History Main / MorphicResonance

Named after a not-so-popular hypothesis by biologist Rupert Sheldrake, in which the forms of organisms are imprinted upon "morphic fields", which in turn influence the forms of subsequent organisms (at least, before the term was hijacked by science-fiction authors to name this trope's concept), and for that see LamarckWasRight. May be brought upon by being subject to a ForcedTransformation. If the retained traits are indicative of an evil nature, see also RedRightHand. See also ShapeshifterDefaultForm, and ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing. Contrast FisherKingdom.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': One of the TCG expansions included cards of Ditto mimicking various Pokémon: they all have in common Ditto's wide mouth and dotty eyes.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12023508/1/Kaitō-Kokoro Kaitō Kokoro]]'': Feliciano noticed a ''strong'' resemblence between Kiku's and Nihon's eyes. [[spoiler:It's because they are one and the same.]]

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'': Mystique's eyes occasionally flash yellow when she's shapeshifted into someone else as an indication it's her. She also keeps the scars Wolverine gave her in the [[Film/XMen1 first movie]] no matter what form she takes.

* ''Franchise/MagicTheGathering'': In ''Literature/TimeStreams'', Gorig is repeatedly described as having eyes so yellow that they resemble wedges of lemon. When Gorig reveals his true form as a Phyrexian demon at the climax of the book, his lemon-wedge eyes are carried over from his human disguise, allowing Barrin--who had never met Gorig--to recognize him from Urza's description of the man.

* ''Literature/WhichWitch'': Before confronting Madame Olympia over her theft of Rover, Arriman transforms himself and Lester into a fox and a rabbit, respectively. Arriman’s fox form is described as, “unusually handsome…with a great bushy autumn-colored tail”, while Lester as a rabbit still has one eye.

** OlderThanPrint: Odin can also turn into various animals (his favorites are [[CleverCrows Ravens]] and [[WolfTropes Wolves]]), but like him, they would always have only [[EyepatchOfPower one eye.]]

** Dungeon Magazine #21, adventure "The Chest of the Aloeids". The goddess Athena is noted as always having grey eyes, no matter what form she assumes.
** Steel dragons use their ''polymorph'' ability to live in humanoid cities in the guise of a wealthy intellectual or wizard. But they'll always have a tell-tale feature hinting at their true nature, whether steel-gray eyes, hair or fingernails, or a steel ring or other worn ornament.

* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'': Raven and Chelsea are turned into cows on the Halloween episode, but to distinguish them, they still have their hair.

* ''LightNovel/FelineTherapy'': Transformations have the animal's fur match their original hair, with grey-haired Izzy becoming a grey kitty. [[spoiler:Their friend Sasha, who has a streak of green dyed hair, is shown with green tufts on their head and tail.]]

** Sizzler has the once-a-generation talent of being an intuitive master chef in the art of preparing and cooking meat, with a secondary power that means meat ''never'' spoils in his presence. His fur is a deep, black-tinted crimson hue with an unusual glossiness that reminds the viewer of raw, bloody meat, which is contrasted by his bleached bone-white mane and tail, and he also has a personal scent that is reminiscent of blood. It's noted that this plunges him into the UncannyValley for ponies.

* In ''Animation/KungFuWa'' When Tee Yang transforms into Kung-Fu Girl, she gains [[ForcedTransformation Kung Fu Sock's]] physical traits from when he had a body, which includes flowing hair, and although her hair is pink instead of his hair color (mint green), one of her socks is mint green.

* (Almost) every ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' creature card with the Morph ability from Onslaught block has a "morph spider", either the creature itself or in the form of a subtler object, hidden in its artwork. It was only occasionally heeded to when it returned in the Time Spiral block, but was largely ignored. When Morph returned in Khans of Tarkir, though, a new clue in some artworks was shown: a yellow ball of energy with a bunch of swirling "tails" that kind of look like dragon tails. For the second block in the set, Fate Reforged, a similar mechanic, Manifest, had a similar signifier: blueish-white versions of these energy balls.
* One of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' TCG expansions included cards of Ditto mimicking various Pokémon: they all have in common Ditto's wide mouth and dotty eyes.

* In One Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' comic, the genie switches Aladdin and Jasmine's bodies to teach them a lesson, and their clothes change colors to reflect their normal colors. (Aladdin as Jasmine's top and pants are purple and white, and Jasmine as Aladdin's vest and pants are blue.)
%%* Snowbird from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' is always albino.
* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', the Spirit of Counterculture has taken many forms over the years, every one of them being some stripe of FadSuper (Bouncing Beatnik, Jazzbaby, Mr. Cakewalk, Halcyon Hippie, Glamorax, Zootsuit), and frequently changing in age, gender, and ethnicity. However, all of them have black hair and gold skin, their outfit is always some mix of black, white, gold, and red, and many of the ones we see have a prominent diamond shape in their design.
* In ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'', secret Skrull spy Crusader has a flashback to a combat training exercise on his homeworld where his opponent K'rtem gave him a scar. Crusader vowed to keep the scar no matter what form he took in tribute to K'rtem's might.
* The [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Impossible_Man_(Earth-616) Impossible Man]] character in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse and all the other Popuppians. He can [[ShapeShifting shapechange]] into different forms but always keeps his green and purple coloration. This is, in fact, how he lost a ShapeshifterShowdown once. After trying to impress each other with a wide variety of assumed shapes for the entire issue, his opponent [[ComicBook/NewMutants Warlock]] (with a little help from his teammates, who felt the whole thing was getting out of hand) hit upon the idea of ''changing color'', which he could do and Impy couldn't.
* As is Virginia Dare in ''ComicBook/Marvel1602'' (which is loosely based on the legend that she could turn into a white deer).
* [[Characters/NewMutants Warlock]] at one time was only able to shapeshift into black things with yellow circuitry. But he got better at shapeshifting and that quality went away.
* Obscure but awesome Marvel character Dirtnap's forms always kept the smiley-face (classic yellow-circle smiley thing) on the stomach.

* ComicBook/PlasticMan could become almost anything, but kept his colors. Whether or not he has to keep his goggles and other facial features depends on the writer and/or medium. His power is actually being semi-fluid and he is therefore able to stretch/contort into the shape of anything. He does not actually turn into the thing. There is a JLA comic where Plastic Man turned into an aeroplane that could actually fly. And, with tremendous effort, he once turned the tip of his nose blue. Of course, this particular trait has gotten him caught out a few times, such as when he [[http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/images/2007/05/21/jla_33_2.jpg disguised himself as a dress to be worn by Big Barda.]] Averted during Creator/GrantMorrison's run on JLA when Plastic Man managed to successfully disguise himself as the Joker, turning his skin white, his hair green and his costume purple.
* ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen2019'': Due to a mix-up with a DNA injection, Jimmy gets turned into a human-sized [[MythologyGag turtle]]. Despite losing all other human characteristics, he keeps his red hair.
* Changeling (a.k.a. Beast Boy) from the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' is always green in his various animal forms. ''ComicBook/New52'' made him always red instead (as they'd tied him into The Red, the metaphysical manifestation of the Animal Kingdom which ComicBook/AnimalMan draws power from, and the animal equivalent to Swamp Thing's The Green), though it only lasted a couple years.
* In ''[[ComicBook/Marvel2099 X-Nation 2099]]'', the mutant Willow always has a particular marking around her left eye, even though her shapeshifting powers are otherwise so precise that she can duplicate another person's form right down to their DNA.

* In ''Literature/BrotherAndSister,'' the villains are a WickedWitch [[WickedStepmother Stepmother]] and a wicked stepsister [[EvilCripple with only one eye]]. The two kill the Sister, who is now the queen, and transform Wicked Stepsister to take her place, but cannot fix the missing eye, forcing her to hide it.

* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', the Bakugou of Earth-2018.688 modified the Venom costume to suit his tastes, retaining his spiky hair and having the features of the Hero costume he wanted to wear if he managed to attend U.A.

-->A jovial laugh rang out. "Well, I highly doubt there are any other Clouded Leopards that are black all over and have bodies five feet long." Piercing ebon orbs widened as his cheeks were cupped, brought close to hazel. "But his most memorable feature is his black eyes...which look so much like yours." Realization dawned on him. "They look exactly like yours! I wonder why?"\\

* The kaiju upon entering the Equestrian realms in ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' retain some of their original traits such as coloration and key features. For example in the human subrealm from the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' movies, Monster X comes out wearing a long scarf that hangs down and resembles his true form's twin tails.
* This gets inverted in some ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' stories such as ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6046016/5/Crossroads-to-Ravines Crossroads to Ravines]]'' where spending too much time in animal form causes Druids to resemble said animal. Shamar a.k.a. Fuzzik spent months as a Hunter's pet and even afterwards, bares a distinct resemblance to a bear.

* {{Inverted}} for the ''Fanfic/TriptychContinuum'' iteration of [[FriendToAllLivingThings Fluttershy]]. She theorizes that her talent works in part by causing animals to see her as a somewhat-oddly-shaped-and-behaving member of their species... which unfortunately means that they have a tendency to ''treat'' her as a member of their species.
** Sizzler, an original character from the same series who reappears in other works by ''Creator/{{Estee}}'', has the once-a-generation talent of being an intuitive master chef in the art of preparing and cooking meat, with a secondary power that means meat ''never'' spoils in his presence. His fur is a deep, black-tinted crimson hue with an unusual glossiness that reminds the viewer of raw, bloody meat, which is contrasted by his bleached bone-white mane and tail, and he also has a personal scent that is reminiscent of blood. It's noted that this plunges him into the UncannyValley for ponies.

* Spouxls G. Kaardton from ''Fanfic/NoHiddenContractsTaxesOrFees'' has both of his components' hair colors, Rouxls's blue skin, Spamton's eyes, glasses, and BlushStickers, and an outfit, nose, and hair style that combine traits of both characters.

* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'', near the end, Pinocchio (now a real boy) tricks Volpe and Felinet (two humans) into drinking a water charm to win many gold coins, [[spoiler:and as a result Volpe and Felinet become [[MythologyGag a Fox and a Cat]]]].
* In ''Film/{{Cinderella|2015}}'', the animals the Fairy Godmother transforms into humans all retain some animal-like attributes (green skin and pointy teeth on the lizards, for example), with their clothing also reflecting said animal's colors.
* [[BigBad Gellert Grindelwald]] from the film ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' has a distinctive undercut (a hairstyle later appropriated by the Nazis and other fascists) that he shares with [[spoiler:Percival Graves]], foreshadowing his later reveal.
* In ''Film/Godzilla2000'', the Millennian spacecraft has a distinct beetle-like shape and an laser cannon on its left-front side. When the Millennians absorb some of Godzilla's DNA, they turn into the {{Kaiju}} Orga, whose upper half has the same rough shape as the spacecraft as well as a similar laser cannon in its shoulder.
* In ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', the Jumanji board game shapeshifts into a video game console in order to get people to keep playing it, because board games were becoming passe. Just as the original board game had an old-fashioned appearance in contrast to more modern games of its type, being a wooden box that opened up to reveal the game inside, the console it takes the form of resembles a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames second-generation]] machine, ''a la'' the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 or the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}}, with wood paneling and cartridges in contrast to the [[ProductPlacement contemporary PlayStation machines]] of both [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation 1996]] and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 2017]].
* ''Film/TheLobster:'' People who can't find a romantic partner are turned into an animal of their choice. Nosebleed Woman's best friend is proud of her long blond hair. She doesn't say what she wants to become, but when we see a pony with a long blond mane, it's probably her.
* In ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', Howard's [[spoiler:Ditto retains its black beady eyes, so it wears SinisterShades to hide them when in human forms]].
* In ''[[Film/SiebenZwerge 7 Zwerge -- Der Wald ist nicht genug]]'', Rumplestilkin retains his prominent facial mole while shapeshifting. Strangely, no-one is able to recognize him while shapeshifted, despite it being the DistinguishingMark of his normal form.

* In the live-action PerspectiveFlip film of ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', her pet raven Diaval is usually changed into a normal-looking human (albeit later wearing black clothes resembling his feathers). Other times, he becomes a wolf, a horse [[spoiler:and a dragon]], all retaining some raven-like features.
* In ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', the shapeshifting Martia has the same eye color and the same voice, whether she looks like an attractive woman or a hulking apeman. However when she disguises herself as [[spoiler:Kirk]] the appearance is much more perfect, including perfectly mimicking their voice.
* In ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', the actors all used a specific mannerism, [[KubrickStare looking upward at the camera in a sinister fashion]], to indicate it was the T-1000 using its mimetic abilities.
* In the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', Mystique's eyes occasionally flash yellow when she's shapeshifted into someone else as an indication it's her. She also keeps the scars Wolverine gave her in the [[Film/XMen1 first movie]] no matter what form she takes.

* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', Polgara the Sorceress keeps her skunk stripe in any animal form she assumes. Justified in that the mark is supernatural and she can't remove or dye it as a human either.
* In ''Literature/CastleHangnail'', Molly finds a spell for turning a cow into a dragon for one minute, and tries it out on several other animals, resulting in a donkey dragon that's grey with long ears, a bat dragon that's small and agile, and a goldfish dragon that's a foot long golden sea serpent. It may be that the transformations are incomplete because she's not using the spell for its intended purpose, in which case a cow would be completely transformed, but there aren't any cows around so she never gets to find out.

* Transformations in ''LightNovel/FelineTherapy'' have the animal's fur match their original hair, with grey-haired Izzy becoming a grey kitty. [[spoiler:Their friend Sasha, who has a streak of green dyed hair, is shown with green tufts on their head and tail.]]
* In ''Literature/GoodOmens'', Crowley, who was ''the'' Serpent, but has now taken human form, has slitted pupils, a tongue that isn't ''quite'' forked but definitely looks weird, and "was wearing snakeskin shoes, or at least, he was presumably wearing shoes".
* The Animagi in ''Literature/HarryPotter'', particularly [=McGonagall=] and Rita Skeeter. Their animal forms both have their "glasses", in that the characters "wear" glasses-like patterns on their animal faces. This is at first hinted to be deliberate, as Animagi have to register and have distinguishing marks, but then Rita's an unregistered Animagus and she has such markings, so it's apparently intrinsic to the process. This even extends into their personality in some cases (though it's a "chicken-and-egg" question as to whether their animal transformation affects their personality or the other way around). Sirius is often described as having "a bark-like laugh" and shaggy black hair. He transforms into a large, shaggy black dog.
* Dragons in ''Literature/TheHeartstrikers'' almost always have the same color eyes in both human and draconic form.
* ''Heckedy Peg'', a children's picture book by Audrey and Don Wood, features a unique take on this that's critical to the plot: A witch turns seven children into seven different inanimate food items, and their mother has to guess which child is which in order to rescue them. While each child's food form is otherwise indiscernible from real food, it turns out that [[spoiler:they had each turned into a type of food that matched the present they had asked their mother to buy for them earlier in the story (the child who turned into bread had asked for butter, the child who turned into cheese had asked for crackers, etc.)]].

* In the German novel ''Literature/{{Krabat}}'', the Master, the Evil Sorcerer can turn into different Animals, but they will always have only a left eye. The same counts for his students, whose Animal forms always mirror their appearances as humans.

* In the ''Franchise/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/TimeStreams'', Gorig is repeatedly described as having eyes so yellow that they resemble wedges of lemon. When Gorig reveals his true form as a Phyrexian demon at the climax of the book, his lemon-wedge eyes are carried over from his human disguise, allowing Barrin--who had never met Gorig--to recognize him from Urza's description of the man.
* In Holly Black's ''Literature/ModernFaerieTales'', faeries keep a trait when they transform. The troll Ravus, for example, turns into a human with golden eyes.
* Odin from ''Literature/OddAndTheFrostGiants'' is missing an eye. This carries over to [[spoiler:his eagle form]].

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', [[TheFairFolk faerie glamour]] has this as an explicit requirement -- something of the original creature must remain constant in spite of the change in appearance and shape. When Blake Thorburn gains the ability to use glamour that he won in battle against a fae swordswoman, his [[AnimalMotifs tattoos of birds and branches]] remain constant no matter what form he takes.
* In Holly Webb's ''Rose'' series, when [[CatsAreMagic Mr. Fountain's familiar Gus]] turns into a human, he will have white hair, one yellow eye and one blue, and a thin tongue, and his clothes will be white and fur-lined.

* In ''Series/{{Beastmaster}}'', King Zadd is turned into a donkey with the same tattoos. Although one character finds them familiar, it doesn't become GlamourFailure in time to be meaningful.

* In ''Series/GoodOmens2019'', when the demon Crowley transforms from a snake into human form, he still has [[AnimalEyes slitted pupils]] and his red hair and black clothes mirror his snake form's red and black coloring.
* Since ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', who has the power to transform into his predecessors, needs to access the [[TransformationTrinket DecaDriver]] to use his own abilities, the Driver appears on all his forms.
* The titular character of the kids' game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'' can shapeshift between human and bird form as seen in the title sequence and some episodes of the 3 spinoff shows. As a human, he has some feathers on his cloak and in his hair and a talon over one finger on his right hand as a reminder of his other form.

* In ''Series/ThatsSoRaven,'' Raven and Chelsea are turned into cows on the Halloween episode, but to distinguish them, they still have their hair.

* In Myth/JapaneseMythology, [[AsianFoxSpirit kitsune]] can shapeshift but will retain their tails and sometimes their ears and/or paws (like the examples from ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' and ''Dungeons & Dragons''). Therefore, they must cover up their tails in a more conventional manner to hide their true nature. The Korean kumiho works similarly, with some interpretations of the fox demon being unable to transform without retaining at least some visual characteristics of their natural form, be it body parts, shapes, or having a general foxlike appearance.
* In Myth/BrazilianFolklore, the Boto cor-de-rosa (the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_river_dolphin amazon river dolphin]] in portuguese) from the North region of the country is said to be an enchanted being capable of turning into a handsome man at night so he can go to parties and [[ShapeshiftingSeducer seduce women]]. However, he will always retain his blowhole at the top of his head, so he must cover it with a hat he wears all the time.

* In ''Podcast/InterstitialActualPlay'', after morphing into RPM Series Black, Edith's gun changes to look like... ''herself''. It's a shotgun shaped like her unmorphed body where the bullets fire from her mouth. It's terrifying!

* On the Roger Miller episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', an outbreak of cluckitis, a disease which nearly-instantaneously turns the afflicted into chickens after they sneeze, sweeps the cast. The Swedish Chef retains his mustache and eye-covering eyebrows. Lew Zealand, Rowlf, Miss Piggy, and Janice keep their respective eyes; Kermit does, as well, and even has his pointy collar. Only the main cast retains Morphic Resonance, however, and some don't even get that: extras and even some of the main cast turn into indistinguishable chickens. Maybe they'll have a hat or necklace, which they keep.

* Fauna of ''Roleplay/DCNation'' maintains her blonde hair, bipedal form, and cannot change her height.

* Pookah from ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'' tend to resemble the animals they change into in their human forms, both in their Fae Kith and human Seemings.

* Lunars in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' each have a unique body feature called a Tell, which is retained regardless of what they transform into. Their magic makes their Tell difficult for normal people to notice, but once you do, you'll always be able to identify that Lunar at a glance, regardless of form.
* One of the sample archetypes in ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' is an Indian woman with a blue costume and a bindi dot on her forehead. She transforms into blue animals with little red dots on their foreheads.
* When Chaos Lords and Sorcerers of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' transform into Daemon Princes, there's a good chance that they'll still be clad in the remnants of their old power armor. That being said, not much else is recognizable...

* When the dragon in ''VisualNovel/DraKoi'' takes human form, her eyes stay slitted and reptilian and she keeps her fangs, though mostly in cute form.

* Kthriss Drow'b of ''WebVideo/AcquisitionsIncorporated: The C-Team'' sharing [[Creator/KrisStraub his player's]] trademark goatee would just be an amusing subversion of [[{{Elfeminate}} elven stereotypes]], but the fact that he canonically retains the beard even when magically disguised as all manner of other races -- including a [[BeePeople beetle-man]] -- is where it runs into this trope.
* The cast of ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'' maintain their identifying articles despite being in costume for the majority of the movie, i.e. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic and [[WebVideo/TheGameHeroes 8-Bit Mickey]] wear their neckties, WebVideo/PawDugan wears his headphones, WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows keeps his mask on, [[spoiler:WebVideo/ThatDudeInTheSuede wears his vest]], etc. It works out perfectly for Todd, since he's cosplaying as [[Literature/ThePrincessBride the Dread Pirate Roberts]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Melusine}}'': The eponymous witch is once seen [[{{Animorphism}} turned into a cat]]. A black-and-green stripped cat, which the color of her usual clothes.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': It's implied that the [[Characters/DoctorWhoAliensAndMonsters Krillitanes]]' skin colors in their human disguises and true forms correspond -- their disguises are mostly white plus one black teacher, with the latter once the Krillitane transform having a dark gray true forms compared to the others' peach-skinned true forms.

* In Myth/JapaneseMythology, kitsune [[FantasticFoxes (fox spirits)]] can shapeshift but will retain their tails and sometimes their ears and/or paws (like the examples from ''Manga/InuYasha'' and ''Dungeons & Dragons''). Therefore, they must cover up their tails in a more conventional manner to hide their true nature. The Korean kumiho works similarly, with some interpretations of the fox demon being unable to transform without retaining at least some visual characteristics of their natural form, be it body parts, shapes, or having a general foxlike appearance.

* In [[https://www.deviantart.com/misakiyu misakiyu]]'s illustrations of [[https://www.deviantart.com/slifofinadragon SilfofinaDragon]]'s ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' fanfics, Date Masamune and Katakura Kojuro change into a horse and a panther respectively from potions brewed by [[HotWitch Kyogoku Maria]], they retain some of their human features (such as their eyebrows) with Masamune's hairstyle as a mane and Kojuro keeping his scar.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12023508/1/Kaitō-Kokoro Kaitō Kokoro]]'': Feliciano noticed a ''strong'' resemblence between Kiku's and Nihon's eyes. [[spoiler:It's because they are one in the same.]]

* A number of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fics involve the characters being turned into some kind of animals, usually via witch or some other magic. Dogs are popular, although cats and other animals occur, too. Eyes are often emphasized as identifying characteristics, particularly Castiel's if he's involved. One fic had Castiel turn into a horse, and not only were his eyes notable, but the horse was the color of his trench coat!

* In ''Animation/KungFuWa'' When Tee Yang transforms into Kung-Fu Girl, she gains [[BalefulPolymorph Kung Fu Sock's]] physical traits from when he had a body, which includes flowing hair, and although her hair is pink instead of his hair color (mint green), one of her socks is mint green.

* ''Literature/TheWitchesOfEileanan'': People transformed by [[spoiler:Maya's]] {{Baleful Polymorph}}ism occasionally retain some of their physical traits: [[spoiler:Lachlan]] kept his [[spoiler:hereditary skunk stripe]] as a blackbird, and [[spoiler:Khan'gharad still had his red hair as a horse]].

* MorphicResonance/WebComics

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Faith}}'' is a ''Franchise/{{Pokemon]]'' fan comic where Misty is turned into a Pikachu. She keeps her eyes and hairstyle, but Ash still doesn't notice the resemblance (unlike Gary).
* ''Webcomic/MurphysLaw'': Tinder is a green dragon who takes a humanoid form, but he still has green hair, fangs and stunted wings, looking like a half-dragon. This is pointed out as unusual since a dragon's polymorph power is usually perfect, but Tinder is quite young and sucks at changing shape.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples with Sub-Pages:

* [[MorphicResonance/AnimatedFilms Films -- Animation]]

!!Other examples:

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

* Snowbird from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' is always albino.

* ''Webcomic/{{Faith}}'' is a comic where Misty is turned into a Pikachu. She keeps her eyes and hairstyle, but Ash still doesn't notice the resemblance (unlike Gary).

!!Examples without Sub-Pages:

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' Wolffy retains his EarNotch and RuggedScar when he turns into a dog in ''Mighty Little Defenders''.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'':
** Happens with all of Genie's transformations, which keep either the blue color scheme, or the facial features of Creator/RobinWilliams.
** Also, when Abu is turned into an elephant, he retains his hair, red vest, fez, and, strangely enough, his long tail.
** [[OneWingedAngel Snake]] [[ScaledUp Jafar]] at the end of the film keeps the RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver color scheme of his clothes.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animal Crackers|2017}}'': Whatever animal Owen becomes he always keeps his blue eyebrows.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': Lumiere & co. keep their general appearance while turned into {{Animate Inanimate Object}}s. The Beast keeps his blue eyes and hair color (with the former ultimately enabling Belle to recognize him when he reverts to his human form).
* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'': When Kenai is transformed into a bear, if you look very closely, you can actually tell that his bear form has the exact same facial features as his original human form. Also, his fur is the same color as his clothing.
* ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsMovieIIANewGeneration'': [[BigBad Dark Heart]] has a [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience red motif]] no matter what he turns into; he spends most of the film looking like a human boy with [[EvilRedhead red hair]], [[RedEyesTakeWarning eyes]] and clothes. [[spoiler:His eyes turn [[InnocentBlueEyes blue]] when his HeelFaceTurn causes him to BecomeARealBoy]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'':
** When Mater disguises himself as a Lemon tow truck in ''Cars 2'', he actually retains his hazel eyes (and yes, the opposite is true). And his body style when he decides to have fun with his disguises, such as a German SUV wearing lederhosen, a {{Dracula}}-esque hearse, a yellow drag racer, and a taco truck.
** And Rod "Torque" Redline's Gremlin disguise. Since his disguise is made up of a retractable metal shell instead of a voice-activated hologram projection, the only thing about him that doesn't change are his hubcaps.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'': BigBad Merlock retains his mustache and goatee whenever he turns into (in order of appearance) [[FeatheredFiend an eagle,]] [[RodentsofUnusualSize a rat,]] [[BearsAreBadNews a bear,]] [[CatsAreMean a cougar,]] [[BigCreepyCrawlies a cockroach,]] and [[OneWingedAngel finally, a]] [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent gryphon.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'':
** As a llama, Kuzco keeps his human hairstyle. The entire last bit of the movie has him retain both the black of his hair and the red of his old imperial garb across the animal kingdom.
** Similarly, [[spoiler:Yzma turns into a purple kitty, keeping up with her theme.]] To her chagrin, though, her voice becomes high-pitched and cute.
* ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish'': When transformed into fishes, Fly keeps his hat and a tuft of hair, Chuck keeps his glasses, and Stella keeps her skirt and [[GirlishPigtails pigtails]].
* ''Film/TheLastUnicorn'': The Unicorn has a white mane and purple eyes. She keeps these two aspects of herself when she's transformed into a woman.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'': Whatever shape Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi is in, her face is usually recognizable (and her crown features somewhere on her person). Also, her color scheme tends to stay consistent, mostly composed of red, orange and yellow bricks. This double as a subtle foreshadowing, [[spoiler:since those are the colors of the heart Emmet created as a gift to the DUPLO aliens]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': the [[VillainProtagonist eponymous alien]], no matter the form he uses, has big green eyes.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': Maui, a shapeshifting demigod, has a pattern of his hook on some part of his animal forms.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'':
** Both Twilight and Spike still look like themselves when turned into a human and a dog, respectively; Spike even mentions it. Twilight keeps the same hair style and skin color as her pony form, and her cutie mark is embroidered on her skirt. The same can be said of all the characters with pony equivalents, but here it isn't through shapechange but alternate-universe counterparts.
** Same thing in "[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsMagicalMovieNight Mirror Magic]]" when Starlight Glimmer crosses the the portal to the other world. Her human appearance shares many similarities with her true form, including skin and hair color(s) as well as hairstyle. This is such an accepted fact, in truth, that Sunset Shimmer can reasonably conclude she'd never seen Starlight's human counterpart in Canterlot yet, despite only having just met Starlight Glimmer in pony form at the moment.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'': As is usually the case in the main series, transformations leave the characters still easily recognizable. When the Mane Six turns into seaponies, they keep their faces and color schemes. The manes and tails become head frills and caudal fins, respectively, but still conserve their shape and color. The cutie marks still appear on a dorsal fin, and the winged ones have bigger lateral fins. Even small details are still reflected, like Applejack's freckles translating into shinier scales in spots. Same thing for Spike as a puffer fish, who keeps his eyes, mouth and color distribution.
* ''WesternAnimation/PlaymobilTheMovie'': Since she wasn't touching a Playmobil figurine, [[ActionGirl Marla's]] Playmobil form looks like a stylized version of her as a human.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'':
** Naveen and Tiana's eyes stay the same after they're changed into frogs and [[spoiler:Lawrence]]'s eyes stay the same after he's changed into [[spoiler:Naveen.]]
** The various animals Mama Odie turns her snake Juju into keep the snake's coloration as well as his big pink eyes, green skin, forked tongue and his long tail.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'': [[TheFairFolk Aisling]] is a white-haired girl with green eyes. This is reflected through [[{{Animorphism}} the animals she can shapeshift into]] (mainly a wolf, but the first few minutes of the film show that she can become a salmon and a deer as well) since they will always have white coloring and green eyes to show that it's her.
* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'': Shrek's [[HumanityEnsues human form]] retains his eye color and nose shape. [[spoiler:Harold keeps his eye color, crown and goatee in his frog form.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'': When Maleficent [[ScaledUp turns into a dragon]], she retains the black-and-purple color scheme of her wardrobe, along with the horns. Even if you hadn't seen the movie and were just shown stills of Maleficent as a fairy and as a dragon, it wouldn't be hard to tell they're the same character.
* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'':
** When Merlin and Arthur transform, Merlin retains the blue of his cloak, his glasses and his bushy moustache, while Arthur has the earth tones of his clothing and his page haircut.
** Madame Mim changes into animals who are fat, pink and have green eyes and purple hair. Even her dragon form has the eyes and the hair, but it's purple instead of pink [[LoopholeAbuse because the rules of the duel explicitly forbade "pink dragons"]].
* Ralph, the All-Purpose Animal and [[TheHero Male Lead]] of ''WesternAnimation/TwiceUponATime'', can shapeshift at will, but always has the same rather dorky face.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolfwalkers}}'':
** Mebh, who's a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Wolfwalker]], keeps her red hair, green eyes and the dots under her eyes as a wolf. Mebh's mother Moll, who Mebh [[StrongFamilyResemblance strongly resembles]], also keeps these traits in her wolf form.
** Downplayed with Robyn, who has blonde hair as a human, but grey and white fur as a wolf, though she keeps her blue eyes. [[spoiler:It's the same case with her father Bill, who's also blond and blue-eyed; as a wolf he still has blue eyes and the fur around his face resembles his sideburns, but his fur is black and grey instead.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': Shane Gooseman always keeps a bipedal form and roughly the same mass. He usually also keeps the blond hair.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Any vessel that the Lich [[DemonicPossession possesses]] gains his GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath, and occasionally have [[HornedHumanoid his curling horns]] as well. [[spoiler:The Lich, being the GeniusBruiser he is, catches on quick that this is giving him away and proceeds to find a way to hide it; when he needs to impersonate Billy, he doesn't possess him, but rather ''[[GenuineHumanHide kills him and wears his skin]]'' in order to conceal his deformities. It works.]]
* Falina in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingFeatsOfYoungHercules'' still has green eyes as a sable, and her red hair has become red fur.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'':
** Jake Long has spiked green hair and [[LimitedWardrobe always wears a red jacket]]; he turns into a red dragon with green spines down his back.
** His grandpa wears a blue robe and has white hair and a moustache; he turns into a blue dragon with white spines and [[NonMammalianHair a moustache]].
** And his kid sister Haley [[PinkMeansFeminine wears pink]] and has bunches; she turns into a pink dragon with [[NonMammalianHair bunches]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', a running joke is that Meatwad can change shape, but only into either an igloo, or a hot dog. Both of these still have the same texture and color as Meatwad, and still have his face. In earlier episodes, he could change into other things, such as a Meat Bridge and a statue of Abe Lincoln with a Samurai sword (it was supposed to be a statue of Wayne Gretzky). He became a hammer in a much later episode, too. In TheMovie, he turns into [[spoiler:a full-size office building and a giant monster designed to fight a rampaging exercise machine. ItMakesSenseInContext. Sort of.]] He retains the previous clues to his identity, the texture and face and whatnot. Justified since Meatwad isn't a true shapeshifter. He's just a ground meat patty than can change his shape.
* The title character of the animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' has transformations (apart from the likes of Mr. Beetleman, Cousin BJ etc.) that often exhibit his stripes (usually the black and white ones seen on his suit), color palette and/or facial features (sometimes including [[http://i.imgur.com/bwaGbAZ.png the whole face]]).
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'':
** Each of Ben's alien forms has a "timer" resembling the face of the Omnitrix, in addition to an outfit design similar to that of Ben's [[LimitedWardrobe signature black-and-white T-shirt]] if they wear clothing. At least one of them has the design (a black stripe on a background of white) on its skin.
** As of ''Alien Force'', all of Ben's aliens share his green eye colour (when their eyes are visible, at least), including appearances of 10-year-old Ben's aliens in ''Ultimate Alien'' and ''Omniverse'' that originally did not.
*** Acknowledged in the GrandFinale for ''Alien Force'', where Gwen identifies Swampfire as Ben via his green eyes rather than his EvilTwin Albedo's red.
** In the WhatIf episode "Gwen 10", the colors become light and medium blue, reflecting ''her'' one T-shirt. Her Grey Matter form also retains [[NonMammalianHair her red hair]].
*** In his ''Omniverse'' appearances, any clothing on Albedo's aliens matches his black and red colour scheme to mirror Ben's black-and-green.
** All later installments ditch the clothing match-up, though the Omnitrix symbol remains. This is justified, as the symbol still is the actual device, morphed to fit the new form. The reason being to act as a method for the user to quickly swap between forms without the need to wait out the timer and turn back to their original species, should the user be skilled enough with the device. This is why the symbol from ''Alien Force'' onward is always on the chest of aliens, with older ones being redesigned in the 2016 reboot series to follow suit.
** Acknowledged in the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' episode "Ben Again". Younger and older Ben team up in the climax, and when both turn into one of older Ben's standards, younger Ben retains the white shirt and black stripe.
* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': [[spoiler:[[Characters/Castlevania2017Antagonists Death]] as Varney]]. Not only does he lack irises, making his pupils look like empty sockets along with his sclera being the same tone of his skin, but the coat he wears has a collar that's been partially popped open, making it look like a scythe blade.
* Although he's not a shapeshifter, WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom's green eyes show in the face of whoever he's overshadowing. And that's true for other ghosts as well. When he turns into his ghost form, the suit he wears is the same one he wore when he first transformed into a ghost.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DorothyAndTheWizardOfOz'' episode "Locket Locket in My Pocket", Wilhelmina's magic locket turns the wearer into the person whose portrait is in it. When she uses it to turn herself into Dorothy and has a run-in with the real one, her disguise is seen through because her hair retains a green streak from her real form. Likewise, when Dorothy's friends wear the locket themselves, they put their own spins on her gestalt: Toto's hair is the same gray as his fur and he keeps his tail, Scarecrow's hair is blonde and looks like the hay under his hat, Tin Man keeps his funnel, and Lion's hair is amber like his mane and he also keeps his tail.
* In ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'', [[MeaningfulName Bunny Blanc]] retains her white hair color upon shifting into rabbit form... and, less explicably, her black eyeshadow.
* All fairies from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' maintain their primary characteristic when they change into something else. Their crowns frequently remain above their heads no matter their shape as well. This is also true for other non-humans.
** Cosmo's and Wanda's hair colors are their primary trait, so they turn into green and pink items. Wanda and Cosmo's unlikely colored forms are often {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by anyone with enough attention to notice that dogs shouldn't have pink or green fur. This went to SerialEscalation levels when they agreed to switch roles with Timmy and transforming themselves into looking like him -- except their hair, voice, and eye color remained the same as their default forms. This became a source of confusion to Timmy's dim parents whenever they encountered one of them breaking house rules.
** Jorgen Von Strangle has a LanternJawOfJustice, so whatever he turns into tends to have one as well.
** Juandissimo Magnifico turns purple, like his eyes. His godchild's parents even called him Purple when in his ferret form.
** Alien Mark Chang keeps his big square teeth and his red eyes in his human disguise or while otherwise using his image fake-ifier.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'':
** No matter what form [[DragonWithAnAgenda the Weird Sisters]] take, they always look [[SameSexTriplets identical to each other]], except with blonde, black and white hair, respectively.
** When [[PhysicalGod Oberon]] disguises himself as a human in "The Gathering," he basically just changes his clothes and [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation blue skin]].
** An advanced example: not only does Demona look pretty similar in her human form, the Hunters analyze "Dominique Destine" and realize that she and Demona have the same musculoskeletal structure, correctly surmising that she can shapeshift.
* ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': Ned Krinkle's horribly jagged BritishTeeth are the one flaw in his otherwise perfect disguises. However, he can somehow hide his teeth pretty well (and look exactly like the person he's disguised as) until he reveals himself by [[EvilLaugh laughing]] or [[SlasherSmile grinning]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', whenever Nergal Junior [[ShapeShifting transforms]] into a different shape, he always keeps his signature lime green eyes, jagged yellow teeth, and nerdy glasses.
* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'': The quick-change magician Presto Change-O has shifty-looking eyes and BritishTeeth in his default form. Whenever he disguises himself as another character, his disguise always has the shifty eyes, slightly crooked teeth, and visibly paler skin-tone. (Since his disguises fool ''everyone'' around him, though, it's entirely possible that the trope is played strictly for the audience's benefit.)
* In an episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', Gorilla Grodd succeeds in his plans to turn every human into an intelligent ape, leading to an amusing scene where Lex Luthor looks at himself in a mirror and sees that despite being covered in fur, his head's still as bald as ever.
-->'''Ape Lex:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Of course...]]
* This happens in one of the later episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'', where the kids learn about animals living in the city, and their hairstyles are kept when they're changed into animals. The same could be said for any of their other transformations, including those The Bus undergoes.
* The mascaritas' [[SignatureMove Signature Moves]] from ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha''. For example, Ricochet's "Pulverizing Pinball" has him turn into a large sphere colored to resemble his wrestling mask, and Buena Girl's "Bulldozer of Truth" has her turn into a bulldozer with her outfit colors.
* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEscapeFromCatrina'': Rep can turn himself into a variety of other creatures such as a bird, a bull, a pony or a dragon, but always retains his dark green color scheme and his hat.
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E16ItAintEasyBeingBreezies It Ain't Easy Being Breezies]]": When Twilight turns herself and her friends into breezies, they retain their usual colors schemes and become breezie version of themselves.
*** Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony, can take many shapes on a whim, but he often retains some aspect of his true draconequus form, typically his antlers, lopsided tooth and yellow/red eyes, or some aspect of his FashionableAsymmetry, if only with the color scheme. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 Twilight's Kingdom –- Part 1]]", this is downplayed when he turns into a stallion, as it would give him away, but he still keeps the overall grey color scheme of his head (including his unicorn horn remaining light blue to match his normal goat horn).
*** Almost all of the forms Ocellus, a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting changeling]], takes maintain her usual light blue and red color scheme, adjusted to fit the anatomy of the creature she's turned into.
*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E8Frenemies Frenemies]]": Queen Chrysalis retains her distinctive blue-green eye color when in her cragadile, goat and ophiotaurus forms. While this is absent in her ursa form, several of its [[CelestialBody component stars]] shine the same color as her eyes. Only her {{roc|Birds}} form doesn't bear any signs of her usual appearance.
*** In general, it seems that changelings can decide how much Morphic Resonance they want to use. Ocellus, for example, could create more complete disguises, but she keeps her color scheme because she's with her friends and not trying to fool anyone. When she turns into a dragon, none of her characteristics show through. Queen Chrysalis also retains some characteristics when there is no need to hide (cragadile) or the one being fooled is too dumb to know (ophiotaurus). The Roc was just a copy of another creature she had seen once (real reason: reusing assets). Lastly, Thorax almost never makes use of Morphic Resonance, though he could, and his brother Pharynx transforms into a large bug monster with the same coloration at one point.
* ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'' plays with this. Both the heroes and villains have recognizable features and accessories that remain with them no matter what form they take (Larry and Sashi's glasses, Boone's braces, etc) but the resonance can only be seen by other part-timers, [[LieToTheBeholder normal citizens just see them as the person they're pretending to be.]]
* Here's a tip for new viewers of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': if Jack encounters a character or creature with red, green, and black predominantly featured in its color scheme, it's going to be [[BigBad Aku]] in disguise. Yes, this even applies when said character is the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'':
** Imp typically retains his blue and black coloration whenever he disguises himself.
** Likewise, when his master Hordak does a full-body shapeshift, his new form will have the same coloration as well as his FACE on it.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' character Mermista is a mermaid who can turn into a human at will. In the latter form, she sits with her legs pressed together whenever possible.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** A CouchGag parodying human evolution actually showed various prehistoric animals resembling Homer Simpson gradually turning into, well, guess. There is also an octopus resembling Mr. Burns, a dragonfly resembling Lenny Leonards, a pterodactyl resembling Agnes Skinner, a ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' resembling Bart, a ''Stegosaurus'' resembling Lisa and a small mammal resembling Moe Szyslak (which did evolve ''from'' Cave-Moe -- or Cave-Moe devolved back into a Moe-like rodent, to keep with the theme of his occasional attempts at suicide).
** The third segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]" is about Dr. Hibbert being a mad scientist who turns people into animals that retain characteristics of who they originally were: for example, we have Homer as a walrus, Marge as a jaguar with a beehive hairdo, Bart as a spider, Lisa as an owl, and Maggie as an anteater.
* On ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'', the Chameleon's eyes would flash to indicate it was him wearing whatever shape he was in.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': The Son and Daughter's gargoyle and gryphon forms retain their respective coloring, and in the Daughter's case her HolyHalo.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** Gems are capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting, but all their different forms maintain the same unusual [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation skin]] and hair colors. Their [[HeartDrive gems]] do not shapeshift, and will often be visible when they change form. [[JustifiedTrope This makes sense]] given that their shapeshifting powers stem from their bodies being HardLight projections produced by their gems. Gems also [[FusionDance fuse with one another]], creating larger forms that will generally borrow features from both of their components to differing degrees. For example, every single one of Garnet's fusions seen thus far has kept her CoolShades, albeit in different shapes.
** [[spoiler:Pink Diamond]], in her disguise as [[spoiler:[[KingIncognito Rose Quartz]]]], manages to cleverly fine-tune her shapeshifting to work around this trope. [[spoiler:She [[PaletteSwap Palette Swaps]] her bright pink skin with her light pink hair -- which also makes her look remarkably human -- and rotates her gem 90 degrees into her body so that the pavilion faces inward instead of upward, hiding the distinctive brilliant cut and making it look like an ordinary quartz gem. She does retain her nose shape and pink lips.]]
* Strangely enough, on ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' the Wonder Twins have differing shapeshifter tells: it was Zan whose face was usually visible as a reflection on the surface of whatever water-based item he turned into. Jayna maintained her purple eyes no matter the form she took.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Just like in the comics, Beast Boy can transform into any animal, but he is always green. If the animal has teeth, then his snaggletooth is also kept. In one episode where the villain makes it so he can only transform into inanimate objects, he still maintains his green coloring.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', he also retains his normal speaking voice.
* WesternAnimation/TomTerrific, the 1950s TV cartoon character, could transform himself into anything -- but always kept his face and trademark funnel hat.
* When Franchise/{{Transformers}} reconfigure themselves to have different vehicle forms, their robot-mode bodies tend to look roughly similar to their previous forms.
** For example, ''Generation 2'' gave Optimus Prime [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:CombatheroPrime_toy.jpg a new "Hero" body]] that still had his distinctive red truck cab chest, even though his chest actually became the ''underside'' of his new vehicle mode (which had a ''white'' cab of a completely different design).
** Mind you, that's a major improvement over the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers original series]], which applied the same concept going ''backwards'' in time. G1 Bumblebee had VW Beetle hood halves on his feet long before he turned into one (indeed, [[AnachronismStew long before there was any such thing as a Beetle, or Volkswagen, or automobiles, or Germany, or anything resembling present-day humans]]).
*** It's not just Bumblebee. Soundwave still had his cassette tray and buttons, Megatron's chest was still the side of a Walther P-38, Optimus Prime still had a semi truck's grille and windows on his chest, and the Seekers still had F-15 cockpits and wings, just to name a few examples.
** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Several of the transformers' faces resemble that of their beast modes. For example, Rattrap has buckteeth like a rat, Cheetor and Tigatron (big cats) both have catlike noses and whiskers and Dinobot has sharp teeth in and out of raptor mode.
** This is something in several series (but not in just as many others). Rather than make two designs for every character, a pre-Earth one that will only be in part of the premiere as well as their standard form they'll have the rest of the series, the standard robot modes will be used in Cybertron scenes and they just won't transform (except in G1, where alien vehicles transform into robots and 'grow' their eventual Earthen vehicle parts on the way.) ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' seems to be the only series so far that gives everyone pre-Earth and Earth forms in vehicle and robot mode (they've all got toys, natch. At least, the main Autobots do) They actually get quite a bit of mileage out of the pre-Earth forms: characters still on Cybertron will be the Cybertronian forms repainted; apparently, there are only so many body-types a 'bot can start out with, and it's through scanning new ones on their own later that more unique forms are obtained.
** And who can forget the episode "Only Human"; when [[ReplacementScrappy Rodimus]], [[NumberTwo Ultra Magnus]], [[LoveableRogue Springer]], and [[TheChick Arcee]] are [[BalefulPolymorph forced into human bodies]], not only does Arcee's hair resemble her robot form's helmet, but [[ContrivedCoincidence they almost immediately find a building with jumpsuits in their robot forms' color schemes for them to wear]].
** ''Animated'' did a similar plot in the two-part "Human Error". This time, the resonance was justified by [[spoiler:the world where the Autobots were human being a simulation run by Soundwave, who was brainwashing their bodies to fight for him while their minds were preoccupied]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'':
** The ancient dragon Grougaloragran retains his bushy eyebrows and beard, as well as a general dark color, whether he transforms into a human or a [[GiantSquid giant kralamoure]].
** This is also true for Adamaï, a younger dragon, who can take many shapes but keeps his white-and-blue color scheme and peculiar eyes.
** Same goes for anyone possessed by a Shushu, [[TransformationOfThePossessed as they resemble something that is half themselves and half evil monster]]. They tend to get much bigger, though.
** In Season 2 Episode 5, Yugo, Amalia, and Evangelyne are turned into piglets, but retain some recognizable traits, like Eva's green eyes and [[YouthfulFreckles freckles]], or dark skin and tufts of green hair for Amalia.
** Also happens with the heroes changed into Thursters in Season 2 Episode 13. You can still recognize them, which make the scene where Evangelyne and Sadlygrove try to touch each other that much more pathetic.
** And again in Season 2 Episode 21, when the Bellaphones turns the male members of the party into apes or monkeys.
* WesternAnimation/YamRoll of the so-named cartoon can transform into pretty much anything, but that anything will be colored like his yam filling and wearing his trademark cowboy hat. His mentor has similar powers, always turning into something brown with a white beard.
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoohooAndFriends'' the protagonists' fur retains the colors of their human forms.
[[/folder]]