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Shout Out / Cuphead

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As you'll soon see, this game is chock-full of references to '30s culture, '90s games, and many other things.

Don't Deal With the Devil

In General

  • The game's main inspiration is the Fleischer Studios short Swing, You Sinners!. While this mostly comes across visually, there are also a few direct references: Cagney Carnation moves in exactly the same way as a particular ghost from that short (particularly his splayed, upward-facing palms)note  and the song's melody is similar to his fight music, and the achievement for beating the final boss is named "Swing You Sinner". Very early concept art◊ even included a study of Cuphead pleading for his life in the same way that Bimbo does when threatened with a straight-razor◊.

  • A live-action storybook cutscene resembles the same cutscene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, from the part where it opens at the very beginning, all the way to the closing end of the story.

  • Cuphead (and his pal Mugman)
    • Their color schemes seem to have been inspired by characters in an old Silly Symphonies short called The China Shop
    • The big, smiling faces of Cuphead and Mugman on the character selection screens are obvious throwbacks to the opening cards of many Classic Disney Shorts, which featured their starring characters with a big smile towards the camera.
    • Cuphead and Mugman fire blue energy bullets from their fingertips, and can even fire a bigger, more powerful shot for more damage. That sounds familiar. They're also very similar to Shyna's from Silhouette Mirage.
      • The large purple energy triangles Rumor Honeybottoms summons at you look like the Mana drops from Silhouette Mirage.
    • In likely reference to Gunstar Heroes is the Chaser weapon, whose shots home in on enemies and the bullets are lime-green stars, like the same-named Chaser weapon in Gunstar Heroes.
    • The third Super Attack, Giant Ghost, involves the player's spirit leaving their body and attacking independently (while being steered by the player's directional inputs), prompting more than a few jokes from the fandom about Cuphead and Mugman's Stands.
    • Street Fighter III gets, appropriately enough, three of these incorporated as game mechanics: there is parrying of attacks (although only pink attacks here are parryable), EX attacks that buff the player's moves at the cost of meter, and full meters give access to Super Arts, which like in Street Fighter III, have three options to choose from (barring the special one in flying stages).
    • When you start the game and get to the "New Game/Continue" screen, the teacup that lies on the spotlight against the shadow in an otherwise black background is similar to the way Cloud Strife's Buster Sword is standing in silhouette on the spotlight in the same black background in the "New Game/Continue" screen◊ in Final Fantasy VII.
    • The "YOU DIED!" message that appears when you get killed (whether Cuphead or Mugman in single-player or both in co-op) is a Call-Back to the similar "YOU DIED" message in the Game Over screens of the earlier Resident Evil games.

  • Elder Kettle's design may be based on Mr. Coffeepot from the 1935 Van Beuren cartoon Picnic Panic.

  • The shopkeeper Porkrind is a pig with an eyepatch, most likely inspired by the purple smoking pirate pig from Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap; he also sells various liquors, like the dragon bartender from Wonder Boy in Monster Land. The equip cards he tells you to check on your menu bear a striking resemblance to the Monopoly property cards.

  • The achievements for beating the mausoleums is called "Magician Lord".

  • "Die House" contains the line "I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right hand man!", which sounds very reminiscent of "I'm a gambling boogeyman, although I don't play fair!" Both songs are themselves references to the music of Cab Calloway.
  • After the credits, King Dice quotes Ethel Barrymore's famous phrase, "That's all there is, there isn't any more." Now, that's not so true now, is it?

Inkwell Isle I

  • "Treetop Trouble"
    • The woodpeckers, unsurprisingly, look very similar to the early incarnations of Woody Woodpecker.

  • "Botanic Panic!", starring The Root Pack (Sal Spudder, Chauncey Chantenay, Ollie Bulb, & Horace Radiche)
    • The Root Pack's name references the Rat Pack.
    • Ollie Bulb very much resembles Fillbert from Wizadora.
    • A subtle one, but if you look in the background of the fight, you'll see the root pack was grown using a bag of "ACME Grow", a naming scheme to get in the front of the phonebooks codified by Looney Tunes.

  • "Ruse Of An Ooze", starring Goopy le Grande
    • Goopy takes his bright blue color and pointed tip from the famous Slimes of Dragon Quest.
    • The way he tips his pointed head like a hat is a reference to how Felix the Cat tips his ears.
    • When he transitions from his first phase to his second phase, he changes shape similar to how the blob shapeshifts.

  • "Threatenin' Zeppelin", starring Hilda Berg
    • If it wasn't apparent, her name is an homage to LZ 129 Hindenburg, which was named after German President Paul von Hindenburg.
    • Hilda's constellation forms are based on Noiman Cascade's virtual simulator bossfight in Contra: Hard Corps, even taking on the exact same constellations to boot (Taurus, Gemini, Sagittarius). She also turns into a mechanical crescent moon that reminds of an early boss◊ from Capcom's Chariot shooter (included in the Three Wonders arcade game).
    • Her hairstyle was clearly inspired by Betty Boop.
    • Her airship form appears to be a reference to recurring boss Kabula from the Kirby series.
    • Her Dub Name Change in the Portuguese language is Geni Buarque, a reference to the Brazilian song "Geni e o zepelim ("Jenny and the zeppelin", loosely based on Pirate Jenny) and its author, Chico Buarque.
    • The way that Hilda moves to summon one of her tornadoes is reminiscent of the way Andy Bogard from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 moves to summon his "Geki Hishouken" attack.

  • "Floral Fury", starring Cagney Carnation
    • Cagney's name is obviously a pun on James Cagney. The fact that one of his moves involves turning his own head into a crank-driven Tommy Gun (because of some of James' most memorable roles being gangsters) says a lot. For triple points, one of the first great Real Life mobsters was an accomplished florist who often did arrangements for gangland funerals; to this day, flower shops are still a semi-stereotypical 'front' for cartoon mobsters.
    • His pre-fight adorable-looking design is a homage to the sentient flora from Flowers and Trees, a 1932 Silly Symphonies animation, and the background is also inspired by the background artwork of the same short.
    • The way Cagney moves his hands is similar to the animation of a ghost character from the aforementioned Swing, You Sinners!, who in turn is a reference to Monroe Silver, an actor and comedian of the Depression era known for incorporating similar hand motions into his routine.
    • The way Cagney pulls down his jaw and whips his tongue out is much like Necro's taunt in Street Fighter III.
    • Cagney Carnation's boss fight seems to draw direct inspiration from Nettori, another stationary plant boss. The platforms are similar, and the spore shooters are near-identical in appearance.
      • The floating platforms in Cagney Carnation's fight are patterned after Piranha Plants.
    • One of Cagney's final form's attacks is spitting out white (or pink) dandelion seedheads that float across the screen. Cuphead's latest patch had one new bit of content that said "Touch fuzzy, get a little dizzy". Now, when you touch the seedheads, the screen blurs and the colors shift slightly, mimicking the effect of the infamous Fuzzies in Yoshi's Island.

  • "Clip Joint Calamity", starring Ribby & Croaks
    • As admitted by the Moldenhauer brothers (who are noted fighting game fans), the frog brothers Ribby and Croaks, are clear references to Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, down to performing their Personal Actions from Street Fighter III at the start of their fight. Their death quote in the final phase also references one of the battle announcer's quotes from Street Fighter Alpha.
      You went for broke and now you're croaked.
    • The brothers also reference several cast members of the original Street Fighter II: Ribby fires Hadoken-esque projectiles with a spinning hand motion similar to E. Honda's Hundred Hand Slap, tosses another set with Guile's Sonic Boom motion and enters the second phases with Blanka's Rolling Attack, while Croaks does his fan attack with the same movements as Zangief's Double Lariat and spits out fire projectiles ala Dhalsim's Yoga Fire; given the Playing with Fire theme, it also emphasizes his role as the Ken analogue. When both merge to form the slot machine, the references shift to the four bosses: the slot motif itself harkens to Balrog (Boxer) and his casino stage, and the three animals which lead to the bosses' attacks are a tiger, snake and bison, referencing Sagat, Vega (Claw) and M. Bison (Dictator).
      • To add to this, the third phase has a scrapped attack that would lead to a random barrage of all three attacks of the phase, plus an additional attack in the form of a pink wall that has to be parried over. Said attack is represented by a demon, which would have referenced Akuma.
    • Both characters look similar in both design and color scheme to the Frog and Toad from the eponymous series by Arnold Lobel.
    • There's also something familiar about the notion of scrap-happy amphibians that use shape-shifting to augment their fighting prowess.

Inkwell Isle II

  • "Funfair Fever"
    • The magician enemies in "Funfair Fever" teleport around and fire magic blasts in the form of three shapes colored red, yellow, and blue, very similarly to Magikoopas from Super Mario World. They're also similar to the magicians from Ghouls 'N' Ghosts who hide in chests and turn Sir Arthur into other characters.

  • "Funhouse Frazzle"
    • In "Funfair Fever"'s more menacing sister stage, there are pink, floating cards that, when parried, can reverse gravity (and some of the controls with it) at certain points (which may be useful if you want to avoid anything bad coming at you). This Gravity Screw is kind of an homage to Gravity Man's stage in Mega Man 5. Later on, there are star-shaped cannons that alternate between firing bullets in the cardinal directions and the intercardinal directions, mimicking the cannons on the airship stages from Super Mario Bros. 3.

  • "Sugarland Shimmy", starring Baroness von Bon Bon
    • The appearance of the Baroness and her barony are inspired by various cartoons' candy kingdoms, but most noticeably Cookietown from "The Cookie Carnival".
      • One of her minions, Lord Gob Packer, is also a jawbreaker version of Pac-Man.
    • Her name is a reference towards Baron Von Blubba from the Bubble Bobble franchise.
    • Design-wise, she was influenced by various actresses from the era of the game's design (like Betty Grable, Bebe Daniels, and Loretta Young).
    • Marie Antoinette may be also a strong contender, due to the infamous quote often (but incorrectly) attributed to her, "let them eat cake", and the fact that she indeed loses her head.

  • "Carnival Kerfuffle", starring Beppi the Clown

  • "Pyramid Peril", starring Djimmi the Great
    • The way Djimmi moves and acts seems to be a villainous version of the Genie from Aladdin. In particular, his fourth phase has him turn into a giant disembodied hand, which was a quirk of the Genie's.
    • During his first phase, he also does the Jeannie dance while his treasure chest takes care of all the actual attacking.
    • Djimmi's puppet form is uncannily similar to Pinocchio also.

  • "Fiery Frolic", starring Grim Matchstick
    • Grim Matchstick's design and move-set resembles the Mecha Dragon from Mega Man 2, while his name itself, and his stuttering during his taunts, are an homage to the legendary Fleischer animator Grim Natwick. His three-headed form may also be a reference to King Ghidorah.

  • "Aviary Action!", starring Wally Warbles (feat. Willy Warbles)
    • Wally Warbles' color scheme is exactly that of Rokh, an even larger bird from Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor, a fellow '30s cartoon, as well as Woody Woodpecker.
    • Wally's temper tantrums during the second phase are reminiscent of Donald Duck's own fits of rage.
    • Wally's color scheme and elongated beak are also similar to Woody Woodpecker. They, and Willy, all even have alliterative names beginning with W.
    • The pills Wally Warbles' medics spit out resemble the Megavitamins from Dr. Mario.
    • And speaking of those medics? Just take a look at the page pic for Disney's Who Killed Cock Robin?

Inkwell Isle III

  • "Rugged Ridge"
    • The 3rd quarter of the level features some Greco-Roman statues and ruins populated with satyrs, all which look very similar to the "Pastoral Symphony" segment on Fantasia.

  • "Perilous Piers"
    • A "Hotel Iwerks" and a billboard for "Tyrus Gardens" can be seen in the background of the level.

  • "Honeycomb Herald", starring Rumor Honeybottoms
    • Rumor Honeybottoms resembles Queen Sectonia, being a giant magic-using queen bee with a staff as her main weapon who transforms into something completely different for her third phase.
    • Rumor Honeybottoms' introductory animation has her brandishing a fork and knife at you. This is a reference to one of Q-Bee's victory animations from the Darkstalkers series, where she (and her entire hive of subjects) does the same.
    • The bee/bullet projectiles she spits look and move an awful lot like Bullet Bills.

  • "Dramatic Fanatic", starring Sally Stageplay
    • Sally's intro animation, in which she blows up her wedding dress, is a reference to Urien's intro in Street Fighter III.
    • The part where Sally transforms into a Valkyrie seems to reference Final Fantasy with her casting various elemental spells complete with their attack names popping up in front. The pose she adopts, the clouds, and the color of the wings could, in a way, be referencing Kefka specifically. And in the Nintendo Switch and Patch 1.2 versions, the cardboard cutout of her husband you've squished earlier (complete with halo) bears a striking pose similar to that of the "Rest" part of the Statue of the Gods in Final Fantasy VI.
    • Her battle may be a stylistic reference to Dynamite Headdy. Whereas that game's setting is a puppet show, Sally fights Cuphead during her vaudeville act.

  • "Shootin N' Lootin", starring Captain Brineybeard
    • Again invoking Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor, Captain Brineybeard looks a lot like Sindbad/Bluto. Wally's house also has a very similar appearance to the one located on Popeye's boat, and they are even defeated in similar ways (Rokh is defeated by being cooked by Popeye, and when Wally is defeated his helper birds begin preparing to eat him with some salt and pepper). Also, the eggs that he spits out resemble those of Yoshi's.
    • The transformation of Captain Brineybeard's boat makes it look very reminiscent of the whale of the Mickey Mouse 1938 short, "The Whalers"; incidentally, said whale inspired Monstro.

  • "Murine Corps", starring Werner Werman (feat. Katzenwgen)

  • "Junkyard Jive!", starring Dr. Kahl's Robot (feat. Dr. Kahl)
    • Dr. Kahl seems to be based on Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik and Dr. Albert W. Wily, being a spiky-haired scientist who attacks by piloting giant robots and using the power of magic gems. He even begins the fight with Dr. Wily's eyebrow wiggle. He's named for animator Milt Kahl, of Disney's Nine Old Men. The robot he's piloting himself in the scrapyard resembles the original book novel look for Ted Hughes' Iron Man/Iron Giant◊.
    • Meanwhile, the fight proper, which involves using a flying machine to destroy a Humongous Mecha piece by piece until the cockpit of said mecha detaches to be fought as a second phase, bears a very strong resemblance to the N. Gin boss battle from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped.
    • The explosions of the missiles in "Junkyard Jive" strongly resemble those of the skull bombs◊ from Truxton.

  • "High Seas Hi-Jinx!", starring Cala Maria
    • Another reference to a classic shooter is Cala Maria, a giant mermaid who resembles Eliza◊ of Gokujō Parodius!. Cala Maria had a pirate ship on her head in early concepts, just like her inspiration, but it was scrapped due to being too difficult to animate. Likewise, she turns into a gorgon and has her head detach to fight you in the final phase, which is a reference to Sexy Parodius (the fourth game in the Parodius series) which likewise had a gorgon boss on one of its paths. That itself was a shout out to Castlevania, which also has Medusa Head enemies that are similar to Cala's gorgon head. And while likely coincidental, the final phase of this fight being an air battle against a flying, projectile-spewing gorgon head is uncannily similar to the final phase of the fight against Medusa in Chapter 9 of Kid Icarus: Uprising. Finally, the fight's final phase is also a reference to Lar, the final boss of the aforementioned Chariot, in that both he and Cala Maria shed their whole body and go on as just a floating mask/head.
    • Word of God says that Cala Maria's design was primarily inspired by Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Betty Boop.
    • Additionally, when her body turns to stone in her last phase, her head breaks off first, and then her arms. This causes the resulting torso to resemble the famous incomplete sculpture of Venus de Milo.
    • The sea turtle she summons in her first phase looks like a very angry Toby Tortoise from Disney's Silly Symphonies (specifically "The Tortoise and the Hare"), and his fisticuffs pose alludes to the boxing match held in "Toby Tortoise Returns".

  • "Railroad Wrath", starring the Phantom Express (the Blind Specter, the Conductor, the Lollipop Ghouls, & the Head of the Train)
    • The final phase of with the locomotive appears to be a shout out to Sleeper Brakeman from Noitu Love 2. Both of them are locomotives on legs with a glowing object at the rear which has to be hit in order to make the boss vulnerable in some way. Doom Train from Final Fantasy VI may also have been an inspiration, since you start fighting the "guests", then the conductor and finally the train itself. Even the Game Over text claiming it is meant only for the dead is something said once in Final Fantasy 6 when the group arrives at the train station.
    • It may also be a reference to the Mad Dog boss from Dynamite Headdy, another four-legged, wheeled automaton whose vulnerable spot is a glowing bulb on its tail.
    • The Head of the Train himself borrows heavily from the sentient locomotives in the Max Fleischer Color Classic "Play Safe". In particular, the green one who warns the boy with a sinister "Beware! Take care!" in his dream.
    • The number on the Phantom Express, 4561, is the set number for a LEGO train set released in 1999 (albeit it's an electric train and not a steam engine.)

Inkwell Hell

  • "All Bets Are Off!", starring King Dice (feat. the Tipsy Troop (Rumulus, Ol' Ethan, & Ginette), Chips Bettigan, Mr. Wheezy, Pip and Dot, Hopus Pocus, Phear Lap, Pirouletta, Mangosteen, & Mr. Chimes)
    • The battle with King Dice itself is preceded by a boss rush, where you roll a die to move across a board and fight various mini-bosses along the way, similar to Black's stage from Gunstar Heroes, right down to the second-last space sending you back to the start.
      • To further reference the stage, one of the mini-bosses, Mangosteen, is a disembodied face over an 8-ball with an overly animated "mouth", much like the infamous Melon Bread boss from Gunstar Heroes. Furthermore, it's named "Mangosteen", referencing a fruit in the same way melon bread is a fruit-based food.* 
    • Chips Bettigan's main attack resembles that of the signature move of the Devil series bosses from Mega Man.
    • Mr. Wheezy is also nod to Cab Calloway, especially notable in his picture on the right; it's an expression Cab made and had photographed many times, like so◊.
    • The Conveyor Belt o' Doom in Pip and Dot's boss battle that pulls you toward a spiked wall is a reference to the 1931 cartoon Bimbo's Initiation, in which Bimbo was faced with a similar trap.
    • Phear Lap's name is an homage to the famous racehorse Phar Lap and a pun on the frightful nature of Dem Bones.
    • While pool does have some luck elements, Mangosteen is also based off of the Magic 8-Ball, which is a game of luck as you hope it reveals a good fortune for you when you shake it.
    • Hopus Pocus' defeat animation is very similar to some of the expressions by Bugs Bunny in the 1940s.
    • The battle arena for Mr. Chimes (a toy monkey in a claw machine) contains a plush wolf and lizard as background elements. Jared Moldenhauer confirms in this video that this was an homage to the three playable characters of Rampage, George, Lizzie, and Ralph.
    • King Dice's nightmarish Slasher Smile references Pinocchio's Coachman down to the similarly detailed eyes. However, Dice has a more obvious demonic connection than the Coachman is implied to have.
    • King Dice is an No Celebrities Were Harmed homage to Cab Calloway, more so than Mr. Wheezy. Aside from being partially modeled after him, his game over quote ends with "Hi-de-ho!", which was a phrase Calloway often used while singing. While using his card attack, his hand moves in a manner similar to Calloway's dancing.
    • The achievement you get for beating King Dice is named "Casino Night".

  • "One Hell Of A Time", starring the Devil himself
    • In Contra: Hard Corps, the Big Bad gives the player characters a We Can Rule Together offer that the player can choose to accept or decline. Declining starts the fight against the Big Bad, accepting nets you a bad ending shot of the player characters as his evil servants. A very similar situation complete with yes/no choice happens over here before Cuphead and Mugman face off against the Devil.
      • Speaking of that, the "Oh, Crap!" reaction that Cuphead and Mugman get at the start of the final battle when the Devil gives them a Death Glare that plays out what he will do to them and they both give out a terrified scream is kind of an homage to the boss fights in the Battletoads series when either Rash, Zitz or Pimple (and Billy and Jimmy Lee in the Double Dragon crossover) get the same terrified reaction when facing many bosses at the start of the battle.
      • Another likely Contra: Hard Corps reference comes from the HP number box at the bottom of the screen that allows you to take three hits before dying, just like the Life Meter from the game's Japanese version.
    • The Devil's win quote is taken from M. Bison/Vega in the console versions of Street Fighter II.
    "Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed!"//
    • Speaking of Street Fighter II, if you manage to die in the tutorial via hack, you get an empty death card that quotes Sagat from SFII.
    "You are not a warrior. You're a beginner!"
    • The final boss, being the Devil sitting on his throne, reminds of the fight against Lucifer/Loki at the end of Ghouls 'N' Ghosts.
    • The Devil's second and (especially) third form are heavily reminiscent, in lighting, perspective, and style, of Chernabog from Fantasia.

Delicious Last Course

In General

  • The Twist-Up weapon looks like and functions like the Air Shooter.
  • An Easter Egg was added in alongside the DLC that grants the player extra health on lower difficulties. The cheat being activated comes with a special animation for freeing the "Game Djimmi".
  • A secret relic available in the DLC is a reference to Final Fantasy VI. By defeating the secret boss after collecting the Broken Relic, it turns into the Cursed Relic, which applies a bunch of negative effects on the player. However, if the player defeats enough bosses with it equipped, the curse will break and it will become the extremely powerful Divine Relic. This is similar to Final Fantasy VI's Cursed Shield; a shield which inflicts a slew of negative effects, but can be turned into the powerful Paladin Shield by using it in enough battles. The relic's description calls it a "jinxed curio that inflicts various status ailments". This is very similar to the Cursed Shield, which is described as a "Bloodstained shield that inflicts various status ailments." Additionally, the Steam achievement for unlocking the Divine Relic is named "Paladin".
  • The cosmetic effect of the Divine Relic is giving Cuphead/Mugman afterimages while moving, just like Alucard.

Isle IV

  • "Gnome Way Out", starring Glumstone the Giant

  • "Bootlegger Boogie", starring the Moonshine Mob
    • The Moonshine Mob is largely inspired by Woodland Café, one of the 1937 Silly Symphonies, in its depiction of a dangerous spider mobster followed by a dancing lady light bug (who also takes some cues from Moth and the Flame). The final phase brings in a giant anteater highly similar to the one from the 1940 Color Classics Ants in the Plants.

  • "Doggone Dogfight", starring the Howling Aces
    • During the Howling Aces fight, the boomeranging way the Bulldog's cross bone tattoos move when he fires them out is reminiscent of the Cross weapon from the Castlevania franchise, which moves in a similar way.
    • Additionally, the Bulldog's design, with the sleeveless uniform, as well as his pose in his death quote, are a reference to Rolento from Final Fight, specifically his Capcom-side key art from Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium.
    • His plane's design and method of attack is similar to the Keesi II from Metal Slug 2/X, since it's above the player at all times while other mooks rain projectiles from it.
    • During the final phase, the direction of gravity shifts multiple times, as you are attacked by cris-crossing lasers; this may bring to mind the fight against Sans near the end of Undertale's No Mercy route.
    • The saluki strongly resembles Cammy White, what with her red beret and blonde "hair"/fur with a single strand sticking out. She even mimics Cammy's win pose◊ in her death card.
    • The platform being the upper wing of a biplane may reference certain Sonic The Hedgehog levels.

  • "Snow Cult Scuffle", starring Mortimer Freeze
    • Mortimer Freeze, being a pointy-nosed, blue-skinned ice wizard leading a cult of snowmen from an icy palace, seems like a dead ringer for the Ice King from Adventure Time, only replace the Ice King's penguin army with Mortimer's snowmen.
    • One of his attacks, the Walloping Winter Whale, involves slamming an orange whale like a mallet. If you pay close attention, you can see that the whale has stars running along its back, similarly to Ecco the Dolphin's star-patterned forehead.
    • The move in which the Snow Monster pounds the floor, causing large blades to emerge, evokes Hsien-Ko's Chireitou. He also strikes the same pose as Juggernaut's Earthquake. His general mannerisms and movement attacks - both the roll and the jump - are evocative of Mega Man's Frost Man.
    • From The Old Man of the Mountain, the scene where the old man licks his thumbs before he starts singing is briefly recreated at the start of Mortimer Freeze's third phase. The animation could also be a reference to a similar gesture made by one of the strange ghostly apparitions that appears at the end of Swing You Sinners!
    • The final phase with him as a snowflake, the eyes resembles a lot of the character SpongeBob SquarePants.
    • The level as a whole is inspired by the Fleischer short Bimbo's Initiation, as stated in the localization notes of the game.
    • The arena features a domed ceiling with sun and moon decorations in the same layout as the fight with Mad Dog in Dynamite Headdy, which also shows an orchestra sitting in rows of two like Mortimer's cultists.

  • "High-Noon Hoopla", starring Esther Winchester
    • Esther Winchester's design is pretty clearly aped from Mickey Mouse's friend Clarabelle Cow.
    • Adding to the ACME references the game makes, the vacuum cleaner transforms into an 'ACME Cooker' after sucking Esther in.

  • "A Dish To Die For", starring Chef Saltbaker
    • The way Chef Saltbaker grows gigantic for his second phase is via a mushroom, a very clear reference to Super Mario Bros.
    • In Chef Saltbaker's second phase, he gains an attack where he throws some mint leaves upwards; four of them drift down in the same way that Wood Man's leaves do.
    • The wicked grin on Chef Saltbaker's face during the second phase of his boss fight resembles the infamous evil grin on the face of the Coachman from Pinocchio.
    • The two pirouetting figures that attack during the third phase may reference the Pink Elephants sequence in Dumbo.
    • The rotating pillars with Saltbaker's face in the final phase of the fight resemble some of Cyriak's creations.
    • He borrows a quote from another Street Fighter boss if you lose during his final phase, this one being Gill in Street Fighter III: Third Strike:
      The mark of my salinity shall scar thy fired glaze!
    • The overall layout of the fight is similar to that of Abyss from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. You have to destroy the outer shell first before the arena crumbles, filling it with the substance within the shell. You then fight a humanoid form made of the same substance before the boss finally summons a large monster and you must damage a central organ to finally defeat them. Where Abyss uses a slime-like substance and its true form is a flying orb hidden by armor, Saltbaker uses salt and manifests as his own heart after you destroy his glass body.
    • After his defeat and for his community service, the prisoner code on his Institutional Apparel is "551905". This is in reference to Floyd Gottfredson, the defining artist behind the Mickey Mouse comics, who was born May 5th, 1905.

  • "One Hell Of A Dream", starring the Nightmare.
    • The gimmick of the secret boss fight against the Nightmare seems to be a nod to Silhouette Mirage, in that attacks change depending on which way you're facing. The difference is that instead of your attacks, it's the boss's.
    • The level's concept of a boss fight in a nightmare is directly inspired by the Hopeless Boss Fight dream sequence in Phantasy Star I.

  • "The King's Leap", starring the King's Court (the Pawns, the Knight, the Bishop, the Rook, & the Queen)
    • Similar to Esther Winchester, the design of the Knight on the King's Leap likely takes influence from Horace Horsecollar from Mickey Mouse.
    • The anthropomorphic guillotine the Rook daydreams of has the hairstyle, eyes, and ring-shaped earrings of Betty Boop.
    • The first of the King's Count "The Pawns" the death's quote in the Latin American Spanish version says "Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito, me llevo la victoria, poquito a poquito" which is a nod to the song "Despacito" sang by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (along with Justin Bieber in the remix version). It can be pretty much as a Have a Nice Death due to the fact that despite the said song have positive reviews, critics and likes on the official video of that song in Vevo, it became one of the most annoying, grating and hated Latin American Reggaeton songs of all time even by today's standards due to being a song of Reggaeton genre, is about sex, sex, sex and more sex, the drum is very repetitive and reused in every Reggaeton song, overuse of autotune and the voices get irritating quickly. Translating the original quote "One by one by one by one, your chance at victory is done!" in Spanish should be said "¡Uno por uno por uno, tu oportunidad de victoria ha terminado!".
    • The King's Leap itself is greatly inspired by the the floating castle Laputa from Castle in the Sky and the Air Castle from Phantasy Star I.

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