List of references in the Animal Crossing series

The following is a list of references to other media or popular culture in the Animal Crossing series.

Multiple Games

• Alfonso is themed after the title character from the Mario series. His default outfit prior to New Horizons, the Big Bro's Shirt, is designed after Mario's emblem, while his favorite saying is "it'sa me," deriving from Mario's line "it's a me, Mario" in Super Mario 64.
• Apollo's name may be a reference to the Apollo space program by NASA in the United States, as his species is the national bird of the U.S., and his birthday, July 4, is Independence Day in the U.S.
• Two of Louie's initial shirts — the Li'l Bro's Shirt and Big Bro's Shirt — reference Luigi and Mario from the Mario franchise, respectively, while his appearance is likely a reference to Donkey Kong.
• Marlo is named after American actor Marlon Brando, who portrayed Don Vito Corleone in the 1972 film adaptation of the 1969 American novel The Godfather, tying in with his crime boss-inspired design.
• Rocco's favorite saying from Animal Crossing: New Leaf onwards, "the only thing to fear is fear itself...and wasps" ("bees" prior to New Horizons), is a modified quote from United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, spoken during his first inauguration in 1933.

Animal Crossing

• When talking to Gulliver, he can say he might have "lost his Goldfish in Toad Town or Hyrule," which are references to locations from Paper Mario and The Legend of Zelda series, respectively.
• When giving the player an item, Gulliver may say he "found it while sailing the Karagol Sea," which is a reference to the location from the Golden Sun series.
• Kapp'n's sea shanties contain various references:

• One verse says "Yar, I know Nintendo gives ye yer joys. But I ask this of ye: Can games sing like me? Mario can't croon, bro!", referencing both Nintendo and Mario.
• One interlude references The Legend of Zelda, with Kapp'n asking the player, "Ye ever spend the night in a Hyrulian prison?" The line additionally acts as a nod to the quote "Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?" from the 1980 comedy film Airplane!, itself a reference to the 1978 prison drama Midnight Express.
• One interlude says "Ahoy there, Moby Dick! Ye wanna stop rockin' the boat?", referencing the fictional whale from the novel of the same name.

• When managing Animal Island Game Boy Advance data, Kapp'n may say "Why, what in the name o' Jabu-Jabu's belly?" This is a reference to the dungeon of the same name in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• The catch quote for the Loach is "I caught a loach! You don't suppose it's Hylian, do you?". This is a reference to the Hylian Loach, a fish in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• There is a collection of 10 Super Mario Bros.-themed furniture items, as well as the Mushroom Mural and Block Flooring, which also are themed after Super Mario Bros.
• The Big Bro's Shirt, Li'l Bro's Shirt, Toad Print reference Mario, Luigi, and Toad, respectively
• The Autumn Medal and Spring Medal items contain a medal with Mario's face on it.
• The Mario Trophy and Luigi Trophy items are statues of Mario and Luigi respectively.
• The Anju's Shirt and Kaffe's Shirt items are references to the outfits worn by Anju and Kafei, characters in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
• Tortimer tells a story that he defeated the "great sea snakes" at Pinnacle Rock, a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
• If the player interacts with a storage unit in a villager's house, a random message will appear. One of them is "You found 100 Rupees! But you can't use them here," a reference to The Legend of Zelda series.
• The Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda series appears as an item.
• An Arwing from Star Fox series appears as an item.
• The N Logo and G Logo items reference the logos of the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube, respectively.
• The letter received from Bob after his e-Reader card is scanned says that he had a dream where the player was "running around on a tropical island with a water pump on [their] back," referencing Super Mario Sunshine.
• Various e-Reader designs feature references to other Nintendo franchises, including Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Pokémon, Kirby, Pikmin, F-Zero, and Star Fox.
• While working for Tom Nook, if the player is tasked with delivering furniture to a cranky villager, the latter's dialogue upon receiving the item will include the line "So ask yourself: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well? Do ya, <catchphrase>?" This is a modified quote from the 1971 action-thriller film Dirty Harry, in which the title character, while confronting a robber, states that "you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?"
• When waking a normal villager from a nap, they can occasionally respond with a startled "this is not my beautiful house, <catchphrase>! How did I get here?" This quotes two lines from the 1980 Talking Heads song "Once in a Lifetime".
• When meeting Wisp, he may mention "Large Marge" as one of the violent beings who will punish him. This is likely a reference to the character of the same name, the ghost of a deceased trucker, from the 1985 film Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Animal Crossing: Wild World

• After talking to Gulliver after repairing his U.F.O., he asks the player if they have ever seen "A space fox or a bounty hunter who can roll into a ball". These are clear references to Fox of the Star Fox series and Samus Aran of the Metroid series.
• Goldie's favorite saying on her picture references Nintendogs, saying "I'm really into that Lab on the cover of Nintendogs. He's pretty dreamy."
• On the player's third reset, Mr. Resetti states his favorite movie is "A Few Good Moles," a reference to A Few Good Men, a 1992 American legal drama film.
• The ant's catch quote, "I caught an ant! Ant misbehavin'!", plays on the title of the 1929 jazz standard "Ain't Misbehavin'".

Animal Crossing: City Folk

• Through the Nook's Point-Tracking Machine, Nintendo-related items are available for purchase as a reward for spending large amounts of Bells at Tom Nook's.
• A Red Pikmin Hat and a Dolphin Model, which originate from the Pikmin series, are distributed items.
• One part of Nat's dialogue during the Bug-Off reads "Hunt bugs in the fields! Hunt bugs in the hills! Hunt bugs in the streets! You must never surrender!". This parodies the preoration of British prime minister Winston Churchill's famed "we shall fight on the beaches" speech, delivered in 1940.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Gulliver mentioning Admiral Bobbery of Rogueport

• When waking Gulliver on the beach, one phrase he can say is "oh man! This sure is a fuzzy pickle!" This is a nod to the photo-man from EarthBound, who asks characters to say the phrase "fuzzy pickle" (instead of the conventional "cheese") when getting their photo taken.
• After agreeing to help Gulliver, he'll mention that he's "never met a skipper so kind since Bobbery of Rogueport". This is a reference to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
• One of the locations Gulliver mentions having washed up on is Isle Delfino. This is a reference to Super Mario Sunshine.
• Gulliver may also mention The Overthere; a place in Super Paper Mario.
• The Welcome amiibo update added several villagers and items based on other video game franchises, including The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Monster Hunter, and Puzzle League. It also added villagers and items based on franchises owned by Japanese company Sanrio.
• The Billboard furniture item can have its pattern customized to the "Sports" variant, which features several characters from the Punch-Out!! series.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The player making a reference to Bloopers in New Horizons.

File:NH Captain Syrup Reference.jpg

Gullivarrr referencing Captain Syrup in New Horizons.

• If the player refuses to find the communicator parts for Gulliver, he says, "Oof. I haven't received a cold shoulder this icy since my brush with the Snomad fleet...". This references the Snowmads from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
• The three possible catch quotes for the Squid reference other Nintendo franchises. "I caught a squid! Do they...not actually "bloop"?", which is a reference to Bloopers from the Mario franchise. The other two are references to the Splatoon series, with "I caught a squid! I had an inkling I might!" making a pun on Inklings and "I caught a squid! It's off the hook!" referencing the pop idol duo Off the Hook.
• Blathers's description of the Eusthenopteron references the Splatoon series: "Imagine if we'd not left the oceans... How might fashion and music be different in an aquatic world? How would we resolve differences? Perhaps some sort of ink-squirting contest of champions?"
• The Tulip Surprise Box opens when interacted with, revealing a doll referencing Princess Peach, Princess Daisy doll, or Rosalina depending on its variant.
• One of the quotes Isabelle restates during the island evaluation is "It's a place I've been quietly watching. It's a secret to everybody. I don't want it to be famous." The "It's a secret to everybody" part is a reference to an identical quote commonly used in the The Legend of Zelda series.
• When the player talks to a peppy villager, they may mention a game they have been waiting for to come out called Super Gyroid Brothers, a reference to Super Mario Bros..
• Flick's description of the player's island when giving a 5-star evaluation is a truncated parody of the "this royal throne of kings" monologue from the 1595 William Shakespeare play Richard II.
• During Bunny Day, peppy villagers may comment on finding colorful bottles that wash ashore; while doing so, they'll remark that it inspired song lyrics for them, which they sing as "Message in a bottle, ooooohhhh; Makes me hungry for a waffle, ooooohhhh." This parodies the chorus of the 1979 song "Message in a Bottle" by the Police.
• Forged copies of the Academic Painting include a key taped to the backside, a reference to a plot device in the 2003 Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

• Louie's client vision is "A 30th-anniversary party!", a reference to the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

The Super Mushroom (left) and Poké Ball (right) as they appear in Pocket Camp

• A crossover event between the Super Mario series happened in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 event featured the Super Mushroom, 1-Up Mushroom, and Mega Mushroom from the Mario franchise as crafting materials to Mario-related furniture and clothing items. The 2019 event has a special Fishing Tourney event where the player can fish for Cheep Cheep, Eep Cheep, Blooper, and Cheep Chomp, for Mario items.
• A Poké Ball from the Pokémon franchise appears as a crafting material.
• SOU • SOU Kyoto held a crossover event in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp with the SOU・SOU Collection, bringing along furniture items and yukatas for the player to craft with  Leaf Tickets.

See also

• List of Animal Crossing references in other media