History Main / BuffoonishTomcat

Felines are typically associated with feminity, [[CoolCat coolness]], elegance, dignity, and grace, but a lot of male cartoon cats are clownish or buffoonish instead. This trope is based on the fact that tomcats in cartoons are more often portrayed as tough, [[CoolCat cool]], streetwise, belligerent, buffoonish, and/or oversexed than elegant, graceful, or dignified.

There was a period in animation history when cats were the generic fallguy animal and [[CatsAreMean bad guy]] in cartoons but its starting to become a DeadhorseTrope.

* Nuka from ''Disney/TheLionKing II: Simba's Pride''. He sets the grass on fire with a burning stick, but he sets the grass surrounding him on fire.

[[AC:Anime & manga]]

[[AC:Film - Animated]]

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

[[AC:Web Original]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' is a [[KidHero younger]] version of this trope. In most of the first season, he is very dumb, naive, and overconfident. From the second season on, he is [[DumbassNoMore smarter]] and tends more toward CatsAreSnarkers, but still very [[TheChewToy accident-prone]] and perfectly capable of making an ass of himself. All of this contrast with Nicole, his mom and the only other cat in the show, who is a hyper-competent {{badass}}.

* The main character of "WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat'', but probably justified because all of the characters are goofy.

Felines are typically associated with feminity, [[CoolCat coolness]], elegance, dignity, and grace, but a lot of male cartoon cats who are clownish or buffoonish instead. This trope is based on the fact that tomcats in cartoons are more often portrayed as tough, [[CoolCat cool]], streetwise, belligerent, buffoonish, and/or oversexed than elegant, graceful, or dignified.

This trope can apply to any species of cat, including tigers, lions, and housecats.

** Played straighter when O'Malley bravely dives into the water to save Marie. It backfires when he himself can't swim back to shore and has to be rescued by two geese. Or, alternatively, from said geese.
* Rare female example: Ratigan's pet cat in ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective'' is female and used as something of a personal executioner, but due to her pudginess and slapstick depiction comes off as a gender swap of this, especially in her bout with Toby.
* The main character of "WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat", but probably justified because all of the characters are goofy.

* ComicStrip/KrazyKat is either a straight example or a rare female example as his/her gender is ambiguous.

* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/maru-the-cat Maru the Cat]] is a Japanese tomcat who got his fame due to his playful and goofy tricks posted on Website/YouTube. At some point, Maru's [=YouTube=] channel [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome was the 8th Most Subscribed channel and 11th Most Viewed [=YouTube=] channel of all time]] in Japan.

** Penelope Pussycat zigzags as being a rare female version, she's not buffoonish in general, but upon catching [[ChivalrousPervert Pepe Le Pew's]] sight, she's reduced to a state of panic and often ends up [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender falling into slapstick]] in her franticness.

* Mr. Jinks of the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheHuckleberryHoundShow Pixie and Dixie]]'' cartoons.

* Subverted in the book (and film) ''{{Felidae}}'' in which the main characters are intelligent male cats in one way or another. This becomes a plot point as [[spoiler:it allows Francis to realize why Claudandus is commiting the murders.]]

* Snagglepuss, another "big cat", is both an aversion and an example.

* Meow from ''Anime/SpaceDandy is a rare anime variant of this trope. Also, he's an alien.

* Meow from SpaceDandy is a rare anime variant of this trope. Also, he's an alien.

* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/maru-the-cat Maru the Cat]] is a Japanese tomcat who got his fame due to his playful and goofy tricks posted on YouTube. At some point, Maru's YouTube channel [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome was the 8th Most Subscribed channel and 11th Most Viewed YouTube channel of all time]] in Japan.

** [[WesternAnimation/SlyvesterTheCatAndTweetyBird Sylvester]]. Even in cartoons where he's not chasing prey -- there's a well-known one where he's trapped with WesternAnimation/PorkyPig in an abandoned hotel full of murderous mice, and they're the aggressors from start to finish -- he's still portrayed as a buffoon.

** Sylvester. Even in cartoons where he's not chasing prey -- there's a well-known one where he's trapped with Porky Pig in an abandoned hotel full of murderous mice, and they're the aggressors from start to finish -- he's still portrayed as a buffoon.

** A "big cat" example: Pete Puma. He asked BugsBunny if he could have two lumps in his tea, but Bugs gives him two lumps on his head.
** The two cats in Bob Clampett's last Tweety cartoon, "Gruesome Twosome". One is dopey; the other is a moderately brighter fellow complete with Jimmy Durante voice and schnoz. [[Creator/AbbottAndCostello Babbott and Catstello]] (especially Catstello), the antagonists from Tweety's 1942 debut, also fit this trope.

Contrast CoolCat and CatsAreSuperior. Related to MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial, CloserToEarth, and MenAreUncultured.

* Mr. Jinks of the ''Pixie and Dixie'' cartoons.

* The main character of "FritzTheCat", but probably justified because all of the characters are goofy.

* Averted for the most part in ''Disney/TheAristocats'', in which O'Malley is just as sophisticated a hispster as Duchess is a well-bred, society cat. They get together and make jazz.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', the male cats all fit CatsAreMean except for Tiger, who is a CloudCuckoolander MinionWithAnFInEvil and CowardlyLion played by the now late Dom [=DeLuise=].

* Nuka from ''Disney/TheLionKingIISimbasPride''. He sets the grass on fire with a burning stick, but he sets the grass surrounding him on fire.

[[AC:Film]]
* Gideon from {{Disney/Pinocchio}} is a mute character similar to Dopey of ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' fame. His idea to Honest John's hat off his face is to hit him with a mallet.
* In ''AnAmericanTail'', the male cats all fit CatsAreMean except for Tiger, who is a CloudCuckoolander MinionWithAnFInEvil and CowardlyLion played by the now late Dom [[=DeLuise=]].
* Nuka from ''TheLionKing: Simba's Pride''. He sets the grass on fire with a burning stick, but he sets the grass surrounding him on fire.
* Averted for the most part in TheAristocats, in which O'Malley is just as sophisticated a hispster as Duchess is a well-bred, society cat. They get together and make jazz .

* Rare female example: Ratigan's pet cat of ''TheGreatMouseDetective'' is female and used as something of a personal executer, but due to her pudginess and slapstick depiction comes off as a gender swap of this, especially in her bout with Toby.

* In ''WarriorCats'', both averted and used... male Clan cats are more normal, but male kittypets tend to be a lot more goofy and friendly.

[[AC:Live Action]]
* Cat from ''RedDwarf'' is an extremely vain and irresponsible humanoid who evolved from a cat.

* Although usually a DeadpanSnarker, {{Garfield}} has his moments.
** Whenever Garfield is actually courting a female -- usually Arlene -- he seems to lose half his IQ. Basically, his "moments" are also the only moments in which he's written specifically as a tomcat rather than a generic feline.
* Bucky Katt of ''GetFuzzy'' is a truly epic example, and virtually none of the cats in the strip come off well. In contrast, dogs seem to have a range of intelligence in the strip.
* KrazyKat is either a straight example or a rare female example as his/her gender is ambiguous.
* Bill the Cat from ''BloomCounty'' is TheUnintelligible at best.

* Big the Cat of the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series is as buffoonish as they come. The female Blaze is ''much'' more dignified and intelligent (though still falls to the odd SlapstickKnowsNoGender moment).

* Tom from ''{{Tom And Jerry}}'' is sometimes this
* Sylvester from ''{{Looney Tunes}}'' fits this trope to a T.
** Sylvester has been used in cartoons where he's not chasing prey -- there's a well-known one where he's trapped with Porky Pig in an abandoned hotel full of murderous mice, and they're the aggressors from start to finish -- and he's still portrayed as a buffoon.

** The two cats in Bob Clampett's last Tweety cartoon, "Gruesome Twosome". One is dopey; the other is a moderately brighter fellow complete with JimmyDurante voice and schnoz. [[AbbotandCostello Babbott and Catstello]] (especially Catstello), the antagonists from Tweety's 1942 debut, also fit this trope.

** In the LooneyTunes cartoon starring Elmer Fudd and Sylvester, there was even a rare buffoonish female cat.

* Riff Raff from ''HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats''
* Katnip of HermanAndKatnip.
* [[TheItchyAndScratchyShow Scratchy]] is this, being as he's a Katnip {{Expy}}.
* Stimpy from ''RenAndStimpy'' is dumb and buffoonish as an inversion of CatsAreMean and DogsAreDumb.
* Averted with TopCat and his gang in general, but the ironically named Brain fits this trope to a T.
* Mr. Jinks of the Pixie and Dixie cartoons.

* Louie the mountain lion from the ClassicDisneyShorts and ''HouseOfMouse''
* Klondike Kat from his segment of the ''{{Underdog}}'' show is pretty buffoonish as well.
* Furrball in ''TinyToonAdventures'' is this sometimes. Example: a mishap with malfunctioning 3-D glasses and glue results in a WhatADrag situation when he tries to remove them.