Line #22 CarnivoreConfusion/DisneyAndPixar


1	* WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse: In the early cartoon ''Ye Olden Days'', the royal court is made up of Clarabelle Cow and several nameless pig footmen in addition to other anthropomorphic farm animals. When the King calls for the royal feast, some of the first foods to emerge from the kitchen are a whole roast boar and bull. Now, the Anthro cows and pigs are shown eating spaghetti and soup but, really, that's right out of ''Film/SilenceOfTheLambs''.
2	* WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck: The many times Donald has worried about not having enough money to put a Thanksgiving/Christmas turkey/goose/chicken on the table. And yet has shown objection to [[FurryConfusion the idea of roast duck once or twice]]. Donald may not be as confused as he seems -- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck ducks]] are, at most, only as closely related to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose geese]] as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human we]] are to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee chimpanzees]], and no more closely related to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken chickens]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_%28bird%29 turkeys]] than we are to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig pigs]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle cattle]], or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep sheep]]. Donald rejecting the idea of roast duck makes perfect sense -- humans, generally speaking, don't eat apes, but most of us are fine with eating beef despite being mammals.
3	* ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' features a sequence that takes place underwater, with the live-action cast dancing with a city of talking fish. All well and good -- until the merry ball is broken up by a fisherman. Who turns out to be a talking bear. Because all the animals on this island were made human-like thanks to a magic spell. Hello, FridgeLogic.
4	* Creator/{{Pixar}}:
5	** ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'':
6	*** The black widow spider and the praying mantis get along great with all the other bugs, not even a hint that they'd be in danger. In fact, the moth is married to the praying mantis. The only animals that actually behave like carnivores are the birds. Except for the time the black widow is talking to an insect about how her past husbands died and he's unnerved, to put it lightly.
7	*** Especially unnerving is the scene where Hopper attacks Manny, which should be vice versa in RealLife.
8	*** Then there's the whole premise. If grasshoppers swarmed an ant colony, the ants would rip them apart and eat them. [[spoiler:A tamer version happens at the end of the film when the ants realize their strength, but still.]]
9	** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'':
10	*** Nemo is introduced to a pelican who makes an apology to Nemo on the off chance that he had ever tried to eat him in the past. Apparently, predators only eat prey animals they're not on a first-name basis with.
11	*** Carnivorism among sharks is treated as similar to alcoholism, and the sharks in the movie belong to a "Sharks Anonymous" group. The question of what they're supposed to eat instead is completely ignored (although they don't seem to care about dolphins).
12	*** The trope is also subverted later on. At one point a character points out that whales only eat krill, which most people don't think of as being a "creature" and thus whales are often not thought of as carnivores (as opposed to, say, killer whales). Immediately after, a swarm of krill passes through the scene, screaming and swimming for their lives as a whale tries to eat them.
13	*** Bloat, a pufferfish, sharing a tank with Jacques, a Pacific cleaner shrimp (even though pufferfish mainly eat crustaceans in real life) ''seems'' like a classic case of this, but it really isn't. Real cleaner shrimp feed on parasites that infest the scales and gills of fish -- even large predatory ones such as sharks. Their bright red and white colors let their prospective clients identify them, so even fish that normally eat shrimp do not attack them. Many owners of saltwater aquariums keep cleaner shrimp for that very purpose.
14	* ''Film/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'': Referred to at least twice; the giant anthropomorphic bugs talk about their dietary habits in a song, and the other bugs are also distrustful of Ms. Spider. She acknowledges this to be in their nature, and then there is this exchange:
15	-->'''Mrs. Ladybug:''' (when eating the titular peach) Better than aphids!\
16	'''Ms. Spider:''' Mhm...Better than ladybugs!\
17	'''Mrs. Ladybug:''' What?!\
18	'''Ms. Spider:''' Excuse...
19	** This is potentially justified, since they only recently gained intelligence.
20	* ''WesternAnimation/LambertTheSheepishLion'': A Disney short where a stork accidentally delivers a lion to a family of sheep. It's never questioned how Lambert survives without eating the other sheep. In one scene he saves his foster mother from an evil, hungry wolf.
21	* The live action version of Film/TheJungleBook2016 addresses the issue with the implication that predator/prey dynamics exist, but are subject to some measure of regulation. A big part of Mowgli's development is him learning to be an effective hunter, and many of his friends are predatory to some degree. However, it is explained that there is a moral distinction between reasons for hunting- hunting for food and survival is okay, but hunting and killing ''for fun'' crosses the line. The beginning of the film also indicates that predators and prey can temporarily call a truce in desperate situations (i.e. a water shortage).
22
23	!!Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon:
24	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'' avoids the issue entirely (except where human hunters are concerned), to the point where Thumper the rabbit can hang out unconcerned under Friend Owl's gaze. The original Felix Stalton novel addresses it directly. Here, predatory animals and humans are not so much mean as constantly on edge. If they act rude, it's only because it's ''so'' much harder for them to find food.
25	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'': The issue is mostly avoided, as the three main characters (a dog, a cat and a hamster) are essentially treated as omnivores who eat only human food. {{Justified\|Trope}} in that Bolt and Rhino have no experience outside human care while Mittens [[spoiler:has been abandoned by her owners after being declawed and can no longer hunt effectively]].
26	* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'' plays NoCartoonFish straight during almost all the movie, and the end of the main characters' journey takes place at a salmon fishing pond for all visiting bears. However, TheStinger after the end credits subverts this with glee: Koda gives a disclaimer stating no animals were harmed in the making of the movie, only to see Kenai chasing a salmon swimming as fast as it can while screaming, "Help! He's going to eat me!" Koda promptly covers the camera.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': The talking/non-talking roles are reversed for morbidly comic effect, with a grisly little reference to ''Film/TheFly1958'': a bug caught in a spiderweb screams "Help meee! Help meee!" in a tiny voice, then is promptly eaten by the spider.
28	* In ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'', Lilo feeds Pudge (a pufferfish) peanut-butter sandwiches because if she fed him tuna sandwiches, "I'd be an ABOMINATION!" Pudge would probably get a great deal of vindictive satisfaction from eating a large piscivore, but Lilo is five and wouldn't be expected to realize that.
29	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'':
30	** ''The Lion King'', as a film with the cycle of life and death as its main theme, ''does'' address this issue to a surprisingly high degree. True, Mufasa is never shown eating a single animal, and Simba becomes an insectivore; however, Mufasa makes it very clear at the beginning that lions eat animals and are part of the Great Cycle of Life, Scar rewards the hyenas with a shank of zebra, Simba practices his hunting skills with Zazu and tells Timon and Pumbaa he's so hungry he could eat a zebra, Nala tries to hunt Pumbaa, the hyenas finish all the available food once Scar takes over, and Timon and Pumbaa lure the hyenas away by posing as delicious wild game. It's an uncomfortable twist on the concept of governmental dominance -- the monarchy not only orders you around but might also ''eat you''.
31	** Painfully averted in an [[WhatCouldHaveBeen early script]] of the movie that would eventually become ''The Lion King''. Two of Simba's friends are an aardvark and a zebra, Daabi and Lemuta. Lemuta and Simba are playing when they see Simba's parents hunt a zebra, who happens to be Lemuta's mother. She escapes, but that makes Lemuta notice that their little "games" are preparing for something different and stops being friends with Simba.
32	** Lampshaded when we first meet adult Nala -- hunting Pumbaa. Simba jumps to his friend's defense, only for the two to recognize each other and immediately become friendly. Even Pumbaa quickly relaxes, to Timon's utter astonishment.
33	--->'''Timon:''' LetMeGetThisStraight. You know her, she knows you, but she wants to eat ''him.'' And everyone's...''okay'' with this? ''DID I MISS SOMETHING HERE?!''"
34	** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora has an almost out-of-character delight in pointing this out and creeping Timon and Pumbaa out. At the end of the first visit, Timon and Pumbaa worry that Simba won't tell the other carnivores that they're his friends and thus they'll be eaten. Also interesting in that the hyenas are portrayed somewhat sympathetically.
35	** ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'':
36	*** Subverted when the duo discovers a cartoony snail [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed with an uncanny resemblance to Bing Crosby]] (as opposed to [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute a "realistic" looking one]]) and can't bring themselves to eat him. Well, Pumbaa couldn't. ''Timon'' was more than willing to eat him even after he proved that he could talk. He only relented when the snail revealed his ''singing'' talent. This may be a clever ShoutOut to that old ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon where a young quail could not bring herself to eat a worm (whom her father spent the cartoon trying to grab) because he looked like Frank Sinatra.
37	*** Played with in another episode featuring a visit from Simba. Pumbaa insists that despite rumors that a vicious predator is lurking around, it couldn't possibly be their lion friend. Timon is initially sympathetic but increasingly suspicious after [[MetaGuy rationalizing]] that there's no way Simba could sustain himself on bugs as an adult, though he just seems worried about him eating specifically ''him''.
38	*** An episode segment features the hyenas trying to catch and eat a circus monkey.
39	*** Another episode features them and the host of a nature show, who keeps giving steaks to an armadillo. They try to convince him to give them some steaks and he just [[KickTheDog kicks them off the set]]. He's also rather abusive toward his assistant. Eventually, they (both the hyenas and the assistant) get tired of being kicked around, and are seen at the end about to cook (and presumably eat) the nature show host, while the assistant happily films it.
40	*** Another hyena episode has them being sent away from the Pride Lands by a pair of cheetahs who are tired of the hyenas bungling their hunts. The hyenas are away for several months looking for an alleged goose to eat, after which the two cheetahs have grown morbidly obese from getting to freely hunt and eat so much. Then the hyenas return and prepare to eat the now too-fat-to-run cheetahs... until the goose turns out to be real and distracts them all.
41	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}'', one reason Triton hates humans is that they eat fish. That leaves the question of what the merfolk eat. According to later supplementary material they are vegan and eat foods like kelp, but that isn't shown in-series. The fish themselves, on the other hand...
42	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' finds some interesting ways to explore this issue. Because only ''mammals'' (and possibly birds and reptiles, if WordOfGod is to be believed) are anthropomorphized in this setting and the creative team confirmed that fish and invertebrates are a non-evolved, non-sapient food source, obligate carnivores have plenty of guilt-free options to sustain them. On the other hand, in this setting the anthropomorphic mammals [[HollywoodEvolution evolved]] from normal wild animals which did previously eat each other. Prey species haven't forgotten the bad old days, and that historical tension leads to some serious social issues regarding bias and FantasticRacism.

Context CarnivoreConfusion / DisneyAndPixar