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4[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel1944 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/happy_go_nutty.png]]]]
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6[[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]], [[SuicidalLemmings lemmings jump off of cliffs]], [[BusyBeaver beavers are hard-working]], and so forth.
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8Squirrels (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--in extreme cases-- downright {{sadist}}s. They will run around stealing [[StockAnimalDiet nuts]] from people -- and then [[CoconutMeetsCranium drop these nuts on people's heads]], driving them [[{{Pun}} nuts]]. Squirrels also get obsessed with hiding a huge hoard of nuts for the winter. 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. The fact that they have a reputation for breaking into bird feeders and eating the seed inside doesn't help either.
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10Bonus points if they have [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny very short attention spans, too]], even in a {{Sadist}}ic way. Truly evil squirrels are rare in fiction, but they are consistently depicted as troublemakers whose antics are annoying at best and infuriating at worst. Basically, they're seen as the {{troll}}s of the animal kingdom, causing chaos for its own sake and existing only to annoy others.
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12It's easy to see why these furry critters have such traits associated with them: squirrels and chipmunks are very jittery, skittish 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.
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14If the squirrel in question is [[RodentsOfUnusualSize a giant squirrel]], [[ParanoiaFuel prepare to]] [[OhCrap be very afraid]].
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16Note: Just because a character is a squirrel or chipmunk, it does not mean they automatically qualify for this trope. The example also needs to describe how the character is a troublemaker, a {{cloudcuckoolander}} and/or a {{sadist}}.
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18Subtrope 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 MischiefMakingMonkey. The TropeNamer is the Creator/TexAvery cartoon ''WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel1944''. 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}}.
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20----
21!!Examples:
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23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Advertising]]
26* Squirrels were always causing some havoc in people's homes to get hold of some Clusters cereal.
27* The infamous [[Platform/PlaystationPortable PSP]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqHd4UysK9k commercial]] with the deranged-looking squirrels. There are a few other ones involving different animals, but the squirrels are the one most people remember.
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
31* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'': 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.
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33
34[[folder:Card Games]]
35* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Squirrels are one of the game's biggest RunningGags. They've become a recurring feature and symbol of the SelfParody Un-sets, to the point where the wackiest cards (the ones that don't work in the normal rules) are currently identified by a symbol of an acorn.
36** Most of this is due to Mark Rosewater (Maro), the game's long-time head designer, who happens to be a big fan of squirrels. The one time he got to choose creature types for a set (''Odyssey'', released in 2001) it featured several squirrels, as well as the card [[HomelessPigeonPerson Deranged]] [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=382915 Hermit]] which not only featured squirrels, but brought them into the spotlight by being a tournament-winning card. (It even helped Aaron Forsythe win a Pro Tour and get hired as a developer... he's currently Maro's boss!)
37** Afterwards, the creative team decided to stop putting squirrels in the regular sets, leading Maro to put the squirrel cards in the Un-sets instead, making them emblematic of the LighterAndSofter side of the game. Since about 2019, there's been a sing towards allowing a bit more silliness in the main sets, so squirrels have made a few more appearances, culminating in ''Modern Horizons 2'' (2021) which has several powerful new squirrel cards forming the set's black-green archetype.
38* "Art/MysticalMedleysAVintageCartoonTarot": The two [[JokeCharacter joke cards]] "Happy Squirrel" and "Sad Squirrel" are anthropomorphic squirrels in overalls.
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Comic Books]]
42* Squirrelly the Squirrel is a one-off character created by Creator/RobertCrumb whose relationship with his dog nemesis easily competes with [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Itchy and Scratchy]] for asymmetric sadism.
43* Nutsy Squirrel was a Creator/DCComics character in the FunnyAnimal comic book ''Funny Folks'', and later his own title, whose complete detachment from reality drove his StraightMan, Robert Rabbit, to distraction.
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45
46[[folder:Comic Strips]]
47* ''ComicStrip/{{Mutts}}'': Bip and Bop are a duo of mischief-making squirrels who enjoy bonking people in the head with acorns.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
51* ''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/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'', fits the "screwy" part of this trope better, flirting with Scrat just to screw him over and steal his acorn.
52* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'' has the extremely hyperactive squirrel Hammy, who acts as a CloudCuckoolander ManChild and is obsessed with sugar. At one point, he becomes more hyperactive after simply drinking a soda.
53* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'': When Wart and Merlin temporarily transform themselves into squirrels, they encounter two ''extremely'' flirtatious and pushy females who [[StalkingIsFunnyIfItIsFemaleAfterMale just won't stop despite their protests]]. As Wart flees from the girl squirrel they wake up [[NonHumanSidekick Archimedes]], who derides them as "You screwy squirrels!"
54* Bucky the squirrel from ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' is initially cute and friendly, offering acorns to strangers, but if someone is rude to him, he resorts to DisproportionateRetribution, like how he responds to Kuzco telling him off by unleashing a pack of hungry jaguars on him.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
58* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'': Pip is a chipmunk with [[HotBlooded a big temper]] who serves as Giselle's NonHumanSidekick. His SpeechImpairedAnimal status in the real world, combined with his eagerness to communicate with humans, is the source of much comedy.
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60
61[[folder:Literature]]
62* ''Literature/{{Borgel}}'': Inverted in one of Uncle Borgel's fables, "The Tale of the Moose and Squirrel". The fable features mischievous animals, but the story pulls a StereotypeFlip between this trope and MooseAreIdiots, thus the moose is TheTrickster who tries to steal the squirrel's acorns, while the squirrel is a simple-minded StraightMan who doesn't want any trouble.
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64
65[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66* A RunningGag in Series 2 of ''Series/TriggerHappyTV'' is a gang of men in full-body squirrel outfits who run around beating people up and stealing nuts. One time, they even show up [[ContrivedCoincidence right after Dom has finished warning a woman in a phone booth about the squirrel gang]] and beat up the man in the neighbouring booth.
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68
69[[folder:Music]]
70* ''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.
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73[[folder:Myths and Legends]]
74* ''Myth/NorseMythology'': Ratatosk. Seriously, this cosmic squirrel spends his spare time running up and down the WorldTree Ygdrassil exchanging insults between Nidhogg, [[DragonsAreDemonic the dragon who dwells at Ygdrassil's root in Niflheim]], and the [[NobleBirdOfPrey eagle who dwells in Ygdrassil's higher branches]], just to watch them rage at one another. DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu at its finest, except being a cosmic squirrel, he's just as much an AnimalisticAbomination as they are.
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76
77[[folder:Theme Parks]]
78* ''Ride/UniversalStudios Orlando'' has the seasonal character of Earl the Squirrel, inspired by an incident where a squirrel was discovered in the park's main giant Christmas Tree that had sabotaged the lights. He's since become the subject of Christmas merch depicting him as the goofy owner of a Christmas Tree Lot.
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80
81[[folder:Video Games]]
82* [[DitzyGenius Pippa]] from ''VideoGame/AFKArena'' is a scatterbrained squirrel mage who thinks "differently", known among her peers for being a WalkingDisasterArea. She's even a screwball in gameplay in the form of her moveset consisting of {{Random Effect Spell}}s.
83* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'' has the Squire Rel line of mooks. Squire Rel herself speaks in an [[TheUnintelligible unintelligible]] language that vaguely resembles English, while all of them rush quickly forwards to bite cats, with their attack animations showing [[BodyHorror their mouths opening to halfway down their bodies.]]
84* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'': Conker himself zigzags this trope. He's alcoholic, greedy and violent, but he's also the OnlySaneMan in his own game, which kinda downplays the notion that his troublesome personality comes from the fact that's he's a squirrel (instead of a natural result of dealing with a CrapsackWorld).
85* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': The [[VideoGame/DragonQuestX tenth game]] of the series introduces the Red Squirrel monster family from the start of Version 2 onwards, causing trouble to enemy parties with Sultry Dance, Decelratle, and other skills and spells like Kafuddle and Kasnooze.
86* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''
87** If [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Emolga's]] Pokédex in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is to be believed, they tend to cause trouble when fighting with other Flying-type Pokémon for food, making this a flying squirrel version of this trope.
88** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': Skwovet and Greedent are a line of greedy squirrels who make trouble by stealing and hoarding food and berries. There's a minor sidequest in the game with a Skwovet making trouble in a hotel.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Web Animation]]
92* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'':
93** Nutty the bright green squirrel is pretty much [[CloudCuckoolander as insane as you'd expect]] with a name like that, further accentuated by his hyperactiveness, a MadEye, and a vocabulary consisting entirely of [[TheHyena manic laughter]]. His signature trait is his love [[SweetTooth for anything made out of sugar]], which he sometimes outright places before common sense (resulting in gruesome {{Cruel and Unusual Death}}s... [[DeathIsCheap plural]]).
94** Averted with Giggles the chipmunk, who doesn't display any of the defining traits of this trope, and is more of a girly [[RoseHairedSweetie rose-furred sweetie]].
95* According to the [[WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob Weebl]] song "Flying Squirrels", the eponymous rodents engage in such activities as bombing beagles and stealing nuts from budgies.
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97
98[[folder:Web Comics]]
99* ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'': Among the main cast of characters is Scarlet, an anthropomorphic red squirrel with a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} demeanor, [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny an extremely short attention span]], and a [[GeniusDitz surprising talent for gadgetry]]. Her sisters aren't that much different, either.
100* ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' has Todd T. Squirrel, an [[{{Jerkass}} obnoxious]] [[SpeechImpediment stuttering]] [[AddledAddict cokehead]] given to really bad ideas.
101* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' somewhat frequently uses squirrel-related gags.
102** [[https://xkcd.com/1503/ "Squirrel Plan"]] where a group of squirrels attempt to fly a balloon to the Sun planning to chew a hole in it and get to the acorns they think are inside. The AltText implies they chew a hole in the balloon halfway there looking for acorns.
103** [[https://xkcd.com/2186/ "DARK MATTER ISN'T SQUIRRELS!"]] Cue Ball got SidetrackedByTheAnalogy when Megan explained that the Earth has approximately [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure one squirrel's mass]] of [[OurDarkMatterIsMysterious dark matter]] in it at any given time.
104** A couple of times Randall's companion pop-science blog ''Blog/WhatIf'' posts a picture of a squirrel [[RelaxOVision in place of something unpleasant]], such as a man vomiting up blood because of severe alcohol poisoning.
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107[[folder:Western Animation]]
108* ''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 Screwy Squirrel, 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]].
109* ''WesternAnimation/BigBuckBunny'' has a trio of squirrels who start playing mean-spirited pranks on the eponymous GentleGiant rabbit and then get their comeuppance when said rabbit [[LetsGetDangerous gets dangerous]].
110* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale are a duo of chipmunks who often get into an EscalatingWar with WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck. Who starts the fight [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the cartoon]]: sometimes they respond to Donald's {{jerkass}} behavior, but sometimes they just start messing with him for no apparent reason. Averted with their ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers'' version, who are crime-fighting heroes.
111* ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBeaks'' has Les Squirrels, a gang of French squirrels who serve as recurring antagonists within the cartoon.
112* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': The Treasure Squirrels are [[ForgetfulJones incredibly absent-minded]] Mute treasure hunters who tend to take what they perceive as treasure, hide it somewhere, then almost instantly forget about it. They cause some trouble by stealing Kipo's Prahm float with people hiding inside.
113* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': In "[[Recap/MollyOfDenaliS1E20NightManagerNotSoPermafrost The Night Manager]]," a flying squirrel makes its way inside the bunkhouse bathroom and wreaks quite a bit of havoc before Molly and the Sassy Ladies are able to shoo it out.
114* The Red Squirrel from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a flat-out villain, trying to TakeOverTheWorld but fails at it due to his lack of {{mooks}}.
115* ''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.
116* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Floyd the squirrel. He likes to be naughty and cause trouble sometimes, such as when he eats the jellybeans in "Earth Camping". Although, on occasion, he helps the kids out.
117* Two heroic inversions of this were [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Rocky the Flying Squirrel]] and WesternAnimation/SecretSquirrel.
118* Screwy Squirrel is a recurring character in ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons'' introduced in the {{Trope Namer|s}} cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/ScrewballSquirrel1944''. He's a prankster who messes with innocent people for no good reason.
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