10 Best Far Side Comics That Make Fun of Disney

Gary Larson seemed to admire many of the things he included in his The Far Side comics, whether he put real people into his strip or referenced a particular movie. However, his approach to Disney is an interesting case. Some of his strips show disdain, and three different strips show the killing or torturing of the Disney version of Pinocchio. He also indirectly poked fun at Disney; if someone was wearing a Mickey Mouse hat, they were a bit slow on the uptake.

When putting this list together, I focused on the strips that made fun of Disney in The Complete Far Side. There weren’t many to choose from, but these 10 are all gold. I don’t think you could expect anything less from Larson.

Why You Should Trust Me: I’m a long-time comic-strip reader; for about three decades, the medium has been an enduring favorite and a defining part of my sense of humor. Over the years, I have amassed a large collection of comic strips that I revisit and reflect on often, and I have been curating these lists as a writer at MovieWeb for a while.

Bad Timing on A Dream Come True

Best Far Side Comics That Make Fun of Disney

Here’s one of the three strips I mentioned earlier that puts Pinocchio in immediate danger. This one is delightfully dark, taking what should be a magical Disney moment and turning it into a worst-case scenario. Maybe immortality was better than being a real boy. The surprised expression, the vacation in the Sahara, and the sudden attention of the lions all come together to create one perfect panel.

Pilot Goofy Reporting For Duty

An earlier strip from Larson, the caption here is the best punchline: simple, to the point, and grim. As a cinema obsessive, I think that it also adds an extra punch, since I have only ever heard someone say “God help us all” on screen. Goofy is one of the few classic Disney characters I have nostalgia for (I was more of a Looney Tunes kid growing up). However, as beloved as the dog was for me and many others, I think we can all agree we don’t want him as a pilot.

Made For The Job

I’ve always had a soft spot for Captain Hook. Sure, he was a villain, but Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal in Steven Spielberg’s Hook was oddly charismatic even when you consider the film’s slapstick comedy.

While Disney’s version was pretty straightforward and villainous, this strip does a nice job of making him more sympathetic. Anyone would have been bitter watching him at a career counselor’s desk, weighing the job of a massage therapist against a pirate, and knowing the hand he had already lost.

Taunting Snakes

You can almost hear the heavy breathing on the glass in this strip, as the boy sports a Mickey Mouse hat. You may say this is more of a snake joke, but Larson used this character again, showing him as a mouth breather in a bad position. Setting aside the potential fun of poking at Disney fans, the sight of snakes bashing their heads against glass over and over while a kid watches is delightfully absurd.

Dumbo’s Revenge

Mark your calendars: Dumbo enters the public domain on Jan 1, 2037, and B-horror movie directors will make the most of it. The scenario here is certainly out of a horror movie: a giant elephant taking to the skies and crashing planes. A beloved cartoon character going rogue is the kind of madness that works in The Far Side. The visual, from the angry elephant to the screaming pilots, is also pure perfection.

You’re Never Going to Make It in the Biz, Larson!

While I can’t confirm it, this one almost feels like a personal dig at Disney. One artist doing science equations next to an image of a dog fits within Larson’s obsessions in The Far Side. Yes, the character is named Higgins, but between the subject matter and the “proper” cartoonist drawing Mickey Mouse beside him, it feels like Larson was admitting his style and humor were never meant for Disney or its intended audience. Given how many angry letters he got, that kind of makes sense.

A Mathematical Hunting Joke

Some of my favorite Far Side strips are the ones that make you work a bit for the punchline. It would be easy to think that this one has nothing to do with Disney until you do the math. The limit on hunting is set at half a dozen, and you’re looking at a man who killed the seven dwarves before (or after) a visit from Snow White. The expressions on the little kids also give it away; I swear that is Dopey and Grumpy at the top of the pile.

A Play on Words and Mocking Disney

Here, a slow-witted Disney audience member returns. Larson confirms that he has indeed taken on the moniker of Mouseketeer with a clever play on “mutineer.” Once again, the kid seems clueless, having stumbled into a dangerous situation but looking particularly calm. Larson often returns to the same themes, whether it’s the Old West or a scientist being silly. It’s a shame the Mickey Mouse kid didn’t go on more adventures, as it would have been great to see him in more scenarios where he sticks out.

Peter Pan and His Weak Skull

Peter Pan isn’t a Disney creation, and the original was much darker. However, in The Little White Bird, J. M. Barrie described Peter Pan as a seven-day-old baby who leaves the human world behind and thinks that he’s a bird. He doesn’t like other people, but he shows a sentimental streak by making gravestones for kids who died after getting lost in Kensington Gardens. Even after, when the character took shape and moved closer to Disney’s vision, he was less the kid you wanted to hang out with and more of a mischief-maker.

While Larson got the bird part right, this comic strip shows the Disney version of Peter Pan, as he’s older and is wearing a green outfit. What I love about it, though, is that he doesn’t break the glass. I wonder what sound he made when he hit it, and whether a little magical ding came with it.

Geppetto’s Cat Problem

We started with Pinocchio in a bad situation; let’s end with Pinocchio struggling. Here, we also see Geppetto bring in solutions for a cat using Pinocchio as a scratching post. When you think about it, a cat would have definitely changed the classic Disney story; poor little Jiminy Cricket would never have stood a chance. The third strip like this, which I left out so as not to load the list with Pinocchio suffering, features him lying in the desert being pecked at.

Given these comic strips, it seems that Larson didn’t think that highly of Disney, although he showed an appreciation for many classics throughout his work. Regardless, I think that Larson poking fun at Disney was always welcome.