User:Kirkburn/Dev

There are many pop culture references in the Warcraft Universe. Everything from movies, books, and music, to games, are represented by the developers in some form or another. Be it by names that resemble fictional or living people, to weapons that have been used in other games, movies and the like. For example, in Blizzard's Warcraft real time strategy games, many units would have quotes from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's possible that in all cases references may or may not be accidental.

Film and television

 * Napoleon Dynamite &mdash; The male Blood Elf's dance moves are taken from Napoleon's choreographed dance sequence at the end of the movie.
 * UHF &mdash; A Quest in Azuremyst Isle, the Draenei starting zone, is entitled "Red Snapper - Very Tasty!" This is a line delivered by Kuni in the "Wheel of Fish" scene.
 * Lord of the Rings &mdash; You receive a sword named "Stung" after killing spiders in the Ghostlands, obviously taking from Lord of the Rings.
 * South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" &mdash; Though "The Sword of a Thousand Truths" was fictional at the time of the South Park tribute episode, a sword with this name is now available in the beta. The statistics on the sword are not as good as the ones in the tv show, though.
 * Paris Hilton &mdash; In Shattrath City in the Lower City Inn "World's End" towards the back there is a female Blood Elf named Haris Pilton, a reference to the Hotel Heiress. She is followed by a Worg puppy named Tinkerbell

Music

 * Britney Spears &mdash; The female Blood Elf's dance moves are the same as in Britney Spears' "Toxic" choreography.
 * Daler Mehndi &mdash; The male Dranei's dance moves are taken from this bhangra singer's video for the song "Tunak Tunak Tun", which was a moderate internet phenomenon.
 * Pussycat Dolls &mdash; One of the rumoured quotes for the male Blood Elf is: "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" This is an obvious reference to the Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha" song.
 * Kelis &mdash; The Blood Elf female has an emote where she says "My mana tap brings all the boys to the yard." which is a reference to a phrase in the song "Milkshake" by Kelis.
 * Tenacious D &mdash; In hellfire citidel one of the drops in Rampart's off first boss are shoulders called "tenacious Defenders" with the sub info under the stats saying "it has the power... to move you" which is a lyric from Tenacious D's song "Wonderboy"

Other

 * Area 51 &mdash; In the Outland, there is a neutral city in the Netherstorm called Area 52. This is a reference to the secret of Area 51.
 * He-Man &mdash; In the Lower city of Shattrath, The Arathi Basin Battlemaster is named "Adam Heman" in reference to the popular tv show character. He also has a "Zulian Battle-tiger" as a pet, in reference to his tiger, Cringer. He also appears with a Gnome behind him called "Oric Coe" in reference to Orko.
 * Oprah Winfrey &mdash; The Innkeeper in the Temple of Telhamat, located in Hellfire Peninsula, is named "Caretaker Operah Windfury". A clear reference to the billionaire TV show host.

Games

 * Diablo I & Diablo II &mdash; The weapon "Wirt's Third Leg" is a reference to the character of Wirt the peg-legged boy from Diablo, and his wooden leg which you could actually pick up and wield as a weapon after Wirt's death in Diablo II. The "Cow King's Hide" is a piece of chest armor which is a piece of random equipment dropped from various higher level creatures across the game world, and it refers to The Cow King from Diablo II, located on the Cow Level. The enemy "Raz[[Orc]law the Butcher]" and the item "Butcher's Cleaver" are references to the overlord unique Monster in Diablo 1 and the item he dropped. The item "Shadowfang" is a reference to the sword of the same name in Diablo II. There is also the "Staff of Jordan" which is a reference to a popular item in Diablo II called Stone of Jordan. The weapon set Dal'Rend's Arms (consisting of Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge and Tribal Guardian) is a reference to the Diablo II set Bul-Kathos' Children (consisting of Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge and Tribal Guardian). The item "Naglering" is an obvious reference to "Nagel Ring".  One of the tips displayed as the player logs in to the game is 'There is no cow level', a reference to the fact that there was no cow level in Diablo I. The phrase 'There is no cow level' is also the instant victory cheat code in the Blizzard RTS StarCraft.  WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a mini-Diablo pet. Most of the "Uncommon" or "Green" items in the world are armors from the Diablo games.
 * Donkey Kong &mdash; In Un' Goro Crater, the gorillas sometimes drop an item named "Empty Barrel", a reference to Donkey Kong throwing barrels at Mario in the Nintendo arcade game and the continued importance of barrels in the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64 series.
 * The Legend of Zelda series &mdash; In Un'Goro Crater there is a character named Linken who has a bit of amnesia. Doing Quests for Linken will help him regain his memory. He will remember a raft, a throwback to the original The Legend of Zelda where one of Link's collectible items is a raft. One of the other items you must bring Linken is a faded photograph, which shows Linken with a female princess that is similar to Princess Zelda. Other items you find in his old rafts are a map and a compass, objects that are found in every Zelda game dungeon. If you complete Linken's Quests he will reward you with Linken's Boomerang and Linken's Sword of Mastery, references to Link's trusty boomerang and the Master Sword. Near Linken there is also a Kodo named Dadanga, similar to Dodongo, a Monster from the Zelda series, and if you talk to its owner she will tell you that it "hates smoke", a reference to a hint given in the Legend of Zelda that "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE". Part of Linken's Quest series involves tempering a sword in a magical spring, just like in The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past when Link throws his sword into a fairy pond and receives an upgraded sword. Later during this chain of events there is an NPC named Miblon, a reference to the enemy (Moblin) from the original Zelda game. You must buy a piece of bait for Miblon, which opens a gate to an Evoroot. In The Legend of Zelda, you must give a piece of Monster bait to a Moblin to access another part of a dungeon. Still later in the Quest chain, the player must pull the headstone off of a grave to find a sword beneath it, as Link does in the original The Legend of Zelda game.
 * The Lost Vikings &mdash; In Uldaman there are three dwarves who are the three lost vikings from Blizzard's sidescrolling game. As a Horde player you are required to kill them to fully complete the instance, and their combat abilities from the original game have been translated faithfully to the Warcraft universe. And also holding faithful to their abilities, are 3 items, Baelog drops a sword, the Nordic Long Shank, Olaf drops a shield "Olaf's all Purpose Shield" which allows the user to float for 10 seconds, and Eric the Swift drops a "Horned Viking Helmet" with a use to charge the enemy, incapacitating it, and stunning you for a short period of time. There are also two items, a staff and an amulet, that you must retrieve in conjunction with a Quest called "The Staff of Tsol" and the "Gni'kiv Medallion". These two items spell "Lost Viking" backwards.
 * Mortal Kombat &mdash; The same dwarves who quote Evil Dead and AC/DC while doing target practice outside of Kharanos also shout "Mortar Combat!" in precisely the same manner "Mortal Kombat!" is shouted in the soundtrack to the movie of the videogame.  - note: these dwarves' lines consist entirely of sound files taken from the Dwarven Mortar Team unit from Warcraft III, so the references are not originally from  World of Warcraft.
 * Neverwinter Nights &mdash; In Ironforge there is a Gnome named Fentwick, referring to the character Fenthick in Neverwinter Nights.
 * Street Fighter &mdash; The male Troll offensive spell cast animation is identical to that of a Hadouken. Also, a Tauren NPC in Camp Mojache in Feralas is named "Hadoken Swiftstrider". Low level imps called Grells will sometimes perform Ken and Ryu's Dragon Punch motion when attacking.
 * StarCraft &mdash; Across the gameworld are disabled shredders with a picture of Infested Kerrigan on the screen. Also, the Silithid hives and the surrounded infested areas are strongly reminiscent of the Zerg hives. WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a Zergling pet. Also, a final Quest in Stranglethorn Vale in a long line of killQuests is called "Big Game Hunter", a reference to a StarCraft multiplayer map called "Big Game Hunters".
 * Super Mario Bros. &mdash; In Un'Goro Crater two characters named Muigin and Larion can be found (if you remove the n on Larion and Muigin and trade the letters L and M you get Mario and Luigi). Larion, who is clad in red and blue, is based on Mario while Muigin, in green and blue, is based on his brother Luigi. Also, Muigin (Alliance side) and Larion (Horde) begin Quests where the player must hunt Bloodpetals, which look suspiciously like the Piranha Plants from the various Super Mario Brothers games. Upon Quest completion, Muigin references previous injuries when attempting to jump on the Bloodpetals, stating "Plants shouldn't be so strong!" Several times, Larion insists that, "It's Muigin's fault we're lost!" and "He told me to take the tunnel!" This is a reference to the Super Mario Brothers movie, where Luigi tells him to take the tunnel which strands them in the desert. In addition, a food item can be discovered in various sections of the game called the Red Speckled Mushroom. The image of the mushroom is supiciously similar to the Super Mushroom from Super mario World et al.
 * Ultima &mdash; At the Darkmoon Faire, a periodic world event, there is a fortune teller who will ask you morality Questions that are almost directly pulled from the morality Questions asked at the beginnings of Ultimas 4, 5, and 6.
 * Ultima Online &mdash; A certain Quest has the player delivering a book called Studies in Spirit Speaking. When read, the book contains series of Os (OOOoOoo), just as the dialogue of player ghosts appeared in Ultima Online. The Os in the book also represent text in binary that reads "Ultima Online Napa Valley Knights of Chaos" (referring to a player guild on an Ultima Online shard). The title of the book is a reference to the necromancer-related skill required to understand ghosts.
 * Fable &mdash; In the Undercity, there is a NPC named Theresa that wanders around aimlessly. She is blindfolded and is a mind slave to one of the Undead characters in the game. This is most likely a reference to a blind character of the same name in Fable (itself a reference to Classical mythology).

Film and television

 * Ace Ventura: Pet Detective &mdash; An NPC named Finkle Einhorn can be found in Blackrock Spire as part of the Quest "Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!" This is a reference to the dual lives of Ace Ventura's antagonist, Finkle/Einhorn. There is also a mace called 'Finkle's Lava Dredger' and a dagger called 'Finkle's Skinner'. Also, there is mention about a "Captain Winky" and the term "shikaka".
 * Aliens &mdash; In the Human barracks west of the town of Goldshire there are two NPCs named Quartermaster Hicks and Quartermaster Hudson, who are named after Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson from Aliens.
 * American Idol &mdash; One of the male Orc's silly emotes is "Man, dawg, you know, it's like I'm feeling you, but I'm not feeling you, you know?", a reference to the phrases used by judge Randy Jackson.
 * An American Werewolf in London &mdash; In the Mage District of Stormwind, the Warlock trainer can be found in the basement of a pub called "The Slaughtered Lamb". This is a reference to the freaky pub two lost American hitchhikers stumbled upon before their unfortunate encounter with the local werewolf.
 * Apocalypse Now &mdash; In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a boss named Colonel Kurzen, who went insane and raised an army from a small, hidden compound. This is a reference to Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. The two Colonels' backstories are very similar. It is, by extension, a reference to Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, the novel whose story Apocalypse Now retells in a modern context.
 * Aqua Teen Hunger FOrce &mdash; An NPC named Oglethorpe Obnoticus can be found in Booty Bay. He's a reference to Oglethorpe, one of the unbelivably stupid Plutonian aliens, and their source of knowledge, Orbnaticus, a giant mirrored disco ball that Oglethorpe insists is actually a supercomputer. The NPC is an engineering trainer who gives the Quests The Pledge of Secrecy and Show Your Work.
 * Army of Darkness &mdash; Around the dwarven capital there are some dwarves doing target practice. If one waits there long enough eventually one will say "THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK!", a reference to Army of Darkness. (This is the same dialogue used for the Dwarven Rifleman in Warcraft III.) Similarly a gunshop outside the Auction House in Orgrimmar is named "Boomstick Imports". There is also several Gun items in the game with the word "Boomstick" in them.
 * Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery &mdash; Part of the Quest to open Ahn'Qiraj involves a Gnome named Doctor Weavil, who sends a yeti named Number Two to attack the player working on the Quest when his ransom demand fails. Inside Naxxramas, there is a cat near the entranced named "Mr. Bigglesworth" which was the name of Dr. Evil's cat.  Killing this cat will enrage Kel'Thuzad!  One of the female Human's silly emotes says "Sometimes, I have trouble conTrolling the volume OF MY VOICE!", almost a direct quote from Austin's reanimation.
 * Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me &mdash; Both male and female Gnome dancing resembles Mini-me's dance in the movie.
 * Bewitched &mdash; A Troll in Sen'jin Village is named "Witchdoctor Bombay." In the show from the 1960's, when a witch or Warlock needed help, they would call "Doctor Bombay" by chanting "Calling Dr. Bombay, Calling Dr. Bombay.  Please come right away."
 * Big Trouble in Little China &mdash; The Six Demon Bag is a trinket; its tooltip text says it "Blasts enemies with the power of wind, fire, that kind of thing!", quoting Egg Shen's description of the contents of his Six-Demon Bag in the film. There is also a hidden area under one of the lakes in Deadwind Pass that is referred to as the hell of "upside down sinners" where you can view floating corpses chained to the lake floor.
 * Buckaroo Banzai &mdash; In Shimmering Flats there are tire tracks that go up to a wall of rock.
 * Caddyshack &mdash; There is an NPC in Darnassus behind one of the large trees that houses the Druid trainers surrounded by piles of dirt. When the NPC asked Archdruid Staghelm what his purpose in life would be, he was told "that the world needs ditch diggers too."  This line was spoken by the Judge in the movie when the main character Danny expressed his doubt at having enough money for college.
 * Cannonball Run — A trinket called a Cannonball Runner drops in Stratholme.
 * Carlito's Way — In Westfall, there is a Defias NPC called Benny Blanco, the same name as the John Leguizamo character in the film.
 * Congo &mdash; A Quest in Un'Goro crater is named "Chasing A-Me 01", and tasks the player with finding and rescuing a mechanized female gorilla from a pack of wild apes.
 * Caveman &mdash; When targeted, one of the random messages an NPC Orc will say is "zug zug," a word used in this film intended to mean "sex." (This dialogue was used in previous Warcraft games as well.) One of the female Orc "flirting" lines is "You had me at zug zug," which is also a reference to one of the final lines of Jerry Maguire.
 * Chris Farley, Saturday Night Live &mdash; The dance moves of the Ogres in Dire Maul, as well as the Moonkin form, are the same as those made famous by Chris Farley during the Chippendales sketch on Saturday Night Live.
 * Clerks - One of the auctioneers in Booty Bay is a goblin named Graves, a reference to Randall Graves from the Clerks movies.
 * Commando &mdash; During the second boss encounter in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, Lt. General Andorov makes the same threat to Rajaxx that Arnold Schwartzenegger's character Matrix makes to Sully: "Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied."
 * Conan the Barbarian &mdash; In Badlands there is a cave with the corpse of the Warrior king sitting on a throne and propping up a sword that Conan retrieves. Also, Saru Steelfury, the Artisan Blacksmith in Orgrimmar, says (if you are qualified for Expert Blacksmithing and not Artisan) "No one, no one in the world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts ... this you can trust, steel," which is a quote from the movie.
 * Dr. Strangelove &mdash; In the description of the Ashenvale Horde Quest "[24]Between a Rock and a Thistlefur", the Questgiver says to you "(character name), we must not allow... an expansion path gap!" intended to be a reference to a line in the movie talking about a mine shaft gap.
 * Doctor Who &mdash; In Elwynn Forest, there is a NPC named Bernice Stonefield. This is a reference to Bernice Summerfield, a Doctor Who companion.
 * Dukes of Hazzard &mdash; In the Shimmering Flats area there is a Race Starter named Daisy wearing a tank top and 'Daisy Dukes'
 * Dracula &mdash; The Guild Master of the Undercity is named Christopher Drakul, clearly a reference to Christopher Lee, who played the vampire lord more than any other man in film.
 * The ExOrcist &mdash; In the War Quarter of the Undercity, there waits a Level 40 Priest trainer named Father Lankester, obviously named after the Priest Lankester Merrin.
 * Farscape &mdash; The Accessories Quartermaster NPC in the Old Town section of Stormwind is named Officer Areyn. She is the spitting image of Claudia Black's character Officer Aeryn Sun from the Farscape television series.
 * Fight Club — In the War Quarter of the Undercity there are two NPCs named Tyler and Edward that fight NPCs. The Undead around them also have names from the movie, such as Marla and Chloe. There is also a weapon in the game named "Fight Club".
 * Forrest Gump &mdash; A dwarven fisherman named Gubber Blump can be found on the beach near Auberdine; he is a reference to both Forrest and his friend Bubba. His dialogue is similar to both characters; he introduces himself "My name's Gubber, Gubber Blump" and later recites a list of all the different ways to cook crab. In the Human capital of Stormwind, the flower shop is run by Florist Gump.
 * Fraggle Rock &mdash; There is a NPC in Un'Goro Crater who is similarly named Spraggle Frock.
 * Friday the 13th &mdash; The lake next to the town of Goldshire is called "Crystal Lake". In the early morning hours, six children, standing at the points of a pentagram, will wander around Goldshire in a spooky fashion.  Also, a Undead in the town of Brill will give you directions to the lake to the east in Lordearon but warns you to be careful because some guy in a mask killed a bunch of people near there. Also, a Human named Jason Mathers stands on a small pier on the shores of crystal lake, and sometimes when a player asks a Stormwind Guard about the fishing trainer, they will tell that the fisherman once fished up a strange mask from Crystal Lake.
 * Full House &mdash; In Stormwind, there is an NPC named Stephanie Tanner. She is found near a corner at the Trading District.  The NPC has dialogue in a Paladin Quest.
 * Full Metal Jacket &mdash; Ghede in Thunder Bluff upon talking to him while doing the Un'goro Soil Quest says: "Be advised, Jackson – I am in no mood for any comment that you think is cute or funny. I am here to make sure that the Arch Druid's research proceeds as planned, and I will weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve my beloved Cenarion Circle."
 * Gamera &mdash; The Blackfathom Deeps instance features a giant turtle named Ghamoo-ra, a clear reference to Gamera. The turtle also bears more then a passing resemblance to the movie Monster. In the Hinterlands, there is a turtle boss called Gammerita.
 * Ghostbusters &mdash; There is a NPC in the Eastern Plaguelands named Egan that gives you his blaster. The blaster will release the souls trapped inside the ghostly and spectral citizens of Stratholme, and then can be used again on the souls to free them. A direct reference to Ghostbuster's character Egon Spengler. There is also a NPC in Death Knell named Harold Raims which spoofs Harold Ramis, the actor who played Egon. In The Hinterlands, one can find The Temple of Zul.  Zuul was the minion of Gozer in the first Ghostbusters movie. There is also a mage Quest in the Undercity (and a similar one in Stormwind) which involves the investigation of disturbances and the capturing of ghosts in Containment Coffers. Also, in Stormwind, there are three NPC mages that walk around and talk about "crossing the streams," and that it would be bad.  Also, one of the goblin engineers working at the Race track in the Shimmering Flats cites, "We have the tools, we have the talent!"  When turning in a Quest in the Western Plaguelands regarding a ghost, the NPC will sometimes respond, "Listen.  Do you smell something?"  An NPC at Chillwind Point at the entrance to the Plaguelands will say "This job is not worth another sixteen-five a year!"  The character Winston said this same line in the movie.
 * Ghost in the Shell &mdash; Outside Kharanos, next to Steelgrille's Depot, there is a house built into a hill, with turning gears on top of it. Inside, there are two Gnomes who send you on missions regarding Gnomeregan. Right outside their house is an amalgamation of technology, which looks suspiciously like a Tachikoma from the Ghost In the Shell series. These cute, happy blue robots have existed in every series of Ghost In the Shell, and have four spiderlike legs, two arms to manipulate with, a roundish body, and a large tank in the back. A similar Gnome contraption can be found in the Ravenholdt basement.
 * The Godfather &mdash; The NPC Tirion Fordring says "Look what they did to my boy" upon seeing his son dead, which is what Don Corleone says after Sonny is assassinated in the movie.
 * Godzilla &mdash; In the Zul'Farrak instance, players can summon and fight a giant hydra named Gahz'rilla, an obvious reference to the giant behemoth of Japanese movie fame.
 * Goodfellas &mdash; In Goldshire there is a NPC named Remy "Two Times", who states "I'll give you the best price in town...best price in town!" This is a reference to Jimmy Two Times in the movie Goodfellas, who has a similar tendency to repeat himself in dialogue like "I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers." Also, the Master Smith, Brikk Keencraft, in Booty Bay says "You think I'm a clown here to amuse you. Is that what you think? That I'm a clown? Huh, is it? You think I'm a clown don't you!" - one of Joe Pesci's more memorable lines from the movie.
 * The Goonies &mdash; In The Deadmines, Van Cleef's pirate ship's location inside a cave bears a resemblance to One Eyed Willie's ship.
 * Rutger Hauer &mdash; In the Undercity War Quarter at the west side near the sewers entrance, there are two NPC guards named Sergeant Rutger and Sergeant Houser, in homage to the famous actor.
 * Highlander &mdash; a master swordsman named Klannoc Macleod, the Islander can be found on Fray Island near Ratchet, a reference to Connor MacLeod.
 * History of the World, Part I &mdash; In Dire Maul North, after killing the Gordok King, you receive a buff that says "You're the king - it's good to be the king!", a reference to the famous line repeated by King Louis XVI.
 * The Hulk &mdash; In the Troll stronghold of Zul'Gurub is a boss by the name Bloodlord Mandokir. While fighting him, random players will get a message from him saying "Don't make me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry," which is a quote from Bruce Banner before he transforms into the Hulk. If the player decides to attack the Bloodlord after he has given this message, the Bloodlord will charge forward and beat the player to death. Additionally, one of the voice emotes for Orc characters is 'Orc smash!', a reference to The Hulk's catchphrase, "Hulk smash!"
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom &mdash; in Searing Gorge, there is a Quest found on a wounded Dwarf archaeologist named Dorius which concerns the Suntara Stones, a reference to the fictional Sankara Stones sought by Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom.
 * James Bond &mdash; In Stormwind City there is a thieves' guild hall that is named SI:7, this is a reference to MI:6 the organization that James Bond works for.
 * Jaws &mdash; The fishing trainer in Lakeshire is named Matthew Hooper. Matt Hooper is the name of the character Richard Dreyfuss played in Jaws. He was an expert on fish and sharks. Also, to open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, the player kill a large shark named Maws.
 * Joe Dirt &mdash; One of the ghostly citizens of Caer Darrow is called "Joseph Dirte." He also makes a comment referencing to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.
 * Judge Dredd &mdash; The plate PvP reward armor shoulder piece bears a striking resemblance to the armor worn by Sylverster Stallone in the 1995 movie Judge Dredd.
 * Karate Kid &mdash; One of the bosses in Naxxramas instructs his students to "Sweep the leg", a line from the movie.
 * Kill Bill &mdash; There is a weapon called "Hanzo Sword". This may also be a reference to the character from Kill Bill was based upon, Hattori Hanzō, an actual ninja, trained from childhood and first fought in combat at 16. He lived from 1541–1596.
 * Krull &mdash; Inside Onyxia's Lair, there is a skeleton laying near the edge of the lava pool with its arm reaching into the lava towards a five pointed star with curved blades. This plays homage to the scene where Prince Colwyn had to retrieve the Glaive from a lava pool.
 *  Labyrinth &mdash; In the Ironforge side of the Deeprun Tram that connects the two main Alliance Cities, there's a little Gnome called "Haggle" who bears a distinct resemblance to Hoggle from the movie.
 *  Land of the Lost &mdash; Un'goro Crater is a steep walled valley filled with dinosaurs. Two NPCs are Williden Marshal and Hol'anyee Marshal, direct refences from LotL's characters: Marshal, Will, and Holly. There are crystal pylons which use red, green, blue, and yellow power crystals, visual references to the crystals used in Land of the Lost's pylons.
 *  The Last Starfighter &mdash; In the Orgrimmar's Cleft of Shadow, the level 35 Troll near the Rogue Trainer is named Zando'zan, a reference to the Assassins that go after Alex's Beta Unit back on Earth.
 * The Little Mermaid &mdash; When pickpocketed by a Rogue, Naga (a Race that resemble mermaids to an extent) can yield an item called a "Shiny Dinglehopper." A reference to one of the items misClassified by Scuttle.
 *  Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome &mdash; Gadgetzan, in Tanaris, is obviously inspired by Bartertown from the third Mad Max movie. The town has a large caged dome in the center where fighting between Horde and Alliance is permitted, which is the exact same concept as Bartertown's Thunderdome. Also, Tanaris is a desert area that is very similar in appearance to the one in the movie. (arguably, some players also contend that Gadgetzan is very similar in style to Mos Eisley in Star Wars)
 * Masters of the Universe &mdash; When Winna Hazzard's kitten, Saber, is exposed to the Tainted Moonwell of the Ruins of Constellar in Felwood, he becomes a huge green tiger with yellow stripes, similar to Cringer/Battle Cat.
 * The Matrix &mdash; The guards in Ironforge sometimes say they wished they had taken the blue potion instead of the red potion when one asks for the location of the Alchemist. An NPC by the graveyard at Light Hope's Chapel occasionally says that he wished he had taken the translucent pill. A NPC named Juston in the Cathedral district in Stormwind City often says "There is no spoon", a phrase that is also a cheat code in Warcraft III for unlimited Mana.
 * Mission: Impossible &mdash; A Rogue Quest in the Barrens is titled "Mission: Possible But Not Probable."
 * Monty Python's Flying Circus &mdash; In the Eastvale Logging Camp in Elwynn Forest is a lumberjack named Terry Palin, who sometimes says "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day." These are the lyrics to the chorus of Monty Python's Lumberjack Song, originally performed by Michael Palin. The song was composed by Michael Palin, Terry Jones (another member of Monty Python), and Fred Tomlinson; so the character's first name most likely comes from Terry Jones. There is also a consumable item purchasable at the Darkmoon Faire called "Crunchy Frog", a reference to the unpalatable chocolates described in the sketch of the same name.
 * The Music Man &mdash; Meggi Peppinrocker in Everlook gives out the Quest "Trouble in Winterspring!" which borrows heavily from the lyrics of Meredith Willson's song "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man. In the musical, Professor Harold Hill sings of how playing pool requires "judgement, brains and maturity," and how he's developed "a cool head and a keen eye."  Meggi uses these same phrases and other direct quotes from the song's lyrics when talking about her experiences in the wilderness of Winterspring.
 * The Neverending Story &mdash; There is a Mountain giant in the Region of Feralas named "Rockbiter".
 * Mystery Men &mdash; "The Shoveler" is a two-handed mace weapon named after the character of William H. Macy.
 * Napoleon Dynamite &mdash; The current Male Blood Elf dance is lifted from one of the last scenes in Napolean Dynamite.
 * Oz &mdash; In the Black Rock Depths instance of Blackrock Mountain there is a jail. Several prisoners in this jail cell (evident in the jailbreak Quest) bear names and semblances to characters on the TV show Oz. I.e. Tobias Screecher is a reference to Tobias Beecher, a prisoner and protagonist in Oz.
 * Petticoat Junction &mdash; At the to entrance to Dustwallow Marsh there is a burned out inn called "The Shady Rest" home of the TV show Petticoat Junction.
 * Pinocchio &mdash; In the Badlands is a Gnome with a small mechanical servant called Servo, itself a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Servo will occasionally say things like "someday I'll be a real boy!"
 * Popeye &mdash; A beggar in Stormwind occasionally says "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today," a frequent quote from the character Wimpy.
 * The Princess Bride &mdash; The object that brands a player to 'attune' them to Blackwing Lair says "Have fun storming the castle" when you touch it. This is a quote from Max the Miracle Worker in the movie The Princess Bride. Also, in Menethil Harbor, there is a stable master with the name Wesley.  Lastly, as of patch 1.11, in Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands, there is an envoy of the Argent Dawn named Father Inigo Montoy.  Lord Victor Nefarion will yell "Inconceivable!" when the Orc Rend is defeated.
 * Psycho &mdash; The Undead innkeepers in the Undercity and in Silverpine forest are named Innkeeper Norman and Innkeeper Bates.
 * Pulp Fiction &mdash; In Ravenholdt Manor, there is a mysterious Human with the name Winston Wolfe with the tag "The Wolf." This is a reference to Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction. Also, Lord Ravenholdt can give Rogue players a Quest to recover a sealed azure bag "the contents of which are a private matter," a possible reference to the mysterious briefcase of Marcellus Wallace whose glowing content is never revealed to the viewers.
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark &mdash; In the Uldaman instance, you must gather two Quest items called the Staff of Tsol and the Amulet of Gni'Kiv. When found you must put the staff and amulet together and place them into a miniature city, mimicking a scene in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
 * Red Dwarf &mdash; At Refuge Point there is a character involved in the Hints of a New Plague Quest line called Apprentice Kryten. Presumably he is named after the fussy, anally retentive robot in the British BBC2 sci-fi sitcom, Red Dwarf''.


 * Sanford and Son &mdash; In the city of Orgrimmar one may visit Droffers and Son Salvage where Orcs Dran Droffers and his son Malton are proprietors. Their names are anagrams for Fred Sanford and Lamont. The Quest "Ripple Recovery" is an obvious reference to Fred Sanford's wine of choice on the show, and Dran calls people "dummy," one of the show's catch phrases.
 * Saturday Night Live &mdash; One of the items you can receive in the game is called a "Happy Fun Rock" in reference to a Saturday Night Live skit commercial for a product named Happy Fun Ball.  "Do not taunt happy fun ball." "Happy Fun Ball sticks to some types of skin," etc. Also, a Quest title for the instance Gnomeregan is "The Only Cure Is More Green Glow", a reference to the popular SNL skit about More Cowbell, which had the famous line: "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell."  There is another Quest called simply "The Only Prescription", which may be a reference to the same sketch.
 * Scarface &mdash; In the Eastern Plaguelands, an NPC by the name of Tirion Fordring lives in a small house in the wilderness. When a Monster approaches him, he gets out his hammer and says, "Say hello to my little friend." This is a quote from the movie Scarface from 1983 starring Al Pacino. Also said by the goblin NPC Kibler is "Are those spider eggs in your pack or are you just happy to see me?" upon completing the Quest En-Ay-Es-Tee-Why.
 * Scooby-Doo &mdash; The items Alterac Valley Mark of Honor and Talisman of Protection (and others), as they appear in one's inventory or character screen, are identical to Scooby Doo's collar. The initials "SD" are clearly visible if the icon is sLightly enlarged (see Thottbot's Page).
 * The Shawshank Redemption &mdash; In Tanaris, there is a Quest called "The Scrimshank Redemption". While the content has little to do with the movie, the Quest title is a rather obvious reference to the movie.
 * The Silence of the Lambs &mdash; In Dire Maul North, there are a series of Quests that involve the creation of an Ogre suit; one of the components of the suit is an Ogre Tannin, which is found in a basket. When you obtain the Tannin, an ogre (Gordok Bushwacker) comes charging down the stairs screaming "It puts the tannin in the basket or it gets the mallet again!!" This is a reference to the Buffalo Bill killer in the film (and novel), who instructed his victim "It places the lotion in the basket" and threatened that "it gets the hose again." In an additional link, Buffalo Bill was making a suit out of Human skin. In a cave in Thunder Bluff is a character named Clarice Foster.  This is a reference to the FBI agent in the film (Clarice Starling) and the actress who played her (Jodie Foster).  Also, in Darkshire there is an NPC by the name of Clarise Gnarltree (a reference to Clarice Starling).  If you talk to her often enough, she says a dialogue pertaining to the screaming of the lambs at night.
 * The Simpsons &mdash; A worker for the Darkmoon Faire is looking for his lost frog, Jub-Jub, which shares a name with the pet iguana owned by Selma Bouvier. In the Library instance of the Scarlet Monastery, a miniboss named Houndmaster Loksey yells out "Release the hounds!" when attacked in a voice very similar to that of Mr. Burns, the greedy owner of the Springfield nuclear power plant. The two characters also have similar hair styles. Also, in Dire Maul, after killing King Gordok and causing the ogres to become friendly, some quote The Simpsons, such as "I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! In addition, a farmhand just north of Southshore is named "Caretaker Smithers," a reference to Waylon Smithers, Mr. Burns' Assistant."  Occasionally, one of the children fishing off the docks in Stormwind will yell out that he has caught a big, three-eyed fish just like the famous one from the series.
 * The Six Million Dollar Man &mdash; In the Badlands, Lotwil Veriatus's robot Servo says "We can make it better, stronger, faster. We have the technology."  This is a reference to the opening credits of the 1970s TV show The Six Million Dollar Man.
 * Sling Blade &mdash; In Dustmallow Marsh, there is an NPC named Jarl that gives a Quest called "Jarl Needs a Blade," in which you must get him an Moonsteel Broadsword. He states while giving the Quest, "Some people call it a moonsteel broadsword. I call it a swing blade." This is an obvious reference to Billy Bob Thornton's character in Sling Blade, Carl, who says almost the same thing about a kaiser blade.
 * Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs &mdash; One of the male Dwarf's silly emotes produces a phrase similar to the song "Heigh-Ho", although the character forgets the words.
 * South Park &mdash; In the Instance Stratholme is a boss named Timmy the Cruel. He yells his name again and again similar to the South Park character of the same name. Timmy the Cruel is also a reference to the first Human mission in Warcraft III, where Arthas saves a boy named Timmy from a pack of gnolls, and was turned into a ghoul when the plague spread. One of the guards in Stormwind is named "Officer Brady", possibly a reference to Officer Barbrady.
 * Stargate SG-1 &mdash; In the Stormwind Champion's Hall, there are two NPCs by the names of Captain O'neal and Lieutenant Karter, a possible nod to the characters Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter, played by Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping. There is also Lieutenant Jackspring (Daniel Jackson), Guard Hammon (General Hammond), Guard Quine (Jonas Quinn), and Sergeant Major Clate, which is an Anagram for Teal'c.
 * Star Trek &mdash; In Booty Bay, there is a goblin named Scooty who operates the "Transporter 3000". Completing the Quest and using the transporter takes you to Gnomeregan, where a goblin named Sprock waits on the other side, with his Faction labeled as "Away Team". Also, in Gadgetzan there is a Gnome named Jhordy Lapforge who stands next to a similar Transporter which serves as the destination for the Ultra-Safe Transporter available to Engineers of the Gnomish persuasion. Finally, in Orgrimmar, the NPC Engineer's name is Nogg, a Deep Space Nine reference. In Orgrimmar in the Valley of Honor there is a goblin named Sovik which is reminiscent of the Vulcan Saavik first introduced in The Wrath of Khan.
 * Star Wars &mdash; The Racetrack in the Shimmering Flats features a vehicle that is strikingly similar to the podRacers found in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The Race announcer is a two headed ogre is named Fobeed refrencing the two headed podRacer announcer in The Phantom Menace whose names were Fode and Beed. In the hangar in the Military Ward of Ironforge sits Xiggs FuseLighter, wearing a white and orange outfit strikingly similar to that of an X-Wing pilot. The name is similar to Biggs DarkLighter, friend of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The tooltip of the buff icon for the Priest ability Spirit Of Redemption reads "You have become more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine." which is an almost verbatim reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's line in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The female dwarves have two hairstyles similar to those of Princess Leia.  Bartender in Duskwood is named Han and is wearing dark pants, a white shirt and a black vest.  In Un'Goro crater, near the exit to Silithus, there is a level 1 raptor named Obi, a reference to Obi-Wan (Obi 1). The Argent Avenger, a one-handed sword resulting from a Quest in Stratholme, vaguely resembles a Lightsaber.  Finally, in a Quest to rescue the captured Princess Moira Bronzebeard, you find her wearing an outfit that bears a striking resemblance to Leia's slave outfit in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as the same hairstyle.
 * The Terminator — The final Hunter talent in the Beast Mastery tree is called Bestial Wrath and in its description is "your pet doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear" which is a line taken out of Terminator, "Listen. And understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!" In Marvon Rivetseeker's workshop in Ratchet, there is a mechanical arm upright in an elongated jar on an end table. This is a reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where a microchip and mechanical arm were recovered by Cyberdyne Systems Corporation from the remains of the first terminator. Also, there is an "unmelted metal hand" outside the lava in a small room behind bunch of crates in LBRS. Ossirian the Unscarred, the last boss in The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, yells "You are terminated" when he kills a player, which is a quote from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
 * That '70s Show &mdash; In the blue shard section of the Quest line that opened the doors to AQ, the player must find and speak to the ghost of Azuregos. After a long dialog, the blue dragon spirit gives you a Quest. If you attempt to talk to the spirit again, after he gives you the Quest, he says,"I SAID GOOD DAY!", and repeats it, as Fez does in That '70s Show.
 * ThunderCats &mdash; The small inventory icon for several necklaces utilizes the ThunderCats logo. There is also a Horde Quest in the Scarlet Monastery where one of the reward items is The Sword of Omen, the sword of The ThunderCats. In addition, the "Samophlange" Quest chain starting in the city of Ratchet is likely a reference to a moderately famous series of outtakes from the show.
 * Top Gun &mdash; In Alterac Valley the Wing Commanders on Alliance side are Ichman, Slidore and Vipore, and on Horde side are Guse, Jeztor and Mulverick. The names are similar to the pilots Iceman, Slider, Viper, Goose, Jester and Maverick from Top Gun.
 * The Toxic Avenger &mdash; The rare weapon Toxic Revenger inflicts special damage to its target that makes it glow radioactive green, much like the hero of the Toxic Avenger movies.
 * Trading Places &mdash; The Bank tellers in the center of The Undercity are named William, Ophelia, Randolph and Mortimer in reference to four of the five main characters in the movie. Furthermore, in Stormwind City is a poor begger near the Auction House who quotes, "Spare some change for a blind man? What?...I'm not blind? It's a miracle!" This is a quote from the movie where Eddie Murphy is confronted by two police when trying to scam pedestrians in the park.
 * Transformers &mdash; An NPC named Grimlok may be found in Uldaman, named after the leader of the Dinobots. Grimlok says "Me Grimlock, king!", one of the original character's lines from the Transformers TV show.
 * Trigun &mdash; on many wanted posters in the game there is a man in a long trench coat that looks like the character Vash, from the popular anime series.
 * The TwiLight Zone &mdash; There is a book in the game called 'How to serve man' which is also a book from a twiight zone episode that turned out to be a cookbook.
 * Under Siege &mdash; In the old district in Stormwind, there is a cook named Stephen Ryback, a reference to Steven Seagal, and his character from the movie Casey Ryback. He was also a cook.
 * Christopher Walken &mdash; The senior Warrior trainer of the Undead Race is called Christoph Walker, apparently named after either the actor Christopher Walken, or Christopher Walker aka The Phantom.
 *  Xanadu &mdash; At the Stormwind Bank, the three Banker NPCs are named Olivia Burnside, Newton Burnside, and John Burnside. Putting their names together yields the name of singer/actress Olivia Newton-John. The aforementioned Olivia Burnside touts the security of the Bank by stating, "No one's ever stolen anything out of here. Not in the whole history of... the whole history!" Olivia Newton-John's character Kira makes an almost identical comment to Sonny when he tells her he's going to take her out of Mount Olympus.
 * Yuen Woo-ping &mdash; Woo Ping, the Weapon Master in Stormwind City is named after the martial arts choreographer and director.

Literature

 * The Anarchist Cookbook &mdash; A late level mage Quest begins with a tome known as "The Arcanist's Cookbook".  This is a reference to The Anarchist's Cookbook, a collection of articles on explosives, hacking, and other shady business.
 * The Bible &mdash; The Journeyman leather trainer in Stormwind is called Simon the Tanner, a reference to someone Paul the Apostle stayed with in the book of Acts.
 * The Camels are Coming &mdash; An NPC named Bingles can be found east of the lake in Loch Modan.  This is a reference to Major James Bigglesworth, known to all as "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer created by W. E. Johns.  The first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels are Coming, was published in 1932.  Characters named "Biggles"--also a reference to the Johns character--were a running joke in a couple of Monty Python sketches.  The "Spanish Inquisition" sketch featured Terry Jones as a "Cardinal Biggles" (complete with goggles), while the "Biggles" sketch featured Graham Chapman in the titular role.
 * Chronicles of Narnia &mdash; There is a pair of boots called "Dawn Treaders," an obvious reference to C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
 * Crime and Punishment &mdash; There is an NPC in Stormwind City named Nikova Raskol, a play on the name Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. There is also a Quest of the same name where a character must kill an NPC named Dextren Ward.
 * Damon Knight &mdash; The book "how to serve man" can be found in some areas of the game through killing NPCs or pickpocketing them, a reference to Damon Knight's short story "To Serve Man", which was later made into a TwiLight Zone episode and parodied in one "Treehouse of Horror" special on The Simpsons.
 * The Divine Comedy &mdash; A signpost on the western edge of Deadwind Pass bears the words "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here". In some translations of Dante's Inferno, these same words are written on the gates of Hell.
 * Discworld &mdash; In Dustwallow Marsh there is a Watchman called Captain Vimes, a direct reference to Captain Vimes of the Night Watch, one of Terry Pratchett's popular Discworld characters. There is also a series of Quests in Duskwood for a group of NPCs belonging to The Night Watch.
 * Dune &mdash; There is a trinket that drops in Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, from the boss Ouro the Sandworm, called the Jom Gabbar, a first letter reversal of the Gom Jabbar. As of patch 1.12, the desert of Tanaris features a collectible item called "Silithyst" which appears in "blooms" throughout the desert just as Spice does in the novel.  The catch phrase for this is "He who controls the Silithyst, controls the desert" which is a play on the novel's catch phrase "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe."  A sleeping Druid named "Kerlonian Evershade" will occasionally say "The sleeper has awakened" when you blow a horn to wake him up.  The quote was also used by the Druids in "Warcraft III."
 * How the Grinch Stole Christmas &mdash; During the holidays in December, a series of Quests are opened up and one involves a giant green yeti named "The Greench." He has stolen a delivery of gifts.  The name of the Quest is "You're a Mean One..." All from the book by Dr. Seuss.
 * Five Deadly Venoms &mdash; Within the city of Stormwind lies a poison shop called "The Five Deadly Venoms", which is a reference to the Kung-fu cult hit of the same name.
 * Flowers for Algernon &mdash; An Undead man in the Apothecarium of the Undercity named Algernon stands holding a peacebloom, a reference to the aforementioned novel.
 * The Green Hills of Africa &mdash; In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a big game Hunter's camp, led by Hemet Nesingwary, an anagram of Ernest Hemingway, who was also a big game Hunter and former soldier. Besides various hunting Quests, one of his aides gives a Quest to retrieve lost pages of Nesingwary's book, "The Green Hills of Stranglethorn", alluding to Hemingway's "The Green Hills of Africa." Two NPCs in this camp also have names that are anagrams of authors' names, Sir S.J. Erlgadin (J.D. Salinger) and Ajeck Rouack (Jack Kerouac).
 * Hades' Daughter &mdash; There is an NPC in Teldrassil named Asterion who is trapped and must be set free. This is a reference to Sarah Douglass' character in the Troy Game series.
 * The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy &mdash; In Deeprun Tram, there is a Leper Gnome by the name of Haggle who walks around and says, "Forty-two... forty-two what? It could be anything..." This is a reference to the Douglas Adams' Classic where the answer to "The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything" is "Forty-two". Two popular Questions to the Answer of Forty-Two are "At what number on a certain street in New York City is the club known as Stavro Mueller Beta located at?", "What is six times seven?", and "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?".
 * Xaviera Hollander &mdash; In Booty Bay, the fishing trainers shop is named The Happy Bobber, although the sign outside shows a fishhook. This is an allusion to The Happy Hooker, an autobiography published in 1971 and written by former Dutch madame and prostitute Xaviera Hollander
 * The Jungle Book &mdash; In the last phase of the Quest "Panther Mastery" for Sir S. J. Erlgadin of Nesingwary's Expedition, you are required to hunt and kill a black panther named Bag'thera whose name closely resembles the black panther Bagheera from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
 * The Lord of the Rings &mdash; The 1 Ring — An item in reference to The One Ring. It gives +1 to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Spirit and Intellect. It's reportedly not as good as The 2 Ring. It can be obtained through fishing, a reference to how Gollum finds the ring in a river. A Quest obtained in Gnomeregan to return a ring to a Gnome in Ironforge has the name 'Return of the Ring', a pun of the name of the last book in the trilogy. There are also many visual similarities to the art direction of the films, such as Blackrock Mountain and the surrounding Burning Steppes bearing a striking resemblance to Mount Doom and the surrounding country of Mordor.  More directly, a dwarven reimagining of the Argonath exists in soUthern Loch Modan.  Beren's Peril, an area of Silverpine Forest, is possibly named for Beren, a man of LotR's past. Furthermore, the /silly emote for a Human male talks about an 'idea for a movie' (that movie being the story of LotR, replacing "ring" with "bRacelet", and other thoughtful changes.)
 * H.P. Lovecraft &mdash; During the Quest "The Star, the Hand and the Heart" in Dustwallow Marsh the god of murlocs is summoned. The god of these fish-men is called Dagun, which is an obvious reference to Dagon, one of the Great Old Ones. Dagon is featured in Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth. A movie with the same name has also been made. In Crime and Punishment, Councilman Millstipe of Darkshire wants you to bring him the hand of Dextren Ward. This is a reference to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. C'Thun, the final boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj raid instance, bears a striking resemblance to Lovecraft's creation, Cthulhu, a horrible being, with a notable feature of tentacles.
 * H.P. Lovecraft &mdash; Doctor Herbert Halsey, Artisan Alchemist (Undercity). This NPC is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's, Reanimator. Herbert Halsey is actually a mix of two characters from Lovecraft's story, Herbert West and Dr. Allen Halsey. Blizzard keeps to the Lovecraft theme by giving Dr. Herbert Halsey an Artisan Alchemist role residing in the Forsaken capital of the Undercity surrounded by dissection tables and body parts.
 * The Metamorphosis &mdash; In Tarren Mill, there is an NPC named Deathguard Samsa, who asks you to collect Human skulls - the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel was named Gregor Samsa.
 * The Old Man and the Sea &mdash; In Booty Bay, there is a fishing trainer named Old Man Heming, an allusion to Ernest Hemingway and his novella. Also, there is a Hunter in Stranglethorn Vale called Hemet Nesingwary -- an anagram for the writer's name.
 * The Right Stuff &mdash; There is a Warlock Quest in Felwood called "The Wrong Stuff", which is likely a reference to Tom Wolfe's 1979 novel, later adapted into a film in 1983.
 * Shakespeare &mdash; In Undercity the four Bankers have the last name Montague. This is a reference to one of the feuding families in Romeo and Juliet. This is more certainly derived from Mercutio's line, when mortally wounded 'A plague o' both your houses!', that plague, of course, being the one of undeath, in this case. A butcher called Dirge Quikcleave in Tanaris says "Get thee to a cheesery!" when sending you on a Quest to gather cheese and other cooking ingredients. This is a reference to "Get thee to a nunnery", a line from Hamlet to Ophelia. Some Undead creatures drop a 'pound of flesh', a reference to The Merchant of Venice.
 * A Song of Ice and Fire &mdash; There is a Gnome in the gardens of Castle Stormwind by the name of Tyrion, probably a reference to Tyrion Lannister, the Imp. It is also possible that Duskwood's "The Night Watch" refers to the Faction of the same name in the George R.R. Martin books, particularly since both battle the Undead. There is also a wolf pup named "Lady", a reference to Sansa Stark's pet wolf, running around the Blacksmith in Arathi Basin.  Also, there is Jon Jon the Crow in Stranglethorn Vale, which may refer to Jon Snow, a member of the Night Watch, who are commonly referred to as "crows".
 * Treasure Island &mdash; Every time the chest in Stranglethorn Vale is placed in the arena someone named Short John Mithril announces it. Short John Mithril is a reference to the pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel.


 * A Tale of Two Cities &mdash; In Booty Bay, there is a tailoring shop with a sign outside proclaiming the shop name to be "A Tailor to Cities", an obvious reference to the Charles Dickens novel.
 * Walt Whitman &mdash; in Duskwood, in a house near the Alliance griffon there is an NPC named Whit Wantmal which is an anagram of Walt Whitman
 * Kurt Vonnegut &mdash; In the Blasted Lands, there is a demon boss named Kazzak, probably based off the hound of space, Kazak, from Vonnegut's book The Sirens Of Titan
 * The Great Gatsby &mdash; There is a Quest for Stratholme called The Great Fras Siabi. One of the WoW Quest designers who is known as Furor from the Fires of Heaven guild is named Alex Afrasiabi. Also out front of Stormwind one of the Generals is named "Field Marshal Afrasiabi".

Music

 * ABC (band) &mdash; A Dwarf in Eastern Plaguelands gives a Quest called "When Smokey Sings, I Get Violent", a reference to ABC's song When Smokey Sings which contains the line, "When Smokey sings, I hear violins."
 * AC/DC &mdash; While taking target practice up in Dun Morogh, Shorty of the Dwarven Mortar Team will say/sing "I'm T.N.T. - I'm dyn-o-mite!" There is also a Rogue talent called "Dirty Deeds",
 * Alizée &mdash; The female Night Elf dance styles are taken from the French pop singer.
 * Bob Dylan &mdash; A Quest in the Eastern Plaguelands that begins at Chillwind Post is called All Along the Watchtowers is named for the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower, made famous by Jimi Hendrix.
 * Bon Jovi &mdash; There is a Quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Bad Medicine" a number one song off the band's New Jersey album.
 * Bauhaus &mdash; Royal Overseer Bauhaus of the Undercity Census Bureau may be named for the seminal goth band. This could also be a reference to the German Staatliches Bauhaus school of architecture and art which deeply influenced the modernist period.
 * Barber of Seville and Marriage of Figaro &mdash; A Human in Southshore is named Bartolo after a character in these operas (he gives the Quest Bartolo's Yeti Fur Cloak).
 * The Beatles &mdash; Michelle Belle NPC at the inn in Goldshire is very similar to the lyrics of the song 'Michelle' – "Michelle my belle, these are words that go together well." See also Ringo Starr, below.
 * Beck &mdash; The rare staff "Odo's Ley Staff" is a reference to the artist's Grammy winning 1996 album titled "Odelay."
 * Blind Willie Johnson &mdash; In Silithus, outside the gates of Ahn'Qiraj is a Priest named Jonathan the Revelator, referencing the popular Johnson song "John the Revelator".
 * Chaka Khan &mdash; A Quest in Desolace from the chief of the centaur is called simply "Khan Shaka".
 * Depeche Mode &mdash; In the Blasted Lands, there is a Quest giver that wants to collect crystals which drop in the zone, and the name of the Quest is "Everything Counts in Large AMounts". Also referred to in a series of Quest for Rogues in Teldrassil, two Quests with the names "The Apple Falls" and "Destiny Calls", which is a reference to lyrics of the song "The Bottom Line".
 * Neil Diamond &mdash; Players can obtain a buff called Songflower Serenade, an allusion to the song Longfellow Serenade by Neil Diamond.
 * The Doors &mdash; Lord Serpentis, one of the bosses in the Wailing Caverns says "I am the Serpent King..I can do anything." This is a reference to Jim Morrison of The Doors whose alter ego was known as The Lizard King.  The line is taken verbatim (minus the substitution) from the song "Not To Touch The Earth", one of seven songs that make up a medley known as The Celebration of the Lizard.
 * The Electric Slide &mdash; The current female tauren dance cycle is the electric slide.
 * Genesis (band) &mdash; The Western Plaguelands Quest "Counting Out Time" is from the title of a song on their 1974 album The Lamb Lies down on Broadway
 * Grateful Dead &mdash; There is a Quest in Redridge which yeilds a "Boquet of Scarlet Begonias", a Grateful Dead song. Also, the bartender in the Lakeshire Inn quotes the lyrics from their song 'Brown-Eyed Woman', "The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean." Innkeeper Farley in Goldshire quotes a lyric similiar to one in thier song 'Ripple', "If your glass is full may it be again!"
 * Guns N' Roses &mdash; There is a Quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Welcome to the Jungle" a very obvious reference to the opening song of the Appetite for Destruction album.
 * Hammerfall &mdash; The Horde town in Arathi Highlands is named after the Power Metal band of the same name. In fact, the Paladin spell, Hammer of Justice, is a reference to the Hammerfall song of the same name. These can be attributed to the fact that Samwise, one of the lead Blizzard artists is not only a fan of the band, but creates their CD covers.
 * Harry Belafonte &mdash; There is an item in the game called Tel'Abim Banana, which might be a reference to the Harry Belafonte song Banana Boat, with the lyric "Come mister tally man, tally me bananas".
 * Jay-Z &mdash; During the Halloween special event, a Quest from a needy orphan requires you to perform emotes to NPCs to collect candy. The Tauren innkeeper in Thunder Bluff asks you to dance, and once you do she also dances and states "I may have ninety-nine problems, but dancin' ain't one of them!" This is a reference to Jay-Z's popular song, "99 Problems" in which he says "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". (This line is also directly lifted from an Ice-T song of the same name, though it is unclear which song Blizzard is referring to).
 * Jethro Tull &mdash; The Quest "Bungle in the Jungle" received in Gadgetzan is a reference to the song of the same name from the band's 1974 album War Child.
 * Kraftwerk The first boss in the Abomination Wing of the Naxxramas Necropolis is named Patchwerk, a clear reference to the German band Kraftwerk.
 * Led Zeppelin &mdash; A Quest for the Instance Dungeon Stratholme called Houses of the Holy is an obvious reference to the band's 1973 album of the same name.
 * Macarena &mdash; The Human female dance style is the Macarena.
 * MC Hammer &mdash; The male Orc dance style is the same as seen in the rapper's videos, most notably "U Can't Touch This".
 * Men At Work &mdash; Caretaker Alen in Eastern Plaguelands says "I come from the land down under... where women plague and men sunder." every now and then, as a reference to the "Men At Work" – Song "Down Under"
 * Michael Jackson &mdash; The male Night Elf dance moves are very similar to those of pop-singer Michael Jackson's.
 * The Muppets &mdash; If the "/silly" command is used as an Orc player, the character will sometimes state "It's not easy being green", a reference to a song of the same title performed by Jim Henson's most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog.
 * Peter Gabriel — The Quest The Family and the Fishing Pole in Darkshore references a song from the singer's song The Family And The Fishing Net.
 * Peter Murphy — The Quest Deep Ocean, Vast Sea in Darkshore references a song from the Bauhaus singer's solo album, Deep.
 * Pomeroy &mdash; In Stormwind City there is a guard named "PaTroller Pomeroy" possibly a reference to the band Pomeroy.
 * Oingo Boingo — The Undead Quest Dead Man's Party refers to a song by Oingo Boingo and features NPCs named after band members Steve Bartek, Carl Graves, and Danny Elfman. Sam Phipps can also be found close by.
 * Olivia Newton-John — In Stormwind the three Bankers are named Olivia, Newton and John. This is a reference to the singer/actor from the 1980s.
 * Pink Floyd - In Hammerfall, there's a First Aid-Quest. While patching up dying soldiers, one of the will sing the song Goodbye Cruel World by Pink Floyd.
 * Queen - In Hillsbrad Foothills there is a level 32 Horde Quest to prove your ability to protect the Hammerfall outpost in Arathi by killing ogres. The Quest shares the title with Queen's song Hammer to Fall. A male Night Elf /silly emote states "Who wants to live forever?" which is also the title of a Queen song.
 * Rammstein - In the Stratholme instance, one of the final encounters before fighting 'Baron Rivendare' on the 'Baron run' or 'Undead side' of the instance is a powerful abomination called Ramstein. This may also, conceivably, be a reference to the German town called Ramstein-Miesenbach or even the air-show disaster that took place at the nearby Ramstein Air Base, which inspired the name of the band, Rammstein. The abomination can drop an item of loot called 'Ramstein's Lightning Bolts', which is a trinket which causes nature damage to nearby enemies.
 * R.E.M. - The two councilmen in the Town Hall of Darkshire are named "Berrybuck" and "Millstipe", a reference to the Classic R.E.M. lineup of Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.
 * Ringo Starr — A Quest in Un'Goro Crater called "With a Little Help from My Friends" has the player rescue a Goblin named Ringo. The Quest is named for the song sung by Ringo on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band''.
 * Siouxsie and the Banshees &mdash; In the Dire Maul West instance there is a rare spawn called Tsu'zee and there are two Wailing Banshees right behind her.
 * The Toyes &mdash; If the "/silly" command is used as a male Troll player, the character will sometimes recite, in a heavy Jamaican accent, "I kill two dwarves in the morning, I kill two dwarves at night. I kill two dwarves in the afternoon, and then I feel alright.  I kill two dwarves in time of peace and two in time of war.  I kill two dwarves before I kill two dwarves, and then I kill two more," a direct reference to the Toyes song "Smoke Two Joints".  The band Sublime did a cover of the song; it's unknown which version Blizzard was making reference to. This was apparently removed as of Patch 1.11, presumably due to copyright reasons.)
 * Sid Vicious &mdash; An NPC on the shores of Lake Lorderon is named Nancy Vishas, possibly an allusion to Nancy Spungen, deceased girlfriend of former Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious.
 * Warrant - There is a merchant in Ironforge named Sraaz who quotes random lines from Warrant's song Cherry Pie, like "Cherry Pie, tastes so good it makes a grown Gnome cry". He wanders around near the griffon master.  Sraaz only has one item for sale, Homemade Cherry Pie.

Fashion

 * Abercrombie — Near Darkshire an old man is named Abercrombie, as in the popular clothing company. He presents a series of Quests, during the culmination of which he produces a hideous Monster of his own creation named "Stitches" (resembling the Abomination creature in Warcraft 3). It's widely accepted that "Abercrombie and Stitches" is not an accidental near-homonym for the "Abercrombie and Fitch" brand. Also a stormwind auctioneer is named "fitch"

Comics

 * Iron Man &mdash; South of Dun Garok in Hillsbrad Foothills, east of Southshore, on the cliff overlooking the coastline, there is an epitaph to "Anthony Ray Stark (1961-2005)." It should be noted that Iron Man's real name is Anthony Edward Stark and his character was created in 1963.  It's still possible that this is a reference to Iron Man, but the information is incorrect.
 * Fist of the North Star &mdash; C'Thun, the final boss of the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, will whisper the words "You... are... already... dead..." and "Your... heart... will... explode...". Kenshiro, the lead character of Fist of the North Star, is extremely famous for the initial line, and often through his fighting style would cause massive internal damage to his opponents, including making their heart explode in an extremely violent fashion.
 * Superman &mdash; There is an NPC on the docks of Southshore named Farmer Kent, a reference to Clark Kent and his childhood of growing up on a farm with his adopted Earth parents, Ma and Pa Kent. Also there is an NPC called Colonel Zod who resides slighly northeast of the Crossroads in The Barrens, an obvious reference to General Zod in Superman I and II
 * FoxTrot &mdash; A reward from the Quest The Perfect Poison is called Doomulus Prime. This references a FoxTrot strip from January 29, 2006 in which Jason obtained the most powerful item in all of "World of WarQuest" (in the strip, Jason lost the item before he could pick it up when he was disconnected from the server for which he gave a scream so loud, it was heard all the way to BlizCraft headquarters prompting someone there to ask if someone had tripped over the cord again.)
 * Wonder Woman &mdash; A female Night Elf named "Ark'narain" is held captive in a cage in the Felwood. When freed and led back to her armor and weapons, she will spin in place a few times and will suddenly appear to be wearing her armor.  She then says "All I need now is a golden lasso."  In th 1970's, Linda Carter played "Wonder Woman" and would spin in place to change into her costume.
 * X-Men &mdash; The two children chasing each other at Lakeshire in the Redridge Mountains are named Rachel and Nathan. Both being the children of Cyclops and Jean Grey/Madeline Pryor.

Sports

 * Capoeira &mdash; The male Troll /dance emote actually consists of moves from Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art.
 * Hockey &mdash; Countless names given to NPCs are direct lifts of prominent NHL players.
 * Karl Malone &mdash; One of the NPCs in Stratholme goes by the name of Postmaster Malown, a reference to Karl "The Mailman" Malone of the Utah Jazz.  He drops a rare mace named Malown's Slam.
 * San Francisco Giants &mdash; In the Hillsbrad Foothills, there are two NPC's by the name of Ott and Bonds.  Mel Ott and Barry Bonds are two sluggers who played for the Giants.

Real Life Holidays
Some real life holidays and observances are reflected in the game. Events are sorted by date. Info is taken from here.
 * New year &mdash; Celebrated on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with fireworks and free alcohol.
 * Chinese New Year &mdash; Known as Lunar Festival in the game, it is celebrated early February. (Between January 27th to February 14th in 2006). Some events of interest:
 * On January 29th (the date of the actual lunar new year in 2006). Celebrations occur in Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Booty Bay and Moonglade.
 * On February 13th, one last firework show will be held in Moonglade. This parallels the Chinese Lantern Festival; extra lanterns are spawned around Lake Elune'ara (the firework show occurs over the lake).
 * Red Lockboxes (Red packets) are given out from various NPCs (especially elderly).
 * A special boss named Omen only appears in this festival. It is actually named Nian in the Chinese version.
 * Valentine's Day &mdash; Known as Love is in the Air in the game, it is celebrated between February 11 and 15. Candies and "love tokens" are given out.
 * Easter &mdash; Known as Noblegarden in the game, it is celebrated around Easter and symbolized by finding easter eggs.
 * Independence Day &mdash; Known as Engineer's Explosives Extravaganza in the game and marked by fireworks, it is celebrated on July 4 on all servers.
 * Halloween &mdash; Known as Hallow's End in the game, it is celebrated between October 18 and November 1. Players can go trick or treat at this time.
 * Christmas &mdash; Known as Feast of Winter Veil in the game, it is celebrated between December 15 and January 2. Denoted by Christmas Trees and decorations in some cities, and the appearance of Greatfather Winter, an obvious reference to Santa Claus.

Other

 * Alexander Calder &mdash; Alexander Calder, a Warlock trainer in Ironforge, is likely a reference to the artist of the same name known for his large, sheet metal mobiles.
 * Billy the Kid &mdash; In the bat-trainer's alcove in Undercity you will find Patrick Garrett with a shovel in hand. This is a reference to Pat Garrett who was a friend of Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid. Garrett eventually shot Billy twice in the back. Now Patrick Garrett shovels guano in a city of the dead, presumably his eternal reward.
 * C-4 &mdash; Engineers in the game can learn to craft "Seaforium", an explosive device that can open locked doors.
 * Circus &mdash; Ironforge the three Bankers are named Barnum, Bailey, and Soleil. This is a reference to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Cirque du Soleil.
 * Golden Dawn &mdash; The Argent Dawn group may be a reference to the late 19th century metaphysical order of the Golden Dawn.
 * George Van Kleef &mdash; Dutch organized crime leader, strikingly similar to the Edwin van Cleef of the Defias in terms of name and profession. Even more extraordinary is it that George Van Kleef was assassinated in November 2005, grimly ironic as his namesake is constantly killed by players ingame as part of a Quest series in the Deadmines. This could also be a reference to Lee Van Cleef, who played the villain in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
 * Gregory Charles &mdash; The undercity Rogue trainer's name is the same as French Canadian singer/actor/entertainer Gregory Charles.
 * Haunted Mansion &mdash; Players battle Thule Ravenclaw in Fenris Keep in Silverpine Forest, he is believed to be named after the famous voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft who is the lead vocalist in the Disney attraction's theme song Grim Grinning Ghosts
 * Hickory Farms &mdash; There are goblin vendors in various places working for "Smokywood Pastures" that offer cheeses and sausages. They also set up sales wagons in the major cities during the Winter Holiday events.
 * Hindenburg disaster &mdash; One of the zeppelin goblins near the Undercity is named Hin Denburg, after the famous crashed German zeppelin.
 * Homestar Runner &mdash; In Thorium Point in Searing Gorge, there is an NPC named "Master Smith Burninate", a reference to Strong Bad's dragon, "Trogdor the Burninator" - the NPC appears in an area near a large dragon, and will commonly drop dragon skin if killed.
 * Honeywell &mdash; In SouthShore there is an NPC named "Apprentice Honeywell".
 * Immovable Object/Unstoppable FOrce &mdash; Two of the items which can be obtained as PVP rewards in Alterac Valley are referred to as "The Immovable Object" (a shield) and "The Unstoppable FOrce" (a mace). These are references to a logical conundrum which goes, "what happens when an unstoppable fOrce strikes an immovable object?"
 * JATO Rocket Car &mdash; In the Shimmering Flats one of the Racer cars has crashed and embedded halfway up the cliff face, a reference to the Darwin Award urban legend of the JATO Rocket Car
 * Jerky Boys &mdash; There is an NPC in Ironforge named Talvash del Kissel. This is a reference to the infamous phone prank group The Jerky Boys. Two of the personas the Jerky Boys used while doing pranks were named "Kissel" and "Tarbash the Egyptian Magician". The latter name probably explains why the NPC hangs out in The Mystic Ward, the mage area of Ironforge.
 * Jose Cuervo &mdash; A Tanaris Quest called Cuergo's Gold references this popular alcoholic beverage.
 * Kym Wilde &mdash; There is an NPC at Thunder Bluff named Kym Wildmane, which is possibly a reference to the actor Kym Wilde or the singer Kim Wilde.
 * Lee Van Cleef &mdash; In Westfall, the player can enter an instanced dungeon called the Deadmines, the boss of which is VanCleef, after the well-known spaghetti-western star. He has a similar voice and the same sharp facial features as said actor who became famous for playing notoriously ice-cold villains.
 * Morning Glory Dew &mdash; A high level and expensive mana restore drink that players can find is called "Morning Glory Dew." Blizzard employees have been quoted as saying they drink a lot of Mountain Dew so this item may reference the soda.  It has also been suggested that the initials "MGD" stand for Miller Genuine Draft, an American brewed beer.  Given that most employers frown upon drinking alcoholic beverages in the workplace, the connection is tenuous at best.
 * Ngorongoro Crater &mdash; It seems likely that Un'goro Crater was named after Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, the largest perfect caldera in the world. The geography of Un'Goro also bears a striking resemblance to Ngoro Ngoro.
 * ''Numa Numa &mdash; The Troll's /cheer function causes them to throw their arms in the air much like the infamous internet "numa numa" video.
 * O RLY? &mdash; After the saying became popular among players, one of newly added Goblin Auctioneers in Booty Bay was named "O'Reely". There is also a white owl that flies around a hut near STeamwheedle Port in Tanaris named "O'Reilly". Furthermore, there has been added an Undead auctioneer by the name of "Yarly" in the Undercity Auction House.
 * "Pirates versus Ninjas" Eating a Savory Deviant DeLight will cause your character to turn into either a Pirate or a Ninja. The effect will read as "Arrrrr" (for pirates) or "Flip Out" (for ninjas; this itself is a reference to the phrase, "the purpose of a ninja is to flip out and kill people.").  The effect is purely cosmetic.
 * Peanut Butter Jelly Time &mdash; One of the Tauren Male's dance cycles is based on the famous Dancing Banana that appears in the popular Internet Flash.
 * Cristo Redentor &mdash; In Booty Bay there is a statue of a goblin with its arms outstretched, very similar to the Cristo Redentor statue above Rio de Janeiro. The statue is on "Jainero's Point".
 * Smith & Wesson &mdash; In Ratchet a High Elf sailor will give you a mission to travel down the coast and kill the cannoneers Smythe and Whesson, an obvious reference to firearm company Smith & Wesson.
 *  Sweeney Todd &mdash; There is a traveling salesman who wander around Elwynn Forest and Darkshire named Antonio Perelli, a reference to the traveling hair elixir salesman in the musical version of Sweeney Todd.
 * Tonka - The Darkmoon Faire has several remote-conTrolled cars known as Tonks.
 *  Tortuga &mdash; In the Tanaris desert, there is a Quest to help a tortoise named "Tooga" to get back to his wife "Torta." "Tortuga" means "turtle" in Spanish.  Tortuga is also the name of a famous pirate's haven in the Caribbean.  The eastern shores of Tanaris are thick with pirates.
 * Wickerman &mdash; During the 2005 Halloween season, Blizzard introduced the festivities of Hallow's End, which includes the burning of an effigy of a man (named Wickerman) in front of Undercity. Although this references a movie of the same name, it is probably also a reference to the annual Burning Man festival held in Nevada. The possibility also exists that it refers to the ancient pagan practice of burning men alive as Human sacrifices, called Wicker Men.

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos/The Frozen Throne
In the credits sequence, there are many pop culture references to various movies and games.

Comics

 * Batman:
 * "Nananananananana... ME!!" –Troll Batrider.
 * Spider-Man:
 * "Spider sense. Tingling" –Crypt Fiend.
 * Superman:
 * "Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's me!" –Windrider.

Games

 * Diablo
 * "Wings, Horns, Hooves, what're we saying, Is this Diablo?" –Illidan Stormrage.
 * An Item on one of the missions, and can be found on the Campaign Editor, is "Wirt's OTHER Leg". A "Butcher", based on the famous Diablo Monster, is guarding it.
 * Games Workshop:
 * STeam tanks and Gyrocopters are also both near identical units in Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
 * Repeatedly clicking on a gryphon rider replies with 'This Warhammer cost 40K' referring to Warhammer 40,000 and its high price.
 * Games Workshop made Blizzard remove these references for the expansion pack, hence the renamed units and missing quote.
 * The Lost Vikings:
 * In the Blizzard-produced bonus mission Monolith, the three possible names for the Dark Troll hero are Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout, the names of the three Lost Vikings.
 * Mortal Kombat:
 * "Mortar Combat!" –Dwarven Mortar Team.
 * StarCraft:
 * "Clearly, Tassadar has failed us! You must not!" –Mortar Team. SLight misquotation of StarCraft's Judicator Aldaris.
 * "My life for Aiur... er-r-r I-I mean Ner'Zhul." –Acolyte. Refers to the line said by the Protoss Zealot whenever a new one is created.
 * In the second Night Elf level, there is a Hydralisk hidden behind the trees, which you can control after you appoach it.
 * Zero Wing:
 * allyourbasearebelongtous and somebodysetupusthebomb are both cheat codes for the game, referencing the Zero Wing game and well-known internet phenomenon.

Literature

 * A Song of Ice and Fire
 * The final chapter of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is called "A Symphony of Frost and Flame."
 * Atlas Shrugged
 * Enabled research cheat – WhoIsJohnGalt – Refers to the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. "Who is John Galt?" is a slang/colloquialism used throughout, but actually refers to the mysterious engineer, John Galt, the man who stopped the motor of the world.
 * The Lord of the Rings
 * "I stole your precious." –Spellbreaker. The character Gollum called The One Ring "my precious" in the Lord of the Rings series of books.

Movies

 * Alien
 * "In the depths, no one can hear you scream. Well.. they can, but it's really muffled." –Naga Royal Guard. Reference to "In space no one can hear you scream".
 * Army of Darkness
 * "This... is... my... BOOMSTICK!" –Rifleman. This is a line said by the rifleman with multiple clicking. Also a line from Ash in "Army of Darkness" when he explains to the medieval people what a shotgun is.
 * The Big Lebowski
 * Cheat code to remove spell cooldown was 'TheDudeAbides', a line from the main character.
 * Cool Hand Luke
 * "What we have here is a failure to communicate." –Bandit. Also said by Warden
 * Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
 * "Crouch, tiger, I sense a hidden dragon." – Priestess of the Moon.
 * Full Metal Jacket:
 * "Me so horned, me hurt you long time!" said by the Orc grunts, is a reference to the prostitute's declairation of "me so horny, me love you long time!"
 * "Only two things come from Texas... and I got horns.", says a Tauren when clicked. Reference to the Kubrick movie where officer Hartman shouts at the soldiers: "Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas!"
 * Ghostbusters:
 * "There is no Banshee, only Zuul!" –Banshee. This is a reference to a Sigourney Weaver line.
 * Gladiator:
 * "What I do in death echoes in eternity." –Shade. Similar to a line spoken by Maximus.
 * Lord of the Rings
 * A joke told by a human male references the movie "Lord of the Rings."
 * Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines:
 * "you are terminated".-Goblin Tinker. TX-850 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) said to T-x in Terminator 3
 * The Jungle Book
 * "Ale is my bear necessity." –Pandaren Brewmaster. A major song in The Jungle Book is called "The Bear Necessities".
 * The Matrix:
 * The cheat for unlimited mana; "There is no spoon" is taken from the film The Matrix
 * Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
 * "I never say NI!" –Knight. A reference to The Knights who say Ni from The Holy Grail.
 * "My favourite colour is Blue! No! Yeeelloow-" –Knight. A reference to The Bridge of Death from The Holy Grail
 * "You're the king? Well I didn't vote for you." –Peasant.  A reference to The Filth Harvesting Peasants from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * "We have a witch! May we burn her?" –Peasant.  A reference to the witch burning scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * "Help! Help! I'm being repressed!" –Peasant. A reference to the constitutional peasant Dennis in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * "It's only a flesh wound!" –Footman. A reference to Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * Peter Pan:
 * "Uh-oh, my Tinker bell." –Tinker. Reference to the character Tinkerbell.
 * Predator:
 * "Let's move. Five meter spread, no sound." –Archer.
 * Scarface:
 * "Say hello to my little friend!" –Troll HeadHunter. The same words were said by Al Pacino's character in Scarface.
 * The Sixth Sense:
 * "I see Undead people." –Necromancer.
 * "Me eat dead people." –Ghoul.
 * "I see dead people." –Far Seer. Said by Haley Joel Osment.
 * Star Wars:
 * "Me don't sound like Yoda. Do I?" –Orc Grunt. A reference to Yoda.
 * "Once you head down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Plus you got dental." –Acolyte. Reference to turning to The Dark Side.
 * "She'll hold together. (quietly) Hear me, baby? Hold together." –Tinker. Reference to Han Solo's reQuest for the Millennium Falcon to continue flying.
 * "We aren't the dryads you're looking for" –Dryad. A reference to a phrase by Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, "These aren't the droids you're looking for."
 * "They came from... behind..." –the Flying Machine says this when it's destroyed, a reference to what Gold Five says when he dies in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * "At last we shall have revenge" –Demon Hunter. Reference to Darth Maul's only line in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * One of the neutral Troll units says something that is very similar to the line of Bob Fortuna in Return of the Jedi,when he says Jabba don't want to see Skywalker.
 * Thumb Wars:
 * "Touch your tongue to mine." –Far Seer. A reference to the quote made by both Oobidub Benubi and A Puppet in Thumb Wars, a Star Wars parody.
 * The Usual Suspects
 * Cheat code keysersoze for obtaining extra gold refers to the mythical crime figure Keyser Soze, whose very existence is a source of mystery and debate.

Music

 * Britney Spears
 * "Click me baby, one more time." –SOrceress. Britney Spears' first hit was "Hit Me Baby, One More Time".
 * Sting & The Police
 * "We're all spirits in the material world." –Spirit Walker. From the Sting & The Police song of the same title.
 * Iron Maiden
 * The bonus campaign "Founding Durotar" chapter one is named "To Tame a Land", reference to a song on the album Piece Of Mind.
 * There is a level in the campaign called "Where Wyverns Dare", a reference to the Iron Maiden song "Where Eagles Dare", or also possibly a reference to the movie Where Eagles Dare.Where Eagles Dare is Also a song by Horror Punk band The Misfits
 * Jon Bon Jovi
 * "Shot through the heart, and I'm to blame." –Archer. One of Bon Jovi's songs begins with "Shot through the heart, and you're to blame."
 * Pantera
 * A part of the Orc campaign is callled "By Demons Be Driven", this a reference to the Pantera song "By Demons Be Driven"
 * Metallica
 * Rexxar, The Beastmaster, says "Where I lay my head is home! you see that rock? that's my pillow" "Where I lay my head is home" is one of the lines in Metallica's song "Wherever I may roam" from the Black Album

Other

 * Kelloggs Frosted Flakes
 * "My tiger is trained for war. He's grrrrreat!" –Priestess of the Moon. Frosties' mascot Tony the Tiger's signature line is "They're grrrrreat".
 * Iron Chef
 * "Fukui-san!" "Yes, go ahead." "What the Iron Troll is doing right now is putting heads in a pot. They have to boil for 20 minutes so the eyes can be used in a second dish, an eye and raspberry sorbet." "Mmmm, Sounds good!" –Troll Witch Doctor.
 * The Simpsons
 * "My eyes! The goggles do nothing!" –Foot soldier. Uttered during the "filming of Warcraft III" blooper reel of the end credits. This is a reference to the Radioactive Man movie episode of the Simpsons, when actor Rainier Wolfcastle tries to protect himself from a giant wave of acid by putting on a pair of tiny protective goggles.
 * "D'oh!" Annoyed Peasant or Dryad. It's Homer Simpson's most famous catchphrase. In the case of the Dryad, "D'oh!" is spelled "Doe" which is a female deer which technically, is what a Dryad is.
 * Homestar Runner
 * In one of the levels, a soldier guarding Prince Kael's cell is named "Trogdar". Referencing the Dragon, "Trogdor". In a twist of irony, he is killed (i.e. burninated) by Lady Vashj.
 * Rifleman's Creed
 * "This is my owl. There are many like it, but this one is mine." –Huntress. This line is also famously used in the movies Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead.
 * I Love Lucy
 * "Lucyyy" –Troll HeadHunter. Said in the same manner as Ricky Ricardo
 * Smokey the Bear
 * "Only you can prevent forest fires." –Druid of the Claw
 * Weakest Link
 * "You are the weakest Lich, Goodbye" is one of Lich's anoy sounds.

Music

 * Cheat Codes
 * "Every little thing she does" is the cheat code for unlimited mana and all spells researched; in reference to The Police's song "Every little thing she does is magic".


 * Cheat Codes
 * The map cheat code of "onscreen" and the fast build cheat of "makeitso" are references to Star Trek: The Next Generation. They are both commands often given by Captain Picard. The invulnerabilty cheat of "It is a good day to die" is also from the show; it is a Klingon proverb. Its root origin was from the battle of Thermopylae.  It was one of the responses Leonidas gave to the Persian emissary when he was asked to surrender as he had no chance of winning.  Star Trek gets it from this historical reference.


 * Sound effect
 * The sword fighting sound effect is lifted directly from the Black Knight scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
To enable cheat mode, you type Corwin of Amber. Corwin is a character from the The Chronicles of Amber, a series of books by Roger Zelazny.