"You've probably heard this expression: 'He was so afraid, he rolled into a ball, like an armadillo!'"
— Malcolm, Dillons Rolling Western The Last Ranger
Animals that have hard shells for protection—turtles, armadillos, snails, crabs, etc.—have a tendency to be depicted as timid, cowardly or nervous characters. While these shells exist in real life as a means of protection from predators, fiction tends to associate them with traits like shyness and introversion. In fact, this is probably the origin of the expression "come out of your shell" to describe someone overcoming their shyness.
Subtrope of Animal Stereotypes. For other tropes related to shelled animals, see Removable Shell and Shell Backpack.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya!: Escargoon is King Dedede's snail-like right-hand man. Escargoon is a total Sycophantic Servant who kisses up to Dedede, and is terrified of his wrath.
Fanfic
- In the This Time Round Alternate Tooniverse of This Toon Round, Daibhid Chelonidae is a tortoise who "ums" a lot when he speaks and disappears into his shell whenever something unexpected happens.
Film — Animation
- Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid is the uptight, Nervous Wreck servant of King Triton.
"My nerves are shot! This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's gonna kill himself a CRAB, that's what her father'd say!"
- Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers: The Troubadour is a cartoon turtle who gets nervous around some characters, like his apparent boss Mr. Narrator, and Captain Pete. He sometimes literally hides in his shell from them.
- Toby Turtle from Disney's Robin Hood is often seen hiding in his shell when he feels scared. One such example is when Skippy tells him that he's going to get the arrow he shot back from Maid Marian's castle, fearing that Skippy will face execution if Maid Marian spots him.
Literature
- According to Om, a god who has accidentally taken the form of a tortoise in Small Gods, and is starting to think like one, "Tortoises are cynics. They always expect the worst." When asked why, he replies "Because it usually happens to them."
- In the poem "Shelly Snail and Swallowtail", from The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast by Alan Aldridge and William Plomer, Swallowtail (a butterfly) asks Shelly what he's like beneath the mask he's wearing to the ball. Shelly replies that without the mask, he'd be too shy to socialise at all.
Video Games
- Diddy Kong Racing: Tiptup the turtle is described in the manual as somewhat clumsy and nervous.
- Dillons Rolling Western The Last Ranger: Discussed when Dillon first meets Mayor Malcolm, who is an armadillo like him. Malcolm mentions his dislike for the stereotype of armadillos as cowardly animals, and he and Russ both note how Dillon is an aversion of the trope, being a capable fighter known for his Rolling Attack.
- Insaniquarium:
- Stinky the Snail hides in its shell whenever an enemy alien appears.
- Rhubarb the Hermit Crab snaps its claws to get fish off the ground where he lives.
"He's not aiming to be a crowd pleaser. He's not trying to prove anything to anyone. He just wishes those darn fish would stay off the ground!"
- The Legendary Starfy: Starfy's friend is a clam named Moe. While more a Jerk with a Heart of Gold than anything else, Moe does have some cowardly tendencies, such as when he tries to stop Starfy from jumping into the ocean to save Bunston (and dragging Moe himself along) because he's afraid of Big Squiddy, a Giant Squid that lives there.
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Koops, the second partner to join the party, is a timid and somewhat awkward Koopa Troopa who is unable to get his words out during his first attempt to talk to Mario. Despite his shyness, he soon proves himself to be braver than he appears by accompanying Mario to fight the dragon Hooktail.
- Sly Cooper: Bentley Turtle is a shy awkward ally to Sly, who originally acted as his Mission Control. In later games, he starts to take a more active role.
Webcomics
- Kevin & Kell: It's not uncommon to see this trait among turtles in this series
- One of Lindesfarne's friends at Caliban Academy, Cara Pace, would be seen hiding her head in her shell.
This became a plot point when Lindesfarne tried to find her Caliban Academy friends later in life, and it shows Cara shelling up so much she was disguised as a computer mouse to avoid layoffs in the technology field.
Lindesfarne: It's as if she doesn't want to be found! - Greta's boyfriend, Todd, initially cut this air. But it turns out, he was actually a toad in a turtle shell. The story is that Greta set up a blind date with a turtle while in high school, but the turtle was eaten. Todd found the void shell, hid in it when Greta approached, and decided to play along. They ended up falling in love, but it was three years before Greta learned the truth that he was a toad.
- Also inverted; Fiona is surprised that Todd is cautious because "it's common for species with shells to feel indestructable". The initial joke with Cara and Colina the armadillo was that they and Lindesfarne were the only herbivores prepared to risk the mall food court.
- One of Lindesfarne's friends at Caliban Academy, Cara Pace, would be seen hiding her head in her shell.
Western Animation
- Bubsy: Arnold the armadillo is depicted as a fearful character with a crippling fear of trucks who becomes terrified at the mere mention of them, possibly due to some form of post-traumatic stress.
- Rocko's Modern Life: Filburt the turtle is your stereotypical, glasses-wearing, socially awkward comic book nerd, and he's very timid to boot. He's still a Nice Guy, he just doesn't have many friends aside from Rocko, Heffer, and his wife Dr. Hutchison.
