“Parodied by Pokemon” Quiz

Last time’s quiz asked, “Which of the following shows/movies or their characters have NOT been made into or parodied by a Pokemon character or story?” The correct answer was Tokyo Story. Most people voted for Star Trek: The Next Generation, but Pokemon has parodied it before.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation (42.0%, 4,077 Votes) – In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, Pikachu is nicknamed “Jean-Luc Pikachu,” a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the Enterprise in The Next Generation. (Played by Patrick Stewart, the bald guy – you know, Xavier from X-Men, the voice of Lord Yupa in Nausicaa, the voice of the head of the CIA in American Dad?) Pikachu is also shown wearing the iconic Star Trek communicator.
• Batman (14.0%, 1,399 Votes) – In the episode “The Superhero Secret,” one of the characters is secretly a superhero named “Gligarman.” He rides a motorcycle and tells Ash and friends to blow a whistle if they ever need help (Superman). His real last name is Parker, a reference to Peter Parker from Spiderman. The episode also features a secret laboratory (the Bat Cave) and Gligirl (Bat Girl). Gligarman’s Gligar seems to be a reference to young Robin.
• Titanic (9.0%, 884 Votes) – The S.S. Anne episodes where the ship sinks. Not necessarily a reference to the 1997 movie, but more of the actual event, which the movie (creatively) portrays. The dub narrator also says a few Titanic references, like “Holy Titanic!” In “Lights, Camerupt, Action!”, a Natu and Xatu appear as lovers on a spaceship torn by an ice asteroid, which is more of a reference to the story.
• Frankenstein (9.0%, 870 Votes) – The whole premise of Mewtwo Strikes Back. Scientist creates monster, monster kills scientist. Except it is with Pokemanz and cloning rather than corpses and electricity. The monster also wishes to fit-in, but can’t, like Mewtwo. (Note: The monster isn’t actually named Frankenstein, the scientist is. It’s just called “the monster.”)
• Tarzan (7.0%, 643 Votes) – “The Kangaskan Kid.” Tommy was accidentally dropped into the wild when he was young and raised by wild Kangaskhan. He screams like Tarzan and swings from trees, though doesn’t crash into them like in George of the Jungle.
• Princess Mononoke (6.0%, 549 Votes) – Pokemon 4Ever copies the basic plot of the latter part of this movie. The “spirit of the forest” in Mononoke (“voice of the forest” in Celebi) is attacked by humans (Vicious), changes into something monstrous (giant badly-rendered 3D Frosted Mini Wheat Celebi monster), goes crazy and destroys the forest, then dies. In the Pokemon movie, though, Celebi is revived. Pokemon has copied many Studio Ghibli plots before, both in episodes and movies. It is also interesting to note that Regigigas has the same sort of striping on its body as the forest spirit. If you watch the Shaymin movie, the way Regigigas walks is similar to the way the spirit walks after its head is cut off as well.
• Yojimbo (5.0%, 508 Votes) – Parodied in “Showdown in Dark City.” A wandering samurai (Ash) happens upon a town where two rival families (the two Gyms) are fighting for dominance (the status of official Pokemon Gym) and terrorizing the townspeople to the point where everyone’s in hiding (identical to Dark City’s residents). After the samurai defeats the bodyguards from one of the households (Team Rocket), both families begin to court his services. The samurai makes up a name (based on a nearby object, similar to Ash’s “Tom Ato”) and questions both families to decide if either one is noble, but ultimately finds that they aren’t. He sets up camp in a restaurant (Ash also does this) and engineers a battle that results in the destruction of both families (Ash spilling paint on Electabuzz and Scyther to make them go berserk). In the Pokemon episode, this results in everyone learning a lesson and living happily ever after, which is the ONLY point that differs from Yojimbo.
• Tokyo Story (4.0%, 429 Votes) – Pokemon hasn’t really copied this movie in any way despite its fame. It probably couldn’t, anyway. The movie is about a modern family that doesn’t pay any attention to their grandparents. The family finds the grandparents a hassle to host when they come to visit because of their busy lives. The movie ends rather tragically. You should watch it!
• Castle of Cagliostro (4.0%, 427 Votes) – Looker is basically a nod to Inspector Zenigata from the Lupin series; Castle of Cagliostro is a Lupin movie. Both are detectives, from the International Police, and look similar in appearance.
• Total Voters: 9,786