Imaginary animal friends

[Frankie_4_Prez]

Other than Herry, who is clearly a rabbit, what other obviously animal-looking friends have shown up in Foster's episodes? (in other words, something ambiguous like Coco shouldn't count)

The only other obvious one I can think of is Fluffernutter (squirrel).

Really curious what the heck inspired Duchess (short-nosed elephant?) and Berry (annoying rodent creature?)

[Cassini90125]

Originally Posted by Frankie_4_Prez

Really curious what the heck inspired Duchess (short-nosed elephant?) and Berry (annoying rodent creature?)

Good one.

Crackers, a small dog, comes to mind immediately but I'm drawing a blank on any others at the moment.

[Sparky]

I have the gallery from the season sets posted on my site, here and here. You can use them to remind you of the minor characters.

There's quite a few animal characters. But please don't use this thread to simply post a list, as a list is not a discussion. I don't know exactly what kind of discussion you had in mind.

[Frankie_4_Prez]

Wow that was a fast reply. Was just browsing the screencaps, and in "Go Goo Go", Goo imagines a bunch of... mini-humans, and in "Setting a President," there's an owl friend whom Herry forces to sleep at night. But these are all relatively minor characters. I'd imagine there really aren't any more major characters (those who have a proper name) that are some kind of animal.

Oh yeah, which episode is Crackers in? Sorry it isn't really obvious to me.

[Cassini90125]

Back on-topic, then.

Originally Posted by Frankie_4_Prez

Oh yeah, which episode is Crackers in? Sorry it isn't really obvious to me.

Crackers was introduced in Mac Daddy.

Some animal IF's might have been created as replacements for pets that have passed on. Others might have come into existance as an act of defiance, as in "Oh, so you won't get me a puppy, dad? Fine! I'll make my own!" More exotic animals, such as an imaginary iguana, might be the result of an intense fascination with the species. That's my thoughts on the matter, at least.

[jekylljuice]

Hmm, Duchess may have a trunk, but that hardly makes her an elephant, IMO (there is an elephant-inspired IF, however, and that's Clumsy). If anything, I'd say that the creature she most closely resembles, facially speaking, is a tapir, but then I wouldn't really consider her to be one of the predominantly animal-inspired friends. Her character design is more frequently likened to the figures who featured in the works of Pablo Picaso. As for the mystery surrounding Duchess's genesis, well, it's something that a lot of us have pondered, though whether it'll ever actually be brought up within the show is another question.

Also, while I certainly do agree that Crackers, with those huge ears of his, resembles a papillon dog, his appearance isn't 100% canine (a la Chuey and his siblings). He does walk - or rather skip - upright, after all, and he has little grasping hands, not paws.

[pitbulllady]

There's the Mojo Jojo friend, based on a chimp, and there's that big purple gorilla who kept pushing Duchess on the ladder away in "Duchess of Wails", when Mac and Bloo kept trying to get her back over the wall at Foster's. There's Billy the Squid, who is actually more like an octopus, and several cat-based friends, including that cyclops cat-thing who's been seen in "Bloo's the Boss" and "Adopt-Calypse Now", and of course, Mr. Emo himself, Bloppy Pants. There's another octopus-like thing-don't know his/her name-who flies/floats through the air. I think Mable Licorice is based on a hamster. A whole bunch of fish IF's live in a tank outside, along with Cyrus the Sea Monster, and don't forget the bee friends in that giant hive. OH, and how could I forget the equine friends, all those unicorns and My-Little-Ponies and Pegasi outside.

pitbulllady

[Frankie_4_Prez]

Oh yeah, all the fish friends. Whoever thought up the shark, his/her family must've had quite a reaction. "Nice day for a swim in our pool... Whoa, what's THAT?!"

[Ub3rD4n]

Don't forget Fido, the dog/fish. I always thought of that "purple gorrilla" as a pink orang-utan.

As for some discussion, I think it only makes sense for some kids to conjure up imaginary pets if their parents either can't or won't let them have real ones. The more "animal-inspired" IFs are probably just that-people need inspiration for just about anything, and animals are cool looking and fun, why not use them?

[Frankie_4_Prez]

Since there are plenty unicorns, I was kinda expecting more of the "mythical" imaginary friends to show up... like the Loch ness monster, bigfoot, abominable snowman, etc. with the childish touch added. Maybe I just haven't watched the right episode yet.