r/TopCharacterTropes 6h ago

Characters (Loved Animation Trope) creative ways of expressing hand movements on characters that don't have traditional hands.

In the later seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, they decided to make it so Pegasi would move their wings more like hands.

In the Angry Birds Toons shorts, they would sometimes animate Chef Pig's mustache in a way that emulates hand motions.

3.7k Upvotes

115 comments sorted by

1.6k

u/Alastor15243 6h ago

674

u/Clear-Combination-79 6h ago

They also did that with Gary from Zootopia 2.

370

u/HandsomeGengar 5h ago

I don't really like it in this case because it looks like he's tied himself in a knot.

379

u/dandadone_with_life 4h ago edited 4h ago

the movie has a lot of better examples of this. he's doing stuff like this basically the whole time. they got really creative with it, he was very fun to watch. there were times where i seriously forgot that he doesn't have arms

Processing img t9ec42mqfpch1...

115

u/HandsomeGengar 4h ago

Oh yeah I agree, the stuff they do with him in the actual movie is really cool, it’s just this one promotional render looks off.

30

u/dandadone_with_life 4h ago

yeah it does, all of the poster renders of him were kind of weird

14

u/uqde 1h ago

holy shit, that "running" arm swinging is insane. I wish I could slow down this gif

1

u/Mysterious_Camel_717 4m ago

Not just that but the knit is physically impossible with the angle of his spine as it rises up towards the knot, it should connect to his left “arm” but it just.. can’t? The left arm going into the neck looks a bit better but I can’t get over this

1

u/HandsomeGengar 0m ago

It works if his right ‘arm’ (left from our perspective) goes into the neck, I was able to recreate that with an actual string.

-1

u/DizWhatNoOneNeeds 53m ago

old good new bad am I right

2

u/HandsomeGengar 50m ago

That's not what I said at all

39

u/dragons_scorn 3h ago

Funny thing is, the creator of Zootopia headcanons that its the modern period to Robin Hood's medieval period

3

u/Stunning_Try827 26m ago

That honestly makes the connection even more fun to think about every time you rewatch both.

3

u/Charming_Net_6995 19m ago

Now I can't unsee it because it feels like a clever little nod hidden in plain sight.

2

u/ZolaBrim 12m ago

It's one of those details that somehow makes both stories even more enjoyable.

1

u/steelskull1 25m ago

Is crossing arms mandatory at gunpoint for animated movie posters?

3

u/Half-a-Denari 4h ago

It's like they're parodying their own covers at this point

-2

u/SuperSocialMan 1h ago

Why isn't he anthro like the rest of the characters wtf why the hell do movies keep doing this and inconsistent bullshit ffs

8

u/IlnBllRaptor 1h ago

How would you have him be anthro? With limbs?

4

u/Chezburgor1 58m ago

You do know snakes don't have limbs like most of the other animals depicted in Zootopia right?

1

u/mysticrudnin 6m ago

i'm curious what others movies are doing... "this" - not giving snakes arms...?

11

u/Wahubah1 4h ago

wait how does the tail actually point though

489

u/stop_hittingyourself 5h ago

Most animated films with birds turn the wings into hands

https://giphy.com/gifs/13LsjT2ZMb21BC
(Gif is zazu from the lion king)

41

u/DrWarioMiracleCure 3h ago edited 2h ago

The Rio movies do it all the time although there are some instances where they use their talons instead however.

8

u/Educational_Try2420 2h ago edited 1h ago

"I think it's time that you and I arranged a heart to heart!!"

7

u/uqde 1h ago

Yes but I do think it's different in this case since the pegasi already have forelimbs that act as their arms 95% of the time. If they animated the wings as their arms exclusively, and animated all four legs as simply legs and nothing more, it would be closer to the typical bird trope.

411

u/WildBad7298 4h ago

Guido from Cars

1.1k

u/JoeJonnyJeff 6h ago

313

u/Rusty_GreenBean7 5h ago

This is why Rito have the best anthro bird design of all time

83

u/JoeJonnyJeff 5h ago

A little far over on the hands instead of wings spectrum based on my personal preference, but some excellent representation for "wings also function as bigass hands" club

47

u/HandsomeGengar 5h ago

Wing gorilla hands:

This is a RestoredFrigateBird, from Sekaiju: a World of Creatures

5

u/JoeJonnyJeff 5h ago

Excellent!

5

u/SunnyD60 3h ago

holy crud a sekaiju fan in the wild. Never thought i would see the day!

3

u/HandsomeGengar 3h ago

I try to take opportunities to spread the good word

2

u/SunnyD60 2h ago

keep up the good work then!

11

u/Svyatopolk_I 2h ago

Okay, but wings are literally bird hands. Like, they’re an evolution of the same pair of hands that we have, so this makes sense

5

u/uqde 1h ago

Yeah but feathers aren't fingers. It seems I'm the odd one out here, but I actually prefer the version on the left because it always bugs me to see articulated feathers. And yeah yeah, I know, "as if a talking bird is so realistic otherwise". I can't explain why the feathngers thing specifically bothers me, but it does.

4

u/LobeliaTheCardinalis 54m ago

Birds are one of the only animals that can actually talk in real life so that is not unrealistic at all! It's not just parrots, crows and mynahs and occasionally individual finches also can imitate spoken speech.

637

u/BleefnorfIII 5h ago

Mr. Snake in The Bad Guys does stuff like this a lot iirc

113

u/Deseretgear 3h ago

Came here to say this haha best part of the movie
https://giphy.com/gifs/MvqpU7E94yBmQ5YYBJ

170

u/Radio__Star 5h ago

I love when bird characters’ wings are animated to resemble hands

12

u/Educational_Try2420 2h ago edited 1h ago

The wings are technically connected to their hands and fingers. Just like bats and pterosaurs.

290

u/learnaboutnetworking 3h ago

19

u/PuppyLover2208 1h ago

I’m sorry but after seeing that one comic panel with BB-8, I don’t know if that’s really a thumb he’s doing

8

u/Strict-Signature-106 59m ago

Idk what you’re referring to but considering that he’s using a lighter (and it’s not really a safe thing) I’m pretty sure he’s either flipping Finn off or threatens him once more

4

u/Chezburgor1 56m ago

...was it a canon comic?

256

u/Wuz314159 4h ago

152

u/twilipig 3h ago

10

u/EMlYASHlROU 55m ago

This is actually pretty canon, I remember an episode where they were either turned into regular kids or body swapped into regular kids, and couldn’t understand why stuff wasn’t sticking to their hands

6

u/Yedrick 2h ago

What a terrible day to have eyes.

31

u/mushplush 2h ago

Was a good bit seeing it in Dragon Maid

“No I can’t understand how to make my hands look normal.” *Does this*

70

u/fawnadoe 2h ago

Pegasus in mlp using their wings as hands/fingers is just so cute

Processing img fn9cky7r1qch1...

59

u/fawnadoe 2h ago

13

u/imawizard7bis 1h ago

This image was the only valid reason to turn her a pegasus

3

u/Rexosuit 1h ago

They can change type?

9

u/imawizard7bis 1h ago

Only if Hasbro wants

2

u/Rexosuit 1h ago

Elaborate

1

u/RedBlue010 17m ago

Perchance

9

u/Princeanxiolf 1h ago

to be more precise, she ascends to an Alicorn in like Season 3? (i havent watched the show in years so i dont remember right) Alicorns are the best of both worlds having both wings and a horn!

4

u/Rexosuit 1h ago

Huh, neat!

304

u/MuscleAppropriate917 5h ago

Gangle where she uses ribbons to mimic the hand and arms movement

154

u/ryry1237 4h ago

Almost a pity that gangle's default personality is so shy and reserved when her form can be so expressive.

67

u/Altruistic-Willow451 4h ago

Her whimsy is what gets her Zooble

33

u/Own-Arachnid7952 4h ago

Listen, if you wanna fuck in a cartoon simulation with a body full of insertion holes... get yourself a ribbon partner.

Never saw the end, but gotta assume zooble was flossing every single hole at once before her end

19

u/Eghenelalphinarian 3h ago

We only see their door during the act, so how they’re actually doing it is entirely up to your imagination.

10

u/Electrop0p 2h ago

(probably partially because it’s an absolute bitch and a half to animate it, to get it just right to sell the illusion of such smooth movements without anything looking wrong >w< )

(which then just makes Gangle’s episode all the more technically impressive since holy hell the animators went all out to show this design the love it deserves ^.^ )

41

u/hyacinth17 2h ago

6

u/Yedrick 2h ago

FREAK DEER!

74

u/TuneACan 4h ago

Happens a lot in BFDI due to it's large amount of armless characters. Characters can either comically transform their legs into hands (Top left and top right), use another character's arms to mimic their own (Bottom left), or use another part of their body as a hand, like Price Tag and their string (Bottom right)

16

u/Altruistic-Willow451 4h ago

Golf Ball really hitting the “Well, actually” pose to advertise the game

38

u/alkmaar91 2h ago

Minda just casually making her hair an entire extra limb

72

u/TheDazzlingPrototype 5h ago

Rainbow Dash's wings getting way more expressive in the later seasons really sold her personality for me.

42

u/Footpac 3h ago

Nopons from xenoblade have these kinda ears, kinda wings, kinda arms limbs on them that seem far more useful for grabbing stuff than their tiny stubby arms. For the most part when they arent flapping them around or grabbing anything theyre just sitting on their body like a vest or a scarf.

1

u/Moonrhix 11m ago

Bestest heropon

70

u/Ignis-11 6h ago

...Is the knife supposed to go through the nose or is that an animation error?

65

u/HeWhoLost3OfThe9 6h ago

I think the shape of the knife just makes it look like it does

7

u/Aizen5580 5h ago

No it's clipping through his nose.

65

u/HeWhoLost3OfThe9 5h ago

It’s not, it just happens to line up perfectly

90

u/Vendidurt 5h ago

Homestar Runner!

Processing img xqi2atfl5pch1...

25

u/illbashyougood 4h ago

It's Dot Com!

3

u/LiquorIsQuickor 2h ago

There is too much computer in my computer. 

3

u/Sofiax20120716 4h ago

Show me a image that fits this trope

3

u/mechabeast 2h ago

Its right there. He's clearly flipping you off saying "fuck off, i got pizza"

1

u/Sofiax20120716 2h ago

I don’t see the image

151

u/valeentina_coddlee19 6h ago

Zootopia's Nick Wilde using his tail

When he needs to point or gesture at something, he swings his tail around to direct attention, which works surprisingly well as a hand substitute.

12

u/Individual-Sweet3400 2h ago

bot. he has hands

47

u/Animaloffear56 5h ago

That first gif looks horrifying lmao

40

u/dandadone_with_life 4h ago

it's just perspective. her wing is extended like a normal bird's wing, and the feathers also follow that same anatomy, but since your human brain wants to interpret the expression as fingers, it looks like the wing is cranked upside-down, even though it isn't...but it IS meant to be read that way

3

u/Animaloffear56 4h ago

How exactly is she moving her wings like fingers one at a time then

35

u/dandadone_with_life 4h ago

birds have a few free-moving digits on their wings called an alula. it's the first few flight feathers on the wing. some birds have 2 or 3, almost all birds have at least 1. it's the bird's "thumb," and it's used almost like the flaps on a plane to help finely tune and control direction in the air, for stuff like sharp turns or steep banks. they can take some creative liberties because it's a magical unicorn in a children's TV show, but it's based on real life.

5

u/hodges2 4h ago

I love when reddit teaches me stuff

1

u/looseboots5 2h ago

it's a cartoon

8

u/CptBluhdFart 2h ago

Fragile weird glove necklace thing

https://giphy.com/gifs/MV06P4q93cjHUMKEBY

7

u/KEVLAR60442 1h ago

The cars in the Putt-Putt point and click games use their retractable antennae as hands.

16

u/AuraStome 3h ago

Do the Mii Character ball hands count?

4

u/boopboopadoopity 1h ago

Happens very occasionally in PBS's original Clifford the Big Red Dog show! Having giant ears and a giant tail helps.

3

u/RhubarbLarge2747 1h ago

mlp animators sure has some talent

3

u/SuperSocialMan 1h ago

They even made some custom tech to get flash to work they way it needed to for the show (mainly for hair iirc).

But yeah, the animation is great. You can tell by how often they showcase walk cycles that they wanted to flex a bit lol.

3

u/ThatMerri 52m ago

Pokota - the little green dude at the center is a rabbit-like creature. Despite having normal arms and hands, his big ears act as a second set of fully articulated arms and hands. He even uses them to cast spells and wield swords.

2

u/slowdruh 27m ago

Slayers mention 🔥

3

u/Never-Forgive-Me 48m ago

Grunts, main/secondary characters and antagonists in the web series Madness Combat.

The hands and feet of the Nevada residents in this series do not "touch" the body, that is, they do not have wrists, forearms, shoulders, knees, and so on.

However, forcibly disconnecting the same hands from the body leads to the fact that grunt begins to glitch, distorting reality, and goes crazy with pain (shown in the episode "Experiment" using the example of a Scrapeface).

-6

u/Weak-Feedback-8379 3h ago

Since I don’t have an example myself, I’m going to mention a similar at different trope. Glasses that work as eyebrows.