In entertainment, animal characters appeal to us because...

[Berserker]

We interact with other human beings so often that we get sick and tired of them (even if we don't realize it.) Animals break this visual monotony.

Yet, we can't relate to inhuman protagonists, so we give animals human attributes. Thus anthropomorphic characters are born.

This was spawned from a conversation with a friend about "Courage the Cowardly Dog." He is an artist and explained the above to me.

The question was: Why is "Courage the Cowardly Dog" a dog, and not a kid? Why not "Courage the Cowardly Kid?" The general consensus was that ironically, people like dogs better than kids.

Thoughts?

[Dreamer]

You sound about right. Now, tell me, could this be also used to explain the creepy phenomenon of the furry pr0n? Because that's the only explaination I can come up with that doesn't involve bestiality.

[Berserker]

I'd say furry pr0n is part boredom with humanity, part instinctual naturism, part transformation fantasy, part animalistic subconscious, part latent nostalgia for childhood imagery, and part attraction to the taboo.

So yeah, it's in there somewhere.

[MoonKit]

I do like most dogs over most kids.

[IndianaJones]

Anthropomorphism long existed near the dawn of mankind. You see human characteristics, emotions, attributes to animals. You can see them in old medieval drawings, caveman drawings, and before Christ time line.

Zoomorphic is another term for those wonderful half-human/half-animal hybrids.

I remember seeing Lion people in Polynesian ancient art, Wolf people as depicted as werewolves in European myth and legends.

An old 1930's French silent film using anthropomorphic animals as the main characters with no humans in it. The story was about a red fox that is the king of France, a medieval world filled with anthro animals, I forgot the title of the film. I think France people accept the furry fandom and anthropomorphism than most countries. Like, why did the France accept Black People? The same question to furries in most of the media.

Currently the mainstream media sucks at supporting the Furry genre and anthropomorphic animals. Rather they always marketed to children like most countries around the world. Its kind of hard to see deep, serious, adult situated plot and storyline in anthro animals in regular mainstream media. The style of anthro animals always involve cute, cartoony, childish style and I am suck of that, I don't like Sonic that much because of the style. I want to see realistic anthropomorphic animals with true human type bodies known as humanoid. You see some in science-fiction and fantasy genres, but not that much. You do often see them in the Furry Fandom, Deviantart, Fur Affinity, and other furry-oriented websites. Actually the mainstream media sucks so bad, it makes me want to puke. Because their music, movies, etc, etc are just plain bad right now.

But I deal with all of them.

[Midnight]

[IndianaJones]

Ok, I was wrong. The Lion-men pictures that I saw was a photograph of an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I found them from a Truth website, the pictures look quite devious.

[Berserker]

5000-year-old anthropomorphic statuette sells for $57 million:

http://www.culturekiosque.com/art/artmr ... ss103.html

[Dreamer]

[Berserker]

when most people think of furries (Including me, sorry) they think of p***?

Really? "Most people" don't even know what furry is, and would not associate the term "anthropomorphic animal" with furry, much less porn.

[outwarddoodles]

Firstly: There's pr0nz0rs for just about everything, and I honestly think there's really no good explanation for most of the fetishes out there -- so don't even bother trying.

Secondly: I think one reason a lot of companies lean towards using "furry" characters ss because of the innate archetypals certain animals have. IE. Foxes are sly, cats are snooty, dogs are fun loving. (What if Kung-Fu Panda was a Tiger or a Rat?)

Another reason is because it spurs our own imagination. Remember when you were a kid and you thought animals talked to one another? Or when believing that any sort of inanimate object could feasibly hold a conversation with you if you just listened? Playing out the idea that other-than-human things can communicate with us or act like ourselves tickles that old imagination a lot of us once had.

[RedEye]

I blame Walt Disney and his cartoon "Steamboat Willie". It starred Mickey Mouse. It was also the first sound cartoon. Anywhere.

That, I believe, got things going.

And, animals can't sue for Defamation or Slander...

[Uniform Two Six]

I blame Walt Disney and his cartoon "Steamboat Willie". It starred Mickey Mouse. It was also the first sound cartoon. Anywhere.
That, I believe, got things going.

Why blame? The "cute" anthro phenemenon which got started with Walt Disney Studios was revolutionary in at least one sense: Human/animal hybrid characters weren't scary as hell. Think about it for a moment. What anthro characters in fiction and myth existed before then? Old-Man-Coyote of various Native American myths. Werewolves of European myth. The Minotaur of Crete. And let's not forget Anubis of ancient Egyptian mythology. Disney made the anthro approachable and harmless, rather than an image of the darkest corner of hell itself.

[JoshuaMadoc]

I'm going to start talking when i see more furries that are near-50-50 in their traits and less animal-eared humans and doofy-looking creatures wearing nothing but a neanderthalic thong.

[Vuldari]

Before I begin my comment and opinion on the subject itself, I feel I must first comment on the first thing that came to my mind when I read the subject line (because that is just how my mind works).

It seems to be implied and assumed in the phrasing of the subject line itself that everyone who reads it (and in effect the whole forum community) DOES like Animal Characters, and they DO appeal to them.

Although it is clear, and I do not deny that this is true of most (if not all) of our members that I have seen do share this fandom or fondness to some extent or another, I feel that it must be mentioned that not all Werewolf Fans are Anthro-Wolf fans, and thus the assumption itself may actually be somewhat alienating to those of us whom Animal Characters are NOT so appealing to.

This may be a moot point, as I've had the distinct feeling from the beginning that the predominantly Fur-Friendly atmosphere of "The Pack" has discouraged if not frightened away all of those kind of Werewolf fans from the site completely ... but it is a point I had to get off my mind anyway.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the actual subject...


I really have very little to add to what has already been said. I am personally fond of such characters for a multitude of reasons, but most of them fit nicely under the category "Variety".

Supplementing the possible variety of visual appearance and distinction between characters by expanding the options beyond merely the handful of distinct races of humanity ( skin/hair/eye colors, etc.) and including all manner of Animal Species allows for potentially much more visually stunning casts of characters.

Likewise, the potential variety of variant personality types (both realistic and stereotypical) that can be used to greater extremes, while still having the characters appear reasonably "Sane" ( ... a character with a taste for raw meat, a tendency towards dramatically aggressive behavior, and a habit of snarling at the people he/she doesn't like would be considered a psycho if it were Human, but make it an Anthro Lion or Wolf or Bear, and suddenly they seem almost balanced and normal that way, and more acceptable within a story ... ) is bolstered considerably when Non-Human characters are used.

As I think someone else (OutwardDoodles) implied to some extent, I think another part of the facination, appeal is born into us. As children, we naturally bond and identify with animals (and inanimate objects) with almost equal significance as the other humans around us. We talk to the Birds in the Trees, we talk to our Neighbors Dog, we talk to our Dolls and Stuffed Animals and Action Figures, and somewhere in the backs of our minds, we expect them to talk back to us. Parents and Educators picked up on this common activity and phenomenon a long time ago, and so began putting these things in the books and stories they present to us at that age to maintain our attention while they try to teach us something in the process ... a behavior that only further reinforces the idea of conversing with non-human characters (and such characters communing with one another) in our minds, and very often sticks with some of us well into adulthood.

Even if you didn't grow up being read books like "Spot the Dog in Alphabet Land", or other such things, one could also point towards "Equality" movements as possible sparks for putting the idea in our minds as something that should be considered "Good".

We hear about "Equality of Race" and "Equality of Gender", and "Equality of Religion" and how all is meant to remain in balance, like the balance of nature ... so what about "Equality of Species"? If one ever bothers to wonder and ask themself if other animals deserve the same amount of respect as Human Beings, then the thought may also slip into ones mind, "Should Animals be treated like People? ... Are Animals People? ... or if not, what if they WERE?".

... at least ... that is how I think.


I think there may also be a level of Human/Non-Human ENVY that is woven into Popular Human culture that most shrug off or ignore. The sheer demand and desire to wear Animal skins, like Fur Coats, and Feathered hats when Men and Women want to look Beautiful and Impressive I think is a clear sign that much of Humanity feels at least some level of Inferiority to or Envy of other members of the Animal kingdom ... an attitude that most will deny (but I think is true none the less).

...why else would a Human wear decorative clothing made from Animal Skin if not because they consider it to be more attractive and appealing than their own. (Even Fur or Down-Feather lined coats made for warmth rather than fashion are an admission, intentional or not, of inferior capacity to weather the cold vs. the animals they are made from.)

In that respect, just as most Comic Books and Movies include characters that are Stronger, more Courageous, and More Handsome/Beautiful than they are, because people enjoy stories about characters who are like what they would LIKE to be, or people they can look up to and aspire to be like ... stories with Animal Characters are often appealing to those who admire the qualities many species possess which they themselves lack.


( ... I guess I had more to add than I thought ... )

[Berserker]

On your disclaimer, Vuldari... actually when I wrote "we," I was referring to human beings in general and not just people on this board. Furthermore, the topic originally was founded on a question about "Courage the Cowardly Dog," and so was also more about animals in general, and not just furry-anthros.

[Vuldari]

On your disclaimer, Vuldari... actually when I wrote "we," I was referring to human beings in general and not just people on this board. Furthermore, the topic originally was founded on a question about "Courage the Cowardly Dog," and so was also more about animals in general, and not just furry-anthros.

Either way, I've known at least a few people who don't like animal characters at all (they even seem to have something against Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny), which only adds to why I have taken up the philosophy of "Assume Nothing ... Question EVERYTHING". One can not assume that just because everyone they know likes a certain thing that EVERYONE does.

... again, it's probably mostly a moot point, and has no impact on the conversation as a whole, or how it should be handled. It was merely a thought that I felt the need to share at the time, and so added it as a side comment seperate from the main conversation.

... pay me no mind ... I just ramble like that sometimes. (*Points to Signature*)

[Kaebora]

This is just one of those things I tend to avoid overanalyzing. Enjoying the fuzzies for the sake of enjoying them is enough for me.

And the whole "yiff" thing, well... overanalyzing it is all that ever makes it creepy. Everyone has their kinks, and enjoy them just for the sake of primal satisfaction. There are stranger fetishes. I wont get into this subject further. Minors on the forum n' all.

[Berserker]

Eh there's a difference between plain old analyzing, and under- and over- analyzing. So far this thread has been pretty much smack dab in the middle.

[PariahPoet]

My thoughts on the yiff phenomenon- Rule 34.
If there is pr0n out there of amputees with dwarfism, ladies stomping their food, and obese people womping their bellies on each other, it stands to reason that there will be pr0n of anthro animals. I don't like that it exists, but it does, so why worry about it. It's not hard to avoid those sites. That's why I'm on jaxpad and not vcl. Jaxpad has a pg13 rating cap so I don't have to see adult material. (at least nothing worse than boobies X3 )

And Kit, there are plenty of anthros that are more human than GoldenWolf's characters(although I adore her work and prefer a more animalistic were, but I know not everybody feels the same way I do)
Check out these-
http://retehi.jaxpad.com/image/5274/just-darlin
http://kacey.jaxpad.com/image/5995/kend ... oting-pool
http://mitsene.jaxpad.com/image/16442/dance
http://aerokat.jaxpad.com/image/4464/at-dr-stranges

There are almost infinite styles if you know where to look.

[Berserker]

PariahPoet, the fetishes you listed are very focused and specialized. They aren't necessarily part of a much larger whole like anthro stuff is. Many different (and widespread!) cultural things come together to form the modern phenomenon of "Furry;" it isn't random or isolated, and so I don't think Rule 34 applies to it.

That's a good thing for furry, in a way. It means the phenomenon is much more basic and easier to comprehend, thus significantly lowering its status on the ladder of "fringe."

[PariahPoet]

Oh I'm not explaining the entire furry phenomenon with rule 34, only the porn within the fandom. ^^

[JoshuaMadoc]

*sigh* The problem is, I've tried searching for it for all my life, and so far, only the japanese furries can deliver most of what i want, which doesn't say much, because the problem i have at hand is exactly like putting up with the habits of western and eastern comics. In the end, I always end up looking at myself again and again, because:


a) I acknowledge that I am among actual talent.

b) I know myself better than other people and i know what i want.

c) I was raised in a middle ground environment.


Even with all that, what i lack are like-minded peers with the optional attribute of my skill level. And wouldn't you know it, that's also the case in pretty much everything else I get involved in. You can't ask for anything more demoralizing than the position I'm in, and for that reason i've stuck myself in the consumer demographic making cryptic and tedious demands to the wrong crowd when I should be in the developer demographic providing people what little i have for people to care about while training other areas of my talent.

[MattSullivan]

Who cares what reason you have for liking critters.:} Let's just like them ^-^

[Vuldari]

*sigh* The problem is, I've tried searching for it for all my life, and so far, only the japanese furries can deliver most of what i want, which doesn't say much, because the problem i have at hand is exactly like putting up with the habits of western and eastern comics. In the end, I always end up looking at myself again and again, because:


a) I acknowledge that I am among actual talent.

b) I know myself better than other people and i know what i want.

c) I was raised in a middle ground environment.


Even with all that, what i lack are like-minded peers with the optional attribute of my skill level. And wouldn't you know it, that's also the case in pretty much everything else I get involved in. You can't ask for anything more demoralizing than the position I'm in, and for that reason i've stuck myself in the consumer demographic making cryptic and tedious demands to the wrong crowd when I should be in the developer demographic providing people what little i have for people to care about while training other areas of my talent.

I have no idea what you are talking about other than that this entire post seems incredibly conceited, and it seems that you appear to think that your own uncommon preferences are better than everyone else's, and lack any modesty about saying so.

What point exactly are you trying to make other than that you think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that everything that everyone else is doing (with the exception of a niche category of Japanese art) sucks?


... good grief kitetsu ...