History Main / ShortDistancePhoneCall

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': You can call certain characters while you're right in front of them. Doing so will usually have them comment on it, and show their overworld sprites animating as they talk.
-->'''[[DemBones Papyrus]]:''' THAT'S UNDYNE'S HOUSE. YOU KNOW, THE ONE WITH THE SKELETON IN FRONT.

-->'''Papyrus:''' THAT'S UNDYNE'S HOUSE. YOU KNOW, THE ONE WITH THE SKELETON IN FRONT.

* In ''On the Avenue'' (1937), a Broadway show lampooning the lead has her and her father telephoning each other from opposite ends of an enormous table.

'''Mariah Dillard:''' I wasn't particularly fond of Shades. And the death of Damon Boone, although unnecessary, was appreciated. ''[stands up]'' But you need to know this: I'm out of the political game. I'm focusing on Harlem's Paradise; using it for, uh, a power base for community relations.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. Detective Lance and his daughter Laurel have a mobile BatPhone which they can use to contact the Vigilante, but this sometimes causes problems when one of them calls when Oliver Queen is standing right next to them, and he has to vanish around the corner before answering the call.

* A ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_RGWc4CUPY&feature=relmfu Consumer Cellular]]'' ad played with this trope with the [=McCann=] Twins.

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'': Early in the "threeboot" version, two of the adults discuss the young rebels over teleconference--and are then revealed to be sitting back to back. It's meant to symbolize how isolated from each other the human society has become.

* ''Film/BigDriver'' opens with Tess making a lengthy phone call to her best friend Patsy as she gets ready to go give a speech. Only at the end of the conversation as Tess is outside and unlocking her car do we learn that Patsy lives nextdoor, as she comes up and hands Tess a chapstick (Tess having complained earlier in the conversation that she couldn't find one).

* Dutch cabarettista Javier Guzman invokes this trope when describing the typical behaviour of a city guard. One city guard unsuccesfully tries to communicate with his co-worker through portophone. When the co-worker doesn't respond, the first guard shakes him by the shoulder to get his attention. Turns out he had to press the little button for the portophone to work.

'''Mariah Dillard:''' I wasn't particularly fond of Shades. And the death of Damon Boone, although unnecessary, was appreciated. ''[stands up]'' But you need to know this: I'm out of the political game. I'm focusing on Harlem's Paradise; using it for, uh, a power base for community relations. ''[Diamondback enters the room from behind Mariah, putting his own phone away]''\\
'''Willis "Diamondback" Stryker:''' That's a smart move. But you've made some dumb ones, also. You should never talk about murder on an open line.

* ''Series/TheBoys2019''. In "What I Know", the leader of the Church of the Collective [[spoiler:is shown to be in cahoots with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman when he's on the phone to her. Suddenly his head explodes, and the up-till-now unknown Supe head-exploding assassin is shown to standing just outside the fence of his house. It's Neuman.]]

* An earlier cartoon, "Thugs With Dirty Mugs," has the same split-screen gag. Agent 6-&-7/8 is whispering to the chief of police where he is, then the chief leans over the split and tells the agent to speak louder.?

[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/ArchieComics https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_shortdistcallcrop_9064.png]]]]

* ''Series/ILoveLucy'' likely invented this with how often Lucy and Ethel would do this.

* Used a few times on ''Series/{{Minty}}''.

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' had numerous examples of this, mostly between the bar's main phone line and the pay phone in the hallway.

* ''Film/BigDriver'' opens with Tess making a lengthy phone call to her best friend Patsy as she gets ready to to give a speech. Only at the end of the conversation as Tess is outside and unlocking her car do we learn that Patsy lives next, as she comes up and hands Tess a chapstick (Tess having complained earlier in the conversation that she couldn't find one).

* In ''Film/ShadowMask'', Tien-ming tries calling his friend, Jacky, though the phone, unaware that Jacky is hiding in a set of curtains right behind him.

* In ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'', Mr. Mighty is trying to call one of his teammates. While he's trying to figure out his new smartphone (not being tech-savvy), his teenage daughter sends a text to the SuperSpeed teammate, with the result that by the time Mr. Mighty places the call, [[https://www.smackjeeves.com/discover/detail?titleNo=141697&articleNo=360 his teammate is already there.]]

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': A ClockPunk variant; following the rise of the semaphore network, Vimes laments the sight of people signalling each other from across a room. In ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'' Colon demonstrates the new technology by sending a message to the main Watch tower, which is eventually noticed by two officers on the other side of the street, who amble over to see what he wants.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* This occurs in ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', where two of the Denizens of the ''Axiom'' are videoconferencing in their hoverchairs... Right next to each other. It serves to emphasize how ''everyone'' on the ship is dependent on their gadgets to the point of being unaware of what's going on around them.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}.'' Eddie is going to see his grandmother when Buster calls him on his cell phone. At first it's presented as a SplitScreenPhoneCall, but then Buster compliments Eddie on his shirt, and at that moment the split screen disappears, revealing that Buster is already at the grandmother's front gate.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Though this trope in the world of fiction is played to depict the characters as lazy or frivolous, it's increasingly common TruthInTelevision now that having cell phones are near ubiquitous since it's a quick and easy way to find where your friend or family is. A small while back a short distance call might also have been made to locate your lost cell, though nowadays it's less common as iOS and Android both provide ways for you to make your phone ring without an actual phone call (via Apple's and Google's Find My iPhone/Device, respectively).

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

increasingly , though the . For the non-comedic, creepy variant, see TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse and ICanSeeYou.

Increasingly common TruthInTelevision since the advent of cellphones. For the non-comedic, creepy variant, see TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse and ICanSeeYou.

* Common in office settings, especially of the "cubicle farm" variety. You and a co-worker in a nearby office are on a conference call with someone else farther away, resulting in you and the co-worker hearing each other "in stereo".
* Occasionally happens in crowds (e.g. at the mall) -- one person calls the other on a cell phone to ask where they are and finds that the other person is actually within earshot.
* If you misplace your cell phone, you might invoke this trope and follow the ringing or ringtone. Nowadays though it's [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as iOS and Android both provide ways for you to make your phone ring without using up your minutes (via Apple's and Google's Find My iPhone/Device, respectively).