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13Ordinary animals in fiction have a [[ArtisticLicenseBiology significantly increased intelligence]], and often physical ability as well. Not necessarily the {{Talking Animal}}s. Not the {{Civilized Animal}}s and {{Funny Animal}}s. Just the wild and domestic animals encountered in stories where humans are the main characters. Such animals can frequently clearly understand everything humans say, understand human emotions, read, figure out how to solve problems on their own, and so forth. Often they can use tools with great dexterity as well, using paws or [[HandyMouth mouths]]. This is also true for cases in which the animals can [[AnimalTalk talk to each other]] [[TranslationConvention (so the audience can hear them) but are common animals in the eyes of any humans in the film]].
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15Beyond that, they will, if they belong to a human, also circumvent their natural instincts in order to [[ActionPet aid or protect their humans]].
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17This trope is often associated with NearlyNormalAnimal characters; in fact, how “nearly normal” an animal is can be measured by how much “amplified aptitude” it has. See also AnimalTalk, FriendToAllLivingThings, TimmyInAWell, ActionPet, and MostWritersAreHuman. See UpliftedAnimal, for when it's deliberately done in-universe. Not to be confused with MysteriousAnimalSenses. Not to be confused with TropeyTheWonderDog, which is about metaphorical dogs.
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19----
20!!Examples:
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': One could think Bebop's crew's dog Ein is an example, but he really is an UpliftedAnimal. However, this trope is played straight in the episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession17MushroomSamba Mushroom Samba]]" ({{Trope Namer|s}} of MushroomSamba) with a cow whom Ein thanks (getting a "you're welcome" in return).
25* The Gorilla from ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'' shows questionable signs of intelligence. It is implied that he can use a computer and he is able to make his own sushi. The students at Cromartie even go as far as to say that the Gorilla is ''smarter than them''.
26* The original ''Literature/DirtyPair'' series had "[[ShoutOut Algernon]]", a mouse with enhanced intelligence and the ability to command other mice (a la Krosp from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''), developed as a security system. Algernon went rogue and [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs took over the heroines' headquarters building]] before he was stopped by the Pair.
27* While most of the characters' pets in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' can't speak (Iceland's pet puffin is an exception), they are clearly capable of thinking and have the ability to understand what people are saying.
28* An established rule in the universe of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is that gaining a Stand grants intelligence and sapience to the animal that gains it. This has applied to an orangutan, a Boston terrier, a hawk, a rat [[spoiler:(actually two of them)]], a [[ItMakesSenseInContext flower with a cat's mind]], and a ''colony of zooplankton''.
29* Creator/OsamuTezuka runs on this trope: ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' is a prime example, though many of his works, like ''{{Manga/Phoenix}}'' and ''Manga/BlackJack'', feature extraordinarily intelligent animals whose sapience is never explained or questioned. One ''Manga/BlackJack'' story revolves around a bird who collects money to pay a boy's medical bills. No, really. But it's not smart enough to realize when the debt's been completely paid off.
30* In ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', Fuunsaiki (Master Asia's horse) can pilot a Mobile Fighter, put on a Mobile Trace System, and operate an outboard motor.
31* Any and all summoned animals in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' have this, from Kakashi's mostly-normal talking dogs to Jiraiya's extemely powerful and ancient toads. Partner animals, like Akamaru, Tonton, and Kuromaru, are a bit less so, but still impressive. Kakashi's pug Pakkun is noted as being exceptional even for ninja animals, being able to speak Kakashi's name when he was four months old. Outside of the toads and Akamaru, he gets the most screentime too.
32* [[PokemonSpeak Despite the difficulty they have learning to say more than their own species name]], most Pokemon in [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]] appear to understand human speech. Even a Pokemon that hasn't even been caught yet can recognize when one of their attacks are called. Team Rocket's Meowth gained the ability to talk but lost the ability to learn the signature move Pay Day. This may not sound bad, but Pay Day literally ''makes money''. It's mentioned that he actually lost the ability to learn ''any'' new move ("I used up all my smarts learning to talk."), and doing so before he learned Pay Day was just an unfortunate lack of good timing.
33* ''Anime/Stratos4'' has Alice, an old cat who is the pet of Rin and Ran Mikuriya. Alice, who is also nicknamed "Admiral," definitely shows a comprehension of what's going on (especially as shown in her occasional captioned cat-noises), including watching the news, displaying emotion rather clearly, and trying to smuggle herself or stow away on a plane in order to fly to the skies herself (though it's a RunningGag that she keeps on being found and removed from said planes). She even has an encounter with several other cats that display a similar level of intelligent thought, including a kitten whom she adopts. This is parodied in the short "Stratos 4.1".
34[[/folder]]
35
36[[folder:Comic Books]]
37* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': One issue revolves entirely around a cat with superpowers, much to her owners' nigh-total obliviousness. One of them is convinced she's smarter than she looks, the other isn't.
38* ''ComicBook/HeroCatsOfStellarCity'': The protagonists are intelligent even by human standards and possess complex skills (Rocket is a tech wiz, Cassie is literate to the point of understanding the teachings of The Art of War, and Belle has the gift of telepathy, among others), and are dedicated to protecting the city against any threats. Note that there is so far no indication of them being 'uplifted' in any way, and very few humans suspect them of being anything other than normal cats.
39* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
40** "ComicBook/TheSuperDogFromKrypton": When Superboy runs into Krypto for the first time, Clark notes that mysterious dog seems strangely intelligent for a dog, being able to understand everything humans say and do.
41** "ComicBook/SupergirlsSuperPet": Even before gaining powers, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s cat Streaky is able to have complex and even introspective thoughts.
42** Also true for the Dog Stars, who are not only different dog breeds, but from different planets. TranslationConvention is at play for some of that, but they do pilot their own spacecraft.
43* Dr. Arthur Nagan, a supervillain from Creator/MarvelComics, is supposed to have been abducted by a tribe of gorillas who stitched his head onto a gorilla's body. Considering that Dr. Nagan is still ambulatory, this may be the ultimate example of this trope.
44* The'' Comicbook/PetAvengers''! Subverted with [[FormallyNamedPet Ms. Lion]] though, who while able to communicate with the others on the team [[DogsAreDumb is as dumb as a stack of hammers.]]
45* And then there's ''ComicBook/RexTheWonderDog''. Despite being an ostensibly normal dog, Rex had a job as a photographer, drove cars, and once [[SerialEscalation nuked a T-Rex]]. Rex has since been officially recognized both in and out of story as being a very remarkable individual and nothing even close to a normal dog.
46* ''Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'': Even before he [[UpliftedAnimal mutated]], Splinter was remarkably intelligent for a rat, mimicking Yoshi's movements to the level that he became just as good a martial artist as him after mutating.
47* An easily-missed example: any hero who [[SpeaksFluentAnimal communicates with a particular kind of animal]] (like ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} with fish, ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} with birds, or ComicBook/AntMan with ants) relies on this trope. In real life, that power would be almost useless -- most animals aren't just unable to ''share'' complex thoughts, they lack the intelligence to form them in the first place. ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' even points this out, when Diana tells Steve Trevor she can talk to animals, but they don't have much to say back (eagles just talk about hunting and food).
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Fan Works]]
51* The backstory of Blofeld given on ''Blog/AskErnstStavroBlofeld'' has an example of this: Blofeld's cat [[RightHandCat Volcano]] managed to seek out his master's right-hand woman Irma Bunt and lead her back to the abandoned factory where Blofeld was trapped, just so Bunt could rescue him. It would be a stretch to have a dog do this, but a cat?!?
52* Merle, [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby's]] pet crow in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11083953/4/Of-Red-Petals-and-Black-Feathers Of Red Petals and Black Feathers]]'', shows far more emotion than [[EmotionlessGirl Ruby]], is able to wear a foam finger on its arm, take offense to people forgetting to mention it when introducing people to Ruby, and is generally as intelligent as a human. There is a reason for this: [[spoiler: After having merged with [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Fiddlesticks]] when she was young, part of Ruby's spirit had to be split off to make room. Merle isn't Ruby's pet, it ''is'' part of Ruby, specifically the part of Ruby that was split off, which is why it shows far more emotion than her: because it is made up of the majority of her emotions]].
53* In the Manga/{{Naruto}} fanfiction ''Fanfic/SugarPlums'' the main character get's a cat she named Danny who is clearly smarter than a normal cat as he's able to find her when she's captured. It's clearly stated a few times that he isn't a summons because when he takes damage he doesn't disappear into smoke. It's implied he's a nin-neko, though never confirmed in story.
54[[/folder]]
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56[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
57* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Regular example: Angus the horse, who seems to understand everything Merida says. The other examples were magically enhanced: [[spoiler: [[PollyWantsAMicrophone the witch's crow can hold a conversation]], Mor'du the demon bear is incredibly strong and ignores any attacks against him, and the enchanted Queen Elinor, also a bear, has more realistic strength but retains her human intelligence.]] '''Administrivia/ZeroContextExample:''' What can Angus do that real horses can't? What can Mor'du and Queen Elinor do that real bears can't?
58* The dogs in ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. They worked out a long-distance communication system among themselves!
59* ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'':
60** Unlike most fictional parrots, Iago talks in the first person. It's implied in the movie that Jafar actually used magic to make him smarter.
61** Abu clearly understands what Aladdin says and his chatter [[SpeechImpairedAnimal is semi-intelligible]]. However, he does not understand the concept of personal property, stealing from everyone.
62* ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', obviously all the characters, especially the dog who fears going to hell.
63* ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' are cats that can paint, play music, and apparently can legally inherit.
64* All the dogs from ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}''. They talk ''to each other'' but humans hear only barking. They also understand that it is their duty to deliver the medicine to sick people, and seem to be aware of the consequences of their potential failure.
65* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' has an aversion: Phillipe runs from the wolves instead of defending Belle (which, while sensible, is not how a LoyalAnimalCompanion normally behaves in fiction), and while she tries to talk to sheep, they clearly are more interested in eating her book than reading it.
66* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'': the eponymous dog understands that he's considered a hero with superpowers. However, [[EnforcedMethodActing he actually believes he has these powers]] and does not understand that he's just playing in a television series.
67* Chuy the pig from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', reacts like a human to the Rodriguezes' song attempts, and drops consecutively larger pots and plants on them.
68* ''WesternAnimation/HappyFeet'' is about a colony of Emperor Penguins that have a tradition of pairing up by singing. Not uncommon in the animal kingdom, and though they instinctually know pop songs, that can be hand waved by TranslationConvention. What can't be explained away is Mumble's talent for tap dancing, a talent he successfully teaches the others to try and communicate with humans the impact overfishing is having on them. Needless to say, this is a major plot point that a montage shows becomes a major conversation in the global community. The sequel ups the ante by having some human researchers and Lovelace interact where he grooves to their guitar riffs.
69* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'': Toothless turns out to be pretty smart for a dragon, understanding Hiccup's spoken commands, able to create art (even if it's just a jumble of lines), and the concept of forgiveness, sparing those who chose to spare him even if they had tried to kill him before.
70* ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' has Rocky the Raccoon, a raccoon scavenging the Parr family's garbage. Jack-Jack mistakes him for a criminal and starts a fight, and Rocky puts up a better show against him than [[spoiler: ''Syndrome'' did in the original movie]]. He also shows the ability to plan and use the environment to his advantage, like turning over a barbecue to make a smoke bomb.
71* All animals appearing in ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp''. It might even be an accepted part of that world, considering how the dogs are talked to and that the two Italian chefs take so much time to prepare a meal and music for the title characters.
72* Pretty much every hero's animal companion in a Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon film is an example of this, though the comedic scale ranges with them. This is completely inverted, however, in the case of ''{{WesternAnimation/Moana}}'''s Heihei, an idiotic rooster that provides no character for Moana to really interact with.
73* ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'': cats and dogs are both depicted as very intelligent. Georgette, for example, understands that she's a high-class dog, and is able to put on make-up and groom her fur all by herself.
74* Nana from ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'' is a dog intelligent enough to babysit a trio of human children.
75%%* Figaro and Cleo in ''{{WesternAnimation/Pinocchio}}''.%%
76* Juju from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. He seems to possess the same level of sapience as Mama Odie's animals friends.
77* ''WesternAnimation/TheRabbisCat'' makes a plot point of this trope. A cat inexplicably gains the power to think and speak, and starts to debate faith with his owner. This isn't all to the cat's benefit, as the boost in intellect changes his dreams from typical cat stuff to nightmares of his owner's beloved daughter dying of illness.
78* The rats in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' are generally more intelligent than real-life rats. Remy is an exceptionally smart one who can understand human speech, read, and cook.
79* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Rio}}'', Blu, while unable to fly, can turn on a computer, ride a skateboard, and open his own cage. The rest of the birds can sing, dance and play samba music on simple musical instruments. Monkeys are smart enough to distract tourist with tricks while the other monkeys pick their pockets.
80* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'': Unlike Jonathan, Mr. Ages, and the rats, Mrs. Brisby's intelligence was not boosted by lab research yet she is able to read, escape a bird cage, and disable a tractor by cutting its fuel line.
81* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron''. Horses are extremely intelligent animals, but the idea of a horse playing dead in order to get humans to break his chains, and then successfully breaking the latches on a train, is taking things a bit far. The directors even lampshade this in the commentary on that scene.
82* Archimedes, Merlin's "highly educated" owl, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone''. Sir Ector suspects that Merlin has him under a spell. Archimedes is insulted at the notion.
83* And the tradition continues in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', which features the emotive chameleon, Pascal, and the horse, Maximus, who happens to be more competent than his own rider, the (presumable) captain of the guard. Over the course of the film, he is shown tracking his quarry by scent, locating secret passages, and even 'sword fighting', all of this more competently than the humans who are supposed to be 'his' masters. It's no surprise then, that at the end of the film [[spoiler: Maximus is made the actual leader of the kingdom's guards]].
84* The dogs from ''{{WesternAnimation/Up}}'' can talk (with technological assistance), cook, and even fly planes.
85[[/folder]]
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87[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
88* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Doc's 1955 dog Copernicus seems to be at an almost human level of intelligence at times. For starters, after Doc finishes reading the letter that [[WriteBackToTheFuture his future self wrote to Marty]], Copernicus seems to be rather sad about Doc being TrappedInThePast. In addition, Copernicus is the one who discovers Doc's tombstone, and he seems to realize what it says.
89%%* Betsy in Film/{{Bowfinger}}.%%
90* Rin Tin Tin, hero of many a movie throughout the silent film era, was portrayed as this. In ''Film/ClashOfTheWolves'', he often seems nearly sapient. He makes the tactical decision to separate away from the wolf pack to lure the wolf-killing posse after him, thus saving the rest. He is later clever enough to decoy the posse after him, thus leading them to his master, who is wounded and needs help. He is tasked with delivering a message from the hero to the hero's girlfriend, but when he sees the bad guy the desire for "revenge" overtakes him and he attacks the bad guy instead. For a while he trots around in some weird dog booties, but when he finds himself unable to ascend a slide, he is smart enough to rip the dog booties off, after which he makes it up a slide. He also knows how canteens work, as shown when he dips a canteen in a pond to fill it up, then brings it to his master to give him a drink.
91* Albert, Trey's pet pig from ''Film/CollegeRoadTrip'' can play chess, solve a Rubik's cube, turn on the bathtub, beg and even knows how to use a toilet.
92* Pip from ''{{Film/Enchanted}}''. Justified since it is a parody of the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon.
93* ''Film/GForce'': The eponymous trained secret agent rodents are capable of complex hand coordination, bipedal movement, physical display of human emotions (which shouldn't be possible), and computer hacking skills (as in the case of the star-nosed mole, Speckles). While all these abilities are (partially) justified by government animal experimentation, it fails to explain why the ordinary pet store animals, such as guinea pig Hurley and Hamster Bucky, are just as capable of these feats of intelligence as the G-Force team. Then towards the end of the movie, the unit's leader, scientist Ben, confesses that the team are not genetically enhanced animals as previously told, but ordinary ones Ben took in and trained for the team. WTF doesn't begin to describe it.
94* The owls in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' are either much smarter than normal owls to be able to serve as messengers, finding the intended recipient no mater where they are; or magical. Magical is probably the better bet.
95* The animals in ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'' are able to talk to each other, plan an escape out of a pound, and make pop-culture references.
96%%* Suzanne in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack''.%%
97* Subverted in ''Film/TheJerk'', where a stray dog wakes up Navin Johnson, who asks what's wrong, and believes the dog is trying to tell him to motel is on fire. As Johnson wakes everyone else up, he's say he'll call the dog "Lifesaver." When it turns out to be a false alarm, one of the other guests tells him to call the dog ""$#!thead". The dog gets that name for the rest of the movie.
98* Wolf in ''Film/TheJourneyOfNattyGann'' demonstrates an implausible capacity for reason: not only does he recognize the part Natty played in his escape from a dogfighting ring (by opening a door for him), he repays her by presenting her with a freshly-killed rabbit when she's starving in the woods, and proceeds to follow her around warning her of impending danger and performing acts of altruism like defending a farmer's chicken coop from foxes for no apparent reason beyond repaying the farmer and his wife for helping Natty. At times, Wolf seems like the smartest character in the whole movie.
99* ''Film/{{Mousehunt}}''. Let's put it this way: secret agents are not as cunning as this mouse.
100* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
101%%** Jack. The monkey Jack.
102** Mr. Cotton's parrot is intelligent enough to sort of telepathically understand Mr. Cotton and spout an appropriate sea phrase in response so the humans know what his human is trying to say. Lampshaded by Mr. Gibbs: "He trained the parrot to speak for him. *beat* Nobody's quite figured how."
103* The titular rodents in ''Film/RatsNightOfTerror'' are smart enough to bite through the bikers' tires to keep them from getting away. They also seem to know how to team up and attack (or set traps) as a group.
104* ''Creator/RoyRogers'': Trigger, the 'smartest horse in the west'. He could sit in a chair, sign his name "X" with a pencil, and lie down for a nap and cover himself with a blanket.
105* The Creator/BusterKeaton short ''Film/TheScarecrow'' features Luke the Dog (on loan from Creator/FattyArbuckle), who can walk up and down ladders.
106%%* ''Film/WonTonTonTheDogWhoSavedHollywood'', an AffectionateParody of ''RinTinTin''.%%
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Literature]]
110* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' plays this trope straight, where the animals (mostly the pigs) are shown to be highly intelligent when they speak English, devise battle plans, design windmills, form a complex government, carry out purges, etc.
111* Every dinosaur the humans-in-dino-bodies encounter in ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'' that doesn't just try to kill them is ridiculously bright. In the first two books they mostly just have keen emotional intelligence and group dynamics, with understanding of things like jealousy, reconciliation, gratitude, and amicably ending a relationship. Leptoceratopsians are also able to use mimicry. Still, they clearly don't understand everything the humans are doing or telling them.
112** The next two books ramp it up. Hypsilophodons help a human-in-a-Hypsilophodon-body collect material to build a raft ''and'' row ''and'' hit a predator with clubs, all from watching him, wanting to help, and copying him. A family of Acrocanthosaurs rescues one member mired in mud by forming a [[ChainOfPeople dinosaur chain]] and pulling her out together. There is also the case of Hook/Junior, a Deinonychus who over the course of less than a week of watching, learns to ''make fire'', splint injured limbs, and is even able to, if not read, than at least has some understanding of the markings scratched into rock walls. He also fakes a limp on his own initiative. Hook/Junior, unlike all the others in the series, is noted to be unusually smart by the human characters. It's even implied that saving him and letting him rejoin Deinonychus society leads to dinosaurs surviving to modern times as an entire civilization, in an alternate universe.
113* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'':
114** Gaspode the Wonder Dog (later just Gaspode), who can talk (but nobody pays any attention, because dogs can't talk). ''Moving Pictures'' also gives us [[AffectionateParody Laddie]], who plays a superintelligent dog onscreen but whose RealLife conversation consists mostly of 'Good boy Laddie'. And ''Men at Arms'' establishes that the regular street dogs of Ankh-Morpork (who are not stated to have enhanced intelligence) have their own Guild, with [[ANaziByAnyOtherName scary but depressingly familiar politics]]. Gaspode's human speech, however, gives him the edge over them [[spoiler: because he can say "Sit!" and "Bad dog!"]].
115** Subverted in ''The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents'', in which even ordinary (non-Changeling) rats and cats are presumed to have languages of their own. The subversion is that Rat consists largely of body language (e.g. a submissive crouch for "sir"), while Cat is equipped mainly for swearing. It is also limited to actual rat social behavior, which while quite complex isn't any good for abstract ideas (and according to the Author's Note is somewhat toned down from reality to stay believable).
116* ''Literature/DoctorDolittle'' learned how to speak with animals from his parrot, Polynesia, and pretty much every animal has a language.
117* The protagonist of ''Literature/{{Dogsbody}}'' is a sentient star in the form of a dog, so it's not surprising that he's as smart as a human and takes a month or so of observation to learn to understand human speech. 'Normal' dogs and cats can talk to each other in depth. Most of them can't understand more than a few words of human language and several dogs mostly say "Hallo!" a lot and can't understand the significance of some of them looking similar to each other, but there's a dog descended from a hound of TheWildHunt who can comprehend English when it's spoken slowly and can also make plans for the future.
118* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
119** Harry's dog Mouse is a Temple Dog, scion of a magical Foo Dog and a normal dog. It's been heavily implied that he's both more intelligent and considerably more powerful than his (Wizard) owner. The short story "Christmas Eve" in particular shows this pretty well: Mouse has to help Harry assemble a bike when Harry can't interpret the instructions, understands Harry's reference to ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' and receives considerable respect from the Faerie Queen Mab. However, he is still a dog. He can't speak, although he understands (and apparently reads) perfectly well, he works the BigFriendlyDog schtick so as not to frighten the {{Muggles}}, and his idea of a perfect afternoon involves a ride in the car, a long belly-rub and plenty of treats.
120** Mister, Harry's 30 pound pet cat appears to be at least be on the high end of animal intelligence. However nothing has ever indicated he is magical or supernaturally intelligent, though something could be made of the fact that he is the only creature Dresden has ever found who looks identical to normal under his Wizard Sight.
121* The cats in the book (and movie) ''{{WesternAnimation/Felidae}}'' are shown to be able to read and understand how certain machines are used. It's pointed out that learning these things takes time, and that not all cats bother with the task, though just about all of them understand humans.
122-->'''Francis''': I never thought I would ever see one of us, sitting in front of a computer... and actually knowing how to use it!
123* In the ''Literature/FrannyKStein'' book series, Franny's dog Igor has intelligence comparable to a monkey or an ape.
124* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
125** Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Subverted as it's later revealed that it's half Kneazle, a magical creature.
126** The owls seem like ordinary owls but they have the magical ability to find whomever the mail they carry is addressed to.
127** There's also the issue of how being a parselmouth works, if all snakes aren't intelligent.
128** Played with in one of the series' earliest scenes, when Mr. Dursley sees cat-[=McGonagall=] looking at a sign, and has to remind himself that cats can't read.
129* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': Creator/MercedesLackey usually uses magic as an excuse for her intelligent animals. Companions are [[OurAngelsAreDifferent actually angels in horse form]], for example, and [[NobleWolf kyree]] are {{Uplifted Animal}}s; both are fully as smart as humans and notable for having large heads and broad foreheads.
130** Tayledras bondbirds and Shin'a'in warhorses are closer to normal animals. The product of very long breeding programs with magic used to nudge them along the way, they are not ''people'' like Companions or kyree. Bondbirds are larger than normal corvids and birds of prey, smarter and quite social, forming tight emotional bonds with their human partners, to whom they can speak telepathically. The smartest ones speak in full sentences, understand deception and can make real plans. The [[CoolHorse warhorses]] meanwhile are big, ugly brutes with incredible stamina and intelligence that's changed their behavior so they're less like horses and more like smart dogs, which are exhaustively trained on a wide array of commands and can [[ActionPet use their own judgement]]. Meanwhile, regular Shin'a'in horses are also special but in ways more feasible for smart horses, and seem to be purely the product of long breeding projects.
131* ''Literature/AHoleInTheFence'': Grisón's adoptive parents' rooster is supposed to be a completely normal fowl. However, rather than crowing loudly at daybreak because of his biological rhythm, he seems to consider it his duty to awaken his owners at dawn, and gets terribly upset when he fails to stir Grisón up (which happens routinely).
132* ''Literature/LesVoyageursSansSouci'': All animals are able to communicate among themselves and have human-level intelligence which let them perform complex tasks. An eagle-owl is able to figure out how to lock one door despite obviously lacking hands to turn the key. And Timoleón (a dog) runs his owner Captain Albatros' store in the absence while he is away.
133* ''Literature/TheMessengerSeries'': Favour is all-but-stated to have human-level intellect and reasoning ability, which is required for [[BigGood his role]] as an [[CoolHorse immortal being]] who [[TheChooserOfTheOne chooses the heroes]] who will help him eradicate evil and misery. He appears to be able to manipulate a person's spatial awareness, senses, dreams, even the technology they're using to communicate, and sometimes [[TheHeroine Rose]] wonders if the thoughts in her head are her own or Favour communicating with her. In his original life, he was still portrayed as an unnaturally intelligent horse who was able to figure out what danger was coming to the villages and save them with some help from a thirteen year old boy. He, rather than the boy, was the one celebrated by the villages as the hero.
134* ''Literature/MollyMoon'' has her pet pug, Petula saving the day quite a few times.
135* While the title rats in ''Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH'' are justifiably this trope, thanks to their lab-enhanced intellects, ordinary animals like crows, owls, and Mrs. Frisby herself (a common field mouse) also talk to one another.
136* All the animal characters in Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown's ''Literature/MrsMurphyMysteries'' series.
137* Downplayed in ''Literature/TheOneAndOnlyIvan''. Ivan is a gorilla who grew up in a human house before being put in a small cage in a [[CrappyCarnival circus-themed mall]] for over a quarter century. His best friend is an old elephant who was with a circus for much of her life before ending up in the same mall. Long-lived and intelligent animals, they can more or less understand English even if they don't quite understand ''[[{{Xenofiction}} humans]]'', and can speak to each other. When a new baby elephant, Ruby, is brought to join them she doesn't seem to understand most of what humans say, though she picks up on her name easily enough. There's also a year-old dog who also understands English and has less justification for it. Ivan's big moment of un-gorilla-like aptitude is his attempt to [[SavingTheWorldWithArt save Ruby with his art]] - having heard about zoos and seen them in commercials, he tries to paint a collage of a zoo with Ruby in it and laboriously figures out and copies the letters H O M E. It's still very hard for humans to figure out that this was done with intention, since to most of them his art is [[PlayingPictionary fully abstract]].
138* The {{Novelization}} of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' makes this explicit of the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragonmount]] that Obi-Wan rides on Utapau. He can sense her intelligence through the Force, and throughout the battle he banters with her and gives her orders that she follows without any problems.
139* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has notoriously clever ravens; some ravens are capable of vocalization and most ravens can be and are trained to carry messages between castles. Also, direwolves are considerably bigger than their extinct real-life counterparts and have tangential intelligence related to their owner's capacity to Warg.
140* Tolerably {{justified|Trope}} example in ''Literature/SpiritAnimals''. The titular [[BondCreatures spirit animals]] are a fair bit more intelligent than regular animals due to their supernatural nature, able to understand the requests of their human partners and react appropriately. The fifteen [[PhysicalGod Great Beasts]] are still more intelligent, able to talk and sometimes teaching humans things.
141* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' features [[CoolHorse Ryshadium]]. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than any other kind of horse by far. They even choose their own riders and are apparently very picky. They can't speak, but do understand speech to some extent. Their increased intelligence and size seems to come from a bond with [[ElementalEmbodiment Spren]], something that exists in a few other places around the planet. Khriss, something of an in-universe researcher/scientist even speculates that they might be sapient.
142* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'': Creator/JRRTolkien uses this in his Middle-earth stories. While the most [[TalkingAnimal prominent such creatures]] -- the [[GiantFlyer giant Eagles]], [[SavageWolves Wargs]], and [[CanisMajor Huan]] -- are special cases and probably not mundane animals, it's hinted in various stories that ordinary mammals and birds are intelligent and [[AnimalTalk may talk to each other]]. Some characters [[SpeaksFluentAnimal learn the speech of birds or of all animals]] (though, granted, Legolas in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' can "hear" the "speech" of rocks and plants). Very well-bred horses are often depicted as understanding what their riders say, especially when ridden by elves. Then there are the talking crows in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and the "[[Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth Lay of Leithien]]," Beorn's PartiallyCivilizedAnimal servants/friends, and the inner monologue of the fox (good grief, travelling hobbits!) in ''The Fellowship of the Ring''. Just how seriously we're supposed to take all this is never spelled out, though we never see CarnivoreConfusion even in the [[PhysicalHeaven Blessed Realm]].
143* Shows up in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', in part thanks to "wild magic" that gives humans a gift with (usually) a particular variety of critter.
144** Daine, the protagonist of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' has wild magic with ''all'' animals. Through her, we learn that Tortallan animals can understand humans to an extent but can't communicate with them, and in some cases ''could'' communicate with each other--but (since it's not played totally straight) they never get that kind of idea until they meet Daine. Prolonged exposure to Daine increases their intelligence to sentience, but it's often a stressful and unhappy experience for them. Her pony Cloud is completely sentient, as is the leader of a wolf pack that took Daine in after her mother's death. Daine is troubled when talking to the wolf later and discovering that he understands tool use, even if his lack of thumbs means the applications are limited.
145** In ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', Daine is a secondary character and lives at the palace. Consequently, all animals in and around the palace, from horses to sparrows, get smarter. The flock of sparrows that Kel feeds recognizes her as their benefactor; they defend her from enemies and can understand basic instructions. Her horse Peachblossom is basically sentient, and even a stray like Jump has given himself a name. In ''Lady Knight'', Daine alters all the animals in the refugee camp so they can communicate through body language/signals to make up for the camp being critically understaffed, which unsettles almost everyone, especially when they learn what palace animals are like.
146---> "Just the animals ''here'' are unnatural. What if you return to find the horses have decided not to work for men and the dogs are running the courts of law?"
147[[/folder]]
148
149[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
150* Comet, the horse from ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'', is a blatant parody of this trope. Not only does Brisco's steed perform some unlikely feats of intelligence on camera, but Bruce Campbell regularly refers to even less-plausible things Comet had been doing, before its rider whistled for it.
151* Both played straight and parodied by Cheddar of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', the adorable pet corgi of Captain Holt. He has been trained to retrieve unusual objects, but is often treated by the cast like some kind of mastermind when he is in fact merely a cute corgi, highlighted in the episode named after him.
152* ''Series/DueSouth'': Diefenbaker, the deaf half-wolf was just as much Fraser's partner as Ray.
153* Series/{{Flipper}} understood the people he dealt with.
154* Eddie, the Jack Russell in ''{{Series/Frasier}}'', [[PingPongNaivete ping-ponged]] across the line between realistically intelligent, as-unrealistically-bright-as-the-RuleOfFunny-will-allow, [[WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit Gromit-esque]] SilentSnarker, and occasionally [[DogsAreDumb so very stupid]] it seems like he's [[ObfuscatingStupidity putting it on...]].
155* Rex in ''Series/InspectorRex'' was highly intelligent for a dog and seemed capable of understanding whatever was said to him and, though he was a trained police dog, seemed capable of following complex instructions with no training whatsoever. He was also capable of outsmarting humans when the situation called for it, particularly when ham rolls were on the line.
156* A junkyard cat called "Jack Bauer the Cat" in an episode of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''. It seemed to be street-smarts personified, albeit a totally normal cat otherwise.
157* Series/{{Lassie}}, naturally, can not only understand human speech, but can also bark in some sort of code that humans understand to mean TimmyInAWell.
158* ''Series/TheLittlestHobo'':
159** The doggy protagonist seems to understand human speech, as well as concepts like tape recorders.
160** An entire episode revolves around two scientists trying to get hold of him to find out just how smart he is; he has no interest in their work, and better things to do. [[spoiler:In the end, the answer seems to be "smarter that the scientists."]]
161* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Sometimes, the animals understand perfectly what is going on in the human world. This usually happens on the radio (i.e. "The Frog" (where a tomcat calls for Mrs. Davis' pet cat Minerva via telephone), "Selling the House Next Door" (Miss Brooks babysits a dog, a cat, a frog and an actual baby), and "Minerva's Kittens" ("Minerva's husband" faints when he's told he's a father). It occasionally happens on television too, such as in "Blue Goldfish" where Mr. Boynton greets his pet frog Macdougall and the amphibian gives his typical "glug" in return. Or in "The Magic Christmas Tree" and "Citizen's League" where Minerva reacts to talk of fish or mice.
162* The eponymous kangaroo of ''Series/SkippyTheBushKangaroo'' not only showed a remarkable understanding of English, but would often imitate human behaviors like playing a piano or the drums.
163* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Spot, however, did not necessarily understand Data any better than a cat understands a normal human.
164* ''Series/TalesOfTheGoldMonkey'': Jack, the one eyed bull terrier. Barks once for no, twice for yes (and never been wrong) and understands at least three languages (English, Japanese, and Spanish.)
165* Almost every animal in ''Series/{{Thunderstone}}'' is far smarter than it has any right to be. Arushka's horse Moshi "knows what you're gonna do, even before you do it" and understands any verbal command. Dolly the sheepdog can track her puppies across a vast desert without help. Prince the hawk brings Arushka a rock of thunderstone to show her that a huge deposit is nearby, and leads Chip, Kwan and Geneva to Arushka and Sundance when they're trapped in a cave.
166%%* Series/{{Wishbone}}.
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Video Games]]
170* ''VideoGame/AdibooMagicalPlayland'': All the animal characters display human-like intelligence. One of the birds even blows you a kiss if you've been feeding them a lot.
171* Roadkill from ''VideoGame/ComixZone'' can be released to get by obstacles and hit the switches that turn them off, then return to Sketch. In the backstory mentioned, Sketch never specifically trained Roadkill to do anything at all.
172* Justified in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': the Mabari War Hounds actually ''are'' as intelligent as humans, having been originally [[AWizardDidIt bred by Telvinter magisters]]. In fact, they're often said to be ''smarter''; after all, they know better than to speak, and "Dog," your party's war hound, is smart enough to easily understand human speech. A few characters have full conversations with him, and the player character seems to understand his barks as well. In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', the Hawke family Mabari learns to play cards.
173* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'''s Dogmeat is a downplayed example. In most areas he's just a well-trained guard dog, but he also recognizes guns, medicine and ammunition well enough to fetch them when asked. While it's not impossible that he's been professionally trained, given the [[CrapsackWorld state of the world]] it's unlikely.
174* Justified in ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': In the ghost world animals can perfectly communicate with humans since human and animal souls are no different to each other, and since there's no language barrier in the world of the dead[[note]]Souls communicate by directly beaming and interpreting their abstract thoughts[[/note]]. The only "barriers" between humans and animals is the latter's lack of understanding of more human concepts. For example: Missile, [[MisterMuffykins a small Pomeranian]], is perfectly able to communicate with [[TheHero Sissel]] in the ghost world, all while maintaining his ordinary dog behavior like [[CuteButCacophonic loudness]], [[ThePollyanna upbeat oblivious attitude]], and [[UndyingLoyalty fierce loyalty to his owner]].
175* It's possible to use the telepathy in the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games on animals, whose thoughts are always at least as comprehensible as human ones, and often show the animals as more insightful than the people. ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' has an extensive trade quest based on what can be uncovered of the wants of a group of animals (some of whom even deliberately use the telepathy to be conversational).
176* Boney from ''{{VideoGame/Mother 3}}''. Unlike Ness's dog King, Lucas's dog is extremely competent. He's fast, is strong enough to cause damage to metal, and is even capable of using items on battle (Hell, he's using a Saltwater Gun effectively even though he has no hands). In Chapter 4, he's able to normally walk as a human for long periods and fooling the guards into thinking he's human. It is also implied that Boney understands human speech.
177* ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' games:
178** Loulou the Parrot from ''The Curse of Blackmoor Manor'' is smart enough to play complex word games, translate Latin, and play pranks on Nancy Drew. Even for an octogenarian, that's shrewd.
179** Her granddaughter Coucou, from ''Ransom of the Seven Ships'', continues the family tradition of genius. The game-playing monkeys on the island aren't slouches either.
180** Inverted by Mr. Mingles, the Pomeranian from ''Resorting To Danger''. It'd take a ''phenomenally'' stupid animal to get into half the predicaments -- trapped in a dumbwaiter, locked in a safe, sucked up a pneumatic delivery tube -- that pesky puffball manages to stumble into.
181* The title character of ''VideoGame/OlloInTheSunnyValleyFair'' may just be a ball of clay, but lives in a house and helps his friends.
182* ''VideoGame/{{Overcooked}}'' has Kevin the dog. Kevin can only say "Bark," but he's clearly understood by the Onion King, and he knows how to fly a helicopter.
183* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
184** Koromaru the dog from ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'' can summon a Persona, fight using a knife held in his teeth, and understands human speech perfectly. That should be more than enough to qualify.
185** The fox in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' can apparently read the emas left at the shrine where it lives and cares about the upkeep of the shrine. To the point where it issues side quests to the protagonist to grant the wishes written on the emas and bring in more offerings.
186* Jep the monkey from ''VideoGame/ReturnToMysteriousIsland'' can open panels with a screwdriver, take clay impressions of engraved inscriptions, fly a kite, air-surf on a steampunk hover pad, and secure rope ladders and bridges with sturdy knots. At no time is Mina shown actually ''training'' him to do any of these things.
187* Blanca from ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'', who is not only a domesticated wolf raised from a puppy, but is also a full party member enough to make combos with other allies. He also can use items, cast magic, and hide from guards ''by standing on his hind legs''.
188* ''VideoGame/Stray2022'': Even if one assumes their RobotBuddy B-12 is translating everything into some sort of cat speech, the Cat is incredibly intelligent, able to understand complex plans and tasks and having at least a rudimentary understanding of technology.
189* Repede from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. He's a dog who's perfectly capable of understanding human speech, and is an extremely capable fighter, being able to wield a sword held in his teeth, and being able to unleash artes that are just as flashy and deadly as those of the human characters.
190* Some animals in the ''VideoGame/UncleAlbert'' games exhibit higher intelligence than their real life counterpart.
191** ''Uncle Albert's Magical Album'' has a racing mini-game where all animals can participate like humans.
192** In ''Uncle Albert's Magical Album'', the snails know where the player must dig in the cellar to access the basement. If the player brings a snail to the cellar, it will use its drool to indicate where to use the jackhammer.
193** ''Uncle Albert's Fabulous Voyage'' has flies knowing Morse code.
194** ''Uncle Albert's Fabulous Voyage'' has a frog that knows the combination of a puzzle where you must points arrows in specific directions. The frog croaks whenever an arrow point the right way.
195** ''Le Temple Perdu de l'Oncle Ernest'' has a crab, a spider and a scorpion who can play basketball.
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:VisualNovels]]
199* Played for horror in ''VisualNovel/DoNotTakeThisCatHome'', where the Cat's uncanny intelligence is the first sign that this is more then just a cute kitty. [[spoiler: At the end, it's able to actually talk to you and [[ItCanThink tell you it's been masterminding the whole thing.]]]]
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:Web Animation]]
203* ''WebAnimation/AstroLOLogy'': In "Monkey on the Moon", Aquarius is prepping [[ApesInSpace a monkey for travel to the moon]], but the monkey won't take anything seriously, so Aquarius copies his own intelligence into its brain to make it smarter. [[GoneHorriblyRight It works a little too well]] when the monkey tricks Aquarius into taking the rocket to the moon instead.
204[[/folder]]
205
206[[folder:Webcomics]]
207* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': Judy, Doctor [=McNinja=]'s gorilla receptionist, can read and write, drive cars, and is in general treated like a human character. Yoshi the raptor mount is somewhat more animalistic, but is able to communicate with Judy and understand concepts like writing, even if he can't read. Later, when fully sapient dinosaurs take over the world in a BadFuture alternate timeline, they [[spoiler:try to make him intelligent, but even then he has rather limited linguistic abilities and is only capable of YouNoTakeCandle-style speech]].
208* Subverted in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', where Krosp the talking cat is a mad scientist's creation, endowed not just with intelligence and speech but also the ability to command all other cats, creating an unseen army of spies, messengers and saboteurs wherever he goes. Emphasis on "mad": cats obey Krosp, but they're ''animals''. They're not sapient, they can't reason, and if they understand their orders they have an attention span of seconds.
209** Well, it's not quite right to say he has the "ability" to command cats. That was his intended purpose, but the only problem that was solved by creating Krosp was the issue of communication. Cats can understand him and vice versa, but he still has to get their attention, get them interested enough to do what he's asking, and care enough to do it for long enough to actually finish the job. Seeing as they're cats, it was this last one especially that caused problems.
210*** According to Krosp [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040317 himself]], he easily gets their attention and gets them interested -- he's apparently got epic-level charisma as far as cats are concerned -- but he can't always make them ''understand'' what he wants, and then the attention span causes them to forget about what he told them to do.
211* Scratch Fury (Destroyer of Worlds) is a hyperintelligent cat in ''Webcomic/{{PvP}}''. ''[=PvP=]'' is not a "funny animal" strip, and Scratch is the only animal to be depicted this way. (There's a recurring basset character that ranges in intelligence between "real basset hound" and "human moron", depending on whichever would be funnier.)
212* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Cats are an essential element in fighting PlagueZombie monsters, and are classified into three categories: Grade C cats that are basically the ordinary cats, Grade B cats that are Grade Cs that underwent special training, and Grade A cats, that are both bred and trained for their desirable qualities. In Chapter 1, a Grade A cat is seen gesturing to humans to be quiet while their boat is going through a PlagueZombie ridden area (the comic is titled after the in-universe RuleNumberOne on what to do to avoid attracting the attention of a closeby PlagueZombie).
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Western Animation]]
216* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' being that they were all realistic animals, and while they all spoke to each other, they never understood humans and mistrusted them all equally except The Warden of White Deer Park, who was vouched for by the Park residents as being a man with the animals' safety first in mind.
217* Pal, the dog in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''.
218* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has strange combo-animals that fall under this trope ''and/or'' behave like ordinary one-type animals.
219** Appa is a straight example: he flat-out seems to understand everyone.
220** Jun's mount didn't seem to understand humans.
221** The Giant Badger-Moles in "The Cave of Two Lovers" like music and apparently understood Sokka enough to allow him to ride them to safety.
222** Avatar Roku's dragon and the old Fire Lord Azulon's dragon seemed to understand them.
223** Momo is a deliberate subversion. When Katara and Sokka are incapacitated from illness, Katara asks Momo to bring water. Momo understands the "go get" part but spends the entire episode bringing back random objects, no matter how slowly Katara speaks and tries to communicate 'water'.
224** In an episode of Avatar, a messenger hawk is intercepted by a bigger hawk. The larger hawk was able to tie up the smaller hawk with a couple of ribbons, take the message, and fly it back to its owner.
225*** The messenger hawk example is the only one that doesn't fit the usual pattern: animals with bending powers (sky bison, badger-moles, dragons, maybe lion-turtles) have human or near-human intelligence. Others are just animals - however, companion animals like Momo are consistently able to tell human friends from neutral humans from enemy humans, with an appreciation for when someone changes categories, and react to them accordingly. Most animals vocalize if spoken to, as if responding. Momo clearly understands some things... just not everything.
226*** "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe The Tales of Ba Sing Se]]" is a shining example of this trope; go to the recap page for the details.
227* ''WesternAnimation/{{Birdman|1967}}'''s golden eagle Avenger understood Birdman well enough to follow commands.
228* ''WesternAnimation/BooBoomTheLongWayHome'': all five animals accompanying Boo-Boom (a cat, a dog, a horse, a rooster and a bee) are clearly more intelligent than their real life counterparts, being able to understand what humans say and willingly helping Boo-Boom to find his parents, as well as protecting him form harm, since they know he won't make it on his own.
229* Monkey in the Dial M for Monkey segment on ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''.
230* While ''{{WesternAnimation/Doug}}'' was one of the more realistic Franchise/{{Nicktoons}}, Porkchop qualifies for this trope. Besides participating in EvenTheDogIsAshamed jokes, he could do things such as play Barnyard Chess, limbo dance, and fly a kite. Yet maybe only his owner can understand him, because in a court case no one else can decipher what he has to say.
231* Brian from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is a dog that speaks perfect English, walks on two legs, drinks alcohol, and is generally more intelligent than anyone else on the show. He might well be a parody, as he not only talks, but also interacts with other people the way normal humans would, and this is never pointed out by anyone. And, [[MyInstinctsAreShowing if his instincts don't get the best of him]], he usually takes the role of OnlySaneMan in the show. But he is one of only a handful of such animals shown, as most animals are shown to be just like regular ones. Two notable exceptions are the monkey in Chris's closet and the dog that replaced Brian in one episode when the Griffins believed Brian was getting too old. Also Brian's gay cousin, Jasper, but for some reason, not all of his other relatives.
232* Tracy, in Creator/{{Filmation}}'s live-action series ''The Ghost Busters'' and the later animated series ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters''. The latter took this trope to ''insane'' levels.
233* Dino and Hoppy from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' understand their humans, and so do most of the animal-based appliances in that world.
234* Some of the variations on ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldHis9Lives''.
235* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' in regards to Bronx. He is bright and can follow simple commands but he is still in essence [[AllAnimalsAreDogs like a dog]]. In the episode "City of Stone" for example, while he's wary of Demona and guards the stonified Elisa, all Demona has to do is scratch him behind his ears to get him to not attack her. Bronx was otherwise content to stay where he was while Demona sabotages Xanatos's plan and monologues out loud about it because Bronx didn't understand what she was saying or doing.
236* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Gawayn}}'', the quester's horse Griselda is shown at times to be able to understand what the characters around her are saying by her reactions. Sometimes, she is even seen doing things such as reading a newspaper.
237* ''WesternAnimation/TheHerculoids'' all understand Zandor, Tara and Dorno. Possible subversion: they're all alien animals(?), and we don't know if they are sapient and just unable to utter human speech.
238* ''WesternAnimation/HitMonkey'': The entire premise of the series is a Japanese macaque with an uncanny talent for assassination.
239* WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey's cat [[HypercompetentSidekick Spot]] was actually ''smarter'' than the title "hero".
240* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'':
241** Penny's dog Brain is smarter than her uncle and saves his life several times per episode. This is not as true in [[Film/InspectorGadget1999 the movie]], though.
242** Mad Cat (Doctor Claw's henchcat) also fits the mould, but For Great Evil. At times the not-so-good doctor has ordered Mad Cat to launch guided weapons. CatsAreMean, but missiles?
243* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', a pig is somewhat able to ride a motorcycle.
244* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': This trope makes animals even harder to spot since every character other than Jimmy and Heloise ([[AmbiguouslyHuman maybe]]) is a monster. In ''Jimmy and the Big House'' it seemed the only difference between animals and people is if they could talk. Cerbee (explicitly called a dog [[CallASmeerpARabbit despite looking nothing like one]] was intelligent enough to give an AsideGlance and such, while in one scene the others talked before Molotov [[AchievementsInIgnorance reminded him he couldn't]].
245* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'''s dog Bandit understands Johnny and every human in the family.
246* ''WesternAnimation/JorelsBrother'': The dog Tosh is able to speak normally, is wise and can often be the OnlySaneMan. The three ducks Gesonel, Danúbio and Fabrício are also very intelligent for their species and speak like people, though in their case, it's justified since they were revealed to actually be aliens, not regular Earth ducks.
247* Rufus the naked mole rat from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' was able to understand and read English as well as go WAY out of the way to save his human, Ron, and managed to figure out which buttons to push to release the bonds holding the heroine and sidekick. In the episode 'Naked Genius', he [[spoiler:became even smarter when he accidentally had Project Phoebus used on him, infusing him with the intelligence of the smartest men on the planet along with taking the villain of the day's (Doctor Drakken) intellect, making it so the blue madman was unable to do more than doodle at the level of a kindergartener]]. It was only for that episode, as the effects eventually wore off on all parties.
248* In ''WesternAnimation/KryptoTheSuperdog'', Krypto understands all humans, and the only reason Kevin understands him is that there's a translator device.
249** Also capable of understanding humans and each other despite breed and species differences: Ace the Bat Hound, Streaky the Super Cat, and the pets of Batman's villains.
250** Lastly, the Dog Stars not only communicate through breed differences, but each hails from a different planet. On top of that they pilot their own spacecraft.
251* ''WesternAnimation/LassiesRescueRangers'' is all over this. The eponymous Rangers include among others a skunk, a stork, a porcupine, a cougar, a hare, and of course Lassie herself; they lack dialogue, but otherwise are very intelligent, capable of complex planning and extremely high levels of cooperation.
252* And, of course, {{WesternAnimation/Pluto|ThePup}}, the one ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' character who isn't a FunnyAnimal, but is still rather intelligent and can understand (if not speak) English.
253* Owlowiscious, Twilight Sparkle's pet owl in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', is extremely intelligent and a capable assistant librarian, and manages to save Spike from a full grown dragon. Practically all animals on the show are fully sapient and may exhibit civilized traits, even the ones who cannot talk. Fluttershy can communicate with them and treats them just like people.
254* Perry the Platypus in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. He can't speak and does nothing but stand around on all fours whenever the kids are around, but when he sneaks away he lives a double life as a secret agent, as do most of the other animals who work at the Agency.
255-->'''Major Monogram:''' Carl, remind me again why all our agents are animals?
256* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/PolePosition.'' Through most of the series, Kuma's species was never identified (best guess would be some kind of lemur, maybe). In the last episode, we learn that Kuma is a genetically engineered life form bred by an eccentric scientist.
257* ''WesternAnimation/SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat'' and her siblings can read Chinese characters and write calligraphy using their tails.
258* All ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays''' pets understand them. Justified, because Fisk, Zon and Komodo are all cryptids who look like ordinary animals, but aren't.
259* The title character of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' talks at human level, albeit in ThirdPersonPerson, and like Quacker, in an animal-like voice.
260* Most of the animals in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' are completely normal, except for Laddie the dog, the turtle from Terrapin Wax, and Itchy & Scratchy (though they're justified since they're [[ShowWithinAShow cartoons within a cartoon]]).
261* Blip the monkey in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' understands Jan and Jayce.
262* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'':
263** Wonder Dog understands Wendy and Marvin.
264** And Gleek the Monkey understands Zan and Jayna.
265* ''WesternAnimation/TheThing'': "The Thing Goes To The Dogs" features a supposedly-normal dog who, at one point, ''stands on her hind legs to play charades with the main characters''.
266* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', TeamPet Snarf (a cat-dragon creature) cannot speak, but clearly comprehends speech, and has a grasp of the events around him, enough to become frightened when an enemy proposes that his owner Lion-O DuelToTheDeath.
267* Franchise/TomAndJerry as well as Butch the dog and any other animals appearing in their cartoons have easily human intelligence.
268* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', some animals--especially squirrels--can understand humans. During the safari challenge, raccoons combine into a Raccoon mecha that shoots raccoons at people. These unusual abilities are invariably PlayedForLaughs.
269* Gromit from ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit''. He's clearly more observant and grounded in reality then his [[GeniusDitz smart]] but [[CloudCuckoolander spacey]] owner Wallace.
270* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Blooms pet rabbit Kiko is shown to completely understand her, despite not being able to speak himself.
271[[/folder]]

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