A-Z GUIDE TO MOVIES AND TV SHOWS PARODIED BY MAD, CRACKED, CRAZY, ETC. UP TO 1996. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. SPOILERS AND OTHER NON-SEQUITURS, TOO. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE WORDS OR SITUATIONS WE DON'T USE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'RE OLD.
Updated daily. There's posts besides this one archived in the sidebar on the right, you clods!
if you're at a laptop or desktop, right-click and open link on pages and they'll be clearer and legible in a new window.
YOUNG SURESCHLOCK HOMELY
MAD #263, June 1986
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Mort Drucker
The origin of Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe), how he met Watson (Alan Cox), and their first major case.
The prologue to the movie has someone shot with a blowdart and being injected with a poison that makes them hallucinate, part of the case they end up breaking. John Watson enrolls in Brompton boarding school where he meets Sherlock Holmes, who guesses his name and identity based on his clothing and belongings, a foreshadowing of the deductions we know him for. At the beginning of the film, Sherlock is challenged by a classmate to find a hidden trophy, which he concludes is inside an antique vase based on clues he discovers while looking for it. He's expelled from the school for cheating by schoolmaster Rathe (Anthony Higgins) who is also his friend and fencing instructor. Rupert Waxflatter (Nigel Stock), a former professor of Sherlock's and eccentric inventor, kills himself while the victim of the same mysterious blowdart perpetrator. Dr. Waxflatter's niece is Elizabeth (Sophie Ward) is Sherlock's girlfriend, and with Watson they decide to solve the case and find what happened.
Sherlock seeks the aid of Lt. LeStrade of Scotland Yard (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) who refuses to help. In their search for what's been happening in town, Sherlock and Watson come across an Egyptianh sacrificial cult, who has just kidnapped Elizabeth.
They find Rathe has been the leader of the cult all along and create a distraction to destroy the temple while saving Elizabeth. Sherlock challenges Rathe to a duel and wins. Elizabeth is shot in all this. The case is solved and Sherlock Holmes goes home for the year, promising Watson that some day they'll meet again.
A CRACKED LOOK AT YOUNG SCHLOCK HOLMES
Cracked #220, July 1986
w: Joe Catalano
a: Walter Brogan
It would be better to see more of this style from Walter Brogan than the Mort Drucker swipes they usually printed but I guess it's what they wanted. It would also be nice if I got some of these gags. But if “ifs and buts” were candy and nuts...
ECCCH-MEN
MAD #327, May 1994
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Sam Viviano
MAD rarely did parodies of Saturday Morning cartoons, but I guess this was one of the cases where they made an exception. X-Men has existed in many forms since, but before the movies, this cartoon based on the comic was the only other one. The main pupils of Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted were Storm, Jubilee, Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, and Beast, led by Charles Xavier a/k/a Professor X. The students were selected as “gifted children” but are mutants with special powers. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is led by Magneto, Professor X's longtime frenemy. Other enemies are the Sentinels and Morph.
Beast is drawn here as one of Maurice Sendak's Wild Things. Sam Viviano and Dick DeBartolo are in the lower right corner of this splash page, as are MAD staffers Charlie Kadau, Nick Meglin, John Ficarra, and Len Brenner.
Jean Grey/Phoenix was another of the X-Men.
And this was a parody of the earlier comic from the sixties.
THE ECHHS-MEN
Not Brand Ecch #8, June 1968
w: Gary Friedrich
a: Tom Sutton
Jean Grey was originally Marvel Girl, Beast didn't have hair, and other members were The Angel and Iceman. They practiced their powers in the danger room at the academy.
Forbush-Man is a parody of Peter Parker, always desperate to join some superhero group.
Toad was one of the original members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Quicksiver was a former mutant on the good side who joined the Avengers.
Magneto wore a helmet to shield his magnetic powers. Scarlet Witch was Quicksilver's sister who also became an Avenger.
MMMS was the Merry Marvel Marching Society, a fan club for readers.
This was the cover to some foreign edition, I neglected to note which one.
MAD #335, May 1995
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Angelo Torres
Introduced by Rod Serling, a science-fiction series about a unit of the FBI that investigates the supernatural, particularly UFOs. The division is headed by Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) was the assistant director, and their boss. Mulder became convinced in the existence of alien life when he believed his sister was abducted at an early age.
The splash page, as well as all the panels throughout, are filled with aliens from various science-fiction TV shows, movies, and cartoons.
The first panel has then-New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Giants stadium is also located in New Jersey. Go figure.
The last panel features Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci of Good Fellas.
A couple issues later, on the letters page...
Cover to the Brazilian edition.
A CRACKED LOOK AT THE X-FILES
Cracked #305, January 1996
w: Rob Weske
a: Bruce Bolinger
WILLIES
MAD #149, March 1972
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Mort Drucker
Willard Stiles (Bruce Davison) has a dreary job at a factory that was apparently once owned by his late father and stolen by his boss Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine). He comes home to find his mother Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester) has thrown a surprise party for him. It is only her friends in attendance since he has none, and he leaves embarrassed, going to the backyard seeing some rats. His bedridden mother wants him to do chores around the house, including having to kill the rats.
Willard's boss is strict and has him come in on the weekends, and has hired a temp, Joan (Sondra Locke), to help him out. At home, he's secretly befriended the rats.
Willard takes care, feeds, and trains the rats, hiding them from his mother. He has to handle Mr. Martin's invitations to his party, but is not invited, so he has the rats crash it.
He brings his two favorite rats, Ben and Socrates, to work with him, then gets a call, and finds out his mother died. Her friend Charlotte (Jody Gilbert) was told to look after him and he kicks her out. He's told by a banker his mother owed taxes on the house and he has to pay them or lose it. Willard's at a loss for what to do until he overhears that one of his boss's clients is really rich, so that night he summons the rats to invade the guy's home and steals breaks in and steals money as the rats chase him away.
One day when Willard brings Ben and Socrates to work and puts them in the supply closet, but they escape, freaking out one of the employees and causing a ruckus. Mr. Martin runs in and bludgeons Socrates to death. Mr. Martin has also been trying to pressure Willard to sell his home to knock it down and build an apartment complex. Mr. Martin tries to convince Joan to pressure Willard but she won't do it, and he fires them both.
Willard can't stand anymore and goes to the Mr. Martin's office with his army of rats, demanding a raise and to be treated more respectfully. They swarm all over Mr. Martin and he jumps out a window. A newly confident Willard is through with the rats now. He's invited Joan to his house and they come back to invade it.
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988)
dir: Robert Zemeckis
WHO DE-FAMED ROBBER RABBIT?
MAD #284, January 1989
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Angelo Torres
Film noir that was a big hit for its many cameo appearances by characters from cartoons from the 30s-50s from different studios. It took place in 1947, with detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) reluctantly taking the case of animation studio head R. K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) who suspects the reason for his star performer Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer)'s poor performance is that his wife Jessica (Kathleen Turner) is having an affair with Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye). Eddie photographs the evidence, submits it to Roger, the next day Marvin is murdered. Roger has been set up and goes to Eddie to clear his name and this leads a plot by Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) of Toontown, the town where all the cartoon characters live, to destroy the area to make room for a freeway. Eddie, who previously hated 'toons', learns to appreciate them.
The MAD parody is about what was supposed to have happened after the story ended.
The character sitting on the curb is Baby Herman, Roger Rabbit's co-star, who acts like a baby on film, but is a talking adult who smokes when off the set. George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis were the main Presidential candidates of 1988.
'Patty cake' was what Jessica and Marvin were caught doing and literally that, not any actual sexual act. “I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way” was Jessica's tagline in the movie.
Benny, also voiced by Charles Fleischer, was Roger's taxi in the movie's big chase scene. Alfred Hitchcock is always shorthand for “movie director” when it's not Erich Von Stroheim. Mommie Dearest was a book written by Joan Crawford's daughter about how cruel she apparently was.
Howard the Duck, one of the first movies based on a Marvel character before the Marvel Universe was conceived for Hollywood, was considered one of the biggest flops of the 80s. I never saw it. Maybe in retrospect it wasn't as bad as people say it was.
WHEN ROGER RABBIT TECHNOLOGY TAKES OVER ALL OF HOLLYWOOD'S FILMS
MAD #285, March 1989
w: Stan Hart
a: Bob Clarke
As we all know, animation and live action has been done several times since the 80s, then there's CGI and deepfakes, and soon A.I. Will replace all of us.
THE GREAT TOON SURPLUS SALE
MAD #292, March 1990
w: Larry Siegel
a: Angelo Torres
The lower left has Fox and the Crow which had few cartoons in the series and was already discontinued 40 years before this. There was a long-running comic book adaptation of it but even that was over long before most readers of this would have been born.
The weasel with the steamroller was one of Judge Doom's minions in the movie. Magilla Gorilla, next to Mickey and Donald, might be known by some.
German cover.
WHO FWAMED ROGER WABBIT?
Cracked #241, December 1988
w: Rick Kriegel (Lou Silverstone)
a: Walter Brogan
Elmer Fudd narrates the parody. Steven Spielberg wasn't the director. He may not even have been on the set. He was executive producer which could mean a lot of things.
Eddie spent a lot of time at a bar. The waitress was Joanna Cassidy.
Judge Doom had a solution called Dip, which was essentially ink remover, that he planned to execute Roger with.
Eddie hates Toons because one killed his brother. As he's about to be killed, Judge Doom reveals that he was that Toon, which is all Eddie needs to snap out of his hatred, turn the tables, and regain his sense of humor.
Disney release a few Roger Rabbit cartoons with their full-length movies in their attempt to bring cartoons back to theaters.
CRACKED INTERVIEWS ROGER WABBIT
Cracked #245, July 1989
w: Vic Bianco (Lou Silverstone)
a: John Severin
Cher, Morton Downey Jr., and Mel Blanc are the big Lakers fans.
