History Main / RuleofPersonificationConservation

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' uses an all animal-cast for the RuleOfSymbolism. All the members of the Furious Five use martial arts moves based on their animal namesake. Then there's Po, who, like a panda, is big, lazy, and [[WildMassGuessing probably naive about sex]].

* ''VideoGame/{{StarFox}}'': The characters in this game include an anthropomorphic toad, bird, wolf, hare, and--of course--fox, and they all partake in flying in mercenary aircraft through space. Nothing about the plot or their actions is related to their {{Species Surname}}s.

There are reasons for a cartoon to use anthropomorphic animals instead of humans:
# The show is geared towards children, for whom animal characters form an automatic shorthand for child-friendliness. So much so, that if the show ''isn't'' for children, people will ask "WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids"
# Trying to use humans in CGI animation is likely to dig up the UnintentionalUncannyValley. Early CGI-animated movies avoided human characters as much as possible (although they did make sure to use plots that had ''other'' reasons for nonhuman leads) though this specific issue is becoming far easier to get around.
# Even in 2D animation, some people believe that FurriesAreEasierToDraw.

Consider the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism. If a character is a realistic animal, NearlyNormalAnimal, or TalkingAnimal, then it is easy to justify its animal state; you don't want a human to play a perfectly normal dog any more than ''vice versa.'' But if a character is a FunnyAnimal, then you may need to throw in some deliberate references or allusions to help justify it. If the character is a BeastMan, on the other hand, you'll probably not have to worry about breaking this trope too much since they Beast Men tend to be found in sci-fi and fantasy settings, which often feature other non-human species (along with humans).

Compare TransformationConventions. Contrast DenialOfAnimality, when a clearly non-human character denies being an animal, which may mean it ''does'' call itself human, and usually acts like one too.

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{StarFox}}'' games also avert this trope. The characters in this game include an anthropomorphic toad, bird, wolf, hare, and- of course- fox, and they all partake in flying in mercenary aircraft through space. Nothing about the plot or their actions is related to their {{Species Surname}}s.

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''If a work features a non-human character or a non-human cast, then they are non-human for a reason.''

* The show is being geared towards children, for whom animal characters form an automatic shorthand for child-friendliness. So much so, that if the show ''isn't'' for children, people will ask "WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids"
* Trying to use humans in CGI animation is likely to dig up the UnintentionalUncannyValley. Early CGI-animated movies avoided human characters as much as possible (although they did make sure to use plots that had ''other'' reasons for nonhuman leads) though this specific issue is becoming far easier to get around.
* Even in 2D animation, some people believe that FurriesAreEasierToDraw.
* The [[AuthorAppeal creator, scriptwriter, or artist]] is secretly in the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom. (Or, in some cases, openly.)

Contrast DenialOfAnimality, when a clearly non-human character denies being an animal, which may mean it ''does'' call itself human, and usually acts like one too.

[[folder: Anime ]]

* {{Transformers}} fanfiction sometimes stumbles over this. You can write mundane war stories about Transformers, but if your characters are all alien shapeshifting robots, maybe that should figure into your plot?

Contrast DenialofAnimality, when a clearly non-human character denies being an animal, which may mean it ''does'' call itself human, and usually acts like one too.

** Additionally, WALL•E's robothood adds {{Irony}} to the movie: he's a robot, but has more humanity in him than all the actual humans combined. This irony becomes ''painful'' in the finale: now the ''humans'' have rediscovered their humanity, but [[spoiler: WALL•E is a lifeless shell; his memories were destroyed]]. [[spoiler: Don't panic so soon, [[DisneyDeath it's a Disney movie; what do you think happens next]]]]?

* Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' series is generally considered their weakest work probably because of the fact they're the only films where the story doesn't ''exactly'' require the characters be cars, and the fact that there are no humans in it, whereas ''Franchise/ToyStory'' is about problems toys would have to face if they were sentient, ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' with rats, ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' with robots, etc.

* Trying to use humans in CGI animation is likely to dig up the UncannyValley. Early CGI-animated movies avoided human characters as much as possible (although they did make sure to use plots that had ''other'' reasons for nonhuman leads) though this specific issue is becoming far easier to get around.

** Additionally, WALL•E's robothood adds {{Irony}} to the movie: he's a robot, but has more humanity in him than all the actual humans combined. This Irony becomes ''painful'' in the finale: now the ''humans'' have rediscovered their humanity, but [[spoiler: WALL•E is a lifeless shell; his memories were destroyed]]. [[spoiler: Don't panic so soon, [[DisneyDeath it's a Disney movie; what do you think happens next]]]]?

** Additionally, WALL•E's robothood adds {{Irony}} to the movie: he's a robot, but has more humanity in him than all the actual humans combined. This crosses into DramaticIrony in the finale: now the ''humans'' have rediscovered their humanity, but [[spoiler: WALL•E is a lifeless shell; his memories were destroyed]]. [[spoiler: Don't panic so soon, [[DisneyDeath it's a Disney movie; what do you think happens next]]]]?

* Leave it to ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' to get really weird about this. In the original books, the characters not being human was an occasional plot point (''Arthur's Nose'' revolved around the fact that he, as an aardvark, had a long nose), and this was also sometimes mentioned in the early seasons of the TV series. But later on, this was dropped, and the characters might as well be human, even [[DenialOfAnimality referring to themselves as such]].

Contrast FurryDenial, when a clearly non-human character ''does'' call itself human, and usually acts like one too.

* Leave it to ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' to get really weird about this. In the original books, the characters not being human was an occasional plot point (''Arthur's Nose'' revolved around the fact that he, as an aardvark, had a long nose), and this was also sometimes mentioned in the early seasons of the TV series. But later on, this was dropped, and the characters might as well be human, even [[FurryDenial referring to themselves as such]].

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Robin Hood|1973}}'' deliberately chose to use animals -- it's right in the opening narration. This is partly for the RuleOfSymbolism: Robin is a fox because he's [[CunningLikeAFox clever]], Maid Marian is a fox because Robin is, Friar Tuck is a stubborn and tough badger, Prince John and King Richard are [[KingOfBeasats royal lions]], Alan A Dale is a chanticleer -- um, a rooster... Another reason: this was made directly after the Creator/{{Disney}} version of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}'', which meant that half the character designs could be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh84g8rC2oA copy-pasted]] from ''there''. Little John is related to Baloo, and Sir Hiss is related to Kaa... The characters do sometimes slip into animalistic traits. Most bird characters do fly, a young turtle hides his head in his shell, and it's amazing how much mileage one can get out of compressing snakes into small spaces...

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'' deliberately chose to use animals -- it's right in the opening narration. This is partly for the RuleOfSymbolism: Robin is a fox because he's clever, Maid Marian is a fox because Robin is, Friar Tuck is a stubborn and tough badger, Prince John and King Richard are royal lions, Alan A Dale is a chanticleer -- um, a rooster... Another reason: this was made directly after the Creator/{{Disney}} version of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}'', which meant that half the character designs could be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh84g8rC2oA copy-pasted]] from ''there''. Little John is related to Baloo, and Sir Hiss is related to Kaa... The characters do sometimes slip into animalistic traits. Most bird characters do fly, a young turtle hides his head in his shell, and it's amazing how much mileage one can get out of compressing snakes into small spaces...