Line #89 Main/TheGenieKnowsJackNicholson


1	[[quoteright:342:[[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/genie_knows_jack_nicholson.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:342:[[Film/TheShining "Heeeeeere's... Genie!"]]]]
3
4	->''"Are you a genie who does references only my parents get?"''
5	-->-- '''Billy''', ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''
6
7	Often, you'll want to get some ParentalBonus or cool and hip comedy into your work to broaden your appeal to the PeripheryDemographic.
8
9	One common method of doing this in ScienceFiction and {{fantasy}} is by having a non-human character or a magical creature of some sort appear to be in tune with the cultural Zeitgeist of the time period when the work was made, but [[OrphanedEtymology not the one the work is]] ''[[OrphanedEtymology actually set in]]'', adding an extra touch of spice to the AnachronismStew. Thus, [[Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish space aliens]] will watch ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', Film/{{gremlins}} will cosplay as [[Film/FirstBlood Rambo]], and, [[TropeNamers yes]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the Genie]] will impersonate Creator/JackNicholson. Logically, there does come a moment when you must ask, "This alien/gremlin/genie can do all of these insane things, but they can't violate causality?"
10
11	This can be justified in various ways. Perhaps the character is a time traveler, or spent a great deal of time on Earth at one point, or [[AliensStealCable has intercepted Earth's TV and radio transmissions and fallen in love with them.]] Or if the work is set in the future, maybe they're just a FanOfThePast.
12
13	Though this particular gag did not originate in TheNineties, it became very popular for a long time following the smashing success of Creator/{{Disney}}[='s=] ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}.''
14
15	A bit of trivia: This trope was almost called "The Genie Knows John Wayne". In the original script, Genie was supposed to do a Creator/JohnWayne impression (note the line about being a "straight shooter"). But Creator/RobinWilliams did a better Jack Nicholson impression.[[labelnote:*]] Oddly enough, Williams explained his process to create that impression in one special as "you take John Wayne and tighten up his ass."[[/labelnote]]
16
17	Very much comes under the RuleOfFunny and WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.
18
19	Compare to the FishOutOfTemporalWater, who may make constant pop cultural references as a way to remind himself of home, even if none of his new friends understand them.
20
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
25	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Guts' FairyCompanion Puck has made more pop culture references than every other member of the cast put together. His notable character impressions include Creator/BruceLee, the Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon, Danpei from ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'', Franchise/{{Devilman}}, Manga/{{Doraemon}}, a Franchise/{{Gundam}} Frame, a Saint from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', and Yoda, Palpatine and Jar Jar Binks from ''Franchise/StarWars''.
26	* For a bunch of villains who've never previously been to Earth, the original English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' suggests they know an awful lot about its customs, cuisine and pop culture. Regardless of any dubbing, there's also the fact that the Ginyu Force settles every dispute with RockPaperScissors, even though they're all totally different species from presumably different planets who've also never been to Earth before. The non-actiony parts of the entire ''Manga/DragonBall'' saga are largely dictated by RuleOfFunny, however.
27	* ''Manga/DrStone'' is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth after everyone [[TakenForGranite suddenly turned to stone for thousands of years]] and all of human civilization and progress was completely erased, with only a handful of people recovering from their petrification. The main character eventually stumbles upon a tribe of people he concludes must be descendants of other people who de-petrified generations ago, and when he notices them making reference to the legend of Momotaro, he finds out that the village shaman has been keeping such trivia alive through oral tradition (though by this point the Momotaro legend has turned into a ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' parody.)
28	* The ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' anime occasionally does this, with characters making pop culture references or observations that don't make sense given the world the series takes place in. For example, in ''The Ghost of Maiden's Peak'', a Gastly turns into a mongoose to scare Jessie's Ekans (a snake-like Pokemon), despite real animals being typically absent from the setting.
29	* It's relatively minor, but in ''Anime/BakuganBattleBrawlers'', after unleashing Linehalt's DangerousForbiddenTechnique and seeing it almost destroy everything, [[BigBad Emperor Barodius]] comments "Either I've opened PandorasBox, or I've tampered with a power I can't control."
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'': Death's home as shown in ''The Sandman Special - The Song of Orpheus'' has several contemporary, late-20th century objects, while the story itself is set in [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Ancient Greece]]. Orpheus suffers a mild shock upon seeing it.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Fan Works]]
37	* ''Fanfic/TheEditWarForAshsFreedomToNotBeBetrayed'' sees both Arceus and Darkern make a number of real-world pop culture references during their fight (the former asking if the latter is related to [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Crazy Steve and Bonkers Betty]], for example). In Arceus' case, it's explicitly stated that He can enter other dimensions; He's not sure how Darkern is able to get all the references, though.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
41	* Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon:
42	** ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' did it first, with Merlin lamenting the fact that he lives before indoor plumbing and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere going to 20th century Bermuda]] when the mood suits him. He even comes back in a Hawaiian tourist shirt. Of course, this could all be excused by the fact that he has the ability to time travel. The gag is true to the original ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', in which Merlin makes a number of anachronistic references to 20th century events due to [[MerlinSickness living through history in reverse]].
43	** The toy shop visited in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' contains a bubble-blowing WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}} toy, despite being set in the 19th century.
44	** The Genie from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' is this to the max, as well as the TropeNamer. His accurate impressions of movie stars (such as, notably, Creator/JackNicholson) provided ample {{Parental Bonus}}es, and like Merlin in ''The Sword in the Stone'', he exhibits ample working knowledge of twentieth-century zeitgeist and technology. In [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar the]] [[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves sequels]] and [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries television series]] that followed, he frequently alluded to several other Disney franchises and impersonated their characters, including Pumbaa from ''Franchise/TheLionKing'' and Jiminy Cricket from ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}''.
45	*** Worth noting is that Aladdin {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s the Genie's tendency to do this in the cartoon series. "What's the genie doing?" "Dreaming about references to some form of entertainment that hasn't been invented yet." It's occasionally mentioned that Genie sometimes time-travels in his spare time, which explains how he knows about pop culture icons from the future. There is one episode of the show that [[CutawayGag explictly shows him in another time, with Napoleon]]. It also seems to be a common ability amongst all genies here, given that [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar the first sequel]] has Jafar make a reference to the "Mrs. Bates" reveal scene from ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' during his VillainSong.
46	** In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', which is set in the 1920's, Mama Odie at on point refers to Louis as WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}. This specific cartoon would not exist until 1976.
47	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', if you [[FreezeFrameBonus watch carefully]] during the witch's cabin scene, you'll see that one of her carvings is the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 Pizza Planet truck]].
48	** During their musical number, the gargoyles in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame\|Disney}}'' are seen playing a piano centuries before it was invented, as well as throwing in references to Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti's ''Art/{{David}}'' (the film is set nearly a quarter-century before the statue's completion) and ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'' (an ActorAllusion; Tom Hulce, who plays Quasimodo, also played Mozart). And there's a huge shout-out to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' when Laverne "sics" her birds on the enemy...
49	** Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', with the side characters making pop culture jokes masked under Ancient Greek references: Phil refers to Thebes as "[[BigApplesauce The Big Olive]]", Meg makes reference to seeing through Hercules' act "in a Peloponnesian minute", Panic yells for someone to "call IXII", etc. Played straight with Hades who makes references to "[[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball halftime]]" and tennis, and with Meg when she compares Pain and Panic to costumed theme park characters.
50	** Mushu in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' gets to do most of the anachronistic jokes, including using a modern toothbrush after biting Ling, and lamenting about not having an entourage.
51	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'', Tamatoa is a supernatural entity whose scenes are filled with conspicuous pop-culture anachronisms that would look weird coming from a normal human (he sings a Music/DavidBowie-inspired GlamRock musical number, breaks the fourth wall, mentions things like the VaudevilleHook, pretends to use Moana as a microphone, and alludes to ''Franchise/TheLittleMermaid.'') Maui also has a brief gag where he declares that [[ItMakesSenseInContext writing something with a bird]][[note]]Using Hei Hei's beak to scratch his signature into Moana's oar[[/note]] is called [[Website/{{Twitter}} "tweeting"]].
52	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'', Bruno passes the time by pretending to watch sporting events, game shows, and telenovelas, and he displays artistic renderings of each which are quite modern. The film's time period is ambiguous, but seems to be somewhere between 1900 and 1950; certainly no one in the valley owns a television that we see. If this is explained by Bruno using his prophetic abilities, doing so just to learn what kind of entertainment will be invented in the future seems out-of-character for him.
53	** In ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'', Olaf does a humorous recap of the events of the previous movie. This scene proved so popular that Disney made a series of shorts with him doing similar 2-minute reenactments of other movies, including ''The Little Mermaid'', ''The Lion King'', ''Aladdin'', ''Moana'', and ''Tangled''. He even references the trope during his ''Aladdin'' recap after Genie Jafar gets trapped.
54	* Devon and Cornwall, the two-headed dragon from ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' is this film's answer to WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'s Genie. During their big musical number, everything from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King\|1994}}'' to ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' gets a ShoutOut, including ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' and ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', and they close up with impressions of Music/ElvisPresley and Sonny & Cher. Bladebeak may also qualify; he makes a pun based on Film/DirtyHarry.
55	* Prehistoric possums Crash and Eddie, in ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'', demonstrate that they are somehow familiar with "[[Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]]", despite predating both the Chipmunks and indeed Christmas itself by quite a wide historical margin.
56	%%** And that was only the third movie. In the second movie, a certain R. Kelly song line is being sung.
57	* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'' is supposed to take place during TheFifties, but during the musical number "Flip, Flop and Fly", [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Two Rats]] Nick and Fetcher do dance moves borrowed from ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', and hip-hop.
58	* Most of the characters in the entire ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' universe, despite it being set in a FairyTale setting, seem inexplicably knowledgeable about pop culture. Granted, it's done in a way that doesn't imply they're intentionally doing references.
59	* The rapping dog from ''WesternAnimation/TitanicTheLegendGoesOn'' is one of the most infamous examples of this. It's bad enough that the scene [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment comes right the hell out of nowhere and makes little sense]], even by the inane standards of the rest of the movie, but that his style of music won't even be ''invented'' for another 70 years or so.
60	* In ''[[ComicBook/LuckyLuke Tous à l'Ouest]]'', when Lucky Luke reunites with his pet [[DogsAreDumb Rantanplan]], the dog has a hard time remembering where he's seen this cowboy before. After racking his brain for a while he eventually comes to the wrong conclusion that Luke is Creator/ClintEastwood and asks for his autograph. Also counts as AchievementsInIgnorance.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
64	* Draco in ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', when called out on having eaten a human. "I may have chewed in self-defense, [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton but I didn't swallow]]!"
65	* The Great Gazoo does this many times in ''Film/TheFlintstonesInVivaRockVegas''.
66	** Though the world of WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones seems to be so much like the contemporary RealLife world that it would be unsurprising, in terms of continuity, if Fred were watching his TV (made out of stone casing, of course), and remarking on how he's a big fan of ''Series/TheHoneymooners''.
67	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
68	** Star-Lord from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' is constantly dropping pop culture references despite the fact that he was abducted by aliens in 1988 and hasn't had any contact with Earth since. Granted, [[DiscoDan most of his references are dated enough to escape the trope]], but he was a child when the abduction took place. So references to ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' and ''Literature/TheGivingTree'' are justified, but at the point that he references ''Film/PulpFiction'', ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon'', and ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' in a single sentence, it gets a bit harder to believe.
69	*** In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', he calls Rocket a "trash panda", a memetic alternate name for raccoons. He should have absolutely no idea that Internet memes exist.
70	** Korg introduces himself in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' with a RockPaperScissors joke, even though he's a [[RockMonster Kronan]] from Sakaar. There have been a few Earthlings on Sakaar, but there's no indication that he interacted with them. Though ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' shows that rock-paper-scissors is indeed a concept that exists in the Kronan culture. In fact, it's a symbol of their god, Ninny of the Nonny.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' odd bits of contemporary pop culture have survived into the future and show up as offhand references. The lyrics to Music/AlanisMorissette's "Ironic" are taught as poetry, Music/TheWho is remembered for creating the rock opera, and Music/TheRollingStones are apparently well enough remembered for a [[StarfishAliens Starfish Alien]] to be familiar with the lyrics to "Satisfaction."
75	* Throughout ''[[Literature/AssassinFantastic Myhr's Adventure in Hell]]'', Myhr and his wizard companion make constant pop culture references. It's {{Justified\|Trope}} by having the pair as [[AlternateUniverse universe-hopping travelers]]; when Myhr tries to get Terrin to tone down the jokes so that they don't risk driving off a prospective client, Terrin insists that [[GenreSavvy they'll expect the wizard to seem a little surreal and difficult to understand, anyway]].
76	* In ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'', [[spoiler:Regis is prone to referencing modern popular culture which makes him stand out in the fantasy world the novel takes place in. {{Justified\|Trope}} in that as the manifestation of the Acclorite that Wren gave to Arthur, Regis has a telepathic bond to Arthur and thus is privy to Arthur's PastLifeMemories from Earth which explains how he is aware of all these references]].
77	* Played with in ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'', where EccentricMentor Zifnab regularly quotes and references ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', and others. As the series is set in a bizarre fantasy cosmology seemingly unrelated to our world, this appears to simply be an example of a CloudCuckooLander with FourthWallObserver tendencies. [[spoiler: It turns out that the story is set in a distant future following a magical apocalypse, and Zifnab, while most certainly insane, is also old enough to remember the old world.]]
78	* Occurs frequently in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', explained by the characters being hit by cross-dimensional inspiration particles, morphic resonance between universes, and of course the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality. A common LampshadeHanging is for another character to question the line, only for the first character to suddenly realise ''they'' don't get the reference either, and have no idea why they said it.
79	* The butterfly in ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn''. All of its conversation consists of random quotes, some of them suspiciously modern-sounding for the world it lives in.
80	* The ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series is full of SchizoTech, with lizard-drawn carriages in the streets and computers in the banks. This still doesn't explain the constant pop culture references, as the human home dimension is stuck in the Middle Ages and is definitively not Earth.
81	** Justified: The MedievalEuropeanFantasy dimension is Klah, not Earth. The fact that [=McDonald's=] apparently has extradimensional franchises and a reference to one former villain selling hot dogs on Coney Island suggests Earth is at least in the modern day.
82	* ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' has Merlin make all kinds of references to 20th century events and culture in "The Sword in the Stone", to the point that this section is more of a satire and commentary on T. H. White's time than it is a retelling of Arthurian myth.
83	* In the ''Literature/{{Relativity}}'' story "Rune Returns... Again", a two-thousand-year-old mummy reanimated using magic is somehow familiar with ''Film/TaxiDriver''.
84	--> '''Mummy:''' Raw rar rar rar rar?[[note]]You talkin' to me?[[/note]]
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
88	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor is a time traveller, and often references time periods that occur after their current time period. For example, the Tenth Doctor once [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode mentioned]] having read the seventh ''Literature/HarryPotter'' book; the episode aired months before ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' hit shelves. %% Let's leave it here instead of nattering about the companion also being from after 2007...
89	* Crow, Tom Servo, the purple robot, and even ''Cambot'' from ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' drop pop culture references left and right when riffing or doing sketches, despite never having been to Earth and having limited communications to the planet. Joel might have programmed them with these references, but whatever. [[MST3KMantra It's just a show,]] as the theme song reminds us.
90	** Though Joel will occasionally call them on it... a good example being sometimes Tom talks about his time in school, only for Joel to remind him that he was built on the Satellite of Love. Mike, as less of an authority figure, tends to get bullied if he tries to protest to their inexplicable references.
91	* Despite being born and raised in the bowels of a ship three million years into deep space, Cat from ''Series/RedDwarf'' seems to have a solid grasp of 20th-century pop culture.
92	** Justified; two episodes have shown Lister and The Cat watching old cartoons like ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''.
93	* In ''Series/TheJewsAreComing'', prophet Ezekiel's drug-filled prophecies frequently result in this; for example, right after Jerusalem is sacked by the Babylonians, he laments the loss of his drug stash full of "stuff you can't get in Amsterdam".
94	* In the 1998 miniseries ''Series/{{Merlin\|1998}}'' (taking place in the 5th century) the shape-shifting gnome Frik played by Martin Short constantly switches between anachronistic personas including a pirate, a Chinese houseboy, an aristocrat with Louis XIV hair, snooty professor in an Oxford cap, and a dashing swashbuckler with a shortsword. It is mentioned that the Fae can see into the future, however.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Theatre]]
98	* ''Theatre/TwistedTheUntoldStoryOfARoyalVizier'' [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs this trope]]: Ja'far does not get the djinn's anachronistic pop culture references, and is annoyed when he refuses to stop [[SpeaksInShoutOuts speaking in shout-outs]]. And because he doesn't understand the Genie's quoting and takes him literally, he introduces the djinn as [[Film/TheShining Johnny]], then [[Film/JingleAllTheWay Turboman]], but gives up altogether when the djinn says "I'm ComicBook/{{Batman}}!".
99	* [[https://americanpanto.com/home Lythgoe Family Panto]] is a stage company that translates the United Kingdom's popular {{pantomime}} format for American audiences. Much like their British counterpart, these stage shows are typically adaptations of fairy tales, and are formatted as {{jukebox musical}}s featuring characters singing modern pop and rock songs (''The Wonderful Winter of Oz'', for instance, features such songs as "Don't Stop Believin'", "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and "Whatever It Takes") and making pop culture references.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Video Games]]
103	%%* Belial (a half-angel, half-demon) from ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}} Overdose''.
104	* The characters of ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', ranging from humans to demons, tend to all freely make references to recent Japanese pop culture, despite being sealed off from the modern world (although elements of the modern world keep finding their way into Gensokyo, usually Yukari's fault).
105	* ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'': The quiz test sidequest in the second game has questions about real-world events, rather than events in the ''Mega Man Legends'' world-- which regardless takes place ''several thousands of years'' into the future of Earth following at least ''two'' {{World Sundering}}s [[spoiler:and the extinction of the original human civilization]], where trivia like this should logically have been [[LostCommonKnowledge lost to time]] hundreds of times over. Subjects ranged from history, pop culture, music, sports, even math questions, among others. GuideDangIt ensues, as ''no one'' will know ''all'' the answers to these questions without a lifetime of research on ''every'' subject, plenty of trial and error, or without [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/197897-mega-man-legends-2/faqs/9385 consulting a guide.]]
106	-->'''Question:''' When was the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side Of The Moon" released?[[note]]1973[[/note]]\
107	'''Question:''' Who is the famous Greek philosopher who expounded the theory of idealism?[[note]]Plato[[/note]]\
108	'''Question:''' What is the name of the underground aqueducts found in Iran?[[note]]Ghanat[[/note]]
109	* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'': Guybrush Threepwood frequently drops references to other Creator/LucasArts games, plus a catchphrase borrowed from ''Series/GetSmart'' ("That's the second biggest [...] I've ever seen").
110	* Another Scumm game, ''VideoGame/SimonTheSorcerer'' contains a fair share of references also. Somewhat justified what with Simon being transported from a modern world into a magical fantasy realm, but the fantasy realm itself seems pretty heavy on the references and not just to fairy tales and fantasy books, mind you.
111	* ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'': The world you rule over seems ancient and fantasy-like, but The Consciences reference everything from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' to thrash metal.
112	* ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom:'' Xiaomu, Reiji's main partner (also in ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' and ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'') is a Chinese fox-human who SpeaksInShoutOuts, not just to multiple games but also assorted other media such as anime or film. Her advanced age (765 years old) and dimension-hopping with Reiji might be the explanation.
113	* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterTheLostFrontier'', we learn during a RidingTheBomb sequence that Daxter has apparently seen ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
114	* Colombia in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' has early 20th versions of songs such as ''Girls Just Want to Have Fun''. [[spoiler:This is because they've been making contact with alternate timelines and futures to acquire technology and pop culture.]]
115	* This is apparently a perk of being the GrimReaper in ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'', as when the rest of the party start needling [[TokenEvilTeammate Gig]] for intel on the titular World Eaters, he gives them detailed descriptions... of ComicBook/{{Superman}}, ComicBook/TheFlash, and the ComicBook/MartianManhunter. TheHero isn't fooled though, and accuses him of "just (stealing) that from somewhere".
116	* in VideoGame/KingdomRush [[EvilSorcerer Vez’nan]] boasts a truly impressive set of pop culture references, including {{Literature/Dune}}, Literature/LordOfTheRings and Franchise/TheTerminator, which he constantly fires off during the final level of the first game.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Webcomics]]
120	* Richard from ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' is a partial example, what with webcomics generally not needing any ParentalBonus, but otherwise fits: in the Medieval Fantasy setting, the warlock is quite prone to anachronistic (Anageographic? Anaparallelrealitic?) references to pop culture.
121	* [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Angel]] from ''Webcomic/CastlevaniaRPG''. Constantly makes references to culture and events that may not EVER exist in that universe.
122	* Merlin does this a lot in the baseline arc of ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', since his characterisation owes a lot to T. H. White's Merlin. For example, when Lancelot and Galehaute are in combat with a zombie parrot, and realise that it's trying to find a shallow point in the river where it can cross to the pine forest on the other side, Merlin suddenly pops up, having apparently tracked them down ''just to say'' "So the dead parrot is [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus fording for the pines]]!"
123	* In ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'', the evil (if mostly snide and sarcastic) wizard Faren at one point gets his head lopped off. (He gets better.) While just a head, he starts singing, "[[Music/TalkingHeads Same as it ever was, same as it ever was...]]"
124	* In ''Webcomic/{{Melonpool}}'', Melotians have the natural ability to pick up Earth TV braodcasts with the antennae growing out of their heads. The main character, Mayberry Melonpool, is completely obsessed with them - especially ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek.]]''
125	* The alien title character of ''Webcomic/{{Zortic}}'' is similarly obsessed with Earth's TV transmissions, and is also a huge Trekkie. The two strips have even [[CrossOver crossed over]] more than once.
126	%%* Pretty much everyone in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', which largely runs on RuleOfFunny and MetaFiction.
127	* Phil Foglio's self-insert prisoner character in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', who sings [[Music/TheBeatles "Oubliette, oublada..."]]
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Web Original]]
131	* The Creator/FilmCow short [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoj2mJWlKUk "It's Aladdin!"]] parodies this trope and [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the trope namer]]. The genie can only do impersonations of celebrities who won't be born for another thousand years.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Western Animation]]
135	* The ''Frog Prince'' segment in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues'' has the frog saying [[Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre "Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!"]] at one point.
136	* Pretty common in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts, as well as ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons''.
137	* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Discord does this on occasion. He does it a ''lot'' in "Three's a Crowd", where he visually references ''Film/{{Flashdance}}'', ''Literature/HarryPotter'', and ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'', among other things. Helped immensely in said episode that he's also blue like the Genie. He's also pretending to have an illness that makes his powers go haywire, a real cold had that effect on Genie in the animated series.
138	* Chameleon of ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' is the PluckyComicRelief [[LaughablyEvil of the villains]], and much of his VoluntaryShapeshifting is used so he can imitations of Earth actors.
139	* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', in which Jay's friend Jeremy Hawke has a role in a somewhat... different adaption of ''Literature/{{Pinocchio}}''. In this version, a "beige fairy" appears, clearly spoofing Robin Williams' Genie in voice, mannerisms, and pop culture references.
140	* The TropeNamer is referenced somewhat cruelly in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'', with a Robin Williams-like genie appearing and performing shtick including an imitation of [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Groucho Marx]], prompting Clara to exclaim "Wow! [[TakeThat You're a comic genius]]!"
141	* The Junkions from ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' are the kings of the AliensStealCable version of this. Their entire language was constructed from Earth television broadcasts they intercepted, and they speak in nothing but ad jingles and other TV references.
142	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheGenieKnowsJackNicholson