A big bulk of Rick and Morty's comedy consists of homages and parodies from popular pop culture titles. Most of them are irreverent deconstructive jabs at other franchises' world-building while others provided a template for some of the comedy show's most defining moments. In fact, nearly every episode in each season of the series contains references or obvious structural similarities to films.
Suffice to say, the show owes a lot to pop culture. Some of the most prominent films of our time have provided the spark that kept Rick and Morty's own brand of comedy going. With Season 5 currently ongoing, there's bound to be more of those. Now, based on some of the highest-rated episodes of the show, here are the most well-used movies that Rick and Morty referenced.
10 Voltron - "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion"
- Season 5, Episode 7
One recurring media that Rick and Morty, or just Rick himself, seems to be intent on replicating with disrespect is Voltron. It's the prime subject in the 7th episode of Season 5 which is still upcoming at the time of writing but was accidentally aired in some networks.
So to avoid some nasty spoilers for those lucky (or unlucky) enough to have avoided the airing mishap, fans will be pleased to know that the series has already tapped on Voltron. Rick and Morty made a brief reference to it back in Season 4 when both Rick and Morty destroyed the alien civilization that nearly enslaved them.
9 Mad Max - "Rickmancing the Stone"
- Season 3, Episode 2
Mad Max is already a low-hanging fruit for a show that loves to travel through different dimensions. In the "Rickmancing the Stone" episode, Rick, Morty, and Summer all got a taste of what it's like to experience the daily life of a Mad Max character. Rick took them to a dimension ruled by nothing but post-apocalyptic gangs whose attire came straight out of a Burning Man festival.
As usual, the show didn't waste time in taking jabs against the Mad Max mythos. It's also the episode where Summer moved in with a gang leader who turned out to be a bad life partner. Who would have thought?
8 The Purge - "Look Who's Purging Now"
- Season 2, Episode 9
Speaking of parodying dystopian societies, Rick and Morty also didn't shy away from making a Purge-themed episode. Rick took Morty in a dimension where that exact mythos exists so both of them can blow off a bit of steam. Also, Rick wanted to turn Morty into a killer just because.
The whole episode turned out to be an elaborate exploration of anger management issues, particularly Morty's. His evolution is even noticeable and he was never quite the same kid after succumbing to his pent-up rage.
7 Terminator - "Rattlestar Ricklactica"
- Season 4, Episode 5
Some of the best Rick and Morty episodes are those that turn the whole narrative into a tangle of itself after tampering too much with the abstract concepts of the known universe. In this case, it's time. Morty, apparently, caused a damaging series of events after killing a space snake.
Afterward, the show built itself up upon that ridiculous premise of a joke. Tons of Terminator-esque robo-snakes soon came after Morty from the present, the future, and the far-future in a wacky smorgasbord of snake pit free-for-all just because Morty didn't believe in space snakes.
6 Hellraiser - "Amortycan Grickfitti"
- Season 5, Episode 5
Hellraiser is actually one of the lesser-known franchises Rick and Morty decided to have a go at and it was a wild episode. The showrunners built upon the idea that the Hellraiser demons, the Cenobites, are walking ironies whose pleasure is derived from suffering.
Apparently, Jerry Smith's lameness and need for validation make him insufferable, which in turn, makes him pleasurable for the not-Cenobites. So they derive pleasure in how much of a walking dad joke Jerry is throughout the whole episode. It's one of the most clever ways rick and Morty turned a pop culture reference around full circle.
5 Akira - "Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat"
- Season 4, Episode 1
The premiere episode of Season 4 started off on a high note when it actually killed Rick. Too bad he kept getting reborn into dysfunctional parallel dimensions which is a nod to Edge of Tomorrow but messier. The bigger nod to another franchise, however, is Morty going rogue and mad with power in a bid to lead his own life to a path that ends up with his getting together with Jessica.
It's one of Morty's most desperate attempts to win someone's love and affection. He eventually turned himself into a bootleg version of Tetsuo from the anime movie Akira where he became an omnipotent and powerful being who's out of control. It's a perfect way to get back to Rick and Morty after a long break.
4 Jurassic Park - "Anatomy Park"
- Season 1, Episode 3
Jurassic Park also isn't off the table. In one of the most disgusting and disturbing episodes of Rick and Morty, Rick makes a biology class theme park inside a hobo's guts. Half of the episode is dedicated to making fun of Jurassic Park.
Instead, it's called Anatomy Park and the dinosaurs are the bacteria and all the other microbes living inside the human body, which is a lot scarier. Until this point in the show, the series seemed relatively tame and somehow still family-friendly. It was only until "Anatomy Park" where the series' shock value humor started filtering the fan base.
3 A Nightmare on Elm Street/Inception - "Lawnmower Dog"
- Season 1, Episode 2
Rick and Morty's pilot episode established what kind of show it wanted to be. Episode 2, however, became a prelude of things to come. "Lawnmower Dog" contains three parodies in one episode which is honestly astounding as they managed to keep the plot intact with that many fandom splices.
Rick and Morty went off in an Inception adventure but ran into a dollar store version of Freddy Krueger. Meanwhile, the rest of the Smiths had to deal with their pet dog waging his own Planet of the Apes revolution against the household.
2 Training Day - "The Ricklantis Mixup"
- Season 3, Episode 7
By far the most engaging Rick and Morty episode ever, "The Ricklantis Mixup" is a diversion from C-137 Rick and Morty shenanigans. It's an intimate look into how the Citadel (ruled by the Council of Ricks) functions as a society.
This episode is also where Rick and Morty's storytelling is at its strongest, even if the events of the episode might not have far-reaching consequences depending on the showrunners' whims. At the heart of that episode is a cop duo dynamic plucked straight from Training Day, which works surprisingly well.
1 Back to the Future
- Season 1, Episode 1 onwards
While Training Day made sure that "The Ricklantis Mixup" turned up excellently in the narrative department, Rick and Morty wouldn't have happened if not for Back to the Future. The whole show is practically a depraved deconstruction of Doc and Marty from the Back to the Future films.
The big difference is that Rick and Morty mess with parallel universes instead of time but the premise is similar enough. From there, the show branched into its own thing entirely and fortified its spot into one of the most popular pop culture media ever. So it's only a matter of time before a bigger fish made a parody out of Rick and Morty.