History Main / ExpressiveEars

* All Catians in ''Literature/CatPlanetCuties'' have this as well as expressive tails. They do things like perk up when excited and droop down when sad or disappointed.

* Aisha Clan-Clan in ''Anime/OutlawStar'' has large ears that twitch when she hears something interesting or gets excited and droop when she's sad, as appropriate for a CatGirl.

* Deedlit from ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'' is an elf with very long, tapered PointyEars, and in the anime adaptations she frequently wiggles them to express stronger emotions.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'', the people have expressive tails as well as expressive ears.

* ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7''

* Kill Wolfhead in ''ComicBook/TheIncal'' series.
* In ''ComicBook/ToothAndClaw'', similar to the ''Blacksad'' example above, the [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic animal]] characters' ears react in accordance with their real life counterparts.

* Similarly, in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', Snoopy's ears rise when he is startled or receives good news. In one strip from TheFifties, Schroeder was listening to music on the radio, and Snoopy made a square with his ears.
* Dogbert from ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' has ears that fly up sometimes.

* The title character of ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' has green ears that go downwards when he's unhappy and perk upwards if excited.
* Disney uses the trope a lot, especially for rabbits (''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'') and elephants (''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'').
** Stitch from ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''.

** All the animals in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'', Bambi and Thumper in particular.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': Roo does it when he's sad. Piglet can do it, too. In ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'', there's also Holly, a young reindeer.

** While it's more subtle than typical examples in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019'', given the nature of the film, but ears do indicate emotions and moods in certain cases, including the lions.
** It's also used in [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 the original]]. When Mufasa says that he has to teach Simba a lesson, he crouches down and pins his ears back, frowning. When Mufasa calls his name to call him over, he winces and his ears pin back even further.
* Fievel in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', whose ears go down when he's sad and up when he's alert. There's also a couple of scenes in which he shifts them around to try to listen for his father's violin. They're forced down whenever he wears his iconic hat though.

%% * Toothless in ''Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon''.
* Most ears in ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' are quite expressive, but especially Shifu's, perhaps because his are the size of small satellite dishes; they twitch when he's irritated and lie flat on his head when he's afraid or upset.

* When Queen Elinor in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' is turned into a bear, she gains a lovely pair of expressive ears. Which is rather helpful, as she can no longer speak intelligibly, instead making various bear noises when she tries.

* In ''Film/GodzillaVSMechagodzilla'' and ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'', King Seesar's ears would perk up whenever he was excited or surprised.

* In ''Film/{{Hop}}'', E.B.'s ears are very expressive. His dad's, not so much, perhaps as a distinction between the two.

* Creator/LaurelAndHardy: In ''Film/AChumpAtOxford'', Stan Laurel [[IdentityAmnesia in his persona as Lord Paddington]] is able to wiggle his ears whenever he gets mad. It's still a pretty convincing effect, by the way.

* In ''Film/PeterRabbit'', all of the rabbits have them.
* ''Franchise/{{Gremlins}}'': The Gremlins and Mogwai have very large, expressive ears that are often used to display their mood, like pulling their ears back when startled. They can also swivel them in any direction to better detect sounds, so it's difficult to sneak up on them.

* This [[http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ProductDetailPage.aspx?sequence=88&group=catalog&mailingID=0&mailingGroupID=0&catalogID=908248&org=&sku=1484722108 Disney picture book]] called ''Disney Bunnies: All Ears'' makes special point of this in relation to the ears of Thumper from ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}''. In fact, the book can basically be described as "Expressive Ears: the interactive version," as the text describes various moods of Thumper and indicates for the reader to move the fuzzy ears attached to the top of the book to match those moods.

* In ''Literature/FireEngineByMistake'', a factory foreman Mr Billings can wiggle his ears, but does not like anyone seeing him doing it at work.
* Maia, the elf/goblin emperor of ''Literature/TheGoblinEmperor'', keeps his ears (which would stick out horizontally, if the cover illustration can be believed) down so as to appear calm and in control. He also pays attention to his posture and his breathing. He is (at least provisionally,) Emperor of the Elves, who value self control and dignity.

* The ears of the fey in ''Literature/HeraldsOfRhimn'' contribute to their emotional expressions. Meparik admits that he has trouble reading human emotions since their ears are "useless."
* Seen on the title character in Anna Dewdney's ''Literature/LlamaLlama'' picture books. Netflix's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdfdWeaBxFY trailer]] for the animated show depicts him dropping ears, pinned back against head, when Mama Llama announces a shopping trip.

* ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' (by Creator/CharlesStross): In ''The Nightmare Stacks'', 'Cassie' decides to [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself drop her glamor]] when going to meet the parents of Alex Schwartz (she's worried they might be powerful sorcerers who see past it). Fortunately the parents are quite mundane and far too distracted by Alex's sister marrying a transgender boy/girlfriend to pay much attention to Alex's quirky cosplaying girlfriend, but Alex's sister wants to know if her cosplay ears are a Japanese invention that responds to brainwaves, because they keep moving according to her mood. Alex on the other hand finally tumbles to what should have been obvious all along, glamor or no.
* In the novel ''Prolecto'', it's Lampshaded. The Succubi wonder how people got along WITHOUT expressive ears!

* Creator/MattStover's novelization of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' makes several references to Master Yoda's ears moving in tune with his moods. "He curled his ears at Anakin." While this novel is now part of ''Star Wars'' Legends, the canon novel ''Literature/DarkDisciple'' also references Yoda using his ears to express his moods.
* The orcs in ''Literature/TheSorceresssOrc'' have this kind of ears. Their ears are often the only sign that they are angry, as they pride themselves on superior self-control (and would also not be well-advised to display any anger towards humans, due to FantasticRacism against orcs)
* Holo from ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'', whose ears twitch when she hears something interesting and sag when she is feeling sad.

* Ogier in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
** Lampshaded several times by Perrin (after he becomes a wolf-brother) in his POV he mentions his ears trying to lay back in emotional high stress moments.

** Parodies and spoofs often give this attribute to Spock: [[http://bp2.blogger.com/_mpOAS-HxaQU/RueGSsnLhFI/AAAAAAAAASA/UePcV_Q-1Ns/s1600-h/heineken-spock.jpg This advert for lager, for example.]]
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' has the antennae of the Andorians that function similarly.
* ''Series/SpittingImage'': Prince Charles' puppet was able to wiggle his ears separately.
* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': The Child, an infant from the same species as [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]], has wide ears that communicate his mood. They're upright when he's happy and droop if he gets sad or scared.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Space 1889}}'': Martian ears express their mood.
* ''The TabletopGame/{{Traveller}} Adventure'': Vargr [bipedal wolf] characters were shown as having Expressive Ears, including flattening the ears against the skull when afraid.
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', a number of monster races have this, depending on how much focus the writer puts on them other than "Kill them and take their stuff." Goblinoids are a common example.

* Blood Elves, Night Elves, and Trolls in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' do this with the emote system: if they're sad or scared, their ears will droop, and when they cast spells in general, their ears wiggle along with the casting animation.

* Luigi's ears droop in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' when low on health.
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'' likes to make use of this trope. The first game in particular features a lot of ear movement, as Ratchet is essentially the Lombax equivalent of a moody teenager; later games tone it down, though his ears will still droop if he's low on health or otherwise in a particularly negative mood.

* Raven's ears in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' wiggle when he lies.
* In ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Rouge the Bat's ears droop slightly as she trails off from telling Omega, who's on a mission to destroy all other Eggman robots, that [[spoiler:Shadow is one of them]].
* QP in ''VideoGame/QPShooting'' has this trait, being a [[LittleBitBeastly dog-girl]] and all. They'll droop whenever she's feeling down, as shown in ''Dangerous!!''.
* In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'', after [[spoiler:Tricky]] casually suggests Fox to come with Krystal to his home for a honeymoon, his ears take some time to wiggle in shock when he realizes what he just said.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', some emotes for the [[CatFolk Miqo'te]] have them move their ears in a similar fashion to cats, twitching slightly when pleased and folding back when downtrodden or scared.
** Red XIII possesses these in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRebirth'' and they are particularly notable during the ending of the Cave of the Gi sequence in Cosmo Canyon.
* At one point in ''VideoGame/FairyFencerF'', Lola offers the party Dorfa brand bunny ears, which you can wiggle using your brainwaves. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Ethel]] already owns a pair.
* ''VideoGame/RemiLoreLostGirlInTheLandsOfLore'': Lore's ears are located in the top corners of his front cover. They droop down when he's unhappy.
* ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'': Glottis' small ears wiggle when he's excited, scared or he has an idea.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Nia]] and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 Mio]] have their [[CatGirl cat-like ears]] change with their faces.

* The angels in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'', particularly Rumisiel.

* ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' is a webcomic where the creator received several awards based off the expressions of her anthropomorphic cats.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' the elven races have expressive ears, as seen in [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=638 the first and third panel.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'': [[Theatre/{{Cats}} Misto]] (he is a cat or a CatFolk) and [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} Jareth]] (He is a FairFolk in this fanwork but it's not clear yet if this is a family trait or not).
* Many characters in ''Webcomic/{{Precocious}}'', but of the main characters Autumn's "mood ears" are the most versatile.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Concession}}'', Clive's ears hang down, while [[SplitPersonality his alternate personality]] Ernest's ears stick up.
* In ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'', it's to be expected in a [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals Galaxy of Funny Animals]], and pretty much embodied by MoodSwinger Zenith and her [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2011/06/26/bedside-manners/ long, rabbit]]-[[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2011/08/28/process-of-elimination/ like ears.]]
* Florence from ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', although sometimes it can be hard to tell if she changes angles between scenes.
* Marena from ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' has very expressive fox ears as part of her [[GlamourFailure Tell]].
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', when Sarah is experimenting with furry morphs, her cat ears [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2012-11-02 reflect her mood by drooping and even wiggling.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{tinyraygun}}'', both Nepta and her alien "pet" Doppler have long and expressive ears that show their mood.

* In ''Webcomic/PrezleekComics'', Prez's Helm of Neitiznot serves this function, with the wing attachments drooping when he's nervous or annoyed.
* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka in cat form is especially emotive, with her ears changing along with her expression almost every other panel. Many of the other animal characters follow suit to a lesser degree, as do Yokoka and Mao in their [[CatGirl cat person]] forms.

* ''Webcomic/Aurora2019'': One of the main characters, Alinua, is an [[OurElvesAreDifferent elf]] whose pointy ears droop or lift depending on her emotional state.
* ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'': Especially applies to species with large triangular ears: foxes, lynxes, dogs, to lesser degree raccoons and housecats; lagomorphs too, but their ears prove somewhat unwieldy. Swampy and Sandy are prime examples as foxes with most screen time.

* ''WebComic/OutOfPlacers'': Yinglets have very large 'rabitish' ears and show the standard pattern of upright ears when alert or cheery, pinned back when scared or angry, etc.
* ''Webcomic/BeyondTheEnd'': Roman and Cain both have these, with their ears drooping and perking up with their emotions.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'': As she's an anthro rabbit, Ruby's ears droop whenever she's shocked or upset.
* Inugami Korone of ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}} is a dog person and has rigged her model to move her ears when she's surprised.
[[/folder]]

* WesternAnimation/BugsBunny's ears do this. So do [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Wile E. Coyote]]'s ears.

* Toothless in the film of ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' has ear-like projections that serve the same function.

* Everyone in the Watterson family (except Darwin) has these in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''.
* Next to his eyes, [[WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit Gromit's]] ears are his most expressive feature. It's also seen on some of the characters in the Aardman productions ''WesternAnimation/ShaunTheSheep'' and ''WesternAnimation/TimmyTime''.

* Rabbit on ''Literature/{{Franklin}}'' will generally droop his ears when he's sad about something. Snail also these little ear-stalks that will droop when he's sad. Fox can do it too, though it is nearly as noticeable or common. Moose as well, though he's only seen in one episode of the TV show and a smattering of the original books.
* Used with Rabbit and possibly Mouse as well on ''WesternAnimation/MyFriendRabbit''.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Slaver Weapon". The Kzinti (cat-like humanoid aliens) lay their ears back when angry.
* The Nutbrown Hares on ''Literature/GuessHowMuchILoveYou: The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare'' both express emotions through their ears, though it's generally much more noticeable with Little Nutbrown Hare, whose moods, as a youngster, shift much more frequently. Some of the other characters can do it, too. In later episodes, Little Field Mouse is sufficiently sensitive to Little Nutbrown Hare's moods and ears that he's able to tell when Little Nutbrown Hare is getting a good idea just by watching his ears.
* Sometimes seen with Buster on ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''. LampShaded in the teaser of "Arthur's New Glasses" in which his ears are in a continuously droopy state and Muffy thinks that he's sad, but he keeps insisting there's nothing wrong.
* Skip the rabbit on ''WesternAnimation/WildAnimalBabyExplorers'' has ears that he can droop and move about. It's sort of LampShaded when the characters are observing real horses and he notes that they can move their ears, just like he can.
* Occasionally seen on the Piplings, the main characters of ''Waybuloo'', a preschool-targeted series aired on [=CBeebies=] in the United Kingdom and Creator/TreehouseTV in Canada.
* Dinky, a fully anthropomorphic elephant on the stop-motion Disney series ''WesternAnimation/JoJosCircus'', has these.

* Seen on the characters, all anthropomorphic cats, of TOTO (''This One and That One''), a short-form series presented on-demand on Kabillion on some U.S. cable/satellite providers. The series can also be watched officially and for free on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KTj08WBYd-E YouTube.]]
* Timothy has them on ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool''. His ears can pin all the way down (which isn't too much since they're pretty short) when he's really sad about something. Yoko exhibits this too and possibly some of the other characters as well.
* Yakko Wakko and Dot from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' raise their ears when listening to something, they droop when they're sad, they also point straight up when they are aroused, shocked, or frightened.
* On ''WesternAnimation/PeterRabbit'', this is seen on occasion. In "The Tale of the Angry Cat," when Peter tells Cottontail that it's way too dangerous for him to catapult her into Mr. [=McGregor=]'s garden, her ears droop straight down and she cries.
* On ''WesternAnimation/PegPlusCat'', Cat has them; they can get quite droopy when he's sad about something.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/LeapFrog'' ''Scout and Friends'' videos, Penny certainly has them. Possibly some of the others as well.
* On ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', Garazeb Orrelios has them. Likely a trait of the Lasat species. Cikatro Vizago has them too.
* On ''WesternAnimation/GuessWithJess'', Jess has these, as well as several of his friends.
* In the 2003 ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'', Honey Pie Pony has these, and the other fillies. Pupcake has them too.
* On ''Literature/MaxAndRuby'', they are most likely to be seen on Max.
* Zou the zebra has these on ''WesternAnimation/{{Zou}}''. Possibly the other characters too, as they're all zebras.
* These are seen on Pickles the bunny in "Bunny Blues" from ''WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins'' and on the toy bear doctor Tundra in "[=McStuffins=] School of Medicine." Also, Stuffy, a stuffed dragon, has these antenna-like things that can get rather droopy when he's sad about something. These are also seen on the Karate Kangaroos, Angus and Sydney.
* ''WesternAnimation/TootAndPuddle'' has an unusual type-- if Toot's ears wiggle, it may mean that snow is on the way. Also, most of the pigs, and possibly other characters are shown demonstrating it more normally in the special ''I'll Be Home for Christmas''.
* The bunny Mim-Mim has these on ''WesternAnimation/KateAndMimMim'' when in his anthropomorphic form in Mimiloo.
* On ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAndCousins'', Lottie's elephant ears fold inwards towards her head when she's upset or bashful about something. If happy or excited, they expand all the way out or even perk back a bit.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Sometimes when Mr. Cat is annoyed, one of his ears may move down. When he is sad, both ears may move flat against his head. Almost any time he has an OhCrap moment, both of his ears move all the way down.
* On ''WesternAnimation/ToddWorld'', Sophie has no ears, but two large pigtails in the position where the ears would be and which essentially serve the same function.
* On the Amazon animated series of ''Literature/IfYouGiveAMouseACookie'', Mouse's ears are very expressive of his moods, particularly dropping about halfway when sad or bothered by something, but perking back up when he's excited or happy.
* Though not common on ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'', these are occasionally seen on characters where it is appropriate from a real-life animal sense, such as Dhahabu the zebra in "The Golden Zebra."
* On ''WesternAnimation/BabarAndTheAdventuresOfBadou'', Jake the fox kit has these - in particular, his ears will pin all the way back when he's scared.
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Olivia}}'', certainly Olivia has these; her ears noticeably droop when she's upset about something. All of the other characters are anthropomorphic pigs too, but it doesn't really seem to be very noticeable with them, possibly because of Olivia being the lead.
* Moose A. Moose (former mascot of Creator/NickJr and seen in the shorts ''WesternAnimation/MooseAndZee'') doesn't actually have visible ears, but has antlers sticking out of where the ears would be that function in the exact same way. It can be seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kzUFqxGnoo this promo]] in which he realizes he doesn't know what sound a hedgehog makes.
* As portrayed on ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'', ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} has these both on her costume's cowl and in the bat-themed hoodie she wears as Barbara Gordon.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
** Catra's long feline ears move around to reflect her emotional state.
** Hordak's long bat-like ears droop during moments of physical pain or sadness.
* On ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndPotato'', Chip's ears will droop when sad.
* The titular character of the [[{{Creator/PBS Kids}} PBS Kids Go!]] animated series. ''WesternAnimation/FETCHWithRuffRuffman'' has his ears go up when he's excited or his ears droop when he's sad or nervous
* DependingOnTheArtist, All of the characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'' has these.
* Jay Jay from ''WesternAnimation/JayJayTheJetPlane''; when excited his wings rise upward; when he's sad his wings droop.
* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'': The dogs' ears droop when they are upset about something.
* ''WesternAnimation/ElinorWondersWhy'':
** In "Colorful and Tasty," Ari's ears droop when Elinor tells him that he can't have a cupcake because they're supposed to be selling them to their friends.
** [[ConversedTrope Discussed]] in "No Need to Shout." Upon hearing that Elinor has lost her voice from practicing a a song too much, Mr Dog's ears droop. Olive points it out, asking if he's sad for Elinor. He says that his ears do show how he's feeling and that he doesn't feel sad, but he does understand how he feels because dogs are very empathetic. Olive says that everyone knows how he's feeling because they see his tail and his ears.
* Rayla from the ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' is able to move her ears, though on a far less drastic scale than most other examples. At the end of the episode 'Heroes And Masterminds', if one looks closely at Rayla as she is watching Callum explain her bravery and good heart to Nyx, one can see her ears lower in bewilderment(and possibly humbleness) just a tiny bit.
* A few characters in ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' and ''WesternAnimation/BluesCluesAndYou'' have these, particularly Blue herself.

* Most ears in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' are quite expressive, but especially Shifu's, perhaps because his are the size of small satellite dishes; they twitch when he's irritated and lie flat on his head when he's afraid or upset.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', some emotes for the [[CatFolk Miqo'te]] have them move their ears in a similar fashion to cats, twitching slightly when pleased and folding back when downtrodden or scared.

** A variation; the head leaves Totobory uses as taste receptors also move around in different ways depending on his emotions, such as drooping down when he is sad and sticking straight up to indicate surprise.

* Toothless in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''.

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: A character's ears are used to express his or her emotions.

* Absolutely any FurryComic has this. The author of ''Webcomic/GeneCatlow'' even admitted that he liked to draw furries because [[FurriesAreEasierToDraw it's easier to draw their expressions]] when using things like tails and ears.

* Many Anime/{{Pokemon}} have expressive ears, including Pikachu and Meowth

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' has green ears that go downwards when he's unhappy and perk upwards if excited.

->'''Homer:''' Can I still talk with my hands?\\
'''Michael (Fat Tony's son):''' No.\\
'''Homer:''' What about my ears?\\
'''Michael:''' ''[shakes head]''\\
'''Homer:''' ''[ears droop]'' Hrmm.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* ''WebComic/Out-of-Placers'': Yinglets have very large 'rabitish' ears and show the standard pattern of upright ears when alert or cheery, pinned back when scared or angry, etc.