History Main / Imprinting

* [[WordOfGod Post development interviews]] with the creators of ''/VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' state that Lucia began undergoing this when she first encountered Hiro in the crystal teleportation room. It explains her growing reluctant loyalty to him in the early stages of the story, [[spoiler:before she fell in love with him]].

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!!Examples

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* In the 2009 series ''Series/{{V-2009}}'', Anna is able to do this with [[spoiler:Ryan's half-V, half-human child,]] by giving the infant a disease that causes her pain unless she receives Anna's [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul bliss]]. [[spoiler:She had at that point already killed the baby's real mother.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1982/ga821102.gif a baby chick hatches]] and imprints Garfield as its mother. [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1982/ga821103.gif Garfield's attempts to correct him results in the chick calling him its daddy instead]].
* In ''ComicStrip/USAcres'', Sheldon and Booker have imprinted on Orson, who hatched them (well, hatched Booker, anyway) and call him "mom" (it should be noted that Booker and Sheldon's mother basically abandoned them before Orson decided to hatch them himself).

[[folder:Other Sites]]
* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation''. [[http://scp-wiki.net/scp-111 SCP-111 ("Dragon Snails")]] hatchlings can imprint on humans who are nearby when they're hatched. This was done so they would obey their owners.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' magazine #50 article "Hatching is just the beginning". When a dragon egg hatches, the hatchling will imprint on the first creature it sees after birth, considering the creature to be its mother. It will attempt to copy its "mother"'s actions.
* Chaosium's supplement ''All the Worlds' Monsters'' Volume III
** A newborn Perneese Fire Lizard (based on the ancestors of the dragons in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' novels) can become imprinted on an intelligent being. If they do so, any kind of mind-control magic used on them [[IntrinsicVow cannot make them attack the being they're imprinted on]].
** When a Tarn (giant black bird) hatches it will imprint on (and can be tamed by) any nearby creature. However, it will turn on its master if it senses weakness. It can be ridden by a human-sized or smaller creature if a saddle and goad are available.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' has a rather heartwarming example, where Samus, in the events of ''Videogame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'', has been sent to exterminate all of the eponymous creatures. Upon arrival at the location of the last Metroid, she finds only an egg, which promptly hatches, revealing a baby Metroid, who imprints itself on her as its mother.
* This can happen in ''VideoGame/NetHack'', if you're carrying a monster egg in your inventory and it hatches, leading to the newborn monster being tame. If you're male, this only has a 50% chance to happen ("The identity of one's father is learned, not innate").
* In ''Videogame/FableII'', a man asks you to help him collect the body parts of Lady Grey (an antagonist from the first game) whom he has fallen in love with and wishes to marry. Before the experiment is done, he explains that the resurrection spell comes with an imprinting measure where she will fall in love with whomever is in her line of sight within a few minutes of resurrecting. Unfortunately for him, ''you'' are the first thing she sees. That means that if you don't leave the room immediately, she will fall for you instead of him. The choice is up to you.
* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', an optional sidequest[[note]] Though if you don't do it, you don't get the Power Cell for it, and there are a few Precursor Orbs and Power Cells you can't get without it, but that's it[[/note]] has you knock an egg off a cliff. When you get back to it, the flut flut inside hatches, and imprints on Daxter, over the latter's protests.
-->'''Daxter''': Aaaaaah! I'm not your ma! You see any feathers here?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* One story in ''UruseiYatsura'' has Lum, Ataru, Ten, and Mendo sent into prehistoric times. A baby dinosaur hatches and imprints Lum as his mother, while the baby's real mom think Ten is one of her eggs! (Because his diaper is the same pattern as the eggshell)

* In ''{{Jhereg}}'', when Loiosh hatches and Vlad comforts him, the newborn jhereg mentally addresses him as "Mama". Vlad tries to correct this, as he'd rather be "Daddy", but Loiosh goes right on calling him "Mama" until he grows up and switches to "Boss".

* In the 2009 series ''{{V-2009}}'', Anna is able to do this with [[spoiler:Ryan's half-V, half-human child,]] by giving the infant a disease that causes her pain unless she receives Anna's [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul bliss]]. [[spoiler:She had at that point already killed the baby's real mother.]]
* An Emmy-winning episode of PBS's Nature documented a naturalist's experiences raising a brood of wild turkeys which had imprinted on him.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' cartoon episode "Mama Luigi" played with this, in which Luigi fulfilled the parent figure for a baby Yoshi.
[[/folder]]

* Dr. Seuss' Horton Hatches The Egg. Justified in that sitting on the egg somehow changed its DNA into a birdephant; so in a sense Horton is partially its biological mother.
* Literature/{{Septimus Heap}}'s dragon Spit Fyre.

* In {{Chis Sweet Home}}, ironically the titular character, imprints Youhei and his family as Youhei's pet.

* {{Ponyo}}. Ponyo ironically becomes imprinted on Sosuke after she drinks on his blood.

* In the episode "That Darn Gator" of the ''SamAndMax'' cartoon, Max fishes a baby alligator out of a toilet and it imprints on him.

* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', an optional sidequest[[note]]if you don't do it, you don't get the Power Cell for it, and there are a few Precursor Orbs and Power Cells you can't get without it, but that's it[[/note] has you knock an egg off a cliff. When you get back to it, the flut flut inside hatches, and imprints on Daxter, over the latter's protests.

** Brought back again in ''Film/JurassicWorld'' with Owen Grady and the four raptors (Echo, Blue, Delta, and Charlie) he's cared for and trained since birth. Although somewhat tame, Owen admits that they're more like barely restrained lions than hunting dogs, and he's the ''only'' person they won't kill on sight because of his mutually respectful bond with them.

* Probably one of the earliest Imprinting-themed fairytales are {{The Ugly Duckling}}, where the baby swan(cygnet) sees the mother duck, and follows her believing the duck to be his mother.
* Probably one of the most popular cases, ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' gives us Jacob Black, who imprints himself on Bella's and Edward's daughter (though, as for why, it's pretty vague).

* Heart imprints as Umasou's father in {{You are Umasou}}.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', Owen says that this is the reason why he's able to interact with the raptors on a semi-friendly basis. Bird DNA was used to fill in the holes this time around instead of frog, and birds often imprint on the very first person they see after hatching, so the four sisters view Owen as a ParentalSubstitute.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', the monster imprints on Dr. Frankenstein and considers him to be his mother, even running to him for a comforting hug in one scene.

* Invoked in ''Franchise/JurassicPark'', where Hammond insists on being at every hatching so the baby dinos will imprint on him. Brought back again in ''JurassicWorld'' with Owen Grady and the four raptors (Echo, Blue, Delta, and Charlie) he's cared for and trained since birth. Although somewhat tame, Owen admits that they're more like barely restrained lions than hunting dogs, and he's the ''only'' person they won't kill on sight because of his mutually respectful bond with them.

* Sid in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge 3'', to the extent that he even refers to himself as a "Momma" because of the imprinting of the baby dinos on him.
* Heart imprints as Umasou's father in ''{{You are Umasou}}''.
* The movie ''Film/FlyAwayHome'' is about a girl who has a flock of geese imprint on her, so in order to teach them to fly properly, she has to learn to fly an ultralight.
* The Disney film ''Film/TheUglyDachshund'' revolves around a Great Dane puppy that imprints upon a dachshund bitch and her litter, thinking he's a dachshund too. HilarityEnsues.
* ''Film/TheHandThatRocksTheCradle'' had the [[BabysitterFromHell evil nanny]] attempting this with the youngest child (an infant) in her charge, primarily by way of breast-feeding (unbeknownst to, and unauthorized by, the mother) which leads to the baby rejecting his own mother's milk, and the bonding that comes with that. The whole premise of the movie was the nanny trying to steal the children of a woman she blames for her miscarriage and subsequent hysterectomy.
* The film ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' has the "mecha" (android) David, designed to be like a human child, going through an "imprinting sequence" which makes him recognize his new owner as his mother--irreversibly so, and with all the emotions that entails.
* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfMiloAndOtis'', when Gloria's chick hatches, it thinks Otis is its mommy. Otis finally rids himself of the chick when he shows it how rough and tumble a "real dog" has to be. The chick doesn't like it and immediately runs off to find its real mother.
* In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', Owen says that this is the reason why he's able to interact with the raptors on a semi-friendly basis. Bird DNA was used to fill in the holes this time around instead of frog, and birds often imprint on the very first person they see after hatching, so the four sisters view Owen as a ParentalSubstitute.

* ''TheHandThatRocksTheCradle'' had the [[BabysitterFromHell evil nanny]] attempting this with the youngest child (an infant) in her charge, primarily by way of breast-feeding (unbeknownst to, and unauthorized by, the mother) which leads to the baby rejecting his own mother's milk, and the bonding that comes with that. The whole premise of the movie was the nanny trying to steal the children of a woman she blames for her miscarriage and subsequent hysterectomy.
* The film ''AIArtificialIntelligence'' has the "mecha" (android) David, designed to be like a human child, going through an "imprinting sequence" which makes him recognize his new owner as his mother--irreversibly so, and with all the emotions that entails.
* In ''MiloAndOtis'', when Gloria's chick hatches, it thinks Otis is its mommy. Otis finally rids himself of the chick when he shows it how rough and tumble a "real dog" has to be. The chick doesn't like it and immediately runs off to find its real mother.

** In [[{{Pokemon 3}} the third movie]], a little girl named Molly imprints on the illusion of Entei as her "Papa" for the rest of the movie.

* {{Pokemon 3}}: Molly, the Human girl imprints on Entei as her "Papa" for the rest of the movie.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Misty became a mother to Togepi after it hatched from its egg.
* ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea''. May is holding the Manaphy egg when it hatches, so the baby Manaphy considers her to be its mother for the rest of the movie. Brock helpfully explains what happened for the benefit of the audience.

* An infant T-Rex imprinted upon the entire main cast of ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' series in one of the movies as its mothers. Given that throughout the series, "Sharptooth" dinosaurs are anything *but* friendly, this is quite amusing.
* Invoked in ''Franchise/JurassicPark'', where Hammond insists on being at every hatching so the baby dinos will imprint on him.

* Chaosium's supplement ''All the Worlds' Monsters'' Volume III. A newborn Perneese Fire Lizard (based on the ancestors of the dragons in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' novels) can become imprinted on an intelligent being. If they do so, any kind of mind-control magic used on them [[IntrinsicVow cannot make them attack the being they're imprinted on]].

* Chaosium's supplement ''All the Worlds' Monsters'' Volume III. A newborn Perneese Fire Lizard (based on the ancestors of the dragons in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's Pern novels) can become imprinted on an intelligent being. If they do so, any kind of mind-control magic used on them [[IntrinsicVow cannot make them attack the being they're imprinted on]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Ai-chan ironically imprints on Mana Aida as a mother from {{Doki Doki Precure}} since episode 8 for the rest of the series, sort of.
* ''RanmaOneHalf'' The Phoenix Mountain tribe can imprison people in eggs--when the egg is "hatched", the victim imprints on the first person they see and will obey their instructions. [[spoiler:But the one plot-important person this happens to is Shampoo, and the first person she sees is...herself in a mirror.]]