Totem Pole Trench: Difference between revisions
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{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* In a 1998 Cocoa Pebbles commercial, Barney attempts to trick Fred as he normally does, only this time with Pebbles, Bam-Bam and Dino. Pebbles stands on top of Bam-Bam, and they pose as the Ghost of Christmas Past. In contrast, Barney plays the Ghost of Christmas Present while Dino plays the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. One of the rare instances where Pebbles actually talks.
* In a 2008 Capital One commercial, Santa Claus is supposed to depart for Christmas Eve but is too distracted customizing his Capital One credit card. It ends by showing two of the elves stacked up wearing Santa's suit heading for the sleigh.
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* "Your name Keebler? You an elf?" <Opens trenchcoat> "So are we."
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Done by Goten and Trunks to enter an adults-only tournament in ''[[Dragonball Z]]''. And the best part is, they ''are'' competent at fighting in tandem like that, only stopping at #18, who blows their ruse in the semifinals.
** A shout-out to this is in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', when Insector Haga (Weevil Underwood) and Dinosaur Ryuzaki (Rex Raptor) beat up a masked contestant in order to enter the KC Grand Prix tournament.
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* In an episode of ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'' the main three girls do this while infiltrating a school.
* This was also done in Episode 5 of the ''[[Little Lulu (anime)|Little Lulu]]'' anime, in an attempt to rescue Tubby from the Westside Gang. Lulu and Willy disguised themselves as Tubby's mother, with Lulu on top and Willy on the bottom. At first, the Westside Gang don't buy the act, since Lulu doesn't say anything, having Annie do the talking for her, but when she finally convinces the Westside Gang that Tubby's mother has a bad case of laryngitis and that if "she" doesn't see her son pretty soon, there's no telling what will happen. It would've worked too, had Lulu not gotten knocked off by the fence post above that served as the entrance to the Westside Gang's territory while entering and revealed Willy in front of the Westside Gang. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* Done by Ange and Beatrice in Case 9 of ''[[Princess Principal]]'' in order to bluff two guards into abandoning their post. Since they were wearing a gas mask and Beatrice is a [[Voice Changeling]], it works.
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* ''[[The Book of Bunny Suicides]]'' does this with a pile of rabbits dressed as [[Star Wars|Obi-Wan]] who [http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzpez2AWZ21qbnth4o1_500.jpg jump out of their disguise to be impaled by Darth Vader's lightsaber].
* In an ''[[Animaniacs]]'' comic, the Warner kids do this to fool Ralph with Yakko on top.
* This is a [[Running Gag]] in the [[Franco Belgian Comics|French comic]] ''[[Kid Paddle]]'', where Kid and his friends often try this to enter a movie theater and watch horror films rated above their age. [[Failure Is the Only Option|It never works.]]
* Played with in ''[[Garulfo]]'': in order to get by unquestioned, the heroes (one of which is in the body of a frog) wrap themselves in a moldy shroud, shaking a clacker and moaning "Leper! Leper!". Then they meet a [[Genre Savvy]] guard, who knows better than to back away, and knocks off the hood... to see a pair of bulbous yellow eyes on a wizened green body. He runs, fast.
* In an Issue of
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'': Once done by Calvin to get a ticket to a violent movie he was too young to see, using Hobbes as the top half of a [[Coat, Hat, Mask]] totem pole. The box office vendor, seeing Hobbes as a plush toy, [[Hilarity Ensues|was not convinced.]]▼
* One of Piraro's ''Bizarro'' comics shows a reporter addressing the camera, while in the background a mob of bemused interviewers crowd around two boys sitting on each other's shoulders: "Ladies and gentlemen, the leading candidate in this race has just been discovered to be a couple of kids in their dad's overcoat."▼
* A variation in the German strip ''Ottifanten'', which features [[Funny Animal|anthropomorphized elephants]]. Two kids try this trope, but since the lower one has his trunk sticking out, they're mistaken for a flasher.▼
* Like the Snow White example above, some of the meadow animals did this in a ''[[Bloom County]]'' strip to give a teenage girl a dance partner.▼
* Variation in one ''[[Peanuts]]'' strip where Snoopy and his bird friends try to get into the cinema as "One senior citizen, please" by standing on each others' shoulders with a bowler hat on top. The catch? ''No coat''.▼
* This was done in ''[[Little Nemo]] in Slumberland'' with Nemo in blackface standing on top of Flip standing on top of Professor.▼
** In one strip, three dogs do this to make an attempt to catch a cat they were chasing who went up a tree. The dogs disguise themselves as a woman and have the fire department get the cat down for them.▼
** In another strip, two cats disguise themselves as a dog but the dog discover this by smelling.▼
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In this [http://sparkydearly.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fanfics&action=display&thread=630 fanfiction] of ''[[101 Dalmatians|
* One [[YouTube]] user made a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebzw42AW9vs parody] on the "Silly Song" segment from Disney's ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'' using Powerpoint and the characters replaced with [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]] characters. In this parody, Tails and Amy Rose perform this trope.
* A Girl on Sheezy Art produce a web Manga regarding Two midgets in a trench coat [http://sheezyart.com/art/view/1638154/ can be seen here]{{Dead link}}. Very little of it has material that is [[NSFW]] though.
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* Calvin performs a singular variant using stilts in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]''. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] shortly afterwards:
{{quote|"That was easy. Those kids on TV should try stuff like that instead of those silly growth machines and potions."}}
* In chapter 37 of the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12058516/1/The-Reclamation-of-Black-Magic The Reclamation of Black Magic]'' by "ShayaLonnie", when Tiberius Ogden offers to take Dorea Black to lunch at Florean Florescue's ice cream parlor, she accuses him, tongue-in-cheek, of this trope:
{{quote|"Whisky for breakfast and ice cream for lunch? Are you certain you've left Hogwarts? Perhaps you're actually just two small Hufflepuffs in a large set of robes with a fake beard."}}
* A variation appears in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[[Sympathetic Properties]]'' by "Mr Norrell": when ex-Ministry employee Hugh Hobson approaches a secret entrance to Gringotts he is challenged by what he initially thinks is the tallest goblin he's ever seen -- which turns out to be a normal-sized goblin wearing a long coat and standing on a stool.
* In ''[[All Dogs Go to Heaven]]'', Charlie, Itchy and Anne-Marie do this to bet on horses as well as do other gambling.
* In the Aardman Animation film ''[[Chicken Run]]'', (a pastiche of classic wartime escape movies featuring the inmates of a chicken farm), the chickens attempt to escape by using this trope to impersonate the farmer's Gestapo-inspired wife during the pre-credits montage of failed attempts.
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* In ''[[Oliver and Company]]'', Tito, Francis and Einstein dress up as a pizza man to distract Sykes.
* In "Tom & Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers" Paul (a short pirate) piles himself on some monkeys while wearing a large pirate's jacket to make himself look more threatening.
== Films -- Live-Action ==▼
* Done in the [[Mel Brooks]] film ''[[Silent Movie (film)|Silent Movie]]''. Three normal-sized adults inexplicably attempt this to get into [[Burt Reynolds]]' house. Their explanation for being 15 feet tall is having a "glandular condition".
* Done in the Hong Kong movie ''Dragon from Shao Lin''.
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* In ''[[Oz the Great and Powerful]]'', Glinda announces the Munchkins when presenting her allies to Oz. Out march several ranks of incredibly tall soldiers, who each turn out to be three Munchkins inside a long coat.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* According to a user going by "des-zimbits" on [[Tumblr]]:▼
{{quote|English isn't a language, it's three languages stacked on top of each other wearing a trenchcoat.}}▼
▲== Literature ==
* In ''Miss Nelson is Back'' three of the ringleaders of room 207 disguise themselves as Miss Nelson.
* In ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events|The Carniverous Carnival]]'', Violet and Klaus use this to pose as a two-headed person.
* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Done by a whole bunch of six inch-high Nac Mac Feegle in ''[[
** In ''[[
* Slytherin students use this to impersonate dementors in ''[[
* A similar trick was used unsuccessfully in ''[[Welkin Weasels]]: Thunder Oak'', involving nine ferrets in a human-sized suit of armor.
* In the children's novel ''Down Town'', Cary's first uncanny encounter is with an apparent bag lady. The accompanying illustration makes it clear that this is actually a whole lot of tiny humanoid creatures dressed up in old clothes.
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* In ''[[The Roman Mysteries]]'' novel ''The Colossus of Rhodes'', a midget pretends to be a giant by riding on the shoulders of his bodyguard, concealed by a long cloak.
* Done in an episode of ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'' to predictable ends.
* Done to allow two Jamanese "snakks" to avoid "big" police in the [[British Series]] ''[[A Small Problem]]''.
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* Michaelangello and Venus do this in an episode of ''[[Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation|Ninja Turtles the Next Mutation]]''.
* Referenced in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Marshal claims he was mugged by a monkey, but later confides to Barney and Ted that it was an actual mugger, and he just didn't want Lily to buy a gun. Cue Barney: "Are you sure it wasn't two monkeys stacked on top of each other with a trench coat?"
* According to a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' spoof of Broadview security this is one of the major dangers women living alone in a five bedroom house face, along with rabbis, grandfathers, [[k.d.
* This occurs in an episode of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' during the final season. In the episode where Mike and the robots make fun of a German adaptation of ''Hamlet'', Crow and Servo dress up as a ghost and try to get Mike to believe that they're the ghost of his father, but Mike tells them that his father was still living, so the robots kept changing their identity to other people in Mike's family tree, but everyone they tried turned out to be a relative who was still living.
* ''[[First
* Done in an episode of ''[[That's So Raven]]'' with Cory and Stanley.
{{quote|'''Stanley:''' ''(while attempting to do a deep voice)'' What's happenin', my brotha.}}
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* In ''[[Community]]'' episode [[Community/Recap/S1/E18 Basic Genealogy|Basic Genealogy]] Shirley's sons disguise themselves so Abed's cousin can go play.
== [[Music]] ==
* The flash video to [["Weird Al"
==
▲* The flash video to [["Weird Al" Yankovic|Weird Al Yankovic]]'s song, "Virus Alert", contains a brief scene of a group of viruses doing this to steal someone's credit card identity.
* There are a few videos that people have posted on [[YouTube]] of people doing this with their friends. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYgPhIOPaSw These] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbsign1_u60 are] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eANh4p_QETQ a few] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6hy2juofNs examples].
▲* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'': Once done by Calvin to get a ticket to a violent movie he was too young to see, using Hobbes as the top half of a [[Coat, Hat, Mask]] totem pole. The box office vendor, seeing Hobbes as a plush toy, [[Hilarity Ensues|was not convinced.]]
▲* One of Piraro's ''Bizarro'' comics shows a reporter addressing the camera, while in the background a mob of bemused interviewers crowd around two boys sitting on each other's shoulders: "Ladies and gentlemen, the leading candidate in this race has just been discovered to be a couple of kids in their dad's overcoat."
▲* A variation in the German strip ''Ottifanten'', which features [[Funny Animal|anthropomorphized elephants]]. Two kids try this trope, but since the lower one has his trunk sticking out, they're mistaken for a flasher.
▲* Like the Snow White example above, some of the meadow animals did this in a ''[[Bloom County]]'' strip to give a teenage girl a dance partner.
▲* Variation in one ''[[Peanuts]]'' strip where Snoopy and his bird friends try to get into the cinema as "One senior citizen, please" by standing on each others' shoulders with a bowler hat on top. The catch? ''No coat''.
▲* This was done in ''[[Little Nemo]] in Slumberland'' with Nemo in blackface standing on top of Flip standing on top of Professor.
* ''[[The Far Side]]''
▲** In one strip, three dogs do this to make an attempt to catch a cat they were chasing who went up a tree. The dogs disguise themselves as a woman and have the fire department get the cat down for them.
▲** In another strip, two cats disguise themselves as a dog but the dog discover this by smelling.
== [[Puppet Shows]] ==
* In an episode of ''[[Under the Umbrella Tree]]'', the three main puppets attempted to do this with Gloria on top.
* Skeeter and Bobby do this on an episode of ''[[Cousin Skeeter]]''.
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* In an episode of ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'', the main fraggles use a cloak to disguise themselves as Sir Hubris so the can get the gorgs to leave forever.
== [[Theatre]] ==
▲== Theater ==
* A Chinese Acrobatic Troupe called Zunyi Municipal Acrobatic Troupe did one-on-one in one of their performances.
* In some ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' performances this [[Human Ladder|technique is often used to portray the abnormally tall ghost of Fruma-Sarah. (Especially in modern high school productions, where technical equipment budgets tend to be limited.)]]
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* A trio of Scarabs in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' track down Snake this way in the first half of the game's third act.
* In the first ''[[Leisure Suit Larry]]'' game, Larry can meet a trenchcoat flasher on the sidewalk by the hotel. When you look at the flasher, the narrator comments that it's really a little person standing on the shoulders of another. They're both still flashers, though.
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* The Wizard enemy in ''Wario Land 2'' is really two Pirate Gooms wearing a robe.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
▲== Web Comics ==
* Also by a collection of intelligent hamsters in ''[[Narbonic]]'', using a paper plate with a badly drawn smiley for the face.
* Done very ''un''successfully to try to look senatorial while visiting Washington, DC in ''[[Ozy and Millie]]''; oddly, a semi-adult character is part of the totem pole. The lobbyist targets see through it instantly.
* [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2003-01-19 Done quite successfully] in ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'', to create one anonymous [[Starfish Alien|weird alien]] out of three wanted-by-the-police weird aliens. Oh, and one of the three (the eponymous Schlock) ''[[Voluntary Shapeshifting|is]]'' the trench coat.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20110814021028/http://www.itswalky.com/d/20020210.html this] ''[[Its Walky]]'' strip, Joyce and Dina use a more specific version to pretend to be Jason.
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20110814022329/http://scarygoround.com/sgr/ar.php?date=20070105 this] ''[[Scary Go Round]]'' strip, two goblins disguise themselves as a human teacher, using this method.
{{quote|'''Esther:''' Did we ever find out exactly what's wrong with Mr. Manuel?}}
* In ''[[Minion]]'', the Knight that came to slay the Dark Witch Meryl was in fact [[Tagalong Kid|Rico and Ellaine]] wearing a helm and a cloak. It's a good thing the [[Glamor Failure|cloak blew open]] when it did, since the Knight had by that point hit several of Meryl's [[Berserk Button]]s and she was about a second away from blasting "him" into cinders.
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* ''[[Rusty and Co.]]'' has it pulled by two halflings ([http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-143/ Dirk and Cris]) trying to arrange a jailbreak for Stabs. It's not very effective against close observers.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[CatDog]]''
** The Ingrid Twins did this in their first episode. The Ingrid who loved Cat confessed to him at the end of the episode that she wasn't really a tall girl by taking off her dress revealing her sister underneath.
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* On an episode of Saban's ''Adventures of Oliver Twist'', Oliver, Dodger and Charlie try to pose as aristocrats to sneak past guards to participate in a horse race competition. Oliver sat on Charlie's shoulders wearing a coat and hat. At first, the plan seemed to work, but it didn't last long when Charlie grabbed a handful of orderves, then he ran out of the disguise going on an eating rampage.
* On an episode of ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'', Ren and Stimpy disguise themselves as the wife of the house to sneak past an angry dog so Ren can snatch a sample of some of his favorite food. They were unsuccessful.
* ''[[My Little Pony:
** In the episode "Stare Master", Scootaloo stands on top of Apple Bloom with a bucket on her head and drapes a rug around them so that they could pretend to be a creature while Sweetie Bell chases them. In this case, they were trying to be "Creature Catchers" so they can try to get their cutie marks.
** In the episode, "Dragon Quest", Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Rarity disguise themselves as a dragon to check on Spike while he hangs out with the big dragons. Twilight was at the head of the costume standing on top of Rainbow Dash while Rarity posed as the hind quarters.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* In 2018, ''Yahoo! News'' [https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-guys-tried-apos-tall-004901474.html reported] on [https://twitter.com/stevelikescups/status/964622725833670656 video tweeted by @stevelikescups] of two people using one trenchcoat to try to get a "two-for-one special" on admission to ''[[Black Panther (film)|Black Panther]]''.
▲* According to a user going by "des-zimbits" on [[Tumblr]]:
▲{{quote|English isn't a language, it's three languages stacked on top of each other wearing a trenchcoat.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Disguise Tropes]]
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth and Lies]]
[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Totem Pole Trench]]
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