History Main / NearlyNormalAnimal

* The fish and other animals in ''FindingNemo''.

Ever notice in fictional works aimed at children, [[AmplifiedAnimalAptitude animals tend to have much more (or at least a little more) intelligence than they should]]?

{{Nearly Normal Animal}}s don't talk (though Largely Normal Animals can have some sort of AnimalTalk) and are usually quadrupedal if they are that way in real life. They are very much animals, particularly when it comes to instincts, priorities and motivations and they very rarely wear clothes. Like many {{Speech Impaired Animal}}s and {{Talking Animal}}s, {{Nearly Normal Animal}}s lack hands and walk on all fours, negating the possibility of performing many human tasks and behaviors.

{{Nearly Normal Animal}}s come in three types, largely normal, mostly normal, and almost normal.

'''Largely Normal Animals ([=LNAs=])''' clearly have thought processes and often [[IntellectualAnimal human-level intelligence]] but don't talk freely with humans. These animal characters may talk to each other, essentially [[AnimalTalk having their own language]], but humans won't understand them. That is, unless they [[SpeaksFluentAnimal can talk to animals]] or if the language is able to be learned. Their thought processes and personality is still very much like that of whatever animal they are. Many of them are able to make human-like arm and hand gestures and some can even grasp objects as if they have opposable thumbs. A few examples are bipedal even if their species isn't naturally so, but the majority of them stay on four legs if they are a four-legged animal in RealLife. A few [=LNAs=] can sometimes act like the more anthropomorphic CivilizedAnimal or FunnyAnimal when required by a joke.

'''Mostly Normal Animals ([=MNAs=])''' have clear thought processes as well as a few human and/or some or several [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]] characteristics (greater frequency of uttering sounds, human-like expressions) that still don't detract from their animality. Like Level 3, but unlike Level 1, they don't talk AnimalTalk. Their thought processes and personality is still very much like that of whatever animal they are. These animals usually don't go beyond being able to make human-like hand or arm gestures sometimes. They stay on all four legs if they are four-legged animals. This is the level between Level 1 and Level 3.

'''Almost Normal Animals ([=ANAs=])''' have very few human and/or a few [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]] characteristics (e.g., greater frequency of uttering sounds, human-like expressions) that don't retract from their animality, but they allow an audience not well versed in the way of animal behavior to understand what's going on in the animals' minds. Can be merely a result of DidNotDoTheResearch or completely intended. They don't make human-like arm or hand gestures and they stay on all four legs if they're four-legged animals.

Related to AmplifiedAnimalAptitude. [[=LNAs=]] are often but not always {{Intellectual Animal}}s.

See SpeechImpairedAnimal and TalkingAnimal for [[=LNAs=]] that can talk freely with humans.

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[[foldercontrol]]

!!LargelyNormalAnimal:

[[folder:Examples]]

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* [[UpliftedAnimal Ein]] from ''CowboyBebop''. He is smart enough to read, play chess, figure out stuff Spike and Jet can't and even hacking. Problem is, he's otherwise a totally normal dog -- he just has human-like intelligence -- and thus he can't speak, only bark and point out stuff.

[[AC:Disney and Pixar]]
* The animals in ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''
* {{Figaro}} and Cleo from ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''
* The animals in ''Disney/{{Dumbo}}'' except Timothy Q. Mouse, the crows, and the stork the {{Civilized Animal}}s.
* The animals in ''Disney/{{Bambi}}''
* Lucifer the cat, Bruno the dog, and Major the horse in ''{{Disney/Cinderella}}''
* The flamingos and hedgehogs, the broom-headed dog, and the Tulgy Wood critters in ''Disney/AliceInWonderland''

* The dogs and most of the other animals in ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp'' except the songbirds and pigeons, which are completely normal animals.
* The animals in ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' are this, especially Diablo the raven.
* The dogs and other animals in ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''

* Rufus the cat from ''Disney/TheRescuers''
* The animals in ''TheSmallOne''
* The animals in ''Disney/TheFoxandtheHound''.

* Flounder, Flotsam, Jetsam, and many of the other marine animals ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''

* Abu the monkey from {{Disney/Aladdin}} straddles the line between this trope and SpeechImpairedAnimal.
* The animals in the three ''[[TheLionKing Lion King]]'' movies are this, though Timon and Rafiki are {{Civilized Animal}}s.
* Meeko, Flit, and Percy in ''{{Disney/Pocahontas}}''
* Crikee from ''{{Mulan}}''
* Many of the animals in ''{{Disney/Tarzan}}'', especially the gorillas and elephants.

* The animals in ''BrotherBear''.
* The animals in ''HomeOnTheRange'' except Lucky Jack, who is a CivilizedAnimal.
* The animals in ''TheWild''
* The animals in ''Disney/{{Bolt}}''

* Pascal the chameleon and Maximus the horse from ''{{Tangled}}''
* MickeyMouse's dog, PlutoThePup is this, as are many other "non-anthro" animals in the ''ClassicDisneyShorts''.
** Though quite a few of them lean toward PartiallyCivilizedAnimal.
* The fish and other animals in ''FindingNemo''.
* The dogs in ''{{Up}}''

[[AC:Film - Animated]]
* The dogs, wolves, and other animals in ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}''
* The birds and other animals in ''{{Rio}}''

* The wolves and other animals in ''AlphaAndOmega''
* Pooka, Anya's dog in ''{{Anastasia}}''.

* Spike is usually a [=MNA=] example, but in ''RugratsGoneWild'', he falls in this level and is shown to speak AnimalTalk.

* The animals in the first ''IceAge'' film, but not in the sequels.

[[AC:Film - Live Action]]

[[AC:Literature]]
* The cast of ''WatershipDown'', both books, film, and TV series.

[[AC:Live Action TV]]
* The titular kangaroo of ''SkippyTheBushKangaroo'' not only showed a remarkable understanding of English, but would often imitate human behaviors like playing a piano or the drums.

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* The animals in the ''CuriousGeorge'' movies and TV series are this, though CuriousGeorge is a non-talking CivilizedAnimal himself.
* Most of the non-anthro animals in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' including Pal and Nemo.
* The animals in ''MarthaSpeaks'' except Martha, who is a TalkingAnimal.
* The cats in ''SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat''.
* Marc Anthony the dog from ''LooneyTunes''.

* Buttons the dog from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''
** Also, Newt as Schnappsi the dog in "Puttin on The Blitz"
** Sykes the crow, Scout the dog, and Squeakers the rat, Pharfignewton the horse, and Gobbles the turkey fall here too.
* Gary the snail in ''SpongeBobSquarePants'', though in his dream, he's a FunnyAnimal like SpongeBob.

* The monkey in ''{{Chuggington}}''

* All animals in ''PhineasAndFerb'' except the agent animals, who are {{Civilized Animal}}s.

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!!Mostly Normal Animal:

[[folder:Examples]]

* Brutus and Nero the crocodiles from ''Disney/TheRescuers''

* Rajah the tiger from ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}''
* Djali the goat and Achilles the horse from ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''
* Khan the horse from ''{{Mulan}}''
* Sabor and some of the other animals in ''{{Disney/Tarzan}}''
* Fluffy Louise Lopart, Mr. Lopart's cat, and a few of the other animals from ''HandyManny''
* [[PlutoThePup Pluto]], Figaro, Butch, and Salty the seal are usually [=LNAs=], but are this type in ''MickeyMouseClubhouse''.
** Bella and Mr. Pettibone are also this level.
* The cockroach from ''{{WALLE}}''.
* Kevin the bird in ''{{Up}}''
* Waffles and Chainsaw from ''GoofTroop''
* {{Goofy}}'s cat, Mr. Pettibone from ''HouseOfMouse''
* Buster, Darby's pet dog, and the squirrels from ''MyFriendsTiggerAndPooh''

[[AC:Film - Animated]]
* The equine cast in ''SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron'' have some slightly doglike behaviour and expressions. They have human eyebrows and visible, white sclera. The narrator is a horse, and the horses have a sense of humour and can plan ahead. At least some individuals also have romantic love, although Spirit's home herd seems to follow the normal stallion/harem order.
* Dragon the cat from ''TheSecretOfNIMH'', as in the book.

[[AC:Literature]]
* Dragon the cat from ''MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH''.

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* Kitty, Eric Cartman's cat from ''SouthPark''.
* Pussyfoot the kitten from ''LooneyTunes''.

* Cow from ''WordWorld'' seems to be this type.

[[/folder]]

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!!Almost Normal Animal:

* The other animals in ''Manga/ChisSweetHome''

[[AC:Disney and Pixar]]
* The rat from ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp''

* Philipe the horse, the wolves, and most of the other animals in ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.

** Many of the animals in the movies and [[LiloAndStitchTheSeries series]] are at this in fact.
* Many of the animals in ''HandyManny''
* Scud from ''ToyStory'' and Buster from ''ToyStory 2'' and ''ToyStory 3''

[[AC:Literature]]
* In the book ''Indian Paint'', the horses were almost normal, and completely unable to talk. This is particularly interesting because part of the book was told from the point of view of one of them.

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* Many of the animals in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Snowball II the cat and Santa's Little Helper the dog are normally this type.
* Many non-anthropomorphic animals in ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''.

[[/folder]]

* {{Figaro}} and Cleo from ''{{Pinocchio}}''

* Most of the non-anthro animals in ''{{Arthur}}'' including Pal and Nemo.

* ''TomAndJerry'' are usually shown as this, though sometimes they are shown as {{Civilized Animal}}s.

[[folder:Examples]]

* Dinah the kitten, the flamingos and hedgehogs, the broom-headed dog, and the Tulgy Wood critters in ''Disney/AliceInWonderland''
* Nana the dog, Tick Tock the crocodile, and other animals from ''Disney/PeterPan''
* The dogs and other animals in ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp''

* The animals and pets from WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.

* Opalescence the white Persian cat from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* All animals in ''PhineasAndFerb''.

[[AC:Disney and Pixar]]

* Nana the dog and Tick Tock the crocodile from ''PeterPan''

'''{{Largely Normal Animal}}s ([=LNAs=]):''' an animal who clearly has thought processes and often has [[IntellectualAnimal human-level intelligence]], but doesn't talk freely with humans. These animal characters may talk to each other, essentially [[AnimalTalk having their own language]], but humans won't understand them. That is, unless they [[SpeaksFluentAnimal can talk to animals]] or if the language is able to be learned. Their thought processes and personality is still very much like that of whatever animal they are. Many of them are able to make human-like arm and hand gestures and some can even grasp objects as if they have opposable thumbs. A few examples are bipedal even if their species isn't naturally so, but the majority of them stay on four legs if they are a four-legged animal in RealLife. A few [=LNAs=] can sometimes act like the more anthropomorphic CivilizedAnimal or FunnyAnimal when required by a joke.

'''Mostly Normal Animals ([=MNAs=]):''' basically a normal animal that has been given clear thought processes as well as a few human and/or some or several [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]] characteristics (greater frequency of uttering sounds, human-like expressions) that still don't retract from its animal-ness. Like Level 3, but unlike Level 1, they don't talk AnimalTalk. Their thought processes and personality is still very much like that of whatever animal they are. These animals usually don't go beyond being able to make human-like hand or arm gestures sometimes. They stay on all four legs if they are four-legged animals. This is the level between Level 1 and Level 3.

'''Almost Normal Animals ([=ANAs=]):''' basically a normal animal that has been given very few human and/or a few [[AllAnimalsAreDogs doglike]] characteristics (greater frequency of uttering sounds, human-like expressions) that don't retract from its animal-ness, but allow audience not well versed in the way of animal behaviour to understand what's going on in the animal's mind. Can be merely a result of DidNotDoTheResearch, or completely intended. They don't make human-like arm or hand gestures and they stay on all four legs if they're four-legged animals.

Related to AmplifiedAnimalAptitude. {{Largely Normal Animal}}s examples are often, but not always {{Intellectual Animal}}s.

See SpeechImpairedAnimal and TalkingAnimal for {{Largely Normal Animal}}s that can talk freely with humans.

* Dinah the kitten, the flamingoes and hedgehogs, the broom-headed dog, and the Tulgy Wood critters in ''Disney/AliceInWonderland''

* The animals and pets from {{My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic}}.

* Opalescence the white persian cat from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* The dogs, wolves, and other animals in ''{{Balto}}''

'''{{Largely Normal Animal}}s ([=LNAs=]):''' an animal who clearly has thought processes and often has [[IntellectualAnimal human-level intelligence]], but doesn't talk freely with humans. These animal characters may talk to each other, essentially [[AnimalTalk having their own language]], but humans won't understand them. That is, unless they are [[TheDoctorDolittle a DoctorDolittle]] or if the language is able to be learned. Their thought processes and personality is still very much like that of whatever animal they are. Many of them are able to make human-like arm and hand gestures and some can even grasp objects as if they have opposable thumbs. A few examples are bipedal even if their species isn't naturally so, but the majority of them stay on four legs if they are a four-legged animal in RealLife. A few [=LNAs=] can sometimes act like the more anthropomorphic CivilizedAnimal or FunnyAnimal when required by a joke.

* ''{{Lassie}}'' can not only understand, but also bark in some sort of code that humans understand to mean TimmyInAWell.

* The animals in ''TheJungleBook'', though Louie the orangutan and the monkeys are {{Partially Civilized Animal}}s.

* Ein the dog from ''CowboyBebop''.

* The animals in ''KryptoTheSuperdog'' except Mechanicat, who is a cyborg FunnyAnimal cat.
** The animal characters sometimes lean toward the CivilizedAnimal trope at times.

** Also, Roadrunner.

* Many of the animals in ''TheSimpsons''. Snowball II the cat and Santa's Little Helper the dog are normally this type.
* Many non-anthropomorphic animals in ''SpongeBobSquarePants''.
* The animals beside the monkey in ''{{Chuggington}}''

* The animals in ''{{Dumbo}}'' except Timothy Q. Mouse, the crows, and the stork the {{Civilized Animal}}s.
* The animals in ''{{Bambi}}''

* Buttons the dog from ''{{Animaniacs}}''

* Opalescence the white persian cat from ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* The animals in ''{{Bolt}}''

* Figaro and Cleo from ''{{Pinocchio}}''

** Though quite a few of them lean somewhat toward PartiallyCivilizedAnimal.

* All of the wolves of OffWhite.