History Main / MichaelJacksonsThrillerParody

* A zombie resembling Michael Jackson appears in ''Return Of The Living Dead Part II''.

* Done in an episode of ''LittlestPetShop'' when werewolf paranoia grips the pet day camp.

* British comedian LennyHenry spoofed the music video as "Thinner" in 1984, parodying allegations about Jackson's anorexia.

* In {{Erfworld}}, fighting stacks get actual bonuses from dancing in unison, as seen when [[http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F127.jpg Wanda leads her troops into battle.]] Bonus points because, like Michael Jackson, she the dancers behind her actually are zom--, er, [[OurZombiesAreDifferent uncroaked]].

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* One of the first bosses in ''{{VideoGame/Splatterhouse}}: Wanpaku Graffiti'' for Famicom is a vampire, clad in Jackson's red jacket, who emerges from a disco floor in a cemetery and summons various zombies who start dancing and then attack the player. The game is similarly loaded with [[AffectionateParody parodies]] of famous horror films.

* ''AlvinAndtheChipmunks'': In the 1983 episode "The C-Team/The Chipettes", the Chipmunks' opening musical sequence uses the chorus' dance moves.

!!Spoofs include:

!!Examples of this trope can be found in:

** In "The Jeffersons", the reveal of Michael-as-zombie is parodied when the kids see the crumbling ruin that is the actual face of Michael Jackson.

** In "Meet The Quagmires" the 1980s version of Cleveland is wearing the red jacket.
* ''AlvinAndtheChipmunks'': In the 1983 episode "The C-Team/The Chipettes" (1983), the Chipmunks' opening musical sequence uses the chorus' dance moves.

MichaelJackson's elaborate MusicVideo for "Music/{{Thriller}}" debuted to much hype in 1983 and was an instant smash hit. As the most famous single video of all time, it's become a StockParody, usually referencing the "zombie dance" performed by Michael and a troupe of ghouls and/or the closing OrWasItADream shot of Michael with evil yellow eyes.

MichaelJackson's elaborate MusicVideo for "Music/{{Thriller}}" debuted to much hype in 1983 and was an instant smash hit. As the most famous single video of all time, it's become a StockParody, usually referencing the "zombie dance" performed by Michael and a troupe of ghouls and/or the closing OrWasItADreamShot of Michael with evil yellow eyes.

MichaelJackson's music video for his song ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' wasn't the first music video, not even Jackson's first one, but made a impact on the industry that has cemented itself in popular culture. Back then, it was the first high budget music video directed by a famous film director, in this case JohnLandis.

In a nutshell the plot of the video comes down to this: Michael and his girlfriend return from seeing a horror movie in a theater, encounter a bunch of zombies, Michael dances along with them and in the end it turned out ItWasAllADream. Or was it? Because when Michael leaves the room with her he looks at the camera with spooky eyes.

The video quickly became popular and MTV put it in heavy rotation throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It has been referenced, spoofed, imitated and even plagiarized countless times ever since. Two scenes in particular are imitated the most: the lengthy dance sequence between Michael and the zombies and the final ''"spooky eyes"'' shot. A character wearing Jackson's thriller jacket is also common.

* In a gag of the Dutch comic strip ''"Sjors en Sjimmie"'' Sjimmie dresses up as Michael Jackson in his famous ''"Thriller"'' jacket and sings a few bars of the song.

* A rare text-only example of this trope can be found in chapter 16 of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4821436/16 Ed, Edd, Eddy n Edna]]''. The chapter even ends the same way the original music video does.

* A zombie resembling Michael Jackson in his ''"Thriller"'' outfit appears in ''"Return Of The Living Dead Part II"''
* The earliest example of a spoof appears in the Bollywood film ''"Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki" (1984)'' where the zombie dance sequence is imitated.
* In the German comedy film ''"Otto-Der Film" (1985)'' the zombie dance sequence is also imitated, but this time with lookalikes of the German folksinger Heino, adapting the song's tunes to the lyrics of his song ''"Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss"''.
* The Indian Telegu film ''"Donga" (1985)''. A character dances with zombies, also dressed in a Thriller jacket, singing a song with a very similar tune. It became an Internet meme in the 2000s.
* In the 1985 horror movie ''DeadEnd'' one of the zombies wears the Thriller jacket.
* FerrisBuellersDayOff: During the "Twist & Shout" dance sequence a group of Afro-Americans is seen performing dance moves from Thriller
* ComingToAmerica: Dance sequence referenced.

* British comedian LennyHenry spoofed the music video as ''"Thinner"'' in 1984, parodying allegations about Jackson's anorexia.
* ''SpittingImage'': In the pilot episode a MichaelJackson puppet is seen singing and dancing in a graveyard environment accompanied by zombies who resemble members of the British Parliament. His song, ''"I'm Perfect"'', has a similar melody as ''"Thriller"''. The sketch concludes with a close-up of Jackson's face with the spooky eyes, but instead of eyes they show dollar signs.

* The earliest homage was shown in WeirdAlYankovic's music video for ''"Eat It"'', where he imitates the spooky eyes shot.
* Gorillaz: In the music video for ''"Clint Eastwood"'' the gorillas chasing Russell also show a few dancing moves taken from ''"Thriller"''. Also note that they too have risen from their graves by night.
* At the end of the music video for ''"Rock This Party"'' by Bob Sinclar the children also imitate the zombie dance sequence, complete in outfit.
* In the music video ''"Smiley Faces"'' by GnarlsBarkley it is suggested that the two members of the group were present as zombies in Jackson's music video.
* LadyGaga: The dance choreography of Lady Gaga's music video for ''"Bad Romance"'' is also lifted from Jackson's ''"Thriller"''.

* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', activating any taunt during the halloween season carries a high chance of your character performing the zombie dance instead.

* This is done very well in the 2011 HalloweenEpisode of ''WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange''. Taking in consideration the characters are, well, {{Anthropomorphic Food}}s.

* ''TheSimpsons'': In the Halloween special ''"Treehouse Of Horror III"'' Bart and Lisa try to revive their dead cat with a magical spell, but accidentally raise the dead instead. While Bart is saying the spell he wears the album cover of Michael Jackson's album ''"Thriller"'' on his head.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Chef changes into a zombie during the Halloween episode ''"Pinkeye"'', where he dances along with other zombies, dressed in Jackson's outfit and to a similar sounding melody.
* ''FamilyGuy'': The ending of ''"The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair"'' with Stewie's wolf-like yellow eyes and maniacal laughter is taken from the Michael Jackson's Thriller video.
** In ''"Meet The Quagmires"'' the 1980s version of Cleveland is seen wearing the Thriller jacket.
* ''AlvinAndtheChipmunks'': In the 1983 TV episode ''The C-Team/The Chipettes (1983)'', the Chipmunks' opening musical sequence uses the exact same moves as the chorus dance number from ''"Thriller"''.

* The event ''"Thrill the World"'', an attempt to break a record in singing and dancing the zombie dance sequence with the most amount of people possible.
* The Filipino Prisoners have performed it too.

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* A rare text-only example of this trope can be found in chapter 16 of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4821436/16 Ed, Edd, Eddy n Edna]]'' -- [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong just not with the original lyrics]]. The chapter even ends the same way the original music video does.

* A rare text-only example of this trope can be found in chapter 16 of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4821436/16 Ed, Edd, Eddy n Edna]]''. The chapter even ends the same way the original music video does.

* A rare text-only example of this trope can be found in chapter 16 of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4821436/16 Ed, Edd, Eddy n Edna]]''.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', activating any taunt during the halloween season carries a high chance of your character performing the zombie dance instead.
** Special random factors on one map can force both teams to dance this way a meter apart. Then return control of everyone's weapons. HilarityEnsues.
[[/folder]]

* ''AlvinAndtheChipmunks'': In the 1983 TV episode ''The C-Team/The Chipettes (1983)''.
The Chipmunks' opening musical sequence uses the exact same moves as the chorus dance number from ''"Thriller"''.

* ''SouthPark'': Chef changes into a zombie during the Halloween episode ''"Pinkeye"'', where he dances along with other zombies, dressed in Jackson's outfit and to a similar sounding melody.

In a nutshell the plot of the video comes down to this: Michael and his girlfriend return from seeing a horror movie in a theater, encounter a bunch of zombies, Michael dances along with them and in the end it turned ItWasAllADream. Or was it? Because when Michael leaves the room with her he looks at the camera with spooky eyes.

* TheSimpsons: In the Halloween special ''"Treehouse Of Horror III"'' Bart and Lisa try to revive their dead cat with a magical spell, but accidentally raise the dead instead. While Bart is saying the spell he wears the album cover of Michael Jackson's album ''"Thriller"'' on his head.
* SouthPark: Chef changes into a zombie during the Halloween episode ''"Pinkeye"'', where he dances along with other zombies, dressed in Jackson's outfit and to a similar sounding melody.

[[/folder]]

* TheSimpsons: In the Halloween special ''"Threehouse Of Horror III"'' Bart and Lisa try to revive their dead cat with a magical spell, but accidentally raise the dead instead. While Bart is saying the spell he wears the album cover of Michael Jackson's album ''"Thriller"'' on his head.