"In these worlds we had funny animals that walked and talked, humans with animal parts that walked and talked, but we also had the kind of animals we are used to in real life - dumb animals that don't read and write or talk or walk on their hind legs. I am dying to know how old time cartoonists decided which creatures were allowed the gifts of intelligence, opposable thumbs or pants. Talk about playing God! Every cartoonist has as much power as the Almighty in making arbitrary decisions about which of his creatures get the good or bad end of the stick."
"His apartment is full of dogs and cats. Can I mention this or does it completely louse up my metaphor?"
"By the way, am I the only one who thinks it's weird that the Statue of Liberty is human when the world is populated by animals?"
Does anyone else find it strange that we are all fish, but we're also 'riding' fish? I mean, where is the line drawn between which fish can talk and which fish don't?!
— Jumbo, Fish Hooks
Gordie: Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?
Teddy: Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.
Chris: He can't be a dog. He drives a car and wears a hat.
Vern: Oh, God. That's weird. What the hell is Goofy?
Teddy: Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.
Chris: He can't be a dog. He drives a car and wears a hat.
Vern: Oh, God. That's weird. What the hell is Goofy?
"Okay, this is something that has bothered me for years, and in all sorts of medium. So I'm furnishing my little Animal Crossing cottage, right? But I don't know if I'm comfortable with keeping a caged canary (which is a furniture item) in the window when my next-door neighbor is a talking, four-foot-tall robin.
It's the same thing in what was one of my favorite childrens's shows, Arthur, too. He's got a little pet dog, but one of his best friends is also a dog. And it happens again with Goofy and Pluto of the Disney universe; both are dogs, but they live in different castes of domestic hierarchy. What is this?
And when you encounter this sort of thing at such a young age, it's...I don't know, it's just crippling."
"It kind of weirds me out when animals TO animals exist in a world where animals are more like people than animals. ...Let me try that again."
"You got that weird thing I never get, where some of the dinosaurs talk but some don't. And you could argue that maybe they're not as intelligent, but look - one of them is like a dog. I'm sorry but that's really weird. If it was like a different animal, maybe. But when the rest of the dinosaurs can talk, this is really kind of odd. It's like talking to a person and then another person is suddenly licking and scratching at you. It's, I don't know, just odd."
— Doug Walker, reviewing Dinosaur as part of Disneycember
Rarity: Before you go back, to your world I mean, I want give you some of my concepts. [...] I would like you to show my work to some of the ponies you know and ask for their opinions on them. This could really help me expand my business! [...]
Phoenix: I'll have a little trouble doing that. They don't talk.
Rarity: They don't... talk? My word... What a strange world you come from Mr. Wright. Mute ponies... none of them fly or use magic?
Phoenix: They don't do that either. They just sort of sit in petting zoos and perplex. And they kinda smell...
Phoenix: I'll have a little trouble doing that. They don't talk.
Rarity: They don't... talk? My word... What a strange world you come from Mr. Wright. Mute ponies... none of them fly or use magic?
Phoenix: They don't do that either. They just sort of sit in petting zoos and perplex. And they kinda smell...
Maxwell: Oooh! I love it when they bend the rules! At least it's more fun than the Giant Ape Fights, that just sounds boring.
Twilight: It's just a less sophisticated form of human wrestling. It's like me going to see a horse race.
Twilight: It's just a less sophisticated form of human wrestling. It's like me going to see a horse race.
"Starring... generic anime guys, Hatsune Riku, "Disney" spelled backwards, American Pikachu, SSJ Trunks, boys in da hood, MC Hammer Pants, Aflac, Disney's Wolverine, Evil Adele, GlaDos, a dog, and... also a dog? Huh. Interesting... So one wears pants?"
"Also, even though you play as an anthropomorphic bear, dogs are still dogs and birds are still birds. And, I mean, I can't blame them for being mad. I'd be pissed too if no one transformed me in a radical, sunglasses-wearing, skateboarding version of myself."
"What kind of a world -is- this, anyway? You've got talking snake-people and ordinary snakes, you've got birds that wear clothes and those [mutated birds]. You got frogs? And you got frog wizards?"
—Learoyd, The Autumnlands: Tooth & Claw
"Okay, let's talk about the weirdness of this. We have talking, sentient animals going around: Cats, birds, crocodiles, dogs, whatever. That's cool. But we also have regular birds... and squirrels and everything going around! Don't you think the pigeon's looking at him going 'Motherfucker gets to articulate his thoughts with words and has fuckin' thumbs and everything.'"
—Jacksepticeye, Night in the Woods - Part 2
The Brain: If they're animals, does their school serve bugs and garbage for lunch?
Francine: I'd like to know how a mouse has a pet dog. Wouldn't the dog eat him?
Arthur: Andy's not a mouse. He's a...something. I forget.
Francine: I'd like to know how a mouse has a pet dog. Wouldn't the dog eat him?
Arthur: Andy's not a mouse. He's a...something. I forget.
—Arthur, poking fun at itself in "The Contest"
"They're all birds! How does that work? When is Pluto gonna walk Goofy?! IT'S NEVER EXPLAINED!"
—The Nostalgia Critic, reviewing the first episode of the DuckTales reboot
"If Mickey's a mouse, and Minnie's a mouse, and Donald's a duck, and Goofy is a dog, if they're all animals and they can talk, why is Pluto just a fucking dog? Is Mickey just keeping a retarded guy as a pet?"
—Bo Burnham
"(Goofy's) the only fucking dog who's good enough to wear fucking pants?! Well, I wanna wear the fucking pants for once!"
— Pluto right before shooting Goofy and then himself, Drawn Together
"So I complete the task, I get the kid's dog and — h-hang on, stop and think about this. It's designed to look like a real life dog, yet it's sitting next to a giant cartoon hedgehog! What kind of world does this game exist in?"
—The Angry Video Game Nerd, in his review of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
"The Crimes went on to hang out with their new pony. Ponies are people in this universe, I guess? I'm not actually sure."
—Narrator, Investi-Gator: The Case of the Big Crime
Carmelita: How was your first patrol? Any luck?
Nick: Well, most of Muggshot’s goons are laying low…
Judy: …but we did collar one suspect!
Carmelita: Excellent. May I see?
Judy: Of course!
[Judy gestures, ecstatically and with both arms, through the two-way mirror of the interrogation room.]
[Inside, a bulldog is sleeping, slobbering onto the table.]
Carmelita: …
Nick: …?
Judy: ???
Carmelita: …Is this a joke?
Judy: What? No! No no no! Look, I’m sorry he fell asleep, I just, we’re treating him gently, actually we think there might be something ‘wrong’ with him, we didn’t want to put too much -
Carmelita: That’s a dog.
Judy: Yeah! Just like the rest of Muggshot’s gang!
Nick: Not that we based the arrest entirely on racial profiling.
Judy: Oh! No! Of course not! I didn’t - yes. We found him guarding one of Muggshot’s legal properties.
Nick: And when we approached, he attacked us without warning. Pretty bone-headed move, honestly.
Carmelita: Mmhmm. Probably because it’s a dog.
Nick: Woah, hey!
Judy: Carmelita, you can’t just say something like that! I thought you of all people -
Carmelita: No, listen. I… really don’t know how to explain this to you. It’s a dog.
Judy: Like Muggshot.
Carmelita: No. Not like Muggshot.
Nick: Muggshot is a dog.
Carmelita: Muggshot is a dog, but not like this dog is a dog. It’s… you know, a dog? An animal you take home and feed and bring around on a leash?
Nick: …
Judy: …
Carmelita: …
Judy: …
Nick: …wait, I think I get it.
Carmelita: Thank god.
Nick: I bet over in Paris you get a lot of weird "alternative lifestyles", huh? Well, whatever. I’m not one to kinkshame.
Carmelita: NO
Nick: Well, most of Muggshot’s goons are laying low…
Judy: …but we did collar one suspect!
Carmelita: Excellent. May I see?
Judy: Of course!
[Judy gestures, ecstatically and with both arms, through the two-way mirror of the interrogation room.]
[Inside, a bulldog is sleeping, slobbering onto the table.]
Carmelita: …
Nick: …?
Judy: ???
Carmelita: …Is this a joke?
Judy: What? No! No no no! Look, I’m sorry he fell asleep, I just, we’re treating him gently, actually we think there might be something ‘wrong’ with him, we didn’t want to put too much -
Carmelita: That’s a dog.
Judy: Yeah! Just like the rest of Muggshot’s gang!
Nick: Not that we based the arrest entirely on racial profiling.
Judy: Oh! No! Of course not! I didn’t - yes. We found him guarding one of Muggshot’s legal properties.
Nick: And when we approached, he attacked us without warning. Pretty bone-headed move, honestly.
Carmelita: Mmhmm. Probably because it’s a dog.
Nick: Woah, hey!
Judy: Carmelita, you can’t just say something like that! I thought you of all people -
Carmelita: No, listen. I… really don’t know how to explain this to you. It’s a dog.
Judy: Like Muggshot.
Carmelita: No. Not like Muggshot.
Nick: Muggshot is a dog.
Carmelita: Muggshot is a dog, but not like this dog is a dog. It’s… you know, a dog? An animal you take home and feed and bring around on a leash?
Nick: …
Judy: …
Carmelita: …
Judy: …
Nick: …wait, I think I get it.
Carmelita: Thank god.
Nick: I bet over in Paris you get a lot of weird "alternative lifestyles", huh? Well, whatever. I’m not one to kinkshame.
Carmelita: NO
"I caught a frog! Or it's a new neighbor...and I have some apologizing to do."
— Player character, upon catching a frog with their fishing rod, Animal Crossing: New Horizons
"Welcome to the world of Goofy. Where the fish are fish, the birds are birds, and everyone else is somewhere on the spectrum between dog, cat and man."
— Narrator in the Honest Trailers for A Goofy Movie.
What a weird world where a tree is more sapient and thus less desirable to kill than a moving entity.
2 cats need a home! One of them is a person.
— Bulletin board advertisement, Patently Stupid
…Me, with a cat? Wouldn't that be like… Slavery?
His neighbors are shown to be other animals, usually dressed and walking on their hind legs, but the lion is naked like Sylvester. The lion also walks on all fours. This universe is somewhat inconsistent.
— Cassandra Gelvin on Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Dont Read This To My Kids
[while looking at a dakimakura with a Cat Girl on it] ...I don't know how I feel about this.
— Choo-Choo (who is herself a sapient cat,) Jellystone!
Trixie: Pinkie! You've got a rooster and a monkey to deal with — how's that going?
Pinkie Pie: It's going AMAZING. Sure, Mr. Monkey was having an eensy bit of trouble with the choreography at first... but that was BEFORE I bonded with him about our shared love of literature! See, I was in the middle of telling him this story Mistmane told me, about the King of the Monkeys, and how he was BEST FRIENDS with a pigotaur and a sand troll... and how one day they all teamed up to help this sweet unicorn librarian travel ALL the way to Shire Lanka to check out a book he really wanted! It's going over GREAT!
Imperial Monkey: Ook.
Trixie: Uh... Pinkie? I think that's just a regular monkey. Like... not the sentient kind? I'm sure he likes you, but I don't know if he understands... you know... any of that.
Pinkie Pie: Really?! Aw, nuts... I thought he was just a really good listener!
Pinkie Pie: It's going AMAZING. Sure, Mr. Monkey was having an eensy bit of trouble with the choreography at first... but that was BEFORE I bonded with him about our shared love of literature! See, I was in the middle of telling him this story Mistmane told me, about the King of the Monkeys, and how he was BEST FRIENDS with a pigotaur and a sand troll... and how one day they all teamed up to help this sweet unicorn librarian travel ALL the way to Shire Lanka to check out a book he really wanted! It's going over GREAT!
Imperial Monkey: Ook.
Trixie: Uh... Pinkie? I think that's just a regular monkey. Like... not the sentient kind? I'm sure he likes you, but I don't know if he understands... you know... any of that.
Pinkie Pie: Really?! Aw, nuts... I thought he was just a really good listener!
— My Little Pony (Gameloft), "A Mistmane New Year"
Why is Socks a dog? Yeah, I know the show's *about* dogs, but Socks is a dog-dog who walks on four legs and bites and barks.
The Tibbles call her a scaredy-cat, which is a weird insult when you realize catsnote are people in this world.
Jeanette: What the heck is that?!
Jake: Looks like a cat but walks on all fours.
Jake: Looks like a cat but walks on all fours.
R.A.M.: [Ahh! What is that?! I think I blew a fuse!]
Jake: It looks like a rabbit but walks on all fours.
Jake: It looks like a rabbit but walks on all fours.
"is it morally acceptable to have feelings for your friend's pokemon"
"And is it fair, that Pluto has to sleep in a doghouse, and wear a leash, while Goofy, who is also a dog, gets to drive around in a car and play golf with Mickey!?"
— Louis Stevens, Even Stevens
Vector: Frogs don't talk, okay!? That's just how it is!
Espio: Or is that just how you perceive it? How can you know what they think?
Vector: I don't care what they think!
Charmy: Because you're—
Vector: Not because I'm racist! We talk, they don't! There's nothing to think about unless we come across a non-sapient crocodile or something!
(Team Chaotix comes across a non-sapient crocodile or something)
Charmy: Like that?
(Vector pauses for a moment)
Vector: (quietly) …Maybe God has forsaken us.
Espio: Or is that just how you perceive it? How can you know what they think?
Vector: I don't care what they think!
Charmy: Because you're—
Vector: Not because I'm racist! We talk, they don't! There's nothing to think about unless we come across a non-sapient crocodile or something!
(Team Chaotix comes across a non-sapient crocodile or something)
Charmy: Like that?
(Vector pauses for a moment)
Vector: (quietly) …Maybe God has forsaken us.
