Line #11 WesternAnimation/AnimalCrackers


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/animal_crackers_imdb.jpg]]
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3	''Animal Crackers'' is a Franco-Canadian animated series produced by Canada's Creator/{{Cinar}} and the French studio Creator/{{Alphanim}} that aired on Creator/{{Teletoon}} in 1997. It is the AnimatedAdaptation of a comic strip created by the late American cartoonist Roger Bollen that began in 1967 and is still running in newspapers today (although Bollen himself stopped working on the strip in 1994 and moved on to working in television, creating ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'' in 2006).
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5	Set in the Freeborn Wildlife Preserve somewhere on the plains of Africa, the series follows the lives of Freeborn's animal inhabitants. The main cast is composed of:
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7	* '''Lyle:''' A lion who is anything but a KingOfBeasts. He's a passive MommasBoy whose main goal appears to be to get Lana to date him, despite how clear she makes it that [[AllLoveIsUnrequited she doesn't quite feel that way about him.]] In fact, whenever Lyle tries to do something to get her to like him, it usually gets sabotaged.
8	* '''Dodo:''' The [[LastOfHisKind last dodo in existence]], who is always trying to fly, and utterly refuses to accept that dodos are flightless birds. He's Lyle's best friend.
9	* '''Eugene:''' An elephant and a [[TheBully bully]] [[CruelElephant who hogs the watering hole, beats up anyone who tries to stand up to him]], and enjoys [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking stomping petunias as a hobby]].
10	* '''Gnu:''' A [[ADogNamedDog gnu]] who leads a local herd. He is, however, lazy and timid, and often has a bad sense of direction. As a result, his herd are rather eager to get away from him. He's also a single father trying to do right by his son.
11	* '''Lana:''' A lioness, and the object of Lyle's affections, despite her frequent rebuffs of this.
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13	The show also adds [[CanonForeigner multiple new characters into the fold.]] The cartoon ran from September 7, 1997, to September 12, 1999, and had three seasons, with a total of 39 episodes.
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15	Not to be confused with the [[Theatre/AnimalCrackers 1930 musical comedy]] starring Creator/TheMarxBrothers, or the [[WesternAnimation/AnimalCrackers2017 2017 animated film released on Netflix]].
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17	!!''Animal Crackers'' contains the following tropes:
18	* AdaptationalDyeJob: If you count the shape of one's hair as this. Lana's hair was straight in the comics. In the cartoon, it's all curly.
19	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Lyle has a huge crush on Lana, who wants nothing to do with him.
20	* BrainyBaby: Louie is only a lion cub still in diapers and not able to speak yet. But the audience can hear his thoughts, which show he's more intelligent than his uncle Lyle.
21	* TheBully: Eugene. He hogs the waterhole for long periods of time, and will beat up anyone who stands up to him.
22	* ButtMonkey: Tito is constantly being stepped on or knocked aside by the other characters due to his small size. Just as often getting painful misfortune is Elmo, who frequently has other characters land onto his head whenever they take a dive into the pool.
23	* CanonForeigner: Multiple characters were added to the cartoon. These include...
24	** '''Tito:''' A small chameleon who never says a word.
25	** '''Lance:''' A large, handsome lion who is everything Lyle isn't. He's also Lyle's rival for Lana's affections.
26	** '''Snake:''' A python.
27	** '''Elmo:''' A crocodile.
28	** '''Bud And Edna:''' [[TokenHuman A pair of human tourists]] who only appear in a couple episodes.
29	** '''Frog And Toad:''' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin A frog and toad]] [[ThoseTwoGuys who are usually seen together.]]
30	* CarnivoreConfusion: Despite the animals being anthropomorphic, they're still animals and therefore there's still predator-prey relationships. And yet, the carnivores [[VegetarianCarnivore can go vegetarian]].
31	* CruelElephant: Eugene, as noted in TheBully above.
32	* ADogNamedDog: Gnu and Dodo are named after their respective species. As are Snake, Frog, and Toad from the TV series.
33	* DoofyDodo: Dodo is not as dumb as he is too stubborn to realize his species are flightless.
34	* TheDreaded: No one in Freeborn would stand up to Eugene, due to the fact he's a bull African elephant.
35	* ElephantsAreScaredOfMice: Eugene has a morbid fear of mice.
36	* FishEyes: Tito tends to have unfocused eyes, due to being a chameleon.
37	* FurryFemaleMane: Lana's [[AnimalGenderBender mane]], which looks more like a human woman's than a lion's. Also an odd example considering lions are usually exempt from this trope.
38	* HeWhoMustNotBeHeard: Tito never really said a word throughout the show's run.
39	* HollywoodChameleons: Tito would change colors every now and then.
40	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eugene, despite his reputation, is friends with the other main characters.
41	* TheLeader: Gnu leads a local heard, but that's the only way that he's a leader.
42	* LovableLizard: Tito is completely harmless, to the point he doesn't resent being a ButtMonkey.
43	* MalingeringRomancePloy: In one episode, Lyle gets bitten by a snake. Neither he nor Dodo are sure if the snake is poisonous, so Lyle is convinced he's doomed. However, he soon realizes that Lana might take care of him if she finds this out, and tells her after saving her from being trampled by Gnu's herd. She proceeds to take him home and wait on him hand and paw. [[spoiler:Later, the snake gets washed and Dodo discovers she isn't poisonous. Lana gets angry at Lyle for his ignorance and storms out.]]
44	* MisplacedWildlife: Somehow a dodo ended up in Africa.
45	* MouthyBird: Dodo and all other birds that appear have their beak as a nose, with a "normal" mouth under it.
46	* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Subverted with Elmo, who is usually laid-back and friendly to the other characters. That said, he ''is'' still a Nile crocodile and will indulge in his predatory instincts every now and then.
47	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Realistic-looking animals will appear in the TV series alongside the cartoony animal cast, particularly the opening.
48	* OnlySaneMan: Lana is the most levelheaded of the cast. Tito comes a close second.
49	* StockAnimalDiet: The sole reason why peanuts (and peanut butter) are Eugene's TrademarkFavouriteFood.
50	* ThoseTwoGuys: Frog and Toad.

Context WesternAnimation / AnimalCrackers