{WesternAnimation/Doug}}'' was one of the more realistic Franchise/{{Nicktoons}}, Porkchop qualifies for this trope. Besides participating in EvenTheDogIsAshamed jokes, he could do things such as play Barnyard Chess, limbo dance, and fly a kite. Yet maybe only his owner can understand him, because in a court case no one else can decipher what he has to say.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', TeamPet Snarf (a cat-dragon creature) cannot speak, but clearly comprehends speech, and has a grasp of the events around him, enough to become frightened when an enemy proposes that his owner Lion-O DuelToTheDeath.
* ''Lassie's Rescue Rangers'' is all over this. The eponymous Rangers include among others a skunk, a stork, a porcupine, a cougar, a hare, and of course Lassie herself; they lack dialogue, but otherwise are very intelligent, capable of complex planning and extremely high levels of cooperation.
* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Gawayn}}'', the quester's horse Griselda is shown at times to be able to understand what the characters around her are saying by her reactions. Sometimes, she is even seen doing things such as reading a newspaper.
* ''WesternAnimation/BooBoomTheLongWayHome'': all five animals accompanying Boo-Boom (a cat, a dog, a horse, a rooster and a bee) are clearly more intelligent than their real life counterparts, being able to understand what humans say and willingly helping Boo-Boom to find his parents, as well as protecting him form harm, since they know he won't make it on his own.

* And, of course, {{WesternAnimation/Pluto|ThePup}}, the one ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' character who isn't a FunnyAnimal, but is still rather intelligent and can understand (if not speak) English.

%%* ''Creator/RoyRogers'': Trigger, the 'smartest horse in the west'.%%

* The owls in Franchise/HarryPotter are either much smarter than normal owls to be able to serve as messengers, finding the intended recipient no mater where they are; or magical. Magical is probably the better bet.
* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Doc's dog Copernicus seems to be at an almost human level of intelligence at times. For starters, after Doc finishes reading the letter that [[WriteBackToTheFuture his future self wrote to Marty]], Copernicus seems to be rather sad about Doc being TrappedInThePast. In addition, Copernicus is the one who discovers Doc's tombstone, and he seems to realize what it says.
* Subverted in ''Film/TheJerk'', where a stray dog wakes up Navin Johnson, who asks what's wrong, and believes the dog is trying to tell him to motel is on fire. As Johnson wakes everyone else up, he's say he'll call the dog "Lifesaver." When it turns out to be a false alarm, one of the other guests tells him to call the dog ""$#!thead". The dog gets that name for the rest of the movie.

[[folder: Literature ]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has notoriously clever ravens; some ravens are capable of vocalization and most ravens can be and are trained to carry messages between castles. Also, direwolves are considerably bigger than their extinct real-life counterparts and have tangential intelligence related to their owner's capacity to Warg.

* Literature/MollyMoon has her pet pug, Petula saving the day quite a few times.
* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' plays this trope straight, where the animals (mostly the pigs) are shown to be highly intelligent when they speak English, devise battle plans, design windmills, form a complex government, carry out purges, etc.
* While the titular rats in ''Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH'' are justifiably this trope, thanks to their lab-enhanced intellects, ordinary animals like crows, owls, and Mrs. Frisby herself (a common field mouse) also talk to one another.
* Creator/MercedesLackey usually uses magic as an excuse for her intelligent animals. However, in the case of [[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Shin'a'in]] warhorses, this is natural breeding, making them strong, smart, and mean.
* {{Literature/Discworld}}:
** Gaspode the Wonder Dog (later just Gaspode), who can talk (but nobody pays any attention, because dogs can't talk). ''Moving Pictures'' also gives us [[AffectionateParody Laddie]], who plays a superintelligent dog onscreen but whose RealLife conversation consists mostly of 'Good boy Laddie'. And ''Men at Arms'' establishes that the regular street dogs of Ankh-Morpork (who are not stated to have enhanced intelligence) have their own Guild, with [[ANaziByAnyOtherName scary but depressingly familiar politics]]. Gaspode's human speech, however, gives him the edge over them [[spoiler: because he can say "Sit!" and "Bad dog!"]].
** Subverted in ''The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents'', in which even ordinary (non-Changeling) rats and cats are presumed to have languages of their own. The subversion is that Rat consists largely of body language (e.g. a submissive crouch for "sir"), while Cat is equipped mainly for swearing. It is also limited to actual rat social behavior, which while quite complex isn't any good for abstract ideas (and according to the Author's Note is somewhat toned down from reality to stay believable).
* All the animal characters in Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown's ''Literature/MrsMurphyMysteries'' series.
* The cats in the book (and movie) ''{{WesternAnimation/Felidae}}'' are shown to be able to read and understand how certain machines are used. It's pointed out that learning these things takes time, and that not all cats bother with the task, though just about all of them understand humans.
--> '''Francis''': I never thought I would ever see one of us, sitting in front of a computer... and actually knowing how to use it!
* ''Literature/DoctorDolittle'' learned how to speak with animals from his parrot, Polynesia, and pretty much every animal has a language.
* The dinosaurs in ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'' all tend to display a lot of intelligence. It would be expected with the main characters, who after all are humans cast back in time and put into dinosaur bodies, but just about everything they encounter that doesn't just try to kill them is ridiculously bright. In the first two books they mostly just have keen senses of emotional intelligence and group dynamics, with understanding of things like jealousy, reconciliation, gratitude, and amicably ending a relationship. Leptoceratopsians are able to use mimicry. The next two books ramp it up. Hypsilophodons help a character collect material to build a raft ''and'' row ''and'' hit a predator with clubs, all just because they watched a human-in-a-Hypsilophodon-body do it. There is also the case of Hook/Junior, a Deinonychus who over the course of less than a week of watching, learns to ''make fire'', splint injured limbs, and is able to, if not read, than at least has some understanding of the markings scratched into rock walls. He also fakes a limp on his own initiative. Hook/Junior, unlike all the others in the series, is noted to be unusually smart by the human characters. It's even implied that saving him and letting him rejoin Deinonychus society leads to dinosaurs surviving to modern times as an entire civilization, in an alternate universe.
* Creator/JRRTolkien uses this in his Middle-earth stories. While the most [[TalkingAnimal prominent such creatures]] -- the [[GiantFlyer giant Eagles]], [[SavageWolves Wargs]], and [[CanisMajor Huan]] -- are special cases and probably not mundane animals, it's hinted in various stories that ordinary mammals and birds are intelligent and [[AnimalTalk may talk to each other]]. Some characters [[SpeaksFluentAnimal learn the speech of birds or of all animals]] (though, granted, Legolas in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' can "hear" the "speech" of rocks and plants). Very well-bred horses are often depicted as understanding what their riders say, especially when ridden by elves. Then there are the talking crows in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and the "[[Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth Lay of Leithien]]," Beorn's PartiallyCivilizedAnimal servants/friends, and the inner monologue of the fox (good grief, travelling hobbits!) in ''The Fellowship of the Ring''. Just how seriously we're supposed to take all this is never spelled out, though we never see CarnivoreConfusion even in the [[PhysicalHeaven Blessed Realm]].
* Tolerably {{justified|Trope}} example in ''Literature/SpiritAnimals''. The titular [[BondCreatures spirit animals]] are a fair bit more intelligent than regular animals due to their supernatural nature, able to understand the requests of their human partners and react appropriately. The fifteen [[PhysicalGod Great Beasts]] are still more intelligent, able to talk and sometimes teaching humans things.
* The {{Novelization}} of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' makes this explicit of the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragonmount]] that Obi-Wan rides on Utapau. He can sense her intelligence through TheForce, and throughout the battle he banters with her and gives her orders that she follows without any problems.
* In ''Literature/{{Dogsbody}}'', the dogs are depicted as thinking creatures that can hold intelligent conversations between themselves. Most of the dog characters are partly descended from the hounds of TheWildHunt, which may have something to do with it. The protagonist is the smartest of them, and the best at understanding human speech, but then he's a supernatural creature reincarnated in the form of a dog.
* In the ''Literature/FrannyKStein'' book series, Franny's dog Igor has intelligence comparable to a monkey or an ape.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' features [[CoolHorse Ryshadium]]. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than any other kind of horse by far. They even choose their own riders and are apparently very picky. They can't speak, but do understand speech to some extent. Their increased intelligence and size seems to come from a bond with [[ElementalEmbodiment Spren]], something that exists in a few other places around the planet. Khriss, something of an in-universe researcher/scientist even speculates that they might be sapient.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* The titular kangaroo of ''Series/SkippyTheBushKangaroo'' not only showed a remarkable understanding of English, but would often imitate human behaviors like playing a piano or the drums.
* Series/{{Flipper}} understood the people he dealt with.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Spot, however, did not necessarily understand Data any better than a cat understands a normal human.
* Series/{{Lassie}}, naturally, can not only understand human speech, but can also bark in some sort of code that humans understand to mean TimmyInAWell.
%%* Series/{{Wishbone}}.%%

* ''Series/TheLittlestHobo'':
** The doggy protagonist seems to understand human speech, as well as concepts like tape recorders.
** An entire episode revolves around two scientists trying to get hold of him to find out just how smart he is; he has no interest in their work, and better things to do. [[spoiler:In the end, the answer seems to be "smarter that the scientists."]]

* ''Series/TalesOfTheGoldMonkey'': Jack, the one eyed bull terrier. Barks once for no, twice for yes (and never been wrong) and understands at least three languages (English, Japanese, and Spanish.)

* Rex in ''Series/InspectorRex'' was highly intelligent for a dog and seemed capable of understanding whatever was said to him and, though he was a trained police dog, seemed capable of following complex instructions with no training whatsoever. He was also capable of outsmarting humans when the situation called for it, particularly when ham rolls were on the line.
* Both played straight and parodied by Cheddar of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', the adorable pet corgi of Captain Holt. He has been trained to retrieve unusual objects, but is often treated by the cast like some kind of mastermind when he is in fact merely a cute corgi, highlighted in the episode named after him.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The titular character of ''VideoGame/OlloInTheSunnyValleyFair'' may just be a ball of clay, but lives in a house and helps his friends.
* Boney from ''{{VideoGame/Mother 3}}''. Unlike Ness's dog King, Lucas's dog is extremely competent. He's fast, is strong enough to cause damage to metal, and is even capable of using items on battle (Hell, he's using a Saltwater Gun effectively even though he has no hands). In Chapter 4, he's able to normally walk as a human for long periods and fooling the guards into thinking he's human. It is also implied that Boney understands human speech.
* Repede from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. He's a dog who's perfectly capable of understanding human speech, and is an extremely capable fighter, being able to wield a sword held in his teeth, and being able to unleash artes that are just as flashy and deadly as those of the human characters.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': the Mabari War Hounds actually ''are'' as intelligent as humans, having been originally [[AWizardDidIt bred by Telvinter magisters]]. In fact, they're often said to be ''smarter''; after all, they know better than to speak, and "Dog," your party's war hound, is smart enough to easily understand human speech. A few characters have full conversations with him, and the player character seems to understand his barks as well. In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', the Hawke family Mabari learns to play cards.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': In the ghost world animals can perfectly communicate with humans since human and animal souls are no different to each other, and since there's no language barrier in the world of the dead[[note]]Souls communicate by directly beaming and interpreting their abstract thoughts[[/note]]. The only "barriers" between humans and animals is the latter's lack of understanding of more human concepts. For example: Missile, [[MisterMuffykins a small Pomeranian]], is perfectly able to communicate with [[TheHero Sissel]] in the ghost world, all while maintaining his ordinary dog behavior like [[CuteButCacophonic loudness]], [[ThePollyanna upbeat oblivious attitude]], and [[UndyingLoyalty fierce loyalty to his owner]].
* Roadkill from ''VideoGame/ComixZone'' can be released to get by obstacles and hit the switches that turn them off, then return to Sketch. In the backstory mentioned, Sketch never specifically trained Roadkill to do anything at all.
* It's possible to use the telepathy in the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games on animals, whose thoughts are always at least as comprehensible as human ones, and often show the animals as more insightful than the people. ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' has an extensive trade quest based on what can be uncovered of the wants of a group of animals (some of whom even deliberately use the telepathy to be conversational).
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'''s Dogmeat is a downplayed example. In most areas he's just a well-trained guard dog, but he also recognizes guns, medicine and ammunition well enough to fetch them when asked. While it's not impossible that he's been professionally trained, given the [[CrapsackWorld state of the world]] it's unlikely.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overcooked}}'' has Kevin the dog. Kevin can only say "Bark," but he's clearly understood by the Onion King, and he knows how to fly a helicopter.
* Jep the monkey from ''VideoGame/ReturnToMysteriousIsland'' can open panels with a screwdriver, take clay impressions of engraved inscriptions, fly a kite, air-surf on a steampunk hover pad, and secure rope ladders and bridges with sturdy knots. At no time is Mina shown actually ''training'' him to do any of these things.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Judy]], Doctor [=McNinja=]'s gorilla receptionist, can read and write, drive cars, and is in general treated like a human character. [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Yoshi]] the raptor mount is somewhat more animalistic, but is able to communicate with Judy and understand concepts like writing, even if he can't read. Later, when fully sapient dinosaurs take over the world in a BadFuture alternate timeline, they [[spoiler:try to make him intelligent, but even then he has rather limited linguistic abilities and is only capable of YouNoTakeCandle-style speech]].

* Creator/HannaBarbera is also a huge proponent of this trope:
** Blip the monkey in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' understands Jan and Jayce.
** WesternAnimation/TheHerculoids all understand Zandor, Tara and Dorno. Possible subversion: they're all alien animals(?), and we don't know if they are sapient and just unable to utter human speech.
** WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest's dog Bandit understands Johnny and every human in the family.
** Dino and Hoppy from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' understand their humans, and so do most of the animal-based appliances in that world.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''
*** Wonder Dog understands Wendy and Marvin.
*** And Gleek understands [[ComicBook/WonderTwins Zan and Jayna]].
** ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' as well as Butch the dog and any other animals appearing in their cartoons have easily human intelligence.
** ''WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey'''s cat [[HypercompetentSidekick Spot]] was actually ''smarter'' than the title "hero".

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[[quoteright:162:[[ComicBook/RexTheWonderDog https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wonder_dog.png]]]]

* Creator/OsamuTezuka runs on this trope: ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' is a prime example, though many of his works, like ''{{Manga/Phoenix}}'' and ''Manga/BlackJack'', feature extraordinarily intelligent animals whose sapience is never explained or questioned. One ''Manga/BlackJack'' story revolves around a bird who collects money to pay a boy's medical bills. No, really. But it's not smart enough to realize when the debt's been completely paid off.

* ''{{Anime/Stratos 4}}'' has Alice, an old cat who is the pet of Rin and Ran Mikuriya. Alice, who is also nicknamed "Admiral," definitely shows a comprehension of what's going on (especially as shown in her occasional captioned cat-noises), including watching the news, displaying emotion rather clearly, and trying to smuggle herself or stow away on a plane in order to fly to the skies herself (though it's a RunningGag that she keeps on being found and removed from said planes). She even has an encounter with several other cats that display a similar level of intelligent thought, including a kitten whom she adopts. This is parodied in the short "Stratos 4.1", in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.
* [[PokemonSpeak Despite the difficulty they have learning to say more than their own species name]], most Pokemon in [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} the anime]] appear to understand human speech. Even a Pokemon that hasn't even been caught yet can recognize when one of their attacks are called. Team Rocket's Meowth gained the ability to talk but lost the ability to learn the signature move Pay Day. This may not sound bad, but Pay Day literally ''makes money''. It's mentioned that he actually lost the ability to learn ''any'' new move ("I used up all my smarts learning to talk."), and doing so before he learned Pay Day was just an unfortunate lack of good timing.

* Any and all summoned animals in Manga/{{Naruto}} have this, from Kakashi's mostly-normal talking dogs to Jiraiya's extemely powerful and ancient toads. Partner animals, like Akamaru, Tonton, and Kuromaru, are a bit less so, but still impressive. Kakashi's pug Pakkun is noted as being exceptional even for ninja animals, being able to speak Kakashi's name when he was four months old. Outside of the toads and Akamaru, he gets the most screentime too.
* An established rule in the universe of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is that gaining a Stand grants intelligence and sapience to the animal that gains it. This has applied to an orangutan, a Boston terrier, a hawk, a rat [[spoiler:(actually two of them)]], a [[ItMakesSenseInContext flower with a cat's mind]], and a ''colony of zooplankton''.

* The Comicbook/PetAvengers! Subverted with [[FormallyNamedPet Ms. Lion]] though, who while able to communicate with the others on the team [[DogsAreDumb is as dumb as a stack of hammers.]]
* And then there's ''ComicBook/RexTheWonderDog''. Despite being an ostensibly normal dog, Rex had a job as a photographer, drove cars, and once [[SerialEscalation nuked a T-Rex]]. Rex has since been officially recognized both in and out of story as being a very remarkable individual and nothing even close to a normal dog.

* The titular protagonists of ''Hero Cats Of Stellar City'' are intelligent even by human standards and possess complex skills (Rocket is a tech wiz, Cassie is literate to the point of understanding the teachings of The Art of War, and Belle has the gift of telepathy, among others), and are dedicated to protecting the city against any threats. Note that there is so far no indication of them being 'uplifted' in any way, and very few humans suspect them of being anything other than normal cats.

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': One issue revolves entirely around a cat with superpowers, much to her owners' nigh-total obliviousness. One of them is convinced she's smarter than she looks, the other isn't.

* Merle, [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby's]] pet crow in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11083953/4/Of-Red-Petals-and-Black-Feathers Of Red Petals and Black Feathers]]'', shows far more emotion than [[EmotionlessGirl Ruby]], is able to wear a foam finger on its arm, take offense to people forgetting to mention it when introducing people to Ruby, and is generally as intelligent as a human. There is a reason for this: [[spoiler: After having merged with [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Fiddlesticks]] when she was young, part of Ruby's spirit had to be split off to make room. Merle isn't Ruby's pet, it ''is'' part of Ruby, specifically the part of Ruby that was split off, which is why it shows far more emotion than her: because it is made up of the majority of her emotions]].

[[folder: Film-Animated]]
* Pretty much every hero's animal companion in a Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon film is an example of this, though the comedic scale ranges with them. This is completely inverted, however, in the case of ''{{WesternAnimation/Moana}}'''s Heihei, an idiotic rooster that provides no character for Moana to really interact with.

* ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'': cats and dogs are both depicted as very intelligent. Georgette, for example, understands that she's a high-class dog, and is able to put on make-up and groom her fur all by herself.

* All animals appearing in ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp''. It might even be an accepted part of that world, considering how the dogs are talked to and that the two Italian chefs take so much time to prepare a meal and music for the titular characters.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has an aversion: Phillipe runs from the wolves instead of defending Belle (which, while sensible, is not how a LoyalAnimalCompanion normally behaves in fiction), and while she tries to talk to sheep, they clearly are more interested in eating her book than reading it.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'':
** Unlike most fictional parrots, Iago talks in the first person. It's implied in the movie that Jafar actually used magic to make him smarter.
** Abu clearly understands what Aladdin says and his chatter [[SpeechImpairedAnimal is semi-intelligible]]. However, he does not understand the concept of personal property, stealing from everyone.

* The dogs in ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. They worked out a long-distance communication system among themselves!
* Archimedes, Merlin's "highly educated" owl, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone''. Sir Ector suspects that Merlin has him under a spell. Archimedes is insulted at the notion.
* Pip from ''{{Film/Enchanted}}''. Justified since it is a parody of all of the above.
* And, of course, {{WesternAnimation/Pluto|ThePup}}, the one ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' character who isn't a FunnyAnimal, but is still rather intelligent and can understand (if not speak) English.
* Juju from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. He seems to possess the same level of sapience as Mama Odie's animals friends.
* And the tradition continues in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', which features the emotive chameleon, Pascal, and the horse, Maximus, who happens to be more competent than his own rider, the (presumable) captain of the guard. Over the course of the film, he is shown tracking his quarry by scent, locating secret passages, and even 'sword fighting', all of this more competently than the humans who are supposed to be 'his' masters. It's no surprise then, that at the end of the film [[spoiler: Maximus is made the actual leader of the kingdom's guards]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRabbisCat'' makes a plot point of this trope. A cat inexplicably gains the power to think and speak, and starts to debate faith with his owner. This isn't all to the cat's benefit, as the boost in intellect changes his dreams from typical cat stuff to nightmares of his owner's beloved daughter dying of illness.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron''. Horses are extremely intelligent animals, but the idea of a horse playing dead in order to get humans to break his chains, and then successfully breaking the latches on a train, is taking things a bit far. The directors even lampshade this in the commentary on that scene.
* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'': Toothless turns out to be pretty smart for a dragon, understanding Hiccup's spoken commands, able to create art (even if it's just a jumble of lines), and the concept of forgiveness, sparing those who chose to spare him even if they had tried to kill him before.
* ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', obviously all the characters, especially the dog who fears going to hell.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'': Unlike Jonathan, Mr. Ages, and the rats, Mrs. Brisby's intelligence was not boosted by lab research yet she is able to read, escape a bird cage, and disable a tractor by cutting its fuel line.
* All the dogs from ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}''. They talk ''to each other'' but humans hear only barking. They also understand that it is their duty to deliver the medicine to sick people, and seem to be aware of the consequences of their potential failure.
* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Rio}}'', Blu, while unable to fly, can turn on a computer, ride a skateboard, and open his own cage. The rest of the birds can sing, dance and play samba music on simple musical instruments. Monkeys are smart enough to distract tourist with tricks while the other monkeys pick their pockets.
* Chuy the pig from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', reacts like a human to the Rodriguezes' song attempts, and drops consecutively larger pots and plants on them.
* ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' has Rocky the Raccoon, a raccoon scavenging the Parr family's garbage. Jack-Jack mistakes him for a criminal and starts a fight, and Rocky puts up a better show against him than [[spoiler: ''Syndrome'' did in the original movie]]. He also shows the ability to plan and use the environment to his advantage, like turning over a barbecue to make a smoke bomb.

* ''Film/{{Mousehunt}}''. Let's put it this way: secret agents are not as cunning as this mouse.

%%* ''WonTonTon'', an AffectionateParody of ''RinTinTin''.%%
* The Creator/BusterKeaton short ''Film/TheScarecrow'' features Luke the Dog (on loan from Creator/FattyArbuckle), who can walk up and down ladders.
%%* Betsy in Film/{{Bowfinger}}.%%
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** Jack. The monkey Jack.
** Mr. Cotton's parrot is intelligent enough to sort of telepathically understand Mr. Cotton and spout an appropriate sea phrase in response so the humans know what his human is trying to say. Lampshaded by Mr. Gibbs: "He trained the parrot to speak for him. *beat* Nobody's quite figured how."
* ''Film/GForce'': The titular trained secret agent rodents are capable of complex hand coordination, bipedal movement, physical display of human emotions (which shouldn't be possible), and computer hacking skills (as in the case of the star-nosed mole, Speckles). While all these abilities are (partially) justified by government animal experimentation, it fails to explain why the ordinary pet store animals, such as guinea pig Hurley and Hamster Bucky, are just as capable of these feats of intelligence as the G-Force team. Then towards the end of the movie, the unit's leader, scientist Ben, confesses that the team are not genetically enhanced animals as previously told, but ordinary ones Ben took in and trained for the team. WTF doesn't begin to describe it.
%%* Suzanne in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack''.%%
* The animals in ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'' are able to talk to each other, plan an escape out of a pound, and make pop-culture references.

%%* Trigger, the 'smartest horse in the west'.%%

* Jep the monkey from ''VideoGame/ReturnToMysteriousIsland'' can open panels with a screwdriver, take clay molds from inscription, fly a kite, air-surf on a steampunk hover pad, and secure rope ladders and bridges. At no time is Mina shown actually ''training'' him to do any of these things.

** Ace the Bat Hound, Streaky the Super Cat, and the animal pets of ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} and ComicBook/ThePenguin all understand humans and despite being different species, all understand each other.

* And then there's ''Rex The Wonder Dog''. Despite being an ostensibly normal dog, Rex had a job as a photographer, drove cars, and once [[SerialEscalation nuked a T-Rex]]. Rex has since been officially recognized both in and out of story as being a very remarkable individual and nothing even close to a normal dog.

* Series/{{Lassie}}, naturally, cannot only understand, but can also bark in some sort of code that humans understand to mean TimmyInAWell.

* Dr. Arthur Nagan, a supervillain from Creator/MarvelComics, is supposed to have been abducted by a tribe of gorillas who stitched his head onto a gorilla's body. Considering that Dr. Nagan is still ambulatory, this may be the [[UpToEleven ultimate]] example of this trope.

* Creator/OsamuTezuka runs on this trope: ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' is a prime example, though many of his works, like ''{{Manga/Phoenix}}'' and ''Manga/BlackJack'', feature extraordinarily intelligent animals whose sapience is never explained or questioned. One ''Manga/BlackJack'' story revolves around a bird who collects money to pay a boy's medical bills. No, really. [[TearJerker But it's not smart enough to realize when the debt's been completely paid off.]]

Ordinary animals in fiction have a [[ArtisticLicenseBiology significantly increased intelligence]]. Not necessarily the {{Talking Animal}}s. Not the {{Funny Animal}}s. Just the wild and domestic animals encountered in stories where humans are the main characters. Such animals can frequently clearly understand everything humans say, understand human emotions, read, figure out how to solve problems on their own, and so forth. This is also true for cases in which the animals can [[AnimalTalk talk to each other]] (so the audience can hear them) but are common animals in the eyes of any humans in the film.

** Jack. [[NamesTheSame The monkey Jack]].

** Jack. The monkey Jack.

* Albert, Trey's pet pig from ''Film/CollegeRoadTrip'' can play chess, solve a Rubik's cube, beg and even knows how to use a toilet.

* An easily-missed example: any hero who [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicates with a particular kind of animal]] (like ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} with fish, ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} with birds, or ComicBook/AntMan with ants) relies on this trope. In real life, that power would be almost useless -- most animals aren't just unable to ''share'' complex thoughts, they lack the intelligence to form them in the first place.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles2'' has Rocky the Raccoon, a raccoon scavenging the Parr family's garbage. Jack-Jack mistakes him for a criminal and starts a fight, and Rocky puts up a better show against him than [[spoiler: ''Syndrome'' did in the original movie]]. He also shows the ability to plan and use the environment to his advantage, like turning over a barbecue to make a smoke bomb.

* While most of the characters' pets in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' can't speak (Iceland's pet puffin is an exception), they are clearly capable of thinking and have the ability to understand what people are saying.

** Gaspode the Wonder Dog (later just Gaspode), who can talk (but nobody pays any attention, because dogs can't talk). ''Moving Pictures'' also gives us [[AffectionateParody Laddie]], who plays a superintelligent dog onscreen but whose RealLife conversation consists mostly of 'Good boy Laddie'.

* Pooka, Anya's dog in ''{{WesternAnimation/Anastasia}}''

* ''{{Anime/Stratos 4}}'' has Alice, an old cat who is the pet of Rin and Ran Mikuriya. Alice, who is also nicknamed "Admiral," definitely shows a comprehension of what's going on (especially as shown in her occasional captioned cat-noises), including watching the news, displaying emotion rather clearly, and trying to smuggle herself or stow away on a plane in order to fly to the skies herself (though it's a RunningGag that she keeps on being found and removed from said planes). She even has an encounter with several other cats that display a similar level of intelligent thought, including a kitten whom she adopts.
** This is parodied in the short "Stratos 4.1", in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.

** Ace the Bat Hound, Streaky the Super Cat, and the animal pets of Catwoman and the Penguin all understand humans and despite being different species, all understand each other.
** also true for the Dog Stars, who are not only different dog breeds, but from different planets. TranslationConvention is at play for some of that, but they do pilot their own spacecraft.

* An easily-missed example: any hero who communicates with a particular kind of animal (like Aquaman with fish, Hawkman with birds, or Ant-Man with ants) relies on this trope. In real life, that power would be almost useless -- most animals aren't just unable to ''share'' complex thoughts, they lack the intelligence to form them in the first place.

** Unlike most fictional parrots, Iago talks in first person. It's implied in the movie that Jafar actually used magic to make him smarter.

* And, of course, {{WesternAnimation/Pluto|ThePup}}, the one MickeyMouse character who isn't a FunnyAnimal, but is still rather intelligent and can understand (if not speak) English.
* Juju (photo above) from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. He seems to possess the same level of sapience as Mama Odie's animals friends.
* And the tradition continues in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', which features the emotive chameleon, Pascal, and the horse, Maximus, who happens to be more competent than his own rider, the (presumable) captain of the guard. Over the course of the film, he is shown tracking his quarry by scent, locating secret passages, and even 'sword fighting', all of this in manner more competent than the humans who are supposed to be 'his' masters. It's no surprise then, that at the end of the film [[spoiler: Maximus is made the actual leader of the kingdom's guards.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNimh'': Unlike Jonathan, Mr. Ages, and the rats, Mrs. Brisby's intelligence was not boosted by lab research yet she is able to read, escape a bird cage, and disable a tractor by cutting its fuel line.

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Doc's dog Copernicus seems to at an almost human level of intelligence at times. For starters, after Doc finishes reading the letter that [[WriteBackToTheFuture his future self wrote to Marty]], Copernicus seems to be rather sad about Doc being TrappedInThePast. In addition, Copernicus is the one who discovers Doc's tombstone, and he seems to realize what it says.

** Harry's dog Mouse is a Temple Dog, scion of a magical Foo Dog and a normal dog. It's been heavily implied that he's both more intelligent and considerably more powerful than his (Wizard) owner. The short story "Christmas Eve" in particular shows this pretty well: Mouse has to help Harry assemble a bike when Harry can't interpret the instructions, understands Harry's reference to Literature/AChristmasCarol and receives considerable respect from the Faerie Queen Mab. However, he is still a dog. He can't speak, although he understands (and apparently reads) perfectly well, he works the BigFriendlyDog schtick so as not to frighten the {{Muggles}}, and his idea of a perfect afternoon involves a ride in the car, a long belly-rub and plenty of treats.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter''

* ''Series/{{Flipper}}'' understood the people he dealt with.

* ''Series/{{Lassie}}'', naturally, cannot only understand, but can also bark in some sort of code that humans understand to mean TimmyInAWell.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Cats are an essential element in fighting PlagueZombie monsters, and are classified into three catagories: Grade C cats that are basically the ordinary cats, Grade B cats that are Grade Cs that underwent special training, and Grade A cats, that are both bred and trained for their desirable qualities. In Chapter 1, a Grade A cat is seen gesturing to humans to be quiet while their boat is going through a PlagueZombie ridden area (the comic is titled after the in-universe RuleNumberOne on what to do to avoid attracting the attention of a closeby PlagueZombie).

** [[WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost Blip the monkey]] understands Jan and Jayce.

** The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' talks at human level, albeit in ThirdPersonPerson, and like Quacker, in an animal-like voice.

* Penny's dog Brain from ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' is smarter than her uncle and saves his life several times per episode. This is not as true in TheMovie, though.
** Mad Cat (Doctor Claw's henchcat) also fits the mould, but For Great Evil. At times the not-so-good doctor has ordered Mad Cat to launch guided weapons. CatsAreMean, I know, but missiles?
* Rufus the naked mole rat from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' was able to understand and read English as well as go WAY out of the way to save his human, Ron, and managed to figure out which buttons to push to release the bonds holding the heroine and sidekick. In the episode 'Naked Genius', he [[spoiler:became even smarter when he accidentally had Project Phoebus used on him, infusing him with the intelligence of the smartest men on the planet along with taking the villain of the day's (Doctor Drakken) intellect, making it so the blue madman was unable to do more than doodle at the level of a kindergartener.]] It was only for that episode, as the effects eventually wore off on all parties.

* Brian from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is a dog that speaks perfect English, walks on two legs, drinks alcohol, and is generally more intelligent than anyone else on the show. He might well be a parody, as he not only talks, but also interacts with other people the way normal humans would, and this is never pointed out by anyone. And, if his instincts don't get the best of him, he usually takes the role of OnlySaneMan in the show. But he is one of only a handful of such animals shown, as most animals are shown to be just like regular ones. Two notable exceptions are the monkey in Chris's closet and the dog that replaced Brian in one episode when the Griffins believed Brian was getting too old. Also Brian's gay cousin, Jasper, but for some reason, not all of his other relatives.

* Owlowiscious, Twilight Sparkle's pet owl in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', is extremely intelligent and a capable assistant librarian, and manages to save Spike from a full grown dragon.
** Practically all animals on the show are fully sapient and may exhibit civilized traits, even the ones who cannot talk. Fluttershy can communicate with them and treats them just like people.

* ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]''