History Main / StumblingInTheNewForm

** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsMagicalMovieNight'': The final "Mirror Magic" segment shows an example of stumbling in the ''old'' form. Sunset Shimmer briefly returns to Equestria, where she grew up, to get a new journal and thus transforms back into a unicorn from being a human. However she's lived for such a long time as human that she tries to walk on her hind legs and to pick up items with her hooves and has completely forgotten about unicorn telekinesis.

* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', Ash's Larvitar evolves twice over the course of a single battle. It turns out that Pupitar uses an internal pneumatic system to move, which is supposed to carry over into the Tyranitar stage. Even though Ash's Pokémon only spends a few minutes as a hovering, jet-propelled pupa before going back to the same number and arrangement of limbs, the internal workings of those limbs changed enough to make the newfound Tyranitar ''exceedingly'' clumsy until he's able to spend some time with his mother helping teach him how to move.
* In ''Fanfic/TheAwakeningOfAMagus'', it is implied [[CuteClumsyGirl Tonks']] clumsiness is because she is normally using an appearance different from her real one, and the difference in the build makes her balance wrong.

* In ''[[Fanfic/StardustArad Mente Materia]]'', a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Changeling]] takes human form but quickly falls over because she's not used to moving on two legs.

* In ''Fanfic/ThePortal'', Thomas has a bit of trouble moving around after he becomes a dragon due to the fact that he now has four legs instead of two.
* In ''Fanfic/ProjectSunflower'', it takes Erin a lengthy adjustment period to figure out how to move around and do things after getting turned into a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic pony]], and even afterwards, she retains a certain clumsiness when it comes to fine-control things like using utensils. One of the side stories has a scene where Erin comes back to Equestria after getting turned back into a human, and Twilight remarks that it's the first time she's ever seen Erin eat a meal without fumbling.
** In the sequel, Erin goes through another phase after getting turned into a mashup of all three types of pony, particularly with her newfound wings.

* In ''Fanfic/IfWishesWerePonies'', the main focus is on a portal between Earth and Equestria that turns ponies into humans, and vice versa with certain humans (specifically, those that have magic). Naturally, this trope occurs on a regualr basis.
* The premise of ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/32122207/chapters/79581670#workskin the city has no warmth for me]]'' is that the ghost [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Navarre]] is resurrected. Almost immediately after awakening, he forgets that he can't float and trips over his own feet.

Often paired with DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength (if the new form is much more muscular), LimbSensationFascination and VoiceChangeSurprise. May involve GracefulInTheirElement, when newly transformed characters don't know what "element" their new forms are best suited to. Contrast with LikeADuckTakesToWater, for cases where characters ''don't'' struggle with transformations, and RevelingInTheNewForm (though there are times when characters enjoy being in new forms ''despite'' also stumbling in them). This is also less likely to pop up in stories where TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody. See also HowDoIShotWeb, which deals with characters struggling to handle superhuman abilities; there can be overlap if a NewSuperpower also causes a physical change.

--> '''Gumball''': You know what would be fun? Being a T-Rex!
--> '''Darwin''': You take left, I'll take right.

* ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'': Dolph is a Magician whose talent is that he can transform into any living creature, but he's aware that when he does transform he has to be careful. If he becomes a winged creature he can't fly as well as due to little practice, if he becomes a four-legged creature he stumbles and often tries to use his front legs as hands/arms.

* One episode of ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'' features the Cloak of Duplication, which allows the wearer to take on someone else's form. Laszlo, Colin, and Guillermo all attempt to woo a girl whilst disguised as Nandor - Laszlo yells about not knowing how to get his body to work whilst being thrown out of the gym where the girl works.

* ''Webcomic/CityOfReality'': Hawk ends up outright blind when turned human, because he's used to having compound eyes and can't comprehend what his human eyes are seeing.

-->-- '''Prince Naveen''' talking about his frog feet, ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': Prior to her first transformation, Ariel never had to support her upper body thanks to water buoyancy. As a human, she quickly realizes that human legs don't work like her mermaid tailfin and trips over twice. Out of sheer determination, she manages to learn how to stand, walk and run (courtesy of Eric's dog) on two legs in less than five minutes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'': When Arthur (aka "Wart") first turns into a fish, Merlin has to teach him how to swim.

* In ''Film/TheLittleMermaid2023'' much like in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 animated film it adapts]] Ariel stumbles when she first gains human legs. She also references the experience during the new InternalMonologue song "For The First Time".
-->''Don’t mind me\\

Trying to stand, but this gravity’s pulling me down''

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', Ax (a centaur-like alien) is amazed that humans can balance on two legs without a tail. The first time he morphs into one, he nearly falls over, and he remains somewhat awkward in human morph throughout the series.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': In the first "Schlocktober" special almost the entire company gets decapitated and their bodies from the neck down replaced by cloning. Brad, previously a skinny twig of a grunt, turns out to be genetically predisposed to be a bodybuilder (but was malnourished in youth) and his new body is a 230-kilogram (about 507 pounds) behemoth, leaving him a bit [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2001-11-11 temporarily clumsy]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* ''WebVideo/GeminiHomeEntertainment'': "Fake People" are human doppelgangers resulting from the various StarfishAliens either infesting human bodies or producing human replicas. They struggle to move around like normal humans; the first episode, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyDvpwpRPM4 "World's Weirdest Animals"]], shows them either lurching about or gliding across the floor, with one "man" making a series of bizarre facial expressions as if his face doesn't fit right.

* One episode of ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'' features the Cloak of Duplication, which allows the wearer to take on someone else's form. Laszlo, Colin and Guillermo all attempt to woo a girl whilst disguised as Nandor - Laszlo yells about not knowing how to get his body to work whilst being thrown out of the gym where the girl works.

* A mundane version happens when someone wearing footwear of a shape vastly different compared to their usual wear (high heels compared to sneakers for example). Their usual stride can end up awkward and plodding because they have to get used to walking in shoes that may not be a perfect fit.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'': In the VideoGameRemake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, when the star spirit ♡♪!? from Star Road first takes control of the Geno doll in Rose Town, he initially struggles to maintain his balance and move his limbs properly as he exits Gaz's house.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'': In the VideoGameRemake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, when the star spirit 🤍♪!? from Star Road first takes control of the Geno doll in Rose Town, he initially struggles to maintain his balance and move his limbs properly as he exits Gaz's house.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'': In the VideoGameRemake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, when the star spirit from Star Road first takes control of the Geno doll in Rose Town, he initially struggles to maintain his balance and move his limbs properly as he exits Gaz's house.

Take, for example, a bipedal character changed into a quadrupedal form or vice versa. The sudden need to walk on a different number of limbs can be disorienting, and you would likely trip constantly as you tried to adjust. Even if your new form has the same gait, a change in ''bulk'' can give you an inconvenient shift in your center of gravity that can still send you tumbling. And then there are the cases where you gain or lose appendages entirely, whether that be growing CumbersomeClaws that suddenly impede your attempts to grab things or becoming a limbless creature that can't grab things at all. Individuals who go through this ''can'' eventually move about more gracefully, but not without a lot of trial and error.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'': Exploited by Fawful as part of his EvilPlan, in both cases involving TemporaryBulkChange:
** Fawful sells Blorb Mushrooms to the Toads, which causes them to develop the Blorbs, a disease that makes them so large and round that they are hardly able to move beyond awkwardly rolling around. This means that once Bowser has vacuumed up the main heroes, a large number of the remaining Toads are too incapacitated to keep him from taking over Princess Peach's Castle.
** Later, Bowser is treated to a banquet in his own castle as a reward for defeating Midbus. The food was cooked to be very fattening, making him plump up in seconds. This makes him too slow to run past the brainwashed minions who are now force feeding him the food. He eventually gets so fat that he breaks through and gets stuck in the floor, allowing Fawful to extract Peach from his innards unimpeded.

* ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'' has a form of IntangibleTimeTravel that always involves possessing the bodies of prehistoric animals. Most travelers throughout the books adjust fairly quickly to their new shapes - the first set of kids struggle somewhat with CumbersomeClaws, but in the second and third set any dinosaur that's not quadrupedal has HumanlikeHandAnatomy - but Janine has to put real effort into [[HowDoIShotWeb learning to fly]].