List of pop culture references in Warcraft/Cata

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Games

• Joust
  • There's  a quest chain in Mount Hyjal that is a reference to and plays like the arcade game Joust.

• Plants vs. Zombies
  • There's a quest chain in Hillsbrad Foothills started by Brazie the Botanist that is a homage to the game. The name of the last quest in the chain, Quest:Lawn of the Dead, was also the original name for Plants vs. Zombies.
  • The Singing Sunflower non-combat pet received for completing the quest chain is a reference to Plants vs. Zombies music composer Laura Shigihara, who was represented as a singing sunflower in the Plants vs. Zombies theme song's music video. At Blizzard's request, Shigihara also voiced the Singing Sunflower non-combat pet.

Movies

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  • There is a neutral gnome questgiver named Finkle Einhorn that can now also be found at Mount Hyjal. Finkle's name is a reference to the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, wherein Ace finds that Ray Finkle had assumed the identity of a female detective Lois Einhorn.

• Clash of the Titans
  • Near the end of the Vashj'ir questline when the Naga assault Neptulon, Lady Naz'jar cries out "Release the Kraken!" to call upon the aid of the Leviathan Ozumat in defeating Neptulon.

• First Blood
  • The John J. Keeshan questline in Redridge Mountains is a reference to the Rambo series. John J. Keeshan is modeled after John Rambo, and Colonel Troteman is based off of Colonel Samuel Trautman.

• Inglorious Basterds
  • In Uldum, Commander Schnottz has you run a series of quests and asks for 8 Idols. When you bring them to him, he cries out that he needed not 8 but "Nine, Nine, Nine, Nine, Nine!".

• Jaws
  • A questline presented by Budd at Budd's Dig in Kelp'thar Forest revolves around a huge shark called Gnaws, a play on the movie title. The names of two quests, Quest:Dah, Nunt... Dah, Nunt... and Quest:DUN-dun-DUN-dun-DUN-dun reference the movie's musical theme, imitated with a human voice. An albeit unsuccessful attempt to kill Gnaws is to lure it into eating grubs loaded with gunpowder, which explodes when he bites it, a reference to the end of the movie, where the shark is killed by an oxygen tank exploding in its maw. Another obscure reference might be the fact that Gnaws' Boneyard is filled with orca remains. The boat in the movie was named after the orca, considered the only natural enemy of the great white shark.

• Pirates of the Caribbean series
  • Quest:A Bone to Pick mentions a cursed treasure that "makes everyone who touches it a skeleton" - a reference to the cursed Aztec gold in The Curse of the Black Pearl.
  • At the beginning of the Vashj'ir questline the ship the player is riding on is attacked by the giant kraken-like Leviathan Ozumat. The manner in which the scene begins, as well as the player falling the water and seeing the creature are all reminiscent of a similar scene in Dead Man's Chest.

• The Princess Bride
  • During the Horde introduction quest to the Twilight Highlands both Assistant Greely and Hobart Grapplehammer say "Have fun storming the Highlands!" which is a reference to Tracy Ulman and Billy Crystal's lines in The Princess Bride.

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • The entire Uldum  questline revolving around Harrison Jones, Belloc Brightblade, Commander Schnottz and concluding with finding the Coffer of Promise in Harrison Jones and the Temple of Uldum is based loosly on Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, (though the final quest's name is a tribute to another Indiana Jones' movie: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Coffer of Promise is similar to Ark of the Covenant, both in appearance and powers, aswell as the secret it holds. Deathwing's allies are playing role of Nazi here.

• Starship Troopers
  • The quest Quest:A Great Idea in Tanaris will have the player catch a silithid bug. Upon quest completion, the questgiver Zeke Bootscuff calls over his Narain Soothfancy to commune with the bug. Narain states "It's afraid." then yells "It's afraid!", a direct quote from the end of the movie, following the capture of the 'brain bug'. The follow-up quest Quest:Just Trying to Kill Some Bugs, another direct quote, features a large explosion in a hive like the corresponding scene in the movie.

Television

• 24
  • During the Twilight Investigation quest line in Stormwind, a quest Quest:The Old Barracks will have you meet with Jack Bauden (Jack Bauer) who says "I'm Jack Bauden, this is the longest day of my life."
• CSI: Miami
  • The main quest chain in Westfall has players interacting with wisecracking Lieutenant Horatio Laine, assisting him while investigating several crimes in the area. Horatio Laine is based off of Horatio Caine, a character from CSI:Miami. In episode teasers, Caine would begin to speak a particularly ominous (or humorous) line, pause for a moment to put on his sunglasses, and then finish the sentence.
• House
  • In the Horde camp of Dragonmaw Port in the Twilight Highlands there is an NPC named Gregor that is a Dragonmaw Medicine man, named after Dr. Gregory House.
• Jersey Shore
  • When clicked upon, male Goblin NPCs sometimes say "G.T.L, friend...Gambling, Tinkering, Laundry!" This is a reference to the cast members of Jersey Shore, who use the acronym G.T.L to stand for "Gym, Tanning, Laundry."
• The Simpsons
  • The quest  [80] A Bone to Pick (most likely) references the episode Treehouse of Horror III where Homer attempts to purchase cursed frozen yogurt. The episode features a dialogue repeating an alternating "that's good" followed by a "that's bad" set of statements. Both the episode and the quest refer to a cursed item.

Music

• Duran Duran
  • In Mount Hyjal, there are two NPCs named Rio Duran and Ian Duran, who are Gilnean worgen. Duran Duran was a British rock group, and two of their hits were "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf". Rio Duran also quotes lyrics from "Hungry Like the Wolf" while the player is on a certain quest.

• The Ink Spots
  • In the quest Quest:Disrupting the Rituals the Twilight Inferno Lords sometimes say "I just want to set the world on fire" which is a homage to The Ink Spots' 1941 song "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", which became famous due to it's usage the 2008 RPG Fallout 3.

• Insane Clown Posse
  • The questQuest:Magnets, How Do They Work? is a reference to the song "Miracles" by Insane Clown Posse. A line from the song in question, "Fuckin' magnets, how do they work?" became an internet meme.
  •  [Psychopathic Hatchet] might be a reference to the group's label which they run named "Psychopathic Records" featuring a man with a hatchet as their logo.

• Beyonce Knowles
  • The female goblin /flirt "If you liked it then you should have put a larger, more elaborate ring on it" is a reference to the song "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)". The female goblin /dance is also based on the choreography from the "Single Ladies" music video.

• Lady Gaga
  • In Vashj'ir, there is a rare mob named Lady LaLa, a sea witch model that sports crazy glasses and an unusual headpiece. The names of the special abilities she uses against the player are called Briny Romance ("Catches the enemy in a briny romance") and Siren's Song ("Cause all nearby enemies to just dance!").
  • The worgen female's /dance is based off of the music video for "Poker Face".

• Samwell
  • The Vashj'ir quest Quest:What? What? In My Gut...? is a reference to the viral music video "What What (In the Butt)" by Samwell.

• Turbonegro
  • The Deepholm Quest Quest:All Our Friends Are Dead is a reference to Turbonegro's 2005 song "All My Friends Are Dead".

People

• Winston Churchill
  • Liam Greymane's speech before The Battle for Gilneas is similar to Winston Churchill's speech to the House of Commons during the Battle of Britain.

• Antoine Dodson
  • When completing the quest Quest:Crisis_Management in Uldum, Schnottz's Bodyguard yells during an attack by several collosi to "Hide your vives! Hide your children! Zhey're killink everyone up in he'ah!". This is a reference to Antoine Dodson, who became an internet celebrity from a viral news video in which he was discussing an attempted rape on his sister. Said video included Dodson uttering the line "Hide your kids, hide your wives, and hide your husbands, because they're raping everybody out there."

• Mia Rose
  • There's an NPC in Twilight Highlands called Mia the Rose, which is a reference to porn actress and WoW player Mia Rose. Rose plays a night elf female.

• Bobby Flay and Mario Batali
  • The cooking trainer in Stormwind, Robby Flay, and cooking vendor Bario Matalli are both references to Chefs Bobby Flay and Mario Batali respectively.

Other

• The achievement  Double Rainbow is a reference to a viral video of a man commenting in awe while filming footage of a double rainbow.
• When doing the quest  [Forged Documents] on the Alliance side, there is an option to turn the quest in to the horse trainer Darlene Stokx in Stormwind. Upon turning in the quest, one of the things she says is "I must have been tipsy the night I promised you a pony. Take your money and no hard feelings, okay?" This a possibly a reference to the "Ghostcrawler promised me a pony" meme that sprung up on the official forums.
• Homestar Runner
  • In Deepholm, the quest  [82] Troggzor the Earthinator is an obvious reference to Trogdor. Both the quote "Stop him before he earthinates the countryside!" and the reward Earthinating Peasant Leggings further the pun.