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Facial features of cartoon characters and their perceived attributes
Asma Ashari1, Lee Win Jo2, Joshua Peh2
1Department of Family Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The National University of Malaysia (UKM), Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. asmaashari@ukm.edu.my.
Scientific Reports
|January 8, 2025
Summary
Popular cartoon characters often display specific skeletal profiles linked to their roles. Female antagonists and male protagonists are more likely to have Class III profiles, influencing character perception.
Area of Science:
- Orthodontics and Dental Anthropology
- Media Studies and Character Analysis
Background:
- Facial skeletal patterns can influence perceptions of personality traits.
- Previous research has explored facial morphology in relation to character archetypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between the antero-posterior skeletal profile of popular cartoon characters and their perceived personal characteristics.
- To analyze how skeletal patterns (Class I, II, III) are assigned to protagonists and antagonists based on gender.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) to identify popular animated family movies released since 2000.
- Classified 88 humanoid cartoon characters by gender, skeletal profile (Class I, II, III), and role (protagonist/antagonist).
- Performed descriptive statistical analysis and Chi Square tests to assess significant differences (p-value).
Main Results:
- Identified 88 characters from 50 popular animated family movies; 40 had Class I, 30 Class II, and 21 Class III skeletal profiles.
- Statistically significant differences were observed in specific facial profile measurements for Class III characters (P=0.009 and P=0.006).
- Female antagonists and male protagonists were disproportionately portrayed with Class III skeletal patterns compared to their counterparts.
Conclusions:
- Cartoon character design may intentionally link specific skeletal profiles to perceived personality traits, particularly for antagonists and protagonists.
- The Class III skeletal pattern is significantly associated with female antagonists and male protagonists in popular family animations.
- This study highlights a potential bias in character design, associating certain facial morphologies with specific character roles and genders.
Keywords:
Cartoon behaviourCartoon charactersCartoon faceFacial profilePerceived attributesPersonal characteristicSkeletal patternMore Related Videos
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