History Main / ExpressiveEars

* The ponies of ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' have these.

* ''[[RatchetAndClank]]'' likes to make use of this trope. The first game in particular features a lot of ear movement, as Ratchet is essentially the Lombax equivalent of a moody teenager; later games tone it down, though his ears will still droop if he's low on health or otherwise in a particularly negative mood.

* And now we have ''[[http://youtu.be/w06zvM2x_lw THIS]]''

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: A character's ears are used to express his emotions.

Unlike its cousin tropes, ExpressiveHair and ExpressiveMask, this trope actually leans toward being realistic because this is one way many animals in RealLife show how they're feeling. This obviously doesn't apply to human ears, though, so it's guaranteed all of the characters who use this trope are NotQuiteHuman.

* Ear movements and positioning can be key in reading the body language of dogs, rabbits, and cats. Possibly other animals as well.

* ''StarTrekThaAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Slaver Weapon". The Kzinti (cat-like humanoid aliens) lay their ears back when angry.

* Fievel in ''AnAmericanTail''. There's also a couple of scenes in which he shifts them around to try to listen for his father's violin.

* The ponies of ''MyLittlePony: Friendship Is Magic'' have these.

* {{Garfield}} will sometimes lay his ears back when he's angry, frightened, or when he's groggy in the morning and [[MustHaveCaffeine hasn't had his coffee yet]].
* Similarly, in ''{{Peanuts}}'', Snoopy's ears rise when he is startled or receives good news.
* Dogbert from {{Dilbert}} has ears that fly up sometimes.

* {{Garfield}} will sometimes lay his ears back when he's angry or frightened.

* Ear movements and positioning can be key in reading the body language of dogs and cats. Possibly other animals as well.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* Dopey from ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kjhs_476_1828.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1c9983d4e43b8a7a3d9bab47052b1d31_2185.jpg]]

* Na'vi in ''{{Avatar}}'' is another example.

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: A character's ears are used to express their emotions.

Unlike its cousin tropes, ExpressiveHair and ExpressiveMask, actually leans towards being realistic because this is one way many animals in RealLife show how they're feeling. This obviously doesn't apply to human ears, though, so it's guaranteed all of the characters who use this trope are NotQuiteHuman.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* Many ''{{Pokemon}}'' including Pikachu and Meowth

* ''{{Utawarerumono}}'', (the people also have expressive tails).

[[AC:Comics]]

[[AC:Film]]

* * In ''{{Godzilla}} VS Mechagodzilla'' and ''Godzilla: Final Wars'', King Seesar's ears would perk-up whenever he was excited or surprised.
* ''TheEmpireStrikesBack''. When Luke manages to lift the X-Wing fighter partially out of the swamp Yoda's ears rise slightly in awe. When Luke fails to lift it all the way out Yoda's ears droop down. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WRXDGsN_Go here, 8:15-8:40]].

[[AC:Literature]]

* ''StarTrek'' parodies and spoofs often give this attribute to Spock: [[http://bp2.blogger.com/_mpOAS-HxaQU/RueGSsnLhFI/AAAAAAAAASA/UePcV_Q-1Ns/s1600-h/heineken-spock.jpg This advert for lager, for example]]

* ''{{Garfield}}'' will sometimes lay his ears back when he's angry or frightened.

* ''The {{Traveller}} Adventure''. Vargr (bipedal wolf) characters were shown as having ExpressiveEars, including flattening the ears against the skull when afraid.

* Blood Elfs in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' do this with the emote system: if they're sad or scared their ears will droop, and when they cast spells in general their ears wiggle along with the casting animation.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Absolutely any FurryComic has this. The author of GeneCatlow even admited that he liked to draw furries because [[FurriesAreEasierToDraw it's easier to draw their expressions]] when using things like tails and ears.

* Frequent for any long eared characters appearing in ''AwkwardZombie''.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

* Orko from ''HeMan'' has been shown to have his ears droop down when sad.

* The ponies of ''MyLittlePony: Friendship is Magic'' have these.

* ''StarTrek'' parodies and spoofs often give this attribute to Spock:
[[http://bp2.blogger.com/_mpOAS-HxaQU/RueGSsnLhFI/AAAAAAAAASA/UePcV_Q-1Ns/s1600-h/heineken-spock.jpg This advert for lager, for example]]