History WesternAnimation / MAD

* StockSoundEffects: ''[[Film/Arthur1981 Ar]]Film/{{Thor}}'' had one segment that referenced ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''. The sound effects used were, appropriately enough, the ones from the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 port of the game.

An animated parody show created by Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation, based on the iconic humor magazine ''Magazine/{{Mad}}''. Much like the magazine, ''MAD'' the TV series presents parodies of movies, TV shows, and pretty much anything currently happening in life and in pop culture. Each parody is rendered in a different style of animation, and few of the sketches last for more than a minute. Also, you get animated ''ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy'' and Don Martin shorts. Basically, it's either a less [[CrossesTheLineTwice line-crossing]] version of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''[[note]]Veteran ''Robot Chicken'' writer Kevin Schinick is even the head writer of this show[[/note]] with a little bit of ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' or ''Series/MadTv1995'' if it stuck to the source material for longer than three seasons, was 15 minutes long instead of an hour, had more animated sketches than live-action sketches, was made for kids (but had a PeripheryDemographic of 20-somethings and older teens), and didn't feel like a [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent rip-off]] of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Series/InLivingColor''.

** ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy has it: the animation ranges from ink scribble style, clean Flash animation, and in the most 2nd season: claymation.

** Episode ''Potions 11; Moves Like Jabba'' had a skit on the Easter bunny hiding eggs, which resulted the Johnson family not being able to find them. The news intro for episode ''Addition Impossible; New Gill'' had the same family trying to find the eggs, this time gagging from the rotting smell because the bunny sill won't reveal their locations.

** The "Hip-Hop [[Literature/TheHobbit Hobbit]]/[[Series/TheMindyProject The Monday Project]]" episode references Mad being bumped to Thursday in place of ''WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange''. Ironic because this was the week that ''Mad'' moved back to Monday and ''Annoying Orange'' went to Thursday.

* MythologyGag: The intro ends with the ground getting folded in through the middle, with the remaining background pieces forming the MAD logo, much like how the magazines have a picture on a page that gains new meaning when it's folded down the middle.

** Scuttle the seagull brings [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] some trash when she moves into a new apartment. One of them is a fork, and the other is a copy of MAD Magazine, which he thinks might be used for cleaning the toilet.

** One sketch has two people dressed like two characters from El Tigre appear as bystanders.

* TakeThat: Given that it's MAD...

** Another bash on Music/{{Kesha}}: On "Pirates of the Neverland: At Wit's End", Captain Hook tells Captain Jack Sparrow that the crocodile who always chases him makes the most horrible noise -- "tick tock." Not the clock noise; "that annoying Ke$ha song" ("[=TiK ToK=]"), followed by the crocodile opening his mouth and a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong screwed-up, sound-alike version of "TiK ToK"]] starts playing.

*** During ''Wall-E-Nator'', the MAD producers [[SelfDeprecation poke fun at]] ''[[SelfDeprecation themselves]]'', [[SelfDeprecation just like they always do]].

* JustForFun/XMeetsY: In-show, a lot of the parody titles (read: the parody titles that don't childishly make fun of what's being parodied, like "Are You Karate Kidding Me?", ''Avaturd'', ''[=uGlee=]'', and ''The Social Netjerk'') are combos of two or more TV shows, movies, cartoon series, etc. Some examples:

** ''Arthor'': ''Arthur'' and ''Film/{{Thor}}'', with the titular character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' thrown in as well (since ''Thor'', the Creator/RussellBrand remake of ''Arthur'', and ''Rango'' came out in theaters around the same time)

** ''Dances With Wolverines (A Footloose Parody)'': ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ''Film/{{Footloose}}''.

** In "Batman Family Feud," the dead guy from ''CSI-Carly'' appears as a member of the Berkel family.
** In "Pirates of the Neverland: At Wit's End," the two aliens from the second episode can be seen in the background when Captain Jack Sparrow realizes he's lost.

* CutawayGag: On "Two and a Half Man," with a special appearance by a parody of [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin.]]

** "Grey's in Anime" and "[=ThunderLOLcats=]" are good examples of this.

** Another bash on Music/{{Kesha}}: On "Pirates of the Neverland: At Wit's End," Captain Hook tells Captain Jack Sparrow that the crocodile who always chases him makes the most horrible noise -- "tick tock." Not the clock noise; "that annoying Ke$ha song" ("[=TiK ToK=]"), followed by the crocodile opening his mouth and a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong screwed-up, sound-alike version of "TiK ToK"]] starts playing.

** ''uGlee'' was pretty much a whole MusicalEpisode about how ''Glee'''s premise of teens singing in high school is no different than the premises for ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', ''Series/{{Jonas}}'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' and ''Film/{{Fame}}''.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In a few sketches, a character appears in a prominent role for one quick gag, then never appears again for the rest of the sketch (such as ComicStrip/HagarTheHorrible in ''How to Train Your Dragon To Dance'', who is introduced as one of the celebrity guest judges for the eponymous show but is then conspicuously absent from the judge's table for the rest of sketch). This was eventually lampshaded in ''Jacks, the Giant Slayers'' where [[WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack Flapjack]] appears as one of the "[[OneSteveLimit Jacks]]" for hire and is introduced as someone who "once had a TV show on Cartoon Network, but probably won't be seen again after this scene". Sure enough, in the next wide shot Flapjack is missing from the group of Jacks and doesn't appear again for the rest of the sketch.
* JustForFun/XMeetsY: In-show, a lot of the parody titles (read: the parody titles that don't childishly make fun of what's being parodied, like ''Are You Karate Kidding Me'', ''Avaturd'', ''[=uGlee=]'', and ''The Social Netjerk'') are combos of two or more TV shows, movies, cartoon series, etc. Some examples:

** The Latin American Spanish dub sporadically did this during the first three seasons, but really blew out come Season 4.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: In-universe; in the ''Cloverfield'' parody, ''Cliffordfield'', [[Series/SesameStreet Big Bird]] screams, "Don't let him get me! I'm a one-of-a-kind children's character!" When Clifford crushes him, Big Bird turns into WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants and groans, "Okay, I see your point," implying that the children of today would probably look at Big Bird as a [=SpongeBob=] knock-off, when really it's the other way around.

* AdamWesting: The show took a page from ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' and casting characters with the actor that plays them in other shows, such as Creator/DiedrichBader in many of the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' skits, Music/AndrewWK as himself, Creator/MatthewLillard as [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated Shaggy]] and Creator/WillFriedle as Lion-LOL in ''[[WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011 ThunderLOLcats]]''.

** As well as Franchise/{{Batman}}.

* NonIndicativeName: "That's What WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}} Are For" is a musical about how despite being called the Superfriends, the big three (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) really don't treat any of the lesser names like friends at all. Plastic Man and Black Lightning's names go forgotten by Batman, Black Canary can't get Superman to feed her cat, Doctor Mid-Nite can't get a ride to the airport, and members turnover incredibly frequently, aside from the big three. This leads them to change the team's name to the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]].

** They don't seem to care for a lot of other Cartoon Network shows, particularly noticeable in The Watcher's speech to Captain America in "[[Franchise/TheAvengers Avenger]] [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Time]]". Which then leads into ''yet another case'' of SelfDeprecation:

** In [[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol "Addition Impossible]]", Comicbook/GhostRider [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext buys a]] Creator/NicolasCage mask from the ComicBook/RedSkull.

** They're even willing to pull off more obscure puns. In "Downton Shaggy", [[Series/DowntonAbbey Mr. Bates]] dressed up as Franchise/{{Batman}} to rescue his idol, "Foot Man". In his day, a "batman" was a [[BattleButler soldier who acted as a personal servant and bodyguard]], Mr. Bates himself being an example of one in his own show.

** The Latin American Spanish dub began doing this in Season 4.

* MemeticMutation: In-universe, the dogs use internet memes to wage war on the [[WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011 Thundercats]] in [='ThunderLOLcats.'=]

* IncrediblyLamePun: Pretty much every title of ever short (whether it's a mash-up or a TakeThat against how lame the show/movie is). Examples include Yu-Gi-Bear, Ko-Bee Movie, and examples listed on this page. Even gets lampshaded in the title sequence for Law & Ogre, where the narrator admits they just did it for the title.

* LongTitle: The in-universe game show "''Spin the Wheel & Win the Cash Before Time Runs Out & Also Maybe Win Prizes!''" The TitleScream alone takes so long that the show's host only has time to talk for a few seconds before they run out of time for the game.

* TitleScream: Parodied with "[[LongTitle Spin the Wheel & Win the Cash Before Time Runs Out & Also Maybe Win Prizes!]]" The ''Series/WheelOfFortune''-esque screaming takes so long that there's no time left to actually play the game!

** In "Smallville: Turn Off the Clark", there's a huge amount of take that (against ''Smallville'', Julie Taymor) and ShownTheirWork (the references to the show like Dr. Fate's future seeing, Clark's dad coming back to life, Brainiac having the model of [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Cartoon Brainiac]] and the coloring of the main comic's Brainiac).

** In ''Not-a-Fan-a-Montana'', [[spoiler:Music/ElvisPresley is behind everything, and to avoid being found out, they blow up the Earth.]] Yep.