Referenced By / The Little Engine That Could

Animated Films

• In Dumbo, Casey Jr. wheezes "I think I can, I think I can" while ascending a hill. This turns into "I thought I could" during the descent.

Comic Strips

• Off the Mark:
  • "The Little Engine that Coulda".
  • "The Little Engine That Couldn't Care Less"

Live-Action TV

• In the Emergency! episode "All Night Long," Johnny is talking about his plans to create his own game show and says, "I can do it!" Chet says, "Oh, great, the little engine that could." Johnny says, "The what?"

Puppet Shows

• Sesame Street: In a "Journey to Ernie" segment themed around transportation, Big Bird meets The Little Engine That Can't, who is the cousin of The Little Engine That Could. The Little Engine That Can't tells Big Bird that he knows he can't get up a hill, so he chants, "I know I can't." while he decides to go home.

Video Games

• Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist: If you talk to the crashed train in the swamp, it says, "I thought I could... I thought I could..."

Web Video

• In the SuperMarioLogan episode, "Jeffy Gets Potty Trained!", Rosalina reads Jeffy The Little Engine That Could Poop, which as Mario points out, isn't a toilet training book, but rather one she edited. Fortunately, this encourages Jeffy to want to use the toilet.
  Rosalina: "Puff puff, chug chug." Went the little blue engine. "I think I can poop, I think I can poop, I think I can poop, I think I can poop." Until at last, they reached the top of the toilet. "Hooray, hooray!" cried the little clown and all the little dolls and toys. "The good little boys and girls in the city will be happy because you pooped!"

Western Animation

• Hey Arnold!: In "Stoop Kid", Arnold watches the titular character from inside a trash can to see whether or not he will leave his stoop so he can get his football back from him. At one point, Stoop Kid reads The Little Engine That Could and enjoys the story. This later becomes Arnold's means to motivate Stoop Kid that he's capable leaving his stoop with a little courage and determination.
• Phineas and Ferb: In "Last Train to Bustville", when Candace manages to get a train up a hill, she shouts, "I knew we could, I knew we could, I knew we could!"
• Rugrats (1991): In "Angelica Breaks a Leg", Angelica pretends to break her leg so Stu and Didi will dote on her, and gets her wish due to a mix-up in the medical records. At one point, she wants Didi to tell her a story. Didi suggests The Little Engine That Could, along with The Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel, but Angelica suggests that she instead make up a story about an angel named Angelica.