Far from trivial: Tomorrow (April 15) marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking in the North Atlantic Ocean of the British passenger linker RMS Titanic, which collided with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of the Titanic, which carried 2,223 people,caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage.
The sinking of the Titanic has long been commemorated in popular culture -- even in cartoons:
Terror On The Titanic (Super Friends; Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1983) A pair of divers discover the sunken Titanic, but a strange mutant algae causes the ship to come to life as a monster and only Aquaman and Black Vulcan stand any chance of stopping it.
Bebe's Kids(Hyperion Pictures, 1992) The voice cast of the animated feature film includes David Robert Cobb as the Titanic Captain.
Titey(Robert Smigel Productions, 1998) A "Disney" animated tale of the Titanic featuring celebrity voices (Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried and Molly Ringwald).
La Leggenda del Titanic (The Legend of the Titanic) (ITB Spain/Hollywood Gang Productions USA, 1999) An 84-minute animated film, this is one helluva loose adaptation of the story. Featuring talking mice, dolphins and sharks... as well as Tentacles the giant octopus, who wraps himself around the ship to keep it together.
Titanic: The Animated Movie(Titanic Cartoons/Mondo TV/Warner Home Video, 2001) One of the worst cartoon travesties of all time has a child-friendly ending in which -- no joke -- everyone is rescued and lives happily ever after! The Titanic hits the iceberg, but only to determine the beginning of a new life full of hope for everybody. "Lovable" characters in "a fun-filled adventure across the sea" include Angelica, a young, beautiful girl who dreams of meeting her Prince Charming; Sir William Greenfield, a rich and handsome yet shy and modest Scottish nobleman; and Corynthia Meanstreak, an able swindler who is aided by her two clumsy nephews Kirk and Dirk. Animals aboard the ship who tell their own stories include Maxie the mouse, Geoffrey the cat, Danny the dalmatian and Hector the magpie and more. This was British actor Edmund Purdom's last screen role (his name's misspelled as Edmond Purdom!); ironically, his first movie appearance was an uncredited role as Second Officer Lightoller in the live-action 1953 movie Titanic. Film end credits run for a whopping 12 minutes. A disaster movie in more ways than one, this is currently rated #1 on the IMDB 100 worst films list.
Kane Titanic(2006) Vancouver artist Neil Wedman's Kane Titanic is a series of storyboard drawings shot in sequence and proposing a montage meshing of two central scenes from two normally unassociated films, James Cameron's Titanic and Citizen Kane by Orson Welles, as a consideration of the direct process of picture making that stands at the core of cinematic endeavor.
(This post was edited by eminovitz on Apr 14, 2012, 6:34 PM)
Many cartoon references to the films A Night to Remember (1958) and Titanic (1997) (thanks again, IMDB!):
The Critic: "Episode #1.4" (1998) Jay says that he didn't like the film.
Oh Yeah! Cartoons: "The Fairly OddParents" (1998) Timmy's parents go to see an extended version of it.
South Park: "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus" (1998) Whenever Celine Dion appears, Titanic-esque music plays.
South Park: "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" (1998) A character wears a "Titanic" hat.
South Park: "City on the Edge of Forever" (1998) The way the bus breaks in half before falling off the cliff.
South Park: "Summer Sucks" (1998) After the giant snake starts destroying the town and people are running around screaming and so on, Stan stops and picks up his violin and playing music. The rest of the school band follow him doing so. It's a parody of how the band starts to play as the Titanic is sinking in this film.
The Simpsons: "When You Dish Upon a Star" (1998) Homer prank-calls a woman who is assumed to be Gloria Stuart's character.
The Simpsons: "Mayored to the Mob" (1998) The Simpsons watch "Roger Corman's Titanic" on TV.
The Simpsons: "Homer to the Max" (1999) "The 13 of us started out with a simple vision of 'Titanic meets Frasier.'"
Futurama: "A Flight to Remember" (1999) The entire episode spoofs Titanic, except instead of being on a ship, they're on a spaceship. Leonardo DiCaprio's head is broken over the ship to christen it (a reference to his role in Titanic).
Digimon: Digital Monsters: "The Crest of Sincerity" (1999) The cruise ship's interior is designed to look like the one seen in the film.
The PJs: "Hangin' with Mr. Super" (1999) When Smokey the bum rides the cart down the hill, he stands up and says "I'm the king of the world!"
The Simpsons: "The Old Man and the 'C' Student" (1999) Smithers draws Mr. Burns like Jack does for Rose in the film.
Daria: "Just Add Water" (1999) A take on the "king of the world" scene.
Johnny Bravo: "The Unsinkable Johnny Bravo" (1999) A spoof of the 1997 movie.
Family Guy: "The King Is Dead" (2000) Peter falls from his balcony imitating the "I'm the king of the world!" scene.
Detective Conan: "The 20 Year Old Murder Case: The Symphony Serial Murders" (2000) Ran mimics Rose's pose from the famous scene of the movie.
Family Guy: "Death Is a Bitch" (2000) Alternate version where Jack lives is shown.
The Slim Shady Show (2001) A character pokes fun at Deo DiCaprio (a parody of film star Leonardo DiCaprio) by calling him a "Titanic b----."
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: "Huge Reversal?! Abenobashi Hollywood Shopping Arcade" (2002) When the skyscraper is about to collapse, it looks like the scenes when Titanic is about to sink. At one point, even the ship's orchestra appears!
Mr. Bean: The Animated Series: "No Parking" (2002) Mr. Bean drives to the movie theater to see Titanic.
Please Teacher!: "Yappari suki kamo" (2002) The poster in the movie theater is similar to the Titanic movie poster, but the movie appears directed by Shinichi Watanabe (director of Excel Saga, Puni Puni Poemi and others).
Ice Age (2002) When they're in the ice tunnel, Sid says, "Iceberg right ahead!"
Jackie Chan Adventures: "I'll Be a Monkey's Puppet" (2002) The Monkey King rides boat out of laundromat yelling, "I'm King of the world-" As the boat's about to run into a fire hydrant, he yells "Glacier!"
The Simpsons: "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" (2003) Lisa shouts out, "I'll be queen of the world!... of spelling."
Finding Nemo (2003) The scene where Marlin and Dory are hanging on to the whale's tongue as it goes vertical is a direct steal of DiCaprio/Winslet at the climax of Titanic.
The Fairly OddParents: "Where's Wanda"/"Imaginary Gary" (2003) There's a Titanic stand at the movie nite.
Tripping the Rift: "Ghost Ship" (2004) Mentioned by "Leonard Nimoy."
Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy: Stiff Upper Ed (2004) When Ed breaks the main support of the ship, Eddy says, "We sinking?!" and Edd shouts, "Lifeboats! We forgot to make lifeboats!"
The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour (2004) Timmy Turner ALMOST gets to imitate Leonardo DiCaprio's famous "King of the World" bit.
Shark Tale (2004) At one point in the film, a spoof of the Kate Winslet portrait from Titanic is shown in the shark's home. Also, the shark's house looks an awful lot like the Titanic.
The Polar Express (2004) Tom Hanks screams "I'm the king of the North Pole!" on the top of the train.
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: "Lights! Camera! Danger!" (2004) A movie parody and/or quote reference.
Hum Tum (2004) Animated portion has Hum standing at the front of the boat like in Titanic, along with the music.
The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove (2005) Phrase "I'm the queen of the world."
The Simpsons: "Jazzy & The Pussycats" (2006) Referenced in dialogue by Moe: "Unsinkable at the box office."
Flushed Away (2006) Kate Winslet's boat sinks in exactly the same way the Titanic did in the movie.
Farce of the Penguins (2006) A penguin stands on a rock and says, "I'm the king of the world!"
Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006) Shaggy says that he's "king of the world."
Robot Chicken: "Drippy Pony" (2006) Micronaut says. "I'm king of the world!" while standing on a woman's breast.
Robot Chicken: "Donkey Punch" (2006) Jack and Rose text each other as they are in the water.
American Dad!: "The Magnificent Steven" (2007) When Hayley asks Roger what he's doing, he replies, "Just sketching you nude wearing the heart of the ocean."
Family Guy: "Stewie Kills Lois" (2007) Mentioned.
The Simpsons Movie (2007) Green Day play the violins while their barge is sinking and Mike Dirnt says "Gentlemen, it's been an honor playing with you tonight."
Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World: "Save Our Seamen" (2007) Spoofs some scenes from the film: the ship's departing scene; "I'm the king of the world!" scene; the iceberg scene, the cruise DJs still DJ-ing as the ship is in a disaster after being hit by an iceberg (parodies how the band is still playing, even though the ship is sinking in the film).
Robot Chicken: "Celebutard Mountain" (2007) In the show's final episode, the Love Boat breaks in half and sinks like the Titanic.
Garfield's Fun Fest (2008) Garfield and Arlene re-enact the "I'm the king of the world" scene in Garfield's 30-second movie montage.
Spaceballs: The Animated Series: "Deep Ship" (2008) This episode starts off spoofing Titanic, but it turns into The Poseidon Adventure.
Phineas and Ferb: "That Sinking Feeling" (2009) Mishti imitates Rose's "I'm flying" pose at the front of the boat, which later sinks in the same manner as the Titanic.
Phineas and Ferb: "Oh, There You Are, Perry"/"Swiss Family Phineas" (2009) Phineas mimics Jack's "king of the world" quote and pose on the front of the boat.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) The line "I'm the king of the world" is said by Alvin.
Futurama: "The Duh-Vinci Code" (2010) Fry mistakes Da Vinci for Leonardo DiCaprio and compliments his work in this film.
Futurama: "The Mutants Are Revolting" (2010) The old lady telling the story of how she survived "The Land-Titanic" is reminiscent of the old lady in Titanic.
Family Guy: "Excellence in Broadcasting" (2010) Brian says that he hates the movie.
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010) In "War and Pieces," Milhouse sinks down into the water in the same manner as Jack Dawson in Titanic.
T.U.F.F. Puppy: "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'" (2010) Various scenes spoof the 1997 drama, from the Chief yelling, "I'm Chief of the World!" to the iceberg.
American Dad!: "A Piñata Named Desire" (2011) Roger re-enacts the scenes where Jack says his last words to Rose and dies.
Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: "Rio" (2011) Hewy: "It's like Titanic meets Arthur with a smidge of WALL-E. "
The Simpsons: "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" (2011) "Mr. Burns, your heart will go on."
The Nostalgia Critic: "The Other Animated Titanic Movie" (2011) Talks about the two animated films that rip off this movie.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: "Chipwrecked" (2011) Alvin is on the railing and shouts "I'm the King of the World!"
The Cleveland Show: "Ship'rect" (2011) Lester plays the violin as the boat sinks.
Mad: "Al Pacino and the Chipmunks" (2012) Alvin stands on top of the rails in front of the ship before it was struck by an iceberg.
Family Guy: "The Blind Side" (2012) A blind woman imagines this movie differently.
Mad: "My Little War Horse"/"Tonight Show with Jay Lion-O" (2012) "Teen Titanic" is a spoof of this movie.
There are at least three more references that I know of:
Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985, Hanna-Barbera Productions) 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea: A cargo ship called the Tincanic hits an oil rig, and it carries a bomb that will blow up the entire southwestern area of the United States, but 16 minutes host Mike Walnuts has second thoughts about it.
The Lionhearts (1998) Leo's Diet: Leo thinks he will be chosen to host a big party, but instead it's another Leo; Leonardo Bartholemew (a pun to Leonardo DiCaprio).
Sonic X (2003) Episode 1.23: Emerald Anniversary: A chase scene eventually involves Tails trying to get the Chaos Emerald from Bocoe, but soon they come across an ocean similar to that of Titanic. Tails carries Bocoe, then parodies the "King of the World" scene, then drops him into the water.
In "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" the episode "Grim in Love" Malaria cries out "I'm queen of the underworld!"
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"Homer,we just brought Flanders back from the dead. Did you use the notebook to make a flock of penguins peck him to death?" Marge-"Murder He Wrote"-a Simpsons Comic story.
