Baleful Polymorph: Difference between revisions
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[[File:ovinomancer 9195.jpg|link=Magic: The Gathering|frame|You wish for [http://magiccards.info/tsts/en/27.html me] to cow your enemies? I can do better than that...]]
{{quote|''[[This Is Gonna Suck|Are you ready?]]''
''[[Jackass Genie|Transformation]] central!''
''[[Karmic Transformation|Reformation]] central!''
''[[Genius Bonus|Transmogrification]]<ref>[[Calvin and Hobbes]] shout out, on this page for the same reason</ref> central!''
|'''Dr. Facilier''' giving some fine print, ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', "[[Villain Song|Friends on the Other Side]]"}}
A character gets hit with a spell, [[Curse]], or [[Transformation Ray]], causing an instantaneous and involuntary transformation [[Animorphism|into some sort of animal creature]] (whether real or fantastic). This will render them useless in combat, until they can revert to their usual form by some means. Frogs, mice, chickens, pigs, and sheep are common.
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Can be used as a [[Karmic Transformation]]. See also [[Emergency Transformation]], [[Shapeshifter Mashup]] and [[Beauty to Beast]]. Compare [[Spawn Broodling]], in which the "Baleful" part is [[Turned Up to Eleven]]. Contrast with [[Hybrid Overkill Avoidance]], where the subject is immune to further polymorphing because they're already supernatural. Compare [[Involuntary Shapeshifter]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' villain Captain Ginyu (who has the ability to permanently switch bodies with his opponents) is defeated when he is tricked into switching bodies with an ordinary, powerless toad. When the planet he is in explodes he is transported along with everybody else to the earth, where it's implied he lives the rest of his toady life.
** In the final saga, Majin Buu turns Vegito into a candy ball. [[Subverted Trope|Said candy proceeds to kick Buu's ass.]] Buu, considering Vegito to be even more dangerous as what basically amounts to an absurdly powerful living bullet,<ref>Note that reducing the surface area of an object while not reducing the force it exerts increases the pressure, hence doing more damage. Yay, physics!</ref> decides to change him back. Now ''that's'' entertainment.
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* In ''[[Ruin Explorers]]'', Ihrie turns into a rat every time she uses her magic, a curse from her old master.
* This trope is central to the plot of the [[Hentai|ero-manga]] ''[[Tentacle Lovers]]'', wherein a young man is turned into a [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|small, cute tentacle monster]] after a foreign princess botches a summoning spell. Played with by the end, wherein the Princess managed to make a ''new'' body for the protagonist, and transfers his soul into it. However, because it was designed from her memory (and the two had several [[Mate or Die]] moments), his new form was a bit more... [[Bigger Is Better in Bed|endowed]]... than it used to be.
* In ''[[Dokkoida?!]]'', Hyacinth's henchman Pierre has the ability to morph into almost any animal when whipped. The animal is always random, and never anything useful. However, in the past (i.e. before the start of the series) he morphed into animals that were quite threatening indeed, leading to Hyacinth's status as an A-class villain.
* ''[[Uzumaki]]'' features some people who transform into snails, and one couple who become snake-like. This isn't too bad for the snailized people until {{spoiler|the un-snailized people start looking for food}}.
* Ash Ketchum gets turned into a Pikachu at the end of an episode of ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' thanks to a rather careless magic spell. Luckily for him it only lasts for a while ([[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|unluckily for the audience we barely see him do anything in this time]]).
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* An [[All There in the Manual]] example in ''[[Fairy Tail]]'': Kinana was turned into a snake ten years ago and made to fight alongside Cobra, until Marakov turned her back. She doesn't have any memories of being a snake.
** Though the anime has hinted at it, if only to help fill up the episode.
== Comic Books ==
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** Also, in a slight twist a rabbit named Colonel Thunderfoot is transformed into a human by the angry rabbit mother of a soldier who died after Thunderfoot sent him to battle. The terms of course were that Thunderfoot could only be turned back into a rabbit if he found a doe able to see past his appearance and love him. Judging by the end of the chapter, he is in rather bad luck on that score.
* During the [[Infinite Crisis]] tie-in Day of Vengeance, the Spectre turns the Phantom Stranger into a rat, since he wasn't powerful enough to kill him.
* Before ''Swing With Scooter'' turned into an ''[[Archie]]'' [[Serial Numbers Filed Off|clone]], its seventh issue featured a story where Scooter and his friends were turned into antropomorphic vegetables. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160410044742/http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/333/scooter7p2.gif Yes.]
* The mutant Masque of the sewer-dwelling Morlocks can alter the flesh of anyone he touches, in pretty much any way he can imagine; and he has a ''very'' twisted imagination.
* Sersi of the Eternals is the [[Marvel Universe]] inspiration behind the legend of Circe, and often temporarily transforms her foes into harmless animals.
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* ''[[All Fall Down]]'': Entertaining children in hospital, the shape-shifter Phylum {{spoiler|is permanently trapped in the form of a chimpanzee.}}
* [[Sequence Breaking|Exploited]] by Brian in the [[Knights of the Dinner Table]] a few times.
== Fairy Tales ==
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* In "[[Brother and Sister]]", Brother is transformed into a deer by his [[Wicked Stepmother]] and can only turn back [[No Ontological Inertia|after her death]].
* In "[[The White Duck]]", the queen is turned into a white duck, and her children are born as ducklings.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20140405135431/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/firebird/stories/greekprincess.html "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener"], a fox proves to be the enchanted brother of the Greek Princess. (Note that many other variants of this tale have the fox as a [[Talking Animal]]).
* [
* [
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104152714/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/birch.html "The Wonderful Birch"], after the hero marries the heroine, the [[Wicked Stepmother]] turns her into a reindeer and puts her own daughter in her place; a wise woman brings her child to the forest and she turns to a woman to tend it, and her husband burns her skin.
* In the [[Child Ballad]] "[[Tam Lin]]" (Child #39), Tam Lin is transformed in Fair Janet's arms by [[The Fair Folk]], who want her to let go of him.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20140405140235/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/135whiteblackbride.html "The White Bride and the Black One"], the [[Wicked Stepmother]] turns her stepdaughter into a duck.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20140324084118/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/sevendoves.html "The Seven Doves"] the heroes are turned to birds by their sister's carelessness; similarly for their mother's in [https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151144/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/twelvewilducks.html "The Twelve Wild Ducks"] and their father's in [https://web.archive.org/web/20131204105124/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/sevenravens.html "The Seven Ravens"].
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20130718140541/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pussboots/stories/lordpeter.html "Lord Peter"], a variant of "[[Puss in Boots (novel)|Puss in Boots]]", the cat turns out in the end to be an enchanted princess.
* "[[Beauty and The Beast]]" is another example.
* The hero of "[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]" was made a bear, albeit a [[Talking Animal]], by his [[Wicked Stepmother]] (in some versions, wicked attempted-mother-in-law) and can only take on his human form at night. Similarly with [https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151232/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/norroway.html "The Black Bull of Norroway"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140322063941/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/brownbear.html "The Brown Bear of Norway"], [
* "Little Bunny Foo-Foo" is threatened with getting turned into a [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|Ghoul]] if he doesn't quit hitting fieldmice.
* Granted it's a ballet, but ''[[Swan Lake]]'' (Also adapted as ''[[The Swan Princess]]'') is about a princess who becomes a swan during the day due to the spell of a sorcerer.
* ''[
▲== Fan Fiction ==
▲* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2044754/1/The_bFrog_b_Houshi The Frog Houshi] featured Miroku of Inuyasha being turned into a frog by a frog demon.
* Hobbes is briefly turned into a rabbit by Calvin in order to get Sherman to his house safely in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]''.
* In ''[[The Blue Blur of Termina]]'', Sonic the Hedgehog was transformed into a Deku Scrub by the Skull Kid.
== Film ==
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** As noted in the example in the Literature section, there is a practical reason for the transformation, rather than it just being a curse - the witch didn't want Tristan to take up a lot of space and eat a lot of food. Also, Lady Una is turned into a bird and back by the same witch. She seems rather pissed about it.
** Earlier, the villain changes a farmboy into a goat to help pull her carriage. Later, she changes him into a young woman and the (real) goat into a man as a subterfuge. The drawback is that their voices don't change.
* In [[Josepha Sherman]]'s ''[[The Shining Falcon]]'', Finist finds that a wolf really is a transformed man. His girlfriend, angry with him, hadn't really expected it to ''work''.
* This is used as a disturbing visual element in ''[[Black Swan]]'', where the protagonist imagines herself morphing into an actual black swan as she struggles psychologically with her role in the ballet. Unless it's really happening...
* Edmund from ''[[Rock-a-Doodle]]'' is transformed into a kitten by the evil Duke of Owls, and upon realizing that he's been tranformed, he cries out "Jeepers, I'm <s> a</s> all furry!"
* In ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]'' Miss Price turns several people into rabbits.
* In ''[[High School Musical]] 2'', the "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" skit is about a lonely Hawaiian princess who seeks to break the spell on a prince who's been turned into a fish.
* Disney uses this a lot:
** ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' has the Prince involuntarily transformed into the Beast by the Enchantress, along with the other servants.
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** In ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', Naveen and Tiana are both involuntarily turned into frogs. (The voodoo man promised "green" in Naveen's future ...)
** In ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]'', the wayward boys are turned into donkeys. [[Nightmare Fuel|Bit by bit.]]
== Literature ==
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** And in ''The Magic Finger'' this is the main character's special ability, although it so horrifies her that she never uses it unless she's ''really'' annoyed with someone.
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, it's stated that Granny Weatherwax ''doesn't'' do this. Instead, she prefers to [[Delusions of Doghood|make people think they're frogs]], which takes much less magic, is slightly less cruel, and is a lot more entertaining. The Discworld does, however, contain a few instances of turning people into animals and lots of ''threatening'' to turn people into animals. They usually, but not always, get better.
** In ''[[
*** He also turns a particularly annoying complainer into a frog, albeit briefly, in ''[[
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
** The ''Librarian'' of Unseen University is a subversion: he's accidentally turned into an orangutan near the beginning of ''[[
** And in ''[[
** In ''[[
** The Tiffany books also have the Toad, who was once a lawyer who tried to represent a girl in a [[Frivolous Lawsuit]] on a fairy godmother. It was the judge applauding that really got to him though.
* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'', a witch turns Tristran into a dormouse to carry him in her cart. In the novel, it's made clear that this isn't actually meant as a [[Curse]]. It's done for practicality: Tristan takes up a lot less room this way after him arranging for [[Exact Words|food, bedding and travel]]. It's also implied that the spell turns you into the animal you are most like. The witch also turns Tristran back once she's given him a ride. OTOH, she does find it amusing.
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* In ''[[The Runaway Princess]]'', a witch routinely turns princes who come to bother her into frogs. Although she's perfectly willing to turn them back into princes, most of them prefer to stay as frogs.
* [[Dragaera|Sethra Lavode's]] favorite method of dealing with obnoxious [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Dzur heroes]]. Also, in a ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' [[Shout-Out]]: "She'll turn you into a newt." "I'll get better."
* Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, in ''[[
* [[Belgariad|Polgara]] pulls one and a half of these during the course of the series. She permanently transforms Queen Salmissra into a huge serpent in the original books. In the prequel ''Polgara The Sorceress'', she temporarily transforms one of the Cherek kings into a man-sized frog because she thinks a regular [[Dope Slap]] won't be enough to get the message across.
** Queen Salmissra is a subversion, in that she comes to appreciate the transformation and never makes any effort to get turned back.
* In [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''The Bell at Sealey Head'', it turns out {{spoiler|that the bell is the enchanted [[The High Queen|Queen Hydria]], and the [[Ravens and Crows|crows]] her enchanted knights.}}
* This is basically the whole premise of ''[[Lady: My Life as a Bitch]]'', with the titular character (among others) getting accidentally turned into a dog by a tramp.
* This trope [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|is the binding theme]] of Ovid's ''[[The Metamorphoses|Metamorphoses.]]''
* The [[Harlan Ellison]] short story "[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]". [[And I Must Scream|The title]] [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|really gives it away]].
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* [[Tom Holt]]'s work both plays this straight and subverts it. In ''Falling Sideways'' many, many characters get turned into frogs. In the J.W. Well's trilogy, the standard punishment for betraying the firm is {{spoiler|being turned into office supplies. You retain some measure of sapience.}}
* [[Patricia C. Wrede]]'s ''[[Enchanted Forest Chronicles|Dealing With Dragons]]'' features a spontaneous example when {{spoiler|Woraug turns into a toad, having lost the privilege of being a dragon by not acting dragon-like enough.}}
** In
** "Frogmaker" is a slang term for a wizard in ''Magician's Ward'', one of her stories of [[Regency England]] with magic. At one point, a [[Hot Witch|French wizard]] remarks that if a certain friend of hers doesn't explain the situation more openly than he's been doing, she intends to live up to that nickname.
* ''[[Alan Dean Foster|Kingdoms of Light]]'''s [[Five-Man Band|Six Man Band]] consists of a mage's pets (three cats, a dog, a snake, and a canary), turned into humans by the mage's dying spell. In the end, they are captured by the evil Munderucu and turned back into animals-- {{spoiler|except that due to character growth, they not only remained [[Talking Animal|sentient]], but they became great cats, a huge wolf, a firebird, and a 40-foot python. [[Oh Crap|Oops]].}}
* "Evil" Magician Trent of the ''[[Xanth]]'' series can transform anything into anything. When he was ousted, rumors spread that he turned his enemies into fish and left them to suffocate on dry land. Trent explains that he did turn some into fish but only in rivers or other bodies of water.
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* In ''No Such Thing As A Witch'', Nora and Todd find out that if four pieces of their neighbor's magic fudge are eaten together, it can turn you into whatever animal you're thinking of at the time. The first time this happens, it's to Todd and no one was expecting it. Towards the end of the book, Nora deliberately uses it to turn herself into a mouse to sneak into the neighbor's apartment. Todd also turns into a cat a few more times, {{spoiler|with one of those times being nearly in front of a health inspector!}}
* ''Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood'' is a bit confusing regarding this trope. It's made clear early on that there's something ''off'' about the knights who seek the Tanglewood's treasure, and it's eventually revealed that {{spoiler|they're all animals, turned human by a sorceress and forced to serve her. Only that's a lie: they were humans the villain turned into animals, and the sorceress turned them human again, and then the villain turned them into animals ''again''.}}
* Subverted in the [[Extended Universe]] novel ''[[King's Quest:
* A non-animal example occurs in ''Sideways Stories from Wayside School'' in which Mrs. Gorf transforms her students into apples.
* This is the plot of Apuleius's ''The Golden Ass'' from c. 150 CE, one of the earliest surviving novels.
* In [[Devon Monk]]'s ''[[Age of Steam|Dead Iron]]'', Cedar's brother Wil was permenantly turned into a wolf—with, fortunately, his own mind—as opposed to Cedar's [[Involuntary Shapeshifter]].
* In the third of [[C. J. Cherryh]]'s ''Rusalka'' trilogy, Pyetr Kochevikov says to his daughter Ilyana that she wouldn't want to turn him into a toad by accident; she'd much rather do it on purpose. She replies primly, "That's not funny, father." She'd earlier said, too, that it's impossible to physically turn anyone into a toad, though a wizard could make someone '''believe''' he or she was a toad.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', a witch, Amy Madison, turns Buffy into a rat with a spell. Later, Amy turns ''herself'' into a rat ... and can't turn back.
** In the example above, Amy turns herself into a rat to escape [[Buffy-Speak|burnage]] at a stake only to find out she no longer has the human voicebox necessary to invoke the magic to return to humaness.
** It's also possible Amy was trying to turn the angry mob that had kidnapped her into rats rather than herself and just suffered a [[Magic Misfire]] due to her being tied up and thus unable to properly aim the spell.
** Eventually in Season 9 (the comic series) {{spoiler|this becomes Amy's final punishment after her complete surrender to darkness. Her attempt at revenge on Angel by harnessing Magic Town's power backfires (because Magic Town is a living, sapient town who sides with Willow and Nadia over her) and she is turned into a rat again; she wasn't seen again, so one can assume this time there would be no return.}}
* One episode of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' uses a magic Bow and arrow belonging to Artemis to turn Herc into a pig for most of the episode, while Iolaus and Autolycus scramble to get him restored.
* In ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'', the children of Coeur d'Coeurs are terrified of aunts Lily and Vivian because they are reputed to turn unwary children into birds. That the aunts have taught at least one of their pet parrots to say "Help! She turned me into a bird!" may have contributed to the rumor.
* In the very first episode of ''[[Beetleborgs]]'' Flabber turns the kids into rats by mistake.
* An episode of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' season 3 has Kat, the future pink ranger, turned into a cat monster. The cure? She had to be "destroyed" by the Megazord. (Which was only a partial cure - she wouldn't recover from the [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] state for several more episodes.) Another episode in the same season has something similar happen to a teacher from Angel Grove High School.
* The ''[[Married... with Children]]'' episode ''Psychic Avengers'' ends with the family turned into chimpanzees and Buck turned into a human by a gypsy.
** The episode ''Field Of Screams'' has a subplot involving this, Bud, Buck, and the new bug powder Kelly advertised called "Springtime in Baghdad". The transformations weren't shown on-screen, but what Buck and Bud end up as show. Buck was turned into a {{spoiler|different species of dog, then a turkey.}} Bud, on the other hand, {{spoiler|grew breasts}} from the exposure to "Springtime in Baghdad" bug powder. By the episode's end, they {{spoiler|had long, floppy ears.}} Doesn't it make you think what "Springtime in Baghdad" is made of?
* Salem from ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' is changed into a cat for one hundred years as punishment for trying to take over the world. This punishment is fairly standard, as other characters suffer or nearly suffer similar fates. One episode has a former member of his gang visit after winning parole; he's having a hard time adjusting to being human again.
* {{spoiler|Omen}}, the Season 1 [[Big Bad]] on [[Dark Oracle]], was trapped {{spoiler|in the shape of a frog (named [[Sdrawkcab Name|Nemo]])}} by his mentor, Doyle, and can be changed back and forth by being kissed. It also inhibits his magic, much to the benefit of the main cast.
* The Nickelodeon sitcom ''[[100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd]]'' was about a bully who was transformed into a dog by a mysterious drifter and must perform 100 good deeds in order to turn back.
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* In an episode of ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' Morgana transforms Guinevere into a deer.
== Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends ==
* Nearly every mythological tradition has examples of the gods turning some unfortunate, or sometimes favoured, human into an animal, demon, angel, plant, or mineral; either permanently or temporarily. Sometimes, even the gods themselves are affected, usually as a punishment inflicted by a more powerful or [[Trickster]] deity. This is particularly common in Greco-Roman mythology.
* Circe in ''[[Odyssey|The Odyssey]]'' takes revenge on Odysseus's men by turning them all into pigs, making this [[Older Than Feudalism]].
* The ''[[Ars Goetia]]'' has a particularly scary practitioner in Ose. A conjuror can have Ose transform someone into most anything else. The scariest part: the victim begins thinking that ''[[Fake Memories|they've always been what they've just been turned into.]]''
== New Media ==
* ''[[Descendant of a Demon Lord]]'', Miri, the twice cursed, was turned from a female sorcerer into a male sorcerer. Then later on in her life, she was turned into a book. Well technically its more like her soul was bound to a book like magical creature or construct. While not completely immobile, her attempt to flee from Celes was compared to a snail in pace.
== Tabletop Games ==
* [[Trope Namer|Named after]] the
** Turning them into something that would kill them (a non-lunged fish on land, or a non-flying animal in a situation where only a flying creature has a reasonable chance of survival) makes the spell easier to resist, as though the target instinctively knows what he's being turned into and that the situation is even worse.
** Though the duration is permanent, the subject gets a second save to retain their mental faculties and their special powers. Then again, succeeding on this save [[And I Must Scream|might be an even worse fate.]]
** Some editions made this even deadlier, with a game mechanic called a System Shock. Any time a character's body is so dramatically and suddenly reshaped (not just by polymorph, it also applies to those subjected to [[Taken for Granite| petrification]] or [[Rapid Aging]]), a special Saving Throw has to be made to avoid dying from the trauma. Even worse, if the victim ''does'' survive, if magic is used to change him ''back'' it requires a ''second'' System Shock roll! Fortunately, in most cases, this is an optional rule; fans are split whether applying such a "realistic" side effect to magic is a good thing.
* ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' has several spells like this, including one that not only turns the target into an animal but ''forces them to claw the way out of the excess mass''.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer
** Of course, the Orks aren't always that much better, given that their stronger Shamans or Weirdboyz have a nasty habit of turning people into Squigs (little bouncy things that are mostly Fungus and [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|Teeth]])
** In the recently released [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] expansion, Storm of Magic, miscasting while standing atop an [[Wild Magic|Arcane Fulcrum]] can result in a multitude of destructive and/or amusing effects, one of which turns ''all wizards on the table into frogs.'' There's also a Bretonian Cataclysm spell that can do the same thing.
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' has a few of these. [http://magiccards.info/tsts/en/27.html Ovinomancer], providing the page image, later got shout-outs in the [[Nostalgia Level|Time Spiral block]] in the form of [http://magiccards.info/pc/en/57.html Ovinize] and [http://magiccards.info/pc/en/44.html Pongify]. More often, though, such "restraining" cards are meant to represent [http://magiccards.info/us/en/18.html a new state of mind] or magical bindings.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' has Pattern Spider Touch, from the [[Supernatural Martial Arts|Charcoal March of Spiders Style]]. It allows you to fundamentally alter your opponent in some interesting way. Typically, it's used to punch people in the face and turn them into ducks.
== Toys ==
* {{spoiler|Metus is changed into a snake}} in ''[[Bionicle]]''
== Video Games ==
* [[Kid Icarus]] probably{{verify}} did this first, by having monsters that can turn you into a ''mobile eggplant''.
** The third game, [[Kid Icarus:
* ''[[Wonder Boy III the Dragons Trap]]'' (and its [[TurboGrafx-16]] variant, ''Dragon's Curse'') revolves around the human protagonist being cursed into various animal forms for defeating [[Wonder Boy in Monster Land|the prior game's]] [[Big Bad]] and trying to lift the curse. Each form has its own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, resulting in a [[Metroidvania]]-style progression.
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games have Pig and Toad transformations. The Pig effect (at least in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'') ''does'' disable all spells... except for Pig. (Which makes sense; otherwise, it's just another Silence with a different curative item.) The Toad effect greatly reduces Attack and Defense and disables all spells except for Toad.
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** The Moogle status in ''[[Final Fantasy|Final Fantasy Adventure]]'' works similarly and also appears in the sequel, ''[[Secret of Mana]]''.
** ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' had Imp form, which while it didn't reduce your hitpoints or the strength of conventional attacks, it did make it impossible for you to use magic or special character powers. It was more of an annoyance than threat as by the time in the game when enemies start throwing it around you will have many ways to undo the transformation but need a full turn to do it after which you might get Imped again.
*** The Imp example is
**** In the early versions of the game a certain [[Good Bad Bug]] allowed Gau to Rage while Imped. And a certain other [[Good Bad Bug]] allowed him to equip a weapon. An fully decked-out Imp Gau was quite a [[Game Breaker]], although it took up one of your Relic slots.
** In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', a character whose Bravery goes below 10 becomes a literal chicken. The best way to do this is with Beowulf's aptly named Chicken attack, which reduces a target's bravery by 50. Chickens automatically run away from the action each turn, gaining 1 bravery point until they become human again, and their defense drops drastically.
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** Shamans now have the spell Hex which turns the target into a frog for a short time. Unlike mages, they don't have a variety of forms to choose from but the hexxed target can also take some damage without transforming.
** It's worth noting that these effects are all quite pointless on druids, who can break the effects by willfully polymorphing themselves into something else.
** Probably best showcased in the TV spot - in French only - which featured [[Jean
* Vertigo in ''[[Primal Rage]]'' has a [[Finishing Move]] that turns the enemy into a cow.
* In ''[[Lords of Magic]]'', the Chaos Mage had the spell Polymorph Self, which turned units (not necessarily the Mage herself) into an elephant or a lion. And then there was Polymorph Other, which would turn the target into a goat, chicken, or goose.
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** In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]: Redguard'' the hero Cyrus is transformed into a scamp for a short part of the game.
* One of the runewords in ''[[Diablo|Diablo II]]'' has a chance of turning the user into an undead pigmy skeleton.
* ''[[Maple Story]]'':
**
** Hoyoung has a skill called Degeneration, which turns all mobs (except Bosses) within range into bugs, frogs, or lizards, doing a lot of damage and redusing their defense.
** Some bosses (such as Cygnus) have an attack that can turn the heroes into [[The Goomba| Ribbon Pigs]] for ten seconds or so, leaving them helpless and unable to use any skills for the duration. Cygnus will even mock the victim by saying, "You look much better like this!"
* In the PC game ''[[Fate]]'', the player character is followed and assisted by a pet, either a cat or a dog. Feeding the pet certain kinds of fish will temporarily turn it into different kinds of larger, more powerful creatures (ranging from a sewer rat up to a dragon!). Using "flawless" fish will make the transformation permanent... until you feed it another fish, of course.
* In ''[[Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy]]'' Daxter is turned from [[Rubber Forehead Alien|human]] to [[Mix and Match Critter|ottsel]] when Jak accidentally knocks him into a vat of Dark Eco. Over time he grows to accept, and even ''like'' his new form, {{spoiler|because when given the chance to return to normal, he settles for a pair of pants instead.}}
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* At one point in ''[[Ys|Ys II]]'', Dalles transforms Adol into a goon (different from the kind achieved by the Transform magic), and he must find a cure.
* In ''[[Achaea]]'', one of the ultimate punishments the gods can use on mortals is "shrubbing" - [[Monty Python and the Holy Grail|turning you into a shrubbery]]. For all but the most foul offences, you will eventually get better.
* Elves could use the "Polymorph Other" spells in Capcom's ''[[Dungeons
* Probably counts. In ''[[Bayonetta]]'' the final boss will throw spiral-galaxy shaped discs at the titular character. If she is struck, she turns into a defenseless, and so slow that she might as well be motionless, child.
* CLEESH in [[Kingdom of Loathing]] turns your opponent into a frog. Bit of a [[Useless Useful Spell]], it won't work on boss monsters, creatures that are already reptilian/amphibian, or the Country (yes, you can pick a fight with the entire country and try to turn it into a frog).
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* The first two (or rather, [[One Game for the Price of Two|five]]) ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' games start with the player character transformed from a human into a Pokémon and stripped of their memories. {{spoiler|The trope only applies in Time/Darkness/Sky, as the transformation was intentional in the first set of games.}}
* In the last dungeon in ''[[Golden Sun]]: The Lost Age'', you encounter and battle two Flame Dragons. Surprise, they were {{spoiler|your Fire Clan antagonists}}, and being transformed against their will like this has drained so much energy that [[Alas, Poor Villain|they're freezing to death]] (averting the [[Never Say "Die"]] variant of this trope). And then you learn the hard way that the Wise One's "miracle" to stop you was {{spoiler|turning ''your parents'' into a dragon and forcing you to fight it.}}
* In [[Portal 2]], [[
* Sonson in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 2]]'' can turn her opponents into fruit, and then [[I'm a Humanitarian|she eats them.]]
* Toad Man in ''[[Rock Man 4 Minus Infinity]]'' can turn Mega Man into a toad if the rain he summons hits him. After Toad Man is beaten, Mega Man gets said ability and can [[Hoist by His Own Petard|turn said ability against Toad Man]] during the [[Boss Rush]] for an easy [[One-Hit Kill]].
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Solatorobo]]'', {{spoiler|Nero and Blanck turn into Caninu}} when The Order is given. Considering they considered themselves [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|so much better than everyone else]], the transformation upsets them greatly. {{spoiler|Red himself}} is also transformed {{spoiler|into his human Trance body,}} but he's less upset about the transformation and more upset about the mind control that comes with it.
* ''[[Fantasy Quest]]'': A dog turns out to be a man stricken with a curse, which makes you feel bad for having tried to play fetch with him before.
* [[League of Legends]]' Lulu loves to leverage her powers of legerdemain against her litigants. Alliteration aside, she turns her opponents into small woodland creatures.
* In the plot of ''[[Super Mario Bros 3]]'', the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Koopalings]] have stolen the wands of the Seven Kings, using the wands to turn them into animals. To restore them to normal, Mario must defeat the Koopalings and recover each wand.
* Android 21 from ''[[Dragonball Fighter Z]]'' is similar to Sonson, she turns her foes into cake or candy in order to devour them.
* In ''[[Mad Dash Racing]]'', after the player beats the game, Hex's minions turn him into a pig and place a prize ribbon on him.
== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[The
{{quote|
** Of course, [[Pronoun Trouble|(s)he]] can still cast a few spells as a lizard, and [[Plot Tailored to the Party|every one of them turns out to be useful]]. Except Hold Portal.
* In ''[[Slightly Damned]]'', Kieri is cursed with a Baleful Polymorph (snow bunny) by water guardian Toski. She can control it a little, but sometimes involuntarily shifts to being a snow bunny or back to being an angel when she sneezes.
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* In an ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' filler strip, [[Author Avatar|Dan Shive]] turns Melissa into a cat to shut her up. The cat's been seen in a few fillers since, but it's strictly non-[[Canon]]; [[Word of God|Shive has expressed his distaste for this trope]].
** In-canon (and out), Grace occasionally gets hit with this trope...but she's a [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshifter]], so it doesn't do anything other than give her a new form to play with.
* Princess Flibbage from ''[[Footloose (webcomic)|Footloose]]'' has a notorious habit of transforming unimportant characters when she's annoyed.
* Being a D&D based comic, the Baleful Polymorph effect has recently started to pop up in ''[[Goblins]]''. Currently, with a guard who polymorphed into an ogre, and another who became a soulspike destroyer.
** And then a few issues later came a polymorph that is pure [[Nightmare Fuel]], where yet another guard is transformed over the course of several panels into dozens of snakes, which promptly go slithering off in different directions.
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* ''[http://www.tfsnewworld.com/ New World]'' is largely based on this trope, as both Nicolo and Amanda love turning people into frogs, furries, or anything else comes to mind, usually throw genderbending into the mix as well.
* Several characters in ''[[The KAMics]]'' have been unwittingly changed into various things. It usually happens to Gertrude & Brunhilda.
* ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'': [http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-29.html the talking bear
* ''[[Minions At Work]]:'' [http://www.minionsatwork.com/2007/06/minions-68-lab-animals.html the perils of door-to-door].
* ''[[City of Reality]]'' features the villain Hinto Ama, who wreaked havoc in the World of Magic with her transformation powers. Years later, the Manumitor is a man who seeks to undo the harm she caused by reversing as many of the transformations as possible, but is apparently capable of the same magic. {{spoiler|This is because he is in fact Hinto Ama in disguise, seeking [[The Atoner|to atone]] for her past misdeeds}}.
* Angel's stock in trade in [[The Good Witch]], which she cheerfully applies to thugs, bullies...and random innocent bystanders.
* Yeve the sorceress in [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104102221/http://www.realmofatland.com/index.php Atland] teleports her arch-enemy Mael, another sorceress, out into the middle of a desert...then turns her into a fish.
* In ''[[Housepets]]'', King was involuntarily changed from a human named Joel to a Welsh Corgi, by a [[Jerkass]] gryphon using Joel/King for the gryphon's own purposes.
* In ''[[Roza]]'' her blood magic [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-06-01
* In ''[[Thalia's Musings]]'', Hera is very fond of visiting this fate on Zeus's paramours. Io in particular was turned into a cow and then given to Thalia as a pet.
* In ''[[Erstwhile]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103235247/http://www.erstwhiletales.com/a-tale-with-a-riddle-0/#.T29vLNm6SuI three women are turned into flowers.]
* In ''[[Crimson Flag]]'' Julian Urocyon found a staff that could transform [[Petting Zoo People|Reyn]] into ordinary (non-anthropomorphic) foxes. {{spoiler|He used it on the Red Queen and her bodyguard Bryce and planned to use it on the Red's entire military but was foiled by Lucian, though both of them were transformed in the process.}}
* ''[[Cyanide & Happiness]]'' has [http://explosm.net/comics/2887/ a case] that either failed or was more insidious than initially assumed. Toads are cool!
== Web Original ==
* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', the scheming mage Shyralis accidentally activates a curse which turns her into a goat while the Great War rages on. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* Thanks to DovSherman at [[Deviant ART]], [[Mary Sue]]-ification [http://dovsherman.deviantart.com/art/Mary-Sue-ification-Meme-d-169162395 now works like this too].
* ''[[Fenspace]]'' has the [[Catgirl]]ing Machine. The "instantly" and "useless in combat" part of the ISO-standard Baleful Polymorph doesn't apply to these catgirls; however, there's no way for them to revert to human (or, if applicable, male).
* ''[[SCP Foundation]]'':
** [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/kain-pathos-crow-s-author-page Dr. Kain] (not to be confused with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-073 SCP-073], that Cain is spelled with a C, thought Dr. Kain ''has'' written an analysis on him and his brother, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-076 SCP-076]); a brilliant researcher, an unspecified accident turned him into [[Funny Animal|a humanoid dog-like creature]]. Thus far, he's managed to live with it without it hindering his job.
** [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3270 SCP-3270] is a painting of a cat that, over the course of several months, turns its owner into a cat. The victim retains their intelligence, personality, and ability to talk (and can talk to regular cats), and their lifespan remains the same as a humans', but assumes the typical habits and diet of a housecat. While there is no known cure, victims in Foundation custody seem rather content with their condition; having free housing where humans feed and lavish attention on them (as is the case with most cats) seems a lot better to them than their pevious lives.
== Western Animation ==
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'''Yzma:''' You're excused. Anyone else?
'''The rest of the troops:''' Nah, we're good! }}
{{quote|'''Kuzco:''' Yay, I'm a llama again! ...Wait.}}
* ''[[Brother Bear]]'' is about an Alaskan Inuit trying to become more independent of the totem animal he receives (the bear of love), and he is turned INTO a bear by the spirits in order to truly understand why he attained this title.
* In one episode, ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'' gets turned into a two-headed bluebird who can only speak in High School French and lays chocolate eggs. Let me say that again. The Tick gets turned into a two-headed bluebird who can only speak in High School French and lays chocolate eggs.
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* The Monkey Talisman in ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' has the power to turn anything into any animal (and only animals; Jade found that part out the hard way when she tried to change a log into a death ray and got a manta ray instead).
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda (animation)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' cartoon had Link turned into a frog, making him unable to resist eating flies, scaring people off with his face, and having difficulty with his motor skills. About half-way through the episode, it stopped being a hindrance and more of an unfortunate appearance.
* The obligatory appearance by Circe in the ongoing cartoon of Disney's ''[[Hercules (
* One Episode of ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' has the team transformed into various animals such as a bear, cat, monkey, rabbit and... a lamp? (Beast Boy had pointed out to the suddenly nonplussed villain how he transforms into animals already, so the villain had to pick something else. Even then, Beast Boy could still shapeshift, but only into various types of ''furniture''.)
* A [[Time Travel]] episode of ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' included a meeting with Circe, who, of course, turned Scrooge into a pig. A [[Carl Barks]] comic also had Magica use Circe's wand to turn Scrooge's nephews into animals to blackmail him for his [[Number One Dime]].
* {{spoiler|Metus being turned into a snake by the [[Mask of Power|Ignika]] }} in ''[[Bionicle]]: The Legend Reborn''.
* In the rebooted series of [[Yoohoo and Friends]] it is the central theme with polluting corporate executives being turned into [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|cute, cuddly animals]] by Father Time and sent on missions to fix up the environmental damage they have caused.
* In one episode of [[Ultimate Spider-Man (animation)|Ultimate Spider-Man]], Loki turns Thor into a frog so he won't interfere with his Frost Giant invasion of Earth. He's not as strong as he once was, but he still has power over Mjolnir and human speech in this state. At one point, one member of Spidey's team suggests that White Tiger (the only girl of the group) kiss "The Frog Prince", an idea she immediately dismisses. {{spoiler|Spidey gets Thor back to normal by ''tricking the Trickster God himself''- he points out that nobody would be impressed by a god killing a frog, and reverting Thor gives him the opportunity to kick Loki's ass.}}
* In ''[[Totally Spies!]]'', this happens to the three protagonists a ''lot'' usually to Clover, who is the [[Designated Victim]] of any scheme that involves altering someone's appearance. Fans have theorized the show was developed with the intent to display every bizarre type of [[Fetish Fuel]] imaginable. More often than not, the girls are able to use this (much as they manage to use ''any'' curse) to their benefit in some way, and these stories often end with [[Hoist by His Own Petard|the villain getting a taste of his own medicine.]]
* In most versions of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', mutations are not done with the recipient's intent or approval, but most victims are able to cope reasonably well.
** Within limits, of course. In the 1987 series, April was likely ''very'' relieved when she was cured of the [[Cat Girl]] transformation that caused her to attack Splinter. She definitely didn't like the fish-girl transformation in a later season much either, though she was able to use it to help the heroes defeat the villain, as a fringe benefit was the ability to use sonar.
** The crossover ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles versus Batman'' had ''way'' too much fun with this, with many of [[Batman]]'s iconic villains getting mutagen-induced [[Karmic Transformation]]s. Bane becomes a leopard-mutant, Mr. Freeze [[Bears are Bad News| a polar bear]] (still packing a [[Freeze Ray]] and willing to use it) Harley Quinn, a hyena, Scarecrow a [[Feathered Fiend|crow-mutant]] (does that mean [[Fridge Logic|he scares himself?]]), and Poison Ivy becomes [[Man-Eating Plant|a giant Venus flytrap monster]] (possibly the only known time mutagen creates a plant-themed mutant). And [[The Joker]] you ask? A nightmarish [[Snakes Are Evil| cobra-themed version of himself.]] In case anyone doesn't know, snakes ''eat'' turtles, making this a terrifying villain to ''all'' the heroes in this crossover.
** The 2012 cartoon seemed to have a policy that said ''nobody'' was safe from being mutated, as it happened to both Kirby, Karai, and in fact, most of New York. This was especially bad because in most cases, mutated victims lost their minds. {{spoiler| The one exception seemed to be April, [[One Curse Limit| but only because she had even bigger problems]], being half-Kraang.}}
* From ''[[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee]]'' episode "The Great Escape"; June discovers that the animals at a zoo are actually magical beings who have been kidnapped and turned into animals by a [[Vain Sorceress]] who has done so to feed on their life energy and remain young. June makes an attempt to rescue them but it turns sour, and she falls victim to the same curse. Her reaction to waking up as a lemur is rather realistic - as in, she ''panics''.
* An example you really have to see to believe… In an episode of ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'', Courage unearths the bones of a prehistoric giant kangaroo monster. After Eustace breaks his leg, the doctor heals him by using one of those bones, and Eustace turns into a... prehistoric giant kangaroo monster. But it gets worse. He also goes nuts and goes on a kaiju-like rampage, so Courage ''breaks his own leg'' so the doctor can give him the same transplant and enact the same transformation, leading to this shows version of a kaiju battle, which leads to them [[Cooking Duel|having an art contest]], and ends with Eustace getting all the cupcakes he can eat. [[It Makes Just As Much Sense in Context]], but then, that tends to be true with most of the plots in this show.
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[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
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[[Category:Transformation Causes]]
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