13 Hall of Fame Jokes and Moments Indiana Jones Has Given Us
Indiana Jones has been the standard pulp hero since 1981, even though he was written as an homage to pulp heroes of serial reels in the first half of the 20th century. While all of his movies are filled with action, adventure and the occasional problematic cultural and dating takes, Indiana Jones films aren’t afraid to toss in some humor and make the titular hero a part of the joke to bring a little levity to the proceedings, too. After all, you have to take the edge off a little if you’re going to melt off a Nazi’s face.
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So grab a whip, a hat and some poisoned dates, and jump into the funniest scenes and spoofs of the Indiana Jones franchise...
Nuking the Fridge in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’
Is it the best scene in an Indy movie? Hell no. Did it lead to jokes about Indy dying from radiation tumors and the phrase “nuking the fridge” as a means of making fun of the film? Yes.
‘Snakes. Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?’
Raiders of the Lost Ark provided Indy with arguably his greatest foe and phobia, the snake, leading to this now-iconic line reading. Sallah’s reaction to the statue is an excellent comedic addition, too.
Quirky Quicksand in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’
The Tank Cliff Fall Fake-Out in ‘The Last Crusade’
While it’s a trope nowadays, this Last Crusade scene where Indy appears to fall to his doom on a tank with a surprising reveal is done to perfection.
‘Family Guy’s ‘Will You Just Pick It Up Already?!’
‘Robot Chicken’s Guarding the Holy Grail
That guy’s been there looking after the Holy Grail for a long time y’all. Too long.
The Nightclub Brawl in ‘Temple of Doom’
Indy gets into a slapstick fight while trying to grab an antidote rolling across the dance floor.
Propeller-Chopped Nazi in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Normally, having someone die by being chopped up by an airplane propeller would just be gruesome, but it’s death by Nazi hubris, so no need to feel bad about laughing.
The Burning Escape in ‘The Last Crusade’
The elder Jones isn’t as experienced with getting captured and being an escape artist like his son, so what was supposed to be a simple rope-burning-to-escape turns into a comedically chaotic conundrum.
‘Robot Chicken’s The Trap Contractor
Robot Chicken asks the question, “Who set up all of those traps in Raiders of the Lost Ark? And did they really think hard about them?” It then answered that question in its usual hilarious, snarky pop-culture nerd way.
‘The Simpsons’ Homage to ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
The Simpsons opened an episode of the show with the opening to the first Indy film. While the idol scene has been spoofed multiple times in various forms, this one features Homer as the boulder, so it beats all the rest.
The Seagulls Shield from ‘The Last Crusade’
Dr. Henry Jones Sr. uses his wits, his umbrella and a flock of seagulls to take down an airplane, which is hilarious to everyone but PETA.
Sword vs. Gun from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
If Harrison Ford didn’t have dysentery, this iconic scene wouldn’t have been improvised and shot. Basically, it’s the only good thing dysentery has ever done for humanity.
