Anthropomorphic Zig-Zag: Difference between revisions

This is like a standard [[Anthropomorphic Shift]], except the shift is geared to the role or co-star a character is in a work, movie, short, cartoon, or episode. For example, an animal character appears as an [[Nearly -Normal Animal]] in one cartoon or episode, but appears as a [[Funny Animal]] in another.

This trope also includes examples that shift roles back and forth in a single work or shift back and forth depending on their mood. There are also a lot of characters do this intentionally to live a double life, going from walking on two legs to [[Running Onon All Fours]] depending on the company. The shift can either be intentional or unintentional.

The difference between a [[Anthropomorphic Shift]] and an [['''Anthropomorphic Zig -Zag]]''' is that the former is what happens when animal and anthropomorphic characters in a work become progressively more human-like in appearance and behavior in later installments. The latter is a shift dependent either on the role or co-star the character has in a work or roles he/she has in a single work or his or her mood, or to live a double life.

[[Furry Reminder]] is a related trope, as is [[Furry Denial]].

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{{examples|Examples: }}

* In ''[[Madagascar]]'', the animals would constantly go back and forth between [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|walking on four legs and walking on two legs]].

* Remy and the other rats from ''[[Ratatouille (Animation)|Ratatouille]]'' can switch between [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|walking on two legs and walking on four legs]] too.

** Remy walks on two legs to keep his forepaws clean.

* This is also true with the Pizza Planet truck from ''[[Toy Story (Animationfranchise)|Toy Story]]'', which was later seen in anthropomorphic form in the [[Pixar]] film ''[[Cars (Animation)|Cars]]''.

* The gargoyles from Disney's ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' actually only come to life whenever Quasimodo's around. If Esmeralda/Phoebus/Frollo/etc. is with Quasimodo, then the gargoyles will all still stay put.

* Snoopy, from ''[[Peanuts]]'' would also go back and forth, not necessarily depending on his role, but more on his mood.

* [[Garfield]] goes back and forth, but has noticeably become bipedal. The other cats can [[Running Onon All Fours|switch between the]] [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|two stances as well]].

* ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]'': Boney has to impersonate a kid to get into Club Titiboo, so Lucas dresses him up with a shirt and cap and he walks on hind legs for the remainder of the chapter (but quickly switching back to all-fours when they're in the wilderness again).

* In the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series of games, Koopas were originally depicted as quadrupedal turtles. As the series continued, they've been redesigned to walk on only two legs, and by the time of ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]'', they were [[Anthropomorphic Shift|completely anthropomorphized]]. However, in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', they've reverted back into being quadrupeds.

** Before that, there were quadrupedal electrical enemy Koopas in [[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|Super Mario Sunshine]].

** However, [[Big Bad|Bowser]] and [[Overlord, Jr.|his son, Bowser Jr.]], both being Koopas, are completely immune to this even in these two games.

* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in ''[[Freefall (Webcomic)|Freefall]]'' with Florence, who can run on all fours, but usually doesn't because it gets her hands dirty.

* Mind you, this trope [[I Thought It Meant|has nothing to do with]] the webcomic known as ''[[Sabrina Online (Webcomic)|Sabrina Online]]'', which is a furry webcomic with a main character named Zig Zag, 3/4ths skunk.

* All of the Secret Garden residents from ''[[Father of the Pride (Animation)|Father of the Pride]]'' walk on four feet while proforming on stage or around humans, then walk around on two when talking by themselves.

* Tom, Jerry, and Spike from ''[[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]]''

* ''[[Looney Tunes (Animation)|Looney Tunes]]'' regular Sylvester is notable for being a normal, [[The Voiceless|voiceless]] cat, a [[Civilized Animal]], or a full-blown standard [[Funny Animal]] depending on the cartoon. He's also the only one of several more obscure [[Looney Tunes (Animation)|Looney Tunes]] cats to do so.

** There are many examples of ''[[Looney Tunes (Animation)|Looney Tunes]]'' pet animal characters who are somewhat like this, including:

*** Charlie the Dog

** When [[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner (Animation)|Wile E Coyote and The Road Runner]] has The Roadrunner as his adversary, he's mute and orders things from [[Acme Products]]. When he's paired opposite [[Bugs Bunny]], he's an erudite [[Civilized Animal]] [[Gadgeteer Genius]].

** Another ''[[Looney Tunes (Animation)|Looney Tunes]]'' example is [[One Froggy Evening|Michigan J. Frog]] who goes back and forth between being an ordinary frog to a singing and dancing frog.

* Taz experienced this somewhat in ''[[Taz -Mania]]''. Unlike in the original [[Looney Tunes]] cartoons, Taz is cast as a teenager who lives in a house with a family. He watches TV, collects bottlecaps, and even wears a suit and works as a bellboy at a hotel. Other times, he still partakes in his carnivorous behavior and acts like a wild animal as he hunts for prey, and is even hunted by some of the other characters like a wild animal.

* Furrball from ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' is usually portrayed as an [[Nearly -Normal Animal]] cat, but he kept weaving back and forth between a normal cat and a [[Funny Animal]] depending on the cartoon. He would even switch between [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|walking on two legs and walking on four legs]].

* Rita the [[Civilized Animal]] cat from ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'' with a lot of [[Talking Animal]] moments would switch between [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|walking on two legs and walking on four legs]]. In a few [[Cameo|cameoscameo]]s and possibly in part of "Kiki's Kitten", she is shown as a [[Funny Animal]], and in a [[Cameo]] in "The Return of The Great Wakkorotti," she is even [[Fully -Dressed Cartoon Animal|fully-dressed]].

** Chicken Boo is an [[Nearly -Normal Animal]], but when he puts on a [[Paper -Thin Disguise]], he becomes something of a [[Funny Animal]].

** The Goodfeathers are usually [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s, but in "Star Warners" and a few other episodes, they are given more [[Funny Animal]] type roles.

** Newt is a [[Civilized Animal]], but he sometimes a [[Funny Animal]] and in "Puttin on The Blitz," he is a [[Nearly -Normal Animal]].

* ''[[Felix the Cat]]''. From 1919 through the mid-1950s, stories alternated between showing Felix as either a [[Talking Animal]] pet in a human home or a [[Funny Animal]] master of his own house. Only with the Trans-Lux TV series was Felix established as a [[Funny Animal]] for good.

* [[Scooby Doo]], although mostly a quadrupedal [[Speech -Impaired Animal]], also had the ability to walk on two legs and act like a [[Funny Animal]] when the situation calls for it.

* ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'' has Brian Griffin, who started as a talking dog, but through the course of the series, [[Anthropomorphic Shift|he has become more and more human]]. Although every once in a while, you're reminded that he still is a dog.

** A human example would be Stewie, who would go from being treated like a non talking baby by his family to being treated like any other adult by everyone else.

* ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog (Animation)|Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'' flips-flops between a [[Speech -Impaired Animal]] around his owners, Eustace and Muriel, to being a full-on [[Talking Animal]] around anyone else (human or otherwise) and to the audience.

** [[Chip and Dale]] are [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts (Videovideo Gamegame)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' video game series, but are [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]]s otherwise.

* ''[[Thundercats (Animation)|Thundercats]]'' had the snarfs, who would switch between walking on two legs and walking on all four at times (and occasionally standing on their tails). The other Thundercats would do it too, occasionally.

* ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks (Animation)|Alvin and The Chipmunks]]'': Alvin, Simon, and Theodore all started out as actual chipmunks, but in [[The Alvin Show|the first cartoon series]] they all started to [[Funny Animal|look less like chipmunks]], and in [[Alvin and The Chipmunks (Animation)|the second cartoon series]] they all [[Petting Zoo People|looked even less like chipmunks]]. However, in [[AlvinandtheAlvin Chipmunksand (Film)the Chipmunks|their first live action movie]], they all started to [[Civilized Animal|look like chipmunks again]], although not as much as they did on the original covers.

* Plato from ''[[Adventures From the Book of Virtues (Animation)|Adventures Fromfrom the Book of Virtues]]'' would often go back and forth [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|between all fours and two legs]].

* Fat Cat in the pilot episode of ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (Animationanimation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'', back when he is still Aldrin Klordane's pet [[Right -Hand -Cat]]. After Klordane is arrested, he becomes anthropomorphic completely.

* [[Eek! theThe Cat]] is a [[Talking Animal]]/[[Funny Animal]] that often partakes in human activities, but is also a pet cat and cannot speak to his owners, although he appears to be able to speak to other human characters.

* The animals in ''[[Barnyard]]'' and ''[[Back At the Barnyard (Animation)|Back Atat the Barnyard]]'' [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|walk on two legs]], talk and partake in "human" activities, but when humans/a human show/shows up, the animals switch to a four-legged stance (except the birds, which are two-legged by default) and act like normal animals.

* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] by Perry the Platypus on ''[[Phineas and Ferb (Animation)|Phineas and Ferb]]''. Around his owners he's a mindless domestic pet that "doesn't do much". In reality he's a super-capable secret agent that fights to save the world from evil. He still can't talk, though.

* ''[[TeachersTeacher's Pet (AnimationTV series)|Teachers Pet]]''

* Background character [[Fan Nickname|Lyra Heartstrings]] in ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' is like this more than anypony else.

** Ponies in general have always been like this. It especially shows in ''[[My Little Pony Tales (Animation)|My Little Pony Tales]]'' where one moment they could be running on four legs and another they can be standing up on two legs without an issue. Even G4 has this, with the ponies using their hooves as hands and moving around like humans when needed.

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