What makes something cute?

When looking at Youtube it is impossible to miss the wide variety of cute animal videos. There is certain aspects of a creature that makes it cute. The cuteness is actually a built-in perception that humans have to something that they deem not to be dangerous and that we should protect.

Cuteness has it's origins in evolution. In order to protect the vulnerable young of our species we began to gain a strong affinity and protectiveness towards the features of a young child. Some of these features include large round eyes, large head in comparison too body, and a chubby nature in facial features such as cheek. Konrad Lorenz, a scientist who did some of the pioneering research on this, called these common traits kinderschema, which comes from the German root kinder for children. These features disappear during puberty as our young develop independence and require less protection.

This affinity for kinderschema is so strong and programmed so deep into the human psyche that the aspects of kinderschema can even apply to other species. This is why animals that are round, have large eyes, and small noses are cute, such as kittens and hamsters.

Kinderschema is not just some useless phenomenon. Marketing companies and other media has been using this ingrained human response to create characters that seem vulnerable, cute, and like we should protect them. One of the most famous uses of kinderschema was by the great animator Walt Disney. One of Disney's animators, Preston Blair, who animated Bambi and Pinocchio, has written a book called "Advanced Animation", which in one part showed a set of guidelines on how to make a character cute. These same basic guidelines have been used to create many of the famously cute characters we know and love. The cute guidelines are often used heavily in the Japanese animation style of anime.

People enjoy cute because it triggers a sense of protectiveness and care. Videos or pictures that have high levels of kinderschema become extremely popular. One website called "Zooborns" accesses this kinderschema through pictures of baby animals, and has become extremely popular. A recent video, that had sparked my interest in the subject of cute was of a hamster eating tiny burritos. The second video enhanced the kinderschema by personifying the hamster through using human cuisine, as well as small versions of silverware and restaurant decorations. In many ways, kinderschema is a very tangible and effective literary and visual strategy that can be used to evoke a sense of vulnerability and protectiveness or empathy.


The Science of Kinderschema- http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/blog/babies-cute-explained/
Preston Blair's Guidelines - http://stevenbrisson.tumblr.com/post/150100380/disneys-definition-of-the-cute-character-as
ZooBorns- http://www.zooborns.com/\
Hamster with Burrito- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOCtdw9FG-s