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1[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vitalstatisixdoesntwalktp_4.png]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:At the very least, it must be great strength training for those two.]]
3
4->''"When you're his bride\
5You can sit or ride;\
6You'll never need to walk!"''
7-->-- '''Cinderella's Stepmother''', ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' [[labelnote:context]]Explaining to her daughter why she's [[AgonyOfTheFeet cutting off her toe]] to fit into Cinderella's slipper[[/labelnote]]
8
9Walking is for ''schmucks''. Luckily, [[AristocratsAreEvil some wealthy]], BlueBlood people are [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney rich enough]] to employ (or ''[[MadeASlave compel]]'') schmucks to do the walking for them!
10
11A character tends to travel everywhere in a sedan chair, litter or palanquin, or is otherwise propelled by the leg power of other people. This is evidence for their wealth and power, and depending on the setting can also indicate laziness, pettiness or both. If it crosses over (as it often does) with AdiposeRex, it may be implied that the king is actually ''unable'' to walk, at least not very far, because of his corpulence.
12
13May be a case of the ErmineCapeEffect if they only do it when they're trying to look regal, rather than every day.
14
15TruthInTelevision from the 1600s to the early 1800s, as horse-drawn carriages weren't always practical in narrow streets but powerful people didn't want to be seen walking around like ''normal'' people or soil their fine clothes. Of course, riding in a palanquin had advantages during time periods where the [[TheDungAges central sewage system ran down the middle of the road]]. Rickshaws are a slightly more BoringButPractical variation still around today.
16
17It's important that the character communicate their superiority by getting someone else to do the footwork for them: people getting around via [[PowerFloats telekinesis]], personal electric vehicle or horse aren't really in the spirit of the trope. Obviously there are [[WhatMeasureIsANonhuman grey areas]]: non-sentient humanoid drones are likely an attempt to evoke the trope in a SpeculativeFiction setting, while a FunnyAnimal riding [[CarnivoreConfusion a regular horse]] may do so by accident.
18
19Can involve a RoadTripAcrossTheStreet.
20
21----
22!!Examples:
23
24[[foldercontrol]]
25
26[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27* Parodied in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Suzu gets carried around in a litter while visiting an ayakashi village. However, the ayakashi doing the lifting are only a couple feet tall, making the ride very slow and awkward--she has to fold her legs up to even fit on the thing.
28-->'''Suzu''': I appreciate it, but I think I want to get down now.
29* In ''Manga/OnePiece'' one of the [[AristocratsAreEvil World Nobles]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment makes his debut]] sitting on the back of slave who's crawling on his hands and knees. And to show [[{{Jerkass}} how much of a prick he is]], the Noble complains how slow the slave is.
30* A guest character in an episode of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' makes Ash and his friends carry him and his wife through a Pokémon preserve in a litter. Ash is not amused.
31* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'': when a revenant Tokisada Shiro Amakusa goes after the heroes, he forces Onimaru's mooks to carry him to Mt Aso with a wooden palanquin, lampshaded by the Spiderman, who rethorically asks why he gets this privilege.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Comic Books]]
35* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
36** Chief Vitalstatistix is carried by two shield bearers. Frequent {{Running Gag}}s are made of the facts that he's [[AdiposeRex rather overweight]] and his bearers are of ''different heights''. And then there's the additional RunningGag in which he falls off the shield for some reason at least once per story.
37** There is one story where Vitalstatistix's shield bearers quit, and he appoints Asterix and Obelix as their replacements. Since the height difference between them is even greater than the usual shield bearers', this doesn't work out so well. The obvious solution of having [[TheBigGuy Obelix]] do it by himself was rejected as making Vitalstatistix feel unmanly (a half-pint, in fact, leading to the next panel of Obelix carrying him one-handed like a waiter all the funnier).
38** Also, whenever Cleopatra suddenly shows up some place, she's always sitting on a gigantic golden sphinx-shaped chair on wheels pulled by slaves flanked by dancers and trumpeters. She has at least once referred to one such appearance as "dropping by incognito" (she also once managed to [[BehindTheBlack sneak up behind Julius Caesar this way]] [[FailedASpotCheck without him noticing until he was told he had a visitor]]).
39** A chief of a Gallo-Roman village also has a pair of shield-bearers. When he turns his back on someone, the shield-bearers also turn so that they may leave -- which leaves him facing the person he turned his back on.
40* King Smurf from ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story of the same name required a few Smurfs to bear his palanquin as he went from his palace to the villagers and back. It is around the time that he launched his ill-fated expedition into the forest to find the rebel Smurfs' base that he chose to lead the expedition on foot.
41* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats''. The Dog is annoyed at how Aunt Dolly is always carrying around her pet corgi Prince Charles, so brags that his owner would also carry him around if he wanted. Cut to the Dog hanging onto an exasperated Wal's gumboot as he slogs through the mud.
42* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide:'' Two explorers are in a native village, and meet a guy wearing a rainbow-feathered outfit and an enormous gaudy horned headdress, while standing on the backs of two other guys down on their hands and knees in the dirt. "Hey.. this could be the chief."
43* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Vita Vain has servants carry her around campus in a palanquin, and when she has to walk orders them to roll out a carpet for her. The Holliday Girls despise her, and her father tries to buy Holliday College to make the changes she orders to keep her in school.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47* In the Creator/HayaoMiyazaki film of ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'', the super-sized Witch of the Waste rides around town in a sedan chair carried by two magically-created mooks. This works well until [[spoiler:she's summoned to the palace, and the mooks cross a magical barrier disabling them... at the bottom of a huge flight of stairs]].
48* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', when Po is crowned the Dragon Warrior, he is hoisted up in a ''jiao'' and carried to the Jade Palace. The liter is several sizes too small for him, and his butt breaks through almost immediately.
49* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Yzma is carried in a little tent on Kronk's back.
50* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}},'' the leaders of the Lemon clans don't risk putting miles on their substandard engines, but are instead towed everywhere they go.
51* Theodore is given the litter treatment by a South Pacific bush tribe in ''WesternAnimation/TheChipmunkAdventure''. [[spoiler:Then Alvin and Simon learn the bush tribe is going to sacrifice him.]]
52* The diminutive mob bosses in ''WesternAnimation/TheTripletsOfBelleville'' are carried wedged between their bodyguards.
53* The King of Fools gets carried in a sedan on ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}''. When Quasimodo is crowned the new King, the old King is unceremoniously tossed out of his chair and Quasi dropped in his place.
54* ''WesternAnimation/{{Koati}}'': While [[SnakesAreSinister Zaina]] leads a caravan of animals on a FatalForcedMarch, some alligators carry Zaina on top of a large leaf. When she is called out on this, she claims it is exhausting giving orders.
55* The Pied Piper makes his entrance in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter'' borne on a swarm of rats.
56* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'', the original idea for Governor Ratcliffe was that he was constantly borne aloft on a chair by Putney and Chutney, two manservants who also didn't make the cut. The reason they discarded this was simple -- he was easier to animate when he just walked.
57* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpineOfNight'', [[spoiler:Ghal-Sur]], after becoming a God-King, travels across the lands sitting on a colossal throne that is carried around by a few dozen naked slaves.
58* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': The fairy king is too important to ''fly'', requiring a litter to carry him. He's also [[AdiposeRex overweight enough]] that he can't fly very far.
59* In ''Film/ArthurAndTheInvisibles'', this trope is not obvious initially, since the Minimoy King at first appears as an imposing figure (for 2 mm-tall characters, at least). However, it's soon revealed he's no taller than the average Minimoy, but riding on top of a Yeti-like humanoid with another ferret-like creature standing in for a long beard and hiding the King's body, TotemPoleTrench-style.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
63* ''Film/ThreeHundred'':
64** Xerxes doesn't just have slaves to carry him, he even uses them as a ''staircase up to'' his gargantuan litter.
65** One of his subordinates has one, but it's not nearly as large.
66* ''Film/{{Chushingura}}'': This trope is carried to an unhealthy extreme when, in this story set in feudal Japan, the shogun's ''dog'' is carried in a litter.
67* In ''Film/DunePartTwo'', Jessica, now a Reverend Mother for the Fremen, is transported in a palanquin once she reaches the South of Arrakis. Earlier, when [[OutsideRide travelling]] on a {{sand worm}}, she's put into another palanquin to protect her from the [[DeadlyDustStorm sandstorms]] while the Fremen around her only have their protective gear.
68* Master Blaster in ''Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome'' is an odd version: Master piggybacks everywhere on the shoulders of GiantMook Blaster. Unlike most examples of this trope, Master genuinely cares for Blaster. It's also like the Goblin/Ogre pairing from ''Warcraft'' in the VideoGames section: Master is much smarter and more tactically adept, but Blaster has more raw brawn than Master could ever hope to posses.
69* ''Film/LtRobinCrusoeUSN'' has Wednesday's despot father carried across the beach on a four-mook sedan chair like this.
70-->'''Wednesday:''' What Daddy doing now?\
71'''Crusoe:''' (''through binoculars, sees a litter bearer stumble; Daddy whacks him with a club, and another litter bearer replaces him'') Changing a tire.
72* In the not-quite-a-Creator/MontyPython film ''Film/{{Jabberwocky}}'', the two villain-merchants are borne on litters as they talk business to each other; but they constantly move at slightly different speeds, each trying to take the lead, causing the merchants each to constantly prod their litter-bearers to keep up with the other, to the point of running -- eventually spilling them both.
73* In ''Film/TheBankDick'', W.C. Fields talks his way into taking over the job of a falling-down-drunk movie director. Being carried around in a sedan chair is apparently one of the job perks.
74* In ''Film/SeventeenSeventySix'', Benjamin Franklin is carried into the Congressional Hall by two men he apparently hired from the local jail. However, it should be noted he did have gout and was 70 at the time. Somewhat TruthInTelevision, in that Franklin notably was carried to the Constitutional Convention in a sedan chair 11 years later at age 81.
75* In ''Film/AnimalCrackers'', explorer Captain Spaulding ([[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]]) arrives via a sedan chair carried by [[HollywoodNatives African natives]], just like the stage play.
76* Justified in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' with Lucilla, who is the [[spoiler:previous]] Emperor of Rome's daughter. She is seen on the streets on a litter.
77* ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' sees trade baron Nute Gunray moving around in a throne-like chair with automated robotic spider legs.
78* ''Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera2004'': In "Prima Donna", Carlotta gets the theatre managers to transport her and her dogs on a litter.
79* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': In the prologue, En Sabah Nur stands on an extravagant litter carried by 24 of his servants, and it's an indicator of his position as the god-king of Ancient Egypt.
80* In ''Film/JulietOfTheSpirits'', Juliet's sexy neighbor Suzy lounges at the beach in a tiny bikini, but not before she's carried there on a litter by her servants.
81* ''Film/JourneyToTheWestConqueringTheDemons'': Prince Important insists that he needs to be carried around on a litter because walking would make him the same as all the normal peasants.
82* ''[[Film/{{Cleopatra 1934}} Cleopatra]]'': Cleopatra tries this when she wants to make a good impression prior to surrendering to Octavian.
83* In ''Film/IlyaMuromets'', King Kalin is shown to have a throne set upon human backs. Another group of Tugars is carrying a golden disk upon which his Fanservice dancer performs.
84* [[Creator/MadelineKahn Empress Nympho]] in ''Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI'', at least outside the palace. She's not thrilled about her litter-bearer's performance, though.
85-->'''Empress Nympho:''' Could you please step on the same foot at the same time? ''My tits are falling off!''
86* ''Film/TheTenCommandments1956'' :
87** Bithia, as the late pharaoh’s sister, rides on a litter even after she gets banished from the palace for the issues with Moses. She does end up with some of the Hebrew kids riding on it while passing through the parted Red Sea.
88** Dathan rides in a wagon pulled by other people in the beginning of the departure despite Joshua telling him he can pull his own cart. He does end up doing some pulling to get through the muddy ground, prompting Lilia to quip “so you like work so much?”
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Literature]]
92* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', once he's invited to the royal palace, Jerin doesn't walk anywhere in the capital city. Justified, as a pretty boy like Jerin would certainly attract kidnappers if he walked around in public. (He does walk when he's at home, but there, his sisters know where everyone lives, and everyone knows not to mess with the Whistler clan).
93* In ''Literature/TheElenium'' trilogy by Creator/DavidEddings, Otha, the Emperor of Zemoch, is an immortal graced with unimaginable magic powers by his god. He's also lazy and stupid, and over the millennia of his existence has morphed into something that is described as being roughly analogous to [[Franchise/StarWars Jabba the Hutt]] in appearance. Otha can't even walk; he has to be carried around on a litter by slaves.
94* Seen several times in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
95** In ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', the Patrician gives [[CowboyCop Vimes]] a sedan chair as a wedding present, which he is obligated to use. This is something of a double insult, as Vimes both loves walking (it helps him concentrate) and ''hates'' the idea of nobility being above the common people. Naturally, the one time it's seen, Vimes tells one of the servants to get in and carries the chair himself. (His legs are "beginning to give out" by the time he gets where he's going.)
96--->'''Vimes:''' It's a lovely day. I think I'll drive myself.
97** It's mentioned in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'' and ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' that the deep-downer dwarf ''grags'' ride in closed palanquins, borne by trolls. Officially this is due to them being unused to, and mistrustful of, sunlight, but it also sends a clear signal about their social status.
98** Downplayed with the "troll taxi" or "trolley bus" in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. This consists of being carried in a pannier slung around the neck of a troll and is "really expensive", but apparently not beyond the means of a couple of working-class women, at least on special occasions. (But you get glared at by the other women in the street, because you're Giving Yourself Airs.)
99* Invoked in ''[[Literature/EarthsChildren The Land of Painted Caves]]''. Ayla creates a padded chair that can be attached to a travois and drawn by a horse for [[HighPriestess Zelandoni Who is First]] to use. Because domesticated animals are nigh unheard of in the setting, seeing the First being carried by a horse is quite awe-inspiring. It's also justified; Zelandoni is overweight and getting on in years, so travelling long distances on foot is difficult for her.
100* One bad guy in ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' is a ferret so very fat he has to be carried around by non-vermin slaves on a palanquin. When the heroes came in and kill the guards, the slaves march the palanquin into the water and come out, the ferret's last words being "I cannot svim, I cannot svim!"
101* In ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'', Calormene nobles are carried in sedan chairs. Later, in ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', the giantess Queen of Harfang goes hunting carried on a litter (ignore the SquareCubeLaw here).
102%%* Some nobles in the ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' series.
103* The Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse holds that Hutts start off relatively muscular and svelte, becoming progressively fatter and less mobile as they grow in power. At some point they stop slithering and ride repulsorlift sleds to get around. Subverted with Beldorion, who is a ''warrior'' Hutt, and remains active his entire life. He is 9 meters long and solid muscle. And despite his enormous size, he is [[LightningBruiser fast]].
104* In ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales'', Creator/GeoffreyChaucer [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this trope]] through the SmallNameBigEgo version of Chanticleer the rooster from "The Tale of the Nun's Priest":
105-->"He looked as it were a grim lion,\
106And on his toes he roamed up and down;\
107He deigned not to set his feet to ground..."
108* In James Clavell's ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'', all of the important female characters (and not a small number of the important male characters) traveled this way when going long distances.
109* In the ''Literature/DoubledEdge'' novels by Creator/MercedesLackey, the dark Sidhe Aurelia occasionally travels by sedan chair, in part because steering the slaves via magical torture produces more magical power than she's expending.
110* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Sedan chairs and litters are common as status symbols in the Free Cities and Essos, but not so much in Westeros, where they're limited to lords who are too old, infirm and/or overweight to ride a horse.
111** Wyman Manderly is mocked as Lord Too-Fat-To-Sit-A-Horse, and [[ExploitedTrope plays into the trope]] for the sake of ObfuscatingDisability.
112** Doran Martell, afflicted with gout, prefers a wheelchair but uses a litter for long trips or if he's in a lot of pain.
113** The very old and overweight Erik Ironbreaker strikingly inverts the litter-as-status-symbol trope, as the AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Ironborn people would never buy it; when he suggests himself as a candidate to be the new king of the Ironborn, Asha Greyjoy publicly humiliates him by promising to support his claim if he can simply stand up.
114** Magister Illyrio travels everywhere in litters and palanquins. Some notable instances include when he takes Daenerys to meet Khal Drogo and when he smuggles Tyrion out of Pentos.
115** Daenerys rides in palanquins a number of times, such as when she visits the market at Vaes Dothrak, preferring to luxuriate in the soft cushions while her [[BornInTheSaddle husband Khal Drogo]] isn't around to judge her.
116** The slavers of Slaver's Bay ride through the city streets in palanquins held by slaves. The Yunkish general Yurkhaz zo Yunzak rides a palanquin so large that it takes 40 slaves to life it.
117* In the ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' novelisation ''The Book of D'ni'', sedan chairs are the favored way for lords to get around the city streets. As the city is not very big and is mostly lake, everyone else walks when they're not in a boat.
118* Sedan chairs are chic for nobles and royalty in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', but carriages seem to be more popular as they're safer in traffic.
119* ''Literature/TheSagaOfSevenSuns'': [[RubberForeheadAliens Ildiran]] [[GodEmperor Mage-Imperator]] is considered too holy and important to ever allow his feet to touch the ground. Subverted in the third book after [[TheWisePrince Jora'h]] replaces [[AdiposeRex his father]] in the position and quickly decides the tradition is stupid and abolishes it (as Mage-Imperator, he's allowed to do things like that).
120* In the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' this is used as a method to hide a refugee princess.
121* In ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'', a future species of termites has developed a specialized "porter" caste which carry members of the various other castes around on their backs.
122* In ''Literature/CourtshipRite'' the planet they live on has no beasts of burden, so to travel over land people need to either walk or be carried. Fortunately there's a clan who selectively bred themselves as porters who can carry a lot.
123* Palanquins seem to be common in Nine Worlds in ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' by Creator/RobertHeinlein. Together with slavery and [[FeudalFuture extreme social stratification]]. When the hero needs to be smuggled to a space port, his friend hires a palanquin with a set of tongueless slaves, pretends to be a capricious noblewoman and makes a scene at an entrance to distract the guards.
124* Exaggerated in the prequel novels of ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': the PhysicalGod Torak travels in an iron castle on wheels, pulled by a full herd of horses and a thousand of his priests. It's one of many signs of his narcissistic [[MadGod insanity]] and disregard for his followers.
125* Discussed in the Brothers Grimm version of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'', Cinderella's stepsisters are told to [[AgonyOfTheFeet cut off a part of their feet]] (one cut off her heel and the other her toe) in order to fit into Cinderalla's slipper, explaining that they won't need to walk again once they marry the prince. ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', which adapts this story along with several other fairy tales, provides the page quote.
126* In ''[[Literature/BrotherCadfael The Potter's Field]]'', Donata is brought to the site where her son is about to be arrested in a litter borne by the household servants. She's dying of cancer and in far too much agony to walk, but has vital information with which to exonerate the young man of a murder charge.
127* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Myne has the combined penalties of poor health, very young age and being small for said young age. Because of that, many people would much rather carry her than match the slow pace at which she needs to walk to conserve energy. When she learns to use magic to make what is essentially a moving animal statue to be used for aerial transport, she gets a lot of MundaneUtility out of it.
128* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': High officials in Ourdh wear platform shoes they can't walk in at all, instead getting carried everywhere on sedan chairs.
129* PlayedWith in ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': The High Priest of Helgrind moves around in a litter in part because of this, and because he was ritually amputated of all his limbs.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
133* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'': Uncle Jack, a family friend of the Bluths, has lost the use of his legs after attempting to lift more weights than he could handle. He hires a burly man to carry him around because he's too prideful to use a wheelchair.
134* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett''. It's noted that important people on Tatooine usually use litters, and that Boba Fett, the new crime lord of Mos Espa, stands out for choosing to walk. In contrast we see the Twins, Jabba the Hutt's cousins, being carried by more than a dozen human servants who are visibly straining under their combined weight. Not that Hutts can "walk" that much anyway.
135* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. "Rygel the XVI, Dominar to over 600 billion people" insists on traveling everywhere on his throne sled, though as he's a [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen deposed]] Dominar it's a hoversled rather than one carried by people. As he's a very short amphibious alien, there's also pragmatism involved in zipping about the huge spaceship they travel on.
136* In a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, a nobleman is carried to the seashore in a sedan chair, gets out and is disrobed by the bearers, gets back in and is then carried into the ocean for his swim.
137* In ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'', we see (in a flashback) that Summer (initially a RichBitch) forced her butler to carry her part of the way to Corinth, despite the former being a healthy teenager/young adult, and the latter an old man. She even complains that they need to stop so ''she'' can take a rest. Eventually, even she realizes how insufferable she is and starts walking on her own feet.
138* T'Pau from the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime "Amok Time"]] is carried to Spock's wedding in a sedan chair. This is a person described by Captain Kirk as "all of Vulcan wrapped up in one package", so she certainly is important.
139* One episode of ''Series/WorldsDumbest'' features an event called "sedan chair racing". One team shows up dressed as Iraqi soldiers and claims that they misheard it as "''Saddam'' chair racing".
140* Series/AvataroSentaiDonbrothers has [[TheHero Don Momotaro]] always entering riding his CoolBike… carried on a palanquin by several dancers. He only actually uses for bike for Megazord battles or when he’s in a rush, the latter time prompting someone to remark “[[LampshadeHanging That’s still a super weird entrance. Why do you even need the palanquin?]]”
141* Creator/RoryBremner portrayed the Conservative politician [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Letwin Oliver Letwin]] as a 17th-century fop. In one sketch, he was shown avoiding the London Congestion Charge by travelling in a sedan chair rather than a car.
142* The BBC adaptation of ''Literature/{{Nostromo}}'' opens with a man in a suit and top hat apparently riding through the jungle, but when he gets close he's revealed to be sitting on a [[MakeAnExampleOfThem wooden platform born by prisoners]].
143-->TheNarrator: In the year 1890, in the South American country of Costaguana, its dictator Guzman Bento is cleansing his land of foreigners.
144* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. Cleopatra is introduced apparently traveling in a caravan across the desert, until a RevealShot at the end of her scene shows she's actually in an enormous litter conveyed by slaves.
145* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
146** High-ranking members of the Royal Court who go on official tours of King's Landing are usually carried around in a palanquin. This is partially because many of the streets are too narrow for a horse and carriage, partially because of safety concerns; the one time the [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating highly unpopular]] King Joffrey goes out on foot he is attacked by a mob of starving peasants.
147** While meeting with his grandfather [[TheManBehindTheMan Tywin]], Joffrey starts to whine that he doesn't want to climb any stairs to attend the Small Council meetings in the Tower of the Hand. Tywin shuts him down (while towering over him) by pointing out that they could simply arrange for the King to be carried.
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Mythology]]
151* [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Aphrodite's]] chariot was oft depicted as being drawn by a pair of the Erotes, a group of young winged men that includes Eros.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
155* Several wrestlers bearing the title of "King" would make their way to the ring on a litter carried by {{jobber}}s, ranging from King Mabel to Wrestling/RandySavage.
156* One of the few good things to come out of [=WrestleMania IX=] was Wrestling/TheUndertaker's entrance. He was carried to the ring in a throne on a litter borne by men in ancient Egyptian style headdresses.
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
160* ''TabletopGame/{{Hordes}}'': [[FatBastard Dominar Rasheth]], the Skorne warlock, is a non-combatant among the ProudWarriorRaceGuys, screwing ''[[CodeOfHonour hoksune]]'' in several ways, and employs malnourished, tormented, broken pachyderm-folk infants as carriers.
161* ''TabletopGame/{{Lizardmen}}'' One of the variant LizardFolk are the Mad Lizardmen of Pang-Leng. Generations of selective breeding and lifestyle differences have caused their laborer class to grow into huge, brutish Warders, who carry the frail, diminutive Artificers (descended from the elite class) around on their shoulders.
162* ''Franchise/{{Warhammer}}'':
163** Champions and Daemonic heralds of Nurgle are occasionally gifted with palanquins carried by a [[TheSwarm mass of tiny Daemons]] called Nurglings.
164** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
165*** Dwarf kings are fond of being carried on shields. Thorgrim Grudgebearer, the High King, is carried around on his throne by four guards, as tradition demands that he ''only'' be allowed to sit on his throne. Notably, being the High King's throne carrier is a position of great honor and only given to respected and accomplished warriors.
166*** In older editions, Slann were carried around by their PraetorianGuard. This was eventually dropped in favor of using [[PowerFloats magically floating thrones]].
167*** The [[OurOgresAreDifferent ogre]] warlord Greasus Goldtooth is carried on the bare hands of [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent gnoblars]]. [[AdiposeRex Lots and lots of gnoblars]]. Greasus exemplifies pretty much all the rationales behind this trope, being monstrously obese, incredibly petty, massively wealthy and keen to display his status to all concerned (and bonus points for actually having a special rule called "Too rich to walk").
168*** Skaven warlords can ride to the battlefield on top of a Rat Ogre, a gigantic plague-ridden [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Rodent of Unusual Size]], or a shield carried by slaves and guarded by the warlord's personal elite. Grey Seers can ride to battle on top of a gigantic church bell wagon pushed by normal rank-and-file skaven, while Plague Priests who replace the bell with a sphere filled with burning raw chaos stuff. This can potentially kill the unit pushing it, so only the most devoted (and insane) skaven can do it.
169[[/folder]]
170
171[[folder:Theater]]
172* ''Theatre/AnyoneCanWhistle'': Cora Hoover Hooper, the mayoress, is usually carried on a litter by four young men (her "boys"). When Hapgood arrives and turns the town toward him, the boys carry him on the litter instead, which is part of Cora's motivation to get rid of him.
173* ''Theatre/BlackFriday'': In the second act, Linda becomes the leader of an ApocalypseCult and is carried around by her followers, who often lift her up above their heads as if to make up for the fact that [[TinyTyrannicalGirl she's very petite]].
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:Video Games]]
177* ''VideoGame/BugFables'' has [[InsectQueen Queen Layra II]] of the Termite Kingdom. Whenever she enters the throne area of the Colosseum, she has several attendants carry her there. This is in large part because, being a termite queen (see Real life below), she's [[BigBeautifulWoman quite large]] and likely has trouble walking.
178* ''Franchise/{{Warcraft}}'':
179** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The Goblin Alchemist unit rides an Ogre. Less laziness and more a mutually beneficial arrangement, as the ogre has melee power the goblin can never hope to achieve, while goblin can hurl his potions and give the ogre more sensible commands.
180** ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Some Goblins ride around on the big, mentally stunted Hobgoblins, such as Helix Gearbreaker and Lumbering Oaf in Deadmines, Fran and Riddoh in the Brawler's Guild, and Hoff Greasegun and Mugg in the "Battlefield Barrens" event. Helix even decides to ride players while sticking bombs on them, and after Lumbering Oaf is defeated.
181* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': King Dedede enters the stage being borne on a palanquin by an army of Waddle Dees.
182* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
183** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': Link is sent to rescue Ruto and the Zora's Sapphire from [[WombLevel Jabu-Jabu's belly,]] but she makes him ''carry'' her throughout the whole dungeon. Players can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential take out their frustration with her]] by throwing her around like a clay pot, and she even becomes a necessary game mechanic by serving as a weight to trip switches throughout the area.
184** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': Ruto's boss intro has her being carried into battle by a hapless [[{{Mooks}} Hyrulean soldier]].
185%%* ''VideoGame/BlackSigil'': Mondu.
186* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'': In the ''Lord of Destruction'' expansion's opening scene, Baal is carried on a massive litter by his soldiers when he parleys with a herald.
187* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'': During the credits parade, Valentina's float is carried by her fateful stooge, Dodo. When Dodo stops to catch his breath, Valentina {{Dope Slap}}s him.
188* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'': Soma Cruz gets an ''attack'' which is this. He summons a palanquin carried by skeletons, sits in a [[SlouchOfVillainy Villainous Slouch]], and then the entire vehicle causes damage to any enemy in its path while Soma gets to chill, invincible.
189* ''VideoGame/HalfMinuteHero'': The Princess has her retainers carry her around as she mows down her foes with her {{automatic crossbow|s}}. As they take damage, she slows down, making it harder for her to dodge incoming attacks.
190* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'': One of the scrapped ideas in Chess Kombat was for The King Piece Player to be carried around on a Sedan by a slave. The slave was shown to be sickly and weak explaining why The King can only move one spot across the board.
191* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'': [[SmallNameBigEgo Paul Atishon]] campaigns in a palanquin that shows off his name.
192* ''VideoGame/ThePrincessGuide'': Veronica, the Witch Princess, uses ''[[PlayerCharacter you]]'' as her personal horse whenever she needs to go out on quests.
193* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': A number of character mounts are actually litters carried around by servants or underlings.
194** Thorgrim Grudgebearer, who is required by Dwarf law not to leave the Throne of Power unattended, goes into battle sitting on his throne and carried by four stout warriors.
195** Greasus Goldtooth lounges around on a wheelbarrow pushed by gnoblar, in a slight departure from his tabletop palanquin.
196** Ku'Gath Plaguefather rides on a palanquin lifted by a horde of nurglings.
197* ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'': You meet the shade of a nobleman who complains about afterlife services: Charon has left his post and no longer ferry souls across the Styx. When you resolve the problem, the shade is upset that he has to walk to get into the ferry.
198* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': In one cutscene, Emperor Cain's throne is carried by a group of cultists who worship him.
199[[/folder]]
200
201[[folder:Web Animation]]
202* ''WebAnimation/LesKassos'': A parody of Frodo and Sam from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' has Froton riding on not-Sam's shoulders while badmouthing him.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Webcomics]]
206* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': One strip involves a man at an orphanage, "hypothetically" asking how many orphans would be required to carry a man around on a pedestal.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Web Original]]
210* ''WebOriginal/BosunsJournal'': Brat barons are far too self-important to bother moving any real distance on their own, and instead have themselves carried around by their robotic and posthuman servants.
211[[/folder]]
212
213[[folder:Western Animation]]
214* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
215** As an AffectionateParody of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' example, the ruler of Zoidberg's planet had a sedan chair made of a giant clamshell.
216** Parodied on the [[SpaceRomans Space Egypt]] planet -- the pharaonic barge is rowed by slaves, and then walked onto land by ''more'' slaves who had apparently been underwater the entire time. When Bender becomes Pharaoh, he goes everywhere in a throne on the back of a kneeling Fry and Leela.
217** Despite being built into a bench that does his walking for him, Hedonismbot occasionally gets around this way.
218* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Fire Nation royals travel by palanquin within the capital city. Even when [[RoadTripAcrossTheStreet they're just going next door]], and would ''rather'' walk. Must maintain appearances, don't you know. In Zuko's case, it is useful for getting past a mob of {{Fangirl}}s, though.
219* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
220** The Pixies [[BlatantLies claim]] their ability to grant Flappy Bob's wishes comes from incredible wealth, and their ability to float is because "walking is for poor people".
221** In the episode "Remy Rides Again", Remy tries to make Timmy too happy to need Fairy Godparents so he'll lose Cosmo and Wanda. To accomplish this, Remy shares with Timmy the perks of being a spoiled child. One of those perks is taking a limo from the school yard to the classroom. Remy states that walking is for poor people without wealthy friends.
222* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'':
223** Lucius is occasionally carried around by his [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent Minotaurs]], and in the second season opening he's seen being carried by [[ButtMonkey Samy]].
224** One episode has [[RichBitch Jez]] being carried into a party by Lucius' Minotaurs as well...until Saffi knocked them all over.
225* In ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'', the Emperor is usually carried around by one of his GiantMook guards when he needs to go anywhere. In his defense, the Emperor is so little (an average imperial guard can carry him in the palm of one hand) that it's probably much more practical this way.
226* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Ego Trip," Mandark creates a BadFuture by stealing Dexter's Neurotomic Stabilizer and reversing its polarity. He becomes so obese he needs machines to transport him wherever he wants and/or needs to go.
227* Ganon rarely ventures into Hyrule himself in the animated ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'', because his power is stronger when he remains in his own underworld. He risks it a few times, however; in the episode "The Ringer," in which he enters a magicians' competition in disguise, he arrives on a palanquin borne by skeletons (who are also disguised, since that would be a bit of a giveaway).
228* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', during the occasions when King Bob of the Playground is actually seen leaving his lofty perch, he's carried about on a palanquin-like conveyance.
229* In "The Princess and the Po" episode of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'', a small pig princess has servants carry her in a sedan chair, using them as Xerxes above to get in and out of it.
230* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
231** In general, any example of a pony riding in a vehicle (other than the steam-powered trains) fits this trope, as these vehicles are invariably pulled by other ponies. Sometimes they take turns.
232** When the famous fashion photographer Photo Finish travels, she goes around on a palanquin supported by two other ponies. This is even lampshaded when Hoity Toity is hitching a ride on her platform:
233--->'''Hoity Toity:''' I'm going to have to get one of these!\
234'''Photo Finish:''' It is the only way to travel!
235** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]]", Trixie forces Snips and Snails to drag her around on a small cart without wheels (because she finds wheels untrustworthy). She later turns the cart into a huge, lavishly decorated wagon, ''still without wheels'', and makes the colts drag that as well.
236** When Princess Celestia has to leave the palace, she's often on a chariot pulled by pegasi, even though she has wings and can(and often does) fly herself.
237** In the IDW ''Friends Forever'' comics, Shining Armor calls out Prince Blueblood's palanquin for the opulent display that this trope entails. The servants actually defend Blueblood, saying they enjoy the job benefits and appreciate how the weight is distributed painlessly across their shoulders. At the end, the palanquin [[spoiler:is used to cart home all the souvenirs, gifts and trade goods Blueblood managed to acquire through savvy dealing, while he walks on his own without any problems whatsoever]].
238* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': This is PlayedForLaughs in an episode. Steve and his friends are [=LARPing=] their MMORPG characters, and since Steve (or "Agathor") is the strongest out of the four of them, he is the leader. "Agathor" randomly chooses not to use his muscles and demands his friends "walk him forward", so Snot and Barry literally move his legs in a walking motion for him.
239* ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'': Trina has her friend, Mina, to carry her on piggypack when she doesn't feel like walking.
240* ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'': Lu frequently has her pet turtle Lancelot carry her around on his shell, much to his burden.
241* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBrothersGrunt'', Poobah is carried everywhere by his servant, Ringo.
242* ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'': ''WesternAnimation/IllBeGladWhenYoureDeadYouRascalYou'' has Betty being carried a sedan chair Bimbo and Koko. When the two stop to take a breather, the chair walks by itself.
243* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
244** When [[KidHero Steven]] is almost run over by [[BeleagueredBureaucrat Mayor Dewey]]'s van while walking down the sidewalk, Mayor Dewey defends himself by saying that, as the mayor, he has no intention of walking anywhere himself.
245** "The Answer": [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Blue Diamond]] is enthroned on a palanquin that can both fly and walk with spider-like legs.
246* ''WesternAnimation/{{Droids}}'': Sise Fromm uses a hover-chair to get around.
247* ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': The bears travel around in a stack, with Grizz, the eldest and self-appointed leader, on top, Panda in the middle and Ice Bear, the biggest and strongest, on the bottom doing all the walking. In "Brother Up", when Panda becomes the new leader, he and Grizz switch places on the stack, and Ice Bear has a turn on top at the end of the episode.
248* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens2013'':
249** Coverton in the TV series uses a hoverchair to move about, since his spindly legs are useless on Earth's gravity.
250** General Monger uses a JetPack briefly on the movie, but he uses it to go everywhere in the series. When the base is trying to conserve energy in one episode, he has two soldiers carry him around in lieu of the jet pack.
251* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': [[AlphaBitch Pretty]] gets [[ExtremeDoormat Eugly]], her twin sister/slave/bodyguard, to carry her around in several episodes.
252* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': The Dubstep Bee Queen is apparently too important to ''fly'', as she's introduced standing on the backs of a small swarm of her subjects in flight.
253* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E03TemporalEdict Temporal Edict]]", the Gelrakian leader is carried on a seat held up by two servants.
254[[/folder]]
255
256[[folder:Real Life]]
257* Lacking adequate animals to drag people around, this trope was very common among the nobility of the pre-columbian Americas. Among the Muisca, for example, it was an honor and a privilege to be carried around in the chair and litter, actually having to be granted directly by the chief of state himself.
258* Also common among the elite of AncientEgypt, as it lacked horses, camels, and even the wheel itself for a huge part of its history.
259* Shieldbearers were used in RealLife, but like [[HornyVikings horned helmets]] and BlingOfWar, it was very rare, to celebrate victories and commemorate triumphs. It's basically the ErmineCapeEffect. [[http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1975_num_33_1_2028 It was also used as part of an]] AwesomeMomentOfCrowning.
260* AncientRome: In RealLife, sedan chairs and litters could be hired by anyone who could afford the fare, and if middle class families could afford more than one or two slaves, chair-bearers were sometimes included in a household staff. When not bearing chairs, they would be employed at whatever other heavy lifting tasks the family needed.
261* French general the Marquis de Saxe, who used both a sedan chair and a coach when he was not fit enough to ride, e.g. at the battle of Fontenoy, which his army won against the allied Austrians, British, Dutch and Hanoverians in 1745.
262* In the Musée de l'Armée at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris you can see a sedan chair captured at the battle of Rocroi (1643). It belonged to the gout-ridden Spanish infantry captain, a Frenchman in the service of Spain named Paul-Bernard de Fontaines, who died upon it, riddled with wounds. The winner of the battle, the Duke of Enghien (later the "Great Condé"), is said to have said: "Had I not been able to win, I would wish to have died as he did."
263* During the River of Doubt expedition organized by UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, one member of the party managed to piss Roosevelt off royally by demanding that he have some of their porters carry him in a sedan chair because "Indians were made to carry priests". Roosevelt repeatedly refused the demands, both out of respect for the porters and their commander and because it was a deeply inefficient use of manpower; when the priest kept requesting anyway, Roosevelt gathered the expedition's leaders, and they en masse forced him to go back to America.
264* Ben Franklin was carried in a sedan to the constitutional convention due to his advanced age (81) and rapidly failing health (he died only 3 years later). He was carried each morning and night by four prisoners from the city jail since he was too frail for the jostling of a horse or carriage.
265* Nepal's famous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari_%28children%29 Kumari]] doesn't normally walk around (instead being carried), because she is supposed to be a vessel for the goddess [[MamaBear Durga]], and if she were to be injured (say, by tripping and scraping her knee) the goddess would leave her body.
266* In [[UsefulNotes/JewishLifeEvents Jewish weddings]], the bride and groom are carried around in chairs during the reception. ''Mazel tov''!
267* In one variation of the traditional Chinese wedding, the bride arrives at the groom's house in a four- or eight-man covered sedan chair, and then is carried to the red carpet by her father, if she were to trip or stumble, it would considered to be a bad omen.
268* Termite queens play this trope straight because they ''can't'' walk, due to their colossal size (in relation to the other termites). When the colony has to move her somewhere else, hundreds of them have to pick her up and push her to a new location. She can't move on her own.
269* Fire ants will do something similar when faced with floods. The entire colony will band together to form a living raft for the queen and her eggs and larva to ride on until the floodwaters carry them to dry land. Unlike termites, ant queens actually can walk but if the fire ant queen were forced to swim herself she'd be at serious risk of drowning or being eaten by an aquatic predator, so it's much better for the colony to simply sacrifice a few dozen workers.
270* Prince George of Denmark, Queen Anne of England's husband, was too crippled with gout to walk or ride; he was carried into Westminster Abbey in a sedan chair through a side entrance for her coronation, and was carried out the same way.
271* UsefulNotes/ThePope used to be carried around during public audiences. Paul VI was the first one to stop using this privilege.
272* Music/JustinBieber once said "Sometimes I don't feel like walking, so I make enormous people carry me around."
273* On a similar note, Music/{{Rihanna}} infamously rode on a security guard's shoulders into a crowd at Coachella, then proceeded to ''roll a blunt on the guy's head''.
274* Visayan nobles and other rich people had a caste of women (and sometimes men) called the ''binukot,'' selecting the prettiest girls to stay inside so they could cultivate a fair complexion and learn arts and culture; it was thought offensive for them to be seen by common people without permission, so when a ''binukot'' DID go outside, it was a big affair and she was carried on a litter. Unfortunately, keeping someone shut inside a few rooms from childhood to adulthood [[DeconstructedTrope had the unwelcome side effect of making them UNABLE to walk]]. Initially this was a status symbol akin to Chinese [[AgonyOfTheFeet footbinding]], since [[CaptainObvious only the wealthiest people could afford such a frail spouse]], but when UsefulNotes/WorldWarII happened and the ''binukot'' couldn't flee from invading Japanese, most were either killed (which naturally lost huge amounts of cultural knowledge) or {{rape|PillageAndBurn}}d. Even modern Visayans can't help viewing the practice as prettied-up child abuse.
275* Creator/EllenDeGeneres tweeted a joke about how she would have loved to use Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt as transport.
276* During the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match in 1973, both Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King did this as part of their entrance to the tennis court in order to build heat as, respectively, a StrawMisogynist and a StrawFeminist. Riggs entered in a rickshaw drawn by scantily-clad female models, and King, in homage to UsefulNotes/{{Cleopatra|VII}}, was carried in on a litter by four shirtless muscle men.
277[[/folder]]

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