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Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"It walks... like a '''''man!'''''"''|''[[Open Season]]''}}
It's not always a case that the two-legged characters are more intelligent or more "humanized" than the others, but the [[Trope Namer]], ''[[Animal Farm]]'', and the trope's name suggest this case.
They are "humanized" more so that they're drawn with a [[Civilized Animal|realistic]], [[Funny Animal|semi-realistic, or simplified anatomy]], as opposed to the [[Petting Zoo People|humanoid bodies, hands,
Examples that are [[Nearly-Normal Animal]], [[Talking Animal]], [[Partially-Civilized Animal]], and [[Civilized Animal]] versions of animals that are supposed to stand an all four legs but are depicted as standing on two legs at least some of the time are ideal, but [[Funny Animal]] examples are allowed. No [[Petting Zoo People|Humanoid Animals]] or any animal that is supposed to move around on two legs, like birds.
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Subtrope of [[Funny Animal Anatomy]].
Sometimes, however, a single character, most often a [[Civilized Animal]] or a [[Funny Animal]], [[Anthropomorphic Zig-Zag|can shift between]] using [[Running on All Fours|
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Meowth from the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime learned to walk on two legs so that he could be respected by humans. In an ironic twist, this made him a freak amongst other Meowth.
** Oddly though, Meowth's have always been shown to be on two legs in their game sprites (albeit in stances like an actual cat or dog trying to walk or sit on their hind feet) and Meowth's in future episodes are shown to walk on two feet. In the ''Gold and Silver'' remakes, Meowth's sprites depict them walking on four legs suggesting they aren't the best at two feet walking.
** Also, the evolutions of some Pokémon that are quadrupeds assume two-legged stances when they evolve (and vice versa). Some are justified, such as Slowbro (as the Shellder that clamp onto their tails provide leverage to weigh them back). Generally, Pokémon that can assume a bipedal stance have better movepools then their quadrupedal cousins.
== [[Film]] ==▼
== Comics ==▼
* Very visible in the ''[[Garfield]]'' comics: the protagonist originally was drawn walking on all four, then switched to walking like a human as he came to be depicted increasingly [[Audience Surrogate|human-like]] (to the point where he is hardly ever seen not walking upright these days). By comparison his pal [[Dogs Are Dumb|Odie the dog]] still rarely ever assumes a two-legged stance. ▼
* Snoopy from the ''[[Peanuts]]'' comics, movies, and TV specials usually stands on two legs, except for the earliest comics. ▼
** Jim Davis of ''[[Garfield]]'' fame admits it was Charles Schulz who taught him how to design both four- and two-legged posture for an animal character.▼
** Oddly in an early comic, he understands he loves Sally because she's the only human who knows how to walk on four legs.▼
* ''[[The Far Side]]'' had quadrupeds walking upright as often as it had them on all fours. ▼
** The ''[[Barnyard]]'' example may have been [[Inspired By]] a [[Far Side]] comic where cows were standing up until a spotter shouted "CAR!" Then they went down to four legs when a car went by, after which they went back to standing.▼
* [[Heathcliff]] was shown on two legs quite a few times. So were Belvedere and the pig in another Jim Davis strip, ''U.S. Acres''.▼
▲== Film ==
* Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, and Maurice, King Julien, and Mort the lemurs from ''[[Madagascar]]'' usually stand on two legs, but Marty the zebra and Melman the giraffe would sometimes stand that way too.
* Boog the Bear from ''[[Open Season]]'' usually stands on two legs. Elliot the mule deer also stands occasionally, which causes the hunter Shaw (who's already not all there to begin with) to utter the page quote in horror.
* Tiana and Naveen as frogs and Louis the alligator from ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' usually stand on two legs. Also, Louis the alligator, in order to play the trumpet properly.
* Timon is the only character in ''[[The Lion King]]'' that walks on two legs (not counting Zazu, who, being a bird, is exempt from this trope).
** The other meerkats in ''[[The Lion King]] 1
*** [[Truth in Television]] in that meerkats actually do stand like this in real life to scout their territory, but also Exaggerated because they never walk like that, only stand.
* The mice in ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]'' stand on two legs.
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* Everyone from ''[[Rango]]'' is a biped except Rattlesnake Jake since rattlesnakes don't have legs, and the armadillo, who is a quadruped.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* ''[[Animal Farm]]'': The [[Trope Namer]]. It's the central concept of the story: as Napoleon (a pig) became more tyrannical and corrupt, he ultimately abandons one of the most important characteristics that the animals took pride in because of how it made them different from the humans - the notion that four legs are good and two legs are bad - and decides to walk on two legs, like a human.
▲== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
▲* Very visible in the ''[[Garfield]]'' comics: the protagonist originally was drawn walking on all four, then switched to walking like a human as he came to be depicted increasingly [[Audience Surrogate|human-like]] (to the point where he is hardly ever seen not walking upright these days). By comparison his pal [[Dogs Are Dumb|Odie the dog]] still rarely ever assumes a two-legged stance.
▲* Snoopy from the ''[[Peanuts]]'' comics, movies, and TV specials usually stands on two legs, except for the earliest comics.
▲** Jim Davis of ''[[Garfield]]'' fame admits it was Charles Schulz who taught him how to design both four- and two-legged posture for an animal character.
▲** Oddly in an early comic, he understands he loves Sally because she's the only human who knows how to walk on four legs.
▲* ''[[The Far Side]]'' had quadrupeds walking upright as often as it had them on all fours.
▲** The ''[[Barnyard]]'' example may have been [[Inspired By]] a ''[[The Far Side]]'' comic where cows were standing up until a spotter shouted "CAR!" Then they went down to four legs when a car went by, after which they went back to standing.
▲* [[Heathcliff]] was shown on two legs quite a few times. So were Belvedere and the pig in another Jim Davis strip, ''U.S. Acres''.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* In both ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', all of the Koopas in the game (which are now normally supposed to be bipeds) are actually reverted back into quadrupeds, while both [[Big Bad|Bowser]] and [[Overlord, Jr.|Bowser Jr.]] are still bipeds.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* In the Disney adaptation of ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'', Cyril Proudbottom the horse sometimes stood on two legs, but Mr. Toad, Ratty, Mole, Badger, and the weasels always stood on two legs.
* Chip and Dale and Humphrey the bear from the [[Classic Disney Shorts]] stand on two legs.
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** Snowball the hamster and most of the mice from ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' usually stand and move around on two legs.
** But Buttons and Runt pretty much stay on all fours.
*** When Rita and Runt make a [[The Cameo]] in the Hip Hippos episode, "Moving Experience," Rita is shown running on two legs and Runt is running on all fours.
* Brian and Jasper from ''[[Family Guy]]'' usually walk on two legs.
* Same with Tim and Arianna the bears from ''[[The Cleveland Show]]''.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Funny Animal Anatomy]]
▲[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]
[[Category:Funny Animal Tropes]]
[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]
[[Category:These Tropes Are Made for Walking]]
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