Cephalopods in popular culture

Cephalopods, specifically pertaining to octopuses, squids, nautiluses and cuttlefishes, are most commonly represented in popular culture in the Western world as creatures that spray ink and latch onto things with their tentacles without releasing.

The octopus has been used as a (usually negative) metaphor for entity which is perceived as sending out many "tentacles" from one "center" in order to exert power and control.

Cartoons

The first cephalopod character to play a title role in an American animated cartoon series was the Hanna-Barbera character, Squiddly Diddly. The cartoon series ''Oswald'' revolves around the life of the titular blue octopus and his friends. Cephalopods more commonly appear as supporting characters, or make guest appearances. Supporting characters in cartoons include Occy (Allstar's pet octopus) in Snorks, and Squidward Tentacles from the Nickelodeon series ''SpongeBob SquarePants.'' Squilliam Fancyson, is another cephalopod character from the same cartoon. Numerous cephalopods have made cameo appearances in the cartoon series Octonauts. The character Eight-Armed Willie from the animated series '' Flapjack'' is another example of a cephalopod cameo. In an episode of the computer animated series '' The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'', entitled " Nightmare in Retroville", the main character transforms into an octopus.

Comics

Doctor Octopus and Lady Octopus are two supervillains from the Marvel Comics universe. The former was a scientist who augmented his human body by adding four mechanical arms (bringing his total number of limbs to eight). Another villain is Zitzbath Zark, otherwise known as the Octopus, from the hardboiled comic ''Spirit''. The DC Comics hero Aquaman had a pet octopus named Topo who assisted him in a variety of ways, often taking advantage of his multiple limbs.

Film

''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', based on the 1870 novel of that name by Jules Verne, is the best known representation of a giant cephalopod in cinema. The story's plot follows a group of humans who travel in a submarine called ''Nautilus'' (another cephalopod reference) and encounter a giant cephalopod. At least five film adaptions of the story exist (1907, 1916, Disney 1954, 1985 and 1997), variously presenting the monster as a squid or an octopus, or a fantastic combination of the two.

Other films which feature giant cephalopods include ''It Came from Beneath the Sea'' (1955), ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1961), ''Space Amoeba'' (1970), ''Tentacles'' (1977), ''Warlords of Atlantis'' (1978), '' Octopus'' (2000), '' Octopus 2: River of Fear'' (2001) '' Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep'' (2006) ''Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus'' (2009) and '' Arrival'' (2016). '' The Beast'' (1996) and ''Deep Rising'' (1998) both feature squid.

Octopuses have also been depicted in cinema as hybrids, such as in '' Octaman'', which features a mutant humanoid octopus. In the Disney animated movie ''The Little Mermaid'', Ursula (the sea witch) is depicted as a human-octopus hybrid with the torso of a woman and the arms of an octopus in place of her legs. ''Monster Shark'' (1984) and '' Sharktopus'' (2010) feature fish-octopus hybrids.

Cephalopods have been depicted in animated feature films for family audiences. '' Finding Nemo'' (2003) includes a flapjack octopus among its cast of aquatic characters. The sequel ''Finding Dory'' features an East Pacific red octopus as a major supporting character. ''Toy Story 3'' (2010) features a toy rubber octopus named Stretch (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) and ''Shark Tale'' (2004) features an octopus named Luca (voiced by Vincent Pastore). An octopus named Dave (voiced by John Malkovich) is the main antagonist in the 2014 ''Penguins of Madagascar'' movie. The Australian animated film ''Dot and the Whale'' (1986) features a giant octopus with magical powers.

Cuttlefish and their unique attributes have been a recurring topic or plot point in several major films. Captain Jack Sparrow asked feuding pirates to consider the cuttlefish and their capacity for cannibalism in '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (2007). Cuttlefish and their hypnotic strobing ability were discussed as the greatest fear of the villainous Ulysses Klaue in Marvel Studios' '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015). In the same year, the DNA of cuttlefish were discussed as contributing to the intelligence and camouflage of the monstrous Indominus rex in the science fiction action film '' Jurassic World'' (2015).

Literature

Cthulhu is a fictional deity created by H. P. Lovecraft and first appearing in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu". Cthulhu is portrayed as a malevolent and powerful being that, though for the most part incomprehensible to human understanding, appears to have features reminiscent of an octopus and a dragon. Cthulhu appeared in the three-episode arc of the series '' South Park'' that began with the episode " Coon 2: Hindsight".

Other examples of cephalopods in literature include the man-eating squid species ''Haploteuthis ferox'' from H. G. Wells