History Main / CuteOwl

[[caption-width-right:250:''Hoo'' is the cutest little bird?]]

Owls are, to put it bluntly, [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter adorable]]. They just are. There is something about those perfectly round shapes, those [[PuppyDogEyes big eyes]], and their beautiful fluffy plumage that immediately appeal to us. Not to mention the rather silly features like their AbnormalLimbRotationRange, or their cute little hoots which have served so many "WhosOnFirst" jokes that it should seriously be considered its own SubTrope someday.

* Merlin's talking owl Archimedes in ''Film/TheSwordInTheStone.''

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** There are comments from female students on Ron's owl Pigwidgeon being cute in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire The Goblet of Fire]]''. Ron thinks he's a stupid little feathery git.

* The children's comic series ''Owly'' by Andy Runton is all about the adventures of an incredibly cute (and non-carnivorous!) owl.

** The mascot of the EdutainmentGame VideoGame/{{Duolingo}} is Duo, a small green owl.

* There is an owl among the WoodlandCritters in Disney's ''Disney/SleepingBeauty''.

* The ''Strigidae'' (the "eared" variety[[note]]they are not actual ears, only display plumage, and not all true owls have them[[/note]]) is often depicted as an {{adorkable}} nerd, coupling this trope with TheOwlKnowingOne, the most common {{Animal Stereotype|s}} associated with owls. Expect this CuteBookworm to have scruffy feathers, wear NerdGlasses (the big circles around its eyes being a natural inspiration of this), {{bowtie|sAreCool}}s and other geeky accessories. For a long time, this variety was almost AlwaysMale -- leading to a common misconception that the two varieties are from [[SpeciesEqualsGender the same family]] with BizarreSexualDimorphism -- but the growing representation of [[GamerChick female geeks]] in media is slowly discrediting this cliché.

Owls are, to put it bluntly, [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter adorable]]. They just are. There is something about those perfectly round shapes, those [[PuppyDogEyes big eyes]], and their beautiful fluffy plumage that immediately appeal to us. Not mentioning there rather silly features like their AbnormalLimbRotationRange, or their cute little hoots which have served so many "WhosOnFirst" jokes that it should seriously be considered its own SubTrope someday.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduces the Grass starter Rowlet, a bowtied {{Mon}} so round that it can almost be considered a WaddlingHead.

* In ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGaHoole'', while most owls are {{Badass}}, the owlets, particularly Soren's little sister Eglantine, are ridiculously cute. Gylfie the elf owl and Soren himself manage to be BadassAdorable.

[[AC: Comic Books]]

[[AC: Film -- Animated]]

[[AC: Film -- Live Action]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Toys]]

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC:Web Original]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]

[[AC: Comic Books]]
* The children's comic series ''Owly'' by Andy Runton is all about the adventures of an incredibly cute (and non-carnivorous!) owl.

* The Cosmic Owl from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' was presented as a mysterious and all powerful deity that everyone [[OminousOwl fears and respects]] as he appears in PropheticDreams. When he is formally introduced in the show, it turns out that he is a nerdy and awkward guy who just wants to play TabletopGames with friends.

* Bubo, the [[RobotBuddy mechanical owl]] in the original ''Film/ClashOfTheTitans''. Athena sent it to help Perseus, but it ends up being more of a PluckyComicRelief.

The earliest UrExample of the trope could be considered the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_of_Athena Owl of Athena]], who is also and mainly the UrExample of TheOwlKnowingOne trope. If the AncientGreece didn't particularly praised the animal for his cuteness (although it was attached to a [[HotGod beautiful]] [[GeniusBruiser and clever]] [[AmazonianBeauty warrior]] goddess), the actual city of Athena (and by extension the rest of Greece) embraced the animal as their {{Animal Motif|s}} ; the symbol was printed on some of their money (even the current euros) and is very popular with tourists.

* Owlicious from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Everybody immediately falls in love with the cute bird, Rarity even giving him a gems-encrusted bowtie at one point, except for Spike who is jealous of the owl getting so much attention. Through his eyes, everything he does is {{ominous|owl}}.

* The ''Tytonidae'' a.k.a. barn-owl variety is mostly represented cute in an [[ProperLady elegant way]] because of its [[WomenAreDelicate softer features]] and [[WomanInWhite lighter colors]] and is as such depicted almost [[StockAnimalGender always female in fiction]]. It doesn't necessarily forbids her to be BadassAdorable and she could still have SilkHidingSteel.

* The ''Tytonidae'' a.k.a. barn-owl variety is mostly represented cute in an [[ProperLady elegant way]] because of its [[WomenAreDelicate softer features]] and [[WomanInWhite lighter colors]] and is as such depicted almost AlwaysFemale in fiction. It doesn't necessarily forbids her to be BadassAdorable and she could still have SilkHidingSteel.

* The ''Strigidae'' (the "eared" variety[[note]]they are not actual ears, only display plumage, and not all true owls have them[[/note]]) is often depicted as an {{adorkable}} nerd, coupling this trope with TheOwlKnowingOne, the most common {{Animal Stereotype|s}} associated with owls. Expect this CuteBookworm to have scruffy feathers, wear NerdGlasses (the big circles around its eyes being a natural inspiration of this), {{bowtie|sAreCool}}s and other geeky accessories. For a long time, this variety was almost AlwaysMale -- leading to a common misconception that the two varieties are from [[SpeciesEqualsGender the same family]] with BizarreSexualDimorphism -- but the growing representation of [[GamerChick female geeks]] in media is slowly discrediting this cliche.

%% ** Hedwig, Harry's pet, is a white owl offered to him by Hagrid in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone The Philosopher's Stone]]''. [[WordOfGod J. K. Rowling]] later said that she chose this color because she considers snowy owls to be "the most beautiful owl of all". Fun fact: Hedwig in [[Film/HarryPotter the movies]] is portrayed by [[CrosscastRole male snowy owls]], who are smaller and whiter than the females.

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* AvianTropes
* [[ImageSource/VideoGamesAToM ImageSource/Video Games (A to M)]] [Animal Crossing]
* PleasantAnimalsIndex
* RuleOfCute