BoJack Horseman is filled with hidden jokes, Easter eggs and pop culture references that have been spotted by fans. BoJack Horseman has come to an end, but after six years on the air, it's hard to let go of a series that surprised its audience from the beginning. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and starring Will Arnett in the titular role, BoJack Horseman became one of Netflix's most critically acclaimed original series.
Although BoJack Horseman started out (on the surface, at least) as a parody about celebrities in Los Angeles, it soon became a series of life lessons that managed to address matters as complex as addiction, depression, and personal relationships, mixing it with just the right touch of humor.
It's a series that, besides touching upon deep subjects, is also about famous animals doing funny things. This mix of comedy and seriousness is crucial to the success of the show, and one of the ways BoJack Horseman accomplishes the feat is with its background details, visual gags, and all other kinds of Easter eggs that are not only hilarious, but reward rewatching.
BoJack Horseman's Best Pop Culture References
The references to pop culture in BoJack Horseman are so commonplace they often go unnoticed or can be taken for granted. They include nods to films like Mad Max, Star Wars, and Dancing with Wolves, series like The X-Files, and the mega-corporation AOL-Time-Warner-Pepsico-Viacom-Halliburton-Skynet-Toyota-Trader-Joe's, which is a riff on the current trend of buyouts and mergers.
Sad Dog vs. Sad Keanu - Sad Dog is a picture taken by Princess Carolyn that became a meme in BoJack Horseman season 6, episode 5, “A Little Uneven, Is All.” This meme’s intention was to clean Mr. Peanutbutter’s image, transforming him into the face of depression and generating empathy among the audience. The picture is inspired by a picture of Keanu Reeves from 2010, which became viral: Sad Keanu. It shows Keanu eating a sandwich on a New York bench, which inspired campaigns to cheer the actor up and made him regain popularity.
The Great Pagliacci - In BoJack Horseman season 6, episode 13, “The Horny Unicorn”, there's a reference to a famously dark joke from Alan Moore's Watchmen. In the original graphic novel, Rorschach tells a joke about a depressed man who goes to his doctor asking for a cure, and is told to go and see the "Great clown Pagliacci," who is currently in town. The tearful man replies, "But Doctor, I am Pagliacci". After Mr. Peanutbutter becomes Sad Dog he tells a riff on the Pagliacci story in which his doctor suggests that he checks out the Sad Dog meme to cheer himself up.
Misprinted Banners Are A Running Gag In BoJack Horseman
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Misprinted banners are all over BoJack Horseman, and serve as one of its best running gags. The first misprinted banner appears at Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter’s wedding in season 1, which reads: "Congrats Diane And Mr. Peanut Butter - Peanut Butter Is One Word." then on Diane’s birthday ("Happy Birthday Diane and Use A Pretty Font") and on a T-shirt she gets in season 2, and it becomes a recurring thing for Mr. Peanutbutter, happening a number of times across the show. It’s also amusing that Mr. Pennutbutter’s brother has the same problem having the banners made.
The Artwork is Based on Real-Life Paintings
Sarah Lynn is Ophelia - There's a poignant reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet in BoJack Horseman season 3, chapter 11, “That's Too Much, Man!” The episode starts with a painting inspired in John Everett Millais’ Ophelia, but the drowning woman is Sarah Lynn. The whole scene evokes Hamlet, as Sarah Lynn wakes up and sings some good morning verses. Besides, the bees chanting alongside her name chrysanthemums, which are the flowers on the bouquets Hamlet gives Ophelia in Shakespeare’s play. What's interesting about this reference is the similarity between Sarah Lynn’s character and Ophelia’s. Shakespeare’s character had a desire to die for not being corresponded by her lover, who also represented a parent figure for her. A woman in love who kills herself by drowning in a river, drowning in her own disenchantment.
Henri Matisse's Dance II - This painting of Matisse is perfect for BoJack's living room, where he throws awesome parties. The original painting seems to be humans figures dancing, making a sort of ritual, but of course in BoJack's living room the figures dancing are animals.
Andy's Warhol's Shot Marilyn's - This is one of Warhol's most famous paintings, and in BoJack's room we can see a version of the painting but with horseshoes.
Paul Cezanne, Still Life with a Curtain - Cezanne is famous for his "Still life": a realistic fruit painting. Mr. Peanutbutter has one in his bedroom, but with his favorite stuff.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1982) - Basquiat was a famous American artist from the '80s and we can see a version of his painting in the office of BoJack’s friend Herb Kazzaz. He is recognized for combining painting, drawing, and poetry.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies - Water Lilies is one of the most famous and well-known works of Monet, they were his focus during the last 30 years of his life. In Charley Witherspoon's office we can see a version of Monet’s painting on his wall.
Pablo Picasso, Figure at the Seaside - Painted by Picasso in the summer of 1931, at his French Riviera vacation resort. It represents erotic figures at the seaside, somewhat raw and deteriorated. It is not surprising to see this painting at the Pacific Ocean City hotel, where BoJack stayed in season 3.
George Bellows, Stag at Sharkey’s - Bellows is remembered for his powerful boxing paintings. We can see a version of his piece at Pacific Ocean Hotel, where BoJack is staying in season 3. This version is not only inspired in Bellows's art, but also in Hermann Hesse's Moby Dick. A painting of Moby Dick fighting Ahab, a well-used double reference.
Gustav Klimt, The Kiss - The Kiss is one of Klimt’s masterpieces and we can see a snake version of this painting at Alexi Brosefino’s house, at the party where Diane is trying to retrieve intimacy with Mr. Peanutbutter.
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus - In BoJack’s restaurant "Elephant", there is a version of this painting but with an elephant replacing the original muse.
BoJack Horseman's Easy-to-Miss Animal Gags
From the first season, animal jokes have helped form the essence of what BoJack Horseman is as a show. The creators have made an effort to add details to the script and during the storyboard phase, to have a perfect balance between the heavy subjects they address and humor. Among those responsible for the animal gags is Mike Hollingsworth, who has been on board since the first season. He was a standup comedian and caricaturist who later specialized in animation. Some of his best jokes are “Say when” and “Stella, Stella, Corona Light.”
Say When - One of Hollingsworth’s most famous jokes appears on season 1, episode 2, “BoJack Hates the Troops”. A classic joke: “Say When” from the bartender as he pours BoJack a drink, with the glass comically overflowing.
A Swordfish Named Brando - This joke references Marlon Brando in a scene of the film A Street Car Named Desire (1951). The fish, a marlin called Brando, yells "Stella! Stella!"
The Beetles - A reference that is particularly funny and that might have gone unnoticed was the Beetles’ poster in Sarah Lynn’s dressing room, which we can later see on a scene in which BoJack’s father is reading the newspaper. The Beatles are, of course, beetles and, even though Paul McCartney is part of BoJack Horseman, he’s human and not in the band.
The Nurse Bear - At the funeral of Herb Kazzaz, his nurse bear is eating all the salmon hors d'oeuvres. It makes sense, because she is a bear, and their favorite meal is salmon.
A Bird Of Pray - This one is a little bit obvious but funny. The nun makes for a bird of prey who is also a bird of pray.
Cat In A Tree - BoJack Horseman's riff on a classic, a cat in a tree needs some help to get down and the firemen helped her, like always.
Nocturnal Lemur At A Party - In real-life, nocturnal lemurs use their fingers to dig bugs out of a tree. Look what he's using his finger for at BoJack's party.
Hammerhead Shark - This one is a really easy one: a Hammerhead shark doing his job.
Literary References in BoJack Horseman
Princess Carolyn’s Library - On Princess Carolyn's bookshelves we can see titles such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Old Mynx and the Sea (The Old Man and the Sea, by Hemingway), The Great Catsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and a movie inspired by the book), A Tale of Two Kitties (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens), Romeow and Juliette (Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare), Me Meow Pretty One Day (Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris), Purrity (Purity by Jonathan Franz) and much more.
Do Not Go Gentle - BoJack Horseman season 5, episode 6, “Free Churros,” in which BoJack delivers a monologue at his mother's funeral, was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program at Primetime Emmy Awards and is also considered one of the series’ best episodes. In this episode, BoJack says “My mother did not go gentle into that good night. She went clawing and fighting and thrashing, hence the face." This is a reference to the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas.
Philbert and Pulp - Philbert is a show about a detective that seems to lose the notion of reality but one never finishes to understand the plot. What we know is that Philbert wants to find a person who was thought dead at the request of a charming lady named Sassy. The plot is inspired in Bukowski's last novel Pulp, which is about a private detective who wants to find a Céline, who was thought dead and a woman with a deadly charm asks for him. Nick Belane, Bukowski's detective, has many more cases mixed together, just like Philbert. Both stories are set in Los Angeles, have similar characters, and the main character seems to lose the notion of reality. Besides, it also seems to be a glimpse at how the season will unroll.
BoJack Horseman is a series that surprises because of its emotional content and its comedy, but also because of its broad background of Easter eggs and hidden jokes. One last gift is the song in BoJack Horseman's ending scene with Diane and BoJack on the roof, "Mr. Blue" by Catherine Feeny, which allowed fans to say goodbye.