Return to the main page [[UncannyValley here]].

!!Examples
* The [[MaxAndDaveFleischer Fleischer cartoons]] that pioneered {{rotoscoping}} can be even worse. Just look at ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UT-Gi8RC5o Bamboo Isle]]'', in which WesternAnimation/BettyBoop's massive, misshapen cranium is put on an actual hula-dancer's body. There it was probably unintentional, but everything about ''MinnieTheMoocher'' seems precisely calculated to terrify, from the use of rotoscoping to make a walrus-man ghost dance like Music/CabCalloway to the dark lyrics of the song he sings to, well, ''everything else in the cartoon''. Take a look [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaZOXF83zBg here]].
* [[VideoGameMoviesSuck The failure of the movie]] ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was partially blamed on its characters being right in the Uncanny Valley. The rest of the blame could be chalked up to boredom. Somehow, the female lead was put in a Maxim Magazine "hottest women" list. Nice body aside, her skin looked like porcelain. Creepy. Especially given that "skin like porcelain" is supposed to be a compliment.
** At the time of its release, the studio had hoped to use the Aki Ross "virtual actress" in other productions. This obviously never happened.
** Ironically, test footage for the movie, released several years before its release, showed an early version of Aki that was somewhat more realistic yet at the same time less uncanny valley-esque.
* This trope is brilliantly alluded to, and parodied, in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Frankendoodle." The drawings of the characters that come to life are described in-universe as being "kinda creepy when they move." And Patrick is obviously put off by Doodlebob because he resembles, but never entirely imitates, Spongebob. In universe, Doodlebob is seen as disturbing, unsettling, and creepy.
* In a ''{{Transformers}}'' example, though it's not obvious to the viewer due to the animation style, this is implied to be why ''TransformersAnimated'''s Sari is despised by other children.
* If you think the character designs in ''SofiaTheFirst'' are ugly with its own characters, wait until you see your favorite [[DisneyPrincess Disney Princesses]] in the CGI style! You'll have nightmares!
* ''{{Skyland}}'', a motion-captured [=3D=]-modeled cartoon, attempts to make things look more stylish by cel-shading it afterward. This backfires, though, making the characters look inhumanly polished and sending the entire thing plummeting into the Uncanny Valley.
** Debatable. It's actually really beautiful despite this.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlhnHZJLMe4 Letter TV]], a low-budget CGI educational program for children, seems to have fallen squarely into the valley's nadir.
* ''Math Girl'': A series of semi-animated CGI shorts with writing that seems aimed at children, subject matter (calculus) aimed at high school and college students, and extremely frenetic, jerky pacing that makes actually learning anything unlikely. The characters are right in Uncanny Valley, helped by the creepy ''Exorcist''-style theme music. The temptation to shut it off or [[MST3k vocally make fun of it]] is nearly unbearable, but unfortunately, this is rather hard to do in a classroom setting.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAizQH9wjSI Here's episode 1.]]
* ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' was a very frightening cartoon for many, often skipping the "comedy" part of its "horror-comedy". By far, the most frightening episode was the GrandFinale: "Perfect". Courage had a series of nightmares where he was declared "not perfect" by what appears to be [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nightmare_Valley.jpg a blue half-human, half-octustingray thingy]].
** In the "Kitty & Bunny" episode, Kitty before removing the mask qualifies, and the atmosphere and music certainly doesn't help. Doc Gerbil's World is equally mindrending.
* ''MrMeaty'' was ''made'' of this. Especially [[http://www.btvision.bt.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mr_meaty_cms_big.jpg the two main characters]].
* Intentionally invoked in ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'' with [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Flapjack.jpg this image]] of the titular Flapjack.
** The Candy Wife, also deliberately in the valley.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLnKRaBlseM&feature=related She's heeeeeeerrrrreeeee~]]
* Also parodied in an episode of ''{{Chowder}}'' with a pink, badly CGI'd dancing pig-baby (probably a parody of the infamous CGI Dancing Baby), whose mere existence instills great horror (and grief) on those who watch it.
** It's the griefiest.
* Also invoked for many of the villains in ''TheRealGhostbusters''. One of the most traumatic characters for anybody growing up in the 1980s might have been their Boogey Man.
* If you're still not clear on what the Uncanny Valley looks like, watch ''SidTheScienceKid''.
** That show is unique, in that Henson Studios uses a technique that combines CGI Motion-Capture with actual puppetry. The actors are "filmed" in real time as the CGI characters. As little post-production as possible is used.
* ''TheSimpsons'':
** Homer briefly imagines his children as "mutants" with pinkish skin, five-fingered hands and eyes with irises. The camera briefly cuts to a more realistic rendering of Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Homer, like the rest of us, screams and runs far, far away.
** The original show has nothing on the depths into the Uncanny Valley the fans will boldly go. Michael Swaim gives us [[http://www.cracked.com/video_17898_the-7-creepiest-simpsons-fan-tributes.html The 7 Creepiest Simpson Fan Tributes]][[hottip:*:Or "The 7 Most Extreme Forms of Simpsons Fandom", if you want to go by the in-video title.]]. The title is most certainly accurate.
** In the episode were [[TheDollEpisode Gabbo was introduced]], Krusty tries to compete with his own ventriloquism number, using a puppet that looks rather creepy. ''And then the puppet loses its lower jaw.'' From this point on, things go downhill rather quickly.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqF_2WCcsgw This]] Butterfinger commercial shows Homer from an angle that doesn't make him look like Homer anymore.
* In the 1960s there were action animated shows (often based on MarvelComics) that actually were not animated at all. Yes, apparently they reached a new low in how to be cheap on Animation. But how did they handle the characters talking? Simple when a character spoke that character would be a still drawing with a human mouth on the face speaking. It gave off what is arguably the first and one of the creepier examples of Uncanny Valley in North American animation. Say what you will about the 1970s being a DarkAge for American TV animation, but by that time that practice was no longer the least bit common. (Nowadays it's only very rarely used for [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants comedic effect]].)
** ''[[http://www.toontracker.com/clutchcargo/cargo.htm Clutch Cargo]]'' used the same technique, and started airing in 1959. The technique is called "Syncro-Vox" and was invented in 1952.
** ''TheIncredibles'' DVD had a bonus episode from the [[{{Retraux}} unreleased 1960s series]] with similarly cheap animation. Mr. Incredible and Frozone complain about every corner cut.
* Ferret from ''StaticShock'', in a milder case.
* Intentionally invoked in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', part two of "Heart of Steel". The robotic [[spoiler:replacements for Gotham's citizens]] ''look'' perfectly normal, but ''move'' in increasingly impossible ways - such as their heads spinning around to look at things, or crouching and leaping in a terrifyingly inhuman manner.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''StaticShock'', ''JusticeLeague'' and ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', Toyman version for [[DCAnimatedUniverse DCAU]] falls into this trope, with his very big toy head.
* In the ''PowerpuffGirls'' episode "Knock It Off", the BigBad creates an army of PPG imitations, but with shoddy worksmanship. The scariest ones are those who are only ''slightly'' different from the originals.
** Arguably, the Powerpuffs themselves. As the characters are designed to look ridiculously cute, they have rather big eyes, and a lack of fingers, toes, noses, and ears. A number of jokes in the show revolve around their appearance because of this, and there's even an episode that showed what would happen if the FreakLabAccident never occurred and girls turn out to be the Run of the Mill Girls instead, without their unique cuteness features. Now try retaining these features in a hypothetical LiveActionAdaptation. Still think they'd be cute?
** And then there's [[SissyVillain Him]].
* The infamous ''{{Pingu}}'' episode ''Pingu Dreams'' became a MissingEpisode because of this. If you need evidence, just look at the series' page.
* VideoBrinquedo defies the UncannyValley chart quite a bit. Despite the fact that the human similarity to characters is as big as in any cartoon characters, their familiarity index is much lower than it should be.
* Same goes for its American equivalent, SparkPlugEntertainment.
* [[http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/mother-nature-full-episode.html An episode]] of ''TheFairlyOddparents'' had Timmy's dad using a rather creepy puppet of his mom, who is now too busy working as Dimmsdale's new weatherperson. It even creeps Timmy out.
--> '''Timmy's Dad:''' I don't know [if Mom would get this upset]. Let's ask while I'm drinking a glass of water!
--> '''Sockpuppet Mom:''' I think you're being too hard on Timmy.
--> '''Timmy's Dad:''' ''*SpitTake*'' Oh, sure! Take his side!
--> '''Timmy:''' No amount of therapy will ever make this moment okay.
* Anyone who's ever taken a German class and had to sit through episodes of the series ''Hallo Aus Berlin'' will have been subjected to Rolli und Rita, the creepiest creations ever to come out of computer animation. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcbvSAZ4WZc See for yourself.]]
* ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR5P5FffviY&feature=related Dirtgirlworld]]''. Oh God, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8MsPk33yI&feature=related dirtgirlworld]]!
* ''GlennMartinDDS'': All of the characters look like an unholy hybrid between [[Film/TheGoonies Sloth]] and [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasimodo]].
* Parodied in an episode of ''TheTick'' where a department store security guard complains that the store's animatronic SantaClaus is re-appearing in his nightmares. This gets aggravated when [[spoiler:Santa's head gets torn off and thrown into his lap]].
-->"I may never sleep again"
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this with the brainwashed Joo Dee(s) during the gang's visit to Ba Sing Se.
** Hama's movements also appear slightly stiff and unnatural, making her seem creepy even before she's revealed as a villain.
** And then there's [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/creepy-katara#.Tft4E81qJ7U Creepy Katara]] [[note]]don't worry, it's just Katara staring into the distance after being kissed by Aang[[/note]], who thanks to MemeticMutation has become infamous among ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fans.
** [[NightmareFuel/AvatarTheLastAirbender Koh's voice]]. It sounds like a mixture of [[{{Saw}} Jigsaw]] and Tom Waits. Doesn't help that it uses human looking faces.
* ''InvaderZim'', in a way similar to the ''MarsNeedsMoms'', example had the Irkens looking better than the humans! Dib, Gaz,and some of the adults could pass, but a lot of the other adults were....creepy. That lady with the weird boil on her head who lived next door to Zim may have been more scary that the invading aliens.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKVh6sgh8A Quest for Zhu]], an upcoming direct to DVD movie features some of the ugliest hamsters in cartoon history which look nothing like their toy counterparts.
* ''{{Bionicle}}: The Legend Reborn'' used the actual LEGO toys as its character models with an absolutely minimal amount of tweaking, to make them seem more realistic while still keeping the intended "toy look". One added feature was the rotten-looking teeth and weird lips formed by a ''second'' row of mechanical teeth that slid over the real ones, but their true jaw-line still remained apparent. When they smiled, it looked horrifying.
* [[CreepyChild The Delightful Children]] [[HiveMind From Down The Lane]] in ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' are pretty much in and out universe UncannyValley fuel, due to their VoiceOfTheLegion, blank eyes, and sociopathic qualities, not to mention a slight NonStandardCharacterDesign. They're arguably the scariest aspect of the series.
* WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb manages to avert this because its so highly stylized...but then people went ahead to make giant 3D costumes of the characters. Just... [[http://www.thepartyanimal-blog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Phineas-and-Ferb-Costumes.jpg look]].
** The Pez dispensers of Ferb and Perry don't look too bad, [[http://www.birthdaydirect.com/images/76780-phineas-and-ferb-pez.jpg Phineas on the other hand...]]
*** [[http://biebergasmic.tumblr.com/post/38440879883/yo-lets-stop-the-drama-instead-lets-laugh-at-this Really, any time you accidentally freeze-frame Phineas facing the front.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Free Willzyx", the announcers from the marina hand out very photorealistic artist's impressions of the boys. Since by that time the viewer has gotten used to South Park's cutout style of drawing, the photorealism of the drawings is a little off-putting for them. Just [[http://southpark.wikia.com/wiki/File:The_Group.jpg check them out...]]
** To say nothing of certain FanArt [[{{Squick}} renditions]].
* {{Franklin}} in the new ''Franklin And Friends'' series. It's an AllCGICartoon but the animation is actually pretty top quality. Everyone looks fine.. Except for [[http://www.animationmagazine.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/franklin-and-friends-post-2.jpg the turtles]]. The series is going for a realistic look but the turtles are just too cartoony.
* ''{{Rugrats}}'': The original pilot. The animation is much more detailed and makes the characters look ugly or downright monstrous, especially the necks.
* [[http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/03/27/live-action-marsupilami-movie-headed-straight-for-you/ This]] poster for a live-action Marsupilami movie in France. Be warned, your childhood may be destroyed if you follow the link.
* ''AllenGregory'': The characters just look ''off''.
** Allen himself suffers the most from this. He looks like a ventriloquist dummy with huge VocalDissonance.
* BabyJake [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/baby-jake/]], part of TheBBC's latest line of WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs programming that is actually meant for toddlers. Words just cannot describe it. Made worse with the toys. Seriously, search Amazon UK for the toys.
* ''BobsBurgers'': The characters look a cross between [[TheMuppetShow Muppets]] and VideoGame/{{Worms}}.
* ''JohnnyTest'' while not as bad as other examples, definitely fits here after the show switched to AdobeFlash. Characters have blank, pupil-less eyes, almost all facial expressions are exaggerated, and the animation is extremely stiff and jerky. Made worse by the unappealing (bordering on downright ''ugly'') character designs.
* ''MyLifeMe'': The characters move like marionettes and the character designs just look ''weird''.
* Some video series for little kids involves insects called ''Hermie the Caterpillar'', an AnimatedAdaption of a series of books by Max Lucado. Some of the bugs are just a little bit creepy, thanks to NoFlowInCGI, but special mention goes to two ladybugs named Hailey and Bailey whose eyes are just too big for their vaguely human-looking faces.[[note]] Dangit, I can't find a photo![[/note]]
* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is riddled with shots which slip into the valley, usually head-on shots of the characters' faces. One suggestion as to the cause of this is the animators for Season 2 making the mouths substantially wider than was done in Season 1.
** For some of the worst offenses, take a look at [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d_6G6gxriMw/Tsi0Jzzh22I/AAAAAAAABuc/B4yDpNnpekU/s1600/87009+-+ePiSoDe_33+fluttershy+funny_face+Hubble+rainbow_dash+screencap+season_2.png this series of screenshots]] from "May The Best Pet Win". Ugh.
** In Season 3, [[InvokedTrope done on purpose]] with the Timberwolves, who are rendered in ConspicuousCGI.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' suffered from the uncanny valley for the first few seasons until it got popular enough to have a bigger budget. Most of the characters moved quite stiffly and facial expressions were also just as stiff. Peter also suffered from glitches in the animations, such as his eyes suddenly growing bigger or how his tongue stuck out in odd places when he talked. As the series progressed, the characters' movements improved and their facial expressions are a lot smoother.
** This eventually gets lampshaded by Brian and Stewie when they go back in time to the pilot episode and they witness the oddities themselves.
* Any ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' FanArt that portrays remotely non-human characters in a more realistic drawing style. It's a given that if Leela's [[{{Cyclops}} eye]] wasn't a simple oval and black dot, Fry would be unable to look at her, much less have sex with her.
** Actually, that's probably how many people in-universe see her. From ''The Cyber House Rules''...
-->'''Leela:''' No one's stared at me, or avoided staring at me, or tried to [[KillItWithFire burn]] me!
* The character designs used in the {{Uncancelled}} seasons of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''. Dee-Dee and Mom have soulless-looking eyes and Dexter looks ''squashed''.
** Dexter's dad got hit just as bad. His character design looks misshapen and badly-proportioned.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' makes use of this trope a lot when creating a character who is supposed to be off-putting.
** Lemongrab. In a show where almost all the characters have black dots for eyes, his eyes are jarring. Lemongrab, with his NonStandardCharacterDesign, has realistic eyes- white ovals with dark pupils, DullEyesOfUnhappiness that just look ''wrong'' when they're not exaggerated into cartoonish outrage or fear.
*** The scene of Lemongrab's creation, and coming to life, deliberately invokes this trope. The reaction Princess Bubblegum has to her failed experiment is the same reaction the audience has to him, too.
** Goliad has the voice of a little girl and the head of a baby, and uses MindRape as a means of ruling the kingdom. These generic cute characteristics paired together with the body of a sphinx make her incredibly unsettling. It doesn't help that Goliad is also HUGE, and runs/leaps like a lion would. That eye that comes out of her forehead notably makes her face even more disturbing, to the point where Jake actually gets disgusted.
** Marceline's Dad moves like a marionette on mismatched strongs- his walk is just ''creepy''.
** Princess Monster Wife. The Ice King assembled PMW from body parts stolen from his favorite princesses. Imagine Frankenstein's Monster, but as a big, bulky princess with grossly mismatched arms, legs, and parts of her face. Her voice consists of three simultaneous voices of the princesses who compose her mouth. The most unsettling scene with PMW is when she is trying to eat. She lifts a spoonful of mashed potatoes to her mouth, but she is unable to eat because her mouth is so misshapen. The food dribbles out. (The fact that Princess Monster Wife is a sweet, kind, and genuinely sad character softens the blow of the uncanny valley a little bit, though.)
** Guardian Angel. Cartoonish eyes mixed with a realistically drawn, skeleton mouth.
** The Scrodinger's Cat/Demon Cat... thing... with the broken, floating legs...
** ''THE LICH''. He is ''literally'' a moving corpse! A skeleton half-covered in dead, tattered flesh. And he ''moves''. Lich-posessed Princess Bubblegum and Lich-posessed Snail deserve special mention, too.
** Some fans had this reaction to Susan Strong. She has the same simple face, eyes, and head as the other characters, but has a disproportionately large body, and it is a very muscular, realistically-drawn body. Unlike the other examples, she was intended to be appealing- not unsettling.
** Some of the more non-cartoonish expressions, in a similar manner to the infamous "She's Here" scene of Flapjack... such as Finn's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ys4Ejf4CrI Four Weeks]]" face, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG59fHNANRE that horrifying face he makes]] when a drop of water comes towards him.
** RICARDIO.A cartoonish heart with the realistically drawn face of GeorgeTakei.
** ''Sometimes'', Cinnamon Bun falls into this trope, because of the way his mouth is drawn. His green eyes (prior to his redesign) were hella creepy, too.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius''. Its CGI has ''not'' aged well, and suffers from ugly looking character designs.
* The 2010 reboot of ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010 Pound Puppies]]''. Its art style is a odd mix of "cutesy" and "cartoonish" that often doesn't mesh well.
** The animation has improved significantly, thanks to production being moved to the same company that produces ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', but the first seven episodes are quite... interesting in their animation style.
* The original drawing of the main six from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' certainly falls into this (Unfortunately, there's no image available)
** And while the whole thing hasn't been shown to the public, from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RpIZkxueaR0#t=16s the clips that were shown]], the series pilot could also fall into this for those who are ''really'' used to the character designs in the show, as the gang were going to be more realistic.
* Just about every short on ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' except ''Sniz & Fondue" and "The Offbeats".
* This is a complaint levied by some viewers of certain of the human characters in ''[[WesternAnimation/CareBearsWelcomeToCareALot Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot]]''. Joy from "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZSW6ls8Yqw Sad About You]]" is a good example.
* The appearance of the ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' characters in the CGI interstitial segments shown on [[DisneyChannel Disney Junior]].
* While the characters on ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' are mostly in line, there are a few occasions where they slip into this trope, like some of Hank's "bwaah" faces from a a few early episodes.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayzfwJZhKro Disney's Electric Holiday]]. It starts out as an adorable short about Minnie Mouse dreaming of entering a fashion show... but then it gets to the catwalk.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' seems to intentionally do this to the Kraang, where, while stylized, the Kraang's disguises are always a simple, droll businessman, whose face and eyes almost never move. It's sort of creepy.
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