What do you guys think of this theory?

[BoonyBoo]

So when playing Animal Crossing, I couldn't help but notice the fact that you can get pet birds, pet hamsters, and pet frogs despite there being sapient hamster, frog, and bird villagers. It got me wondering, "why the hell would Animal Crossing place one hamster in a cage, while another, much larger hamster gets to roam around?".

This is where the thought comes in. What if the animal villagers we see aren't actually the animals they were based from? I'm not talking about the fact that they're literally video game characters, I'm talking about the fact that (for example) the hamster villagers aren't exactly the hamsters we think of in our heads. What if each villager species is actually a branch from the "animal family" they evolved from. Let's try to put this into clearer words.

You know how humans and gorillas are highly related, but still remain different species because of the genetic differences? What if that's the connection between Animal villagers and Animal-animals in Animal Crossing? Lily isn't exactly a frog-frog, just like how our human players aren't gorillas or any other type of primate. Lily is a member of a sapient, amphibian species, as humans are a sapient species of primates. The frogs and tadpoles you catch with your fishing nets are like the "gorillas" to Lily's "human".

So what do you guys think? What do YOU think is the reason why there's animal villagers and animal-animals in Animal Crossing?

 

[Tindre]

I always saw it as those "nervous as a hare" "hardheaded as a bull" "smart as a fox" "brave as a lion" things where you would draw a person as an animal to show their most distinguishable trait as what type of animal they would be. It was really popular like a long time ago.

(Link to search of what i mean: The images on here )

So basically they are humanoid versions of the animals they represent and and we are told they are animals. But they are not "animal" animals. The same way there are pokemon and nonpokemon animals in pokemon, there are animals that are humanoid and animals that are just animals in Animal crossing.

 

[BoonyBoo]

I always saw it as those "nervous as a hare" "hardheaded as a bull" "smart as a fox" "brave as a lion" things where you would draw a person as an animal to show their most distinguishable trait as what type of animal they would be. It was really popular like a long time ago.

(Link to search of what i mean: The images on here )

So basically they are humanoid versions of the animals they represent and and we are told they are animals. But they are not "animal" animals. The same way there are pokemon and nonpokemon animals in pokemon, there are animals that are humanoid and animals that are just animals in Animal crossing.

Yeah pretty much

 

[Nunnafinga]

I think Nintendo followed Disney.Goofy is a dog who walks on two legs,drives cars,talks and has a mortgage and an ulcer while Pluto is a standard dog that walks on all fours and barks but doesn't speak.I gave Octavian an octopus but that particular octopus doesn't wriggle around my island complaining about this that and the other thing.That octopus just lounges around in a large fish tank.Ah,don't get me started on that hamster cage occupant.

 

[xxcodexx]

you can tell where the villagers lineage comes from in the museum
personally, i dont mind if they have hamsters, frogs and birds in the game that are pets...i think they shoud have more pets like them! i have a snapping turtle pet in my village home right now lol!

 

[Dunquixote]

I don’t think about it. But now that you’re asking me, I just think they were put in the game since they were thinking of things people commonly have in houses. I don’t think much thought was put into the logic of it considering how we can put trees and sharks in our pockets. Now, if this was not AC but was the Sims or something, I’d say they intentionally did it to be funny since I watched a video showing the developers doing some really crazy stuff to their sims (like making them sick or worse).

 

[-Blue-]

Well Zipper the Bunny has a zipper on his back, so we don't know what he actually is. And Tom Nook speaks in Raccoonish 'a ancient language of his ancestors when you complete your entire home in NL. I think the words he uses are trying to resemble the noises raccoons use. Like the shrills and chatter they do.

I'd really take it all lightly because our villager's are the size of some dinosaurs and larger sized fish.

 

[AgentBlade]

This makes perfect sense but I also like the idea of them being more evolved version cause you could just be selling their cousins.