If you use the Internet, especially social media, it is impossible to not run into memes. They are used to convey political stances, make jokes, and/or as reactions. It is not unusual for people to have favorite memes that they like to use a lot while also being tired of seeing certain others. Memes have changed a lot over time, but some come from classic films that date back to the '70s and as recent as the 2010's. In fact, a lot of memes stem from films in general.
Many do come from TV shows but arguably, the best and most used memes first saw life in the big screen or at the very least, home video. This phenomenon occurs mostly due to fans loving a certain still frame from the film of choice and using it over and over in creative ways, thus giving new life to these images and scenes. For the purposes of this list, meme-worthy franchises such as the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy have been disqualified since they can populate an entire article on their own.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
The late Gene Wilder is the star of the beloved musical adaptation Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As the titular Willy Wonka, he did a legendary job at portraying the quirky candy factory owner. Many years later, his face can still be found all over screens, as his patronizing face as been immortalized in a meme. The meme is nicknamed "Condescending Wonka"
Unfortunately, the meme is often used as its nickname describes: to be condescending. Either that or to at least be sarcastic. For example, this meme may come along with text that says "Oh, you graduated? You must know everything." To be fair, this is a fairly accurate depiction of Wilder's take on Wonka.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
As a whole, The Lord of the Rings trilogy brought a ton of memes but none hit it off as much as "One does not simply walk into Mordor" from trilogy's first installment. The line was said by Boromir, and it has become one of the things his character is most remembered for.
The still was made and Internet users have made all kinds of content with the template, "One does not simply.. " and fill in the rest. Some only change the "walk" part and write memes like "One does not simply drive casually into Mordor."
Despicable Me (2010)
This meme is one of the newer sorts compared to others on this list. According to Know Your Meme, while Despicable Me came out in 2010, this meme didn't really hit everyone's screens until 2018.
The meme is nicknamed "Gru's Plan," as the four-panel meme is taken from the scene when Gru is going over his epic plan to steal the moon. The last panel is him discovering a drawing on him sitting on a toilet mixed in with the presentation pages. Meme makers took this opportunity to make blank pages and put whatever they want instead. The meme often shows various plans or situations going wrong.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
The Emperors New Groove is a bit like Despicable Me in that its memes came after it hit theaters, cementing its cult status all the more. Instead of one major meme, though, this film actually made four of them.
There is Kronk's angel going "He's got a point" to the devil on his shoulder. Next, there is Kronk saying "Oh yeah, it's all coming together," then there is Pacha talking about the sun hitting the ridge just right, and lastly there is "Pull the lever Kronk!" All four are pretty popular and have been used in a variety of situations. That being said, literally anything Kronk says can be a meme.
Vampire's Kiss (1989)
It goes without saying that Nicolas Cage has one of the most memed faces out there. Among many other things, he's famous for the ability to create the craziest crazy eyes of all time. One of the most well known of the Nic Cage memes is the one from his role in Vampire's Kiss when he says "You don't say?"
It's the perfect meme for a sarcastic repose, like a crazier version of the condescending Wonka meme. This meme is a little older than the others, as it was mostly used from 2009 to 2012.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
This meme typically goes with "X, X everywhere" with someone filling the blanks with whatever's going on in a failed attempt at reassurance. An example of this meme in action would be jokingly sending this image with the words, "Spiders, spiders everywhere" to someone who's scared of spiders.
Interestingly enough, Buzz doesn't say a similar line in this still since he's actually attempting to comfort Woody about going to Cowboy Camp with Andy despite him being damaged. Still, the screenshot works perfectly with the text "X, X everywhere."
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
In this insanely quotable cult comedy, viewers clung to one specific delivery due to its versatile nature. After the reporters of all the rival channels clash in a comically violent street fight, the cocky news anchor Ron Burgundy (played by Will Farrell) only has one thing to say: "Boy, that escalated quickly."
The screenshot along with this line is the meme and is often unedited when used. The raw line and expression on Ron's face is enough to satisfy people who want to react to something that has... well... escalated quickly!
Titanic (1997)
The memes used from James Cameron's Titanic have evolved over time. It used to be "Paint me like one of your French girls," which comes from the intimate scene where Jack draws Rose naked in his sketchbook. Meme enthusiasts would post pictures of their pets, friends, or both posing funny along with this quote.
What is used way more often today is the shot of an older Rose saying "It's been 84 years." She says this in response to how long it has been since the Titanic sank and before she begins to reminisce. The line is used now as a meme to joke about how long something can take. For example, when the next season of their favorite show is finally announced after a lengthy hiatus, fans may post this meme.
Shrek 2 (2004)
Shrek is a film series that is memeable in every sense. People love to talk about it from its history to its satire to the weird content fans have made. Examples of this include bizarre fan videos like "Shrek is love, Shrek is life," the animated community collaboration Shrek Retold, and the mere existence of the Smash Mouth song "All Star" from the first Shrek's soundtrack.
But in terms of iconic scenes, the most meme-worthy one came from Shrek 2. Here, Donkey is annoying Shrek so much that he yells "Can you be quiet for five minutes?!" Fans, of course, have taken that panel and turn Donkey into different people, countries, and other matters with Shrek asking "Can you be X for five minutes?"
The Matrix (1999)
"What if I told you X?" is a line that was never said in The Matrix film series. However, it came to be a Matrix meme due to the fact that Morpheus does break the news in a similar fashion to Mr. Anderson/Neo when he reveals that humanity is living in a simulation.
The heavily used meme of Morpheus' face is used along with "What if I told you X?" as a form of advice giving and sarcasm on the internet. For example, "What if I told you hashtags on Facebook were useless?" or a cat version with "What if I told you that you can never catch the red dot?"