I Get That Reference!
Cartoons with References
Hey, you! Yeah, you! It’s me, Ellis. Come here, I have something to say. Ready? OK here goes:
“Somebody stop me!”
Haha! You get it? It’s a quote from the 1994 hit movie, The Mask starring Jim Carrey. I know loads of movie quotes! You want to hear another one?
“That’s a spicy meatball!”
Did you get that one? It’s a quote from the 1994 hit movie, The Mask starring Jim Carrey. Aren’t movie references fun? I love a good reference to a movie, play, tv show, song, classic book, commercial, what have you. When I see something that references some bit of media that I'm familiar with, I lose it. I go bonkers. If there’s a glass in front of me, I smash it on the ground and yell “I GET IT! I GET THE REFERENCE!” It’s such a rush.
I know I’m not alone. Admit it, you love it too. It feels good to be in “the know,” to be reminded that you are, in fact, a connoisseur of the poppier arts. I sometimes like to put a good cultural reference in my cartoons, just as a wink to the reader. A little “Eh? You get this? Yeah, you get this.” It can be a tricky balance though. Too broad and the joke will come out tired. Too specific and you alienate everyone except for the two nerds that get it. You also have to make sure you get the reference right! If you deviate too much from the source material you better believe the pedants will come marching to point it out.
So what’s the trick to a good reference? I like to say that we cartoonists know a little about a lot. We have the basic understanding of most famous works and how the general population interacts with them. For instance, I have never read Moby Dick. I don’t know the plot. But I do know what everyone else knows about it: it's a long, dense, impenetrable story about a man who hates a white whale and that it’s considered a classic. That’s more than enough to make a joke! That’s the wonderful thing about cartooning: I don’t have to actually read Moby Dick if I want to put a white whale in my cartoon.
So with all that, please enjoy these cartoons full of cultural references. I believe you'll find that they're all pretty “Smokin’!”
I forget where that line comes from.
Hilary Campbell
There’s nothing I love more than running down the street singing “NOBODYYYY no NOBODY IS …. GONNNAAAA…. RAAAIIINNN…. On my PARAAAAAAAADE!!!!!!!” But the more I thought about little ol’ Fanny Brice (Funny Girl for those of you who are still not getting it), I thought...man, this woman must really struggle with disappointments.
Liza Donnelly
I wonder if anyone even remembers who the hell Dan Quayle is! This caption-- the idea of “kicking around” someone in public office--is referring to another past politician…...who?
Sofia Warren
Last year, after a string of Covid-related upsets, I found myself living alone in a house in the woods, going a little bit insane and spending a not-small amount of time stewing over the reckless actions of one particular celebrity, and how they negatively affected *my* life. This piece was my attempt to get in touch with him and give him a piece of my mind. Or, such as it was, a scalding-hot ladle of my mind soup.
Who was this mystery provocateur? Was I successful? Did somebody finally pour my brain back into its bundt pan and refrigerate overnight? Read the rest to find out!
Ellis Rosen
As a person who loves all kinds of sugar water, I have to say that Kool-Aid is objectively terrible. And yet, it lives on, in part because some ad person years ago made this silly mascot smash through a wall, and that became a cultural touch point and references to it begot more references and so here I am making a cartoon that relies on you understanding that the Kool-aid man smashes through a lot of walls. Ultimately it all helps Kool-Aid’s recognizability, so really I’m part of the problem. If anyone buys a Kool-Aid later because this cartoon reminded them of its existence, then I did them a disservice. Was it worth it? Was a lazy reference to a silly commercial for a gross product worth the “heh” you just uttered? No. Never. This cartoon might as well be a crass commercial for a product that no one should drink, and I should be ashamed. Honestly, that kind of shame can only be fixed by one thing: the cool, refreshing taste of a Hawaiian Punch.
Jason Chatfield
Star Wars fans will remember the iconic moment right before Han Solo is lowered down into the carbonite deep freeze, when he’s pulled away from kissing Princess Leia by two stormtroopers. He shoots her a look from beyond the steam before she utters, “I love you” and in an all-time classic baller move, he replies, “I know.”
I’ve done the same with my very vocal vegan friend for many, many years whenever he reminds me he’s vegan. Both Star Wars fans and people who find vegans smug love this cartoon.
It sure is more popular than my very ephemeral “SaltBae salting the sidewalk in winter” cartoon...
Amy Kurzweil
Those of you who know me well know that I know all about things like “cool music.” For example, it is not the case that I only recently learned the band our super cool Toonstack logo is in reference to, designed by Hilary Campell -- a person we all know, because ALL OF US here know about cool things -- sings songs like these songs. I also have seen “that movie everyone has seen” and definitely just read about “that guy who said that thing and now everyone is talking about it” hahah that thing was crazy! That guy is so funny. I mean terrible. He’s terrible I can’t believe he said that thing I definitely saw him say on Gawker. Gawker’s not a thing anymore oh I meant The New York Times.
Heh
Ok fine. RUSE IS UP. I admit it. I don’t know about cool things. But you know what I have done? I’ve written three different cartoons about Zeno’s paradox. Here’s one of them:
You know Zeno? That guy who said all that crazy stuff to Plato and now everyone’s talking about it? Even (*the) Talking Heads wrote a song about it.
*Hey Ellis make sure you delete this word if there’s in fact no “the” before “Talking Heads.” I am trying to impress Hilary with how much I know about this super cool and important group of musicians that I have enjoyed for a very long time.
Lars Kenseth
In 1962, Andy Warhol debuted a piece called Campbell’s Soup Cans and the world of pop art changed forever. From then on, artists all over the world turned to soup. In fact 67% of all art currently exhibited is filled with soup. And even though there are dozens of large soup can sculptures around the world (all filled with soup) the reigning champion of soup-filled art by volume is Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog, which contains 927.8 gallons of Campbell’s Cream Of Mushroom. Talk about “souped up”!
Navied Mahdavian
In 1981, Bonnie Zacherle debuted a piece called My Little Pony and the world of pop art changed forever. From then on, artists all over the world turned to ponies. In fact 67% of all art currently exhibited is filled with ponies. And even though there are dozens of little pony sculptures around the world (all filled with ponies) the reigning champion of pony-filled art by volume is Jeff Koons’ Balloon Pony, which contains 927.8 gallons of Pony. Talk about “ponied up”*!
*Speaking of “ponied up,” if you find yourself at BronyCon 2021, be sure to say hi to Lars Kenseth, cartoonist for the New Yorker, pizza enthusiast, and brony superstar.
Johnny DiNapoli
Sometimes I sing when I draw, and sometimes when l sing when I draw, I draw what I sing. And that, my friends, is the origin of this profound cartoon.
Shelby Lorman
My input sources for pop culture are irredeemably broken, I admit this. I consume absolute garbage (and greatly enjoy learning about said trash via the non-garbage podcast Who Weekly) and should have more of a grasp on contemporary things. But though I am immersed in pop culture, like many of us, my brain refuses to accept some truths (Elijah Wood is not the lady in the water, or what exactly Ted Lasso is) while remaining steadfastly committed to hearing “balegdeh” in my head before sleep. I love to learn what other kernels of pop culture have lodged themselves in others. I find myself thinking about when Whoopi Goldberg talked to the robot Bina-48, or when Cher tweeted in all caps “GOV CUOMO PLEASE HELP US” or the fact that when you search “Adele Dazeem”—the name John Travolta famously croaked in lieu of the wicked-ly talented Idina Menzel—on Google it corrects you to Idina, still.
For Your Pleasure: Cartoon Extras
Pre-order Murder Book, Hilary Campbell’s upcoming graphic memoir our November 9th!
Jason Chatfield has a substack called New York Cartoons!
Pre-order Send Help! a desert island cartoon collection by Ellis Rosen and Jon Adams
Join Amy Kurzweil on Patreon!
Follow Kendra Allenby as she walks the Continental Divide Trail for 5 months!
Be sure to check out Shelby Lorman’s newsletter, Please Clap!
The same goes for Sofia Warren’s advice newsletter, You’re Doing Great!
See more cartoons from Ellis Rosen’s weekly Junk Drawer!
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