History Main / StairsAreFaster

* ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'': In a hurry to get up to Sôsuke's apartment to retrieve her homework, Kaname first goes to elevator, presses the button, and waits for a few seconds - then screams in frustration and runs for the stairs.
* In an episode of ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'', Jessie is hastily crawling across a wooden beam suspended between two buildings ("Would you just [[AccidentalPun give me a break]]?"), and falls. James and Meowth race down the stairs and arrive at the bottom ''before'' Jessie does - they still don't catch her.

--> '''Dr. Zalost''' Why didn't you take the stairs? It's much faster.

* In ''Silk Stockings'', in a hotel in Paris, Nina Yashenko, carrying her suitcase, starts walking up several flights of stairs at the same time three of the men she's working with start up in an elevator. She is already waiting there when they arrive.

* ''Anime/{{Spriggan}}''. Rie Yamabishi dives into the elevator JustInTime to escape a cyborg mook, only for the cyborg to jump onto the top of the elevator and rip his way inside, forcing her to flee the elevator and take the stairs.

* In an episode of ''Anime/{{Pokémon}}'', Jessie is hastily crawling across a wooden beam suspended between two buildings ("Would you just [[AccidentalPun give me a break]]?"), and falls. James and Meowth race down the stairs and arrive at the bottom ''before'' Jessie does - they still don't catch her.

* Hilariously played with on ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'': Gadget's chasing Brain. Brain desperately calls for the elevator while his pursuer comes barrelling in on Gadget Skates. Brain makes it just in time; Gadget realizes he needs to take the stairs. Upon seeing the [[StairwayChase seemingly endless flight of stairs]] above, the inspector [[TakeAThirdOption deploys his Copter Hat.]] All goes well until Gadget gets entangled in a chandelier. [[FallingChandelierOfDoom Flying Inspector of Doom, anyone?]]

* In an episode of ''[[Anime/{{Pokémon}}]]'', Jessie is hastily crawling across a wooden beam suspended between two buildings ("Would you just [[AccidentalPun give me a break]]?"), and falls. James and Meowth race down the stairs and arrive at the bottom ''before'' Jessie does - they still don't catch her.

* In an episode of ''Pokémon'', Jessie is hastily crawling across a wooden beam suspended between two buildings ("Would you just [[AccidentalPun give me a break]]?"), and falls. James and Meowth race down the stairs and arrive at the bottom ''before'' Jessie does - they still don't catch her.

Note that over one or two floors, stairs are faster even if the elevator is immediately available, though this changes quickly once you need to climb more flights of stairs than that--elevators don't tire, but people do.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': There are too many examples to list of Jackie reaching Section 13 or returning to street level and being met by either an enemy he was racing against or (usually) Jade. He questions how this is possible, and they reply with, "The stairs." At no point does Jackie ever try to learn from this.

Note that over one or two floors, stairs are faster even if the elevator is immediately available, though this changes quickly once you need to climb more flights of stairs than that - elevators don't tire, but people do.

Note that over one or two floors, stairs are faster even if the elevator is immediately available.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'', Inspector Chase Deveraux pursues Carmen in a museum's painfully slow elevator.

* JackieChanAdventures: There are too many examples to list of Jackie reaching Section 13 or returning to street level and being met by either an enemy he was racing against or (usually) Jade. He questions how this is possible, and they reply with, "The stairs." At no point does Jackie ever try to learn from this.

* Hilariously played with on ''InspectorGadget'': Gadget's chasing Brain. Brain desperately calls for the elevator while his pursuer comes barrelling in on Gadget Skates. Brain makes it just in time; Gadget realizes he needs to take the stairs. Upon seeing the [[StairwayChase seemingly endless flight of stairs]] above, the inspector [[TakeAThirdOption deploys his Copter Hat.]] All goes well until Gadget gets entangled in a chandelier. [[FallingChandelierOfDoom Flying Inspector of Doom, anyone?]]

* In an episode of ''Pokémon'', Jessie is hastily crawling across a wooden beam suspended between two buildings ("Would you just give me a [[AccidentalPun break]]?"), she falls. James and Meowth race down the stairs and arrive at the bottom ''before'' Jessie does. They still don't catch her.

* ''TheRing''. Rachel is racing to warn Noah that Samara has not been put to rest and is after him. When she arrives at his apartment she tries to use the elevator, but gets frustrated by the delay and runs up the stairs instead.
* In ''TheBluesBrothers'', the brothers take the elevator up to the floor the Assessor's office is on, then disable the one elevator they came up in. The combined might of the Chicago Police, SWAT, National Guard, etc. try to follow up the elevator, but after waiting a few seconds they decide to charge up the stairway instead.

* ''RatRace'': After Donald Sinclair has told the characters the rules of the race, all of them claim that they're not going to participate, and then each makes an excuse to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, hoping to get a head start on the rest.