History Main / HumanLadder

* At the beginning of the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' episode, "Bloo's the Boss", Bloo finds an imaginary friend hanging for his life from a falling tree, so Eduardo, Coco, Frankie, and Wilt form one to rescue the friend. Eduardo is on the bottom, Coco stands on top of him, Frankie stands on top of her, and Wilt stands on top of Frankie. Their plan is compromised by Bloo climbing on top of them, [[ItsAllAboutMe wanting to take credit for the rescue]], but fortunately, [[CoolOldLady Madame Foster saves the friend by pole-vaulting up to him]].

* In ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'', the rivals of Week 2 are Skid and Pump, the game's first crossover characters from [[WebAnimation/SpookyMonth a Newgrounds property]]. Skid is on Pump's shoulders so they can easily pass the mic around as they sing.[[note]] [[https://phantomarcade.newgrounds.com/ PhantomArcade]] has implied Pump sings "Spookeez" while Skid sings "South", but as their note animations depict both singing at the same time, it is difficult to tell. [[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', the Koopa Bros. do this when they're battling Mario in their second form.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Chaos Theory'''s co-op mode includes a nifty two-part move. One player can give the other a boost onto ledges they can't reach by jumping, allowing them to either climb up, or remain hanging there so the booster can use them as a ladder.

* Discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' made-for-TV featurette, "Toy Story of Terror". While most of the toys are locked up in a cabinet, Jessie makes it out but isn't tall enough to reach the lock. She decides to go rescue Woody so that she can climb onto his shoulders to reach the lock. When they both make it back, Woody fortunately had the same idea, but Jessie came up with a better idea at the last second.

* In ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'', during the "Perfect Isn't Easy" number, five dogs stack up on each others shoulders up against a tree to get a better view of Georgette. Ironically, this occurs at the part where she sings, "[[LiteralMetaphor You're barking up the wrong tree.]]"

* In "[[Recap/TotalDramaMastersOfDisasters Masters of Disasters]]", Duncan, Leshawna, and Heather climb on top of each other to reach a hatch on the ceiling. They topple over when Heather's attempt to grab hold of the hatch causes Duncan to lose balance. They don't try again.

* In an episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Action]]'', Duncan, Heather and Leshawna do this to try to reach a hatch that is out of their range. It wasn't long until they toppled over, most likely because the combined weight of Leshawna and Heather was too much for Duncan (at the bottom) to handle.
** On the first episode of ''Revenge of the Island'', the Toxic Rats perform this to reach for their totem pole and cut it down. Their order from the bottom up was: Sam, Staci, Scott, Lightning, Dawn, Dakota. B was the one who came up with the idea and assembled the totem.

* Played for FanService in ''ComicBook/{{Papyrus}}'' ([[NamesTheSame nothing to do with a certain skeleton knight, mind you]]). Papyrus and Theri-Cheri need to see over a wall at one point, and for practical reasons, [[SkirtsAndLadders she has to stand on his shoulders.]] Lucky bastard.

Add a coat to become a TotemPoleTrench. For an extreme version of this trope where the human ladder becomes a co-existing organism, see TheWormThatWalks. Contrast INeedNoLadders, the other option where there are no nearby ladders. See also ChainOfPeople.

* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': Jerry and Terri did this in R.L. Stine's book, "Ghost Beach".

* In ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'', the rivals of Week 2 are Skid and Pump, the game's first crossover with [[WebAnimation/SpookyMonth a Newgrounds property]]. Skid is on Pump's shoulders so they can easily pass the mic around as they sing.[[note]] [[https://phantomarcade.newgrounds.com/ PhantomArcade]] has implied Pump sings "Spookeez
while Skid sings "South", but as their note animations depict both singing at the same time, it is difficult to tell. [[/note]]

* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': Two kids did this in R.L. Stine's book, "Ghost Beach".

* In ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'', the rivals of Week 2 are Skid and Pump, the game's first crossover with [[WebAnimation/SpookyMonth a Newgrounds property]]. As the duo in the series are often seen together in the series, it makes sense that they would duet together. Their idle animation is even the Spooky Dance, which would be difficult for someone in real life to pull off, unless properly coordinated. [[note]] [[https://phantomarcade.newgrounds.com/ PhantomArcade]] has implied Pump sings Spookeez while Skid sings South, but as their note animations depict both singing at the same time, it is difficult to tell. [[/note]]

* In a "Smart Cookies" sketch on ''Series/SesameStreet'', Miss Fortune, Figby, Chipowski and Cookie Monster form one to destroy The Crumb's Bearclaw pastry that is trying to steal the guests' costumes at a cookie-themed ball.

** In another episode "Gooey Aliens That Control Your Mind", said gooey aliens (which Dexter had wished for in order to study them) escape from his lab and infect his mother, father and Dee Dee. When Dexter learns what's going on, he has no choice but to don his PoweredArmor and [[BeatTheCurseOutOfHim attack his family to remove the aliens]]. Under the aliens' control, his family all sit on each other's shoulders so that all three of them can attack him together as a group.

%%* Done quite regularly by DonaldDuck's nephews, Huey, Dewey & Louie.

* Creator/DrSeuss' ''Yertle the Turtle'': Yertle commanded all his subjects to stand on each other so he could see further.

* The twin mercenaries in ''Film/ThePostmmanFightsBack'', a pair of kung-fu fighters who works in tandem, one seated on another's shoulders. They give TheLancer a really tough fight before getting defeated.