Ass in a Lion Skin: Difference between revisions

{{quote| ''And the $50,000 prize for the Best Dog in Show goes to this rare Black-Feathered Quacking Retriever!''}}

If you are a [[Morally-Ambiguous Ducktorate|duck on the make]], or a [[Rascally Rabbit]] trying to escape the hunters, or just a [[Canine Companion|dog]] that thinks it's "cute" to [[media:[[Dog In Turkeys Clothing]]DogInTurkeysClothing.jpg|wear a turkey costume]] (or, at least, has an [[Jerkass|owner]] who does), you have a good chance of turning into an '''[[Ass in Aa Lion Skin/Laconic|Ass in A Lion Skin]]'''. This involves one animal (usually a [[Funny Animal]]) that attempts to [[Disguise Tropes|pass as]] an animal of an ''entirely different species'', not simply of a different style or level of reality -- [[Quick- Draw McGraw|Augie Doggie]] pretending to be [[Top Cat]], but ''not'' Augie Doggie pretending to be Doggie Daddy, [[Scooby Doo|Scooby-Doo]], [[Underdog (Animationanimation)|Underdog]], [[Classic Disney Shorts|Pluto]], or [[Heroic Dog|Rin Tin Tin]]. Note also that the trope specifically excludes an animal dressed as or imitating a human being (or ''vice versa'').

The [['''Ass in Aa Lion Skin]]''' has a [[Real Life]] counterpart in the phenomenon of "animal mimicry," in which a harmless milk snake may resemble a deadly coral snake, but in such a case, unlike its fictional counterpart, the mimicry is permanent and (probably) unconscious.

== Animated Film ==

* ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'': [[Everything's Worse WithBeary BearsFunny|Baloo]] disguises himself as an [[Everything's Better Withwith Monkeys|ape]] to try to rescue Mowgli from King Louie.

* ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]'': Robin, a [[Cunning Like a Fox|fox]] in this version of the [[Robin Hood|legend]], disguises himself as "the spindle-legged stork from Devonshire" and as Nutsy, the vulture.

* ''[[Shark Tale]]'': Lenny the [[Everything's Even Worse Withwith Sharks|Shark]] passes himself off as Sebastian the Dolphin.

* ''[[Rock -a -Doodle]]'': The club that Chanticleer is playing at bans all cats, mice, dogs and '''birds''' from attending so that Edmond and his friends can't get in. So what does Edmond and the gang do? They sneak in [[Somewhere an Ornithologist Is Crying|dressed as]] [[Everything's Better Withwith Penguins|penguins]]. And it works since the announcer told them to "bring your penguin suits (i.e. tuxedos)!" [[Literal -Minded|literally.]]

* '''[[Aesop's Fables (Literature)|Aesop's Fables]]:'''

** "The [[Stubborn Mule|Ass]] in the [[King of Beasts|Lion]] Skin" -- The—The [[Trope Namer]]

** "The [[Ravens and Crows|Crow]] in Peacock's Feathers"

{{quote| ''No, sir, I '''know''' that's not it. Because it's a parrot, that's why. You've taught it to bark and you've painted "DoG" on the side of it but it's still a parrot.''}}

* ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Literaturenovel)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'': The Grinch dresses his dog, Max, as a reindeer.

* ''[[Maus]]'': The mice ([[Space Jews|Jews]]) wear [[Unfortunate Implications|pig masks]] to pass among the general population of [[Messy Pig|pigs]] ([[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Poles]]}).

{{quote| '''Kermit''': Who ever thought that someone would be holding a hog-calling contest next door? It was amazing, it was bizarre...<br />

* A ''[[Sesame Street (TV)|Sesame Street]]'' sketch featured William Wegman's dogs dressed as different kinds of animals. "It's Kermit the Dog!"

* One version of the [[Trope Namer]] goes as follows: An Ass, having put on the Lion's skin, amused himself by terrifying all the foolish animals. At last coming upon a Fox, he tried to frighten him also, but the Fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice than he exclaimed, "I might possibly have been frightened myself, if I had not heard your bray."

* In ''[http://www.angryalien.com/ 30-Second Bunnies Theatre]'' rabbits re-enact popular films. Thus, a film like ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' will feature a ''T. rex'' wearing bunny ears.

* There was a cartoon in the ''Wall Street Journal'' or similar paper during a recession, in which the boss of the New York Stock Exchange arranged to have a bear dressed as a bull so he could claim that it was a bull (''i.e.'', rising) market as opposed to a bear (falling) market.

* ''[[The Far Side]]'' had one with a polar bear with a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] -- a—a penguin's beak -- pretendingbeak—pretending to be a [[Everything's Better Withwith Penguins|penguin]].

** Also, the cover of the book collection ''The Chickens Are Restless'' depicts a duck with a false chicken comb among the mob of [[Everything's Better Withwith Chickens|chickens]].

* [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/Tannhaeuser/Nast_AssInALionSkin.jpg This political cartoon]{{Dead link}} by Thomas Nast, in a [[Shout-Out]] to Aesop, depicts ''The New York Herald'' as an ass in a lion-skin stampeding the "foolish animals" of the press, including ''The New York Times'' (unicorn), ''The New York Tribune'' (giraffe), and ''The New York World'' (owl). A skittish [[Cunning Like a Fox|fox]], representing the Democratic Party, has edged onto a reform plank near a gaping pit, by which the trumpeting elephant, symbolizing the Republican vote, lumbers. (This is probably one of the [[Ur Example|original sources]], incidentally, of the depiction of the G.O.P. as an elephant; Nast also popularized the Democratic donkey.)

* There's a range of [[Winnie the Pooh]] cuddly toys with the characters dressed as different animals -- Poohanimals—Pooh in a bee costume and Eeyore as a butterfly, for example.

* In ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'', Snoopy is tapped to perform the parts of all the animals in the Christmas play, including a sheep, a cow, and a [[Everything's Better Withwith Penguins|penguin]]. (He gratuitously adds a vulture.)

* It happens in a number of [[Classic Disney Short|Classic Disney Shorts]]s:

** In "The Fox Chase" (1928), Oswald [[Luck Rabbits Foot|The Lucky]] [[Rascally Rabbit|Rabbit]] flushes a [[Smelly Skunk|skunk]] out of a log. Oswald and his hounds flee into the distance -- anddistance—and then we see that the "skunk" is really a [[Cunning Like a Fox|fox]] in disguise.

* Mandy of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and& Mandy|Grim Adventures]]'' fame once entered Irwin in a dog show. He'd been infected with lycanthropy, and his wolf form made for a passable wolf''hound''.

* In the [[Tex Avery]] cartoon "Little 'Tinker," near the end [[Smelly Skunk|B.O. Skunk]] tries to woo a female by painting his fur like a [[Cunning Like a Fox|fox]]. {{spoiler|The girl fox he meets turns out to actually be another skunk in disguise after they fall into a creek and their paint washes off. Cue [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] as they kiss.}}

** "Bedevilled Rabbit": Bugs pretends to be a [[Everything's Better Withwith Monkeys|monkey]] and a Tasmanian she-devil to escape the Tasmanian Devil.

** "You Were Never Duckier": Daffy dresses as a [[Everything's Better Withwith Chickens|chicken]] to win a poultry contest; Henery Hawk and his father dress as a duck and a [[Everything's Better Withwith Chickens|chicken]] to do the same.

* In the DePatie-Freleng ''Misterjaw'' cartoon "Show Biz Shark", the eponymous [[Everything's Even Worse Withwith Sharks|shark]] disguises himself as a porpoise to sneak into show business.

* In ''[[Olive the Other Reindeer (Film)|Olive the Other Reindeer]]'', Olive the dog is constantly trying to convince people she's a reindeer. No one believes her.

* In the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "Got Game?", Perry the [[Everything's Better Withwith Platypi|Platypus]] dresses up as a dog (''i.e.'', he wears an earband and fake tail) to infiltrate a pet shop where Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been shopping, and ends up being bought by the doctor, who is unaware of Perry's disguise.

* In an episode of ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'', Bullwinkle was in hiding and he hid out on a mink farm. When the criminal went to the mink farm, the moose hid in a mink pen and pretended to be a mink by squeaking and hopping on all fours.

* ''[[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]]'':

* In the ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' short "The Wrong Trousers'', the notorious [[Everything's Better Withwith Chickens|rooster]] bank robber Feathers McGraw is really a [[Everything's Better Withwith Penguins|penguin]] with a red rubber glove on his head (whence the page image).

** "Dog Tags"

* In an episode of ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', Heffer needs to bring an elk home to [[Raised Byby Wolves|his family]] as a [[Rite of Passage]]. So he goes to the most logical place to find an elk: The Elks Club. Only, he can't get in, being a steer and all. [[Paper-Thin Disguise|So he takes branches and ties them to his horns to create antlers]].

[[Category:Disguise Tropes{{PAGENAME}}]]