Summary
Gary Larson, creator ofThe Far Side,often took readers to the cinema, as one of the cartoon’s most memorable running gags featured the movie theater as a setting, in which Larson introduced a variety of unconventional, unreal films. With his theater gags, the artist delivered some of his strangest – as well as his most hilarious – punchlines.
The movie theater was often a place whereThe Far Side’santhropomorphic animals, and at times,even its living inanimate objects, took center stage, as their warped reflection of human society was regularly best embodied in the movies they were shown to attend.
From ketchup bottles meditating on cinematic violence, the the Greek gods themselves dealing with the annoyances of modern multiplexes, Gary Larson’s unique brand of humor thrived in the setting. Deployed with distinct creative dexterity, this recurring bit exemplifies the greatest strengths ofThe Far Side’smemorable run.
The Far Sideran from the very end of 1979 through the final days of 1994. This list takes its entries from the latter half of the comic’s run in publication, from between the years 1993 and 1988, with the selections arranged in reverse chronological order.
10 Hilarious Far Side Comics About Musicians (From the 1980s)
Gary Larson, the creator of The Far Side, was a musician as well as a cartoonist, something that deeply influenced the comics over the years.
10Death’s Trip To The Movies Turns Into An Intimate Betrayal
First Published: July 16, 2025
Jack Kevorkian came to national attention in the late 1980s for helping terminally ill patients end their lives, against state regulations on the ethically difficult issue. Shortly before this panel was published in 1993, Kevorkian’s medical license was suspended, once again thrusting him into the media spotlight. Six years after this cartoon – and four years after Gary Larson retired from drawingThe Far Side– Dr. Kevorkian became even more of a household name when he was tried and convicted for assisting in the deaths of several patients.
Death was no stranger toThe Far Side, both in the sense that many of the comic’s characters met gruesome, unexpected fates, and of appearances by the Grim Reaper himself. This panel is an example of the latter, asthe Reaper settles into a movie theater – only to recognize his girlfriend there with the infamous “Dr. Death” Jack Kevorkian.
Often, the humor ofThe Far Side’smovie theater panels derived from what was on screen. In this case, however, Gary Larson uses the theater as a setting for a personal drama; in typical hilarious Larsonian fashion, naturally, the main character is Death himself, and his rival in love is America’s most vocal advocate for medically assisted euthanasia for the terminally ill.
9Gary Larson Predicted The Loss Of The Average Moviegoer’s Attention Span
First Published: July 15, 2025
In thisFar Sidecartoon,a theater full of hummingbirds watches sped-up footage of humans on the street, which the caption amusingly describes as “nature films.“This punchline is without a doubt enough to warrant a chuckle – but beyond that, what makes it especially interesting is the way artist Gary Larson seemingly foreshadowed the evolution of American cinema.
Contemporary films, especially big budget ordeals, are often criticized for the overly rapid pace of their editing – which is, in part, a reflection of the decreased attention span of audiences. While probingFar Sidepanelsfor deeper meaning is always a fraught prospect, it is worth citing Larson’s equation of movie audience with hummingbirds, even if it was an unconscious connection.
8The Gods Must Be Frustrated, As They Deal With A Perennial Theater Problem
First Published: August 09, 2025
If there is one nearly-universal predicament that befalls most movie attendees and concert-goers at one time in their lives, it is having someone significantly taller take the spot right in front of them. In thisFar Side, Gary Larson brilliantly captures the essence of this annoyance by casting his theatergoers as conventional depicts of Greek deities –with a Zeus-like figure muttering “how much you want to bet he sits right in front of me?” as Atlas lugs in the entire Earth on his back.
The implication of having to watch a movie around the huge globe on Atlas' back elevates the joke here to an Olympian degree. While the humor ofThe Far Sidewas often cited as being"confusing, obtuse, esoteric, and strange,“this panel is unambiguous, and its punchline is straightforward, to the great benefit of the joke.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
7Gary Larson Was An Expert At Inverting & Subverting Audiences' Expectations
First Published: July 22, 2025
In thisFar Sidemovie theater panel,a crowd of dogs watches a preview for a movie called “The Big Itch,” with the image on screen depicting a massive flea violently beating up several helpless canines, accompanied by the tagline: “Don’t even think of scratching!”
The joke here rests on the fact that the film being advertised inverts the usual dog-flea relationship; it can be inferred to be a horror film, aFar Sidetwist on real-life creature features. In a way, this can be said to reflectone of Gary Larson’s greatest comedic skills: his ability to flip readers' expectations on their heads. Larson’s humor was frequently rooted in subversion of familiar elements, which he framed in new – and routinely, bizarre – contexts.
6The Far Side Twists A Lighthearted Comedy Into A Grim Documentary
First Published: June 05, 2025
A subset of TheFar Side’smovie theater panels that warrant a mention were those that didn’t take place within the theater, but rather outside. Gary Larson’s “marquee” jokes offered another opportunity for him to gently skewer the contemporary pop culture of the time. In this case,Larson references the 1989 filmHoney I Shrunk the Kids– except he substitutes the notoriously cannibalistic praying mantises for humans, and the word “ate” for “shrunk.”
With just a few tweaks, the lighthearted family comedy becomes a dark reflection of the state of nature at its most unforgiving. As far asThe Far Side’sfairly regular references to movieswent, “Honey I Ate The Kids” stands out in particular because of the visceral context that adds a disturbing dimension to an otherwise silly gag.
5Gary Larson’s Inscrutable Commentary On Movie Violence
First Published: June 12, 2025
This is perhaps one of the funniestFar Sidemovie theater cartoons, as it absurdlydepicts an animate ketchup bottle whispering to a much smaller bottle: “Don’t worry Jimmy – they’re just actors – and that’s not real ketchup.“While no evident position on the exposure of young audience members to cinematic violence can be extracted from thisFar Sidecartoon and ascribed to Gary Larson, the artist does an expert job of capturing the essence of the debate itself.
Further, he does this while delivering a comic as likely to have the reader burst out laughingas to leave them puzzled, asking “What-the?“Of course, by making the characters ketchup bottles, he is able to play with the bright red color of blood, while delivering a joke that most people would be hard-pressed tofind offensive in its own right.
This Recurring Far Side Joke Is the Perfect Metaphor For Gary Larson’s Humor
Though it didn’t appear with the frequency of the comic’s infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
4Gary Larson Explores The Disney Classics That Never Were
First Published: July 06, 2025
Though best known for its single-panel format,Gary Larson did skillfully break this rule a number of times,including this cartoon featuring four of what the caption describes as “nature films that Disney test marketed but never released.”
Included are variations on the same joke, including “Debbie the 17-year Cicada (Part 1)” and “101 No-see-ums,” evidently a film about entirely white dogs set against a white backdrop, in a quizzical riff on101 Dalmations. In a way, it is almost more amusing to think about Gary Larson having more idea for this bit than he could fit on the page, than it is to sit with these made up rejected Disney films themselves.
3Far Side’s Earlier Examination Of Height Disparities In Movie Theaters
First Published: July 06, 2025
One of the strengths ofThe Far Sidewas Gary Larson’s ability to mine the same creative depths and come up with a fresh variation on a familiar idea. It is clear that he found the unfortunate fate of a smaller person who winds up sitting behind a taller individual in a movie theater; here,he depicts three exaggeratedly tall men walking down the aisle toward open front row seats.While this might be an inconvenience for much of the audience,it is particularly egregious for the threesmall nerdy boys sitting in the row directly behindthem.
Like manyFar Sidepanels, this one ran without a caption – relying on readers to immediately find the humor in the disconnect between the two sets of characters with radically different heights forced to co-exist in the theater.
2On The Far Side, One Person’s Trash Is Another’s Paradise
First Published: June 19, 2025
In thisFar Sidemovie theater panel,flies gather in a theater to watch a “fly travelogue” entitled “Dumps of the World,” evidently depicting various particularly filthy locales around the globe– which, when considering the short lifespan of houseflies, suggests that most of the moviegoers here will never actually go on an international vacation.
What makes this panel particularly funny is the way the landfill depicted on screen is shown to occupy an otherwise idyllic tropical landscape, with a palm tree hanging over stark blue water at dusk. This contrast accentuates the silliness of the punchline, while also slyly building onGary Larson’s consistent naturalist themes throughoutThe Far Side, by suggesting that the human idea of an idyllic vacation spot will in time give way to the fly’s perception of beauty, as humanity runs its precious locales with pollution.
1Scientists Have A Different Standard For Action & Adventure
First Published: August 16, 2025
Gary Larson had a science background himself, prior to his career as a cartoonist, and heharbored a deep fascination with all things scientific, which frequently found expression inThe Far Side. The characters in this panel, therefore, can be looked at as proxies for the author; asa scientist on screen lowers a specimen into a jar, a member of the audience giddily exclaims: “Oh! Here’s my favorite part!”
While a real-life film like “Bring ‘Em Back Preserved,” might only cater to a niche audience, its fans would certainly react with similar enthusiasm to that depicted here. Of course, the deeper layer of the joke here is hinted at by the title, which is meant to connote a Western film, with the capturing of the specimen being the scientific audiences’ equivalent of a shootout.
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
