< Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism

Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism/Analysis

Peculiarities of Certain Kinds of Animal Anthropomorphism

Insect and Arachnid Anthropomorpism

There is a much greater tendency to actually add facial and bodily features to insects and arachnids that simply aren't present on their real counterparts in order to anthropomorphize them even slightly. Other animals are much less commonly subject to this when they are anthropomorphized pr otherwise drawn in a non-lifelike manner. Typically, those facial and bodily features are human or otherwise mammalian.

There are Some Mammalian, Anthropomorphic, and other Vertebrate-Like Facial and Bodily Features That Cartoon Insects and Arachnids Are Often Drawn With, Including:

  • Noses shaped either like human noses or like the generic jellybean shape that looks vaguely like a dog's nose. Real Life insects and arachnids don't even have noses to begin with.
  • Vertebrate eye structure with sclerae, pupils, the ability to blink, and even irides.
  • Often has four legs instead of the correct six if an insect.
  • Often has six legs instead of the correct eight if an arachnid.
  • Sometimes have Non-Mammal Mammaries
  • Having back legs or back and middle legs located on the abdomen instead of having all legs being located the thorax like they are in Real Life insects.
  • Have legs on the abdomen and a head instead of having all legs and head located on the cephalothorax and an abdomen like they are Real Life arachnids.
  • Hands and feet with fingers and toes respectively.
  • Two eyes instead of the five eyes that Real Life insects have. This can be forgiven as three of those five eyes are far smaller than the other two.
  • Two eyes instead of the eight eyes that Real Life spiders have.
  • Have vertebrate mouths, jaws, and teeth instead of or in conjunction to their mandibles if an insect.
  • Have vertebrate mouths, jaws, and teeth instead of or in conjunction to their chelicera if a arachnid.
  • Sometimes have a facial "mask" marking
  • Sometimes have a shortish, doglike muzzle
  • Sometimes has a vaguely humanoid torso
Examples of Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism/Analysis include:

Advertising


Anime and Manga


Film


Live Action TV

  • Though not a straight example of this trope, Star Trek's Andorians fit this description, at least how they were originally conceived, as having both mammalian and insect-like traits.


Video Games

  • Charmy Bee from Sonic the Hedgehog is a two-foot tall bee with only four limbs and a muzzle with a jellybean nose.
  • Pokémon's bugs vary but usually just have somewhat more mammalian eyes than their real-life counterparts, often only four legs and optional bipedalism. Scyther, however, though nominally a praying mantis, obviously borrows several vital features from vertebrates: its head resembles a reptile, complete with the accompanying mouth, fangs and eyes, and while its forelegs end in curved blades based on those of a praying mantis, its hind legs are clawed. Additionally, though Flygon is arguably only partly based on an antlion, it has a cute mammal-like body, paws and a tail.
  • In Bug! and Bug Too, there are several insects with mammalian-looking characteristics. Two notable examples are Bug's girlfriend from the first game and several enemies from the sequel.


Tabletop Games


Webcomics

  • Dreamwalk Journal features literally mammalian insect and arachnid hybrids. The implication is that the entire population is the result of genetic engineering (pantropy) by their human ancestors.


Western Animation

  • The French short series Miniscule features otherwise quite realistically drawn insect characters, but the small spider's two eyes have pupils. It also shivers when cold.
  • Chuck Jones' The Cricket in Times Square averts the body design issues with Chester Cricket, though he has a cartoonishly-stylized face.
  • Ken the weevil and Grubby from Dirtgirlworld have faces that look awfully like human faces.
    • Mostly averted with the other insects in the show, though.
  • The monarch butterfly who's considered a perfectly normal butterfly in the Handy Manny world has correct number of legs (that is, six), but it has Cartoony Vertebrate-Style Eyes.
  • The insects in The Buzz on Maggie
  • The Classic Disney Shorts are teeming with them.
    • Bucky Bug, from the Silly Symphony "Bugs In Love" and a series of comics set on his hometown of Bugville.
    • Wilbur the Grasshopper, from the Silly Symphony "The Grasshopper and the Ants" and the Goofy cartoon "Goofy and Wilbur". Also, the ants from the former short.
    • Donald Duck often had to deal with insects, including ants, a bee (which had a big red nose) and the Bootle Beetle.
    • The title character from the Silly Symphony "The Moth and the Flame", which was a Humanoid Female Animal, as well as the more cartoony male moths.
    • The Pluto the Pup cartoon "Pluto in Springtime" had a butterfly that looked more like a '40s Pin Up with wings.
  • Zipper from Chipand Dale Rescue Rangers, as well as any other insect characters the Rangers came across.
  • The entire population of Santo Bugito.
  • The moth and butterfly from the Animaniacs episode, "Wings Take Heart" are this. The moth has four legs, a light facial "mask" marking, and a red, doglike nose and the butterfly looks basically like a human with antennae and wings.
  • The female Mantis in Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness has a mammalian bustline, lipstick and blush.



Snake Anthropomorphism

Real Life snakes do not blink, but cartoon snakes are nearly always shown blinking regardless of their level of anthropomorphism.

Since snakes don't have leg, arms, feet, or hands and Civilized Animal, Funny Animal, and Petting Zoo People are almost always bipedal, it is hard to anthropomorphize them beyond a Partially-Civilized Animal, let alone to the Petting Zoo People tier without actually adding said body parts. So, if you want to make a snake shrug, it would have to use its elongate body to do so. Also, if it's going to be able to grasp objects or gesture, it's tail would have to made prehensile.

Partially-Civilized Animal, Civilized Animal, and Funny Animal snakes are frequently depicted as slithering on their bottom half, while their head and some of their upper body is constantly elevated. It's the closest to walking on two legs you can really pull off with a snake, so almost any anthropomorphized snake will move this way, while real snakes usually keep their head low to the ground while moving and put it up only briefly to analyze the surroundings or make a threat gesture.

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