Hollywood Chameleons: Difference between revisions

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== [[Comic Books]] ==

* The title character from British comic strip ''[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/k/kidcham.htm Kid Chameleon]'' was [[Wild Child|raised by lizards]] and wore a skin-tight suit of chameleon scales (and not much else). By concentrating, he was able to make the scales change colour, turning him almost invisible - except for his prominent mop of blond hair, which somehow the bad guys never noticed.

* Anole from ''The [[New Mutants]]'' has this ability.

== Film ==

* Subverted in ''[[Doctor Dolittle]] 2'', with Papito the chameleon, who thinks he has the ability to blend completely into the background, but never can. At the end, Charisse paints a room completely green as a surprise for Papito, and it looks like he finally got his dream.

* [[Played With]] in ''[[Tangled]]'' with Pascal, who mostly changes with his mood, it's just that half the time he happens to be in front of something of the same colour.

** Except the first scene with him, when he tries to blend in with a colourful pattern by appearing as this pattern. It doesn't work.

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== [[Literature]] ==

* In [[Michael Crichton]]'s ''[[Jurassic Park|The Lost World]]'', the Carnotaurus had extremely complex colour-changing abilities, being able to mimic the appearance of its surroundings, including a chain-link fence.

** As an aside, Chrichton was aware of how -to put it gently- unlikely this would be. He explained that he decided to essentially turn Carnotaurus into [[the Predator]] just to see how [[Steven Speilberg]] would handle the effects in [[The Film of the Book]]. (And then they aren't included in the film, which goes in a completely different direction. Cue sad trombone.)

* Similarly, it appears as though Ceratosaurs have this ability in ''[[Age of Reptiles]]''. It's a tad bit jarring.

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* A storybook by Leo Lionni was also about a chameleon that can change colour this way. He angsts over it because he feels this means he doesn't have an identity of his own. Until he meets a lady chameleon, who explains that "we can be all different colours ''together''". D'aww.

* The protagonist of the picture book ''Chameleon Was a Spy'' by Diane Redfield Massie is capable of matching backgrounds and reproducing complicated patterns; it's a plot point that he's even capable of manipulating his pigment to form ''writing''.

* Exaggerated in ''[[Xanth|A Spell For Chameleon]]''--the things referred to as chameleons in-setting [[Call a Smeerp a Rabbit|definitely aren't]], and are capable of disguising themselves as ''other species''.

* Justified (?) in [[Stationery Voyagers]] when the devil himself assumes the form of a chameleon. He has a different colour for every limb, just to flaunt that he can look like whatever he wants to.

* In [[The Sword of Shannara|The Wishsong]] we get one of these... As a giant tiger. (The Cheshire Cat reference is obvious.)

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* One boss in ''[[Kirby]] Super Star'' is this. He can turn practically invisible.

* Kecleon from ''[[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire]]'', aside from its belly stripe, which never changes.

* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' character Espio's ability to blend into any colour is represented by him becoming almost invisible. In ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'', he can use this ability to literally ''walk through laser detection systems without being spotted by them''.

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* The Disney film ''[[The Wild]]''

* One ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short had a chameleon who shows off his colour changing abilities, but breaks down when he finds a plaid backdrop.

** In a [[Shout-Out]] to this, the character Camo-Man (not [[My Name Is Not Durwood|Camel Man]]) in ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'' is only visible in front of plaid.

** Also, The Crusading Chameleon in ''[[The Tick]]'' actually loses consciousness when he encounters this pattern.

** Also, The Crusading Chameleon in ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'' actually loses consciousness when he encounters this pattern.

* The chameleons in ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'' use their colours as a means of communication

* In the animated film ''Katy Caterpillar'', the titular character meets up with a group of chameleons who can change to "any colour of the rainbow" and even two colours at once, and look down on anyone who can't change colour.

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* ''[[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]]'', after an advertising executive abused Ms. Chameleon's colour-changing abilities for a TV commercial, she was unable to stop changing colours.

* In the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "The Lizard Whisperer", the boys' pet chameleon Steve can straight-up disappear. Of course, that inspires Ferb to give his [[The Quiet One|longest speech ever]], so we're not complaining.

* In ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', the Chameleon Brothers don't actually change colour...but they do [[Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?|change jobs a lot]], based on what's trendy.

* Taken [[Up to Eleven|to a new level]] with [[Tuff Puppy|The Chameleon]]. His camouflage consist in actually transforming in what he wants.

** Can be seen as an aversion too, since he can only do it with his special suit. Without it, he is just a normal chameleon.