History Main / ScrewballSquirrel

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'': Scrat is a prehistoric squirrel whose nuttiness mostly manifests in a single-minded obsession with an acorn that he [[TheChewToy keeps losing due to all sorts of crazy circumstances]]. Scratte, his DistaffCounterpart from ''WesternAnimation/IceAge3DawnOfTheDinosaurs'', fits the "screwy" part of this trope better, flirting with Scrat just to screw him over and steal his acorn.

[[ResourcefulRodent Rodents]] are the most common mammals on Earth, with some notable species having their own AnimalStereotypes. [[YouDirtyRat Rats are dirty and disgusting]], [[NiceMice mice are cute and nice]], [[PricklyPorcupine porcupines are grumpy and prickly]], beavers are hard-working, and so forth.

Subtrope of AnimalStereotypes. Compare RascallyRabbit, another small, furry animal that's often a trickster and prankster, but tends to be shown in a more positive light. For other animals often seen as tricksters, see RascallyRaccoon and ManiacMonkeys. The TropeNamer is the Creator/TexAvery cartoon ''WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel''. The trope formerly known as "Screwy Squirrel", about crazy, malicious prankster characters that are usually not squirrels, is now split between TheGadfly, {{Troll}}, ThePrankster and {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.

* The Red Squirrel from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a flat-out villain.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': Adverted with Sandy Cheeks

Rodents are the most common mammals on Earth, with some notable species having their own AnimalStereotypes. [[YouDirtyRat Rats are dirty and disgusting]], [[NiceMice mice are cute and nice]], [[PricklyPorcupine porcupines are grumpy and prickly]], beavers are hard-working, and so forth.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In the episode "Comet Kermillian", Suzy Johnson throws a nut into Candace's pants, grabbing the attention of two hungry squirrels. As Candace jumps around to get rid of the squirrels in her pants, she creates an AccidentalDanceCraze that is the TropeNamer for SquirrelsInMyPants

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': Slappy Squirrel is a [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior grouchy, elderly]] squirrel who whacks people with her purse. In her youth, she was a gender-flipped {{Expy}} of WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel, a hyperactive prankster ([[IWasQuiteALooker and quite a looker at the time]]). Age might have slowed her down, but she never lost her cunning and her mean streak. Her nephew Skippy is the exact opposite, hyperactive but [[ChildrenAreInnocent naive and innocent]].

* WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel, a recurring character in Creator/TexAvery's cartoons introduced in the TropeNamer cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel'', is a prankster who messes with innocent people for no good reason.

[[folder:Music]]
* ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'': The chipmunks often act like mischievous children, getting on the nerves of their manager / surrogate father Dave Seville. Alvin is their trouble-making leader, whereas the nerdy Simon and naïve Theodore usually only make trouble by following Alvin. In their [[Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks original music act]], they mess up the recording at the end by demanding to do the song again and quarreling with Dave and making a mess. The characterization is carried over to the [[WesternAnimation/TheAlvinShow various]] [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks animated]] and [[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks live-action]] adaptations.

It's easy to see why these furry critters have such traits associated with them: squirrels and chipmunks are ''very'' jittery animals in real life, moving about in short, twitching movements, and taking off to the nearest tree at the slightest sign of danger. Their signature chattering gives the impression of [[TheHyena manic cackling]], as if they just pulled another prank on some hapless bloke, and they tend to cache food before completely forgetting about it, which fuels the "short attention span" stereotype.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Dawn's Pachirisu, an Electric-type Pokemon based on a squirrel, has a very playful and hyperactive personality, running around with boundless energy. Dawn had a difficult time controlling it at first.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': Slappy Squirrel is a [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior grouchy, elderly]] squirrel who whacks people with her purse. In her youth, she was a gender-flipped {{Expy}} of WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel, a hyperactive prankster ([[IWasQuiteALooker and quite a looker at the time]]). Her age slowed her down, but she never lost her malice. Her nephew Skippy is the exact opposite, hyperactive but [[ChildrenAreInnocent naive and innocent]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'' has the mooks representing squirrels. Of course they are AlwaysChaoticEvil even in the viewpoint of [[BlueAndOrangeMorality the Cats]].

Rodents are the most common mammals on Earth, with some notable species having their own AnimalStereotypes. [[YouDirtyRat Rats are sneaky and mean]], [[NiceMice mice are cute and nice]], [[PricklyPorcupine porcupines are grumpy and prickly]], beavers are hard-working, and so forth.

Squirrels (and their close relatives, chipmunks) are, however, mostly seen as hyperactive animals who either love to [[ThePrankster play pranks and mess around with people]], are just [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} off-the-walls crazy]], or animal-hurting {{Sadist}}s. They will run around stealing [[StockAnimalDiet nuts]] from people -- and then [[CoconutMeetsCranium drop these nuts on people's heads]], driving them [[JustForPun nuts]]. They also have the bad habit of [[SquirrelsInMyPants crawling into people's clothing]], and are [[DogsHateSquirrels among the arch-enemies of dogs]], often because the dogs are fed up with their antics. If the HeroicDog is chasing the squirrel, the squirrel is [[YouDirtyRat a villain]]; when a RightHandAttackDog is chasing it, the squirrel is considered [[NiceMice a hero]].

Bonus points if they have [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny very short attention spans, too]], even in a {{Sadist}}ic way.

Subtrope of AnimalStereotypes. Also compare RascallyRabbit, another small, furry animal that's often a trickster and prankster. The TropeNamer is the Creator/TexAvery cartoon ''WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel''. The trope formerly known as "Screwy Squirrel", about crazy, malicious prankster characters that are usually not squirrels, is now split between TheGadfly, {{Troll}}, ThePrankster and {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.

If the squirrel in question is [[RodentsOfUnusualSize a giant squirrel]], [[OhCrap it gets worse]].

If the squirrel in question is [[RodentsOfUnusualSite a giant squirrel]], [[OhCrap it gets worse]].

** If [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Emolga's]] Pokédex in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is to believed, they tend to cause trouble when fighting with other Flying-type Pokémon for food, making this a flying squirrel version of this trope.