History Main / PedalToTheMetalShot

* In ''Film/Rumpelstiltskin''(1995), when we got a shot of Shelley Stewart's naked foot stepping on the pedal to throw Rumpelstiltskin off of her car, sending him rolling into the middle of the road. Then we get a second shot of her flooring the pedal when she speeds into Rumpelstiltskin, running him over.

* In ''Film/Rumpelstiltskin'' (1995), when we got a shot of Shelley Stewart's naked foot stepping on the pedal to throw Rumpelstiltskin off of her car, sending him rolling into the middle of the road. Then we get a second shot of her flooring the pedal when she speeds into Rumpelstiltskin, running him over.

* [=GoGo=] in ''Disney/BigHero6'' has this kind of scene after stealing the wheel from [[LawfulStupid Wasabi]], and floors it. The rest of the chase isn't shy about showing off her footwork several more times throughout either.
* Done by Shank and Vanellope von Schweetz in ''Disney/RalphBreaksTheInternet''. Shank likes to floor the throttle and snap-shift her vehicle, because she's the protagonist in her game: Slaughter Race. There, Shank drives fast for a living. Likewise for Vanellope, who competes in the racing game Sugar Rush. However, for Shank, Slaughter Race is her home turf, so she'll respawn if she crashes and dies. Not so for the visiting Vanellope, who won't respawn outside of Sugar Rush. Vanellope floors it anyway, because she's a BrattyHalfPint haywire hellion. Swati also floors the gas pedal of the Sugar Rush cabinet near the beginning of the movie.

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', this trope comes as part of a two-shot sequence of Judy turning the key and then flooring it in order to rush away to the city after a EurekaMoment. Watch it [[https://youtu.be/zU82j5mKMeU?t=131 here]]. PlayedForLaughs earlier on when she does the same thing in her meter maid cart, and only moves at a slow crawl much to her annoyance.

To heighten tension and drama in a [[ChaseScene car chase]], or other bit of vehicular business, a very common shot is to show the driver aggressively stomping on the gas pedal, often until it can pressed no further. May be accompanied by dramatically and/or aggressively shifting gears. It's common shorthand to tell the audience "this car will be going really fast now," or "the characters are really serious about catching/escaping from this guy." Often used when OverDrive is needed.

A SubTrope of RuleOfCool.

* [=GoGo=] in ''Disney/BigHero6'' has this kind of scene after stealing the wheel from [[LawfulStupid Wasabi]], and floors it.
* Done by Shank and Vanellope von Schweetz in ''Disney/RalphBreaksTheInternet''. Shank likes to floor the throttle and snap-shift her vehicle, because she's the protagonist in her game: Slaughter Race. There, Shank drives fast for a living. Likewise for Vanellope, who competes in the racing game Sugar Rush. However, for Shank, Slaughter Race is her home turf, so she'll respawn if she crashes and dies. Not so for the visiting Vanellope, who won't respawn outside of Sugar Rush. Vanellope floors it anyway, because she's a BrattyHalfPint haywire hellion.

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', this trope comes as part of a two-shot sequence of Judy turning the key and then flooring it in order to rush away to the city after a EurekaMoment. Watch it [[https://youtu.be/zU82j5mKMeU?t=131 here]].

* ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'': Cort slams the pedal down on Nikki's stepdad's RV. Impressed with how the RV drives, he fails to realize he's bouncing Nikki around in the back, or that [[spoiler:Jason's in the RV ready to kill them both.]]

* [=GoGo=] in ''Disney/BigHero6 has this kind of scene after stealing the wheel from [[LawfulStupid Wasabi]], and floors it.

In RealLife, flooring your accelerator is a ''[[DoNotTryThisAtHome bad idea]]''. Most cars have accelerations and top speeds that are just unsafe for the average city driver to attempt, and flooring the pedal can easily cause loss of traction, making you go ''slower'' or lose control of the vehicle completely. Smaller increments of acceleration are safer and more effective. [[TropesAreTools But a foot moving a quarter-inch at a time doesn't translate well to camera.]] That being said, flooring a car does significantly increase the chances of having the tires squeal and leave a cool mark on the ground once the vehicle's in motion, two more requirements for the RuleOfCool. For added effect, a brief shot of the [[ThingOMeter speedometer needle]] moving rapidly clockwise may also appear.

In RealLife, flooring your accelerator is a ''[[DoNotTryThisAtHome bad idea]]''. Most cars have accelerations and top speeds that are just unsafe for the average city driver to attempt, and flooring the pedal can easily cause loss of traction, making you go ''slower'' or lose control of the vehicle completely. Smaller increments of acceleration are safer and more effective. [[TropesAreTools But a foot moving a quarter-inch at a time doesn't translate well to camera.]] That being said, flooring a car does significantly increase the chances of having the tires squeal and leave a cool mark on the ground once the vehicle's in motion, two more requirements for the RuleOfCool. For added effect, a brief shot of the speedometer needle moving rapidly clockwise may also appear.

In RealLife, flooring your accelerator is a ''[[DoNotTryThisAtHome bad idea]]''. Most cars have accelerations and top speeds that are just unsafe for the average city driver to attempt, and flooring the pedal can easily cause loss of traction, making you go ''slower'' or lose control of the vehicle completely. Smaller increments of acceleration are safer and more effective. [[TropesAreTools But a foot moving a quarter-inch at a time doesn't translate well to camera.]] That being said, flooring a car does significantly increase the chances of having the tires squeal and leave a cool mark on the ground once the vehicle's in motion, two more requirements for the RuleOfCool.

** Cab driver Semeralda Villa Lobos also does this. She's barefoot, so she's an early example of Creator/QuentinTarantino's [[AuthorAppeal foot fetish]].

* In ''Film/TheGayDivorcee'', DoggedNiceGuy Guy Holden pursues his love interest Mimi in what amounts to a vehicular chase. As soon as she leaves London traffic and enters a forested area, Mimi stomps the accelerator to get away from Guy.

* ''{{Film/Twister}}'' has one during the climactic chase. The antagonist, Jonas, and his driver are told by the hero storm chaser Bill that the tornado could shift and come at them. Jonas tells his driver to keep going and the driver hits the gas, which is where the shot is, continues onward, and both are killed by the twister a few moments later.

In RealLife, flooring your accelerator is a ''[[DoNotTryThisAtHome bad idea]]''. Most cars have accelerations and top speeds that are just unsafe for the average city driver to attempt, and flooring the pedal can easily cause loss of traction, making you go ''slower'' or lose control of the vehicle completely. Smaller increments of acceleration are safer and more effective. [[TropesAreTools But a foot moving a quarter-inch at a time doesn't translate well to camera.]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' does this in the "race-against-the-lightning" climax...primarily to demonstrate Marty's desperation when the car [[PlotDrivenBreakdown won't start right away.]]

Done [[JustForFun/{{Egregious}} egregiously]], a character will put the pedal to the metal several times in the same scene, when logically they're already at maximum acceleration (and, sooner or later, maximum speed), and there's just no more power to be had. Inverse of BrakeAngrily.

!!Examples

[[folder:Film: Animated]]

[[folder:Film: Live-Action]]

* ''Film/TheHumanCentipede II'' has one when a pregnant woman manages to escape from the centipede and is trying to get away from Martin, this film's antagonist. In the car, she gives birth...[[spoiler: and in her desperation to escape, stomps on the pedal, which in this case also meant stomping on her newborn.]]

* While chasing ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', there's a nice close-up of Tucker flooring it to get to Jake & Elwood before the entire "Illinois law enforcement community" can. A bad idea, first because he's driving the Good Old Boys Winnebago, and second because Elwood has coated the accelerator and the floor of the RV with glue.

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]

[[folder:Video Game]]

[[/folder]]

* ''Anime/REDLINE'' features this prominently and often. Some of the most noteworthy include JP feverishly pressing on the gas pedal at the final stretch of Yellow Line, and then [[spoiler:Sonoshee kicking her foot on ''his'' to give them the necessary speed to reach the outer lane in the titular Redline's last run]].