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{{trope}}
[[File:
You know how they say "learn to crawl before you run"? Well, this character has learned to do both ''at once.'' This character may walk or run on two legs but is absurdly fast and nimble when running on all fours. Though running on all fours for humans is still possible, we've evolved to move faster and more efficiently through bipedal motion (our arms would have to be longer to be really good at it). ▼
▲You know how they say "learn to crawl before you run"? Well, this character has learned to do both ''at once.'' This character may walk or run on two legs but is absurdly fast and nimble when running on all fours. Though running on all fours for humans is still possible, we've evolved to move faster and more efficiently through bipedal motion (our arms would have to be longer to be really good at it).
This character though is a bit of a throwback for doing otherwise, and a pretty successful throwback as well because they can run just as fast (if not faster) than on two legs. This atavism is represented by the character being [[Raised By Wolves]], a partly non-human [[Beast Man]] or a [[Wolf Man]]. On the other extreme a [[Cyborg]] or genetically altered character might have this added as an alternate mode of locomotion. Then again, the [[Stringy Haired Ghost Girl]] and other supernatural critters may move this way just for freaky kicks.▼
▲This character though is a bit of a throwback for doing otherwise, and a pretty successful throwback as well because they can run just as fast (if not faster) than on two legs. This atavism is represented by the character being [[Raised
Sometimes, [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]] and [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]] will assume this stance, whether as part of a [[Masquerade]] or not.▼
▲Sometimes, [[Funny Animal
This [[Sister Trope]] of [[Primal Stance]] often involves [[Ceiling Cling]], [[In a Single Bound]], [[Wall Crawl]] and [[Wall Jump]]. The character can grab onto the roof, jump super high, run on walls and jump from object to object. [[Civilized Animal|Civilized Animals]] and [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]] are known to switch to all fours. ▼
▲This [[Sister Trope]] of [[Primal Stance]] often involves [[Ceiling Cling]], [[In a Single Bound]], [[Wall Crawl]] and [[Wall Jump]]. The character can grab onto the roof, jump super high, run on walls and jump from object to object. [[Civilized Animal
The polar opposite of [[Four Legs Good Two Legs Better]], where a quadruped adopts a decidedly humanoid gait. May constitute a mild example of [[Bizarre Alien Locomotion]]. Can be part of an [[Anthropomorphic Zig Zag]] or [[Furry Reminder]].▼
▲The polar opposite of [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better]], where a quadruped adopts a decidedly humanoid gait. May constitute a mild example of [[Bizarre Alien Locomotion]]. Can be part of an [[Anthropomorphic Zig
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The eponymous hero of ''[[Naruto]]'' does this from time to time, especially in the earlier part of the series, when he was ''less'' aware of the [[Sealed Evil in
** Kiba does this as well.
* Berserk units in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' and ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' run this way.
* Yamcha does this in ''[[
* Merle in ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'' does this.
* An early minor villain in [[
* [[Pokémon (
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* As the page pic shows, ''[[X-Men]]'' foe Sabretooth is fond of this across continuities.
== [[Film]] ==
* Several characters in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'', Tigress being the most notable example.
* In ''[[Legion]]'', one of the angel-possessed humans (the ice-cream man) has his limbs elongate and allow him to ''really'' run on all fours like a demented spider.
* [[Lampshaded]] in ''[[Madagascar]]'' when Marty invites Alex to try it.
* The creatures in ''[[Pandorum]]'' alternate between bipedal and quadripedal running when chasing the heroes.
* ''[[The Promise]]'' has all of the slaves used as bait in the opening battle move around like this because as slaves they weren't allowed to act like humans. The protagonist Kunlun is easily able to outrun all of his other fellow slaves, but it turns into an [[Averted Trope|aversion]] since he does run faster
* Samara from ''[[The Ring]]'', who crawls up the well and ''out of a TV set.''
* Played for [[Black Humor]] in ''[[Shallow Hal]].'' The main characters have a friend with spina bifida, leaving him with limited use of his legs; thus, he gets around on all fours.
* [[The
* The Lycans of ''[[Underworld (
* In the movie ''[[The Animal]]'', Marvin Mange, who has been implanted with various animal organs, starts running on all fours when being chased down by a truck.
* Some Decepticons from the [[Transformers Film Series|Transformers: Dark of the Moon]].
* Apes in the ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' remake, although mostly bipedal, did this when they were really excited and in a hurry.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Goblins of ''[[
* Monk Mayfair from the ''[[Doc Savage]]'' novels sometimes does this (his arms are so long they almost touch the ground when he is standing up).
* ''[[Gor]]:'' the alien Kurii are bipedal, but switch to all fours when running.
* Some strains of ratfolk from the ''[[Garrett
* Some goblins are said to do this in ''[[The Hobbit]]''. Justified because goblins have longer arms in comparison to their bodies than humans/elves/dwarves/hobbits, and sometimes the bigger ones ''need'' to do this in order to quickly move through tunnels with low ceilings, as their race is subterranean by inclination.
* The Woggle-Bug in [[The Wizard of Oz]] series would walk on two legs, as he felt it was more civilized, but would revert to four legs when he was scared and needed to run faster.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback does this... while in human form.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* There's a variant in ''[[Lexx]]'', where Xev is able to curl up like a wheel and roll rapidly, because she's become part cluster-lizard and that's their method of locomotion.
* The heroes of ''[[Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger]]'' run on all fours when chasing an enemy. Also used in the adaptation ''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]'', yet downplayed because all of them got Cool Bikes (as opposed to Gaoranger where only the [[Sixth Ranger]] had a bike).
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[
* The Stranger from ''[[Oddworld:
* The animal dash ability in ''[[Tomba]]'' allows the titular character to do this.
* The protagonist of ''[[Prehistorik Man]]'' runs on all four.
* In ''[[
* The Worgen in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' usually walk around on two legs, but go to all fours when they need to move fast. The playable Worgen have this instead of a racial mount.
* The Fast Zombies from ''[[
* Cave woman Ayla runs this way in ''[[
* As in the anime and manga section, Pikachu can function equally well on either four or two legs - when they're in 3D, they're shown to run on four and walk on two.
* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' features the purchasable power Beast Run which allows a character to do this.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Florence in ''[[
* ''[[
== [[Web Original]] ==
* The [[MS Paint]] Fan Adventure ''Water Works'' has {{spoiler|Slick do this with his arm and leg blades. He explains it's faster than walking, but considered rude as you damage people's floors"}}
* Shia
* In the web animation for ''BT21'' RJ (and by extension all civilized alpacas) stands in two legs but runs in four when wanting to run really fast.
▲== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Rigby from ''[[Regular Show]]'' when he needs to move quickly.
* Zeke the Big Bad Wolf from the ''[[Silly Symphonies]]'' cartoon, ''[[Three Little Pigs]]'' is normally a [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|bipedal]] [[Half
* The ''[[
* Nightcrawler in [[X
* The Thunderkittens in ''[[Thundercats 2011
* Aisling from ''[[The Secret of Kells]]'' sometimes runs the same way in her human form as in her wolf form.
* Fifi LaFume from ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' sometimes does this.
* Wakko Warner from ''[[
* Pinky the tall mouse from ''[[
* Spike from both the original ''[[My Little Pony]]'' and ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Friendship is Magic]]'' is occasionally seen doing this.
== [[Real Life]] ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Body Language]]
[[Category:Running
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