Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Difference between revisions

{{trope|wppage=Bigfoot}}

{{quote|'''Professor Farnsworth''': Bunk! Bunk, I say! Bring me a bag full of Bigfoot's droppings or shut up!<br />

'''Ranger Park''': I have [[Bring My Brown Pants|the droppings of someone who ''saw'' Bigfoot]].<br />

'''Professor Farnsworth''': Shut up!|''[[Futurama]]''}}

Tall hairy humanoids who maintain a furtive existence in various remote corners of the world. "Bigfoot" and "Sasquatch" are different names for essentially the same entity, whose (ahem)stomping grounds [[Incredibly Lame Pun|stomping grounds(ahem)]] are mostly in the [[The Other Rainforest|northwestern corner]] of the United States and the southwestern corner of Canada. The "Yeti" or "Abominable Snowman" is a variety found high in the [[ShamgriShangri La|Himalayan Mountains]], commonly depicted (whether due to associations with familiar Arctic animals like the polar bear, or just the "snowman" association) with white fur in fiction, although the local legends described it with red to brown hair. Other lesser known varieties turn up in world-wide folklore and history under an assortment of names, such as the "Skunk Ape" of the swamps of the ''[[Deep South|southeastern]]'' United States.

Common characteristics are said to include an extreme [[Gentle Giant|shyness towards humans]], emitting horrible odors and unearthly noises, and of course scattering large footprints about as they frolic in out-of-focus areas. Most scientific authorities regard these creatures as either [[Urban Legends|entirely imaginary]] or the fabrications of human pranksters, but like [[Stock Ness Monster|lake monsters]] and the [[Chupacabra]] and ''unlike'' "out-and-out" fictional species such as the [[Wendigo]] or [[The Jersey Devil]], BS&Ythis havefurry trifecta has devout believers in their existence. Often speculated to be akin to large, herbivorous hominids such as [[wikipedia:Bigfoot#Gigantopithecus|Gigantopithecus]]. More information on Bigfoot can be found at the [[wikipedia:Bigfoot|Other Wiki]].

{{quote| "Listen to the Yeti! Kellog's Pop-Tarts! You can freeze 'em, then eat 'em!"}}

* Also the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vz2nxdM0qc Tab Clear ad], in which the Sasquatch is revealed to be [[World War OneI|Kaiser Wilhelm II]], fallen from his zeppelin into the mud of Oregon. Suddenly everything is clear...

* A brand of iced coffee used Bigfoot for advertisements on TV and radio. One such ad mentioned that most witnesses saw Bigfoot between the hours of midnight to 3 am -- eitheram—either because Bigfoot was raiding store fridges at night looking for iced coffee, or because most of the witnesses were drunk.

* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfz3aCaGKo Kokanee]'' beer commercials used to feature the sasquatch as a mascot.

* In ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma One Half]]'' the character of Pantyhose Tarou fell into the magic Spring of the "Drowned Yeti, Riding a Bull and Carrying a Crane and an Eel" (don't ask us how ''that'' happened). It resulted in his transformation essentially being a shaggy [[A Load of Bull|Minotaur]] with an eel for a tail and crane wings. Later, he splashed water from the Spring of Drowned Octopus (again, don't ask us!) across his back and gained [[Combat Tentacles]].

== [[ComicsComic Books]] ==

** Originally, he was a scientist who got hit by gamma radiation, just like the [[Incredible Hulk]], but got orange fur instead of green skin. A [[Doing inIn the Scientist|later retcon]] said he had inadvertently opened a gateway to the Realm of Great Beasts, giving him the power of a (fictional) First Nations demon.

== [[FanficFan Works]] ==

* The Yeti is one of the ''[[Seven7 Faces of Dr. Lao]]''; among his jobs are pounding in circus-tent pegs and playing a steam organ.

* Several movies made for the [[Sci Fi ChannelSyfy]] center around Sasquatches, usually turning the creature into a bloodthirsty killer.

** Of note is ''Abominable'', a.k.a. ''[[Rear Window]]'' with [[Recycled in Space|ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN]]!

{{quote| '''Max:''' Dad, IT'S BIGFOOT!!!<br />

* ''[[Clawed: theThe Legend of Sasquatch]]'' features a [[Noble Demon]] sasquatchSasquatch.

* ''[[Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff|Lamb]]'' features a Yeti who is the [[Last of His Kind]].

** In the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'', our heroes encounter a yeti. It's a kind of [[All Trolls Are Different|troll]], with thick fur. Since trolls are made of rock, this is hinted to be the insulating material stone-wool. Yetis are hunted for their huge feet and hands, and as a result, they evolved the ability to save their progress to load it should they die, which the met yeti demonstrates by being beheaded. {{spoiler|Lu-Tze successfully uses the ability later in the book.}} To date, they went extinct thrice.

** Yetis also appear in ''[[Discworld/Moving Pictures|Moving Pictures]]'', where they lie down in the snow (camouflaged by their fur) and jump out at travellers. If the ones that encounter the thousand elephants making their way across the mountains have the [[Reset Button]] ability, it doesn't get mentioned. Maybe they were overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the scene.

* ''[[The Dresden Files|]]'': Harry Dresden]] encounters Yeti-like creatures in ''Proven Guilty'' after storming Arctis Tor.

* ''The Aquiliad'' by S.P. Somtow is a '''''wacky''''' [[Alternate History]] in which [[The Roman Empire]] has [[Schizo-Tech|developed steamships]] and is now exploring and settling Terra Nova (i.e., North America). Where the narrator finds the Sasquatii, or, as the scholars put it in proper Greek, the Megapodes -- whoMegapodes—who greet the Romans with, "Shalom." Yes, the Sasquatii are descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, kidnapped and mutated by a [[Time Travel|Time Traveling]]ing [[Mad Scientist]] ... and it goes on to get even weirder.

* The Icemen of the ''[[Codex Alera]]'' are not Yetis, but are largely analogous to them, being furry, bulky, apelike humanoids who live in the far north and all. They're not normally aggressive, but they ''are'' powerfully empathic- picking up on humans' initial wariness of them and transmitting it back magnified ended up resulting in centuries of literally meaningless war between the two races {{spoiler|until Isana, herself [[The Empath]], managed to get things ironed out}}.

* One of the stories in ''[[Haunted 2005(Palahniuk novel)|Haunted]]'', by [[Chuck Palahniuk]], is titled "Missing Link" and postulates that these creatures are actually humans with an odd genetic quirk causing were-creature-style transformation. The teller of this story belongs to a fictitious Native American tribe in which this trait is allegedly quite common, including a supposed case in the teller's own family.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Eerie, Indiana]]'': Marshall Teller often spots Bigfoot rooting around in his trash.

* In perhaps the ultimate aversion of this trope, ''[[The X-Files]]'' -- a—a show which incorporated everything from human-alien hybrids to demonic possession to half-human half-tapeworms, ''and was filmed for half its run in Vancouver'' -- ''never once'' did an episode on Bigfoot.

* In ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'', there is a tribe of female yeti that live in the woods in England. The episode's plotline is just a [[Distaff Counterpart]] version of the original yeti myth.

* Bigfoot and other North American fuzzy walkers appear in several episodes of ''[[Lost Tapes]]''.

* [[Tenacious D]]'s "Sasquatch."

== [[SportsRecorded and Stand Up Comedy]] ==

* Some versions of the ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' Monster Manual include Yeti as potential encounters.

* ''[[Deadlands]]'' uses both Sasquatches ''and'' Skunk Apes. The former {{spoiler|are one of the few non-[[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil|evil]] supernatural entities in the setting}}, while the latter {{spoiler|are more malicious. This hasn't stopped one of them from developing a taste for cigars rolled from Cuban tobacco, though.}}

* Sasquatches appear in ''[[Rifts]] Canada'', as a peaceful native race that prefers to live in harmony with nature. Some of them journey into the world of men (and thus, like a great majority of species' in the game world, are available as Player Characters). There is also a magical Spirit Sasquatch, and the [[Wendigo]], which [[Our Monsters Are Different|in this case]] is a demonic Sasquatch-like monster.

* ''[[Darkstalkers]]'' features a Sasquatch.

** More like it features ''Sasquatch'', a Bigfoot that looks and acts more like a Yeti.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' has Umaro, a Yeti who can be used as an ''airship pilot''.

* It is possible to play as Bigfoot in ''[[Tony HawksHawk's Under GroundUnderground]] 2''.

* ''[[Ski FreeSkiFree]]'' is a Windows 3.1 game which inevitably sends an extremely fast man-eating Yeti after you.

* ''[[Spelunky]]'' features [[Demonic Spider|a yeti which can chain-throw you to death easily]]. [[Crack Pairing|Someone made fanart pairing this yeti]] and the ''[[Ski FreeSkiFree]]'' yeti.

* A pair of peaceful Yeti are characters in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]''.

* ''[[Aztec Wars]]'' has yetis as one of the Chinese military units. They're sluggish, giant, yellow monkeys with clubs.

* Mr. Yin from [[Stubble Trouble]] is a skunk ape who owns a [http://rennon-the-shaved.deviantart.com/art/Stubble-Trouble-207-257321348 bowling alley.]

* ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' TOS episode "Monster in the Monastery". A group of Yeti threatening a small village turn out to be enemy agents in costumes. At the end of the episode all of the agents are found dead, killed by a real Yeti.

** ''[[Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures|Jonny Quest the Real Adventures]]'' had Yeti who turned out to be Neanderthals in a Monastery (a knowing throwback to the original). It also featured Bigfoot which were revealed to be aliens in disguise (they couldn't survive in Earth's polluted atmosphere otherwise).

* In a Christmas episode of ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'' Jake and his friends try to get a baby Sasquatch back to his family before various enemies find it first.

* Classic ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' shorts would sometimes star the Abominable Snowman, a hulking furry giant who would "adopt" fuzzy animals like [[Bugs Bunny]] and literally smother them with adoration. He would always call his new pet "[[And Call Him George|George]]." (This is a [[Shout-Out]] to the origin of the character: Lon Chaney Jr.'s portrayal of Lennie in ''[[Of Mice and Men]]''.)

* ''[[Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legend]]'' is a show which posits that most of the monsters of human myth are actually different species of aliens living in the hidden corners of the Earth. The Yeti are portrayed as one of the more benevolent groups. Their leader is named Tiyet.

* Nickelodeon's ''[[Ka BlamKaBlam!|Ka Blam]]!'' has Mr. B. Foot, a stage hand who just happens to be a sasquatch. He spends most of his time lounging around on the job and beating up [[Butt Monkey|Henry]]. Although he'll [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|never hurt June.]]

* Although no actual sasquatch is seen on ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and& Mandy]]'', both Billy and Hoss Delgado are mistaken for one when they get covered with super-hair-growth potion, and Billy's mother implies that she's had an affair with one.

* The National Exaggerator from ''[[A Pup Named Scooby -Doo]]'' apparently kept Bigfoot, as well as his cousin Bighands, on staff!

* When Peter drives into the TV satellite dish on ''[[Family Guy]]'', he tells the angry mob [[Look Behind You!]] because he saw Bigfoot. Bigfoot then explains this is about Peter, not himself.

* Some apes, such as gorillas, were known to Europeans only as legends of "hairy wild men" until "properly" discovered.

** Interestingly, the word "gorilla" first time appears in the writings of Carthaginian explorer Hanno, in an area that doesn't seem to have ever had any great apes. Some historians believe that Hanno and his men mistakenly [[Squick|killed and skinned some pygmies]] they thought to match the description.

** It is speculated that ancient humans may have discovered or encountered such remains, just like the ancient Greeks misinterpreted elephant skulls for Cyclops. (Northern European [[OurAll Trolls Are All Different|Troll]] legends may be based on similar prehistoric encounters, which didn't end well for the [[All Cavemen Were Neanderthals|Neanderthals]]).

[[Category:Native American Mythology{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:BigfootMyth, SasquatchLegend Andand YetiFolklore]]

[[Category:Bigfoot,Native Sasquatch,American and YetiMythology]]