Most cartoon characters are a recognizable species. Chances are they won't be super realistic, but it's still going to be clear what species they are. Usually, to make it clearer, their species will also be their surname, or even their FIRST name. We all know that Simba is a lion, Mickey is a mouse, Nemo is a clownfish, Felix is a cat, and Magilla is a gorilla.
However, there are some cartoon characters clearly not intended to be an actual species from this planet at all. Sometimes they'll at least be, for example, a bird or a bear, but not a particular KIND of bird or bear that you can see in nature. I'm sure these characters have piqued your curiosity and made you want to learn more about their behavior, natural habitats, and favorite pizza toppings. Okay, maybe not that third one...
Today, I'm going to be channeling the Kratt Brothers and letting you know everything there is to know about the strange species that inhabit animated movies, TV shows, comic strips, and ads. Why? Easy - because SOMEBODY has to do it. Put on your pith helmet and get out your binoculars, 'cause we're going on safari!
The Warner
Scientific name: Cartoonus characterus (thanks, Tom Ruegger!)
Appears in: Animaniacs
The Warner is a very strange creature similar in appearance to a puppy dog with mostly black fur, aside from the fur on their faces and feet, which is white. It practically weaponizes cartoon physics, particularly when up against someone who's really, really asking for it - an obnoxious candy store owner, a con artist bear running a garage sale, an abrasive guy sitting next to them on a plane, etc. Can usually be found running amok on the Warner Bros. studio lot, making pop culture references. Approach with caution if it's carrying a mallet.
The Gurgi
Scientific name: Furryous Gollumus
Appears in: The Black Cauldron
Is it a primate? Some type of otter? Perhaps the missing link between humans and gophers? Nobody knows for sure. Its natural habitat is the kingdom of Prydain. Very cowardly, but reliable. Often searching for "munchings and crunchings" - it particularly loves apples. Can talk, but speaks in the third person. This is a very rare species. Don't expect to see it the next time you're at Disneyland, as the film it appeared in was a box office bomb and therefore not something Disney wants to promote.
The Schulz Yellow Bird
Scientific name: Canaria perhapsa
Appears in: Peanuts and its various animated adaptations
Identifiable by its yellow feathers and its round, very large beak. Generally flock together, as birds of a feather are known to do, though they also frequently hang out with beagles. They enjoy camping, and the females are for some reason obsessed with angel food cake with seven-minute frosting. This bird also has the unique ability to fly upside-down. However, they can not fly very high, lest they get beak bleeds.
The All-Purpose Animal
Scientific name: Anythingus intheworldus
Appears in: Twice Upon a Time
An odd mishmash of species, the All-Purpose Animal has the head of a koala bear, orange fur, wings, a curly tail, and four legs. It can shapeshift into any sort of animal it wants, but can have difficulty controlling this ability. Has a voice extremely similar to Garfield's. You'll have to go to the Land of Frivoli to find one.
The Gummi Bear
Scientific name: Ursus candyus
Appears in: Adventures of the Gummi Bears
A Gummi Bear can usually be told apart from a brown bear or a black bear by its odd fur color - males can be blue, purple, pink, or an orange-y brown, whereas females can be yellow or a slightly more orange-y shade of yellow. The population of Gummi Bears used to be far bigger, but they were persecuted by humans, and as a result many of the remaining bears fled overseas. Their name comes from a potion they have created called "gummiberry juice", which allows them to bounce around like a rubber ball - if a human drinks it, on the other hand, they gain super-strength. Generally friendly, but don't appreciate being mistaken for Care Bears.
The Backson
Scientific name: Milneus busyus
Appears in: Winnie the Pooh (2011)
This is a giant creature with a tail, two sharp horns atop its head (which are used to put holes in your socks) between a mop of red hair, black toes, and blue fur similar to a shaggy rug. What does a Backson do? No one quite knows for sure. Rumor has it that its hobbies include scribbling in library books, tangling up the hooks while you're decorating your Christmas tree, spoiling milk, muddying up your tidy house, making you feel as small as a mouse, spilling your tea, making you lose your train of thought, swiping Tiggers' stripes, clogging your pipes, digging up your garden, eating your snacks, and chipping your tooth. Also known for being very busy. However, most of these claims come from an owl who clearly doesn't have all of his marbles (he also thinks "Skull" is spelled "S-C-H-O-O-L" - everyone knows that "Skull" has another Y in it!), so take them with a grain of salt.
The Dronkey
Scientific name: Equus firebreathingus
Appears in: The Shrek sequels
What happens when a donkey and a dragon reproduce. Don't ask how that's possible, I subscribe to the theory that the stork brought them their kids (it's a fairy tale world, after all). Mostly donkey-like in appearance, but have dragon wings and can fly and breathe fire. Full of energy, Dronkeys can be destructive but they never mean any harm. They also get along very well with ogre children.
The Chowder
Scientific name: Gluttonous bottomlesspitus
Appears in: Chowder
A cross between a cat, a bear, and a rabbit (don't ask how THAT'S possible either). Males are purple-furred, females are pink and look more like a rabbit with some cat bits than the males do. Males are also known to eat just about anything - the only things they will not eat are mevilled eggs. They can also hold things in their stomachs and dislodge them when they are needed. Alas, the Chowder usually becomes dumber and more unhinged as time goes on - they start out as merely naive and by the thirteenth episode are so stupid that they don't even remember why they walked into the bathroom. Not an exaggeration.
The Wubbzy
Scientific name: Wowwowus wubbzus
Appears in: Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
A yellow gerbil-like creature who lives in a tree and loves to play, play, play. It has a prehensile, highly-flexible tail and it likes it that way. Enjoys chasing flutterflies, eating ice cream cones and Doodleberries, and playing games of kickety-kick ball and hippity-hopscotch. Does not like brussel sporuts. It claimed in an interview that is it not an animal, but it is clearly not a human, a vegetable, or a mineral either, so what else COULD it be?
The Fraggle
Scientific name: Frithus livesundergoundus
Appears in: the animated Fraggle Rock (and the live action one it spawned from, of course)
Fraggles are lizardlike in appearance, but unlike lizards, they have hair: some on their heads and a tuft on their tails. They are knee-high to a human being (who they believe are called "silly creatures" - not exactly an unfitting name for us, is it?). Also, they come in a variety of colors. A Fraggle can usually be found making music, dancing its cares away, doing laundry, wembling, or reading postcards from their uncle who's exploring outer space. Their favorite food? Radishes, with Doozer sticks (made from radishes) as a close second. How Fraggles reproduce is unknown, and quite frankly it's none of our business anyway. To find a Fraggle, search for a Fraggle hole in your house. But make sure it's not a mouse hole as opposed to a Fraggle hole before sticking your hand in - Fraggles don't bite, but mice probably do.
The Grinch
Scientific name: Greenus grouchus
Appears in: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Usually found in snowy areas, such as mountains overlooking microscopic towns located on a speck of dust. A Grinch, recognizable by its green fur and angry expression, is as cuddly as a cactus and as charming as an eel. Its heart is full of unwashed socks, its brain is full of spiders, its soul is an appalling dump heap full of garlic and gunk, and its smile is full of termites (ewwwwww). It has all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile. I wouldn't recommend touching one with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole. The three words that best describe this species are as follows, and I quote: "stink", "stank", and "stunk".
The Beast
Scientific name: Royalus Painus
Appears in: Beauty and the Beast
A creature with the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth and mane of a lion, the tusks and nose bridge of a wild boar, and the legs and tail of a wolf. A beast, found mainly in foreboding-looking castles in the spookiest forests located in France, is known for its explosive temper - you don't want to make one angry. However, most beasts are actually just princes who've been cursed by an enchantress who they've slighted. You'd probably be a sourpuss too if YOU'D been turned into a rejected Monsters Inc. character.
The Paradise Falls Giant Snipe
Scientific name: Bigus birdus
Appears in: Up
Think of this handsome fella as the halfway point between an ostrich and a parrot. Known for its colorful plumage and impressive height, the Paradise Falls Giant Snipe is often hunted by crazy explorers and their packs of talking dogs, but it is incredibly difficult to capture. They are very fast. Their favorite food is chocolate, but they also like eating the walkers of senior citizens. They usually build their nests in labyrinths, or on the roofs of floating houses. Despite their goofy appearance, the Paradise Falls Giant Snipe will attack if provoked... or at least take a dump on your car, which considering how large they are is more than a minor inconvenience.
The Wild Mike
Scientific name: Partyus animalus
Appears in: Barnyard
Presumably a mammal, but I don't know for sure. It has two legs and two arms, but it's hard to tell if it has a head but no body or a body but no head - we have no idea WHAT exactly is under all that hair. Don't try to keep this thing as a pet, it's impossible to control and probably very difficult to house-train. If there's one thing this creature loves, it's dancing. Its very presence can force ANYONE to dance, even a male cow with udders. They also make for great protection against coyotes.
The Sea Bear
Scientific name: Ursus arctos underwateris
Appears in: SpongeBob SquarePants
The underwater equivalent of a grizzly bear, Sea Bears are thought by many to be a myth. Those people are wrong. Sea Bears exist. And there are multiple, multiple ways to attract them: playing the clarinet badly, waving one's flashlight back and forth really fast (flashlights are their natural prey), eating cubed cheese (sliced is fine), stomping around (they take that as a challenge), wearing a hoop skirt, clown shoes, or a sombrero in a goofy fashion, and screeching like a chimpanzee. And if you DO attract a Sea Bear, you should also avoid running, limping, crawling, or being Squidward Tentacles, which are all things that they hate. Fortunately, you should be protected from a Sea Bear by drawing an Anti-Sea Bear circle in the dirt. It has to be a circle, though. Ovals don't work.
The Uniqua
Scientific name: Pinkus polkadottus
Appears in: The Backyardigans
The antennae suggests a giant bug, but most of her looks mammalian. Sort of. Very cheery, with a large imagination. Often hangs out with moose, hippopotamuses, penguins, and kangaroos... despite none of those animals sharing a natural habitat. Can usually be found in backyards, where they've got the whole wide world to explore and always find things they've never seen before. That's why every day, they're back for more.
The Keswick
Scientific name: Geekus nerdus
Appears in: T.U.F.F. Puppy
This one might actually be an alien, we're not one hundred percent sure. Despite looking like some sort of rodent, the Keswick has gills, a pouch, webbed feet, and can lay eggs. Their life cycle adds to the confusion - among other things, there's a "platypus phase" where they shoot toxic quills when they hiccup. They are also highly intelligent, if a bit on the scatterbrained side, and tend to sound a lot like Jerry Lewis.
The Woggle Bird
Scientific name: Dancingus Avianus
Appears in: Hanna-Barbera's Jack and the Beanstalk
The Woggle-Bird resembles a vulture with green feathers. Most birds leave the ground, but most birds, we've found, aren't too profound. What does a Woggle-Bird do? May we oblige with a clue? Well, if a frog frogs, and a bark barks, and a fog fogs, and a clock clocks, then it follows, we say, as night follows day, a Woggle-Bird wogs. They're fantastic dancers, and really good singers too. Harmless, but have a habit of pulling you into bombastic musical numbers.
Something That Doesn't Exist
Scientific name: Whatus theheckus
Appears in: Phineas and Ferb
Honestly, I think this one speaks for itself.
We hope you've found this guide to cartoon species identification helpful. If you ever see one of these animals out in the wild, there's a fifty-percent chance you're hallucinating. To learn more about animals - REAL animals, of course - visit your local library. Or watch Animal Planet or National Geographic. Either or.
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