Funny animal
Funny animal is a
slang term used to describe a
genre of
cartoons and
comicss in which the main characters are
anthropomorphic animals. It usually refers to humour-oriented cartoons or comics, but not necessarily always.
Walt Disney's characters
Mickey Mouse,
Donald Duck, and
Goofy are considered to be "funny animals," as are
Warner Bros's
Bugs Bunny,
Porky Pig and
Daffy Duck. Humans sometimes appear in "funny animal" stories, such as
Elmer Fudd in the Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Occasionally, a serious story will be told using anthropomorphic animals as the main characters, such as in Art Spiegelman's Maus. The characters in these stories are sometimes referred to as "funny animals," though it is meant in an ironic way.
An alternate term for "funny animal" is "furry," though this is usually reserved for serious, adult-oriented cartoons or comics which are often sexually-explicit, such as Omaha the Cat-Dancer or Fritz the Cat.