I never understood Nintendo's need to embrace a full cast of furry characters in the Star Fox series. Something about their design leaves the realm of cute animal mascots behind and enters a much more sinister world. With the help of this cute shirt, we can see the real animals behind the monsters [via Technabob]:
Isn't the frog adorable? You can pick up or own furry-free Star Fox shirt on Threadless, of all places. The design is called "Do a Barrel Roll!"
I think the underlying discomfort of the Star Fox team is that foxes and falcons are natural predators of rabbits and frogs. Plus, the mission itself is directed against a tyrannical monkey -- analogous, perhaps, to the evils of humanity. The whole thing comes off as an apocalyptic cautionary tale of carnivores and their prey joining forces to destroy the empire built of man's hubris, as foretold in the book of Revelations. That the animals are anthropomorphized only serves to heighten our fear of being sundered by the very world we seek to control.
Of course, this is all with the benefit of a modern historical perspective. Back in 1993, nobody knew what a "furry" was, so it was okay to just throw together some animals and make a game. Nowadays you'd never get away with teaming up, I don't know, a raccoon with a hippo and a turtle.
The fanboy in me is also kind of annoyed that they kept Slippy's hat but got rid of Fox's radio headset. Still a well-executed concept, though.