History Main / SeaAping

Sub-trope of BlandNameProduct. See also FreePrizeAtTheBottom and CompetitionCouponMadness, which might be where the sea monkeys came from.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS6E7SimpsonsAlreadyDidIt Simpsons Already Did It]]", one of the main plots focuses on Cartman's Sea People developing their own society after exposure to semen.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had Tommy and Chuckie being sad at their [[{{Malaproper}} "Sea Monies"]] being stuck in a fishbowl, so they smuggled them to the beach in Stu's cooler and helped release them into the ocean. Earlier in the episode, Didi declares them to be an educational toy, while Stu grumbles at how much money he had to pay for "a bowl full of reconstituted brine shrimp".

Sea monkeys are a hybrid breed of brine shrimp called Artemia NYOS, invented in 1957 by Harold Von Braunhut. These brine shrimp were marked as "instant life," and were sold using illustrations of anthropomorphic shrimp doing various human-like activities, although they rarely do anything on their own. The product was heavily marketed in the 1960s and 70s, especially in comic books, and remains a presence in popular culture. [[https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/n8MAAOSw5B9epgQO/s-l1600.jpg This is a link]] to the real life original ad for sea monkeys. This trope is about all of the fictional sea monkey-like brands that show up in media.

* A ''[[Magazine/RedDwarf Red Dwarf Smegazine]]'' strip had "Space Monkeys", which due to having become irradiated, now turn into large pink mischievous creatures when dunked into the water.

* Not named, but at the pet convention in ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby'', Tim and the title character have a conversation next to an aquarium full of tiny aquatic figures that look just like the ones in old "Sea Monkey" advertisements.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* One ''{{Series/Bones}}'' episode had Hodgins using “Sea Chimps” in one of his experiments.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/JourneyToTheSavagePlanet,'' which has an ad for a toy called the "Micro-Mills Mall Monkeys Plaza," which, instead of brine shrimp, uses miniature (ie, "stands comfortably on a fingertip") human clones and an {{Arcology}} the size of a large coffee table.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': Mack Salmon's plan in "They Came From Down There!" revolves around selling Sea Chimps (that look just like the ones on the box!) as well as growing genetically altered larger Sea Chimps to cut up for meat.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' titled "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" had a couch gag with the family as "Sea Monsters," which are green brine shrimp.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s episode "The Simpsons Already Did It", one of the main plots focuses on Cartman's Sea People developing their own society after exposure to semen.
* In "[[{{Pun}} Synch]] or Swim" from WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey, after Jake's denied entry onto his middle school's synchronized swimming team, he decides to order some "Sea ''Simians'," thinking that they're distant relatives to his species. Adam then tries telling Jake that there's no way he's Sea Simians, pointing out how they're technically brine shrimp--when Jake and their other friends question how Adam could know this, Adam explains that, unlike Jake, [Adam has] had Sea Simians before and admits that he found them to be pretty boring. He also admits to Jake and the others that he ended up flushing his Sea Simians down the toilet after they died.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Love Letters", Steven gets "Sea Pals" in the mail, and intends to set them free into the ocean.

[[folder:Films - Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets'', some of the flushed pets include sea monkeys, who were flushed away because they didn’t look like the ad.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:NewspaperComics]]

-->'''Dogbert''': None of them survived boot camp.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Let’s Go to the Hop," Chris has a family of sea monkeys in a tank, who are shown eating dinner at a table and are afraid of Chris.

* One ''{{Series/Bones}}'' episode had Hodgins using “Sea Chimps” in one of his experiments

* The Sea Monkees of ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' are humanized brine shrimp, with characters based off of Sea-Monkey ads, and live in a castle inspired by the default Sea-Monkeys tank. They're also a dual ShoutOut to ''Music/TheMonkees.'' They're a friendly tribe of UnscaledMerfolk, contrasting with the hostile Mer-Kin, who antagonise not only the player, but the sea-monkees themselves as well.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyGoldfishIsEvil'' featured "Sea Dudes", which despite promises of being fun and educational were an absolute bore for Beanie. Admiral Bubbles later uses a transmogrifier on them to create an army of giant sapient shrimp to assist him in taking over the world, only for them to overthrow him.

* In "[[{{Pun}} Synch]] or Swim" from WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey, after Jake's denied entry onto his middle school's synchronized swimming team, he decides to order some "Sea ''Simians'," thinking that they're distant relatives to his species. Adam then tries telling Jake that there's no way he's Sea Simians, pointing out how they're technically brine shrimp--when Jake and their other friends question how Adam could know this, Adam explains that, unlike Jake, [Adam has] had Sea Simians before and admits that he found them to be pretty boring. He also admits to Jake and the others than he ended up flushing his Sea Simians down the toilet after they died.

* An episode of ''LiveActionTV/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' has Alex and Uncle Kelbo receive a package of "Sea Chimps" in the Wizard Mail. Of course, being a magical pack of Sea Chimps, it floods the room they're in and turns the two of them into human-sized sea monkeys, leaving them to be rescued by the rest of the family.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "The Undersea World of Fifi" (narrated by a MockCousteau Fifi La Fume) features [[AndCallHimGeorge Elmyra]] going on a deep-diving exploration to find sea monkeys. They are shown as purple finned aquatic monkeys on par with the size of actual monkeys.

[[folder:Film]]