History Main / ToTheBatpole

** In the CouchGag for "Today, I Am a Clown", the Simpson family arrives in the living room, where a series of fireman's poles, one for each family member has taken the place of the couch, with their name above. They go down their poles and land on the couch in a superhero lair, all dressed as Batman-style superheroes (Bart is dressed as Robin).

May overlap with RedAlert, especially in the emergency response team/firefighter variant. The process may include a DressOMatic. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] {{Hyperaffixation}} (although examples sometimes overlap).

* WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb's Perry the Platypus has a different entrance to his lair every time. Some of them are really silly.
* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' parodied the old Batman series once with Plucky and Hampton playing the roles of Batman and Robin. Unfortunately, when they went to the Batpoles, they found out too late from the maid (Elmyra) that they were out of order and ending up falling all the way down to the cave.
* Played straight in the ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' cartoon spinoff ''Emergency+4", despite the live-action show normally not having a firepole.
* Every mission for ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBunch'' begins with the team responding to the emergency signal by descending into their base with an elaborate personal tunnel system. Every member has their own individual entrance to the base.
* ''WesternAnimation/InchHighPrivateEye'' features this in the opening sequence, and in some episodes of the show. Lori and Gator would rise from a secret passage to the street in their electric Hushmobile, then they would drive to a certain place where Inch goes down an outdoor gutter pipe and flies out the other end where Gator would catch him with a catcher's mitt[[note]]Due to the way it's drawn, it looks more like a normal baseball glove, but is implied to be a catcher's mitt.[[/note]], then they would drive off to their next case.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderbirdsAreGo'' launch sequences show the final stages of the automated suit-up (gloves, boots, etc.) but skip the part where the actual suit is put on.

* Creator/GoNagai loves this trope:
** ''Anime/MazingerZ'' emerges from a hangar beneath a nearby swimming pool, ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' rises from the ocean in a waterspout, and ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' has its hangar hidden behind a dam. And Duke changes clothes as he is riding to the hangar!
** ''Grendizer'' also features the pilot's chair transferring from flying saucer to the HumongousMecha it transports, with its weirdly arbitrary double half-spin. One episode [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] by having the villains attack during the transfer sequence, recognizing it as a moment of weakness when Grendizer can't fight back.
* The ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'' had a bank of ovens that slid up to reveal three chutes, down which Speedy, Polly, and Guido (Yattaro, Pururun, and Skashee in the original Japanese version) would slide down, changing into their battle armor along the way before being shipped up to the (hilariously badly-concealed) giant cannon in the building that would launch them into battle.
** It's far more hilarious in the aforementioned original version, ''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'', in which the "Nyankee" (as they're called in this version)[[note]]"Pizza Cats" was originally only the name of the restaurant where they work at.[[/note]] were ''[[HighlyVisibleNinja ninja]]'' [[HighlyVisibleNinja being fired out of a badly-concealed giant cannon.]] The FacelessMasses were [[TooDumbToLive none the wiser]].
* The GagDub of ''Anime/MonColleKnights'' used its suit-up chute sequence as a short voiceovered skit.
** Oddly, only the children got the clothes-changing chutes and the trapeze they used to flip into the cockpit. Rokuna's father, the man who built the thing enters the ship by running into the bathroom, slamming into a wall at high speed, and then falling several feet into his chair. He never fixes this.
* ''Anime/MyHime'' seemingly spoofed this, giving the cast one episode where they have a rather {{sentai}}-esque team [[FighterLaunchingSequence launch sequence]]. Later episodes systematically destroyed such themes (although the [[GrandFinale finale]] returned to it).
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' ritualizes almost to the point of fetish the StockFootage of Utena entering the Secret Forest and making her way up to the dueling platform, with her school uniform (usually) transforming along the way.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub''. A powerful motor rumbles and Renge rises up out of the ground on a slowly rotating platform, affecting a NoblewomansLaugh. It was weird enough when it happened in Music Room 3, but she apparently has similar rigs set up all over Japan.
** Considering how ridiculous that school building is in the first place, it's not actually all that weird.
* Quite late on in the ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' manga, when Watanabe, Sumiyoshi, Matsuya, and Iwata first change into their costumes, they find out about by being dropped through the floor. Later, when Sumiyoshi comes in late for a meeting, he finds the others have already been dropped, and has to lower himself down his own chute, noting "Ah'm gonna break me neck doing this..."

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' has one so drawn-out and completely over the top one wonders if it's meant to be a parody.

* Averted in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. The Nite Owl's nest is through an ordinary locked door in his kitchen and down a short flight of stairs.

* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin once tried to convince his mother to set out his clothes for the day and breakfast on the stairs so that he could be ready for school simply by falling down the stairs. He failed.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Mr. Incredible's car has a gizmo that "scans" him into his costume. He presses the button; the driver's seat lays him flat on his back; and a machine drops down and ''wsshht!'' puts on his costume over whatever he's wearing. Another two machines covers his hands and pops his gloves on immediately thereafter. (Never mind that Mr. Incredible fighting crime in a tux would have looked ten times more awesome...)
** After the intro, once superheroes are put into forced retirement, he has to make do with a "man cave" accessed by a simple door. His costume is kept in a display and there doesn't seem to be any "scanner" (he isn't supposed to be wearing it anyway).
* Demolished in the Creator/{{Disney}} movie ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': the antagonists have a clothes-changing rollercoaster (in pre-Spanish South America; go with it) behind one of two switches. Not even its owner seems to remember which switch sends the puller into the [[SharkPool moat]]. ([[InventionalWisdom "Why do we even have that lever?"]]) When the good guys ride it later on, they finish dressed in the definitely non-fitting outfits of the bad guys.
** This was then used as a running gag in [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool the series]]. "Pull the lever, Kronk!"
* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1''. To go into his underground base, Gru gets shifted across the room in a chair, eaten by a cannon which flips around on struts (and apparently dresses him in a suit as well). Then half the floor lifts and the cannon is put on a platform that descends into the ground.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In the 2008 movie adaptation of ''Film/IronMan1'', Tony Stark suited up in his CoolGarage with the assistance of mechanized arms reminiscent of a car factory to put on each piece. Subverted later on, when the same mechanical arms find it extremely difficult to remove the now-battle-scarred and heavily damaged armor. Tony has it perfected by ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' with a device on the roof of Stark Tower that easily takes his suit off while he calmly strolls across it.

* Many superhero tropes are loving reproduced in ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', including twin bat poles for the husband-and-wife superheroes Commander and Jetstream behind a secret panel in the den. When Commander takes his son into the secret lair for the first time, he has him use his mother's pole.
* The scene in ''Film/BridgetJonesDiary'' where Bridget is suckered into going down a fireman's pole whilst wearing a skirt. And being filmed from underneath.

* Similarly to the PuppetShows examples below, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's live-action British series ''Series/UFO1970'' used chutes for pilots launching from both the moon base and the [=SkyDiver=] submarine. SHADO's headquarters (hidden under a film studio) is accessed by Straker's entire office which serves as an elevator. As Anderson himself pointed out on the DVDCommentary, hopefully no one peeks into the boss' window and wonders why it's sinking into the ground.

* The opening sequence of ''Series/GetSmart'' had Max enter CONTROL's underground headquarters through a series of heavy doors that open and close in sequence, then get to a phone booth, dial a number, and drop down to the next level. The film does this as well, showing the entrance to be through Smithsonian Castle.
* ''Series/TheGoodies'' had their Quick-Change Cabinet, which they would walk through before setting out on the episode's mission, emerging immediately in an appropriate costume (beefeaters, giant mice, etc.)
* Sort-of averted and used in the '60s TV adaptation of ''Series/TheGreenHornet''. Apparently, the Green Hornet and Kato change into their [[CoatHatMask "costumes"]] in Britt Reid's townhouse, but after putting on their costumes, they go into Reid's garage. There, Kato actuates a mechanism, and extensions come out of the bumpers of Reid's day-to-day car while clamps rise from the floor and attach to the extensions. Once Reid's day-to-day car is securely clamped to the floor, the ''entire floor'' under the car flips over longitudinally, and we see the Hornet's [[CoolCar sleek and powerful Black Beauty]] firmly clamped to the other side of the floor. Kato activates another mechanism, the clamps release from the Black Beauty, and the car doors open. The Hornet and Kato then get in the car, perform their "pre-flight checks", and drive off. See the entire sequence [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2RDh0EqRH8 here.]]
* Averted in the Australian TV series ''Fire'', where the firemen can't use the pole because it violates Occupational Health and Safety regulations (i.e., too many people have been injured using it).
* Usually averted in ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' with LACFD Station 51 being a one-storey building, but occasionally the paramedics pull duty in older multi-floor stations with firepoles.
** Lampshaded in the pilot: Johnny Gage, newly assigned to Station 51, complained to Roy that a fire station just doesn't feel right without a firepole.
** Discussed in the episode "The Screenwriter": while the titular screenwriter was being shown around Station 51, he made a note on his tape recorder to find another station to use as the base for his movie, precisely because Station 51 is a one-story structure with no firepole.
* The firefighters of Battalion 24 on ''Series/ThirdWatch'' regularly used a pole to go from their ready room to their trucks and equipment. Unusually, the show actually depicted some of the minutiae of using the pole, with it being kept behind a small gate with the hole being covered by a hatch that opens automatically when the gate is opened. Also, the dangers of the pole are shown when Paramedic Carlos Nieto decides to give it a try without ever having learned how to use it and plummets down to the ground (paramedics normally take the stairs).
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. The ''Scorpio'' launch sequence in Season D. The spacecraft is lifted out of the ElaborateUndergroundBase on a giant elevator, launches from a letterbox-shaped entrance set in a cliff, flies through a narrow canyon, and up into outer space. Reverse for landing.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* The television shows of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's production company, which at first were {{UsefulNotes/Supermarionation}} PuppetShows but later included live-action ones, were the main source concerning entrance into a vehicle. The same StockFootage was used episode after episode. This meant that the characters always had to start in the same clothes. It also saved any puppet characters from having to walk on-camera, which was never very convincing.
** This trope began in the Sixties with ''Series/{{Stingray 1964}}'', a submarine whose crew entered by their base control-room chairs descending down a pole into the open top of the submarine.
*** Before that, there was ''Supercar'' and ''Series/FireballXL5'', neither of which really invoked this trope -- unless you count [=XL5's=] crew using hoverbikes to board the ship on its launch pad -- but used long-ish launch sequences involving the craft rather than the characters.
** The same trope was reused in reverse for ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'', whose fighter pilots' chairs rose through the deck of a flying aircraft carrier to enter their planes.
** The Andersons' top example was the famous "rotating walls and furniture" that took the Tracys from the house to the hangars in ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}''. It was this show from which the StockFootage in Japanese SuperRobot anime was derived. This was retained for the live-action ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'' film, which also featured them changing into uniform as they flew down the chutes.
** It should be noted that the full, lengthy launch sequences were normally only seen in the initial episode of each Anderson series (or the first time the craft in question appeared, in the case of ''Thunderbirds''); thereafter, the launches were cut short -- ''Stingray'' would be shown exiting the Ocean Door, for instance, without any of the preceding shots. ''Thunderbirds'' is something of an exception to this in the early episodes, the launches being used as some of the padding needed in a hurry after Lew Grade's ExecutiveMeddling stretched the episodes to an hour long from the original half-an-hour even though several had been filmed.

[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' shows Tychus Findlay's [[SpaceMarine marine]] armor being built onto him, complete with welding the seams, in the opening cinematic. How the other characters, who are not sealed in, get into their suits is not shown. One might imagine it's similar.
** Findlay's situation was par for the course for (at least) earlier generations of Marines. The Terran forces tended to use convicts as cannon fodder so removing the armor [[RedShirt wouldn't be a concern]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' uses some kind of magnetic Batpole that Bruce can slide down using one hand and foot without going splat. Oh, and it also goes ''up''.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' made active use of this. Dexter sometimes even dried and dressed after coming out of the shower butt naked using batpoles, with one particular occasion where he stated that he [[ParentalBonus "hates this part."]]
** Another episode has Dexter trying to get [=DeeDee=] out of his lab once and for all by completely sealing up every possible entrance to his lab there is. They get quite ridiculous.
* Of course ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have done their own spoof. In one episode, while house-sitting for Mr. Burns, Homer comes across a large device designed to dress you in formal wear. He gets in, there's a lot of painful sounds and he comes out with all the formal clothes ripped, battered, or misplaced. "Now I'm ready to hit the town."
** And in "Last Exit to Springfield," Burns and Smithers go through a ludicrously elaborate sequence to get to the master control room for the power plant... which is also accessible by a broken screen door through which a dog has wandered in. "Oh, for god's sake!"
** In the CouchGag for "Today, I Am a Clown", the Simpson family arrives in the living room, where a series of fireman's poles, one for each family member has taken the place of the couch, with their name above. They go down their poles and land on the couch in a superhero lair, all dressed as Batman-style superheroes (Bart is dressed as Robin).

* In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', reaching the HackerCave where the virtual action starts involves skateboarding (riding a scooter in Jeremy's case and going on foot in William's case) through a [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer sewer]], rappelling down ropes in an abandoned factory, taking an elevator locked by impressive blast doors... and finally being dematerialized in [[AppliedPhlebotinum high-tech scanners]] with the obligatory {{Invocation}}. It certainly fits.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' parodies this a couple times:
** In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E3JellyfishingPlankton "Jellyfishing"]], [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick leap into action by sliding down a pair of ropes leading to a room where they store their jellyfishing gear. This being a rope rather than a metal pole, the pair [[FrictionBurn burn their hands on the way down]] and pause to writhe in pain.
** In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E11MermaidManAndBarnacleBoySquirrelJokes "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III"]], [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick (who have been zapped to piles of dust by Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's nemesis Man Ray) slide down the pole to the Invisible Boatmobile. On the way (after being obscured by a bar for a brief moment) they get their bodies back and are also wearing superhero outfits.

* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'''s couch doubled as an express elevator down to his car. Despite taking the ride nearly every episode, Penfold never got used to it.
* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Ralph Wolf]] had an Acme-engineered device that propelled him out of bed, through a shower, feeding him breakfast, and out the door, to clock into work just ahead of Sam Sheepdog.

** In the CouchGag for "Today, I Am a Clown", the Simpson family arrives in the living room, where a series of fireman's poles (one for each family member) has taken the place of the couch, with their name above. They go down their poles and land on the couch in a superhero lair, all dressed as Batman-style superheroes (Bart is dressed as Robin).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Mr. Incredible's car has a gizmo that "scans" him into his costume. He presses the button; the driver's seat lays him flat on his back; and a machine drops down and ''wsshht!'' puts on his costume over whatever he's wearing. Another two machines covers his hands and pops his gloves on immediately thereafter. (Never mind that Mr. Incredible fighting crime in a tux would have looked ten times more awesome...)

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. To go into his underground base, Gru gets shifted across the room in a chair, eaten by a cannon which flips around on struts (and apparently dresses him in a suit as well). Then half the floor lifts and the cannon is put on a platform that descends into the ground.

-->'''Batman:''' Quick, [[IncrediblyLamePun Bay Window]] -- to the Batpoles!\\

** Oddly, only the children got the clothes changing chutes and the trapeze they used to flip into the cockpit. Rokuna's father, the man who built the thing enters the ship by running into the bathroom, slamming into a wall at high speed, and then falling several feet into his chair. He never fixes this.

* Quite late on in the ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' manga, when Watanabe, Sumiyoshi, Matsuya and Iwata first change into their costumes, they find out about by being dropped through the floor. Later, when Sumiyoshi comes in late for a meeting, he finds the others have already been dropped, and has to lower himself down his own chute, noting "Ah'm gonna break me neck doing this..."

** The current comic variant is a return to the 70s, namely a Batcave located underneath Wayne Enterprises. No indication yet how it's accessed.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome in ''Attack of the 50-Ft. Half-Klingon'' when [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Tom Paris]] dives into a vacutube and flies out the other end in a blast of compressed air, dust and household vermin.

** After the intro, once superheros are put into forced retirement, he has to make do with a "man cave" accessed by a simple door. His costume is kept in a display and there doesn't seem to be any "scanner" (he isn't supposed to be wearing it anyway).

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. To go into his underground base, Gru gets shifted across the room in a chair, eaten by a cannon which flips around on struts (and apparently dresses him in a suit as well). Then half the floor lifts and the cannon is put on a platform which descends into the ground.

* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': The Ghostbusters' headquarters is an old firehouse, complete with a fire-pole that takes them straight to the lockers where they keep their outfits and equipment. It's not a secret, but it's dramatic and one of the main reasons Ray (who mortgaged his family property for their startup fund) wanted to buy the place.

* Back in the day in ''Literature/PerryRhodan'', "Emperor" Anson Argyris of the planet Olymp ([[spoiler:really the apparently only Vario-500 robot ever built in his favorite biological disguise]]) had one of the more elaborate examples of the ElaborateUndergroundBase trope in the form of a planet-spanning underground ''network'' of bases and supply depots, all connected by various forms of high-speed transportation and guarded by secrecy and potentially quite deadly traps. What counts as ''this'' trope in particular are the stock scenes depicting him using that network's [[{{Teleportation}} matter transmitters]], high-speed transport capsules and whatnot to get where he needed to be quickly and undetected -- most commonly to the special room holding his various [[spoiler:other]] masks whenever he needed one for a mission.

* Similarly to the PuppetShows examples below, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's live-action British series ''Series/UFO1970'' used chutes for pilots launching from both the moon base and the [=SkyDiver=] submarine. SHADO's headquarters (hidden under a film studio) is accessed by Straker's entire office which serves as an elevator. As Anderson himself pointed out on the DVDCommentary, hopefully no-one peeks into the boss' window and wonders why it's sinking into the ground.

** ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' has a row of Jump Tubes that the Rangers slide down, suiting them and either teleporting them to the battlefield or putting them on their hover boards.

* Sort-of averted and used in the '60s TV adaptation of ''Series/TheGreenHornet''. Apparently, the Green Hornet and Kato change into their [[CoatHatMask "costumes"]] in Britt Reid's townhouse, but after putting on their costumes, they go into Reid's garage. There, Kato actuates a mechanism, and extensions come out of the bumpers of Reid's day-to-day car while clamps rise from the floor and attach to the extensions. Once Reid's day-to-day car is securely clamped to the floor, the ''entire floor'' under the car flips over longitudinally, and we see the Hornet's [[CoolCar sleek and powerful Black Beauty]] firmly clamped to the other side of the floor. Kato activates another mechanism, the clamps release from the Black Beauty, and the doors of the car open. The Hornet and Kato then get in the car, perform their "pre-flight checks", and drive off. See the entire sequence [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2RDh0EqRH8 here.]]

* Usually averted in ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' with LACFD Station 51 being a one storey building, but occasionally the paramedics pull duty in older multi-floor stations which have firepoles.

* The firefighters of Battalion 24 on ''Series/ThirdWatch'' regularly used a pole to go from their ready room to their trucks and equipment. Unusually, the show actually depicted some of the minutiae of using the pole, with it being kept behind a small gate with the hole being covered by a hatch that opens automatically when the gate it opened. Also, the dangers of the pole are shown when Paramedic Carlos Nieto decides to give it a try without ever having learned how to use it and plummets down to the ground (paramedics normally take the stairs).
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. The ''Scorpio'' launch sequence in Season D. The spacecraft is lifted out of the ElaborateUndergroundBase on a giant elevator, launches from a letterbox-shaped entrance set in a cliff, flies through a narrow canyon and up into outer space. Reverse for landing.

** ''Anime/SakuraWarsTheMovie'' shows the members of the Hanagumi flinging themselves into individual chutes that not only deposit them in front of their mechs, but also change them into their duty uniforms. Just for added style points, the chutes are hidden behind formal portraits of the pilots.

* This is parodied in ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'' when a superhero hears a woman being mugged cry for help, he runs to a phone booth, which drops him into a cave, he then gets into his car, drives three feet, then jumps out in order to fly to the crime. In the time it took him to do this the woman was raped and murdered.

'''Archer''': For basically putting a pole where the garbage chute already is already is. But the co-op board was all like, "where are we going to throw the garbage?"\\

'''Archer''': If you're coming in hot it's a win win...\\

* Of course ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have done their own spoof. In one episode, while house sitting for Mr. Burns, Homer comes across a large device designed to dress you in formal wear. He gets in, there's a lot of painful sounds and he comes out with all the formal clothes ripped, battered or misplaced. "Now I'm ready to hit the town."

** In [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS1E3JellyfishingPlankton "Jellyfishing"]], [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick leap into action by sliding down a pair of ropes leading to a room where they store their jellyfishing gear. This being a rope rather then a metal pole, the pair [[FrictionBurn burn their hands on the way down]] and pause to writhe in pain.

* Every mission for ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBunch'' begins with the team responding to the emergency signal by descending into their base by an elaborate personal tunnel system. Every member has their own individual entrance to the base.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderbirdsAreGo'' launch sequences show the final stages of the automated suit-up (gloves, boots etc.) but skip the part where the actual suit is put on.

* Fire houses have a fire pole so that the fire fighters can leap into action whenever there's an emergency. (Note, however, that full-time fire fighters are never completely out of uniform while at work, so that they can just throw on whatever equipment they need before zipping down the pole. No Rube Goldberg-esque technology at work here.) The fire pole is iconic of the firefighting profession, and [[TropeMaker the inspiration for this trope.]]
** However, some jurisdictions have made a point of phasing firepoles out wherever practical; they're a lot safer than trying to jog down a flight of stairs, but there's still a pretty good chance of someone losing their grip and spraining an ankle. Most new fire stations [[BoringButPractical place the crew ready-room on the ground floor]]; this was the case with Station 51 in ''Series/{{Emergency}}'', in that when the crew of 51 is called to action (whether it be the Squad for minor calls, or the Station for majors), the crew can go right to the Squad (and the fire engine if necessary) without having to descend a fire pole.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' in which [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick (who have been zapped to piles of dust by Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's nemesis Man Ray) slide down the pole to the invisible car. On the way (after being obscured by a bar for a brief moment) they get their bodies back and are also wearing superhero outfits.
** Also parodied in an earlier episode, in which they burn their hands on the way down.
** And remember, [[WaterIsAir this all happens underwater]].

** Also parodied in [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie the 2004 movie]], in which they burn their hands on the way down.

** Also parodied in an earlier episode, in which they burn their hands on the way down.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** In ''WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'', Wallace has a ludicrously complicated set of slides and machines to transport himself from his armchair to his motorbike and get dressed for work. After that, Gromit then simply walks into the garage through a door from the kitchen, rolling his eyes. It doesn't end there - Wallace even uses a mechanical foot to kick-start the motorbike.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

** In ''Film/BatmanForever'', there's an electromagnetic capsule that travels at hundreds of miles per hour down a tube leading to the Batcave from Bruce's office at Wayne Enterprises. The entrance to the staircase is also finally revealed - [[spoiler:a rotating shelf inside the locked silver closet.]] [[OffScreenTeleportation Alfred still seems to arrive either before or at exactly the same time as Bruce,]] despite being in his 70s and Bruce having ridden a bullet tube down, and didn't even stop to get changed or anything.

* The live-action ''Film/{{Casper}}'' film has a variation of the Batpole. Casper's father (when he was still alive) equipped an armchair to take him down to his secret lair, along the way shaving him and brushing his teeth - he wasn't much of a morning person. Cat suggested that coffee would have been a simpler alternative.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': The Ghostbusters have a fireman's pole in their headquarters that takes them straight to the lockers where they keep their outfits and equipment. It's not a secret, but it's dramatic and one of the main reasons Ray (who mortgaged his family property for their startup fund) wanted to buy the place.

The heroes can't just walk through a door and leap into action -- they have to use a secret and special route to reach their ElaborateUndergroundBase or CoolGarage. Extra points if the route somehow engages a TransformationSequence (TechnologyPorn optional), or at least changes their clothes for no apparent reason.

May overlap with RedAlert, especially in the emergency response team/firefighter variant. The process may include a DressOMatic. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] ToTheBatnoun or {{Hyperaffixation}} (although examples sometimes overlap).

** However, some jurisdictions have made a point of phasing firepoles out wherever practical; they're a lot safer than trying to jog down a flight of stairs, but there's still a pretty good chance of someone losing their grip and spraining an ankle. Most new fire stations [[BoringButPractical place the crew ready-room on the ground floor]]; this was the case with Station 51 in ''Series/Emergency'', in that when the crew of 51 is called to action (whether it be the Squad for minor calls, or the Station for majors), the crew can go right to the Squad (and the fire engine if necessary) without having to descend a fire pole.

* The ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' have a fireman's pole in their headquarters that takes them straight to the lockers where they keep their outfits and equipment. It's not a secret, but it's dramatic and one of the main reasons Ray (who mortgaged his family property for their startup fund) wanted to buy the place.
-->'''[[ManChild Ray]]:''' You gotta try this pole!

* Similarly to the PuppetShows examples below, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's live-action 1970 British series ''Series/{{UFO}}'' used chutes for pilots launching from both the moon base and the [=SkyDiver=] submarine. SHADO's headquarters (hidden under a film studio) is accessed by Straker's entire office which serves as an elevator. As Anderson himself pointed out on the DVDCommentary, hopefully no-one peeks into the boss' window and wonders why it's sinking into the ground.

* Sort-of averted and used in the 60s TV adaptation of ''Series/TheGreenHornet''. Apparently The Green Hornet and Kato changed into their [[CoatHatMask "costumes"]] in Britt Reid's townhouse, but after putting on their costumes they'd go into Reid's garage. There, Kato would actuate a mechanism, and extensions would come out of the bumpers of Reid's day-to-day car while clamps rose from the floor and attached to the extensions. Once Reid's day-to-day car was securely clamped to the floor, the ''entire floor'' under the car would flip over longitudinally, and we would see the Hornet's [[CoolCar sleek and powerful Black Beauty]] firmly clamped to the other side of the floor. Kato would activate another mechanism, the clamps would release from the Black Beauty and the doors of the car would open. The Hornet and Kato could then get in the car, perform their "pre-flight checks", and then drive off.
** See the entire sequence [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2RDh0EqRH8 here.]]
* Averted in the Australian TV series ''Fire'', where the firemen can't use the pole because it violates Occupational Health and Safety regulations (i.e. too many people have been injured using it).

** However, some jurisdictions have made a point of phasing firepoles out wherever practical; they're a lot safer than trying to jog down a flight of stairs, but there's still a pretty good chance of someone losing their grip and spraining an ankle. Most new fire stations [[BoringButPractical place the crew ready-room on the ground floor]].

May overlap with RedAlert, especially in the emergency response team/firefighter variant. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] ToTheBatnoun or {{Hyperaffixation}} (although examples sometimes overlap).

* From the ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' episode ''[[Recap/ArcherS3E4TheManFromJupiter The Man From Jupiter]]''

*** We've also got the wall panels in the base that turn around a la the old revolving bookshelf trick. They grab their brooms from the wall, rotate, and are then seen leaving the base morphed and on their Mystic Racers (FlyingBroomstick meets ''StarWars'' hoverbike.)