5 Far Side Comics Set in Movie Theaters That Are 10/10 Perfect

It's hard to find an aspect of everyday life that Gary Larson's The Far SIde didn't satirize, and going to the movies is no exception. Larson set some great gags in movie theaters - several, of course, starring animals in the place of humans.

Here are the five best Far Side comics set in movie theaters, as well as some of Gary Larson's best movie comics and filmstar fans.

Atlas | Published February, 1992

Several of Larson's movie theater gags hinge on the idea of someone tall blocking your view, but this mythological strip takes the idea to the next level, thanks to Atlas carrying the entire world on his back.

In Ancient Greek mythology, Atlas is a Titan rather than a god, sentenced by Zeus to hold the world on his shoulders for eternity. In this strip, Larson finally makes sure that the leader of the Greek pantheon regrets his decision.

Mantis Cinema | Published May, 1991

From the interior to the exterior, this gag references the reputation of praying mantises for eating their nearest and dearest. Larson plays off the classic Rick Moranis comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, suggesting that with a far more grisly premise, an insect audience would be queuing around the block for their tickets.

Larson is a particular fan of insect life, with bugs appearing across The Far Side. Indeed, Larson's love of insects is so plain that multiple species of bug have been named in his honor, with entomologists recognizing a fellow diehard fan of creepy-crawlies when they see one.

Ketchup | Published March, 1991

In a surprisingly wholesome Far Side comic, a father ketchup bottle explains to his son that the 'gore' in the movie they're watching is nothing to worry about.

Especially in the early days, Larson created The Far Side under strict rules of taste, to the point he struggled to even show an outhouse in a Wild West comic. In that context, it's impressive that Larson found a way to show 'blood' so prominently, with the ketchup context even justifying a blood-red appearance.

Horse | Published March, 1980

Back outside the movie theater, a horse moviegoer has been rattled by the events of The Godfather. In the movie's most iconic scene, producer Jack Woltz wakes up with the head of his prize racehorse in the bed next to him after getting on the wrong side of the mob.

It seems the equine film fan could cope with the Corleone family's many assassinations, but seeing 'Khartoum' lose its head was a step too far. That's a reasonable reaction, as while the various shootings and beatings in the movie are fake, the horse head was 100% real. After finding the prop options unsatisfactory, Francis Ford Coppola obtained the real deal from a dog-food company.

Honorable Mentions

A brief pause in our list for some honorable mentions and facts about Larson's connection to the movies. The comics above include some gems (for example, the Pope's hat causing an issue at the Vatican theater), while also confirming that Larson has seen a lot of nature documentaries in movie theaters (something that would be basically unheard of today.)

Of particular note is the wordless gag for the cover of The Far Side Gallery 5, which depicts the classic 'fly in my soup' scenario from a very different perspective, turning it into a thriller (or potentially a horror movie.)

The Far Side's love of the cinema isn't just about the experience of attending - Larson has a BUNCH of comics parodying iconic movies...

Far Side Delivered Some 10/10 Movie Parodies

Larson loves any subject where the reader has existing knowledge, allowing him to either build gags around that shared context or subvert it for laughs. That's true for everyday experiences and nature facts, but also for iconic movies, with Larson having a real eye for what films would remain relevant even decades later.

Larson parodied everything from The Sound of Music to Cape Fear, Jaws, King Kong and Alien. However, he has a clear affection for classic horror movies, with endless gags about Universal Monsters characters like Frankenstein, Gill-man, the Mummy and more.

Given most horror movie monsters come with striking iconography and firm 'rules' about their powers and weaknesses, it's no wonder Larson found them such fertile ground for parody. However, there's one type of movie he found even more inspiring...

Gary Larson Took Special Aim at Disney

Larson LOVES to make fun of Disney movies, regularly directing his satirical attention to the House of Mouse's classic output. Larson hit Dumbo, Peter Pan, Bambi and more, with enough Pinocchio comics to fill a list by themselves.

With The Far Side's surreal, morbid sense of humor, Larson's gags perfectly subvert the saccharine values that fans associate with Disney classics. However, that's not to say that Larson only goes for the easy gags - Captain Hook getting job counseling, an oral history of the assassination of Bambi's mother, and an entomologist finishing off Jiminy Cricket draw on Larson's favorite themes as much as they do Disney iconography.

Even Movie Stars Loved Gary Larson

As much as Gary Larson liked the movies, film stars liked him back. Comedy icons Robin Williams and Steve Martin even wrote forewords for Larson's Far Side collections.

Williams' comments on The Far Side were effusive, writing, "whenever I read The Far Side I feel like I'm watching a National Geographic special on Prozac," while Martin took the task a little less seriously, writing in his introduction to The Complete Far Side:

I am very sorry to report, given the occasion of this very important publication, that many of the scenes depicted in this book are actually false. Several years ago I began to suspect the veracity of a few of the events portrayed by Larson. "Wait a minute," I thought. "A chicken couldn't confess to murdering Old MacDonald; Old MacDonald was a fictitious character.

Other celebrity fans of The Far Side include horror maestro Stephen King and anthropologist Jane Goodall, who likewise wrote forewords for Larson's collections.And now, our #1 pick as Far Side's best movie theater comic...

Tall Guys | Published July, 1988

In this strip, three kids gleefully sit down to enjoy a movie, only for three unreasonably tall guys to spoil their view. Larson is the master of finding the exact right moment in a 'story' to make a gag as effective as possible, and that's absolutely the case here. Showing the three tall guys in front of the kids would have been funny, but showing the moment before is hilarious. The experience of piecing together the gag, no matter how short a time it takes, makes the punchline even funnier once the reader gets there.

There are basically no wordless Far Side strips that are anything less than flawless, as Larson consolidates the gag into its purest form. In this case, there's the slightest hint that the second of the towering men knows exactly what he's doing by choosing those three seats, adding a wicked edge to the gag.