Hey everyone, I’m Andrew,
And I’m wondering what the hell I’m gonna do with my life now that ‘Rick and Morty’ season 3 is over.
[CRYING AND SCREAMING]
I guess I could learn a new language,
Or paint my apartment,
Or teach my mom how to drive.
Better yet, I think I’m gonna check out some of the cool cult classics that the show referenced this year.
‘Rick and Morty’ continues to shout-out a lot of awesome pop-culture that is definitely worth your time.
Haha, not quite! It's basically an endless string of callbacks!
Allright! Save it for YouTube!
So let’s look behind the references, and single out a few that you should check out further in
‘Rick and Morty’ Reference Recommendations Vol. 2
We’ll start with the episode ‘Morty’s Mind Blowers.’
After two “Interdimensional Cable” episodes, the ‘Rick and Morty’ crew realized the premise was getting a little thin.
So for this season’s anthology episode, they chose to explore traumatic memories deleted from Morty’s brain.
Jesus, I made that guy kill himself!
Yay, trauma!
The opening scene is a shout-out to the must-see 1986 classic:
‘Labyrinth.’
Well, it’s technically an homage to M.C. Escher’s ‘Relativity,’ a 1953 lithograph that’s inspired everything from ‘Monument Valley’ to ‘The Simpsons.’
But a desperate chase through the maze of impossible staircases?
That’s straight out of ‘Labyrinth.’
So what’s so special about this movie?
Things are not always what they seem in this place!
I mean, for a film produced by George Lucas, directed by Jim Henson, and starring David F*cking Bowie,
Don't defy me! You're no match for me, Sara.
It was actually a huge box office disappointment.
How's that for brainpower, huh?
‘Labyrinth’ didn’t receive its critical love and cult following until years after its release.
Maybe the world just needed time to come to terms with Bowie’s massive crotch bulge.
It's very big. It should have gotten a credit. Can we say that?
Dance, magic, dance.
He stars as Jareth, king of a mystical realm.
You have 13 hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us forever.
It was Jim Henson’s last film he directed before he died,
And it features some of his most elaborate and expressive creations ever.
‘Labyrinth’ is all about Connelly’s character accepting the responsibilities of adulthood without giving up the magic of youth.
You have no power over me. You have no power over me!
It’s kind of like how Morty is realizing that Rick’s behavior is driving a wedge into his family,
I f*cking knew it, you piece of shit! You're a f*ckin' asshole, Rick!
But he’s still got the thirst for interdimensional adventure.
Allright Morty, f*ck this noise, let's go on a classic Rick and Morty adventure.
Allright, Rick, I'm all in!
So if you like fantasy movies,
Or you just want to see David Bowie juggling crystal balls and singing to puppets,
Power of voodoo. Who do? You do!
Give ‘Labyrinth’ a shot.
So, now we know where the crazy maze room came from,
But what about the creepy goth guy chasing after the Truth Tortoise?
Morty, whatever you do don't drop the Truth Tortoise!
Enter
‘Sandman.’
Before he became a hit novelist with books like ‘Anansi Boys’ and ‘American Gods,’
Neil Gaiman was a humble comic book writer who got his start during the British Invasion of the 1980’s.
And his groundbreaking dark fantasy ‘The Sandman’ changed the game for the entire comics medium.
The pale, shirtless creature with black eyes and big hair is clearly the protagonist Morpheus, A.K.A. Dream.
Though he’s definitely not the kind of evil maniac who would chase an elderly scientist and his grandson.
Dream is one of the Endless, seven vastly powerful beings who represent metaphysical concepts in the universe.
After being locked away for 70 years by an occult ritual,
he escapes and spends the rest of the series trying to fix what went wrong in his absence.
Honestly, that’s just scratching the surface of ‘The Sandman.’
It’s an extremely complex story, which is probably why its live-action adaptation has been stuck in development hell for so long.
‘Sandman’ was one of the first mainstream comics to explore other literary genres and concepts,
And it’s still one of the best.
So if you’re a comics fan who’s getting a little tired of all the big crossover events, #1 relaunches and endless superheroics,
You should check out ‘Sandman.’
Later in the episode, one of Morty’s memories sets up an awesome parody of
‘Contact’
It was originally a novel by Carl Sagan,
He’s the popular scientist behind the original ‘Cosmos’ series and the ‘Pale Blue Dot,’
Every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species,
Live there, on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
He also loved smoking weed,
That was a UFO beaming back at you.
and after Sagan’s death his widow Ann Druyan became president of NORML.
So I’m pretty sure he would have been a ‘Rick and Morty’ fan.
Based on the scientist’s accent in the episode, they’re clearly referencing the movie adaptation starring Jodie Foster.
Primary systems check. Auxiliary systems check.
I'm okay to go. I'm okay to go. Oh God!
She’s a SETI scientist who builds an interstellar vessel based on plans sent by an alien signal, just like in the episode.
The signal turned out to be... instructions for...
Some kind of a transport. Transport?
And while Rick and Morty are just messing with her to escape from the menagerie,
In the movie the alien takes the form of her deceased father to, I guess, make the whole experience a little more pleasant.
‘Contact’ is all about the role of faith in an increasingly scientific world.
It’s a more cerebral look at how humanity would really react to the existence of alien life.
As a person of faith, I'm bound by a different covenant but our goals are the same. I believe her.
Honestly, it’s a lot like ‘Arrival.’
You’re not gonna see any landmarks nuked by a death beam,
Or Will Smith chomping cigars and cracking wise.
That's what I call a close encounter.
It's his victory dance.
I know, I was referencing the song.
Sick-a cigar, right from Cuba-Cuba, bite it, just for the look.
I don't light it.
It’s more low-key than ‘Rick and Morty,’
But the show is a lot smarter than people give it credit for.
And some episodes have an almost ‘Futurama’ level of sci-fi brilliance,
So if you’re at all interested in the science and sociology behind aliens,
‘Contact’ might be right up your alley.
Let’s finish this recommendations video the same way Dev ended the last one:
With an old-fashioned Stephen King shout-out.
Hey... I love that book!
In the episode ‘The Ricklantis Mixup,’
Four little Mortys embark on one last adventure before graduating Morty school.
And the whole gang is a reference to the classic Rob Reiner film
‘Stand By Me.’
Before ‘It,’ and way before ‘Stranger Things,’
Stephen King had already written the definitive tale of childhood friendship in a short novella called ‘The Body.’
It was published as part of his ‘Different Seasons’ collection,
Which also contained the stories that became ‘Apt Pupil’ and ‘The Shawshank Redemption.’
It's one of the first serious movies I ever saw as a kid. It like, changed my life, I was like 'holy shit.'
Morgan Freeman is white in the novel, but it's awesome because in the movie he has the line: Why do they call you Red?
Maybe it's cause I'm Irish.
But other than that, it’s an extremely faithful adaptation, right down to the non-sequitur story of “Lardass Hogan’ puking during a pie-eating contest.
It's f*cking disgusting.
And Lardass just sat back and enjoyed what he created.
Each boy is represented by a Morty.
Glasses Morty is Corey Feldman’s character Teddy.
And Fat… Er, Left-Handed Morty is little Jerry O’Connell.
In the movie, River Phoenix plays Chris, the main character’s best friend.
And he’s got Slick Morty’s penchant for mopey, existential angst.
I'd like to go someplace where nobody knows me.
Slick, why do you have to be so dramatic?
I’m not sure how Wil Wheaton’s character ended up as Lizard Morty, but it works.
I'll be waiting for you on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts.
You use your left hand or your right hand for that?
You should use your left hand to eat more vegatables.
Just like the ‘Stand By Me’ kids found poor Ray Brower’s body,
The four Mortys end up finding their magic wishing portal.
Of course, it winds up being an interdimensional garbage dump,
Stand back.
But it’s the journey, not the destination right?
Come back here! I'll sic my dog on you!
I don't wear this dagnab hat and commit to this rural character so you can eat for free when you come of age!
I’m sure the lessons they learned will last a lifetime.
But given the lifespan of a Morty, I don't know how feasible that is.
So, if you’re all about the potty-mouthed kid camaraderie that’s all the rage these days,
Aren't you guys coming in? Nah, it's greywater.
What the hell's greywater?
It's basically piss and shit!
Get your shit together! Get it all together!
I'm just gonna get some chocolate pudding! I'm telling ya, Lunchlady Phyllis hoards that shit!
But you’d like a take on it without evil clowns and D&D villains running amok,
You should check out ‘Stand By Me.’
As Season 3 of ‘Rick and Morty’ comes to a close,
It feels like a very different show from when it started.
Jesus Christ, therapists man. We should get a drink. Let's drop the kids off and go tie one on.
And the only thing we know for sure about the next season,
Is that it’s gonna take a long-ass time to get here.
So in the meantime, give some of these recommendations a shot.
And if you're already familiar, that’s no reason to stop exploring the depths of cult classics.
After all, the only thing better than having a reference pointed out to you,
Is knowing it in the first place.