Speaking of Zootopia--Mafia Moments

I'm reposting this earlier Votaries post because I have one to add. 

In the sitcom Barbara, a horse's pantomime head ends up in the bed of one of Barbara's friends. (It's a very British joke...of an American phenomenon.)

Just looking at the picture makes me laugh. 

Original Post

I'm not a fan of mafia-focused entertainment. I've never seen The Godfather movies and my desire to see the series lies somewhere between Go Bungee Jumping and Eat Snakes.

I suppose if I was trapped on an island . . .

What's amazing, however, is my utter familiarity with Godfather jokes from Zootopia's Mr. Big to Robin Hood: Men in Tights' Dom Deluise to Ballykissangel's horse saddle in the bed (rather than the head).

What's even more amazing is how hard I laugh at these jokes. Often, satire depends on a thorough appreciation and knowledge of the thing being satirized--like the "countdown" in Galaxy Quest or, also in Galaxy Quest, Sam Rockwell's marvelous riff about being the disposable guy (not to mention his fantastic reality check: "HEY! Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air? You don't know!")

But I have no interest in mafia stories. I have less interest in The Godfather. And I only know about Al Capone from reading Bill Bryson's 1927.

And yet, I fall out of my chair laughing at Dom Deluise.

Is Marlon Brando truly that pervasive? Is our culture that inculculated with Godfather imagery?

Possibly.

Or is it that watching a man pull cotton balls out his mouth would be funny no matter what?

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