From 1952 till 2018, MAD Journal was the best supply of comedy in print. Each month, the legendary journal, which spawned a number of imitators, would skewer politics, present occasions, and, most of all, popular culture. With artists like Mort Drucker and writers like Dick DeBartolo, the MAD Journal crew lampooned good motion pictures and dangerous motion pictures alike of their multi-page comedian-book-like parodies the place nothing was sacred and everybody was honest recreation. And whereas there was all the time one thing to like about every new challenge, the Nineteen Nineties arguably represented a high-point (considered one of a number of) in MAD Journal historical past.
With that in thoughts, we got down to determine the 5 greatest popular culture parodies from the Nineteen Nineties, skewering motion pictures like Gremlins 2, The Flintstones, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whereas it has been greater than 30 years since points appeared on journal racks, a lot of the jokes have not aged a day for the reason that supply materials has remained standard. Truly, a few them have managed to get higher with age because of the present state of American politics.
1
The Flintstones
In challenge quantity 331 from 1994, artist Angelo Torres and author Dick DeBartolo parodied The Flintstones for the discharge of the brand new film starring John Goodman as Fred Flintstone. There are a bunch of fine little jokes on this one, like Dino’s resentment of Barney the Dinosaur, however one of the best one is a working gag about how a lot of a rip-off The Flintstones is of the Nineteen Fifties sitcom The Honeymooners, because the characters maintain by chance calling one another by the character names from that present.
2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Artist Sam Viviano and author Dick DeBartolo took on the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in challenge #298 from October 1990. A lot of it’s about how the characters look like rip-offs of Star Wars characters — like, Splinter resembling Yoda; and Shredder resembling Darth Vader — however one of the best jokes are concerning the merchandising juggernaut the Turtles had turn out to be at the moment. The perfect line within the parody comes on the primary web page, when Splinter chastises Raphael for beating up a pretzel vendor for the reason that Turtles are supposed to stay within the shadows.
“We should not be seen wherever!” Splinter shouts, “besides on licensed lunch bins, sweat shirts, hats, bendable dolls, watches, and our Saturday cartoon present and Nintendo video games!”
3
Gremlins 2
In MAD challenge 298 from October 1990, artist Mort Drucker and author Stan Hart took on Gremlins 2, and as a lot as Gremlins 2 is already a parody, they managed to squeeze off some good jokes that really play higher in 2026 than they did in 1990. The principle purpose for that’s due to the character Daniel Clamp, performed within the film by John Glover. That character was already an apparent parody of Donald Trump within the film, however within the five-page parody, the character is renamed to “Donald Chump” and made to look precisely like Trump. There are additionally various jokes about what a gross, grasping sleazeball he’s, one of the best of which comes from a panel the place the feminine Gremlin has turn out to be Chump’s secretary, and he thinks how straightforward it’ll be to benefit from her on the firm Christmas occasion, which sounds just about precisely like our esteemed commander in chief.
4
The Wizard of Oz
That is one other one the place our present politics improve the comedy from a quarter-century in the past. In challenge quantity 300 from Jan. 1991, MAD did a Nineteen Nineties tackle The Wizard of Oz the place the film was recast with celebrities from that point. A few of them are nonetheless recognizable — like Vanna White because the Good Witch of the North — whereas others are practically forgotten to historical past, like Tammy Faye Bakker because the Depraved Witch. The perfect little bit of casting goes to the Wizard, performed by Donald Trump. On the finish of the story, moderately than grant them whimsical items just like the Wizard does within the film, he offers all of them loathsome recommendation, like encouraging the Scarecrow to get into promoting junk bonds.
5
Edward Scissorhands
Artist Angelo Torres and author Dick DeBartolo spoofed Edward Scissorhands in challenge quantity 304 from 1991. A lot of the parody factors out the movie’s many idiosyncrasies, like why Edward was given scissor fingers to start with, or why this lady would deliver him residence in any respect. One enjoyable working gag within the story is that Edward retains slicing all of the hedges into licensed characters, just like the Simpsons and Massive Hen, however one of the best joke is available in a flashback the place Edward remembers the dying of Vincent Worth’s character, The Inventor. Within the parody, The Inventor begins to choke on some meals and Edward tries to present him the Heimlich maneuver, slicing him in half.
