In the event that a transformation is actually depicted, it's common across most forms of visual media for the character to remain static throughout. The camera may remain in motion, and the scene can be depicted from different angles, but in general the actual subject doesn't move.
Most often, this is a practical consideration: in live-action media, filming a transformation in motion requires a lot of expensive visual or practical effects, time-consuming shoots, and very careful editing to avoid continuity errors. In animation, building the transition from one form to another takes a lot of effort, and adding the trouble of a moving character and a moving backdrop makes the process even more complicated. Even comic books require artistry and attention to detail so that the whole thing remains consistent - hence why detailed backgrounds have a tendency to vanish in transformation sequences.
As such, among the most technically difficult kind of transformation sequences are those that features the character changing while walking - or, on occasion, running.
Sometimes, this is depicted in full view at every stage of the transition, perhaps to the point of the camera tracking the character's every move. In others, creative editing can be used to show it from different angles or with key moments of change obscured by scenery. In some cases, the comparative mundanity of the act can result in an Oblivious Transformation, with the character remaining unaware so long as they don't end up walking past a mirror. In others, there's no such obliviousness, and indeed, the scene can be a sign that the character is such a good shapeshifter that they can do it without even pausing to think about it.
Whatever the case, the transformation happens while the character is in motion and the audience is at least partly along for the walk - or run, or ride, as the case may be.
May result in Human-to-Werewolf Footprints. May overlap with Travel Transformation, depending on the purpose of the sequence.
The Supertrope of Polymorphic Plummet, the more vertical counterpart to this trope.
Contrast Stumbling in the New Form, where a transformed character struggles to walk.
NOTE: There needs to be an actual sequence for this trope to apply. If there's no distinct process of the character changing and there's just a split-second puff of smoke or a flash of light, it doesn't count.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Brigadoon: Marin and Melan: In episode 15, Marin eats some hallucinogenic chocolates and experiences a Mushroom Samba in which she gets older in mid-walk until she has become a grown woman and barely fits in her dress. By contrast, the scene in which she hallucinates herself reverting - and then regressing to infancy - features her standing stock-still throughout.
- Lyrical Nanoha: While transformations tend to be rather elaborate, one scene in the second episode of StrikerS depicted Hayate summoning her Barrier Jacket while running without breaking her stride, with the entire thing simply depicting her as glowing for a second.
- In both Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, the BuCuE and LaGowe Animal Mecha type Mobile Suits used by ZAFT can switch from tank mode to quadrupedal mode almost instantly, meaning they can do this in the midst of combat while driving or running. Its upgraded variant, the Kerberos BuCue Hound, featured in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED CE.73: Stargazer, inherits this feature, and is shown transforming from quadruped mode to tank mode while in combat against the Strike Noir Gundam.
Comic Books
- The Twilight Zone: In the comic "Specter Of Youth," crooked antiques dealer Max Tiberias finds the Fountain of Youth in an ancient urn and decides to use it himself. Several panels later, Max soon realizes he's getting too young - only to get distracted by a kitten; in a panel-wide transformation sequence, Max goes chasing after it, regressing back through his childhood with every step and slipping out of his increasingly oversized clothes along the way, until he's barely stumbling along as a toddler. In the next page, his transformation is complete and he's a baby lying in his discarded underwear.
Films — Animation
- The Adventures of the American Rabbit: Whenever Rob runs really fast, Colorful Contrails appear behind him as he turns into his superhero alter ego, American Rabbit. It's shown that he has to run a certain distance to trigger the transformation, so when he's trapped in a small room, he has to run in a circle to become American Rabbit.
- Magic Gift of the Snowman: The first time Emery-Elizabeth's wheelchair transforms, it turns into a miniature train, easing her and Landon's journey into Princess Electra's kingdom. Once they arrive, the train transforms back into a wheelchair while still in motion.
- NIMONA (2023): When Nimona first reveals her nature as a shapeshifter while breaking Ballister out of prison, she illustrates her versality to him by transforming multiple times in rapid succession over the course of The Oner without slowing her pace in the slightest. First, she changes from a rhinoceros to an armadillo in mid-charge with Ballister still on her back, then turns into a bear and leaps onto a swivel chair with Ballister in her paws, then becomes a bird and then an otter to push the swivel chair down the hall towards a balcony, before shapeshifting into a gorilla and swinging out over the balcony with Ballister under one arm. For good measure, upon landing, she becomes an ostrich and continues on galloping down the corridors with Ballister hanging on to her back for dear life.
- Paprika: In the finale of the animated adaptation, the real world and the dream world merge, resulting in the Parade marching through Tokyo, transforming anyone it meets. In one scene, a group of businessmen step off the curb and join the Parade, their bodies warping into anthropomorphic musical instruments in mid walk. In another, a family marching in the Parade seamlessly transform into a bewildering assortment of animated statues, including a Maneki Neko.
Films — Live-Action
- Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar: During a visit to a Roman camp, Asterix and Obelix are treated to a show by several dancing girls... only for one of the girls to morph into Panacea as she dances over to Obelix, sprouting more luxuriant hair and a much deeper cleavage as she crosses the threshold between them.
- The Avengers (2012):
- Iron Man has a walkway at the top of Stark Tower that removes his suit as he casually walks along it
in a suitably slick transformation sequence.
- Late in the film, Bruce Banner calmly walks out to tackle an oncoming Chitauri leviathan, looks back just long enough to make his famous "I'm always angry" one-liner to Cap, and then turns back towards the approaching enemy, transforms into the Hulk in mid-stride, and kills the leviathan with a single punch.
- Iron Man has a walkway at the top of Stark Tower that removes his suit as he casually walks along it
- Avengers: Infinity War:
- When Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive in New York at the start of the film, Tony Stark simply presses a button on his chest, then walks towards the villains while the Iron Man armour takes shape around his body, all to show off the new nanotech capabilities of his suit.
- Later, when Thanos acquires the Reality Stone, Drax makes a very ill-advised attempt to attack him head-on - only to be instantly transmuted into Styrofoam and diced to pieces in mid-run, causing him to collapse forward into a heap of debris. Thankfully, he's restored to normal once Thanos leaves the area.
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: Following a botched attempt to spy on Forge's activities, Doric is forced to flee the castle in a wide variety of forms with guards in hot pursuit, including a fly, a rat, a bird, a cat, and a deer, with most of her transitions remaining visible save for the very occasional Transformation Discretion Shot - such as when Doric transforms while hidden inside of suit of armour, for example. For good measure, this scene is The Oner.
- The Fly (1986): In the finale, while being dragged across the lab by Seth, Veronica accidentally tears his jaw off in a failed attempt to push him away, triggering the final stage of Seth's metamorphosis into a human-fly hybrid. However, he continues moving as the transformation progresses, his face, eyes, and bone structure itself changing with every step - complete with some charming shots of his legs distorting out of shape and shedding huge chunks of flesh in mid-walk.
- Harry Potter:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001): Professor McGonagall changes out of her cat form while jumping off her desk, continuing her stern approach towards Harry and Ron in human form.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Peter Pettigrew is changed back to his human form in the midst of him trying to run away as a rat.
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Beorn the Skin-changer, first introduced attacking the company in the form of a giant bear, after which they took shelter in his own house and locked him out of it, finally reverts to his human form for the first time at night, running towards the borders of the woods surrounding his home, before rearing up on his back legs, and staggering forwards as he transforms, while a line of trees partially obscures him. His human form finally becomes fully visible when he falls to his knees, before crawling forward and then getting back up on his feet again.
- Mortal Kombat: The Movie: As Master Boyd is leaving the movie studio after convincing Johnny Cage to come to the tournament, he casually transforms with a flicker of fire back into Shang Tsung in mid-walk, revealing that the Evil Sorcerer has stolen both Boyd's form and his soul.
- Nutty Professor II: The Klumps: In the finale, Buddy Love is tricked into taking a dose of Sherman's youth formula, and after his regression to infancy (in which he remains still throughout), Buddy flees the room before Sherman can reabsorb him. However, as he frantically toddles down the corridor, he begins dissolving into blue slime, melting out of shape with every step until he hits the ground with a splash, forcing him to ooze into the elevator to escape.
- SHAZAM! (2019): Billy Batson's ability to transform into the superhero Shazam in a flash of lightning is already near-instant, but during the final fight, as he approaches Doctor Sivana, he calls out "SHAZAM!" and transforms into his superhero form without even breaking his stride or changing shots.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day:
- Shortly after being blown up by the T-800 at the end of the chase scene in the drainage canals, the T-1000 calmly walks Out of the Inferno in its featureless liquid metal form, slowly gaining more definition with every step until it's returned to its police officer shape.
- During Sarah Connor's escape from Pescadero Hospital, the T-1000 pours itself through the roof of an elevator as liquid metal, then once it's regained a basic humanoid shape, forces the elevator doors open just in time to see the T-800 driving Sarah and John out of the parking lot. It immediately charges after them, rapidly growing more human as it does so until it's in default form again.
- Being frozen, shattered, and thawed in quick succession damages the T-1000's mimetic abilities during the finale, resulting in it partially shapeshifting into anything it's in contact with; following the initial Hands Looking Wrong reveal, this is further demonstrated by a close-up shot of the T-1000's semi-liquid feet adopting the colour and texture of the floor beneath it as it walks through the steel mill.
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: When the T-X finally catches up with Kate at the cemetery, it's initially in the form of her fiancé, prompting Kate to let her guard down. But as it approaches, it sheds the layer of liquid metal it was using as a disguise to reveal its robotic endoskeleton, before assuming its default female form in a dramatic Orbital Shot, much to Kate's shock. note
- The Transformers (Film Series) has many examples of Transformers transforming mid-drive or mid-flight, such as in the highway battle from the first film, which features two such Transformers seamlessly transitioning from wheels to bipedal locomotion reminiscent of rollerblading.
- Werewolf of London: Featuring one of the earliest known examples of this trope in film, Dr Glendon's first transformation into a werewolf occurs while he's walking through his laboratory in a daze, the camera following him through the set - the background having been filmed first and Henry Hull being composited over it. Every time Glendon passes behind one of the room's pillars, he acquires more wolf-like features and looks progressively less horrified, until he's fully transformed.
- The Witches (1990): In the finale, Luke successfully doses the cress soup with Formula 86 - just in time for a chef witch to taste-test it. Shortly afterwards, she begins transforming into a mouse, but unlike the other victims of the potion, she remains in motion so she can avoid the attention of her fellow chefs - who are setting up mousetraps, incidentally. This is conveyed through a mixture of prosthetics and editing, with the chef witch noticing the first trap as she retreats across the kitchen, looking up to reveal that her face is sporting rodentlike features, covering her face so the staff won't notice and visibly trying not to change before flinging herself through a set of double doors. Cut to the chef witch's feet as the transformation takes hold, her voice beginning to sound more like the squeaking of a mouse, until her clothes suddenly hit the floor; a moment later, a mouse goes speeding out of the now-empty clothes.
Live-Action TV
- Kamen Rider: Running transformations are common in the series especially from the Heisei era onward with CGI used during the Transformation Sequence. In Kamen Rider Blade in particular, Kamen Riders Blade and Garren transform by running through the barriers generated by their belts.
- Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: It's uncommon for the Rangers, being a team of first responders, to transform while on the move. One episode even features Chad, the Blue Ranger, transforming in the middle of a fight with the Monster of the Week.
- Power Rangers RPM: The Rangers' Transformation Sequence involves each Ranger sliding across a holographic road while their armor jumps into place. The Gem Twins replace this holo-road with a tube they fly through, to signify their plane-theme.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Odo and other Changelings occasionally shapeshift while moving. For example, in "The Adversary," Odo shapeshifts while shoving another Changeling across Engineering and pinning him to the warp core.
- The Twilight Zone (1959): In the episode "The Howling Man", the climax features the freed "howling man" walking rapidly down a hallway, passing behind stone columns every few steps, and as he moves, he transforms from human to the Devil thanks to some nifty In-Camera Effects.
- Ultra Series:
- The final episode of Ultraman Orb sees Gai Kurenai running towards the rampaging Maga-Orochi, while simultaneously loading the cards of Ultraman and Ultraman Tiga into his Orb Ring, before transforming and taking off without a rising sequence.
- Ultraman Geed ends in a similar way, with Riku loading the capsules of Ultraman and Ultraman Belial as he walks towards Belial Atrocious, transforming from human to Ultra mid-stride.
Video Games
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Once he has the necessary artefacts, Alucard can shapeshift into a wolf, a bat, or a cloud of gas on the fly without having to stop moving. As such, it's very handy if you need to make a quick escape from incoming attacks or to avoid falling into hazardous areas... and it also gives you an advantage over other shapeshifting foes, most of whom need to stand still for their transformation sequences.
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance: In a cutscene, Caineghis transforms from his lion form into his human form while walking towards a meeting point in Goldoa.
- Metroid: Samus can usually turn into a ball while running, without stopping mid-transformation, once she has the Morph(ing) Ball transformation.
- Resident Evil – Code: Veronica: Alexia Ashford slowly descends the staircase as she transforms from a human into her first monster form. As she does so, her clothing burns off and her skin turns slate gray while growing sleek, organic, veiny coverings that conveniently give the impression of Barbie Doll Anatomy.
- Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles offers a different take on Alexia Ashford's transformation sequence. Rather than transforming at the mansion's staircase to fight Wesker, she does so after being confronted by the Redfield siblings at the control room of the Antarctic Base. She boasts that everyone exists to serve her experiments, then starts giggling as she menacingly walks towards the heroes, with the camera panning from her feet up to her face to show her clothes burning off, until she emerges from the flames fully transformed as a human-plant hybrid.
- Sam & Max Hit the Road: During the visit to the Mystery Vortex, it's found that just being in the entrance hall of this tourist trap causes visitors to rapidly shrink and grow at random as they walk across it. As such, Sam and Max spend their time on-screen here shrinking down to doll-size and growing back up again in mid-stride... and as bad luck would have it, they always end up either too big or too small to use most of the doors in this area; the only way to avoid this is by entering the nearby mirror and adjusting the giant magnets under the Vortex.
Western Animation
- We see Ben transform into Heatblast while running in the Ben 10 episode "Secrets". We get a similar running transformation for Swampfire in the Ben 10: Omniverse episode "Have I Got A Deal For You".
- In Beast Wars the characters normally stand still when transforming, or pause to do it if they are moving. Still, the series contains enough examples of characters transforming in motion, especially when they are pressed by circumstances. Most often it is done by Cheetor (in episode 4 he transforms while running, and in episode 10 he transforms when leaping and somersaulting) and by Airazor (who usually transforms in mid-flight). It is also done by all the Maximals in episode 19, when they surprise-attack the Predacons' hunting party and keep switching between their beast and robot modes during the battle.
- The Midnight Gospel: Early in "Mouse Of Silver", Clancy steps through the portal into his mother's spaceship, and at the very moment he crosses the threshold, he regresses to infancy. Over the course of the episode, he periodically grows back up again, usually in mid-walk.
- Rainbow Rangers: Once per Episode, the girls are seen transforming into their super suits while they are running down their respective passages to Kalia's throne room.
- The Simpsons: The couch gag for "Homerazzi" features Homer rapidly evolving, first transforming from a jellyfish to a lungfish as he makes his way out of water and onto land, then becoming a sail-backed synapsid in mid-crawl, then a rodent-like mammal as he makes his way among the dinosaurs. After the extinction, he climbs into the trees and becomes a monkey, changing into a gorilla as he swings from vine to vine, before landing as an early hominid that rapidly evolves into a human being without slowing his stride. In an amusing twist, he passes Moe heading in the opposite direction, who rapidly shrinks out of human form and devolves into a prehistoric rodent in mid-walk. Meanwhile, Homer continues walking, becoming a cave-dweller, a medieval peasant, a conquistador, a Puritan pilgrim, a businessman in a bowler hat, and finally himself - just in time to arrive home and sit down on the couch.
- The Transformers: The opening titles for the first series feature the Transformers shifting from their vehicle forms to their robotic forms without slowing or stopping, with one trio reverting from fighter jets in mid-dive and another three reverting from racecars while still charging at the others. Many similar examples happen throughout the series.
- Transformers: Prime: In the opening, Starscream begins running at the Autobots and transforms into a jet while still in motion.