History Main / DramaticSlip

** Causes the second half of the plot of Discworld/ThiefOfTime. Lobsang and Lu-Tze were running to reach the Glass Clock before it struck and would have made it if not for this trope. The stupidity is later lampshaded:
-->I'm sorry? You were dashing to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]] but you stopped to help some old man? You... ''[[ParentheticalSwearing hero!]]''

* While this tendency is often mocked in Slasher Flicks, this can easily happen as panic can easily keep someone from paying attention to their surroundings or ruining their coordination, causing them to trip over things they otherwise wouldn't trip over if they were a little calmer due to their Flight of Fight response causing tunnel vision in their single minded focus on getting away. Hence why the first piece of advice that is usually said to people is to not panic when they find themselves in a crisis.

* In the ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' episode "A Crying Need," Jeremy clears a log jam with dynamite, but trips as he's running away. He makes it far enough that he only gets a concussion.

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly runs into an old mammoth tusk display, [[DramaPreservingHandicap getting a horrible gash on her right leg in the process]], and crashes to the floor. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the wound. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

** As much as elevator accidents are often significantly more dramatic and deadly ''when they do happen'', mile for mile, you're significantly ''less'' likely [[https://www.livescience.com/17504-fatal-nyc-accident-elevators-safer-stairs.html to get hurt on an elevator than you are on a flight of stairs!]] That's a definite sign of the Dramatic Slip at play.

* An alternate name for this trope, "I've Fallen, And I Can't Get Up" comes from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_fallen,_and_I_can%27t_get_up! this iconic advert]] by American company LifeCall, which produces a keyring-sized device that allows elderly, disabled or vulnerable people to call for help should they become incapacitated in their own home. As of 2020, one of the most common causes of preventable deaths and serious injuries are falls, especially around stairs. Whether you're old or young, it can only take a Dramatic Slip at the wrong time or place to leave you with numerous fractures at the bottom of a flight of stairs, or worse.

* ''Film/TheBlackHole''. When the giant fiery asteroid crashes through the spaceship and starts rolling towards the protagonists as they race to cross a flimsy looking catwalk in front of it, one of them is seen to stumble. It's more effective given that the trope isn't emphasized.

* ''Film/TheBlackHole''. When the giant fiery asteroid crashes through the spaceship and starts rolling towards the protagonists as they race to cross a flimsy looking catwalk in front of it, one of them is seen to stumble.

* Causes the second half of the plot of Discworld/ThiefOfTime. Lobsang and Lu-Tze were running to reach the Glass Clock before it struck and would have made it if not for this trope. The stupidity is later lampshaded:

* In [[TheSmurfs "The Weather Smurf"]] (the second story of the book "The Astrosmurf"), the Smurfs are trying to return to the Smurf Village during a snowstorm. Brainy Smurf falls, and when another Smurf offers to carry him, he tells "no, let me die here". The Smurf takes his word and leaves him, so a scared Brainy gets up again and keeps running.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In the BMovie ''Film/MissileToTheMoon'', an astronaut trips as it's the only way the incredibly slow-moving rock creatures could menace someone.
-->'''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:''' I think you'd have a better chance of being overtaken by an actual rock.
* ''Film/JudgeDredd'': the part where they're running along the flame-spewing shaft, only for one of them to stumble and immediately yell for the other to help him up.
* Occurs in ''Film/JurassicPark'', and then in [[Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark the sequel]] as well, where the guy is subsequently stepped on by a T-Rex.
* Subverted in ''Film/EuroTrip'' - one of them falls, says "[[IWillOnlySlowYouDown Go on without me!]]".... and then, when he realizes nobody's helping him, gets up again and keeps running.
* In ''Film/SurfNinjas'', the evil general ([[WhatTheHellCastingAgency played by Leslie Nielson]]), is knocked down and stepped on by an elephant necessitating cybernetic face and other body parts. However, he has a good three seconds of hammily screaming to the camera during which he easily could have avoided the elephant's foot.
* ''Film/{{Godzilla 1998}}'' has Audrey stumble during the climactic chase scene, and Nick has to climb back down off the fence he was halfway over and go back to help her up. It says quite a bit about the character of Audrey and the film in general that this example doesn't actually stand out too much.

* DramaticSlip: Happens twice to Kubo in ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings''.

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[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly runs into an old mammoth tusk display,[[DramaPreservingHandicap badly cutting her right leg in the process]], and crashes to the floor. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the cut. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

* ''{{Ao Oni}}'': In version 6, after returning to the rope ladder with Takuro, the monster will have suddenly appeared there to cut off any possible escape. While running away, this happens to Takuro, who also happens to have a TwistedAnkle at the time. You can't go back for him.

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly trips over an old mammoth tusk lying on the ground and crashed to the floor, [[DramaPreservingHandicap badly cutting her right leg in the process]]. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the cut. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly trips over an old mammoth tusk lying on the ground and crashed to the floor, [[DramaPreservingHandicapp badly cutting her right leg in the process]]. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the cut. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly [[DramaPreservingHandicap wounds her right leg]] when she tripped over an old mammoth tusk lying on the ground and crashed to the floor. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the cut. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly trips over a mammoth tusk lying on the ground and crashes to the floor, [[DramaPreservingHandicap badly injuring her right leg in the process]]. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the wound. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].

* In the climax of ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Nick and Judy are trying to escape with evidence of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bellwether's]] anti-predator conspiracy]] in the museum. Judy suddenly trips over a mammoth tusk lying on the ground and crashes to the floor, [[DramaPreservingHandicap badly injuring her right leg in the process]]. Nick immediately rushes back, picks her up, and carries her to a temporary hiding place so he can bandage up the wound. Judy [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown then tells him to leave her behind and rush get the case of evidence over to the ZPD]], [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind but he refuses to do so]].