Statue of Liberty in Popular Culture - in Television and Film

In Television and Film

It has been in dozens of motion pictures and television shows.

• The statue makes a number of appearances in the Godfather films, in an ironic commentary on how an immigrant family acquire wealth and power (the American Dream), but through crime. In The Godfather the statue can be seen in the distance as the treacherous Paulie Gatto is shot in the back of the head in a parked car. In The Godfather Part II, the young Vito Corleone and other immigrants stare up at the statue as their ship sails into New York Harbour in 1901; the statue is then seen (shown in reflection next to his face as he stares at it) out of the window of the quarantine cell in which he is imprisoned after arriving at Ellis Island. When Vito returns to visit Sicily in the early 1920s, a model of the statue is among the gifts which he brings.
• In the 1994 Gundam series G Gundam, the protagonist hides his Gundam in the abandoned statue and then makes it jump out of the statue, destroying it.
• In the 1994 animated television series Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, the opening briefly shows the main protagonists following Carmen to the statue's torch, from where she flies away in a jetpack. When the camera pans out, a rail can be seen removing the statue out of Liberty Island.
• In 1995 film Batman Forever a Gothic version of the statue is seen during the climactic scene of Batman chasing Two-Face in a stolen helicopter. Where it then crashes into the face of the statue, and explodes. The torch notably resembles a rotating light similar to a lighthouse, instead of a flame.
• In the film, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the sister statue in Paris provides a clue.
• In Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry, Tom and Jerry "strip" Statue of Liberty leaving her wearing a bikini. The Statue then gives a pose and Tom whistles at her and Jerry purrs.
• In the MGM short "Little Johnny Jet," Junior Jet (and his airplane dad) fly over the Statue of Liberty so swiftly that it forces her gown to rise up and reveal her legs.
• In an episode of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, The Green Goblin creates his own version of the Statue of Liberty with his own face and hat instead.
• Statue of Liberty appears in Ben 10 episode Kevin 11.
• The 1942 Alfred Hitchcock movie Saboteur features a climactic confrontation at the statue, ending in a fall from the torch.
• The final joke in the 1940s Warner Bros. cartoon Baseball Bugs depicted the statue coming alive and admonishing a ballplayer who was disputing the umpire's call.
• The statue is seen in various episodes of Futurama. In the very first episode, Fry is shot through a transportation tube that has replaced the statue's torch. The opening sequence shows the statue holding a ray-gun, while other appearances show it with its normal torch.
• In the famous ending of the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, the statue appears decayed and half-buried in sand, serving as painful, undeniable proof to the film's protagonist, Taylor, that he has been on Earth the whole time, and that humanity has destroyed itself in a nuclear war. This scene is parodied in the animated comedy Madagascar, the Mel Brooks film Spaceballs, the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and in two episodes of The Simpsons—one where Homer is an astronaut ("Deep Space Homer"), and another where Troy McClure appears in a Planet of the Apes musical dates Marge's sister Selma to revive his career and quell the rumors about his sexual fetish with fish ("A Fish Called Selma"). It also appears in the beginning of the first Planet of the Apes sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
• Beginning in the late 1970s, Miss Piggy has been featured in over a dozen different interpretations of the Statue of Liberty.
• In the movie "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" The Statue of Liberty is thrown at "Superman". He later replaces it.
• At the end of Men in Black II, Tommy Lee Jones' character uses the statue's torch- really a giant neuralyzer- to erase the memory of an alien spacecraft from the minds of thousands of New Yorkers.
• Much of the advertising for the film The Day After Tomorrow (2004) used an image of the Statue of Liberty nearly buried in snow and ice (much like the University of Wisconsin "Pail and Shovel Party" prank), after a storm surge and catastrophic climate change. This same scene is also shown near the end of the film, including another scene earlier on where nearly half of the statue is seen getting hit by a mega-tsunami. In both scenes, the Statue of Liberty is facing the wrong way - West towards New Jersey, with the New York skyline to its right. Also, the statue looks different in the poster than it does in the movie. Whereas in the poster, the statue is submerged up to its nose in ice, in the movie, it is only submerged up to its thigh. The advertisement image is parodied in the Disaster Movie teaser poster.
• In the episode of The Critic, Jay Sherman, who inherited a billion dollars from his supposed deceased parents, took some of that money to clean up New York. One of his tasks was him personally lowering himself down to the armpit of the Statue of Liberty and spraying her with a large can of deodorant. In a Valentine's Day themed episode, Jay fantasizes about the statue coming to life and telling him she has needs. A cop then points to a sign that tells people not to fantasize about the statue.
• In the 2008 disaster-monster movie "Cloverfield", the Statue is decapitated off-screen and the head is seen to crash in the street, with several stunning scratch and bite marks. The scene was inspired by the poster for Escape From New York (1981), where the severed head of the Statue is shown lying in the streets of New York. The theatrical release poster for Cloverfield showed the headless statue from behind while smoke rises from the city.
• In Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I, after escaping the Roman Army in "The Roman Empire" segment, the gang head to Judea. The Statue of Liberty can be seen in the cityscape.
• The American Dad! episode "A Smith in the Hand" has Stan carving The Statue of Liberty on a wooden plank to kill his urge to masturbate, only to pleasure himself to the picture.
• In the 2008 film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the statue is shown in the shot when Alex's crate drifts into New York Harbor, with the World Trade Center in the background, as seen in the pre-9/11 skyline.
• In Seinfeld, George Costanza works for Kruger Industrial Smoothing. The company is said to have participated in the 1980s restoration of the statue. In another episode, George and Jerry discuss whether the statue was assembled prior to its transportation to America, and George is befuddled about why countries would simply give gifts like the statue to one another.
• In the disaster film, Deep Impact the statue is toppled and her severed head is pushed roughly into the intersections of Wall Street and William Street by the tidal wave of water created from the asteroid impact.
• From 1985 until early 1988, the Statue of Liberty was used for the opener of all the NBC News programs, accompanied by The Mission, a music package composed by John Williams.
• The statue assists the Ghostbusters to defeat the evil Vigo the Carpathian in the comedy, Ghostbusters II. The statue is shown to move like a human being would. An earlier scene in the film, however, showed the mood slime used to animate the statue could cause solid substances to animate (as a bathtub was shown to become flexible).
• A pre-release poster for the 1984 film Supergirl was a painting that showed the film's star flying by the Statue of Liberty, which was depicted holding up its torch with its left hand.
• In the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, there is a fight sequence involving the scaffolding that had been built around the statue during its renovation.
• The statue is one of the first glimpses of the United States seen by Bronson Pinchot's Balki Bartokomous character in the opening credits of the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers.
• The climax of the film X-Men took place within the pedestal, museum, inside the statue, and atop the torch of the statue.
• In the 2006 film The Wild, Samson, Nigel and Bridget have to find the statue, so they can catch up to Ryan (Nigel also "borrows" a toy version of the torch from the zoo shop). The statue is later shown after they reach the harbour.
• In the opening sequence of G.I. Joe: The Movie, the Cobra Organization starts to attack the Statue of Liberty New Year's Eve celebration, but the G.I. Joe Team comes to the rescue and stops them from blowing up the statue.
• A 2006 episode of Doctor Who, "New Earth", features a planet 5 billion years in the future on which humans have settled following the end of the world. The Doctor and Rose visit the city of New New York, the fifteenth city of this name since the original. Incorporated into the city is the statue dwarfed by skyscrapers. It is unrevealed if it is the original which has been rescued from Earth before its destruction, or a copy. As New New York is the fifteenth city to hold the name then it is possible the statue is a copy. The statue is also seen in the 2007 episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks", both based in New York in November 1930.
• In Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning the statue is destroyed by Emperor Pirk's forces as a symbol of the fall of the old world order as the propaganda film narrator proclaims "The time was right for a brave new empire: the P-Fleet was born".
• Simpsons has made a number of humorous references to the statue. Bart Simpson shouts to a boatload of immigrants "Hey, immigrants! Beat it! Country's full!" from the statue in the episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The official aboard the boat tells the group, "OK people, you heard the lady. Back into the hold. We'll try Canada." The immigrants moan and go back below the deck.
• In an episode of The Simpsons, Grandpa Simpson tells the family about when he first arrived at America, stating that he and his mother and father lived in the statue for a while, until they filled it up with trash and were forced to move.
• Another The Simpsons episode shows "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" performing at the Centennial Commemoration of the statue. At one point Homer dedicates a song to a "very special woman" and begins describing the statue, but a concertgoer - believing Homer's listing of the statue's features describes a live gigantic woman - becomes horrified and jumps into the water, to Homer's confusion.
• In the anime series Shinzo, a ruined Statue of Liberty appears in the first episode, however unlike the real statue it is depicted as a solid stone statue.
• The statue frequently appeared in the background of the Disney animated show Gargoyles. It was the setting for the first battle between the gargoyle clan and the main antagonist David Xanatos after the latter was released from prison.
• In the Family Guy episode "I Take Thee Quagmire", Peter Griffin brings Glenn Quagmire the Statue of Liberty's foot as a wedding present because Quagmire has a foot fetish. Later in the episode Adam West sees the foot and believes the statue has been destroyed, parodying the scene with the statue's ruins in Planet of the Apes.
• In the episode "The Edge" in the cartoon series Gargoyles, the aerial fight between the Gargoyles' clan and the 'Metal Clan' takes place around the statue, with one of the two secondary robot Gargoyles crashing into Lady Liberty's book, the other being shot down and exploding on the lawn of Liberty Isle. The leader Robot Gargoyle is then trapped on top of the Statue's head, and (revealed later on as Xanatos in a power-suit) surrenders, flying off.
• In the Season 4 episode "Pain in the Ed" of Ed, Edd n Eddy, a poorly-built replica of the Statue of Liberty is built in the cul-de-sac for a plan Eddy created to cause an "accident" to befall upon Ed's violin (which he plays very poorly). However, this plan is foiled when Edd gives Wilfred (Rolf's pig) a powerful magnet, which he eats.
• In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode Flatbush Koopa, the Mario Bros. find the statue modified with King Koopa's head on it. This happens again in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode Recycled Koopa, and at the end of the episode, the statue, having returned to normal, praises the Mario Bros..
• In the CSI: NY episode Can You Hear Me Know?, blood is present on the crown and visible from long range, giving the impression the statue has been shot in the head. Two security guards were murdered during a systems update where the security system was temporarily down. In reality, the NYPD does not investigate any crimes on Liberty Island, because the agency has no jurisdiction. Liberty Island is exclusive federal jurisdiction and police services are provided on the island by the United States Park Police.
• The statue is frequently seen on School House Rock.
• In the movie Resident Evil: Extinction, the New York-New York version of the statue is seen abandoned in Las Vegas.
• In the French film, "The Triplets of Belleville", the statue is fat and holding a hamburger on a tray instead of a tablet.
• During auditions in Season 5 of American Idol, a young man who hailed from New York was dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. As soon as he sings "Start Spreading the...." (from the song New York, New York), Simon Cowell immediately interrupts and ends the young man's audition.
• In episode 53 of Digimon Adventure, the Statue of Liberty is seen in the background behind some people, as they watch at the sky in support of the Digi-Destined's efforts in stopping Apocalymon in the Digital World. The presence of this statue in the background in this scene highlights the people's strong hope and desire for the Digi-Destined's victory, which would prevent the fulfilment of Apocalymon's apocalyptic desires.
• In the movie Titanic (1997 film), the statue is seen when the RMS Carpathia arrives in New York City.
• In the season nine premiere of Smallville, Clark dives off a simulation of the Statue of Liberty as part of his training.
• In the film Jungle 2 Jungle, as a task given to him by his chief, an Indian boy is told to "bring fire" from the Statue of Liberty. Throughout the movie, he can be seen asking his father (Tim Allen) to take him, but his father. One scene shows him going to the Statue himself and climbing to the top. At the end of the movie, before going home, the boy's father gives him a lighter shaped like the Statue of Liberty (Literally, "Fire from the statue")
• Kimberly-Clark's 2010 TV campaign for Poise adult underwear with Whoopi Goldberg as Liberty
• In the science fiction TV series Fringe, Liberty Island is the headquarters for the Department of Defense in an alternate universe. The statue is depicted in its original copper form despite being set in the present day.
• In Frantic, a souvenir statuette of the Statue of Liberty holds the secret the villains are after, and the final scene occurs at a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Paris along the Seine.
• Replica of Statue of Liberty in Tokyo was set in anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
• In the film The Proposal, the statue is seen in a painting on the wall of Mr. Gilbertson's office in an immigration building.
• The Disney short Clock Cleaners features the statue as a bell ringing clock figure
• In the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington is shown to live in a house with a tall, crooked tower similar to the torch and its holding arm of the statue
• In the 1986 Don Bluth animated film An American Tail, Fievel, the protagonist arrives at Liberty Island via bottle and is taken in by Henri the pigeon, who is overseeing the statue in its construction. The movie ends with Fievel riding on Henri and getting an aerial view of the now completed statue.
• In the 1984 film Splash, Madison is arrested at the Statue of Liberty for public nudity.
• In the film A Troll in Central Park, the statue gets covered in grass, vines, and flowers.
• In the Looney Tunes cartoon "A Bear for Punishment," Pa is dressed up as the Statue of Liberty during his "Father's Day" tribute at the end of the cartoon.
• In Doctor Who series 7, The Angels Take Manhattan the Statue of Libery is shown as a Weeping Angel. It comes to life at night and terrorizes the inmates (or residents) of the Hotel Western Quay, preventing them from leaving. It makes large stomping noises as it moves.
• In the 2005 animated comedy movie Madagascar a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty is built on the shore of the island country, as a means of a beacon to signal passing ships to help rescue the animals that are stranded there. Only to be ignited and burned completely in a failed attempt.