History Main / RealisticSpeciesCartoonySpecies

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* ''Manga/HarlemBeats'' features a realistic Collie but far less realistic humans.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''. The adult bears, Mor'du and Ellinor as a bear, the dogs, and the fish caught by bear Ellinor look realistic, but the humans and Merida's triplet brothers as bears appear semi-realistic or cartoony, more typical of the Pixar style.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The humans are cartoony, but the animals in later seasons are realistic. Dogs, cats, and cattle are still cartoony however.

* ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''.
* ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''.

* Aside from [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]], humans in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' were rendered as anime or realistic styled, compared to the very cartoony [[TalkingAnimal anthropomorphic]] animals. This is averted in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', where the humans are made to look like ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'' characters.

* Most of the incarnations of the Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks franchise, but moreso the 1983 cartoon series ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', the 1987 film ''WesternAnimation/TheChipmunkAdventure'', and the two VHS movies released in 1999 and 2000, ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunksMeetFrankenstein'' and ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunksMeetTheWolfman''; in these incarnations, the human characters have rather realistic designs (especially true for ''The Chipmunk Adventure''), while The Chipmunks and Chipettes are cartoony, roughly three feet tall, and walk, talk, dress, and eat like people.

** Mermaidman and Baracle Boy are the only cartoony humans in the show.

* ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'', a true Holocaust story, is an interesting (strange) example. All Jewish people appear as cartoonish, anthropomorphic mice -- although this is just a metaphor, as they are humans in-universe. Other humans appear as other animals; such as Polish pigs, American dogs, and Nazi cats. In a panel in the first book, a real rat is seen running on the floor of a room that some Jews went into. There was a ''[[{{show within a show}} comic within a comic]]'' in this book written by the protagonist, in which the characters are detailed and fairly realistic humans.

* In the newspaper comic, ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' and its sequels. The animals were always cartoony, but got more so during the several occurrences of ArtShift throughout the series.

* In the setting of Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' graphic novel series the humans are quite realistic, while the wild animals are more cartoony; except the rat creatures--the antagonists, who are the most detailed (though not realistic). The Bone brothers break the pattern, being extremely cartoony humanoids; a visual reminder that they're only visiting from a distant land where things are implied to work by different rules.

* ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'': Monstro the whale, the tuna he eats, and the moths are semirealistic, but Cleo and the other fish shown, [[FurryConfusion Figaro and]] [[AdultsAreMoreAnthropomorphic Gideon the cats]], Honest John the fox, the [[BalefulPolymorph boys turned into donkeys]], and Jiminy Cricket (who is also an InformedSpecies) are cartoony. The Blue Fairy (basically a woman with wings in appearance) is realistic and {{Rotoscope}}d so as to look ethereal, but the humans (Geppetto, Stromboli, Coachman, Lampwick, Pinocchio as a real boy) are cartoony to almost semirealistic. The Blue Fairy as a dove is also realistic. Pinocchio as a puppet is cartoony with FourFingeredHands.

* ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'': Monstro the whale, the tuna he eats, and the moths are semirealistic, but Cleo and the other fish shown, [[FurryConfusion Figaro and]] [[AdultsAreMoreAnthropomorphic Gideon the cats]], Honest John the fox, the [[BalefulPolymorph boys turned into donkeys]], and Jiminy Cricket (who is also an InformedSpecies) are cartoony. The Blue Fairy (basically a woman with wings in appearance) is realistic and {{Rotoscoped}} so as to look ethereal, but the humans (Geppetto, Stromboli, Coachman, Lampwick, Pinocchio as a real boy) are cartoony to almost semirealistic. The Blue Fairy as a dove is also realistic. Pinocchio as a puppet is cartoony with FourFingeredHands.

* ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'': Snow White, Prince Charming, the Queen (before and after transforming into a hag) and the Huntsman are realistic, while the animals are more cartoony, although still semi-realistic. The Dwarfs are appear as heavily cartoonized humans, the most cartoonish in the film.

* Played straight and inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Turbo}}''. Inverted with the crows and beetles as they are photorealistic and more realistic than the humans, who are semi-realistic. Played straight with the snails, who are cartoonier than the humans.

{{No Cartoon Fish}} is a sister trope, where ''fish'' are realistic and detailed while everything else isn't. This is a [[GraphicalTropes Graphical Trope]].

Also see {{Cartoon Creature}} and NonstandardCharacterDesign.

[[AC:{{Animated Films}}]]

[[AC:{{Comic Books}}]]
* In the setting of Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' graphic novel series the humans are quite realistic, while the wild animals are more cartoony; except the rat creatures--the antagonists, who are the most detailed (though not realistic). The Bone brothers break the pattern, being extremely cartoony humanoids; a visual reminder that they're only visiting from a distant land where things are implied to work by different rules.

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]
* In the newspaper comic, ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' and its sequels. The animals were always cartoony, but got more so during the several occurrences of ArtShift throughout the series.

[[AC:Puppet Shows]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* TOEI animation's ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'' shows, where some of the monsters look more like real world creatures than the humans, to say nothing of the animals.

[[AC:Animated Film]]

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' people are drawn in a very cartoony style while animals (except for Hobbes) are almost always drawn in a very realistic style.

[[AC:{{Toys}}]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'', the FunnyAnimal main characters are drawn in a fairly realistic style, while human extras are drawn as featureless 'bubbleheads' distinguishable only by their clothing. Inanimate objects are the most detailed of all, since before starting the comic the author mostly drew hardware or machines.
** Later on the comic switched to just having everyone be funny animals, and implied that the extras' earlier "human" appearance was simply a lack of description rather than an indication of species.

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

[[AC:{{Comic Books}}]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'', a true Holocaust story, is an interesting (strange) example. All Jewish people appear as cartoonish, anthropomorphic mice--although this is just a metaphor, as they are humans in-universe. Other humans appear as other animals; such as Polish pigs, American dogs, and Nazi cats. In a panel in the first book, a real rat is seen running on the floor of a room that some Jews went into. There was a [[{{show within a show}} ''comic within a comic'']] in this book written by the protagonist, in which the characters are detailed and fairly realistic humans.

!!Both:
[[AC:Animated Films]]
* Played straight and inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Turbo}}''. Inverted with the crows and beetles as they are photorealistic and more realistic than the humans, who are semi-realistic. Played straight with the snails, who are cartoonier than the humans.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The humans are cartoony, but the animals in later seasons are realistic. Dogs and cats are still cartoony however.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The human characters look cartoony, while the animals look semirealistic.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The human characters look cartoony, while the animals look more realistic.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The human characters look cartoony, while the animals are realistic.

* Played straight and inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Turbo}}''. Inverted with the crows as they are photorealistic and more realistic than the humans, who are semi-realistic. Played straight with the snails, who are cartoonier than the humans.

{{No Cartoon Fish}} is a subtrope of this trope inverted, which is specific to fish being realistic and detailed. This is a [[GraphicalTropes Graphical Trope]].

* Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' graphic novel series has this in a simple zig-zag. The human-like Bone characters have the simplest appearance while the actual humans are quite realistic. The wild animals are somewhere intermediate; except the rat creatures--the antagonists, who are the most detailed (though not realistic).

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge''; the original film only, as the sequels strangely didn't have humans. Although a few {{talking animals}} such as Manny had fairly realistic anatomy--Sid the sloth had strange eyes on the side of his head, as well as some other stylistic shapes on supporting characters. The adult humans looked fairly realistic, and the baby to a lesser extent.
* ''WesternAnimationMrBugGoesToTown'' has cartoon bugs against [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]] humans.

* Aside from [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]], humans in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' were rendered as anime or realistic styled, compared to the very cartoony [[{{TalkingAnimals}} anthropomorphic]] animals. This is averted in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', where the humans are made to look like ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'' characters.

* {{Ice Age}}; the original film only, as the sequels strangely didn't have humans. Although a few {{talking animals}} such as Manny had fairly realistic anatomy - Sid the sloth had strange eyes on the side of his head, as well as some other stylistic shapes on supporting characters. The adult humans looked fairly realistic, and the baby to a lesser extent.
* ''MrBugGoesToTown'' has cartoon bugs against [[{{Rotoscoping}} rotoscoped]] humans.

* {{Dreamworks}} {{Over the Hedge}} has big-headed cartoonish animal protagonists. All of the humans are somewhat realistic, with accurate proportions.

* TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie has cartoonish animated anthropomorphic sea-creatures. All humans [[spoiler:({{David Hasselhoff}} and the scuba diver/shopkeeper)]] are live action. [[spoiler:The scenes outside of water have live-action backgrounds, and the sea creatures are live action when they dry and die.]]
** This is done similarly in the [[{{SpongebobSquarepants}}TV series]], but some of the rules are different. See example in ''Western Animation.''

* Jeff Smith's {{Bone}} graphic novel series has this in a simple zig-zag. The human-like Bone characters have the simplest appearance while the actual humans are quite realistic. The wild animals are somewhere intermediate; except the rat creatures - the antagonists, who are the most detailed (though not realistic).

* In the newspaper comic, ''BloomCounty'' and its sequels. The animals were always cartoony, but got more so during the several occurrences of ArtShift throughout the series.

* Aside from [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]], humans in the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series from ''SonicAdventure'' to ''SonicTheHedgehog2006'' were rendered as anime or realistic styled, compared to the very cartoony [[{{TalkingAnimals}} anthropomorphic]] animals.
** This is averted in ''SonicUnleashed'', where the humans are made to look like ''{{Pixar}}'' characters.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'', protagonist Dora and the other human children look cartoony, and the adults are more realistic. However, her anthropomorphic animal friends are more cartoony, often more so than the children. Her sidekick Boot's the monkey, and a few other animals - [[{{Informed Species}} hardly resemble the animal that they are supposed to be.]]
** Baby Jaguar and other animals in ''WesternAnimation/GoDiegoGo'' are more realistic than Boots, Tico, Benny, Swiper, Isa, and other animals in ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' and are as realistic as the humans in both shows.
* Most of the incarnations of the AlvinAndTheChipmunks franchise, but moreso its [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks 1983 cartoon series]], its [[TheChipmunkAdventure 1987 film adaptation]], and the [[AlvinAndTheChipmunksMeetFrankenstein two VHS movies]] [[AlvinAndTheChipmunksMeetTheWolfman released in 1999 and 2000]]; in these incarnations, the human characters have rather realistic designs (especially true for ''The Chipmunk Adventure''), while The Chipmunks and Chipettes are cartoony, roughly three feet tall, and walk, talk, dress, and eat like people.

* In {{Spongebob Squarepants}}, most of the characters are cartoonish animated anthropomorphic sea-creatures. Patchy the pirate, and his friends, are live action humans (and a mermaid)- save for his pet parrot, who is a puppet.

** This is also done in the movie, with slightly different rules. See example in ''Film-Animation''.

* An inversion would be TOEI animation's ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'' shows, where some of the monsters look more like real world creatures than the humans, to say nothing of the animals.

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''. The adult bears, Mor'du and Ellinor as a bear, the dogs, and the fish caught by bear Ellinor look realistic, but the humans and Merida's triplet brothers as bears appear semi-realistic or cartoony, more typical of the Pixar style.
* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. The human characters are very caricatured (Carl's face is a perfect square, Russel's facial features are too close together, Muntz is unrealistically skinny), but the dogs (apart from Dug, whose eyes clearly show sclerae and are placed close together) look like real dogs. Kevin the "Snipe" is cartoony, but then, on the other hand, her species is fictional, so what is inner species ''meant'' to look like?

* Inversion: ''CalvinAndHobbes'' people are drawn in a very cartoony style while animals (except for Hobbes) are almost always drawn in a very realistic style.

* Franchise/{{Lego}} minifigures have simplistic shapes and unrealistic proportions (as well as all-yellow skin[[note]]Except for sets licensed from media[[/note]]), probably to match the rectangular style of Lego pieces and models. The animal figures, however, have better curved shapes and more realistic proportions - probably so that humans will recognize their genus/species.

* Inverted somewhat on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Except for those introduced early on the series (Blinky the fish, Snowball II, Santa's Little Helper), animal characters are depicted more realistically than the humans.

** The {{Funny Animal}}s from ''TheItchyAndScratchyShow'', however, are exempt.
* In {{The Wild Thornberrys}}, the humans are very cartoonish. Most of the wild animals in the show, who are numerous, are more realistic. Darwin the chimp is as cartoony as the humans however.

* {{Maus}}, a true Holocaust story - is an interesting (strange) example. All Jewish people appear as cartoonish, anthropomorphic mice - although this is just a metaphor, as they are humans in-universe. Other humans appear as other animals; such as Polish pigs, American dogs, and Nazi cats. In a panel in the first book, a real rat is seen running on the floor of a room that some Jews went into.
** There was a [[{{show within a show}} ''comic within a comic'']] in this book written by the protagonist, in which the characters are detailed and fairly-fairly realistic humans.

!Examples:

* This is often seen in films of the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. Examples include, Disney/TheLittleMermaid, Disney/{{Pocahontas}}, Disney/{{Mulan}}, etc.

!Inversions (Realistic Animals, Cartoony Humans)

* {{Lego}} minifigures have simplistic shapes and unrealistic proportions (as well as all-yellow skin[[note]]Except for sets licensed from media[[/note]]), probably to match the rectangular style of Lego pieces and models. The animal figures, however, have better curved shapes and more realistic proportions - probably so that humans will recognize their genus/species.

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