One thing we've learnt from cartoons is that they loveeee referencing Nintendo games!
From the Powerpuff girls to Steven Universe and
the Simpsons - you may have missed out on your
favorite cartoons dropping subtle hints towards the Nintendo gaming universe!
With that in mind, let’s take a look at 20 Nintendo references in cartoons.
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Gravity Falls: Mabel’s grappling hook.
Based on his tweets and social media posts, it’s quite obvious that ‘Gravity Falls’
creator Alex Hirsch is a die-hard Nintendo fan, which is
why we can spot a reference right in the first episode
of the animated series.
In the episode named “Tourist Trapped” Mabel chooses the
previously-hidden grappling hook as her gift from the Mystery Shack gift shop.
If you notice the pose in which she shows off the hook, you’d
see how similar it is to the one seen in ‘The Legend
of Zelda: The Wind Waker.’
Doug: the ‘Super Pretendo’ video game.
Nickelodeon's Doug is another animated TV series that included a NES game reference
which isn’t too subtle for Nintendo fans.
In season two’s thirteenth episode titled “Doug’s Lost
Weekend”, Doug wins a video game due to the fact that he was the ten-thousandth customer
at Computer Junkie.
But once he starts playing it, video game addiction begins to kick in, so much
so that he can’t even think about his homework.
Doug’s video game was named ‘Super Pretendo’ which closely rhymes with ‘Nintendo’.
The Powerpuff Girls: the Mayor’s video game.
The Powerpuff Girls also makes a Nintendo reference in season three’s second episode
titled “Child Fearing.”
When the Professor is extremely late for the Meeting of the Minds, he finds
himself in quite a hurry, which is why he puts deodorant in his hair and hairspray under
his arms by mistake.
He even forgets to hire a babysitter for the girls, so he calls the Mayor for help
among other people.
But the Mayor is busy playing a video game in which he loses five lives.
In case you didn’t notice, this game was a
parody of ‘The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.’
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: kid resembling Lucas.
Similar to The Powerpuff Girls, other shows created by animator Craig McCracken have madereferences
to the NES universe, especially the cartoon Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
In its season four episode “Neighbor Pains”,
a blonde kid wearing a striped shirt and blue shorts
looks exactly like Lucas, the main protagonist from ‘Mother 3.’
Steven Universe: games in Steven’s library.
Perhaps no other animated show expresses its love for Nintendo the way ‘Steven Universe’
does.
Throughout the series, viewers can easily spot several Nintendo games in Steven’s
library, such as the popular social simulation game series ‘Animal Crossing’ and ‘The
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,’ to name a few.
The show also features the popular home video game
console from 1996, Nintendo 64.
Regular Show: the ‘Broken Bones’ arcade machine.
Cartoon Network’s Regular Show also successfully made a subtle hint towards the Nintendo
gaming system.
In the season two episode titled “High Score”, Mordecai and Rigby decide to
earn respect by beating the world record on an arcade game called ‘Broken Bonez’,
which is a clever satire of the classic NES game ‘Excite
Bike’.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Pony Link.
‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ successfully makes a quick ‘The Legend of
Zelda’ reference in one of its episodes by including
the blonde ‘Pony Link’.
It’s pretty quick and easy to miss, but you really can’t deny the resemblance…
I mean, look at the hat.
Teen Titans Go!: the Lilap system.
In the ‘Teen Titans Go!’ episode “Legendary sandwich”, Starfire talks about the Lilap
system, one of the three locations to house ingredients
needed to recreate the Legendary Sandwich.
The intergalactic system is also visited by Starfire on her quest to retrieve the Stellar
Tomato.
For many Nintendo fans, it may be obvious that the Lilap system could be a reference
to the ‘Lylat’ system from the action-adventure
video game ‘Star Fox’.
Uncle Grandpa: old Mario games maps.
The writers of Cartoon Network’s animated series ‘Uncle Grandpa’, which aired from
2013 to 2017, were clever enough to slip some references
from Super Mario in an incredibly subtle manner.
In the series’ eleventh episode, the mustachioed magical uncle and grandpa opens up
a few maps, which, on closer inspection, look exactly like the maps from old Mario games.Futurama:
Donkey Kong as a planetary villain.
Emmy Award-winning sitcom Futurama hasn’t shied away from including small but evident
aspects from NES video games.
In one of the show’s episodes featuring Fry’s adventures in the
31st century, the pizza-deliverer questions how different the world would be if it shared
more similarities with a video game.
Seconds later, the professor’s ‘What-if’ machine sets a scene
where a space invader called Ambassador Kong fights Mario after attacking Richard Nixon’s
head using his trademark barrel throwing move.
The planetary villain is based on the Nintendo character, Donkey Kong, and there are many
instances in Futurama where he’s shown in his
more standard Nintendo form.
Adventure Time: Ricardio or Majora?
Ricardio the Heart Guy is a recurrent antagonist on ‘Adventure Time’ and as a villain,
he escapes from Ice King’s body and uses its
internal parts to build a larger body for himself.
If you look closely, Ricardio’s final appearance
resembles Majora from the Nintendo console game
‘The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.’
Muppet Babies: Super Mario weirdo.
CBS’s Muppet Babies may be an old sitcom from the ‘80s and ‘90s, but it’s definitely
worth mentioning when it comes to NES references.
In one of the show’s earlier episodes, The Great
Gonzo calls himself ‘Super Mario weirdo’ and even looks like Mario from the ever-famous
platform game series, ‘Super Mario’.
Muppet Babies: the crew’s NES games.
Another instance where Muppet Babies made an evident Nintendo reference by showing the
majority of the Muppet crew playing a variety of games from the NES universe.
The Loud House: Lori’s car chase.
The Loud House is one of Nickelodeon’s many cartoons that have made obscure yet noteworthy
Nintendo references.
The episode “Pulp Friction” from season two showcases Lori’s car chase
that’s undeniably similar to what we see in the go-kart racing video game series, Mario
Kart.
Not to mention the boomerang and banana used by
Lynn in the same episode, both of which are objects popularly associated with Mario Kart.
Dexter’s Lab: students playing Mario Kart.Cartoon Network’s animated series “Dexter’s
Laboratory” is a popular classic, but did you know
that the show included a Mario Kart reference in one of its episodes?
The season five episode titled “Copping an Attitude'' features Dexter
excitedly going to college, only to find that the
students there prefer to “party now, study later.”
Their ‘party’ obviously included a ton of video
games, particularly Nintendo’s widely renowned Mario Kart.
The Fairly OddParents: Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary.
The Fairly OddParents season two episode seventeen titled “Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary”
involves a Magic Duel consisting of three different challenges.
While challenges 2 and 3 were also crucial in the episode, our main focus
in challenge 1 in which the godparent had to rescue
their godchild from a giant ape which was an obvious parody of Donkey Kong.
Rick and Morty: Rick’s purchase from Walmart.
In Rick and Morty season two episode four titled “Total Rickall”, Rick can be seen
excitedly telling everyone about his Walmart purchase,
which was none other than a pile of Nintendo 3d
games that he got on an amazing sale.
He also blabbers about a $50 gift card, and the entire
calculation is based around Nintendo games that are widely sold online too.
The Simpsons: Bart watches Digibots.
It was during the golden age of NES, SNES and N64 that a certain four-fingered family
with what seemed like a severe case of jaundice
became insanely popular.
‘The Simpsons’ and Nintendo; a match made in ‘90s kids heaven.
The sitcom has made numerous Nintendo references which are quite commonly pointed
out by fans.
In season 21’s episode “Postcards from the Wedge”, Bart gets distracted while
doing homework and ends up watching a show called ‘Digibots’, which sounds like ‘Digimon’
but looks similar to Pokemon.
We then see both Pikachu and Ash Ketchum on screen, while Bart
ponders to himself, “Wow, how does this show
stay so fresh?”
The Simpsons: Funtendo Zii Zu The Simpsons definitely deserves credit for
following up its Nintendo Wii parody with the
Funtendo Zii Zu.
Sadly, viewers could only get a glimpse of this fun reference at the E4 expo in
season 23’s episode titled “The Food Wife.”
The Simpsons: Nintendo Conscience In another early episode of the Simpsons,
Bart gets caught stealing a videogame from the store.
It’s called Bonestorm…
But before he does, his conscience is represented with some Nintendo
characters…
Including Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong…
Sonic also makes an appearance as well.South Park: Cartman and the Nintendo
wii.
South Park comes quite close to The Simpsons in mocking video game culture and nailing
it almost every single time.
For instance, in the season ten episode twelve titled “Go God Go”,
Cartman finds it undeniably hard to wait for Nintendo’s infamous Wii console.
In fact, he’s so impatient that he makes an attempt to freeze
himself just to avoid waiting for the Wii for three
more weeks.
And that’s a wrap for today!
What other Nintendo easter eggs did we miss in your favorite
cartoons?
Let us know in the comment section below.
And if you love Nintendo, go binge some of our Nintendo Good to Evil episodes over
on 1upBinge.
But most importantly, stay wicked!