History Main / InstantWristwatch

** In "Airport", Fat Doc looks at his watch along with Slim Doc while both are on the airplane. The watch appears out of nowhere since Fat Doc typically has nothing around his arms.
** In "Lamput & the Elephant", while the docs are waiting for Lamput to fall into their pitfall, a watch once again spontaneously appears on Fat Doc's arm so he can check the time.

* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': In "Royal Flush", Lammy gets an instant watch when she starts wondering why Flaky is taking so long in the bathroom.

* ''WebAnimation/SpookyMonth'': Right before Skid and Pump enter the Candy Club, Kevin checks the time on his watch. The watch disappears after he puts his arm down, and it's the only time in the series that he's drawn with one.

* [[https://garfield.com/comic/2018/02/10 Happens to]] ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}, [[LampshadeHanging who lampshades it.]]
* Happens to WesternAnimation/{{Marsupilami}} on the October 1994 Magazine/DisneyAdventures Magazine while drying his tail in the dryer.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* On an episode of the ''Series/Batman1966'' TV series, it is revealed that Robin wears a wristwatch under his glove.

[[folder:Radio]]
* Given the usual absurd turn in ''Radio/TheGoonShow'':
-->'''Seagoon:''' Right - run my bath.\\
'''Moriarty:''' Don't be a fool - this is no time to take a bath, it's getting late.\\
'''Seagoon:''' Nonsense - plenty of time - according to the hairs on my wrist it's only half past ten.\\
'''Grytpype:''' ''(disbelief)'' The hairs on your wrist say half past ten?\\
'''Seagoon:''' Yes.\\
'''Grytpype:''' You must be mad.\\
'''Seagoon:''' Why?\\
'''Grytpype:''' The hairs on my wrist say eleven-thirty.\\
'''Moriarty:''' I can vouchsafe for that, he set them right by the hairs on Big Ben this morning!

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Part of Franchise/MickeyMouse's IdleAnimation in ''VideoGame/MickeyMania''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Parodied in ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog''.
-->'''Billy:''' Look at my wrist! I have to go!
[[/folder]]

* WesternAnimation/{{Marsupilami}} sports a watch in the ''WesternAnimation/RawToonage'' short, "Jungle Fever", when he is checking Maurice's blood pressure.

** Happens often enough with [=SpongeBob=] himself, as is commented on by Creator/DougWalker in his review of "I Was A Teenage Gary" ("If you ever see a cartoon character with a watch, you can bet they're gonna look at it!").
** Pictured above, this is also done by a Plankton-possessed Barnacle Boy in "Mermaid Man vs. [=SpongeBob=]" while waiting for the "wholesome flavor" of a Krabby Patty to snap him out of it.
* ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' briefly wears one in the third act of the episode "[[Recap/MrBogusS2E7BogusPrivateEye Bogus Private Eye]]" when checking what time it is while waiting for the thief to come back.
* WesternAnimation/BugsBunny will actually [[FurIsClothing pull back the fur on his forearm]] like a sleeve to display the watch on his naked skin.

** Rainbow Dash also does this in "Too Many Pinkie Pies". When all of the Pinkies are challenged to seeing who can watch paint dry the longest without moving or talking, it turns out to drag on a bit longer than expected, and during one of the time skips, Rainbow looks at an actual wrist(?) watch she never had up until that point and is never seen again from then on.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'':
** In "D.W.'s Name Game", Walter does this in a FantasySequence when D.W. sobs and blows her nose for an extended period of time, then gives the audience an AsideGlance. Walter is a ''deer'', and not a deer-person like the other anthropomorphic animals on the show, though in D.W.'s fantasy, he can talk.
** Arthur wears a watch in "The Perfect Brother" and "I'm a Poet" as well. And D.W. wears a watch once in "My Fair Tommy".
* Rocko the wallaby does it at least 5 times in ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'':
** During the claw game in Carnival Knowledge episode, The claw grabs Rocko's watch and Heffer the Cow remarks "It's got your watch!"
** In "Rocko's Happy Sack", Rocko only has 15 minutes to get grocery before the deadline.
** In Popcorn Podium, He does not have time to get to the movies.
** In "Commuted Sentence", Rocko goes into the traffic jam and has 20 minutes until 9 to get to his job.
** In the Christmas special "Rocko's Modern Christmas", He checks his watch for time before Christmas Eve.
* Heathcliff does so in the ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats'' episode: ''Heathcliff Pumps Iron''.
* Mojo Jojo from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' does so in the episode "The Powerpuff Girls Rule". When waiting for the bus at the end of his cover of ''Everybody Wants To Rule The World''.
* Sonic has done it several times in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'', and ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground''. In the same vein, Sally in ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' wears a ring with a royal signet that only appeared when the plot called for it.
* Timon from ''[[WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa]]'' did several times (Such as in ''Back out in the Outback'').
* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'':
** Wander did it in "The Little Guy" and "The Tourist".
** Sylvia did it in "The Stranded".
** Even Lord Hater does in "The Good Deed".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': All four main characters suddenly get wristwatches in "Let's Play Spies" and in Episode 105.

* This trope shows up in ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', specifically the episodes "Picture Perfect!" and "Join the Club!".
* WesternAnimation/EekTheCat does so in ''Lord of the Fleas''.
* ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'':
** Cow does this in the episode "Duck, Duck, Chicken".
** The Red Guy also did this once; more specifically, he pulls back on ''his skin, showing a watch on his bare bone.''
* In the ''Series/SesameStreet'' animated insert called ''Colonel Travel - U.K.'', Colonel Travel checks the time on his wristwatch and remarks "Goodness, Look at the time! It's four o'clock!"

* Rocko the wallaby does it at least 5 times in ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' :

* Heathcliff does so in the WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats episode: ''Heathcliff Pumps Iron''.

* Cow from WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken did it in ''Duck, Duck, Chicken''.

** In "Party of One", Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy need to make a hasty exit, so Rainbow says something along the lines of, "Oh, just look at the time!" and draws a wristwatch on her front leg with a marker.

* Subverted on ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'': While Raj and Clam are waiting for Lazlo to resurface from snorkeling, Clam looks at his wrist, which has nothing on it, and remarks "Don't have watch".

* Mojo Jojo from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' does so in the episode "The Powerpuff Girls Rule". When waiting for the bus at the end of his cover of ''Everybody Wants To Rule The World''.

* As seen on the trope image, WesternAnimation/{{Marsupilami}} sports a watch in the ''WesternAnimation/RawToonage'' short, "Jungle Fever", when he is checking Maurice's blood pressure.

** Also done by a Plankton-possessed Barnacle Boy in "Mermaid Man vs. [=SpongeBob=]" while waiting for the "wholesome flavor" of a Krabby Patty to snap him out of it.

[[quoteright:341:[[WesternAnimation/{{Marsupilami}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/instantwristwatch.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:341:What's the time? ''Time to get a new watch.'']]

* [[https://outducks.org/webusers/webusers_olduploads0/us_da_4_13p089_001.jpg_deleted_RobPwV.jpg Happens to]] WesternAnimation/{{Marsupilami}} on the October 1994 Magazine/DisneyAdventures Magazine while drying his tail in the dryer.

* Sonic has done it several times in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'', and ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground''.

** Also done by a Plankton-possessed Barnacle Boy in "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob" while waiting for the "wholesome flavor" of a Krabby Patty to snap him out of it.

* Patrick does this twice in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''
** Wander did it in ''The Little Guy'', and ''The Tourist''.
** Sylvia did it in ''The Stranded''.
** Even Lord Hater does in ''The Good Deed''.

* In the [[Series/SesameStreet Sesame Street animated insert]] called ''Colonel Travel - U.K.'', Colonel Travel checks the time on his wristwatch and remarks "Goodness, Look at the time! It's four o'clock!"

** Happens often enough with SpongeBob himself, as is commented on by Creator/DougWalker in his review of "I Was A Teenage Gary" ("If you ever see a cartoon character with a watch, you can bet they're gonna look at it!").

* Literature/HarryPotter somehow got his hands on a wristwatch after he left the Dursleys. It is ruined in the Triwizard Tournament and the Weasleys give him a pocket watch that used to belong to Molly's brother for Harry's 17th birthday.

** In "The Parent Map", Sunburst randomly doodles a wristwatch on his foreleg to get out of an awkward conversation with his mother.

* It happened in ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'' in the episode, Pictured Perfect.