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Anime and Manga
Son of a bitch! He took out the cannons! The gate was no accident, then. He... He planned it. He has intelligence!
— Eren Jaeger, Attack on Titan
Film — Animated
Horace: Look, Jasper. [gestures at the large group of "labrador" puppies] Do you suppose they disguised themselves?
Jasper: Say now, Horace! That's just what they did! Dogs is always paintin' themselves black! [conks Horace on the head] You idiot!
Film — Live-Action
Ripley: They cut the power...
Hudson: What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
Hudson: What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
— Aliens
General Staedert: Upfront loading of a 120 ZZR missile. Marker lights on the objective.
Scientist 1: Its structure had just solidified on the surface.
Scientist 2: I think it's anticipating the attack. Anticipation denotes intelligence.
Cornelius: The most terrible intelligence imaginable, Mr. President.
Scientist 1: Its structure had just solidified on the surface.
Scientist 2: I think it's anticipating the attack. Anticipation denotes intelligence.
Cornelius: The most terrible intelligence imaginable, Mr. President.
"[The velociraptors] never attacked the same place twice. They were testing the fence for weaknesses. Systematically. They remember."
— Robert Muldoon, Jurassic Park (1993)
Claire Dearing: We are talking about an animal here!
Owen Grady: A highly intelligent animal.
Owen Grady: A highly intelligent animal.
"He spoke! Your ape. He spoke..."
— Rodney, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
"I was reading about wild dogs...they were terrorising a town in Russia some place. People were too scared to go out at night. Get this—the dogs had learned to travel on the subway. They'd take the late night trains into the city and scavenge for food, then take the early morning train back out. Can you believe that? Dogs taking trains."
— Jim, Mystery Road
"We can't hold still long! These things are damn smart! They're getting smarter by the minute!"
—Valentine McKee on the Graboids, Tremors
"My god! They're using tools!"
—Dr. Herbert West on his zombies, Bride of Re-Animator
Col. Edward Carruthers: What is the usual reason an intelligent creature kills?
Mary Royce: It's hungry? What made you so certain it's intelligent, Colonel, not just an animal?
Carruthers: It opened the door to 'C' compartment.
Mary Royce: It's hungry? What made you so certain it's intelligent, Colonel, not just an animal?
Carruthers: It opened the door to 'C' compartment.
Tanna: What do you think will be the next obstacle the Earth people will put in our way?
Eros: Well, as long as they can think, we'll have our problems.
Eros: Well, as long as they can think, we'll have our problems.
Literature
Instinct? Or was that creature intelligent, maybe far more intelligent than ourselves, and cruelly so, so that we were to it as a rabbit or a rat is to a human being...?
— The Walker in the Cemetery, by Ian Watson
Live-Action TV
"Oh, this is unbelievable! History in the making! What you see there are cells, brain cells. This seed had an embryonic brain. Oh, what a disaster that it was damaged. Imagine, a plant that could think. Think!"
Dr. Sheldon, The Avengers (1960s), "Man-Eater of Surrey Green"
Blake: You have to be careful of the plant life around here. Some of it's carnivorous. Some species even have an intelligence rating.
Vila: That's a comfort. I should hate to be eaten by something stupid.
Vila: That's a comfort. I should hate to be eaten by something stupid.
— Blake's 7, "Time Squad"
We're drawing up a plan for world domination. The key element: Coffeemakers that think.
— Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Restless"
Dean: It's all right; they're idiots. They can't pick a lock.
(the zombies stop banging on the door and start fiddling with the lock)
Bobby: Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?!
(the zombies stop banging on the door and start fiddling with the lock)
Bobby: Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?!
— Supernatural, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid"
Tabletop Games
Yes, we resemble beasts. Yes, we are savage. Neither of those things makes us stupid. That often comes as a surprise to Humans. Invariably it is the last thing that ever surprises them.
— Beastlord Grakkle, as translated from the Beast Tongue by Keldar Mouth-of-Chen, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Old World Bestiary — A Compendium Of Creatures Fair And Foul
To think of [Tyranids] as beasts is a grave mistake. We have observed their vanguard organisms herd prey like cattle into the path of the main swarms. We have seen them expend tides of lesser beasts so that their enemies have no ammunition left when their leaders attack, and armored columns channeled into narrow defiles where but one of their assault beasts can tear through an entire tank company. Only yesterday we received a pict-capture of several platoons falling back into the keep of Gnex Bastion, only to be trapped and slaughtered by burrowing organisms that burst from the ground. These creatures have shown evidence of a tactical acumen that speaks of a far worse threat than that posed by a mere beast.
— Lexmechanic Ursis, Warhammer 40,000
Video Games
You had me under a gun... and yet you just walk away? No monster alive turns the other cheek. No monster does that... A thinking man does that...
— Grace Holloway, Bioshock 2
They're using cover! I thought they were supposed to be dumb beasts!
There is a way to turn an entity into data. They have a life of their own, and it is difficult to distinguish them from normal computer files. In our actions of everyday, while we sit at the computer, this byte entity observes, and studies our every move and fear.
— Imscared
While the Heartless function on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan.
— Yen Sid, Kingdom Hearts II
Helga: I've heard that even among terrestrial lifeforms, if an individual learns a new way to hunt, the same method of hunting was suddenly acquired by other individuals all around the world. This may be like the collective unconscious that Jung talked about.
Max: It's hard for me to understand difficult things, so can you explain it in more Layman's Terms?
Helga: Simply said, the information that comes into contact with Crystals is being leaked to all the contaminated weapons.
Max: I see. So they are making it as unclear as possible as to where they're heading.
Helga: That's correct.
Max: It's hard for me to understand difficult things, so can you explain it in more Layman's Terms?
Helga: Simply said, the information that comes into contact with Crystals is being leaked to all the contaminated weapons.
Max: I see. So they are making it as unclear as possible as to where they're heading.
Helga: That's correct.
— Raiden V
Although crude and primitive at the first glance, even the minimal level of sophistication required to craft this monstrous weapon seems inconsistent with the outwardly brutish creature that carried it. Could it be that the Kraekan, long regarded as mere predators of the deep acting upon base instinct alone, are something else entirely...?
— Description of the Headtaker, Salt and Sanctuary
"Missile attack on Zeta-5: humans activate first defense successful. Afterwards: danger posed by innovation suddenly clear."
Web Original
"I would like to here again state that 106 is not, as is commonly believed, a basic predator, on par with an advanced shark. SCP-106 is a sentient being, albeit a totally alien one. SCP-106 appears to be aware of several things beyond the scope of pure instinct and genetic memory. SCP-106 consistently breaches at moments where recovery and containment are most difficult. A fox may see his way out of a trap, but only a man will wait for his captors to look away to escape."
— Dr. Allok, "Treats
", SCP Foundation
", SCP Foundation Western Animation
Starscream: (to a robot dragon at least twice his size) Unruly beast! You dare to roam freely without permission?
Predaking: (transforms) Strike me again, and I will bury that rod in your spark.
Predaking: (transforms) Strike me again, and I will bury that rod in your spark.
I am no beast.
— Predaking, Transformers: Prime
