List of pop culture references to Jetsons
From Hanna-Barbera Wiki
The Jetsons has become a pop culture phenomenon since its debut in 1962, where the future is predicted to serve us all too well; with machines and robots taking over the menial tasks of every day that hound us so. Life in the late 21st century still has its hardships simply by pushing a button, and we will always remember George yelling to Jane to turn off that crazy thing as he gets caught on the rapid spin of the futuristic dog walking treadmill!
Comics
Shadow Cabinet
- Issue #8 - "Red Death Part 3: Wheep Wheep:" Two scientists at the Foundation discuss the timeline of The Flintstones in creating Stone Age technology analogues to the 20th century, even suggesting that it's a post-apocalyptic version of The Jetsons.
Commercials
Dove
- In the 2005 "Unstick Your Style" campaign, Jane, Wilma Flintstone, and Velma Dinkley took part in an animated commercial of them having better hair by using Dove.
Films
Boyz n the Hood
- Doughboy makes fun of Dooky by calling him Elroy Jetson after he talks about the existence of God and how he would have to have made the sun, moon, and stars.
The Cable Guy
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
- There is a cosplayer dressed like George at Fan Con, both inside and outside (who may or may not be the same person).
Fat Albert
- Danielle says she was a guest star on Bugs Bunny and The Jetsons.
D.A.R.Y.L.
- Although having no part in the actual movie, George, along with Jane and Astro, was featured on the poster of the film D.A.R.Y.L. The inclusion of the family may represent something Daryl is missing out on, while Paramount Pictures may have included it as an Easter egg as they had acquired the rights the same year for what became an undeveloped live-action movie.
Steve Jobs
- During Lisa's impassioned speech about how her father, Steve, put the iMac (now known as the iMac G3) over her, which for all his hard work, looks like Judy Jetson's Easy-Bake Oven.
The Terminator
- Sarah wears a Jetsons t-shirt while getting ready for her date.
Songs
"Cartoons" by Chris Rice
- Rice questions if Astro is religious and would say "Rough-ray-roo-loo-yah" in place of "Hallelujah."
"Heartless" by Kanye West
- In an animated music video, the family, Rosie and Astro appear as paintings on the wall of an apartment where Kanye West sings about his woes.
TV series
Animaniacs (1993)
- Main article: Animaniacs
- "Bumbi's Mom:" Slappy Squirrel points out that Vina Walleen (the actress who played Bumbi's mom) dated George Jetson.
- "Space-Probed:" An alien resembling Jane shows up when one of the aliens ends up getting caught in a treadmill, similar to George's running gag in the end credits of the show.
Animaniacs (2020)
- "Suffragette City:" George appears as one of the activists in Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Main article: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- "One Hundred:" Carl becomes an unwilling participant in a Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! parody, but he transforms into a character more like Spacely.
Baby Looney Tunes
- "The Wheel Deal:" Bugs and his friends take their bikes apart to make a new one for Tweety, with the first choice being one that resembled a Jetsons space car, accompanied by a jingle of the theme song, but Bugs commentated that it was "too new."
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- "The Pontiac Bandit Returns:" Doug sends a text through voice message, with this feat of technology he describes as a "magical age" they live in, with Jake adding that it's like The Jetsons.
Comic Book Men
- Main article: Comic Book Men
- "Stash Wars:" When the guys talk about the background of a cartoon they'd like to live in, Ming picks Jetsons.
- "To the Bat Cave:" Mike's favorite talking dog is Astro.
Drawn Together
- Main article: Drawn Together
- "Hot Tub:" When Foxxy attacks Clara, a flying car flies overhead.
- "Foxxy vs the Board of Education:" A flying car is parked outside the church during Spanky's wedding.
- "A Tale of Two Cows:" As the gang passes by the Jetsons, Captain Hero yells, "We need to stop this crazy thing", the line famously said by George. Every member of the Jetson family except Rosie was killed.
The Fairly OddParents
- Main article: The Fairly OddParents
- Channel Chasers (part 1): Timmy zaps himself into the world of The Futurellis, which is about a futuristic Italian-American family who is a parody of the Jetsons family as well as the mafia family Sopranos from HBO's The Sopranos. Timmy's entrance is similar to both the opening and closing theme songs, with Timmy (dressed like Elroy) driving a flying car shaped like a saucer just like George does in the opening. All the characters are supposed to be robots (although Timmy is unaffected by this fact). Along the way, he meets Tony Futurelli taking his dog for a walk on a treadmill shaped like a pizza, just as George took Astro for a walk on a treadmill in the closing credits. Tony mocks Timmy's ride, and then his dog sees a cat just like Astro saw a cat, but Tony's dog has beef with the cat because he owes the dog money. The dog chases the cat which causes Tony to fall and get dragged. Tony then shouts, "Maria! Get me off this crazy thing!" The dog and cat then jump on the balcony to watch Tony continue to spin around.
Family Guy
- Main article: Family Guy
- "Brian in Love:" We get to see what happens after the closing titles, when George eventually finds his way back inside the house after being left screaming for Jane on the treadmill, with bruises and a torn shirt. He excuses Elroy to leave, so he can chastise Jane for not hearing his cries for help. Jane can only apologize, although she is not forgiven. Seth MacFarlane voices George and Elroy, while D.D. Howard voices Jane.
- "From Method to Madness:" Peter thinks it's fine for Stewie to go into acting at such a young age because he thinks Elroy turned out okay. But Elroy has grown up to become a poor drunk. He gets taken out of a bar by its bouncer and put into a taxi driven by another former child star Bamm-Bamm Rubble. The bouncer tells Bamm-Bamm to take Elroy home, but he wants to go to Astro's grave, instead. Elroy is voiced by MacFarlane.
- "Meet the Quagmires:" Peter and Brian's tampering with the timeline has caused them to get flying cars, which Brian attributes to Al Gore being in office. The scene then shifts to an authentic take in the opening theme song where George drops off everyone at their destinations, only this time George stops Jane from taking his wallet when she doesn't accept the money he gives her. She says she was just going to buy groceries, but George cries, "Bullcrap!" Immediately after when Peter and Brian discuss how to get Death's attention (who transported them into the past to begin with), Jane's body drops to the ground, with her money falling on top of her dead body and the sound of George's space car swooshing away. Jeff Bergman and Beth Littleford voice George and Jane, respectively.
- "Play It Again, Brian:" A caricaturist interprets Lois and Brian as Jane and Snoopy, respectively.
- "Something, Something, Something Dark Side:" Among the probes shot out of the Star Destroyer is Elroy in his pod on his way to Little Dipper School. This is accompanied by the "His boy, Elroy" part of the theme song.
- "Pilling Them Softly," when Quagmire fires Peter from his kitchen show, Peter says he can only be fired by Mr. Spacely, who pops up on the set and fires him without remorse, which causes Peter to sadly walk away. Mr. Spacely is voiced by MacFarlane.
- "Emmy-Winning Episode:" Peter hears Flintstones running sounds and the whooshing of the flying car in Dr. Hartman's office.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- "Did the Earth Move for You?:" Vivian is having a hard time keeping up with all the new gadgets in the house, saying she wants to keep up with the Joneses, not the Jetsons.
Friends
- "The One with Two Parts: Part 1:" Phoebe mentions to her friends how when she was eight years old, her twin sister, Ursula, threw her Judy Jetson thermos under a bus.
- "The One with Two Parts: Part 2:" Ursula gifts Phoebe a Judy Jetson thermos on their birthday to make up for what she did.
Full House
- "The First Day at School:" Danny has bought a Jetsons lunch box for Stephanie's first day of kindergarten. Joey makes the flying car sound effects as he takes it to her. He then pretends to be George saying hello to Jane, Elroy, and Astro, followed by a response from Astro saying hello back.
- "Joey's Place:" Stephanie uses the same lunch box.
- Season two opening sequence: Stephanie leaves the house with the same lunch box.
- "But Seriously Folks:" Stephanie uses the same lunch box, although it is only seen from the back.
- "Tanner vs. Gibbler:" Joey puts the same lunch box on the kitchen table.
- "Joey Gets Tough:" The back of the same lunch box was on the kitchen counter, but Stephanie didn't pick it up as she took D.J.'s bagged lunch instead.
- "El Problema Grande de D.J.:" Stephanie takes her lunch box, with the side featuring the characters barely visible.
- Season three opening sequence:" A new shot of Stephanie leaving the house with the same lunch box again.
- "Back to School Blues:" Danny hands Stephanie her Jetsons lunch box, seen from the front, but the camera is too far away to show it off properly.
- "Breaking Up is Hard to Do (in 22 Minutes):" Joey tries to entertain Michelle and her friends by imitating the sound of a spaceship landing, which is the sound the flying cars from The Jetsons make.
- "Star Search:" In Danny's college talk show video, he gets Joey on to do his Jetsons routine, which involves him making the sound of a flying car taking Mr. Cogswell to see Mr. Spacely, which annoys him and gets George fired, followed by Astro telling George that he loves him.
- "The Legend of Ranger Joe:" When Joey auditions to replace Ranger Roy, Joey says he does every cartoon voice known to man, and then proceeds to say "Jetson, get in here!" in Spacely's voice, and then "I ruv you, George" in Astro's voice.
Futurama
- Main article: Futurama
- "Space Pilot 3000:" In the audio commentary for the pilot episode, creator Matt Groening didn't want the future to be "bland and boring" like The Jetsons.
- Bender's Game (part 2): Rosie has been sent to the HAL Institute for Criminally Insane Robots for killing Astro and possibly Elroy for being dirty, only referring to the latter by name. Interestingly, Tress MacNeille voices Rosie, before she officially voiced her in the DTV The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania.
- Futurama Comics #58 - "Boomsday!:" Hubert makes a mother for Bender, who is Rosie.
- "The Bots and the Bees:" There is a robot teen center called The Rosie D. and Robbie T. Robot Teen Center.
- "Assie Come Home:" Tarquin's boat is called Flotsam & Jetson, a reference to both the marine term "jetsam" and The Jetsons.
George Lopez
- "Leave It to Lopez:" George Lopez falls asleep while The Jetsons theme song plays, inducing a dream in which he and the rest of his family are the Jetsons living in their futuristic apartment in Orbit City.
Gilmore Girls
- "Introducing Lorelei Planetarium:" Lorelei quipped that Christopher's new flat screen TV is something out of The Jetsons, even adding, "Meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy," from the theme song.
The Golden Girls
- "The Commitments:" Blanche has trouble using a remote-controlled bar, but when it opens she realizes that it functions "like The Jetsons."
Lego Masters Australis
- "Episode 7" (series 6): After Hamish Blake the presenter mentioned Scooby-Doo as a classic cartoon (which was turned into a Lego diorama), Ryan McNaught the judge mentioned The Flintstones and The Jetsons as classic cartoons.
Live with Kelly and Ryan
- In the 2021 Halloween special, the hosts and two executives dressed up as some of the family, which included Ryan Seacrest as George, Kelly Ripa as Jane, Michael Gelman as Elroy, and Art Moore as Astro.
Mad
- Main article: Mad
- "Pooh Grit/Not a Fan a Montana:" In the segment "Not a Fan a Montana," Justin Beiber survives a destroyed Earth in a Jetsons-like spaceship.
- "Total Recall Me Baby/The Asgardians:" In "Total Recall Me Baby," Douglas Quaid/Hauser jumps across George's spaceship car when he escapes the barbers.
Malcolm in the Middle
- "Malcolm Babysits:" Malcolm is told he can't have a robotics kit by his mom because it is too expensive, but also because of his dad's fear of fictional robots such as "[Rosie] the creepy maid from The Jetsons."
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
- "Don't Touch That Dial:" A boy watches a show called The Jetstones, a mashup between The Flintstones and The Jetsons. There is a fat George lookalike who drives his saucer car, but it's made of stone and is foot-powered. Stella, his wife, rushes out of the house made out of stone, but the front doors slide open, and the land floats in the air like the high buildings in Orbit City, and a woman runs on a treadmill made of stone. The entire scene is accompanied by a Jetsons-lie intro, where the singer introduces everybody.
Moesha
- "The Ditch Party:" Hakeem calls the Mitchell family the Jetsons, as part of the recurring joke of him referring to the family as popular families, whether they be fake or real. His reason for calling them the Jetsons, is because Frank has the same haircut as George.
Muppet Babies (1984)
- "Muppet Babies: The Next Generation:" Piggy imagines the babies as the Spacetons, who live in the same futuristic world as the Jetsons, with matching stilted buildings and technology, such as the flying saucer-like cars, chutes, etc. Kermit even walks Rowlf on a floating treadmill and gets stuck on it. The "Meet Those Spacetons" theme song keeps on playing every time something new happens, much to the growing annoyance of the cast.
- Kermit = George
- Piggy = Jane
- Scooter/Scootie and Bean/Bean Bag = Elroy
- Skeeter/Skeetie = Judy
- Rowlf/Rowlfo = Astro
Parks and Recreation
- "The Comeback Kid:" The overly manly Ron informed Leslie that he had to "jettison" some of the wood from making her stage. When Leslie sees only the top half of her face on a poster, she asks what happened to it, with the not so bright Andy informing her they had to "Jetsons" that, too.
Pointless
- "Episode 18" (series 7): The first round of questions that fell into the "Cartoon" category is Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, with host Alexander Armstrong showing an image of several of them together. The contestants have to be able to pick out all the obscure characters that 100 anonymous public people had been able to guess. Nobody chose George, which would've been a score of five. Contestant Gary said it was a toss-up between George and Judy, although Judy wasn't in the image.
The Ren & Stimpy Show
- "The Big Shot!:" Stimpy becomes the co-star of Muddy Mudskipper, where they reenact one of the many chase sequences between Yogi and Ranger Smith, respectively. Muddy tells Stimpy to get his hand out of the picnic basket, while Stimpy spouts out random quotes like "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!"
Samurai Jack
- Main article: Samurai Jack
- "Episode XCVII:" An anthropomorphic thug-like dog strongly resembles Astro, but Greg Baldwin who voiced him, didn't do an Astro-like voice.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)
- "Beach Blanket Bizarro." Roxie calls Miles Elroy Jetson.
Saturday Night Live
- "Hugh Laurie/Kanye West:" Kanye West performed "Heartless" live on stage with the music video playing behind him with the scene of Elroy chosen against the other members of the family.
Saved by the Bell
- "Cream for a Day:" Lisa persuades Kelly out of her bathroom by saying there's a new George Michael video on, only to discover that it is George Jetson.
Scrubs
- "My Balancing Act:" Carla asks Turk to say he loves her in Spanish then as Astro, who obliges by saying, "I rove roo" in Astro's voice.
- "My T.C.W.:" After Dr. Cox finds out that J.D. practiced kissing his stuffed dog, he teases him by calling him fictional dog names throughout the day, such as Scooby-Doo and Astro.
The Simpsons
- Main article: The Simpsons
- Matt Groening was inspired by Hoyt Curtin's theme music for The Jetsons when creating the theme music for The Simpsons.[1]
- "Bart Gets Famous:" The set of Match Game 2034, the celebrity guests wear Jetsons-like clothing and are sent out of chutes into their seats.
- "Lisa's Wedding:" In the future, Homer has a short-sleeved version of George's shirt, while Bart also wears the same style but in pink. The cars also make the same sound.
- "All Singing, All Dancing:" The couch gag has the floor turn into a treadmill, which Homer gets caught on and yells for Marge to "Stop this crazy thing" ala George Jetson.
- "Children of a Lesser Clod:" In Homer's basketball fantasy, he jumps into space and knocks a basketball through a planet's ring, but then gets hit in the leg by George's flying saucer, to which he yells, "JETSON!" in the same way George's boss, Mr. Spacely, does.
- Simpsons Comics #60 - "The Man with Two Wives:" When Smithers asks Homer about his job at the plant, Homer responds by saying that his job is like George's. Later, when his chair spins out of control, he yells, "Smithers! Stop this crazy thing!"
- "My Big Fat Geek Wedding:" Lenny dresses as George at the bi-mon-sci-fi convention.
- "Postcards from the Wedge:" Bart's class watches an educational short film loosely based on the futuristic setting of The Jetsons, featuring a similar family, buildings, robots teaching at school, and cars that have glass dome canopies and make the same kind of whooshing sound while moving.
- "Replaceable You:" As the robopets are roaming through town, they stop to watch TVs on display, with The Jetsons playing on it. On it, Rosie explains to George that if she doesn't get her green card (implying that Rosie is an immigrant), she'll be turned back into a washing machine. Spaceship-like cars fly around their Googie-influenced deco house.
- "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner:" A video at the Out-of-Date Futureland exhibit describes what an alternate futuristic 1994 will be like, where families drive through the sky.
- "My Fare Lady:" There are two opening sequences, with the second being a parody of the opening sequence to The Jetsons. Then, in the first scene, Homer yells, "Marge, stop that crazy thing" when the sound of her working their old printer wakes him.
- Simpsons Comics One-Shot Wonders #18 - "Future Cop!:" In Chief Wiggum's dream of being a cop in the future, he pulls George over for dropping his son out of the car just as he does in the opening sequence.
- "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson:" Homer believes the future will be bleak when machines take over, with Carl then imagining himself as George in a Jetsons-like future. He assumes the role of George at the end of the opening sequence where he lands outside the office with his space car that he turns into a suitcase, before lying back in his office chair.
Sons of Anarchy
- "Hands:" Potter enters Juice's cell where he has been lent a TV that has the Merrie Melodies theatrical short Bars and Stripes Forever. Not really paying attention, Potter says he is a Hanna-Barbera fan, too, saying Quick Draw McGraw is his favorite. He offers Juice to sign some paperwork that will allow him to leave under the condition that Juice acts undercover. Potter, again not really paying attention or caring what's on, says he'll wait until after The Jetsons is finished for him to decide.
The Sopranos
- "He is Risen:" Tony wants Carmela to cancel Ralph and Rosalie's Thanksgiving invitation to their house, with the former getting frustrated and comparingly them to George and Jane, and himself to Mr. Spacely, respectively, when saying, "None of this Jetsons shit, them coming over to Mr. Spacely's for dinner."
Star Trek: The Next Generation
- "Interface:" There was supposed to be a medical log that featured the stardate from this episode, which included the name Ensign G. Jetson.[2]
Steven Universe
- "Greg the Babysitter:" When Greg and Sour Cream get stuck on the Ferris wheel, he yells for Rose to "get him off this crazy thing."
Teen Titans Go!
- Main article: Teen Titans Go!
- "Sandwich Thief:" In the future, when Nightwing opens his front door, it makes the same jingle as the doorbell from Jetsons.
- "Robin Backwards:" Boy Beast, a Bizarro World counterpart to Beast Boy, is a dog who can transform into any boy in the world, including the Bizarro version of Elroy.
- "Serious Business:" Mankind was primitive until the first toilet was made, with the worlds of Flintstones and Jetsons representing the before and after.
- "The Bergerac:" Rosie was Cyborg's first kiss.
- "Intro:" The Teen Titans and their enemy Control Freak travel into the title sequence of The Jetsons.
- "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary:" The family and Rosie are guests at Warner Bros.' Burbank lot to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
That 70s Show
- "Jackie's Cheese Squeeze:" Jackie mentions that Kelso didn't pick her up from work once because he wanted to see how The Jetsons episode he was watching ended.
Tiny Toon Adventures
- Main article: Tiny Toon Adventures
- "You Asked for It:" In the "Duck Out of Luck" segment, when the fighter jets target the King Kong-sized Plucky Duck, one jet shoots anything but actual missiles, such as George and Mr. Spacely, the latter of whom is wearing an orange t-shirt.
Wander Over Yonder
- "The Cartoon:" Dominator watches a cartoon called The Mystery Kids Mysteries, which is a crossover between Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and Gravity Falls, with their outfits, their flying car, and Googie architecture based on The Jetsons.
