History Main / GoofyFeatheredDinosaur

Being generous, the reluctance to feature feathered dinosaurs can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this may be attributed to ignorance or lack of experience on part of the animators, as body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially on birds-of-prey. The issue of animating CGI feathers is resolved by [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 having the feathers already sculpted onto the model as a basis and kept as textures, with only the prominent feathers like on the wings and tail being rendered]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

* [=YouTuber HoopsAndDinoMan]] made a video called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lLOLAkYUc "The Allure of Modern Dinosaur Artwork"]] deconstructing this trope, speculating on why some people had such a strong negative reaction to the idea of feathered dinosaurs, pointing out that the ''Jurassic Park''-style dinosaurs they preferred were ''also'' considered heretical when first proposed, and defending the modern vision of dinosaurs having feathers and other soft tissue - though he admits that one day, this model too may become outdated, and [[ScienceMarchesOn that's okay]].

** Played straight-ish with the trio of fluffy ''Therizinosaurus'' chicks, whose clumsy attempts to reach a beehive to get at the honey are played for laughs... but averted with the adult ''Therizinosaurus'', which is portrayed as a creature of majesty and awe.
** Downplayed with the ''Mononykus''. Her hunt for insects is portrayed comically due to being unfamiliar with the wet season environment - David Attenborough even gives a comically exasperated "Oh dear" at her antics. But the creature's appearance is more cute than goofy, being more or less a toothy mix of barn owl, roadrunner, and anteater. Her introductory scene also emphasizes her keen survival abilities, as she uses her sharp hearing to pinpoint the location of termites inside a log, and then scoops them up with her [[MultipurposeTongue long tongue]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': In the episode "Jurassic Jumble", Darkwing gets hit with Dr. Fossil's DevolutionDevice and is transformed into a dinosaur, one that is covered in feathers. Despite being large and powerful in this new form, Darkwing still remains as comical as ever, and not only does Fossil ridicule his form upon sight, but actually came close to defeating him had Stegmutt, Gosalyn, and Honker not interfere. Interestingly, this was before feathered dinosaurs became official by science.

** Averted with most of the feathered dinosaurs. The troodontids are shown as agile and cunning hunters using arson hunting like firehawks, the ''Nanuqsaurus'' are portrayed like {{Fantastic Fauna Counterpart}}s of gray wolves hunting ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' in the snow, and the ''Velociraptor'' are shown as elegant and fierce predators hunting on cliffs like snow leopards.

** Played straight with the trio of fluffy ''Therizinosaurus'' chicks, whose clumsy attempts to reach a beehive to get at the honey are played for laughs... but averted with the adult ''Therizinosaurus'', which is portrayed as a creature of majesty and awe.

* ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'' defies this trope and then some by undermining the scariness of featherless dinosaurs. In the first chapter, Suzume tries to comfort a schoolgirl who is scared by Yuki, Enoshima Dinoland's female ''Giganotosaurus'', by explaining that dinosaurs are not all scary, pointing out that birds are also dinosaurs. One schoolboy then makes a dig at her statement by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, expecting Yuki to eat a whole deer carcass that's currently being fed to her. He is dismayed when the ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating the carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even big dinosaurs are not always scary.

* ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'' defies this trope and then some by undermining the scariness of featherless dinosaurs. In the first chapter, Suzume tries to comfort a schoolgirl who is scared by Yuki, Enoshima Dinoland's female ''Giganotosaurus'', by explaining that dinosaurs are not all scary, pointing out that birds are dinosaurs. One schoolboy then makes a dig at her statement by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, expecting Yuki to eat a whole deer carcass that's currently being fed to her. He is dismayed when the ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating the carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even big dinosaurs are not always scary.

* Defied by ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary''. In the first chapter, Suzume tries to comfort a schoolgirl who is scared by Yuki, Enoshima Dinoland's female ''Giganotosaurus'', by explaining that dinosaurs are not all scary, pointing out that birds are dinosaurs. One schoolboy then makes a dig at her statement by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, expecting Yuki to eat a whole deer carcass that's currently being fed to her. He is dismayed when the ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating the carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even featherless dinosaurs are not always scary.

* In the first chapter of ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'', Suzume tries to comfort a schoolgirl who is scared by Yuki, Enoshima Dinoland's female ''Giganotosaurus'', by explaining that dinosaurs are not all scary, pointing out that birds are dinosaurs. One schoolboy then makes a dig at her statement by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, expecting Yuki to eat a whole deer carcass that's currently being fed to her. He is dismayed when the ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating the carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even featherless dinosaurs are not always scary.

* In the first chapter of ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'', Suzume tries to comfort a schoolgirl who is scared by the zoo's female ''Giganotosaurus'', named Yuki, by explaining that dinosaurs are not all scary, pointing out that birds are dinosaurs. One schoolboy then makes a dig at her statement by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, expecting Yuki to eat a whole deer carcass that's currently being fed to her. He is dismayed when the ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating the carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even featherless dinosaurs are not always scary.

* In the first chapter of ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'', one kid makes a dig at Suzume's statement that birds are dinosaurs by insisting dinosaurs are big and scary, and is dismayed when the zoo's ''Giganotosaurus'' initially hesitates in eating a deer carcass, due to being unfamiliar with it as she's usually fed meat with the bones and hair removed, proving Suzume's point that even featherless dinosaurs are not always scary.

As people get more used to the idea of feathered dinosaurs, however, with the influx of more accurate DinosaurMedia in 2022 such as ''VideoGame/PrehistoricKingdom'', ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'', ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'', and ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'', this trope does seem to be in decline.

As people get more used to the idea of feathered dinosaurs, however, with the influx of newer DinosaurMedia such as ''VideoGame/PrehistoricKingdom'', ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'', ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'', and ''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'', this trope does seem to be in decline.

As people get more used to the idea of feathered dinosaurs, however, with the influx of recent DinosaurMedia such as ''VideoGame/PrehistoricKingdom'', ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'', and ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'', this trope does seem to be in decline.

As people get more used to the idea of feathered dinosaurs, however, this trope does seem to be in decline.

The idea of feathered dinosaurs tends to be mocked and scoffed at in media. Contrary to common belief, not ''all'' dinosaurs are theorized to have had feathers-- just many theropods (almost all of them being coelurosaurs) and a few of the smaller ornithischians.[[note]]Given the scant nature of dinosaur integument in the fossil record it's of course quite possible that many more dinosaurs than these were also feathered to some extent, but the aforementioned groups are the only ones unanimously agreed upon.[[/note]] It's also perfectly possible for dinosaurs to have had ''both'' scales and feathers[[note]]Many birds do, in fact.[[/note]]. However, the popular view of feathered dinosaurs is a giant fluffy dinosaur with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife brightly coloured feathers]]. ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' has received most of the brunt of this issue. Due to its popularity, it's the poster-child for feathered dinosaurs, albeit highly misguidedly: paleontologists aren't quite sure whether they were fully feathered or not (or even if it ''had'' feathers), but the mainstream image is that tyrannosauruses are now "cute and cuddly". Feathered dinosaurs bring to mind fowl like chickens and ducks, [[TheoryTunnelvision rather than the equally-feathered-but-frightening modern-day raptors or extinct terror birds]].[[note]]Incidentally, there is an often parroted myth that modern chickens ''specifically'' are thought to be the closest living relatives to the ''Tyrannosaurus'', which doesn't help the case. In truth almost all birds would be equally related to non-avian dinosaurs which includes above mentioned dangerous species.[[/note]] Large ratites such as ostriches, emus, and especially cassowaries, also feathered-but-frightening, tend to be ignored in the subject of feathered dinosaurs as well (and the fact that ostriches themselves [[OstrichHeadHiding are not taken so seriously in media]] doesn't help), despite being the closest things to living prehistoric dinosaurs not to mention many dinosaurs resembling them such as ''Ornithomimus'', ''Struthiomimus'' (whose name literally means "ostrich mimic"), and ''Gallimimus''.

It should be pointed out that the idea of feathered dinosaurs [[OlderThanTheyThink is not in fact as recent as many are led to believe]]. While definite evidence of feathers on dinosaur fossils (and broad acceptance of the idea in the paleontological community) is indeed ''relatively'' recent, well-supported speculation of feathers on certain dinosaurs is almost as old as the basic hypothesis of a bird-dinosaur evolutionary connection from the 1800s. Even without smoking gun evidence found in the late 1980s, paleontologists had been almost certain some dinosaurs had feathers and rendered them with such as far back as the 1970s, while speculative fiction writers were toying with the idea as early as [[Literature/TheMonsterOfPartridgeCreek 1908]].

** Played straight, however, with the ''Deinocheirus'', portrayed as a shaggy, moose-like swamp-dweller that comically scratches its back on trees and poops onscreen as a bit of ToiletHumor, and with the fluffy baby ''Tyrannosaurus'', who play-fight, romp around and curiously explore their environment like a bunch of theropod kittens.
** Played straight with the trio of ''Therizinosaurus'' chicks, whose clumsy attempts to reach a beehive to get at the honey are played for laughs... but averted with the adult ''Therizinosaurus'', which is portrayed as a creature of majesty and awe.
** Downplayed with the ''Mononykus''. Her hunt for insects is portrayed comically due to being unfamiliar with the wet season environment - Attenborough even gives a comically exasperated "Oh dear" at her antics. But the creature's appearance is more cute than goofy, being more or less a toothy barn owl with winged claws and a tail.

It should be pointed out that the idea of feathered dinosaurs [[OlderThanTheyThink is not in fact as recent as many are led to believe]]. While definite evidence of feathers on dinosaur fossils (and broad acceptance of the idea in the paleontological community) is indeed ''relatively'' recent, well-supported speculation of feathers on certain dinosaurs is almost as old as the basic hypothesis of a bird-dinosaur evolutionary connection from the 1800s. Even without smoking gun evidence found in the late 1980s, paleontologists had been almost certain some dinosaurs had feathers and rendered them with such as far back as the 1970s.

* ''[[Franchise/{{Marsupilami}} Marsupilami]] Hoobadventure'' features feathered raptors and tyrannosaurs in the "Hidden World" DLC, though the latter is a background animal. While they are fierce, they look pretty goofy thanks to the game's cartoon art style.

* ''[[Franchise/{{Marsupilami}} Marsupilami]] Hoobadventure'' features feathered raptors and pachycephalosaurs in the "Hidden World" DLC, and thanks to the game's cartoon art style, they're pretty goofy.

The idea of feathered dinosaurs tends to be mocked and scoffed at in media. Contrary to common belief, not ''all'' dinosaurs are theorized to have had feathers-- just many theropods (almost all of them being coelurosaurs) and a few of the smaller ornithischians.[[note]]Given the scant nature of dinosaur integument in the fossil record it's of course quite possible that many more dinosaurs than these were also feathered to some extent, but the aforementioned groups are the only ones unanimously agreed upon.[[/note]] It's also perfectly possible for dinosaurs to have had ''both'' scales and feathers[[note]]Many birds do, in fact.[[/note]]. However, the popular view of feathered dinosaurs is a giant fluffy dinosaur with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife brightly coloured feathers]]. ''[[KingOfTheDinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' has received most of the brunt of this issue. Due to its popularity, it's the poster-child for feathered dinosaurs, albeit highly misguidedly: paleontologists aren't quite sure whether they were fully feathered or not (or even if it ''had'' feathers), but the mainstream image is that tyrannosauruses are now "cute and cuddly". Feathered dinosaurs bring to mind fowl like chickens and ducks, [[TheoryTunnelvision rather than the equally-feathered-but-frightening modern-day raptors or extinct terror birds]].[[note]]Incidentally, there is an often parroted myth that modern chickens ''specifically'' are thought to be the closest living relatives to the ''Tyrannosaurus'', which doesn't help the case. In truth almost all birds would be equally related to non-avian dinosaurs which includes above mentioned dangerous species.[[/note]] Large ratites such as ostriches, emus, and especially cassowaries, also feathered-but-frightening, tend to be ignored in the subject of feathered dinosaurs as well (and the fact that ostriches themselves [[OstrichHeadHiding are not taken so seriously in media]] doesn't help), despite being the closest things to living prehistoric dinosaurs not to mention many dinosaurs resembling them such as ''Ornithomimus'', ''Struthiomimus'' (whose name literally means "ostrich mimic"), and ''Gallimimus''.

Being generous, the reluctance to feature feathered dinosaurs can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this may be attributed to ignorance or lack of experience on part of the animators, as body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially on birds-of-prey. The issue of animating CGI feathers is resolved by [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 having the feathers already sculpted onto the model as a basis, mostly kept as colored textures and only animated when necessary]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

* Averted by most feathered dinosaurs in ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'': the troodontids are shown as agile and cunning hunters using arson hunting like firehawks, the ''Nanuqsaurus'' are portrayed like {{Fantastic Fauna Counterpart}}s of gray wolves hunting ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' in the snow, and the ''Velociraptor'' are shown as elegant and fierce predators hunting on cliffs like snow leopards. Played straight, however, with the ''Deinocheirus'', portrayed as a shaggy, moose-like swamp-dweller that comically scratches its back on trees and poops onscreen as a bit of ToiletHumor, and with the fluffy baby ''Tyrannosaurus'', who play-fight, romp around and curiously explore their environment like a bunch of theropod kittens.

Being generous, the reluctance to feature feathered dinosaurs can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this issue is resolved by [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 having the feathers already sculpted onto the model as a basis, mostly kept as colored textures and only animated when necessary (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

This, however... [[TheCoconutEffect hasn't gone well with the mainstream media]]. People like their big, scary, roaring and sulking lizard creatures, even if the actual animals [[RealityIsUnrealistic were anything but hulking monsters]] (in fact, most dinosaurs are and were small). Even many dinosaur enthusiasts (many who grew up on media such as ''Film/JurassicPark'', despite the film depicting dinosaurs as warm-blooded bird-like animals according to newer theories, even if it was still [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology inaccurate]] at the time) [[IRejectYourReality are averse to the idea]]. Dinosaurs in media still tend to be based on older reconstructions, either because the artists didn't care enough to make them accurate, because they didn't know better, or because they simply don't like the contemporary reconstructions. Being generous, it can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this issue is resolved by [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 having the feathers already sculpted onto the model as a basis, mostly kept as colored textures and only animated when necessary (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

This, however... [[TheCoconutEffect hasn't gone well with the mainstream media]]. People like their big, scary, roaring and sulking lizard creatures, even if the actual animals [[RealityIsUnrealistic were anything but hulking monsters]] (in fact, most dinosaurs are and were small). Even many dinosaur enthusiasts (many who grew up on media such as ''Film/JurassicPark'', despite the film depicting dinosaurs as warm-blooded bird-like animals according to newer theories, even if it was still [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology inaccurate]] at the time) [[IRejectYourReality are averse to the idea]]. Dinosaurs in media still tend to be based on older reconstructions, either because the artists didn't care enough to make them accurate, because they didn't know better, or because they simply don't like the contemporary reconstructions. Being generous, it can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this issue is resolved by [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 having the body feathers sculpted onto the model as a basis, mostly kept as colored textures and only animated when necessary (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

This, however... [[TheCoconutEffect hasn't gone well with the mainstream media]]. People like their big, scary, roaring and sulking lizard creatures, even if the actual animals [[RealityIsUnrealistic were anything but hulking monsters]] (in fact, most dinosaurs are and were small). Even many dinosaur enthusiasts (many who grew up on media such as ''Film/JurassicPark'', despite the film depicting dinosaurs as warm-blooded bird-like animals according to newer theories, even if it was still [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology inaccurate]] at the time) [[IRejectYourReality are averse to the idea]]. Dinosaurs in media still tend to be based on older reconstructions, either because the artists didn't care enough to make them accurate, because they didn't know better, or because they simply don't like the contemporary reconstructions. Being generous, it can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this conflicts with the fact that there are plenty of CGI birds despite feathers being difficult to animate. This is because [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 the body feathers are actually sculpted onto the model as a basis, mostly kept as colored textures and only animated when necessary (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

This, however... [[TheCoconutEffect hasn't gone well with the mainstream media]]. People like their big, scary, roaring and sulking lizard creatures, even if the actual animals [[RealityIsUnrealistic were anything but hulking monsters]] (in fact, most dinosaurs are and were small). Even many dinosaur enthusiasts (many who grew up on media such as ''Film/JurassicPark'', despite the film depicting dinosaurs as warm-blooded bird-like animals according to newer theories, even if it was still [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology inaccurate]] at the time) [[IRejectYourReality are averse to the idea]]. Dinosaurs in media still tend to be based on older reconstructions, either because the artists didn't care enough to make them accurate, because they didn't know better, or because they simply don't like the contemporary reconstructions. Being generous, it can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this conflicts with the fact that there are plenty of CGI birds despite feathers being difficult to animate. This is because [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 the body feathers are actually not animated, but sculpted onto the model as a basis and then mostly kept as colored textures (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.

This, however... [[TheCoconutEffect hasn't gone well with the mainstream media]]. People like their big, scary, roaring and sulking lizard creatures, even if the actual animals [[RealityIsUnrealistic were anything but hulking monsters]] (in fact, most dinosaurs are and were small). Even many dinosaur enthusiasts (many who grew up on media such as ''Film/JurassicPark'', despite the film depicting dinosaurs as warm-blooded bird-like animals according to newer theories, even if it was still [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology inaccurate]] at the time) [[IRejectYourReality are averse to the idea]]. Dinosaurs in media still tend to be based on older reconstructions, either because the artists didn't care enough to make them accurate, because they didn't know better, or because they simply don't like the contemporary reconstructions. Being generous, it can sometimes be attributed to budget--feathers will get blown around by wind and the motion of the animal or "expand" like a bird's wing in flight, meaning that they need to in visual media as well or else invite the UncannyValley, whereas a scaly or otherwise hairless animal doesn't typically have this requirement. That said, this conflicts with the fact that there are plenty of CGI birds despite feathers being difficult to animate. This is because [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2013/06/youre-doing-it-wrong-cgi-feathered.html?m=1 the feathers are actually not animated, but sculpted onto the model and then kept as colored textures (after all, body plumage tends to lay flat on the body, especially with birds-of-prey)]]. Picture this, a predatory dinosaur with a smooth coat of feathers like on an eagle would not invoke the same uncanny effect as one looking all-fuzzy, not to mention would be easy on the budget.