Thread:Love Robin/@comment-30079834-20180225194721/@comment-366087-20180304132917

Nemo Seagulls… there is not enough screen time devoted to them to determine what they are truly like, other than as mentioned, "rats with wings".

Shrunk the Kids scorpion: What did it do? Act like a normal animal. Not a Villain.

Look, if you have to ASK if a critter is a villain, chances are high that it is not. If you have to try and ADD to the STORY to arrive at "villain", chances are higher they are not.

A Villain has agency. They are Evil, Malicious, have and act with Intent.

For animals, even anthropomorphic ones, you need to examine their world for context and narrative. For example, in the Finding Nemo franchise, it is NORMAL and EXPECTED for animals to prey upon and eat others. At the end of Finding Dory as the truck is falling into the bay and all the fish flying… a tiney one is swallowed by a larger one which is also swallowed by a larger one, which then sneezes and each one is released in turn. That's normal in their world. One fish eating another fish is not unexpect or unusual. It's why Marlin was such a nervous nellie: you are not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

But what is also missing with a lot of the interactions within the franchise is INTENT within the narrative. We would not have blinked had Wassisname, the pelican, eaten a fish. Any fish. However, the *narrative* showed that when it came to certain fishes, like those in the dentist aquarium, then learning about Nemo and then meeting his dad, we *know* he wants to help and will not eat them.