History Main / CompanionCube

-->'''Dogbert:''' Reming me not to eat hoagies at your house.

* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' strip, a woman has a baby that looks like a loaf of bread, which turns out to be an actual loaf of bread.

* Mr. Universe and his [=LoveBot=] companion, Lenore, from ''Film/{{Serenity}}''.

This can go wrong in fandom. [[RuleThirtyFour Horribly, horribly wrong.]]

* Also the subject of a psychiatry study with monkeys. Young monkeys were studied with various socialization forms: one was only socialized with its mother, one was socialized with many other monkeys, and the last was only socialized with a fur-covered board. The young monkey became extremely attached to the board. Psychologist Harry Harlow performed another, similar experiment with baby monkeys, putting them in a room with two surrogate mothers. One was made of wire and gave food, while the other was made of soft cloth and didn't give food. The baby monkeys only went to the wire mother when they were hungry, and would always prefer clinging to the cloth mother. He concluded that the baby monkeys had a psychological need for comfort and love, which was extremely important to their development and growth.

* Subverted in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', where Generator (Jade Sinclair) has a toy rabbit, a stuffed toy lion, and what looks like a Hello Kitty compact. But Jade's superpower is the ability to cast a psychokinetic copy of herself into objects, so they really are temporarily alive, and intelligent, and often ''very'' dangerous.
* Perfect Jones, the sanest [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder double Darkwell]] in ''Literature/StarHarborNights'', confides in her stuffed bunny Mr. Buttons, occasionally taking him on patrol. He also doubles as her BerserkButton.

--> Sharpy's just an all-round really cool fella. You can either shoot him, like '''that'''... or stuff'll jump at you, and he'll absorb a hit for ya. How great of a guy is he, really? These fuckin' washing machines ''wish'' I'd carry ''them'' around for three loads in a row.
* Ramirez the Gnome in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lSaRbIJHWw Episode 6]] of ''WebVideo/ProfoundMomentsInLeft4Dead2.''
* Actor and blogger Creator/WilWheaton frequently posts conversations with iTunes on his Twitter feed
* Hitler in the ''WebVideo/HitlerRants'' parodies shows a bizarre amount of affection towards his office desk, as he tends to bring it along with him no matter where he goes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L_40SFtRA8 One parody]] delves into the relationship he has with his desk, explaining how he was first united with it and why he treats it as a close family member.

* ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'': Downplayed example is Jane's toy plushy cat. Jane introduces her as such: "She's not a real cat, which makes her far more superior to any real cats." Considering Jane's lack of friends, it's understandable she bonds and still relates to her toy, but she only showed her twice and she doesn't really talk to her.

** [[spoiler: Ever since Sonjai's death, a new Companion Cube named Mogo (not to be confused with the original identity of Cephalo the Pod) has replaced him.]]
* The Helix Fossil in ''WebVideo/TwitchPlaysPokemon''.
* [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee Croshaw]] reveals himself to be NotSoAboveItAll during ''LetsPlay/LetsDrownOut VideoGame/EuroTruckSimulator 2'', where he reveals that he bought a Roomba and named it Sodbury as a surrogate for a dog, which he can't have due to his apartment complex not allowing them. He mentions that it's also a good name for a butler, and is surprisingly forgiving of the machine's flaws when Gabe points out that it missed more than a few spots. He goes as far as to just patiently accept the Roomba's shortcomings and says that he'll just clean up where it can't reach. Bear in mind that the man hates to do cleaning chores and is at best [[VitriolicBestBuds acerbic and critical with his friend Gabe]].
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "Now clean the place, Sodbury, and by the time I get back, if you've been very good, I'll put you back on the charger."

* In ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged'', after spending an indeterminate amount of time isolated in the hyperbolic time chamber, Vegeta begins [[SanitySlippage talking to a volleyball]] with Nappa's face drawn on it.
* In ''WebVideo/MonsterFactory'', The Final Pam takes a [[VideoGame/{{Fallout4}} Radroach Corpse]] to be her son and husband. She also adopts a coffee can.
* The ''Podcast/BlackJackJustice'' episode "Now Who's the Dummy" features what is effectively a custody battle between two ventriloquists, Tom Simon and Leo Jones, neither of whom seem able to grasp that their dummies aren't actually people. When the two are face to face, Jones pulls a gun on everyone twice and has to be talked down by Simple, the dummy they're fighting over and which is currently in Jones' possession. Once that's settled, Simon's puppet, Morty, pulls his own weapon. [[SarcasmFailure Jack and Trixie can only lampshade the absurdity of it all]].
-->'''Trixie:''' The puppet has a ''cap gun tied to his hand!''\\
'''Jack:''' The nervous guy with the real gun is taking this seriously.
* In ''Website/SCPFoundation'''s SCP-3001, Dr. Robert Scranton has the blinking red light from an audio recorder as his only companion, and often talks to "Red" as though it were his friend.
* WebVideo/DannyGonzalez loves his giant nutcracker toy quite a bit, and keeps it in the background of his videos. In one video, he freaked out because he thought it had been magically stolen by the creators of ''VideoGame/LilysGarden'' due to him mocking their ads.
* [=YouTuber=] Patrick Willems has Charl, a coconut with googly eyes he found on a desert island in his Review of 2019 video (much to the consternation of his friends Jake and Matt.)
* ''LetsPlay/TheRunawayGuys'': During their Let's Play of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', the guys got attatched to a mannequin of an old man that sits outside Station Square's burger shop. They then dubbed it the Old Man and attempted to take it everywhere with them, even into areas the mannequin isn't supposed to be in.
* ''WebVideo/The8BitDrummer'': along with his plushies, he also has a jug and a water bottle with googly eyes that he drinks to stay hydrated during his streams.
* WebVideo/BrandonFarris' co-host is a canvas portrait of a woman wearing a wedding dress, whom he has dubbed "Kelly". He accidentally received the portrait and contacted the original customer, who had received his portrait instead. Why he still has it is never explained. It has become a regular background item whenever he is doing a solo video and tends to get knocked over when Brandon either flips out from a jump scare or fails to perform a life hack correctly.
* How Ridiculous, basically the [[TransatlanticEquivalent Australian equivalent]] of Creator/DudePerfect, features a ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' doll that the group calls "Rexy" in many of its videos. The group even lists Rexy as [[https://howridiculous.org/pages/team an official team member]].

* Music/TheSistersOfMercy have had [[two official members since the beginning: lead singer Andrew Eldritch, and Doktor Avalanche, the name given to their drum machine. They treat Doktor Avalanche so much like a person that it is credited as "running" the online advice column on the group's website.

* Music/TheSistersOfMercy have had [[RevolvingDoorBand two official members since the beginning]]: lead singer Andrew Eldritch, and Doktor Avalanche, the name given to their drum machine.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The titular [[PerkyGoth Ruby]] has her scythe Crescent Rose. She has hugged it, cuddled it and called it her "sweetheart". While she loves all weapons, she particularly loves Crescent Rose the most,

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The titular [[PerkyGoth Ruby]] has her scythe Crescent Rose. She has hugged it, cuddled it and called it her "sweetheart".

[[folder:Web Original]]
* WebVideo/JesuOtaku and his subtitles. Until they have a falling out about their use in the ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' review.
* There are a lot of examples in ''WebVideo/Lonelygirl15'', most notably the purple monkey puppet, P. Monkey.
* Subverted in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', where Generator (Jade Sinclair) has a toy rabbit, a stuffed toy lion, and what looks like a Hello Kitty compact. But Jade's superpower is the ability to cast a psychokinetic copy of herself into objects, so they really are temporarily alive, and intelligent, and often ''very'' dangerous.
* Perfect Jones, the sanest [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder double Darkwell]] in ''Literature/StarHarborNights'', confides in her stuffed bunny Mr. Buttons, occasionally taking him on patrol. He also doubles as her BerserkButton.
* In Overthegun's LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', he befriends a circular blade named "Sharpy" during the Ravenholm section. He carries it around with the gravity gun for at ''least'' half an hour, eschewing (the faster, easier) explosive barrels littered around, in favour of bisecting every zombie individually. He even has a brief panic attack when he thinks he's lost Sharpy.
--> Sharpy's just an all-round really cool fella. You can either shoot him, like '''that'''... or stuff'll jump at you, and he'll absorb a hit for ya. How great of a guy is he, really? These fuckin' washing machines ''wish'' I'd carry ''them'' around for three loads in a row.

* Ramirez the Gnome in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lSaRbIJHWw Episode 6]] of ''WebVideo/ProfoundMomentsInLeft4Dead2.''
* Actor and blogger Creator/WilWheaton frequently posts conversations with iTunes on his Twitter feed

* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Paper Boy and his red bulletin board, which he uses to hide behind. He says he hates the fact that he even needs it.

* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': In "Sucker for Love", Nutty's obsession with a heart-shaped box of chocolates on display in a candy store window causes him to imagine himself marrying the box, making it breakfast, riding with it in an ambulance as it breaks water during its pregnancy (implied by the bulge in its center), and having three small boxes of chocolates as his children. Then he finds the box cheated on him, discovering the affair after seeing Lumpy (who's now a milkman) leaving their house with chocolate smeared on his lips. A quick scene shifts to Nutty in jail, where it's implied he killed Lumpy out of jealousy. When he walks in the visiting area, he meets the box of chocolates (now sporting a scarf and pair of glasses) with a dent on its side (which he may have caused after beating it in his rage from its affair with Lumpy), and expresses to it his regret for treating it. After his release from prison, they both live happily together until their old age, when the elderly box of chocolates dies by falling over and spilling its contents. Before returning to reality, the elderly Nutty stands in the rain, mourning over the box of chocolates' grave.
* Hitler in the ''WebVideo/HitlerRants'' parodies shows a bizarre amount of affection towards his office desk, as he tends to bring it along with him no matter where he goes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L_40SFtRA8 One parody]] delves into the relationship he has with his desk, explaining how he was first united with it and why he treats it as a close family member.
* One [[WebAnimation/CharlieTheUnicorn Film Cow]] short features [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRmey2WvWnw John [=McCain=] and his Vegetable Friends.]] Also has nice doses of LyricalDissonance, horror and LetsMeetTheMeat if the title didn't seem creepy enough.
* A strange justification in the second episode of ''Perverts On The Internet'': After raiding large amounts of Mike Gibbons' booze, Kunt winds up believing that a Girl's World doll is possessed by the spirit of his dead ex-girlfriend.
* ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'': Downplayed example is Jane's toy plushy cat. Jane introduces her as such: "She's not a real cat, which makes her far more superior to any real cats." Considering Jane's lack of friends, it's understandable she bonds and still relates to her toy, but she only showed her twice and she doesn't really talk to her.
* When there's an odd number of players for WebVideo/TheSharkasmCrew's Doubles tourneys, the odd player out plays with a computer-controlled player. This CPU is represented by a piece of paper with a face on it, named Sonjai.
** [[spoiler: Ever since Sonjai's death, a new Companion Cube named Mogo (not to be confused with the original identity of Cephalo the Pod) has replaced him.]]
* The Helix Fossil in ''WebVideo/TwitchPlaysPokemon''.
* [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee Croshaw]] reveals himself to be NotSoAboveItAll during ''LetsPlay/LetsDrownOut VideoGame/EuroTruckSimulator 2'', where he reveals that he bought a Roomba and named it Sodbury as a surrogate for a dog, which he can't have due to his apartment complex not allowing them. He mentions that it's also a good name for a butler, and is surprisingly forgiving of the machine's flaws when Gabe points out that it missed more than a few spots. He goes as far as to just patiently accept the Roomba's shortcomings and says that he'll just clean up where it can't reach. Bear in mind that the man hates to do cleaning chores and is at best [[VitriolicBestBuds acerbic and critical with his friend Gabe]].
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "Now clean the place, Sodbury, and by the time I get back, if you've been very good, I'll put you back on the charger."
* Box in ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity II'' can be classified as one of these. And this is in a [[ObjectShows world]] where everyone else is an AnimateInanimateObject.
* ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan:''
** Bowser Junior's ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' toy. The episode, "Bowser Junior Loses Thomas!" focuses on Junior going through a deep depression when he loses it [[spoiler:behind the couch]].
** Cody's [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} Ken]] doll. Being a closeted homosexual, Cody treats him like his boyfriend.
** In "Cody's Sister!", Cody's twin sister, Katy, owns a Barbie doll, much like how her brother owns a Ken doll. Katy hasn't even taken her Barbie doll out of its box, though.

* In ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged'', after spending an indeterminate amount of time isolated in the hyperbolic time chamber, Vegeta begins [[SanitySlippage talking to a volleyball]] with Nappa's face drawn on it.
* In ''WebVideo/MonsterFactory'', The Final Pam takes a [[VideoGame/{{Fallout4}} Radroach Corpse]] to be her son and husband. She also adopts a coffee can.
* The ''Podcast/BlackJackJustice'' episode "Now Who's the Dummy" features what is effectively a custody battle between two ventriloquists, Tom Simon and Leo Jones, neither of whom seem able to grasp that their dummies aren't actually people. When the two are face to face, Jones pulls a gun on everyone twice and has to be talked down by Simple, the dummy they're fighting over and which is currently in Jones' possession. Once that's settled, Simon's puppet, Morty, pulls his own weapon. [[SarcasmFailure Jack and Trixie can only lampshade the absurdity of it all]].
-->'''Trixie:''' The puppet has a ''cap gun tied to his hand!''\\
'''Jack:''' The nervous guy with the real gun is taking this seriously.
* In ''Website/SCPFoundation'''s SCP-3001, Dr. Robert Scranton has the blinking red light from an audio recorder as his only companion, and often talks to "Red" as though it were his friend.
* WebVideo/DannyGonzalez loves his giant nutcracker toy quite a bit, and keeps it in the background of his videos. In one video, he freaked out because he thought it had been magically stolen by the creators of ''VideoGame/LilysGarden'' due to him mocking their ads.
* [=YouTuber=] Patrick Willems has Charl, a coconut with googly eyes he found on a desert island in his Review of 2019 video (much to the consternation of his friends Jake and Matt.)
* ''LetsPlay/TheRunawayGuys'': During their Let's Play of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', the guys got attatched to a mannequin of an old man that sits outside Station Square's burger shop. They then dubbed it the Old Man and attempted to take it everywhere with them, even into areas the mannequin isn't supposed to be in.
* ''WebVideo/The8BitDrummer'': along with his plushies, he also has a jug and a water bottle with googly eyes that he drinks to stay hydrated during his streams.
* WebVideo/BrandonFarris' co-host is a canvas portrait of a woman wearing a wedding dress, whom he has dubbed "Kelly". He accidentally received the portrait and contacted the original customer, who had received his portrait instead. Why he still has it is never explained. It has become a regular background item whenever he is doing a solo video and tends to get knocked over when Brandon either flips out from a jump scare or fails to perform a life hack correctly.
* How Ridiculous, basically the [[TransatlanticEquivalent Australian equivalent]] of Creator/DudePerfect, features a ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' doll that the group calls "Rexy" in many of its videos. The group even lists Rexy as [[https://howridiculous.org/pages/team an official team member]].

* Many people have toys, porcelain dolls and security blankets for this very reason.
** The practice is usually associated with children, but it's also quite common in adults with autism, who may experience [[https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10053878/1/Personification%20in%20autism_final%20accepted.pdf object personification]] and/or trouble relating to other humans.

* Also the subject of a psychiatry study with monkeys. Young monkeys were studied with various socialization forms: one was only socialized with its mother, one was socialized with many other monkeys, and the last was only socialized with a fur-covered board. The young monkey became extremely attached to the board.
** Psychologist Harry Harlow performed another, similar experiment with baby monkeys, putting them in a room with two surrogate mothers. One was made of wire and gave food, while the other was made of soft cloth and didn't give food. The baby monkeys only went to the wire mother when they were hungry, and would always prefer clinging to the cloth mother. He concluded that the baby monkeys had a psychological need for comfort and love, which was extremely important to their development and growth.

* Similar to soldiers and their drones, the Opportunity Martian Rover (affectionately called "Oppy") held a similar place in the hearts of NASA, and nerd culture. "She" managed to last 15 years, and was even taught to sing "Happy Birthday" to herself. Her permanent deactivation on February 13th 2019 due to her heating unit being broken by a dust storm was cause for ''mourning'' in certain circles.
** One and a half year before, after the robotic Cassini spacecraft had been disposed of by plunging her into Saturn's atmosphere, there were tears in JPL's MissionControl, as some team members had been involved in the mission for decades.

* Joe Duddington apparently gently encouraged Mallard to help her break the World Steam Speed record.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'': Emmett, who starts the film living alone without any real friends, has a potted plant called "Planty", who he considers his roommate.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
** Almost all of the residents of Ooo are composed of sentient candy, mountains, teddy bears, etc. However, in the beginning of "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS1E6TheJiggler The Jiggler]]", Finn and Jake are rescuing a "family" consisting of seemingly random food, although one, a watermelon, is named Stanley. None of them are sentient, and yet they have a house and apparently they get into danger constantly.
** Marceline and her stuffed toy monkey [[http://adventuretime.wikia.com/wiki/Hambo Hambo.]] It was given to her by Simon Petrikov [[spoiler: who became Ice King]] as a child. In the episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS3E3MemoryOfAMemory Memory of a Memory]]" she is seen fixing Hambo and talking to him, calling him her only friend. She loves it so much she broke up with her JerkAss boyfriend because he sold it. Later, in the episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS5E29SkyWitch Sky Witch]]", she travels with Princess Bubblegum to retrieve it from Maja the witch and when they encounter a talking Hambo in the woods, she actually believes it could be the real Hambo talking to her, until it is revealed as a trap by PB.
* ''WesternAnimation/AllHailKingJulien'': Julien tends to talk out his own problems with Amelia, the skeletal remains of the airplane pilot, holding entire conversations although we never get to hear her responses. Even some of the other characters like Maurice have been known to do this.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''
** Stan seems to have a rather intimate relationship with his gun. It "laughs" by shooting.
** An episode featured Steve dating a girl who had a doll as a companion whom she believed was alive and could talk to her, and which she sets up on a date with Steve's friend Snot, who is not amused. When the girl thinks that Snot raped her doll, she goes as far as taking the doll to a hospital because she believes that it's pregnant. Eventually Steve and Snot write a suicide note and hang the doll from the ceiling fan, but she thinks the doll was murdered because it wasn't "her handwriting".
* Stump from ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers''. Stump is clearly a sentient being. ''He just never shows any signs of life onscreen''. And he even manages to communicate occasionally by TalkingWithSigns.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': Meatwad's best friend is a {{Blaxploitation}} hero named Boxy Brown. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You figure it out]].
** Meatwad has other "friends", including Dewey (a paper towel tube), Vanessa (an apple) and Jeffy (a garden hose). However, Boxy is the only one that the audience can hear speak, even though he's just a box.
--->'''Boxy Brown:''' I'm just a what, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch]]?
** Boxy even helps Shake learn what it means to be black when Shake [[ItMakesSenseInContext temporarily turns black after being bitten by a radioactive black man.]]
* Sokka's boomerang in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. But he really ''does'' always come back! [[spoiler:Except the last time.]]
* A variant in the crime "duo" of Scarface (a ventriloquist's dummy) and Arnold "The Ventriloquist" Wesker in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. Wesker suffers from multiple-personality disorder, but Scarface [[DemonicDummy comes up with all the evil schemes]], and ruthlessly bullies his alter ego (whom he calls "Dummy", just to hammer home the point of who is really in charge). Even the other members of the gang fear and respect Scarface. In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', there's a quick, creepy visual gag that implies giving the ''puppet'' a lobotomy [[spoiler:with heat vision]] is all it takes to cure Wesker.
* Megatron's rubber duck in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rubber_Ducky It has its own wiki page.]]
* In a parody of ''Film/CastAway'', an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BeingIan'' has Ian trapped on a sandbar and talking to polystyrene coffee cup.
* Bob in ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' does this on a fairly regular basis, ranging from a cutout of Keanu Reeves to a night light to the Thanksgiving turkey. It's later explained that this stems from Bob having no friends as a child, and his only toys were a bar of soap and a scrubbing pad.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBrakShow'', Zorak finds Brak talking to a lobster doll named Hippo ("He's a hell of a guy!") and throws it away because he's just mean. Brak gets a replacement, Dr. Grumbles, who actually ''can'' talk, but in something of a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], only ''Zorak'' [[spoiler:and Thundercleese]] can hear him.
%%* [[AutomatonHorses Thirty-Thirty's]] BFG ''Sarah Jane'', on ''WesternAnimation/{{Bravestarr}}''.%%ZCE
* Although he's capable of creating other sentient robot minions, Grizzle from ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAdventuresInCareALot'' prefers the company of Mr. Beaks, a completely inanimate bird made from scrap metal that he treats as a living being.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':
** Aelita's doll Mister Pück, first introduced as a living elf in her dreams. It is also the basis for her Lyoko Avatar.
** The teddy bear from the first episode, "[=TeddyGozilla=]", might also count... until it is possessed by XANA.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeMonkeys'' has this with Todd's on again, off again girlfriend, a doll named Tiffany, who in recent episodes comes off as rather abusive.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'':
** There are times when Tucker shares special bonding moments with his PDA, sometimes with the former treating the latter like a lover.
--->'''Tucker:''' If I don't make it, tell my PDA I love her. The cell phone meant nothing to me.
** Other technology, too.
--->'''Tucker (Talking to a security camera in a loving voice):''' Hello special new friend.
* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'':
** A member of the RoguesGallery, Quackerjack, has Mr. Banana Brain, a doll which he treats as completely real, despite speaking the doll's side of the conversation also.
*** This reached a particularly strange point in the episode "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E54TheHauntingOfMrBananaBrain The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain]]", in which Mr. BB becomes possessed by a demonic spirit. Even though the doll was actually moving and talking on its own for once, Quackerjack never seemed to notice much difference besides commenting on how Banana Brain's voice was deeper than usual.
*** In the revival comic, [[spoiler: after Negaduck destroys Mr. Banana Brain, Quackerjack goes completely AxCrazy in response and suddenly becomes ''incredibly'' [[NotSoHarmless dangerous]]]].
** Another villain, Megavolt, is either insane or an electrical empath (both have been implied). He considers all electrical devices to be sentient beings, and many of his crimes revolve around "rescuing" or "freeing" his electrical brethren. He also gets rather upset when he goes through all the effort of setting them free and they just sit there doing nothing.
---> '''Megavolt:''' ''(to light bulbs)'' Run away! Runawayrunaway! Oh no, they can't move! They've been weakened by the long servitude!
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has a SuckECheeses episode featuring a stuffed Monkey doll that [=DeeDee=] believes she could talk to her. Their conversations are surprisingly dark, almost veering into ''Film/TheShining'' territory. Naturally, this is all completely accurate.
-->'''[=DeeDee=]:''' What was that, Monkey? ''(listens intently)'' Yes, Monkey! I too can see into the future!\\
'''Mom:''' [=DeeDee=]! Time to go! Have you seen your brother?\\
'''[=DeeDee=]:''' What was that Monkey? ''(listens intently)'' Monkey says that Chubby Cheeses took him into the deepest, darkest shadows!
* Glen's Planet-Man action figure in ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'':
** In "The Secret(s) of Castle [=McDuck=]!", Scrooge had a clump of hair named "Whiskers" as a pet when he was a little boy, because his parents were too poor at the time to afford a dog. Scrooge finds it an embarrassing memory now, but he clearly cared deeply for Whiskers as a child.
--->'''Downy:''' Oh, how Scroogey loved his Whiskers!\\
'''Fergus:''' Ay, but who ended up having to walk him and feed him?\\
'''Scrooge:''' It was a ball of hair!\\
'''Fergus:''' How dare you talk about Whiskers like that! He was family!
** In "Moonvasion!", Donald is revealed to have been stranded on an island for approximately a month, and at some point during that time, he made a friend out of watermelons which resembles WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse. He even does a voice for it.
--->'''[[spoiler: Della]]:''' Has the melon been a thing the whole time I've been gone, or...?
--->'''Huey:''' No, that's new.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** Plank, a literal plank of wood with a face drawn on that Johnny carries around everywhere, is the show's main example. A very creepy one at that, as he could appear in places that Johnny 2x4 would not have had time or ability to access, including one notable occasion when it set off a RubeGoldbergDevice set up by the Eds causing them to be affected rather than their intended target.
** Kevin's treatment of his bike is sometimes shown as this. TheMovie takes it to the point of being a CargoShip, with him [[RunningGag repeatedly]] showing more concern for it than his sort-of-girlfriend Nazz.
** Also, Sheldon, Ed's stinky hunk of cheese.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** Phillip, Cosmo's (female) nickel.
** Trixie is paired with a rock for a class project when she and Timmy are the only living beings in the room without partners.
** Recurring villain Dark Laser has Flipsie, the flipping toy dog. Every single episode he's in, he spends at least one scene talking to Flipsie, and actually seems to ''take advice'' from him. In one episode, [[EvilTwin Foop]] told him to seek help - and since Foop himself isn't exactly the [[AxCrazy poster boy for sanity]]...
** Catman by Season 9 was shown to have a ball of yarn named Don as his only friend besides Timmy Turner.
* Rupert, Stewie's teddy bear, from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. Stewie evidently views him as... a big, muscular thong-clad man with a teddy bear head.
** Although only shown for a few seconds in a flashback vignette, Chris's Christmas present from Brian, namely [[spoiler:a long-dead cat, buzzing insects and all.]] "I'm gonna call you [[spoiler:Sticky Head.]] I love you [[spoiler:Sticky Head.]]"
** "More tea, Mr. Bike?"
** Chris's zit. A little different from others in that it turns out to be sentient...and evil.
** Peter's pet rock that urinates on the carpet.
** Peter took a woman to prom when he was a teenager. She was apparently so obsessed with him that she never flushed the turd he left in her toilet. She is last seen sprinkling fish food into a toilet bowl asking "You hungry?"
* ''WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum'' has ''a lot'' of these:
** Fanboy went to the school dance with a sentient mop, Moppy.
** Boog treats the Chimp Chomp arcade game as if it's his girlfriend. He does the same thing with his car, Sandy.
** Lenny acts similarly, though to a much lesser extent, with his bike, Bikey.
** Janitor [[Franchise/StarWars Poopatine]] appears to have a personal relationship with his mechanized chair, Brenda.
** Yo's best friend is a pine cone named Ingrid. She also has a digital cat named Scampers.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'': Freakazoid once had his own sidekick named Handman in "The Sidekick Chronicles", which happened to be his own hand with eyes drawn on it, and a voice provided by his ventriloquism. What's more, Handman then had an affair with Freakazoid's other hand, who both shared a long, kissing sequence (which was graphic even for a kids show) and married among a wedding made up of the cheering, dressed hands of the guests. Despite losing his sidekick, Freakazoid hopes to gain a daughter... or an upper hand. Unlike his hand couple, however, his feet are in a very rocky relationship.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' features an UnknownRival of Goliath's who wanted ''revenge''. He was a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of John Travolta, and talked to his bazooka, naming it "[[Series/WelcomeBackKotter Mr. Kotter]]". He spends the entire episode talking about how Goliath is going to "get creamed". The bazooka? [[spoiler:Shot pies.]]
** Actually it was scripted as "Mr. Carter," but because of the character's accent, it sounded identical to "Kotter."
** Over the course of the episode, the character flashes back to other episodes when Goliath inadvertently cost him a string of jobs, and he appears at least once more as a Quarryman (his work with Mr. Carter evidently made him feel better at the time but in the long run didn't help his grudge), but he doesn't seem to have bonded with his hammer the way he did Mr. Carter, and he does a HeelFaceTurn after Goliath saves his life. He eventually decides to go to Japan, where he thinks he can get away from Gargoyles.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gasp}}'', Gasp spends a lot of time talking to Diver; the diver statue at the bottom of his tank.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GetEd'', [[TheMadHatter Loogie]] has a sock puppet named Dr. Pinch who is a good deal saner than the hand that he sits on. The other characters treat him as if he's perfectly normal (Dr. Pinch, not Loogie - they know Loogie's insane). He's also capable of carrying on a full conversation while Loogie is soundly asleep, and will even maintain his voice and personality ''if one of the other characters picks him up''... In fact he was once ''able to enter a computer simulation when the mind scanner was on his head''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Headhunters", Mabel sculpts a wax statue of Grunkle Stan that Stan quickly develops a liking to. When Wax Stan is beheaded, Stan acts like he's been murdered and even goes as far as to hold a funeral for his wax effigy. [[spoiler: After "Not What He Seems", it's implied, and confirmed by WordOfGod, that Stan was using Wax Stan as a replacement for his own long-lost twin brother.]]
* A ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' short had Beezy making friends with a perfectly crafted sandwich he made. Naturally, [[BigEater it doesn't last long]].
* While martial arts training, WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo befriended a pebble. It was surprisingly touching.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Olaf is [[CargoShip "married"]] to an ice cube named Olga and treats it like a person.
* Hank Hill from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' seems to be very attached to propane to the point of him affectionately nicknaming it "Lady Propane" in a few episodes. The episode "Sug Night" almost implies that he has a fetish for it.
** In "Chasing Bobby", Hank gets very emotional about his aging pickup truck "dying" and even starts crying when he finds he's having trouble starting up the engine (what makes it even funnier is how Hank isn't very emotional when it comes to people but is consistently very much so with inanimate objects that mean a lot to him).
* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': Wolf has a strong connection to her staff and hates being away from it, also calling it "Stalky" when she is alone with it.
* Slightly weird preschool TV example: ''Literature/LittleBear'' has a human friend named Emily, who in turn has a doll named Lucy, which she treats as sentient. Her ''intelligent talking bear'' friend and his likewise chatty forest buddies think talking to a doll is hilarious.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'': Lolly Poopdeck is a recurring minor character on the show who is always seen carrying two buckets. Originally being his ongoing job on the harbor, each new episode has him acting as if his buckets are his best pals. Ironically, he is one of the residents who appears to regard Peppermint Larry's candy wife as an inanimate object when hanging with Knuckles in the episode, "Candy Cassinova": "Hanging out with inanimate objects is ridiculous and embarrasing. [[HypocriticalHumor Right bucket]]?"
* ''WesternAnimation/MiddlemostPost'': In the DIY short, the gang makes a new 'friend' named Burt, who's made of boxes and bubble wrap.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'':
** Milo's science teacher Mrs. Murawski is oddly fixated on her hand-made desk. Occasionally, [[CargoShip suggestive]] [[{{Sexophone}} saxophone music]] will play as she admires it.
** Mildred, a milk carton with a face drawn on one side, is outright treated as a person by Scott the Undergrounder, who is apparently in a relationship with her.
* Ivan Dobsky from ''WesternAnimation/MonkeyDust'' has his space hopper which he calls Mr. Hoppy. It was implied that Mr, Hoppy was the force behind some of Ivan's crimes; having said that, the results when the prison staff took Mr. Hoppy from Ivan definitely count as {{Squick}} and probably count as pure terror: [[spoiler:Ivan fashioned a new space hopper out of some dead guards. Needless to say, people weren't laughing at him then]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Nurse Bendy has a teddy bear family at home she treats as actual family figures, up to making meals and talking broken child-talk with them. This is due to her loneliness and her feeling that men only want her for sex. [[spoiler: Which is why she ''doesn't'' take it well when the Hubby teddy accidentally falls on her behind.]] Later on she is reunited with her real son and chooses to abandon the fake teddy-son for the real thing.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'', Camilla is a stuffed chick owned by Gonzo, who dotes on her almost as much as in regular continuity.
* ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies2018'':
** Gonzo's friend Potato, who is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a potato]].
** In "My Buddy", Animal has a stuffed rabbit named Buddy, whom Fozzie becomes attached to when bad things happen to him.
** Kermit has his Mega Super Ultra Robo Dinosaur action figure.
** Fozzie has his rubber chicken, Sir Featherbrain. In "Wock-a-Bye Fozzie", he accidentally leaves it at his house during the sleepover at Miss Nanny's house, which is one of the reasons why he doesn't have a good time at the sleepover.
** Fozzie's little sister, Rozzie has a dump truck that she calls "Gunkie".
** Jill has her Lady Sparkle doll.
** Summer has Nattie, a stuffed narwhal. "My Best Toy's Wedding" involves her being wed to Potato.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel Over a Barrel]]": Applejack's apple tree Bloomberg gets this treatment. She buys it a private sleeping car in a train and reads it bedtime stories. Spike gets into the act when he bunks with Bloomberg to get away from the girls' night-time chatter, and apologizes in advance to the tree if he starts snoring. (This may be justified if he snores ''fire'', however.)
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]": Pinkie Pie has a nervous breakdown when she thinks her friends don't want to come to her parties anymore. She sets up a pile of rocks ("Rocky"), a sack of flour ("Madame Le Flour"), a bucket of turnips ("Mr. Turnip"), and a piece of lint ("Sir Lintsalot") as her new friends, and tries to throw a party with them. Pinkie Pie does their voices so well that she even gets Rainbow Dash to argue with the rocks. The most noticeable sign of Pinkie's [[SanitySlippage deepening depression and insanity]] is that at first, she pretends that "Rocky", "Madame Le Flour" and the rest are talking to her by nudging them back and forth to create the illusion of movement. When they give her the ArmorPiercingQuestion, she loses any sanity she had left ''[[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness and her party guests seem to start moving on their own]]''. And then the camera zooms out to reveal that the "party guests" are still inanimate, as always...
** In" [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 of Harmony]]", Rarity is brainwashed by Discord into thinking a boulder is actually a giant diamond. She becomes increasingly obsessed with and protective of it, and starts calling it "Tom".
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]]", Twilight Sparkle introduces her cherished childhood toy "Smarty Pants": a raggedy old stuffed pony doll with a notebook and quill. Twilight casts an [[ArtifactOfAttraction enchantment spell]] that makes everypony in town to be attracted to the doll, leading to a large fight between all of them over it. After the spell is lifted, every pony loses interest and leaves the doll behind, except for Big Macintosh who is ([[RealMenWearPink for some unexplained reason]]) still attracted to it and ends up running away with it.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E12PinkiePride Pinkie Pride]]", Pinkie's rival Cheese Sandwich has a rubber chicken he calls "Boneless", which he talks to and carries with him on his travels around Equestria. When he leaves he gives Boneless to Pinkie, only to pull out another one called Boneless Two [[ReplacementGoldfish to replace it]]. [[spoiler:By the time of the GrandFinale, they're up to the ''sixth'' Boneless, now in the possession of Pinkie and Cheese's foal Lil' Cheese.]]
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E18MaudPie Maud Pie]]", the title character has a small pet rock ironically named "Boulder". [[RunningGag This is the]] ''[[RunningGag third]]'' [[RunningGag rock-based companion cube depicted in this series]].
*** How alive Boulder actually is is played with throughout his appearances. He's usually treated as an inanimate rock, but certain incidents throw that into question. For instance, at one point in "Maud Pie", Maud pushes him towards some food; the camera cuts away, and when it cuts back, the food is gone. No-one seems to notice.
*** In the film ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'', a humanized Maud produces Boulder, explains he is hungry, and proceeds to pour a box of crackers over the rock.
*** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E3TheMaudCouple The Maud Couple]]", Maud's new boyfriend Mudbriar has a pet stick called Twiggy. In one scene, the two put the pebble and stick next to each other on the ground and comment on how cute they are playing together.
** DownplayedTrope in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E23InspirationManifestation Inspiration Manifestation]]". Rarity considers the titular TomeOfEldritchLore to be an actual person, which Spike admits is pretty creepy. That said, she's never seen to try and interact with it, nor is she all that upset when the book is destroyed. (Though that's mostly because she didn't need the book by that point.)
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E24TheManeAttraction The Mane Attraction]]", Pinkie Pie carries a drinking straw she named "Fernando".
** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The Movie]] gives us the hippogriff/seapony Princess Skystar who has two oyster shells [[SarcasmMode creatively named]] "Shelly" and "Sheldon" as best friends.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E23SoundsOfSilence Sounds of Silence]]", we are introduced to a {{Kirin}} named Autumn Blaze who has collected several of these during her years of exile including some baskets, her own shadow and one of her hooves which she sometimes draws a face on.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E8Frenemies Frenemies]]", it's shown Queen Chrysalis has taken to treating a purple log like this, often speaking to it and refusing to let anyone take it from her. [[spoiler:A bit more creepy when it's heavily implied said log is all that's left of her EvilKnockoff of Twilight from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E13TheMean6 The Mean 6]]".]]
** And ''finally'', from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E20AHorseShoeIn A Horse Shoe-In]]", there's Phyliss, a potted philodendron that Starlight Glimmer talks to throughout the episode. When "he" ends up being trashed by Trixie, Starlight is visibly distraught.
* ''WesternAnimation/NerdsAndMonsters'': In "Monster and Commander", [[DumbJock Stan]] starts taking orders from a rock. Later, the rock apparently starts demanding a human sacrifice.
** A more series-wide example that also counts as a CargoShip is Zarg's "wife", a sea monster rubber ring named "Maiden Cheena" after the label the monsters found on her when she washed on shore.
* ''WesternAnimation/NumbChucks'': In "Huh Brother Where Art Thou?", Dilweed spends a year hiding in a closet to win a game of hide-and-seek. During this time, he draws a face on a bucket and adopts it as his new best friend (and continually loses staring contests to it).
* Rico from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' has an amorous relationship with a doll.
* ''WesternAnimation/PetAlien'':
** Granville [=DeSpray=] treats a dog statue (which he dubs Admiral Puff) as his best friend, frequently talking to it and even having tea parties with it. "The Little Monster Ball" reveals he has a whole room full of animal statues that he treats like his friends.
** "The Thing on the Corner" revolves around Dinko befriending a mailbox when Tommy won't play with him. He eventually steals the mailbox in a misguided attempt to save it from the mailman.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' Dr. Doofenshmirtz's only childhood friend was a balloon with a face drawn onto it, which he talks to and calls "Balloony." In a later episode, he gets another one he names "Balloony 2."
** In "Meapless In Seattle", Balloony returns. [[spoiler: Apparently, he really is sentient and cares for Doofenshmirtz. Or maybe it's just his [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim super-suit]].]]
** In "No More Bunny Business", Doofenshmirtz is upset when Perry the Platypus doesn't show up on schedule, and creates a new nemesis by putting a fedora on a potted plant, which he dubs "Planty the Potted Plant". It not only defeats him, but is made an agent of OWCA at the end of the episode.
* WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther gets tricked into buying a pet rock in the short "Pet Pink Pebbles". The franchise being [[{{Cloudcuckooland}} what it is]], the rock is truly alive and grows up into a massive boulder under his care.
* A spool of thread, which was said to be Pinky's sister in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain''.
** In another episode, Pinky's actor is "married" to a sock puppet. When Brain's actor's wife kicks him out, Pinky said that his "wife" did the same... "or maybe she just fell behind the dryer."
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Sean, Sydney, and Mindy all have one. Sean has his Neil Armstrong action figure, Sydney has her Commander Cressida action figure, and Mindy has her teddy bear, Stuffy Bear. Sean sometimes talks to his Neil figure and is very distraught when something happens to it.
* Parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' with the "Log" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjzBpJ1XYwc commercials.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/RosiesRules'': Iggy has a stuffed axolotl named Lote, and sometimes blames his actions on the toy.
-->'''Rosie''': Iggy! Did you eat one of our ingredients?!
-->'''Iggy''': Lote did it.
* Mr. Buns from ''WesternAnimation/RubyGloom'' is a weird sort of cross between this and a [[LivingToys Living Toy]]; when he's on-screen, he seems totally inanimate, and just to be treated as though he's a character by the other characters. But the moment he's off-screen, he seems to be genuinely animate, doing things like stealing buns or, in one case, fencing with Poe.
** This is highlighted in "Missing Buns", when Misery shocks everyone else by claiming that Mr. Buns is just a stuffed sock and therefore irrelevant to their game of hide-and-seek. By the next morning, she concedes defeat to Mr. Buns and goes to bed.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'':
** Angelica's tattered fashion doll, Cynthia, which she treats as her most valued possession. Later on in the ''TimeSkip'' series, ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'', it is revealed that she still has the doll and still cares for it like she did as a child.
** Tommy's stuffed lion, Henry, as seen in the episode, "Rebel Without a Teddy Bear," which focuses on Tommy going through a rebel phase when Didi considers throwing Henry away.
** Chuckie's teddy bear, Wawa, as of ''WesternAnimation/RugratsInParis''. It was a gift from his [[MissingMom deceased biological mother]].
** Kimi's Superthing, a superhero doll made from an oven mitt.
** Phil and Lil's teddy bear, Bill, as seen in the episode, "Together at Last".
* ''WesternAnimation/ScaredySquirrel'' has his pet plant Richard.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'' episode "Can't Live Without Ewe" at one point has Sheep attempt to remedy his loneliness by having conversations with a giant dust bunny.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Once Mr. Burns give an employee of the month award to... ''an inanimate carbon rod''. Later in the same episode, a second inanimate carbon rod is hailed as the one who saved a space mission from disaster, and it ends up [[WorstNewsJudgmentEver on the cover of Time]], with the title "In Rod We Trust!" Homer is not happy. In a ContinuityNod, a much later glimpse at the nuclear plant employee chart gives us just enough time to see that Homer is right at the bottom... and the rod is his immediate superior.
** Homer, to Bart and Lisa: "Are you kids hugging the TV?". That said, Homer himself seems to be a little too attached to the TV as well, describing it as his "secret lover" in a "Treehouse of Horror" and listing it as a member of the family alongside Maggie and the family pets in another one.
** When Marge throws Homer out of the house he creates a replacement version out of a plant and a paper plate. He then freaks out when it falls out of the tree house.
* Mr. Hat and Mr. Twig on ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. At least, Mr. Garrison treats them as real characters. To the point of rushing Mr. Twig to the hospital and accusing Mr. Hat of trying to kill him. Mr. Hat in particular leans into AnimateInanimateObject territory, and despite being an inanimate hand puppet who never moves onscreen at all[[note]]aside from his eyes occasionally moving[[/note]], manages to drive a truck into the side of the jail to break Mr. Garrison out. Mr. Hat also manages to vanish from Mr. Garrison's hand when Garrison refuses to take him to a Klan meeting, and later appears at said meeting.
** Mr. Hat also managed to beat up Mr. Mackey whilst removed from Mr. Garrison's hand in "Worldwide Recorder Concert", has shown up in a sauna with John Elway, showing signs of life, and is a boss in the South Park video game, seen piloting a GiantRobot.
** Cartman's toys in ''1%'' are a much darker example, showing his twisted, schizophrenic mind.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Spliced}}'' has had a few cases, such as the coconut and tire from "Stupid Means Never Having To Say "I'm Sorry", and the eponymous pancake of "Helen".
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** Patrick enters a rock in the snail race. Somehow, "Rocky" ''wins''.
** [=SpongeBob=]'s "Bubble Buddy" from the episode of the same name, though he turns out to be animate after all.
%%** Nickel Buddy "I'll never spend you"!
%%** Funny Muffler
%%** Jerky Pal
%%** Boo-boo keys
%%** Snake Eyes
%%** "We love you!"
%%** [[MadnessMantra ...POP THE BUBBLE!]]
** Spat from "All That Glitters", thought it also seems to be sentient.
** In the episode "I Had an Accident", [=SpongeBob=] shuts himself in his house with his three "new friends" Penny (a copper one-cent piece), Chip (a potato chip), and Used Napkin (take a wild guess). He acts as though they can speak, and carries on one-sided conversations ("I could do without your sarcasm, Used Napkin!"). Patrick at least treats them as being real, tearfully commenting on Penny's beautiful singing voice, as well as thanking Chip when he 'showed them the door', an act apparently done by Spongebob tossing it at the door.
** Mr. Krabs treats his money like they're his friends, but when the Flying Dutchman gave him the ability to talk to money, they didn't like him because he never spends them.
** Squidward affectionately calls his clarinet [[ICallItVera "Clarie"]], he also sleeps with it in his bed and says good night to it.
** Then there was the episode "To Love a Patty", where [=SpongeBob=] creates a Krabby Patty so perfect he ends up falling in love with it and refuses to eat it at all.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' once created his own Companion Cube sidekick, Little Wooden Boy. And unfortunately was forced to burn him in order to escape the belly of a whale.
** There was also Arthur's nemesis Handy, a hand puppet belonging to The Human Ton.
** In the live action adaptation, The Tick converses and attempts to reason with a clogged toilet.
* ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'': In one episode, Pumbaa ditches Timon in favor of a meteorite that fell from the sky. It ends up becoming a better friend for Pumbaa (despite being a space rock) and this causes Timon to get jealous and find a new friend. The friendship is only temporary, since Timon and Pumbaa reunite again and the meteor strikes a new relationship with a cheetah.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Island'', Owen has a very intense emotional bonding experience with a coconut he names "Mr. Coconut" when he believes he is stranded on a desert island and starts going crazy. Later, the other campers [[spoiler:vote it off the island for the sake of his mental health. The last scene of the episode shows Mr. Coconut floating out to sea.]] The entire thing is a ShoutOut to Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball in ''Film/CastAway''.
* In ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'', Decepticon loner Lugnutz' only true friend is his trusty rifle, Dutch.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'' episode "Mall Rat" has Snaptrap carve a face into a bar of soap and act as if it is a sentient companion, believing the soap to be a woman named Vivian.
* Sammy, a dead rat, in ''[[WesternAnimation/WaysideSchool Wayside]]''. Miss Mush seems to be able to interact with him with no problem, and he routinely beats her at cards. "How you do that? You ''dead''!"
* Lampy (not [[WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster that one]]), Awful Alvin's "sidekick" on ''[[WesternAnimation/VeggieTales Larry-boy: The Animated Series]]''.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "The Revenge Society", the villain Revenge [[spoiler:AKA Phantom Limb]] is completely insane, and the rest of his organization consists of various inanimate objects that he believes are people: Lady Nightshade, a woman's shoe, Chuck, a toaster, and a coffee mug named Wisdom, who he believes is a traitor and executes.
* In an incredibly literal case of this trope, the [[AmplifierArtifact Eliacube]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' is this for [[BigBad Nox]], who is heartbroken and obsessive enough to hear it [[HearingVoices talk back]]. [[spoiler:In the end, this relationship turns ugly.]]
** Though at this point its rather ambiguous whether the cube spoke to Nox, or whether he was just that insane. It's possible that [[spoiler:Quilby]], the entity inside the cube was speaking to Nox.
* Grizzly from the ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' "Burrito" episode finds that he just can't bring himself to eat a giant burrito, which Panda and Ice Bear end up paying for (along with the other burritos when Grizz failed to complete the challenge). He takes the burrito to the movie theater, and the owners even end up charging the price of another ticket, which Panda and Ice aren't thrilled about either. Grizz gets defensive whenever Panda or Ice talks negatively about the burrito and even says [[InsistentTerminology its/"his" name is Burrito, not ''that'' burrito.]] Panda reads articles about other people obsessed with food items including an Idaho woman obsessed with a bag of potato chips, someone in Japan marrying a bowl of ramen, and someone else adopting a jar of pickles. [[spoiler: A flashback reveals that when Grizz was rescued by a fireman as a cub, the burrito resembled the fireman's arm wrapped in a foil-like protective sleeve.]]
** Panda has a body pillow of an anime girl called Miki-chan who he treats as if it were an actual person, and he's also very attached to his phone, who he calls "Cellie." In one episode, Grizz also acts as if Miki-chan were real, and another episode shows that before Panda met the other bears, he was raised alone in a sanctuary where the workers gave him a stuffed toy panda when he was lonely, which he spoke to and had conversations with, [[spoiler: and it even helped him escape to the outside world]].
* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': Zeke has a stuffy named Snout. Zeke takes Snout everywhere with him, has "conversations" with the plush, and will never let go of him, even if he's dirty and in desperate need of a wash. Zeke also uses Snout as a form of projection and self-expression; no, Zeke isn't afraid of zip-lining, it's ''Snout'' who's afraid.
* ''WesternAnimation/XavierRiddleAndTheSecretMuseum'': Yadina has a stuffed turtle named Dr. Zoom, who she loves very much and treats as a real person. Berby also plays with Dr. Zoom as if they're buddies, which takes this trope even farther since Berby herself is a floating electronic ball.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zeroman}}'': The judge who presides over Mayor Todd [=McWadd's=] trial in "Disorder In The Court" has a baby-head squeaky toy he named "Binky", which he is [=VERY=] attached to, often talking to it.
[[/folder]]

* ConpanionCube/LiveActionTV

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
** Trilo from case 3 of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'' is a ventriloquist's dummy who serves as an emotional crutch for his handler Ben and a close friend to Regina. There's at least one instance where you can hear Ben arguing with Trilo when there's nobody around to see him putting on his act. He may have been derived from the Batman character The Ventriloquist, as he also abuses his handler.
** "Charley", a potted slender palm lily in the Phoenix Wright's office. It's one of the few characters from the original series to show up in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' and subsequent games. "Charley" could also be a reference to "Chuck the plant", from ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'', which became a running in-joke and appears in many adventure games afterwards, such as ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' and ''Enclosure''.
* Mr. Bear, Penny's teddy bear, from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin''. Since Penny is utterly, ''utterly'' AxCrazy, Mr. Bear comes off as rather... [[DemonicDummy sinister]] in the process.
-->'''Penny:''' Penny likes you... but Mr. Bear '''HATES YOU'''!
* Some ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'' players treat slime molds as pets rather than [[EatTheDog as food items]].
* In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld'', the Normal villagers all love to talk to their mop, which they call Moppina. WordOfGod states that this reflects their slightly obsessive nature and their strong dislike for germs.
%%* Boo, the Miniature Giant Space Hamster of ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' fame, serves as a biological version of this trope for the brain-addled Minsc. Although it's also entirely possible Minsc is right. It has been implied by what may count as WordOfGod that Boo was bought from Elminster himself. It's also worth noting that canonically, Giant Space Hamsters do exist in the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms settings at that point. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way does he treat it like it's sentient?)
%%* Near the end of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando 2009'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Spencer's missing wife was killed and her brain was integrated into his one companion for the whole game, his bionic arm]]. He is in severe denial after this reveal, probably because he sees it as ridiculous as it is. The twist was severely criticized by multiple reviewers, and thus is a perfect example of handling a Companion Cube poorly. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; how does he treat the arm itself like it's sentient ''before'' the reveal?)
* In ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', you can get the Handyman Gene Tonic, which lets you spend EVE to repair friendly bots and turrets. In true mechanic fashion, it also gives names to the bots you've hacked to fight alongside you. It kind of gives you an incentive to keep those bots active given that it's you versus a city full of Splicers.
* Cute little boy Carl Clover from ''VideoGame/{{Blazblue}}'' has an automaton named Nirvana that he talks to and treats like his older sister, Ada. It's animate, and is implied to be sapient... but isn't actually capable of talking. He acts like it is, anyway. [[ZigZaggingTrope Various characters can't decide if Carl's just crazy.]] [[spoiler:Well, he ''is'' probably crazy, but, as it turns out, the automaton ''is'' his sister. His [[MadScientist father]] at one point alludes to [[MoralEventHorizon killing Carl's sister]] and using her soul to power the automaton.]]
%%* [[DeathSeeker Gehrman]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' has a ball-jointed doll without a name, which becomes AnimateInanimateObject once [[PlayerCharacter the Hunter]] arrives. Gehrman even insists you to "use" the doll. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; how does he treat the doll as sentient when it's ''not'' animate?)
%%-->'''Gehrman:''' You're welcome to use whatever you find, even the Doll, should it please you.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' franchise:
** ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'' has Tannis becoming attached to her tape recorder as she descends further into madness. In the sequel, she fell in love with two ceiling chairs and opposes Handsome Jack because Hyperion destroyed one of them while they were torturing her.
** ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'':
*** [[CreepyChild Tiny Tina]] has two stuffed bunnies rigged with explosives whom she affectionately refers to as Mushy Snugglebites and Felicity Sexopants. Her comments regarding them are disturbingly, explicitly sexual. Also, two of the guests for her tea party sidequest are Sir Reginald, a jar with a varkid in it wearing a top hat with a monocle and mustache taped to the front, and Princess Fluffybutt, a doll with a grenade for a head.
*** Axton the Commando is in love with his Sabre Turret. He calls it "honey" and variously refers to it as his wife or girlfriend. Gaige offers to give it a proper personality at one point, a [[FemmeFatale sexy action girl]], but we don't know if she went through with it.
*** Shotgun-wielding bandit Marauders are best pals with their big, powerful shotguns, which they call "Shotty" or "Bucky". When injured they'll even assure the gun that they're alright.
* The Male Undead Merchant in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has a wooden basket named Yulia, which he constantly pets and talks to like it was a cat or lover. His [[KatanasAreJustBetter uchigatana]] may be in the basket.
* In an early scene of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Nero and Kyrie talk about Nero's "Red Queen" sword as if discussing a female.
* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', it is possible to have conversations with several different inanimate objects, provided that your Inland Empire skill is high enough, but the one that sticks out the most is your [[ImpossiblyTackyClothes Horrific Necktie]]. The description treats it as an old friend, and it acts like one through the game, often urging you to stand up for yourself (sometimes at inopportune moments), expressing camaraderie, and sometimes having useful advice. [[spoiler:It can even pull a HeroicSacrifice as part of an improvised Molotov cocktail.]]
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''' "Feastday Gifts" and "Feastday Pranks" [=DLCs=] add special gifts and pranks to give to your companions. Shale's special gift is a pet rock called "Herbert". The insulting one? An uncrushable ''[[BerserkButton pigeon]]''.
** Bianca of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is an even more apparent instance of this trope. Varric actually holds conversations with Bianca. Bianca is a crossbow, by the way.
* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'':
** Souma has his sword. Sharpening it is one of his favourite activities, he refers to it in the same breath as his pet turtle Kamegorou at one point, and he takes it everywhere with him, becoming very upset when he is asked not to take it out. Luckily, he does have a government permit (somehow) to take it to school and in public, so it's not ''quite'' as inconvenient as you'd logically think, but he does notice with disappointment that others around him often seem scared of him as a result.
** For a more extreme example, there's Shu's doll Mademoiselle, whom he treats as a totally separate identity from himself, speaking through it as though she's a separate person.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** Harold the Ghoul has the plant atop his head, Bob.
** Vault 77, Inhabited by one man and hundreds of puppets. HilarityEnsues.
** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has Davison and his long-dead bull's skull called "Antler".
* In the description of the "Water, Talk to Me" quest in ''Farmington Tales'', the quest-giver states that she gets so lonely while jogging that she drew a face on her water bottle and called it Bob.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] becomes this for Zack in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' [[LateArrivalSpoiler post-Nibelheim]], partly because Zack needs to care for a living comatose Cloud and partly because Zack needs to stay sane.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Shuyin treats the machina superweapon Vegnagun like this. In the sphere depicting his attempt to hijack it, Shuyin speaks to Vegnagun as if it were a person, musing on how it is the only chance he has to save Lenne. It's a little disturbing how attached Shuyin has become to Vegnagun and its destructive power.
* Catherine, a MagicalComputer in a briefcase, is treated this way by the protagonist of ''VideoGame/FlowerSunAndRain''. He refers to it as a person, much to Edo and Sue's confusion, and it never leaves his side [[spoiler:if he can help it]]. Although given [[MagicRealism the setting's peculiarities]], it's anyone's guess whether or not it's actually sentient.
* In ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', former Jedi Master Kazdan Paratus went [[GoMadFromTheIsolation mad from isolation]] and SurvivorGuilt following the fall of TheRepublic and hid on a secluded planet where he built a replica of the Jedi Temple out of junk. His BossRoom is a RoomFullOfCrazy with puppets of each member of the Jedi High Council that he's convinced are real and screams he'll protect.
* Milla of ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' has a tree stump she named Mr. Stumpy as her only companion for much of her life (as in, from the time she lost her parents to the time she saved Carol from a cave-in). Even in [[VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2 the sequel]], she still values it to the point that she dug it up and planted it outside her laboratory.
* Sisyphus in ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' has gone a little nutty spending eternity in Tartarus, and he's named the rock he's been forced to push "Bouldy", treating it as his best friend and closest confidante. Zagreus can also talk to Bouldy, but unsurprisingly, Bouldy doesn't reciprocate. [[spoiler:Gifting Bouldy some Nectar on the other hand...]]
%%* Deirdre's ship in ''VideoGame/IMissTheSunrise''. Justified for a number of reasons; its stasis chamber kept her from going insane from emitter radiation, she was naturally inclined towards science and technology to begin with, and the other members of Purity Point shunned her, leaving her with little other companionship. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way more specifically does she treat it like it's sentient?)
* Not a companion per se, but Tenma from ''[[VideoGame/InazumaEleven Inazuma Eleven GO]]'' is so much of a soccer freak (even more than his predecessor Endou) that he treats it like a person. In his mind, it can cry or be happy.
* In ''Jolly Rover'' James goes a bit mad after three weeks in a locked room and has conversations with a painting of a woman, which he names Beatrice.
* In ''VideoGame/KillzoneShadowFall'', although it is not mentioned outright, the Assault Class has an automaton combat assistant named the "Buddy Drone". In addition, in the previous installments, some other automatons, particularly the Air Support Drone (especially the Helghast variant) have designs somewhat similar to faces (as in cars, in real life). In Shadow Fall's campaign mode, the OWL also has many "pet" characteristics, with some forums on Reddit dedicated to fandom of it.
* The 2007 [[YouMeanXmas Crimbo season]] of ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' had the Bulky Buddy Box as a prize for fighting the Crimborg Elves -- a reference to the Weighted Companion Cube.
** Earlier Crimbo seasons offered the Pet Rock and the (non)functionally identical Toothsome Rock.
** The Sombrero and Bloodfaced Volleyball as well, though they do do things...somehow. (though at least Sombrero is partially justified by being combined with a chicken's ghost.)
** The Blood-Faced Volleyball is a direct ShoutOut to ''Film/CastAway''. Though the game will reject any attempt to name your volleyball companion any form of "Wilson".
** The Teddy Bear (and its Borg version) may qualify for this, since they don't actually do anything except block hits and get the stuffing knocked out of them. And you can name them endearing names.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has [[BlackMagicianGirl Annie's]] stuffed bear Tibbers. Overlaps with PetMonstrosity since he's actually a flaming demon bear who was ''[[ForcedTransformation transformed]]'' into a teddy bear by Annie's magic. Her ultimate ability lets her turn Tibbers back to normal and unleash him on her enemies.
** Oriana's ball is a straighter example.
** There's also Rumble's battle suit, Tristy.
** Jinx also has some sort of relationship with Fishbones the rocket launcher. Her jokes involve her [[ConsultingMisterPuppet talking to it and it "talking back."]]
-->'''Jinx:''' Hey Fishbones, should we blow something up?
-->'''Jinx (as Fishbones):''' You might inconvenience people and hurt their feelings.
-->'''Jinx:''' You're the worst weapon ever!
* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', this is [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Ellis's]] relationship with Jimmy Gibbs Junior's [[CoolCar stock car]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', there's a girl named [[MeaningfulName Loone]] who has adopted an [[LostTechnology ancient-looking metal ball]] which she calls Roscoe. The ball happens to be a key to open a nearby Sheikah shrine, but she refuses to part with it unless the player [[FetchQuest brings her pictures]] of three different varieties of a particular enemy.
-->'''Loone''': So smooth and ancient...
* ''VideoGame/MadMax'' plays this for comedy and then for drama with Chumbucket's love for the Magnum Opus, the car he builds and maintains for Max. He speaks of it like a treasured friend, always referring to it as "she," and makes a few sexually charged allusions to working on it when Max isn't around. One character lampshades how he talks about the car like a girlfriend. Ultimately, [[spoiler:Max reveals that he doesn't care at all about Chumbucket and plans to destroy the Magnum Opus to kill his nemesis Scrotus. Chumbucket sits on the hood, pleading with Max not to kill his precious Magnum Opus, but Max ignores him]].
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Zaeed flat out loves [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9-dLzzQuVM "Jessie."]]
** Tali talks to her combat drone as if it's a loyal pet.
* The cardboard box from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is referred to repeatedly as if it were a person.
** "Take care of your cardboard box, and it'll take care of you."
** In the world record attempt on the largest number of video game cosplayers in one area, at London Expo 2008, the Box (brought along by a ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' cosplay group) was counted by the Guinness team as a character.
** In the fourth game hiding in the box increases the rate at which Snake's psyche meter refills, implying that he finds it comforting to be in there. The trophy for it in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' even notes that Solid and Liquid Snake have "a deep affection for cardboard".
* Some ''VideoGame/NetHack'' players treat the custom-named ---Bane items or random artifact items of popular use like pet in the same manner as in ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'' above.
* In ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', in the Laboratory Room (Door 8), examining the testing dummy enough times will result in Junpei feeling sorry for it, and giving it the name 'Science Boy.' Similar to the ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' example, to solve the room you have to [[spoiler: burn the mannequin. Examining it again before letting Clover out of the room (which is pouring with smoke from the burning dummy) will result in Junpei caring more about Science Boy.]] And upon leaving, you have to endure another of Junpei's puns:
--> '''Junpei:''' (So long, mannequin... You may not have been a real man, but I always thought of you as kin...)
* Kel in ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' has a pet rock called Hector. Partway through the game he realizes that he has dropped Hector, and panics. Later you can find Hector, who has started a family of rocks, and Kel can take not only Hector, but his son, Hector Jr.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Paradigm}}'' "superhero" The Cone (TM) has a wife who's just a mannequin in a wig. He even talks for her.
* The Modron toy in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment''. Initially you just start playing with it, but then you can talk to it, much to Morte's irritation. It gets better from there, to the point where Morte's final irritation is actually worth a voiced line. Also makes your character alignment more Chaotic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' has the TropeNamer, the Weighted Companion Cube, an inanimate block with hearts printed on it. [=GLaDOS=]'s comments indirectly invite the player to see it as a living thing and empathize with it, up to the point where she requires the player to "euthanize" it. She later tries to guilt-trip you for killing the Companion Cube. Doug Rattmann's graffiti seen scribbled in behind-the-scenes sections of the testing facility show that he mourns the loss of his Companion Cube. The ''Lab Rat'' comic reveals the cube actually ''talked'' to Rattmann due to his schizophrenia, and it gave surprisingly helpful advice. The whole thing is a humorous way to teach players that they'll need to carry the cube through several puzzles in order to complete them. One of the developers has stated that he based the use of the trope on a declassified CIA document which stated that people in isolation would bond with inanimate objects.
* ''VideoGame/Portal2'' carries on the tradition by including several other Companion Cubes with updated designs, first in the early test chambers, where [=GLaDOS=] taunts you by destroying one, then reveals that she has "entire warehouses full of them," and ''then'' destroys another when you try to smuggle it out of the test chamber, which you would never think to do if she wasn't giving you hints about it. At the very end, [[spoiler:she gives you back the original Cube, charred from its trip to the incinerator but otherwise apparently intact]]. Likewise, the Cube has several less noticeable cameos, including the occasional cube flying through pipes and one falling into the incinerator after [[spoiler: [=GLaDOS=]'s reactivation]]. [[YankTheDogsChain You can't save it.]] If left alone for a while, the cube actually starts to "sing" to Chell.
* Murasaki from ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' has her stuffed-bear-thing Bebeby. This is PlayedForDrama, as a [[FreudianExcuse tramatic childhood]] means Bebeby is pretty much the only person who she trusts not to betray her and isn't ashamed to show her face to. She sees Bebeby as a ''very'' close surrogate sister, and attempting to harm it will almost certainly lead to a FreakOut, followed by Murasaki's Root of Calamity activating, which is an excellent way to get yourself killed.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' -- Serial Killer Walter [[spoiler: believes that Apartment 302, where Henry lives, is his mother, and that he has to kill 21 people to "wake" her]].
* In ''VideoGame/SilentScope EX'', one of the bosses is piloting a helicopter with a human-sized stuffed bear in the gunner's seat (named Teddy). The game gives you an obvious weak spot, the boss's head. However if you get a headshot on the bear instead, which you have 3 second window of opportunity in the beginning and the bear's head is a bigger target than the boss's, the boss instantly dies. Also instead of the shot-through-the-skull image, the image is of the bear's head.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', several of the [[SanitySlippage Aspiration Despiration]] animations seem to involve your Sim talking to an inanimate object when their Aspiration meter gets too low. For example, a Knowledge Sim will start taking lectures from a volleyball wearing a mortarboard hat, while a Romance Sim will try to [[EverythingHasRhythm dance with a mop]].
* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable Ultra Deluxe'' introduces [[spoiler: the Stanley Parable Reassurance Bucket as one of the new features the Narrator comes up with for ''The Stanley Parable 2''. It's a seemingly ordinary bucket that the Narrator assures us introduces a soothing feeling in Stanley no matter what bizarre things happen. He describes Stanley as being somewhat obsessed with the Bucket, and bringing it along alters several endings, including making other characters (including the Narrator himself) [[ArtifactOfAttraction fall under the Bucket's sway as well]].]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'': The player's PDA will eventually suggest deliberately creating a companion cube as a method of combatting insanity caused by isolation.
* The enchanted pyrite parrot in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' is getting this treatment.
** [[CatchPhrase "It's me, Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate!"]]
* [[ICallItVera Sasha]], the Heavy Weapons Guy's minigun in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', as seen in the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHgZh4GV9G0 Meet The Heavy]]'' video. The ingame taunts involve him hugging the gun saying things like "Kiss me!" and "You did well!". There is also a similar unlockable gun, Natascha. It is [[{{Pun}} heavily]] implied that the Heavy is having an affair with this gun. Seriously.
** The Sandvich, which comes from the same update as Natascha, appears to be getting the same attention as well, with lines such as; "What's that, Sandvich? KILL THEM ALL!? GOOD IDEA!" It even got [[http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=app&AppId=5073&cc=CA its own video.]]
** Meta-example and not to the same degree, but frequent Engineer players will often grow attached to buildings that manage to survive multiple player deaths.
** It is also revealed that the Heads in meet the Soldier are the Soldier's companion cubes.
** According to supplementary comics, the Soldier also thinks he's part of a regiment where the other members are just bits of painted wood, but he's assigned them all distinctive personalities and talks to them as if they're real.
** One Valve-made comic has a photo of the Heavy sleeping in his forest cabin, with Sasha lying next to him on a smaller bed. The Scout lampshades this odd situation.
--->'''Scout:''' That's your gun there?\\
'''Heavy:''' Yes.\\
'''Scout:''' In a tiny bed. Beside ''your'' bed.\\
'''Heavy:''' Yes.\\
'''Scout:''' That's pretty embarrassin'.\\
'''Heavy:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint I know. I must buy Sasha bigger bed.]]
** The Scout himself has this affinity with the Haunted Hat. Which he dubs "Scary Hat".
--->'''Scout:''' We did it, Scary Hat. You're my best friend.
* The L-Block from ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' won the November 2007 Website/GameFAQs character battle. And the day after its victory, the site's daily poll was a "bonus" battle between the L-Block, the Companion Cube, the Paddle from Pong, and the ?-Block from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' [[spoiler:Question Mark Block won.]]
** ?-Block is also the highest rank a Website/GameFAQs user can achieve, other than that of a mod or admin.
* The ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' character Alice Margatroid and her army of dolls. She is even attempting to make them sentient, though hasn't had much success so far.
** Though fandom sometimes makes her Shanghai doll and less often Hourai doll somewhat sentient. And then there's Medicine Melancholy, a sentient doll youkai. She and Alice are seen speaking in a background shot in the official manga, though nothing comes of it.
* [[MonsterClown Sweet Tooth's]] motivation for entering the first ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' tournament was to find his lost best friend, Crazy Harold the Wacky Lunch Sack. Yes, it's just a paper bag.
** Somewhat lampshaded by Calypso, even. The sheer ridiculousness of the wish completely blows his mind.
* Aida, of ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening'' fame, has a magnum pistol which she calls Grace. She's even more emotionally attached to the ammunition, judging by how few bullets the game gives you for the damn thing.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'':
** Molly holds a special fondness for her ice climbing pick, which she names "Hilda."
** Danny St. John's weapon of choice is a rifle, which he lovingly refers to as "Charlotte".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', James Franco enters into a fake relationship with Jenna to cover up his actual relationship with a body pillow.
* In ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', Dom Santini treats the titular helicopter this way, referring to it as "Lady" and actually having conversations with it from time to time. Although Airwolf ''does'' have a rudimentary A.I., it is not (as far as we know) actually intelligent.
* ''Series/AllThat'': Lori Beth Denberg's lifelong companion "The Big Ear of Corn".
* An unsettling number of grieving pet-lovers on ''American Stuffers'' commence petting and fussing over their preserved pets when they collect them from the taxidermists'. Granted, this trope is the whole point of that side of the business.
%%* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' has Gene's Audi Quattro. It even gets its own HesBack moment in the Season 3 opening and the scene when it's [[spoiler:destroyed in the last episode in a hail of gunfire arguably has more emotional depth than Viv's death in a previous episode]]. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; do any characters ''in universe'' treat it like it's actually alive?)
* ''Series/TheATeam'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheATeams2E9TheresAlwaysACatch There's Always a Catch]]", Murdock carries around a mounted (and possibly fake) lobster, to which he talks. He calls it "[[PunnyName Thermadore]]", and when Therm is broken by one of Garber's men during a fight, Murdock punches out the man who did it.
%%* ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way do they treat the items like they're really alive?)
%%** Baby Bop is never seen without her yellow blankie. Her theme song "My Yellow Blankie" is even about the blankie.
%%** Kathy has her teddy bear and like the above example, the song "Me and my Teddy" is sung about it numerous times.
%%** Tina at one point has a Barney doll, and can't sleep without him.
%%* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way do they treat the items like they're really alive?)
%%** Leonard's "hugging machine".
%%** To a lesser extent, Howard's robotic hand.
%%* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way do they treat the items like they're really alive?)
%%** Cindy has Kitty Carry-All in Season 1.
%%** In "[[Recap/TheBradyBunchS4E3TheTikiCaves The Tiki Caves]]", Professor Whitehead's tiki statue, Oliver.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Kendra has her favorite stake, Mr. Pointy.
-->'''Kendra:''' Here... In case the curse does not succeed, this is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires with it. I call it Mr. Pointy.\\
'''Buffy:''' You named your stake?\\
'''Kendra:''' Yes.\\
'''Buffy:''' Remind me to get you a stuffed animal.
::: Buffy apparently holds onto Mr. Pointy for some time, name-dropping "him" occasionally over the next couple of seasons.
%%** Drusilla's dolls, including Miss Edith. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way do they treat the items like they're really alive?)
%%** Spike's Buffy dummy, shortly replaced by the Buffybot.
* On ''Series/CardSharks'', host Jim Perry refers to the prop that holds the question cards as "[=G2-T2=]", both in reference to Creator/MarkGoodson-Bill Todman productions and [=R2-D2=]. The prop is often treated as if it's a living thing.
* The series finale of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', "[[Recap/CheersS11E25OneForTheRoad One for the Road]]", appears to suggest that the reason Sam Malone will never be happy with any woman is because his OneTrueLove is ''the Cheers bar itself''.
* ''Series/TheColbertReport'': As befitting his crazed, right-wing persona, Colbert has a snub-nosed revolver he calls "Sweetness" that he talks to and seems to be in love with.
* The trope is discussed in ''Series/{{Community}}'', where Jeff gives a pencil a name before breaking it in two and shocking the study group as a result to show that people make bonds with inanimate objects too easily.
* In ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'', Al Swearengen receives an Indian man's head in a box, which he doesn't want. He first makes use of the box as a prop in a ploy, describing his plan to the head beforehand. Subsequently, he takes to delivering {{Surrogate Soliloquy}}s to the head, addressing it as "Chief". As time goes on, he treats it more and more like a friend and confidant, and at one point brings it out onto the balcony and opens the box so it can "watch" the events on the street. Eventually Al's [[TheDragon dragon]] Dan Dority confronts him about the issue, and Al has to assure him that he's not going crazy.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase The Chase]]", companion Steven Taylor goes back into a burning city/building to rescue Hifi, the stuffed panda ("my mascot"), which has been his only company for two years of captivity.
** The Doctor himself is very closely attached to his sonic screwdriver. When it's destroyed in a 1982 episode, he remarks, "I feel as if I've lost an old friend." The [[TheNthDoctor Tenth Doctor]] reacts similarly when his sonic screwdriver gets destroyed in the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones Smith and Jones]]". Martha is trying to tell him the identity of the [[BewareTheNiceOnes evil old alien woman]] they are looking for, and the Doctor totally ignores her, aghast at the death of his sonic screwdriver. Immediately subverted when [[spoiler:she gets his attention and he tosses the "dead" -- and therefore useless -- screwdriver carelessly over his shoulder]].
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E10TheGirlWhoWaited The Girl Who Waited]]", Amy, who has been alone for 36 years, disarms (literally) one of the hand robots, painting a smiley face on it and calling it [[WeNamedTheMonkeyJack Rory]]. While it's initially taken as a sign of how distant she has become to Rory, a younger version of herself is able to remind her that it's actually because Rory is the love of her life.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]" introduces Mr. Huffle, a squeeze toy that "feels pain", or so Lucy Fletcher claims, when she uses it to interrogate the Doctor. Later, she gifts Mr. Huffle to the Doctor.
* A sixth season episode of ''Series/DropDeadDiva'' has Kim representing a ventriloquist whose puppet is banned from flying.
* Mrs. Beasley, Buffy's doll in ''Series/FamilyAffair'', which she still treats like a living person [[NotAllowedToGrowUp even as a preteen in the later seasons]].
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': John Crichton's favourite weapon is a Peacekeeper standard issue pulse pistol he calls Winona. He will risk his life to retrieve the weapon.
-->'''Crichton:''' Winona would never have let me down.
%%** When D'Argo gets a ship, he names her ''Lo'la'' in memory of his wife and becomes quite fond of her. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; does he actually treat it like it's alive?)
%%* In ''Series/FatherTed'', Father Jack and his [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZySS8vJsyRE brick]]. (Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples)
%%* Another panel show example: Billy the Answer Head of ''Series/FigureItOut''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** Jayne Cobb treats his very favorite gun, [[ICallItVera Vera]], as if it's a real person -- so much so that he's willing to ''trade'' it for Mal's [[AccidentalMarriage Accidental Wife]]. Jayne even talks to Vera, telling her that getting dressed up means she gets taken out somewhere special -- in this case, she's put in a spacesuit to fire at a target through space.
** The ship's mechanic, Kaylee, often talks about the ship ''Serenity'' as if it's a real person. In the pilot movie, she strokes the inside wall of the engine room and coos, "That's my good girl" after a jury-rig allows ''Serenity'' to pull off a difficult maneuver. Mal treats her like a person occasionally, as well. In the commentary to the [[TheMovie Big Damn Movie]], Creator/JossWhedon claims that ''Serenity'' is the tenth character. And [[AuthorAppeal River's feet]] are collectively the eleventh.
* On ''Series/FistOfFun'', "[[LonersAreFreaks Lifestyle Expert]]" Peter's only friend was a small green toy called Donny Oddlegs. Unfortunately, after Peter accidentally ate the remains of Rich's father, Donny ended up in a bin and on fire.
* In ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'', Spike is known to treat the team's bomb robot more like a pet than a piece of equipment, frequently talking to and about it as though it were a sentient creature. He even named it Babycakes.
%%* Tina's old, wooden judge-selection wheel in ''Series/ForThePeople''. She and her family ended up using it for their smaller decisions, and she used it up until [[spoiler:the day her husband passed away]]. When it breaks she goes out of her way to get it repaired by the original creator instead of throwing it away and using a digital system. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; does she actually treat it like it's sentient?)
%%* Martin's chair on ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* On ''{{Series/Friends}}'', Joey and Chandler have named all the foosball players on their foosball table. Joey also personally named his television and chair "Stevie" and "Rosita", and Chandler even personally asks the former not to tell Joey when he mistakenly believes that he's broken the latter. Phoebe has created 3D paintings which terrify everyone else and named them as well. Rachel convinces Joey that the paintings are haunted.
%%* Mr. Bear to Stephanie in ''Series/FullHouse''. In "Goodbye Mr. Bear" (where it appears to have been lost), we learn that her affection for it stems from it being the gift her mom gave her when Michelle was born. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way does she treat it like it's sentient?)
* ''Series/GhostsUK'': When she was alive, Kitty's best friend was a statue in the garden.
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Kurt has a "boyfriend pillow" named Bruce. When Rachel and Santana find out, he gets one for each of them ([[LipstickLesbian giving Santana's a sex change]]).
* ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'':
** In 1993 after the third time Roy Hattersley MP cancelled his appearance as a guest on on short notice, his place on Paul Merton's team was filled by a tub of lard, "imbued with much the same qualities and liable to give a similar performance," which Merton would confer with during the show. They won, in spite of the Tub being unable to confer with Merton at all, and all of their team's questions in the final "missing words" round being in foreign languages, and, in the last case, with the entire headline blanked out.
--->'''Ian Hislop:''' It is getting rather sad that I can't win against Paul when he's accompanied by a tub of lard and his questions are in a foreign language.
** Over two decades later in 2016 there would be a similar incident, with the (former) Education Secretary Nicky Morgan. She had criticized then-Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TheresaMay's choice of £1000 brown trousers, only to come under heavy criticism herself for being photographed with a £1000 brown handbag. Seeking to keep a low profile, she dropped out of the show on short notice, leading to her place being taken by (what else) a brown handbag. The handbag was wired for mic, but refused to answer any questions put to it.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** When Marshall stays in Minnesota to take care of his mother [[spoiler:after his father dies]], Lily dresses up a pillow to look like Marshall and named it "Marshpillow".
** When Ted was 7 years old, his best friend was a balloon. This would also be his FreudianExcuse of why he is so attached to Robin or any other girlfriend he has had.
%%** Marshall's car. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* ''Series/{{Jessie}}'': Bertram gives names to all of his kitchen appliances and treats them as his "friends".
* ''Series/TheLastManOnEarth'':
** After mocking this trope while watching ''Film/CastAway'', Phil winds up with a whole crew of Companion Cube balls with drawn-on faces, keeping him company. He always goes to them for advice whenever something doesn't go his way, which is to say, at least OncePerEpisode. [[spoiler:In "30 Years of Science Down the Tubes", he bequeaths the balls to Mike so that, if Mike dies of the virus, he won't die alone. Then, in "The Open-Ended Nature of Unwitnessed Deaths", when Phil almost checks to see if Mike is alive, he chooses not to enter Mike's childhood bedroom and takes his volleyball friend "Gary" with him back to California.]]
** Gail has taken to talking to a CPR dummy that she dresses up in Gordon's old clothes.
** In Season 4, Tandy sticks a toy dog head onto a remote control robot, and finds joy in treating it like it was real. When its batteries die, he even starts to dig a proper grave. However, he does know that it's just a toy.
* In ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'', the only friends Pauline has are pens. She is quite proud of this, because she is a saddo.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': John Locke, in no uncertain terms, talks with the island and believes that it has a will. Though, depending on further reveals, there may be a significant element [[GeniusLoci of truth to this]].
%%** Claire's Squirrel Baby was outright conceived as a TakeThat to Wilson from ''Film/CastAway''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; examples need to stand on their own, not direct the reader to a different example)
* One of ''Series/MadTV'''s sketches includes a fake commercial about a woman in an abusive relationship with a bottle of shampoo.
* There is an episode in ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' when Lois has a mental breakdown and starts crafting little pigs out of bleach bottles. Dozens of them. And she gives each and every one a name and background.
%%* ''Series/{{Mash}}'': Radar's teddy bear, which he sometimes has with him in his office and not just his bedroom. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way does he treat it like it's sentient?)
%%-->'''Radar:''' My bear went off!
* ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' has the boys stranded on an island, and they start to make crude companions out of coconuts. As the boys devolve into madness, the coconut people start to take increasingly human and terrifying characteristics.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'':
** "And, on my right, putting the case against the government, is a small patch of brown liquid."
** Another (not completely different) sketch has a round-table discussion on customs enforcement with a duck, a cat, and a lizard. The duck, cat, and lizard are obviously played by wooden models, so their inability to respond to questions is unsurprising.
* ''Series/MrBean'''s Teddy, and to some extent his car. Much of the humour comes from the inconsistent way in how he treats them -- one minute gently lowering Teddy into his own miniature bed, the next absent-mindedly ripping his head off so he'll fit in the drawer. Then when his car gets run over by a tank, he kneels down in front of the wreckage as sad music plays -- only to retrieve the lock and seem perfectly happy with this.
* One of the links between two sketches in ''Series/MrShow'' is the "Red Balloon" sketch which follows the Adopted Son (from the previous sketch) to the Porno Shop (the next show). Although a {{Jerkass}}, the guy seems quite cheerful to meet the Red Balloon, set to an [[SoundtrackDissonance equally cheerful song about Red Balloon being here for you and "following your balloon"... where they gamble and go to strip clubs]].
* ''Series/MrYoung'' has Mrs. Strawperson, a scarecrow, to the point where she has a family (who are also inanimate) and a job as a teacher. In "Mr. Elf", she claims not to have been able to walk or talk until Slabb gave her a brain as a Christmas present, but that was just Derby's dream and so it doesn't really prove anything.
%%* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' has a ''human ear'' fill this role for a soldier in Korea. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* ''Series/MythBusters'':
** Buster, an [[ChewToy oft-destroyed]] and rebuilt crash test dummy that the crew uses in most of their experiments. Most of the cast (and quite a few of the show's fans) jokingly treat him like a real person. They devote entire montages to lovingly dressing the busts up in a wig, glasses, bandanna, whatever's in-character for the myth's scenario. In "Escape Slide Parachute", Buster is reduced to little more than scrap metal and flesh-colored chunks when a quick release fails and he falls the full distance without his safety equipment. The reaction of the crew (especially Adam and Grant) is one of abject horror, as if a flesh-and-blood crew member had been severely injured. During the "Supersized Myths" Jet Taxi segment, to make him even more animate than usual, they added a voiceover of Buster's thoughts just before they pull his taxi behind the jumbo jet's engine exhaust:
--->'''Buster:''' I wonder if [[Series/DirtyJobs Mike Rowe]] is hiring.
** Kari's ballistics gel "Zombie Dogs", which she baby-talks to.
--->'''Kari:''' Aw, whosa sweet widdle doggy? Mwa! ''[kisses nose]''
%%** Earl, the car they drop from a crane to test "Buster 2.0". (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; do they treat the objects like real people beyond naming them?)
%%** Several one-time ballistics gel dummies they name.
%%** In the "Dynamite Surfing" episode, Kari wonders if anyone else has noticed the disturbing amount of Grant robots that have been built over the course of the series.
%%** Lucy the Moose, a 600lb rubber moose that they crashed cars into (to test the myth that speeding up before hitting a large animal will reduce the damage done to the car and driver. [[spoiler:Busted]]).
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Ducky tends to talk to the corpses he is autopsying as a mechanism for trying to get into the heads of the people when they were alive. The only time one "talks back" is when it's a deceased member of the team, as he knows what she would've said.
%%** Abby has her mass spectrometry machine ("Major Mass-Spec") and Burt the Farting Stuffed Hippo. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; does she treat the objects like real people beyond naming them?)
* Captain Oats and Princess Sparkles of ''Series/TheOC'' fame. When you start warning your plastic horse of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEWLPVjk9PQ possible overtures to rape]], you know you've got yourself a Companion Cube.
* In the first HalloweenEpisode of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'', Michael jokingly pretends to start taking advice from his fake second head on who should be fired. Dwight starts arguing with the fake head because it is suggesting that maybe Dwight should be let go.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': DJ Roomba, Tom's combination of an [=MP3=] player and a Roomba. At one point it's destroyed when Jerry steps on it, causing Tom to expel grief, stating that DJ Roomba was like a son to him.
* ''Series/{{Pixelface}}'': In "Out of Sight", a glitch in the system renders Claireparker unable to be detected by the rest of the occupants of the console. Starting to crack up, she begins talking to the rubber duck she picked up in the last session of her game.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': A running joke through the series is Rimmer's "relationship" with Rachel, an inflatable doll. It's been strained not only by Rimmer's inability to touch things, but also because Rachel's got a puncture. When Rimmer supposedly dies, Rachel actually "appears" at the funeral, since Lister figures that she's the closest thing he has to a widow. A much earlier episode says that Rimmer had previously been seeing "Inflatable Ingrid", until Lister reveals that he's been "seeing" her as well.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'':
** Rowdy, a stuffed dog JD and Turk treat as a real one. Note that "stuffed" does not mean "toy". It is an actual dead dog that has been stuffed. When a series of incidents see Rowdy temporarily go missing, Carla tries to replace him with yet another stuffed dead dog. Turk and JD find out but adopt the second dog and call him Steven. Turk ends up with Rowdy and JD keeps Steven.
** The Janitor's squirrel army, a massive collection of stuffed squirrels that he holds meetings with. The Janitor is a skilled taxidermist and has other animals he talks to, including Bingo, a stuffed bunny who doubles as a salt and pepper shaker.
** As a one-off gag, the Janitor calls the floors of Sacred Heart his children, and says that he's given them all names.
** JD has also made a friendship bracelet that he wears for Sasha, his motor scooter.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'''s skull. Case in point:
-->'''John:''' Have you talked to the police?\\
'''Sherlock:''' Four people are dead. There isn't time to talk to the police.\\
'''John:''' So why are you talking to me!?\\
'''Sherlock:''' Mrs. Hudson took my skull.\\
'''John:''' ...So I'm supposed to be filling in for your skull?\\
'''Sherlock:''' Relax, you're doing fine.
* In the short-lived cult TV show ''Series/SledgeHammer'', Sledge has a habit of talking to his HandCannon. In one episode, he hallucinates that his gun is talking back to him.
* An odd variation appears in ''Series/{{Soap}}'' with Bob, Chuck's ventriloquist dummy. Originally Chuck was only supposed to be a temporary character, but he and Bob were so popular that the writers had to keep them. It gets to the point where all but a few of the characters forget that Bob isn't a separate person, and the audience will always refer to Bob as a separate character as well. All of the characters dislike Bob because of his rude behavior but like Chuck because he's very well-mannered (the except being Benson, as he's one of the few sane ones; Mary, while sane, just considers Chuck as troubled). When Danny hides Bob in the fridge in one episode, Chuck quickly converts nearby fruit into ventriloquist dummies. HilarityEnsues.
* In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "The Committee", Huggy Bear sells Starsky a ridiculously overpriced pet rock, which he swears is much better than the ones sold in stores. Starsky names the rock Ignatius and carries it around for the rest of the episode. He [[ThrowingTheDistraction throws it away]] during the climax to get one of the villains to fire in the wrong direction, but after everyone has been arrested, he runs back to look for it.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
*** The ''Enterprise'' is like a wife to Kirk and a daughter to Scotty, but everyone on the crew seems to have a certain fondness for the old girl... even Spock. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Kirk in particular is heartbroken]] when he [[spoiler:has her self-destructed to keep Klingons from seizing her in ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'']].
*** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E24TheUltimateComputer The Ultimate Computer]]", they try to automate the ''Enterprise'' using AI. The developer who designed the computer treats it like it's his kid. Of course, it goes insane and Kirk has to talk it to death, because AIIsACrapshoot.
** Captain Janeway sometimes talks directly to her ship in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.
%%** Dr. Bashir's teddy bear Kukalaka in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. In one episode he trades five liters of anaerobic metabolite to Jake and Nog (as part of a ChainOfDeals the boys started to get a mint condition Willie Mays card from the man who outbid them at an auction) in exchange for them retrieving Kukalaka from his ex's quarters. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; does he actually treat it like it's sentient?)
* The Impala (known to fans as Metallicar) in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is considered by some to be the third main character. It features prominently throughout the series, and Dean is occasionally found to be whispering sweet nothings to it. Chuck the prophet, [[spoiler:who is heavily implied to actually be God]], outright calls it the most important object in the universe.
* Oliver, ''Series/TopGearUK'' presenter Creator/RichardHammond's beloved 1963 Opel Kadett. Despite his age and third-hand ownership, Oliver survived a one-thousand mile cross-country trip straight across the spine of Botswana, including the entirety of the Makgadikgadi Pan, the largest salt flat in the world. Hammond loved the car so much that he bought it with his own money and paid to have it shipped to Britain. To prepare to cross the Makgadikgadi Pan, the presenters were advised to remove as much weight as possible from their cars. May and Clarkson undertook the task with relish, but Hammond refused to remove anything from Oliver, outside of a spare wheel. After a while, May and Clarkson joked that it would be like asking him to cut pieces off his wife. Oliver was endangered again in the first episode of Season 12, in which the presenters did challenges in transport trucks (obUK/Commonwealth: "lorries"). One of the last ones was a hill start -- starting the trucks (with their cargo in tow) on a hill without rolling backward. To inspire each other to do well, their most prized items were placed behind them. Richard's was... Oliver (with a smashing new "OLI [=V3R=]" VanityLicensePlate). Hammond forfeited the challenge rather than risk his precious car, especially when his truck had no crawler gear to start on the hill with. Oliver then became a supporting character in the children's science programme ''Richard Hammond's Series/BlastLab'', where "he" has a Herbie-esque personality.
%%* Martha Lou in ''Series/TheTorkelsons''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* Senor Guapo to Gabe in ''Series/TowerPrep'', to the point that Gabe says that the toy monkey actually ''has'' spoken to him before.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_Lady Margaret Lanterman]] (aka "The Log Lady") on ''Series/TwinPeaks'' always carries around a small log in her arms. She seems to share a psychic connection with it, sometimes dispensing advice and visions that she claims come from the log itself. At one point she insists that Agent Cooper direct a question to the log instead of her. It's left ambiguous as to whether the log has any intelligence, but the Log Lady seems to have some otherworldly insight, and Hawk states that it "holds many spirits." The log's size and shape subtly evoke a baby, with two small nubs on the upper section where the baby's arms would be.
* ''Series/TwoPintsOfLagerAndAPacketOfCrisps'':
** Jonny has an Franchise/ActionMan that he named Corinthian (and later named his son after it). It is later destroyed in a fire.
** Janet has a mannequin named Jonny 2, which she has dressed exactly like Jonny. It's only featured in one episode, in which she uses it as a source of comfort when she's in labour.
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'': Number Five is in love with "Delores", a mannequin who was his only form of company in the post-apocalyptic wasteland for 40 years. Even after being forced to abandon her following his recruitment, he eventually goes on to reconnect with her in the past... namely by stealing her from her original department store.
* Rex from ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' is Robbie's ventriloquist dummy. Despite Robbie controlling him, he seems to have a mind of his own, and the other characters, while at first humoring Robbie by pretending that he's a real person, eventually start believing it themselves. If Rex says or does something rude, they get mad at him and not Robbie, and the reactions they all give when he is sucked into the Turblow Jet are as if one of their closest friends was being maimed.
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Negan always carries a [[BatterUp baseball bat]] covered in barbed wire that he calls Lucille. He constantly refers to the bat as a person and never goes anywhere without her. He eventually reveals that his [[TheLostLenore late wife]] was also called Lucille, and the bat has become a surrogate for her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Seravy from ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' has a ventriloquist doll named Elizabeth. They're a couple.
* The Angels in ''Manga/AngelicLayer''. If you hear "it's just a doll/toy/robot", you know that person needs a dose of ThePowerOfFriendship, despite your parents probably thinking they have a valid point.
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
** In the earlier parts of the [[Recap/BerserkGoldenAgeArc Golden Age Arc]], we see Guts as a child being taught how to use a sword. He uses a two-handed blade which is considerably oversized for a kid. We later see him hugging that sword like a teddy bear while he's going to sleep. Considering that he was raised in a mercenary band, blamed for the death of the only mother figure he ever had, and the abuse he suffered from the guy he considered a father figure, it's not too far fetched to believe that for Guts the sword ''was'' his only friend at that time.\\\
Guts is often visibly shown [[SecurityBlanket having trouble sleeping without a sword]] and claims that he can't relax without it on hand. Considering the dangers he faces, this concern is probably for more practical reasons, but who's to say whether the possible emotional and practical reasons can't complement each other?
** Played for laughs with Puck and the Behelit Guts carries around. Despite it being an ArtifactOfDoom, he affectionately calls it "Betchi".
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Something of a subversion with the Soul Reapers' Zanpakuto swords. Each sword is part of the Soul Reaper's being, but also has his/her own spirit and name. We rarely see a Zanpakuto's spirit (Ichigo's Zangetsu [[spoiler:([[CoolOldGuy Both of]] [[EnemyWithin them]])]] usually only speaks to him in his own mindscape, Renji's Zabimaru and Mayuri's Ashisogi Jizo only appear a couple of times, [[spoiler:and Yachiru's true identity as Kenpachi's Nozarashi isn't revealed until the final arc]]), but all the main Shinigami/Soul Reapers have learned their swords' names. While the swords are rarely treated as characters, in one episode Yumichika gets so mad at his that he beats him against a rock. Rangiku's sword Haineko kind of rubs her the wrong way, too.\\\
Any remaining elements of this are thoroughly thrown out the window in one the anime's filler arcs, where all the Zanpakutou spirits are materialized in humanoid forms and wreaking havoc. In the same arc, the Zanpakuto are given even more human traits; like Yumichika's Fuji Kujaku refusing to reveal his true power because ''he feels insulted'' when he calls him that. (For reference, his actual/Bankai name is Ruri'iro Kujaku.)
** Played straight in a later arc, in which having a companion cube causes it to have certain powers, such as a dollhouse which lets you trap people inside of it, or boots that make your kicks increasingly lethal as they get dirty.
* In ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' during the Grand Prix episode, Assassin displays extreme affection for the temple gate, even to the point of [[spoiler:jumping out of a truck in a vain attempt to save it when Bersercar knocks it over a cliff]].
* The lizard Ellis picks up in episode 3 of ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'' is hardly an inanimate object, but the only thing it does in the entire series, aside from belch in Nadie's face, is crawl away in the end.
%%** And there is also another matter with the Sniper Cat in the ED video, too... (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** The original ''Manga/DragonBall'':
*** For Goku, the Si Xing Qiu (aka 4-star Ball). He believes his grandfather's spirit resides within it, going as far as calling it grandpa at several points, and is very protective of it. He refuses to give it to Bulma, which is how he ends up going on a quest with her, and most of the [[Recap/DragonBallRedRibbonArmyArc Red Ribbon Army Arc]] revolves around him looking for it. He even gives the keepsake to his son (sown into a hat).
*** Kinto'un, or Flying Nimbus as it's called in the English dub, also gets this treatment. While being a magic cloud, it doesn't appear to be any sort of living, thinking creature, but Goku still often talks to and treats it like it was one of another one of his friends. In the manga, the only time it is shown to have a reaction SFX is when Gohan has a race contest against it.
** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Future Trunks's sword is revealed to be this for him. Despite him not needing it, as he's already capable as a fighter without it, having it on hand calms him down. [[spoiler:He ultimately defeats the ArcVillain with it by letting it absorb the power of a Spirit Bomb into it, creating the technique called "Sword of Hope".]]
* Tohru Honda from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' rarely goes anywhere without a photo of her deceased mother Kyoko on her person, going so far as to take baths with the photos and treating them as though they actually ''are'' Kyoko. In the first episode alone, she has a FreakOut over her mother's picture being buried in a landslide alongside her tent, speaking as if Kyoko herself was BuriedAlive, and when Hiro takes her wallet, which contains one such picture, she reacts as if Hiro just kidnapped her mother. Deconstructed as time goes on, as it's made clear that Tohru doing so is unhealthy and signifies her inability to accept her mother's death and move on.
* In one episode of ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', Sosuke is coaching the lousy school rugby team. He makes them go through physical and mental training from hell. At the end of the training, he gives each of them a football and makes them assign female names to them. Cut to one of the football players caressing his ball saying, "Don't worry, baby. I won't be rough. I won't hurt you" with a mentally disturbing smile and crazy eyes.
* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'':
** A RunningGag is for the characters to act as though Shinpachi isn't a human wearing a pair of glasses, but rather a pair of glasses wearing a human (which is taking a jab at his status as TheGenericGuy). If his glasses are removed, it's practically guaranteed that everyone in the vicinity will start paying attention to them instead of him. It's actually worked to his advantage on a few occasions, allowing him to escape notice from enemies and sparing him from a [[GenderBender genderbending]] satellite (it only targets his glasses, which turn pink), though he complains about it regardless.
** Hasegawa also gets this treatment with his sunglasses from time to time, though not nearly as often as Shinpachi.
* In ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'', there's Ryuichi's Kumagoro, a stuffed pink rabbit that he treats like a person, and even provides a voice for. There's some speculation, though, as to whether this is real or simply an act put on by Ryuichi.
* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': Tomoko is a LonelyDollGirl because of her FriendlessBackground (though she doesn't treat them as actual people, more like something she can use for a SurrogateSoliloquy). Onizuka connects with her by playing dolls together, communicating through them at first rather than talking to her directly. In the LiveActionAdaptation she makes a duck puppet called Dakko that she talks to Onizuka through, and has an improv conversation with at the pageant.[[note]]In a bit of FridgeBrilliance, "Dakko" is not only the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "duck", it also means "[[IJustWantToHaveFriends hug]]".[[/note]]
* Seems to be quite common in the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' series. Usually it starts with the pilot pleading with the Gundam to keep going during an especially tough battle, but in can escalate to them asking the machine for advice and then acting like advice has been given. Particularly, in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'', all of the characters who pilot Gundams will talk to their machines at least once every couple of fights. In an early episode,[[spoiler:when Quatre's about to blow up his own Gundam, Sandrock, the cockpit opens by itself, causing Quatre to wonder: "Are you telling me to get down, Sandrock?"]] A few of the suits also have the ZERO system, which tends to inspire insanity in the pilots who use it. That sure doesn't help.
* Ikaros and her watermelons in ''Manga/HeavensLostProperty''. She is fascinated by watermelons and tends to carry one around with her. It's gotten to the point where she is growing a watermelon patch in her backyard and taking care of it like one would take care of a litter of puppies or kittens.
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', Kenishi's father owns a double-barreled rifle named Sebastian, which he treats [[ICallItVera more like a pet than an object]]. He also at one point has a heartfelt conversation with a ''jar of tomato sauce''.
* Played with in ''Anime/KillLaKill'' -- Senketsu is entirely sentient and capable of conversation, [[InvisibleToNormals but only Ryuko can hear him]]. Thus, Mako's family quickly comes to the conclusion that Ryuko has made her SailorFuku into an ImaginaryFriend out of a crushingly lonely FriendlessBackground she may or may not actually have.
-->'''Mako:''' You gave your uniform a name? Boy, you must be pretty lonely to do that!
* Yui Hirasawa from ''Manga/KOn'' is shown to be strongly attached to her guitar, a Gibson Les Paul which she named Giita. She initially chose it because she thought it was cute, and is sometimes shown sleeping with it and dressing it up. In fact, side character Himeko at one point mentions how she loves it as if it were a boyfriend.
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'':
** Several times the characters talk to or about Mazinger-Z and FemBot Aphrodite A like if they were sentient beings. Sayaka actually has a HeroicBSOD when [[spoiler:Aphrodite A is destroyed. She even hallucinates that Aphrodite is calling her.]] And then you have Minerva-X, an actual sentient FemBot and HumongousMecha that can act, think, and feel on her own and was programmed to be in a BattleCouple with Mazinger-Z, and considers Mazinger to be ''her'' Companion Cube (as Sayaka protests that only Aphrodite is allowed to be Mazinger's partner).
** In one of the versions of ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', when Duke is fleeing, he pleads with Grendizer to carry him far away. However, Grendizer is [[FirstChurchOfMecha the embodiment of the Fleedian's god of war]], so he could have a point.
* ''Manga/MinamiKe'':
** Yamada the rock has gained a lot of respect for a small stone.
** Chiaki's teddy bear Fujioka (at least in the first season). She talks to it quite often and viewers can only hazard a guess as to whether its reactions are real or all in Chiaki's {{Ahoge}}.
* ''Manga/MolesterMan'' sometimes acts as if "Sachiko", his [[spoiler:onahole]], is a real girl.
* ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'': Male lead Wakana Gojo often talks to a Hina doll head made by his grandfather, owing partly to his lack of friends.
* Played for horror in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', with Asuka's mother having an Asuka doll that she cradles and talks to, [[ParentalAbandonment to the exclusion of her own daughter]], because she [[BabyDollBaby thinks the doll is her real daughter]] and doesn't recognize Asuka as being her child [[spoiler:thanks to having half of her soul torn from her body to make the second EVA. She then asks the doll [[DrivenToSuicide to commit suicide with her]], despite Asuka begging her mother to [[TogetherInDeath let her die with her]] instead of the doll. Later, Asuka walks in to find both her mother and the doll dangling from the ceiling.]]
%%* The houseplant in ''Anime/{{Noir}}''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* ''Manga/OnePiece'': The ''[[CoolShip Going Merry]]'' is treated as another member of the crew by the Straw Hats. [[spoiler:It later turns out to be semi-sentient, as it's inhabited by a Klabautermann (a water spirit that aids sailors), which causes its eventual destruction to be one of the biggest {{Tear Jerker}}s in the series.]]
%%** [[Characters/OnePieceStrawHatPirates Luffy]]'s straw hat is a prime example. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way do they treat the objects like people?)
%%** The sword Wado-Ichi-Monji seems to fill this role for Zoro. It used to belong to his childhood friend Kuina--she died very young, so he carries it for both of them.
%%** And for Nami, her adoptive mother's orange trees. Also notable that all three objects/types of objects are important because they were left behind by loved ones.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** Nekozawa's hand-puppet Beelzeneff is part of his club.
** Tamaki has talked to his teddy Kuma-chan as if he were real, as has Honey with his stuffed pink rabbit Usa-chan.
%%* The mascot of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, Ash's Pikachu, ''loves'' his... ketchup bottle. No, really. This seems to be taken to an extreme by fans, though, since Pikachu only demonstrates a love for ketchup in a handful of episodes. The first is in the episode that started the concept, "[[Recap/PokemonS1E42ShowdownAtDarkCity Showdown at Dark City]]", and after that he's reunited with a bottle of ketchup in "[[Recap/PokemonS6E3TheresNoPlaceLikeHoenn There's No Place Like Hoenn]]" and an episode of ''Anime/PokemonPokemonTheSeriesXY''. He also gets to sing an ending theme in the second season of ''[=XY=]'', where he and a group of Pikachus dance with and atop giant bottles of ketchup. (Does he treat the ketchup like an actual living being? If not, this is an example of TrademarkFavoriteFood and should be removed.)
* ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'': Saitou, during his (manga) fight with Kenshin, evades Kenshin's attempt to break his sword, stating that it has kept him safe since the revolution, and that he isn't about to let anyone break it. [[spoiler:Later in the fight, Kenshin tries again, and lops it in half.]]
%%* Done very creepily in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' with Dr. Nii's rabbit toy. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* Futaba from ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' has a plushie of Korori, the main character from her favorite childhood anime, whom she treats as a source of advice and comfort and occasionally voices. Korori also acts as the series mascot and narrator, providing information about the voice acting industry for the audience.
* ''Anime/{{Shirobako}}'' has a Miyamori's two dolls Mimuji and Roro. Like Korori above, Miyamori often voices them and talks and pretends that they talk to her as her GoodAngelBadAngel, to the point that where we ''see'' her speaking in their voices when they ''aren't'' present. And like Korori, the two of them act as the show's series mascot and explain to the audience the industry's inner workings.
* ''Manga/SquidGirl'':
** When Eiko's Famicom breaks down, she's brought to tears, calling it her old buddy; it's been with her since childhood and was there for her through happy and sad times alike, and is "like family" to her, to the point where she ''buries it in the garden'', complete with grave marker.
** Ika treats an umbrella she's given with a similar reverence, and is equally devastated when it's blown out of her hands and destroyed by a passing car.
* The doll Emily from ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'' at first heads in this direction, being Sara's only confidante. [[spoiler:Then you find out that she's ''alive'' -- she's PoweredByAForsakenChild's [[{{Aesoptinum}} still-living brain]].]]
* ''Literature/StrawberryPanic'''s Kagome has a teddy bear named Percival that she treats like it's alive. Being very shy, she tends to channel her feelings through the bear. After a random act of kindness from Nagisa, Kagome asks Percival "Was that a friend of yours?"
* In ''Manga/SumomoMoMomoMo'', Tenka has a soccer ball that he named Becky. She talks to him, and he often asks her for advice. She actually gives pretty good advice, too, considering she's a soccer ball...
* When LLENN of ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'' gets particularly stressed in battle, she begins to imagine her P90 submachine gun, "P-chan", speaking to her and promising to help protect her. The gun's destruction in battle sends LLENN into a vengeance-fueled BerserkerRage.
* In ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'', Melodytchi takes her Melody Violin everywhere she goes and calls it "my friend". [[spoiler:It later turns out that the violin is not only as old as Melody Land (Melodytchi's home) itself, but it's also ''sentient''.]]
* Satou, the {{hikikomori}} protagonist of ''Literature/WelcomeToTheNHK'', often hallucinates that the appliances of his apartment are talking to him and has long conversations with them. While the light novel and manga implies that the cause of this is the [[MushroomSamba use of designer drugs]], the anime plays it as a delirium due to Satou's social isolation.
* In ''Anime/YokaiWatch'', while in Alcatraz, Manjimutt gets a teddy bear during the prison's annual distribution, which he calls Sam. Due to his loneliness, Manjimutt deludes himself into thinking that Sam can talk and eventually walk, and only snaps back to the reality that Sam's a teddy bear when Sam's head gets ripped off during an jailbreak attempt.
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
** The cards ''themselves'' in ''Anime/YuGiOh: Duel Monsters'' fit the bill. Whole "Heart of the Cards" thing and all.
** The tree that adopted Spectre (from his perspective) in ''Anime/YuGiOhVrains'', as he considers it to be his mother figure, and does not take it well when it gets chopped down. Furthermore, he also starts treating his ''Sunvalon'' cards in much the same way, especially ''Sunvalon Dryatrentiay''.
%%** Rebecca's teddy bear, whom she calls Teddy-chan, despite being American. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way does she treat it as if it was alive?)
* The Vulcan 300, a "toy robot" made from a pocky box, in ''Manga/ZatchBell'', whom only Gash considers an actual person.
%%** Or maybe not. Tio has her own pocky box toy, named "Valunlun". In some endings, Kanchome and Umagon are shown with green and orange pocky box toys as well, although God only knows how Umagon made his... (Do they actually treat these toys as people? If not, this isn't an example)
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