General and Meta
- Just about anything Glottis says: "Manny, until now we scraped along the ground like rats, but from now on, we soar! Yeah... like eagles! On... pogo sticks!"
- Examining Eva:Manny: It's my boss's secretary, Eva.
Eva: It's my boss's whipping boy, Manny.- Examining the three-hole punch on her desk:Manny: Could I take your hole punch?
Eva: Ha! I doubt you could take my half punch! - And later, when you discover that Eva's a member of the resistance:Manny: It's my boss's secretary's Evil Twin!
Eva: Just me, honey.- And near the end of the game
- Examining the three-hole punch on her desk:
- You gotta love Bruno's very first line upon being freed from his mortal body and seeing Manny. Keep in mind that you hear this after going through a great deal of foofaraw to get a car, driver and client, and the scene cuts to black the second after he says it:Bruno: Nice bath robe.
- Bruno is a source of fun. He doesn't even qualify for a walking stick - he's packed in a casket for a four year trip as luggage, though you do give him a complimentary gift: a mug reading "Today Is The First Day of the End of Your Life!" Later, in Year 4, you find Bruno's casket. When it opens, it's the same tinkling sound you heard when freeing him from his mortal body. His reaction to seeing you is absolutely priceless.Bruno: YOU! You were the guy who packed me in there. You could have at least given me a magazine. Four years with nothing to read but this damn mug! What are you doing here? And if you were headed this way, why didn't you offer me a lift? Ah, phooey. I'm getting out of here - this world's for suckers!
- Bruno is a source of fun. He doesn't even qualify for a walking stick - he's packed in a casket for a four year trip as luggage, though you do give him a complimentary gift: a mug reading "Today Is The First Day of the End of Your Life!" Later, in Year 4, you find Bruno's casket. When it opens, it's the same tinkling sound you heard when freeing him from his mortal body. His reaction to seeing you is absolutely priceless.
- Start experimenting with the 'pick up' command. Cat feces, women (and sometimes men), the moon...
- "Oh no, no more picking up sailors for me!"
- An Easter Egg...try typing "BLAM" when playing. See what happens.
- Meta Example: in the original script for Grim Fandango, Tim Schafer mentions the Unresolved Sexual Tension between Manny and Carla in Year 2. This is followed by a bolded disclaimer: "A Note on Skeleton Sex: The official Grim Fandango policy is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
- In the Remastered Director's Commentary, Tim Schaefer tells Peter McConnell that yes, Steampunk was around in the 90s.Peter M: Jeez. See? I told you I was from the Mad Men era.
Tim: I'm so glad they made a series about you guys.
- Manny's lines in the Land of the Living are pretty funny.
- Revealing himself briefly to a living person:Manny: Boo!
- Then:Manny: Pssst. It's me, Death. I'll see you soon, okay?
- Revealing himself again will give him this gem:Manny: I know you can't hear me, but try to feel what I'm about to say deep down in your soul: Don't... eat... the... gazpacho...
- Trying it again, Manny will remark that he could scare them to death, but then he'd get busted on a conflict of interest rap.
- Looking at a hamburger:Manny: (Examining) I have to say, this food looks pretty good. (Interacting) I can't reap hamburger. Cows are a whole other bureau, not to mention the lettuce.
- And the milkshake:Manny: (Examining) Truth be told, I'd rather be setting this milkshake's soul free. (Interacting) Can't reap the milkshake. Can only smell it.
- Revealing himself briefly to a living person:
- Here's a pretty clever one from the first act:Manny: I think we should team up, be partners.
Domino: Oh, Manny, I would, but I'm too intimidated. I could never be partners with someone who was so much more of a man than me.
Manny: Oh, come on. I've seen your wife. - Any and all of Manny's jabs at Domino:Manny: Look at all the diplomas!
Domino: You have to have the proper attitude to get diplomas like those, Manny!
Manny: Really? I thought you just had to have the proper postage. - "Run you pigeons! It's Robert Frost!"
- The best part is that he squeaks the balloons afterward to punctuate it.
- Glottis: (acting it out) It's like they reached into my chest, and pulled out my heart! And threw it into the woods to... (collapse)
- "Aww, poor spiders. No more demon heart to eat."
- "What a relief. I was getting concerned that our transportation wasn't ostentatious enough."
- When upon the arrival to Rubacava Manny tells Glottis to hide the car and starts walking away, Glottis begins rocking up and down on the hydraulic shocks like a kid on a toy car. Manny shoots him a Death Glare from the staircase, and Glottis quietly settles the car down.
- How does Manny meet Dock Master Velasco? By getting lost in the fog and falling into the water, prompting Velasco to save him but not before he shakes his head and grumbles, "Ah, tourists."
- Glottis, talking about the Bonewagon:Glottis: There was this one high-pitched whine it was making — really grating noise, you know? And I searched and searched, but I couldn't find the source of the noise, until we pulled in here.
Velasco: Was it the blower?
Glottis: No, it was Manny screaming in the back like a cat tied to a cruise missile!
Year 2
- The contrast between the more subtle and subdued Manny and the bundle-of-energy coat check girl Lupe is incredibly amusing, leading to some pretty funny exchanges of dialogue.Manny: (looking at her) Uh-oh. Lupe got into the sugar again.
- Then there's the way she first greets him.Lupe: HI MANNY!!!
- Then:Manny: How's the flow tonight?
Lupe: We're dead tonight, Manny. Everybody's back home for the Day of the Dead, I guess... except for the casino. The casino's hopping. Why is it that all the people who don't go home are the same people who just love to gamble?
Manny: Well, I guess when you've got nothing to go home to, you've got nothing to lose.
Lupe: Hey, we should put that over the door!
- Then there's the way she first greets him.
- "'The Blue Casket'. If only I named my club that. But no, I had to use my own name like an idiot."
- "So what's up with airplane food anyway?"
- If you improvise a poem, the crowd will hiss and boo it (or snap in approval if they think you're a revolutionary). Olivia will read the same lines as you, and the crowd will love it. Afterwards, Manny will accuse her, "HEY, you stole my poem." Olivia will have an offhanded reply to it, like "It was an homage."
- Olivia's open mic poem, riffing on the beat-poetry of days gone by: "Ashes, to ashes, to ashes, to ashes, to ashes, to me, to ashes, to ashes, to ashes."
- Another poem: "I called my cat Boney / 'Til she said it wouldn't do / I said, Why? / She said, Sister, 'cuz that's what I've been calling you."
- To get her to do it, you have to dialogue for a bit:Manny: Maybe you should go up there to kick [open-mic night] off.
Olivia: Oh, Manny, read poetry in my own club? That'd be like this whole place is a big temple built to worship... me.
Manny: Oh, come—
Olivia: (immediately) Okay!- The "Oh, come..." option is much longer in the menu. Olivia just interrupts Manny two words in.
- Olivia's one word poem when Manny tells her he's leaving town to pursue a woman he met once:Olivia: Chu-uuuuuh-uuuuh-UUUH-uuuuh-uuuuuh-mmm-MMmMMm-mmMMmm-mmMMm-p!
- Manny himself can take to the open mic to deliver impromptu poetry, or...Manny: ALRIIIIIGHT!! WHO'S READY TO ROCK AND ROOOOLLLL?!
(Beat of awkward, unimpressed silence)
Manny: ...Maybe later then...? - Then there's the way Manny greets some of the beatniks.Manny: (brightly) Hi! What's your name!
Manny: Oh, look! Deadbeats! - Asking the three plot-important beatniks about a poem you read on stage after you made them think you're part of the revolution gets this winning exchange:Manny: So what did you think of my poem?
Slisko: I liked it. It was sad and beautiful, like my mother.
Alexi: I despised it. It was too short and said nothing to me, like my father.
Gunnar: I had no feelings about it. It was aloof and licked itself too much, like my cat, Mr. Trotsky.
- Getting a handheld metal detector involves a largely optional (and mostly one-sided), but increasingly hilarious conversation between Carla and a drunk Manny. If you allow Manny to listen to Carla's ramblings long enough without bringing up his real interest, she eventually goes hysterical, giving you an opportunity to achieve your goal with this priceless line:Manny: Here, let me hold that metal detector for you while you cry.
- Eventually, Carla gets upset and tosses the detector, ranting at Manny Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?
- The entire speech is worth listening to since it's so ludicrous: Carla starts out talking about moving around due to her father's military service, and goes on a total ramble from there. It's worth listening to it all as doing so without interrupting gets you an achievement/trophy in the Remastered version.Carla: Maybe if I smiled more daddy wouldn't have left us. We'd be together: you, me, daddy, and Grandma Hedwig, and Mr. Ruffus, and I'd be wearing my Homecoming Queen crown and eating figs and— and— (sobbing) Oh mother!"
- "A note to all employees: I don't know who's doing it, but stop using the contained-detonation chamber to crack open walnuts."
- Should you press the "pick up" button while in the cats' stables, Manny will laugh like a maniac.
- Glottis enjoying the cat races while drinking enormous amounts of wine.Manny: I had no idea you liked gambling so much, Glottis.
Glottis: (very drunk) Well, the doctors made me promise I wouldn't do it any more! (pause) BUT THEY CAN'T GET IN THE HIGH ROLLER'S LOUNGE, NOW CAN THEY?- And at the end of Year 2, when Glottis is kicked out:Glottis: (still drunk) Hey, come on! You gotta let me back in! I'M A VIP!
Manny: Does that stand for Very Inebriated Pianist?
Glottis: Ah, Manny. I don't wanna be a pianist anymore. I'm a mechanic!
- And at the end of Year 2, when Glottis is kicked out:
- Look at the moon while on the dock and Manny will start to recite a poem. After the first verse, Velasco who's sitting a few feet away will join in.Manny: It shone pale as bone/as I stood there alone/and I thought to myself how the moon/
Manny and Velasco: that night cast its light/on my hearts true delight/and the reef where her body was strewn.- Doing it again will have Manny tell Veleasco, "Together this time!" and the two will recite the poem from the start in unison.
- It becomes a borderline Tearjerker when Manny does it in Year 4, then sighs it's not as fun without Velasco singing with him.
- Toto Santos gets a funny line if you don't complete his puzzle fast enough.Toto: When I am done with Naranja, I will tattoo big, floppy donkey ears on the sides of your head, so everyone will know what a jackass you are!!
- Talking with Charlie, Manny asks why he isn't at the roulette tables, and Charlie responds that he only likes slot machines, as he has an infallible system for beating them:Charlie: I can't tell you my secret, Manny. But...you have to become one with the bandit. You have to get inside the machine and make it want to pay!Manny: On second thought, stay away from my roulette tables.
Year 3
- Hiding from assassins:Manny: It's hard to totally panic when you're wearing that little sailor suit.
Glottis: NO IT'S NOT!Manny: Glottis, do something!
Glottis: Okay. (loud, terrified scream)Assassin 1: Open up! Customs!
Assassin 2: Yeah we wanna...check yer bags. - During Act 3, Manny and Glottis run into Chepito, a hapless traveler who's been stuck Going in Circles at the bottom of the sea because he's trying to follow a light he thinks is the moon. Part of a solution to a puzzle involves having Glottis grab his lantern and drag Chepito along with them, leading to this exchange:Chepito: Where are you taking me?
Manny: To the moon!- Later, when you find Chepito struggling with the Bust-All, you can sometimes hear him muttering, "'To the moon,' he says!"
- Attempting to use the electric chisel on Meche results in a priceless line:Manny: I think I'd try couples' counseling first.
- One of the possible dialogue options when Meche asks for Manny's gun (that he doesn't have).Meche: Give me your gun.
Manny: Sure. Here it is. (Manny looks in his inventory)
Manny: Okay, look, the problem is I just don't have one. - Manny can sneak up on Domino at The End of the World with a variety of different kinds of weapons or tools. Dommy will just raise a gun as if to Finger Wag Manny and say, "Please put that away", forcing Manny to put the item away. However, if Manny tries to threaten Dommy with the "L'il Chipper" (a pick axe smaller than the palm of his hand), Domino takes out the gun and starts saying the same line as when you approach him with a weapon, and then giggle and say "All right, you can keep the tiny hammer."
- Using the scythe on the suit of armor in the vault will make Manny shake his scythe at it and say "You want a piece of Calavera, suit?"
Year 4
- The note at Double N station is hilarious.Manny: (reading) "To avoid further mishaps, PLEASE butter your English muffins AFTER you toast them. - Facilities."
- When you first discover that the Bonewagon has been trapped, Glottis will stare at it in shock. Try talking to him, and he'll make a ridiculous strained noise.
- Olivia decides to join Manny and company for the ride before he solves the puzzle, saying she has to grab her things.Manny: Alright, but if you hear an explosion, trip's off.
- Glottis trying to play it cool after Manny gives him a Coffin Shooter, calling "Lumbago Lemonade".Glottis: Hmmmm! Not bad. Perky little aperitif, actually heh... Yessiree... Not bad a'tall... (whistles nonchalantly, before he grabs Manny and shakes him like a rag doll) TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT THAT RIGHT NOW!!!
Manny: Olivia's kitchen...
(Glottis runs off to "Assembly of the Buglers")
Glottis: Luuuuuuuuummmbagoooooooooooooo Lemonaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade! - How Manny gets Glottis to vomit.Manny: So, what IS that stuff they pack canned hams in, anyway?
- After Glottis vomits for a very long time:Glottis: (sheepish) You wouldn’t happen to have a breath mint on you, I suppose?
- Manny realizes that he can't immobilize the dominos because the vomit/gel is not viscous enough. Glottis' line delivery really sells it.Manny: It's not gelling!
Glottis: It can't gel now! (Beat) It got all nice and waaaaaaaarm in my beeEEEeeEEEeeelly. - After Manny has solved the puzzle, if he looks at the Bonewagon you have this exchange:Manny: Soon to be known as "the Blownwagon".
Glottis: HEY, THAT'S NOT FUNNY! - In Year 4, Manny interacting with one of the LSA's pigeons.Manny: Come here, little Manny. *pigeon bites him* Ow-hey! Must be little Meche.
- After talking Celso into buying tickets from Hector during act 4:Hector LeMans: We've had a lot of openings in this office in the last couple of years, and frankly we've had trouble filling them. I could really use a closer like you on the team!
- Whereupon Manny is shown his old office.
- Also, near the ending of Year 4:Manny: Where are all of Salvador's men?!
Olivia: I don't know, he hasn't told me yet.
(she throws Salvador's damaged, decapitated head at Manny; cue very dramatic music)
Salvador: (indifferent) Hola, Manuel. - Manny capitalises on his location:Manny: (imitating Don LaFontaine) IT'S THE MUG RACK AT THE END OF THE WORLD!
- After leaving the LSA office, Manny finds Glottis toying with the Bone Wagon's suspension features. He eventually walks up to the demon and takes his remote, presumably annoyed by his actions.Manny: Gimme that!
