Running on the Spot

In many cartoons, especially ones by Hanna-Barbera, whenever a character starts running, they usually run on the spot for a few seconds before running away. It doesn't matter what they're running from, or why, but they always do this. A Wheel-O-Feet is usually applied to this.

Compare Off Like a Shot.

Video Games

 * The "Super Peel-Out" move of Sonic the Hedgehog in Sonic CD is this, in video game form.
 * Appears in a few cutscenes of Super Mario RPG, such as Mario's first venture into Bowser's Keep.

Western Animation

 * Scooby Doo did this many times, with Shaggy and Scooby being the worst offenders. Often Fred would catch them and pull them back whilst they were running on the spot - but they still did it every time.
 * Robot Chicken deconstructs this in their Scoody Doo meets Jason sketch, where Scooby is found by the killer and does this (the killer catches him and slaughters him)
 * Monterey Jack from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers often runs on the spot at the beginning of a cheese attack. If he doesn't float in the air, that is.
 * Sometimes even then. And it does propel him, yes.
 * In the movie Animalympics, a sight gag compares the hundred-yard dash to drag racing; the racers suit up in auto-racing suits, the "Christmas tree" countdown lights replace the starting pistol and the racers morph into actual Top Fuel cars during the sprint, burning out during the countdown and even using Wheel-O-Feet.
 * Fred Flintstone's car on The Flintstones was powered by this.
 * Parodied in the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic episode "Griffon the Brush-Off". Granny Smith does this when she's spooked by Gilda's prank, only to end up "running" away at a snail's pace.
 * Played straight in "The Ticket Master" with Twilight Sparkle and in "Boast Busters" by Trixie.

Theater

 * In the Commedia Dell'Arte style of Renaissance street theater, the stock character Il Capitano, a boastful coward, traditionally attempted to flee at the first sign of danger by doing a live-action version of this trope.

Real Life

 * Startled animals (cats in particular) on smooth surfaces that they can't dig claws into.