Here a wick check will be performed for Playful Otter.
Why?: Playful Otter is supposed to be about otter characters who are playful or fun. However, it is being misused for any time an otter is in a work.
Wicks checked: 25/50
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Correct use (playful or fun otter characters) (9/50)
- WesternAnimation.Zootopia: Otters are seen as playful and harmless. Emmitt Otterton is Happily Married and the preferred florist of Mr. Big, a mob boss. He also becomes a savage beast when shot by a Night Howler pellet. Otters are playful or harmless.
- FridgeBrilliance.Zootopia: At first it may seem off that an otter like Mr. Otterton reverting to his feral state would be so aggressive at all times, even when there's no one around to attack, or provoke him. While most animals chalk this up to him reverting to his predator instincts, in real life otters have pretty relaxed and playful dispositions (although it should be noted that they are wild animals that attack when they feel threatened or provoked, and do not make good house pets) and they evolved to mainly forage for slow-moving fish and invertebrates like crabs, mussels, clams, etc. At first it can seem like a glaring case of Artistic License, until it's revealed that the cause of the Hate Plague is a poisonous plant that makes ALL animals it comes into contact with turn aggressive, even bunnies. This also serves to highlight how pervasive Zootopia's Fantastic Racism is: otters technically being carnivores gets them classified as "predators", and since they're predators that means they must have naturally feral, savage, aggressive dispositions. If anyone had said, "Wait, otters were mainly foragers, and were pretty mellow and friendly even in their natural state", they probably would have figured out how artificial the Hate Plague was a little sooner. This said, it should also be pointed out that no one in the city would have any idea how wild otters would actually act. The only way they would know about the behavior of wild predators is if the herbivores managed to not only develop sapience but full on writing (which took hundreds of thousands of years for humans to develop in real life) before predators developed sapience, unlikely since predators are usually smarter than herbivores (they need to be), and even if they did, the records would be similar to big bad wolf tales, not scientific observation. Of course no one realizes that the behavior of the savage predators doesn't match the behavior of real wild animals they have no frame of reference for it. Reference to otters being playful IRL.
- VisualNovel.Echo: Defied by Chase; apparently it's an in-universe species stereotype that he somewhat resents. Correctly used defied example.
- WesternAnimation.Octonauts Above And Beyond: Periwinkle, a Cheerful Child otter pup. Just barely enough context, but fits.
- Literature.Redwall: Like hares, otters by in large are friendly, energetic creatures that enjoy life and can rip you a new behind both on land and water. Correctly used as written.
- Characters.Planet Zoo: The first otter in the game, and an above-average draw for guests, they'll play around with each other regularly. Zigzagged a bit in that it's still a predator, and other animals should be kept well away. Correctly used.
- Characters.Franklin: You bet. She loves to play, is energetic, and is also considered quite funny. Correctly used.
- Characters.Jurassic World Evolution: Its swimming animations are very otter-like, using both its feet and its tail to swim, and it's quite acrobatic as well. Its social animation involves two Nothosaurus twirling around each other like river otters playing with each other. Eh, close enough.
- DarthWiki.Beyond The Star Empire Of The Otters Of Doom: They are so cute and cuddly, and all they want to do is play epic-doomball with your skull. Correctly used.
Otters exist (4/50)
- Characters.Monster Hunter Fifth Generation Monsters Rise: To describe this thing as "playful" would be very far from the truth, but the way it swims on its back and cracks clams on its belly evokes the image of an otter. Character who resembles an otter.
- Manga.Shirokuma Cafe:
- An otter frequently visits the cafe.
- Otters also become a plot point in episode 16, where Grizzly thinks a group of them ate Polar Bear when they actually ate a dessert shaped like a polar bear.
- The Christmas Episode reveals that an otter looks after Grizzly's bar while he hibernates. Otters exist.
- SelfDemonstrating.Surfer Dude Dean Wilson, the otter character in Animalympics, although his main focus within the film is swimming. "Otters exist" pothole.
- Literature.Oona: Otto the otter, who hangs out with Oona and goes treasure hunting with her. An otter character exists.
ZCEs, unclear, and other (11/50)
- Fanfic.Mossflower Odyssey 3: averted with Chak. No context.
- Characters.Happy Tree Friends Main Characters: He's a sea otter who does join in on fun activities every now and then, such as going trick or treating in "Remains To Be Seen" and playing baseball in "Can't Stop Coffin". Eh, "an otter who sometimes does fun things" is different from "an otter who is a fun character". I'm putting this in other.
- Literature.Miss Bindergarten: Ophelia, as well as her two little twin siblings. No context.
- Webcomic.Rayfox: Rose is the first member of S.O.S. willing to welcome Ray. She also has a pool in her office and treats him and her friends to ice cream. Unclear as to if the playfulness is a personality thing.
- WesternAnimation.Nimona 2023: One of Nimona's forms, as she is quite playful... in an arson-happy kind of way. Playfulness not specific to being an otter.
- WMG.My Little Pony Fighting Is Magic: * Otters No context pothole.
- Literature.Burgess Bedtime Stories: Little Joe Otter. No context.
- ComicBook.Rocket Raccoon 1985: Lylla. No context.
- Characters.Jak And Daxter: A clever character who's half-otter. Clever =/= playful.
- Characters.Neopets Species: Not actually otters, but otterlike. No context, commented out.
- Characters.The Foxbusters: Except he's a villain. No context, not even an example.
Unclassifiable (1/50)
- TropeCo.Playful Otter Trope Co page.
