Reference To Little Shop of Horrors

[Riva]

This is to anyone who's heard of this play. There must have been an excecutive who saw this broadway hit that thought a plant trying to eat a human. I speak of course of Victreebel.

Anyone know what I mean?

 

[Rex Kamex]

I know what you're talking about, but I doubt that they got it from Little Shop of Horrors.

 

[Riva]

Why do you doubt that? It seems like a reference to me. A large plant with fangs grown in a store at night that literally "bites the head" that feeds it.

 

[Rex Kamex]

True, but it could be just that Victreebel is a venus flytrap and it just eats James for comical reasons.

 

[YoshiAngemon]

Well, Victreebel was traded away for a Weepinbell from that guy who sold James the Magikarp on "Battle Aboard the St. Anne!" And the newly-evolved Victreebel went after Jessie, and she booted it away. And at the same time, the salesman booted the original Victreebel away, because it was trying to eat him! And the two Victreebel fell in love, and that's ONE Pokemon that James lost. He later let Weezing go, letting it and Arbok protect the herd of Koffing and Ekans. And after that, James has Cacnea, and Jessie still has the Semi-useless Wobbuffet! If she were smart to let it use Mirror Coat as Pikachu used Thunderbolt, both Team Rocket and Ash and his friends would be blasting off!

 

[Rex Kamex]

What does that have to do with anything?

 

[Eternal Eievui]

What does that have to do with anything?

Couldn't have said it better myself. *Pictures Yoshi with a semi-psycho grin on his face silently rocking back and forth whispering "I like stories"*.

4Kids have been known to extend outside influences into the dub, mind you. But to the question at hand:

How likely to you think it is that the original Japanese animators saw Little Shop of Horrors?

 

[Chris]

You'd be suprised by the things creators and animators see in Japan from America.

Though, no. It's not likely the whole "eating humans" came from this. The Pokémon's a carnivorous plant. Obviously it's going to attempt trying to fill its large body with a human. >_> Even though it's for comedic relief.

 

[Riva]

I think what was stated above is that maybe after a Weepinbell evolves it attacks the first human it sees?

 

[Geki]

I miss Victreebel.

 

[YoshiAngemon]

Well, at least now we have Cacnea hugging James with its prickly body.

 

[Haruka's Swimsuit]

You'd be suprised by the things creators and animators see in Japan from America.

Though, no. It's not likely the whole "eating humans" came from this. The Pokémon's a carnivorous plant. Obviously it's going to attempt trying to fill its large body with a human. >_> Even though it's for comedic relief.

I always thought it was a sign of affection, like Sabonea's (painful) hugs.

 

[Riva]

That isn't the issue. The issue is are there any connections between the pokemon Victreebel and Audrey2 that anyone can see?

 

[Haruka's Swimsuit]

That isn't the issue. The issue is are there any connections between the pokemon Victreebel and Audrey2 that anyone can see?

My answer would be no. It's well known that venus flytraps are carnivarious; I don't think it's too much of a stretch that someone could conceviably come up with the idea of one attempting to chomp on a human WITHOUT seeing or hearing of Little Shop of Horrors.

 

[SBaby]

You kidding? There's so many movie and series references in Pokemon that it's pathetic (not just the dub, either). I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they were trying to emulate.

 

[Jesse GS the II]

I don't think that Kojirou's Utsubot was a direct reference to "Little Shop of Horrors", but I wouldn't put it past them. They've included a fair amount of cultural references on the anime before and since...though, granted, most of those are references to other anime (the "Fushigi Yuugi" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena" homages in the Kanto era spring most readily to mind).