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

Villagers

• Alfonso is themed after the title character from the Mario series. His default outfit prior to New Horizons, the big bro's tee, 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 he is designed after a bald eagle, the national bird of the U.S., and his birthday, July 4, is American Independence Day.
• Cyd is named after late English punk rock musician Sid Vicious, tying in with his punk theming.
• Two of Louie's initial shirts — the li'l bro's tee and big bro's tee — 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 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.
• Samson's favorite saying from New Leaf onwards, "Squeak softly and carry a big stick," is a pun on Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
• Tiansheng is themed after the Monkey King (a.k.a. Sun Wukong), one of the main characters from the 1592 Chinese novel Journey to the West. His name is specifically derived from Sun Wukong's self-professed title, "Qí Tiān Dà Shèng" (simplified: 齐天大圣/traditional: 齊天大聖), which translates to "Great Sage, Equal to Heaven."

Crossover villagers

• Felyne is a crossover villager that represents the Monster Hunter series. He appears in Happy Home Designer and Welcome amiibo.
• Filly is a crossover villager that represents the 7-Eleven supermarket chain. She appears in Happy Home Designer and Welcome amiibo.
• Six Sanrio-themed crossover villagers appear in Welcome amiibo, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons: Rilla, Marty, Étoile, Chai, Chelsea, and Toby. Each villager is themed after a Sanrio franchise.

Items

Music

• The artwork of "K.K. Metal" is based on the album art for the 1984 album Ride the Lightning by American thrash metal band Metallica.
• The artwork of "K.K. Rock" is designed after the 1980 album Back in Black by Australian hard rock group AC/DC.
• The artwork of "K.K. Technopop" combines elements of the 1981 album Computer World and the 1986 album Electric Café, both by German synth-pop group Kraftwerk.
• The artwork of "Steep Hill" features K.K. Slider mimicking Japanese musician and former Happy End band member Haruomi Hosono, tying in with the song's pastiche of kayōkyoku music.

Item collections

• The Mario Theme is a collection of Super Mario Bros.-themed items that appears from Animal Crossing to Happy Home Designer.
• Sanrio furniture and clothing items appear in Welcome amiibo, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons. In New Horizons, the furniture collections are classified as the Hello Kitty Series, the Pompompurin Series, the Kiki & Lala Series, the Cinnamoroll Series, the My Melody Series, and the Kerokerokeroppi Series.
• A collection of Kokuyo Camlin items appears in Happy Home Designer and Welcome amiibo.
• A collection of Monster Hunter items appears in Happy Home Designer and Welcome amiibo.
• A collection of 7-Eleven items appears in Happy Home Designer and Welcome amiibo.
• A collection of Splatoon items appears in Welcome amiibo and Pocket Camp.

Furniture items

• The Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda series appears as an item from Animal Crossing to Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set.
• The Triforce from the The Legend of Zelda series appears as an item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set.
• The Arwing from the Star Fox series appears as an item from Animal Crossing to Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set.
• The Metroid from the Metroid series appears as an item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set.
• The Blue Falcon from the F-Zero series appears as an item in Wild World, New Leaf, and Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set in New Leaf.
• The Pikmin ("pikmin" in Wild World) from the Pikmin series appears as an item in Wild World, New Leaf, and Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set in New Leaf.
• The S.S. Dolphin ("Dolphin model" in City Folk) from the Pikmin series appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer. It is part of the Nintendo Set in New Leaf.
• The Yoshi's Egg ("Yoshi's egg" in City Folk and Pocket Camp) from the Super Mario series appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer, and Pocket Camp. It is part of the Nintendo Set in New Leaf.
• The Triple Bananas ("banana" in City Folk), Triple Red Shells ("triple shells" in City Folk), and kart items from the Mario Kart series appears as items from City Folk to Happy Home Designer. They are part of the Nintendo Set.
• The backglass of the pinball machine item from Animal Crossing to Pocket Camp features the box cover artwork of Super Mario Bros. Additionally, the playfield of the item features artwork of Mario at the bottom near the paddles, and Bowser at the top by the round bumpers. Although the pinball machine reappears in New Horizons, it no longer contains any references to Mario.
• The arcade machine item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer features characters that resemble Luigi and Mario facing off in a video game reminiscent of the Street Fighter franchise.
• The Chihuahua, Dalmatian, Dachshund, and Labrador ornaments ("models" in City Folk) are based on the dogs from Nintendogs. The items appear in City Folk and New Leaf.

Clothing items

• Four items are components of Mario's outfit from the Mario franchise:
  • The Mario's tee ("big bro's shirt" prior to New Leaf, "big bro's tee" prior to Pocket Camp) is designed after Mario's emblem. It appears as an item from Animal Crossing to Pocket Camp.
  • The Mario outfit is modeled after Mario's red and blue overalls. It appears as an item in Pocket Camp and New Horizons.
  • The Mario hat ("big bro's hat" prior to Pocket Camp, "Mario's hat" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Mario's cap. It appears as an item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons.
  • The Mario 'stache ("big bro mustache" prior to New Leaf, "big bro's mustache" prior to Pocket Camp, "Mario Bros. 'stache" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Mario's mustache and nose. It appears as an item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons.
• Two items are components of Luigi's outfit from the Mario franchise:
  • The Luigi's tee ("li'l bro's shirt" prior to New Leaf, "li'l bro's tee" prior to Pocket Camp) is designed after Luigi's emblem. It appears as an item from Animal Crossing to Happy Home Designer, and Pocket Camp.
  • The Luigi hat ("li'l bro's hat" prior to Pocket Camp, "Luigi's hat" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Luigi's cap. It appears as an item from Wild World to Happy Home Designer, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons.
• Two items are components of Wario's outfit from the Mario franchise:
  • The Wario hat ("Wario's hat" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Wario's cap. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons.
  • The Wario 'stache ("bad bro stache" in City Folk, "bad bro's stache" prior to Pocket Camp) is modeled after Wario's mustache and nose. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer, Pocket Camp, and New Horizons.
• Three items are components of Princess Peach's outfit from the Mario franchise:
  • The Princess Peach dress ("Peach's dress" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Peach's dress. It appears as an item in Pocket Camp and New Horizons.
  • The Princess Peach crown ("Peach's crown" in Pocket Camp) is modeled after Peach's crown. It appears as an item in Pocket Camp and New Horizons.
  • Peach's parasol is modeled after Peach's parasol. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
• The Toad tee ("toad print" in Animal Crossing, "Toad shirt" prior to New Leaf) references Toad's name from the Mario franchise, and its orange-red coloration with white spots resembles certain mushrooms, such as Mushroom Platforms. The Toad tee appears as an item from Animal Crossing to Pocket Camp. Although the item returns in New Horizons, it is renamed and merged with several other clothing tops as one of the variations of the simple-dots tee item.
  • Similarly, the Toad parasol ("polka parasol" in Animal Crossing) references Toad in the same manner. It appears as an item in all games.
• The Toad hat is modeled after Toad's head from the Mario franchise. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer, and Pocket Camp.
• Four items compose Link's outfit from the The Legend of Zelda series.
  • The hero's clothes is modeled after the upper portion of Link's green tunic. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
  • The hero's pants is modeled after the lower portion of Link's green tunic. It appears as an item from New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
  • The hero's cap is modeled after Link's hat, hair, and ears. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
  • The hero's boots is modeled after Link's boots. It appears as an item in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
• Majora's Mask ("Majora's mask" in City Folk) is modeled after Majora's Mask, the titular item from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
• Midna's Mask is modeled after Midna's helmet, one of the Fused Shadows, and her orange hair, from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
• The Fi mask is modeled after Fi's head from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It appears as an item in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
• Four items compose Samus's outfit from the Metroid series.
  • The Varia Suit ("Varia suit" in City Folk) is modeled after the upper portion of Samus's Varia Suit. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
  • The Varia Suit pants is modeled after the lower portion of Samus's Varia Suit. It appears as an item in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
  • The Samus mask is modeled after the helmet of Samus's Varia Suit. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.
  • The Varia Suit shoes is modeled after the boots of Samus's Varia Suit. It appears as an item in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
• The red Pikmin, blue Pikmin, and yellow Pikmin headgear reference the three main types of Pikmin in the Pikmin series. All three hats appear in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer, and the red Pikmin also appears in City Folk.
• The green headgear is modeled after Little Mac's headgear and spiky hair from the Wii installment of the Punch-Out!! series. It appears as an item from City Folk to Happy Home Designer.

Main series

Animal Crossing

Dialogue

• 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.
• Tortimer tells a story that he defeated the "great sea snakes" at Pinnacle Rock, a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• If the player visits the Post Office during daytime and sends enough letters to fill up the back desk (thus causing the mail to be sent immediately instead of at its appointed schedule), Pelly responds with the rhyme "Rain, sleet, snow or hail, we deliver what you mail." This line mirrors the United States Postal Service creed, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Items

• 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.
• The N logo and G logo items reference the logos of the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube respectively. These items are part of the Nintendo Set.
  • In Dòngwù Sēnlín, the iQue item replaces the N logo item, referencing the logo of the iQue Player. It is part of the iQue Set.

Other features

• 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.

Doubutsu no Mori e+

• The "egg" and "mushroom" objects resemble a Yoshi egg and a mushroom respectively from the Mario franchise.
• Bow and Meow are villagers in Doubutsu no Mori e+ that represent the Bowlingual and Meowlingual pet mood interpretation devices respectively.

Animal Crossing: Wild World

Dialogue

• 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 references to Fox of the Star Fox series and Samus Aran of the Metroid series.
• 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.
• 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."
• The ant's catch quote, "I caught an ant! Ant misbehavin'!", plays on the title of the 1929 jazz standard "Ain't Misbehavin'".
• The letter received from Boondox after donating 1,100,000 Bells reads, "We finally have an arcade in town! It only has Donkey Kong, but it's still a lot of fun."

Animal Crossing: City Folk

Dialogue

• 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.

Items

• 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.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Dialogue

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.

Crossover villagers

• W. Link, Medli, Ganon, and Epona are crossover villagers that represent The Legend of Zelda series. They only appear in Welcome amiibo.
• Cece, Viché, and Inkwell are crossover villagers that represent the Splatoon series. They only appear in Welcome amiibo.
• Holden is a crossover villager that represents Fueki, a Japanese supply company. He only appears in Welcome amiibo.

Items

• Fortune cookies purchased from Timmy and Tommy's store produce items themed from various Nintendo franchises.
• The Welcome amiibo update added many items based on other video game franchises, including The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Monster Hunter, and Puzzle League.
• The billboard furniture item can have its pattern customized to the "Sports" variant, which features Little Mac, Doc Louis, and Glass Joe from the Punch-Out!! series.
• The ironing set furniture item has an unused seventh pattern in the files, depicting 8-bit Mario.

Other features

• Designs of the Triforce from The Legend of Zelda series and a flower similar to the one used to represent the Pikmin series can appear on tree stumps.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Dialogue

The player making a reference to Bloopers in New Horizons.

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, albeit with "Snowmad" misspelled.
• 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?"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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..
• 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.
• 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.

Items

• The tulip surprise box opens when interacted with, revealing a doll referencing Princess Peach, Princess Daisy doll, or Rosalina depending on its variant.
• 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.
• The Mario Series is a collection of Super Mario Bros.-themed items, released to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros..
• The record label logo seen on the cover art for "K.K. Swing", "K.K. Jazz", "K.K. Fusion", "K.K. Bossa", "The K. Funk", "K.K. Cruisin'", "K.K. Groove", "Drivin'", and "K.K. Hop" is based on the logo for Blue Note Records, a famous jazz label based in the United States. Fittingly, many of the songs featuring the logo are based on jazz and related genres.

Spin-offs

Animal Crossing Plaza

• One of the dialogue lines for Pascal is "You know what'd make a killer video game? An RPG where a kid fights aliens with a baseball bat. Maaaan, that'd rock," which is a reference to EarthBound.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

• Louie's client vision is "A 30th-anniversary party!", a reference to the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. It unlocks many Mario-related items.
• Alli's client vision, "A mushroom manor.", unlocks several items that reference the Mario franchise.
• Octavian's client vision, "A squid-showdown citadel.", is a reference to the Splatoon series. His house exterior and unlock items are references to Splatoon characters and gameplay.

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, in the Super Mario Set. 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

References

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