History Main / CartoonyTail

* Russell the otter from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' has a flat tail like a beaver.
** Also from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': Giggles, Flaky, and Cro-Marmot all lack tails, as did Mime during the TV series but was given it back later on. On an antonymous note, Splendid and Petunia have tails that are equal to them in both height and width, if not larger than that.

* Tigger from ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' has a springy tail with a blunt tip that he can bounce on. Also Eeyore has a tall that is like a normal donkey's, except it is nailed into his body. Then again, they're technically toys.

* Unikitty in "WesternAnimation/Unikitty!" has a tail that seems to be like a cartoony unicorn or horse tail. Puppycorn has a ball-like tail which looks like a tail of a rabbit while Dr. Fox's tail looked like a brush.

* Animals with large tails that drag on the ground (such as beavers, kangaroos and certain reptiles) are drawn with their tails sticking upward.

* Hippos with longer and/or thinner tails than in real life. Sometimes they lack tufts at the tip.

* Cartoon chipmunks that have deer-like tails. Real chipmunks have much longer tails similar to that of a squirrel, but thinner.

* Platypuses with fur-less beaver-like tails.

[[folder:Film]]

* [[MovieBonusSong "Pet Me, Poppa"]] from ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'' has the [[ChorusGirls The Goldwyn Girls]] dressed as pussy cats swinging around totally un-catlike tails.

* Averted with The Chipmunks in the two live action ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' movies and the Chipettes in the second one; they have tails like real chipmunks.
** Subverted in the cartoons, where they don't even have tails.

* The weasels in Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit have short, stubby tails rather than longish catlike tails like real weasels.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei's panda tail is shown to be somewhat prehensile whereas real red panda tails are not prehensile at all.

* In the fanfic ''Fanfic/TailsOfTheOldRepublic'', a crossover/ FusionFic between ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' and the videogame ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Tails the fox has two tails like in the games and other media he regularly features in, but taken to [[ExaggeratedTrope extremes]] here. Not only can he [[HeliCritter fly]] with them, [[BewareMyStingerTail fight]] with them, and even [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe shield]] himself with them, now that he's been [[PlotRelevantAgeUp aged up]] to adolescence, Tails' namesakes are now ''twice'' as long as he is tall!

* Miles "Tails" Power from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' has two tails that enable him to fly like a helicopter when he spins them. There's no indication of how this is anatomically possible.

* Real moose have stumpy little tails, even shorter than that of most other deer. ''Morris the Moose'', from the eponymous picture book series, has a long tail with a tuft on the end, kind of like a unicorn!

* Dinosaurs with overly flexible tails that may or may not drag on the ground. Real dinosaurs held their tails rigid due to their weight and erect leg placement, and theropods in particular are supposed to have stiff and thick tails that are used for balance and leg powering (sometimes this is a case of ScienceMarchesOn however). Although stegosaurids have flexible tails as far as dinosaurs go, able to swing a full 180 degrees, but even these were stiffened and held off of the ground.
* Diplodocid sauropods like ''Apatosaurus'' and ''Diplodocus'' will sometimes be portrayed with shorter tails than in real life, despite the family being known for having long, whip-like tails which they use for defense. Conversely, brachiosaurids have relatively short tails compared to other sauropods, but they will sometimes have long tails similar to those of diplodocids.
* Similarly, pterosaurs (especially if it's a ''Pteranodon'') with long tails. In real life, most of them, including the Pteranodon, have short tails. However, some pterosaurs like ''Rhamphorhynchus'' have long tails, but they do not have crests like ''Pteranodon''[[note]]although some long-tailed pterosaurs do have crests, but they are very different than the one ''Pteranodon'' possesses[[/note]].
* Mosasaurs are usually portrayed with paddle-like tails, while plesiosaurs and pliosaurs have theirs tapering to a point. In real life, all of these marine reptiles had shark-like tail flukes.

* Saber-toothed cats tend to be depicted with long tails similar to other big cats. Primitive saber-toothed cats like ''Machairodus'' have tails like this, but advanced ones like ''Smilodon'' have very stubby tails like a lynx or a bobcat.
* Hippos with longer and/or thinner tails than in real life. Sometimes they would lack tufts at the tip.

* Perry the Platypus from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has a [[http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files//c5/f3/c5f3d5f20ac3e35307c18193f455e1df.jpg "waffle"]] striped tail that isn't teal, like the rest of his body. Platypi are known for their "duck bills" and their "''beaver tails,''" especially after Perry's theme song which claims "he's got a beaver tail and a bill." [[http://cdn.easyapps.nl/pictures/000/000/000/117/209/994_800x600.jpg?r=0 Real platypi have furry tails]]. The only similarity to [[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000255924629/483bfb0cd9f5e808b80386ce14a90783.jpeg beavers' tails]] is that they are both wide and flat.

* Similarly, pterosaurs (especially if it's a ''Pteranodon'') with long tails. In real life, most of them have short tails. However, some pterosaurs like ''Rhamphorhynchus'' have long tails, but they do not have crests like ''Pteranodon''[[note]]although some long-tailed pterosaurs do have crests, but they are very different than the one ''Pteranodon'' possesses[[/note]].

* The mice in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' have thin tails, while the rat Ratigan has a long, fleshy, wormlike tail differentiating him from the mice, among [[MyInstinctsAreShowing other things...]]

* Franchise/ScoobyDoo is a [[http://www.ttsgreatdanes.com/Buffy/buffysidegreat.JPG Great Dane and has a tail like one]], but it often curls and waves like that of a cat.

* Miles 'Tails' Power from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' has two tails that enable him to fly like a helicopter when he spins them. There's no indication of how this is anatomically possible.

* Dinosaurs with overly flexible tails that may or may not drag on the ground. Real dinosaurs held their tails rigid, and theropods in particular are supposed to have stiff and thick tails that are used for balance and leg powering (sometimes this is a case of ScienceMarchesOn however). Although stegosaurids have flexible tails as far as dinosaurs go, able to swing a full 180 degrees, but even these were stiffened and held off of the ground.

* Meeko the raccoon from ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' has a tail that looks really thick at the base and tapers to a fine point, whereas real raccoons usually [[http://theodorafur.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/001.83174138_std.JPG have tails with a blunt tip or have one that at least doesn't taper as much]]. To be fair, a raccoon's tail can taper to a fine point but most raccoons' tails do not look that thick at the base.

* Rafiki from ''Disney/TheLionKing'' is a mandrill that has a tail like a baboon.

* The mice in Disney's ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' have wire-thin tails about the width of a drawn line.
* The mice in ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective'' have thin tails, while the rat Ratigan has a long, fleshy, wormlike tail differentiating him from the mice, among [[MyInstinctsAreShowing other things...]]
* [[WhatMeasureisaNonCute The coelacanths]] from ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' for some reason have extremely small normal-looking fish tails. In real life, a coelacanth's tail is actually large and paddle-shaped.
* Near the middle of ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', the Genie actually transforms Abu the monkey into an elephant... ...with a monkey tail.