“Rick and Morty” repurposes tropes from sci-fi stories, fantasies, and all manner of adventures. Creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have an eye for what’s familiar to their audience, and the irreverence to dismantle those familiarities. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need help. Here’s a list of both famous and lesser-known stories that need to, in the words of Rick Sanchez, get schwifty.
7. “Kaleidoscope” by Ray Bradbury
via Short Story Log
Bradbury’s short story (appearing in the 1951 collection “The Illustrated Man”) follows a free-floating astronaut whose vessel’s been decimated. With no hope of rescue, the story chronicles the astronauts final existential despair. Fun, right?
Why it needs to get schwifty:
“Rick and Morty” knows all about existential despair. I mean, Jerry.
6. “We Love Deena” by Alice Sola Kim
via Strange Horizons
You can read this speculative fiction short here. The lead character here can inhabit any person, and she uses this ability to, you know, stalk her ex.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
Roiland and Harmon seem to be hung up on body displacement (e.g., Pickle Rick, Tiny Rick, etc.), and Kim has managed to do something totally unique with the concept. In “We Love Deena,” body displacement isn’t the star of the show, just a tool the main character uses to get what she wants…or maybe doesn’t get what she wants. Read the story to find out!
5. “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll
via Medium
Carroll’s “Alice” books may be the archetype of trippy literature (hereafter trip-lit). Once down the rabbit hole, all that’s up is down, all that’s coffee is tea, and all that’s sense is nonsense.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
As irreverent as “Rick and Morty” is, the rules of each episode are never in question. Maybe Rick can spawn universes within universes for infinity, but the audience is never mystified by his ability to do so. There are rules. For Carroll, though, there really aren’t. Imagine “Rick and Morty” without rules.
Or maybe don’t. / via GIPHY
4. “Enemy Mine” by Barry B. Longyear
via Amazon
When two soldiers from feuding factions get stuck on a dangerous planet together, they have to overcome their differences for survival.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
Rick and Morty have made a bunch of enemies over the past couple of seasons. It’d be interesting to see one return, and have to live in seclusion with one of our leads. Perhaps a Krombopulous Michael from the multiverse will return to avenge the Gromflomite assassin.
3. “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Le Guin
via Amazon
In Le Guin’s sci-fi classic, androgyny takes center stage. This book becomes a rumination on the effects that gender and sexuality have on societal institutions. When nobody has a fixed sex, what does society look like? Le Guin has some thoughts.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
It would be fascinating to see Roiland and Harmon explore this idea. It’s a big topic at the moment, and the always-playful philosophy of “Rick and Morty” would be interesting to say the least.
2. “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne
via LRM
Captain Nemo’s aquatic voyage has captured imaginations for over a century. A variety of underwater locales are explored, all through the lens of the bizarre lifestyle led by those in the Nautilus.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
We’ve seen Rick everywhere from space, to foreign planets, to wacky spaceships, and even inside human bodies. But what about discovering the mysteries of the deep blue sea? Who knows what Roiland and Harmon will bring us from the abyss…
1. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
via Amazon
In a futuristic dystopian version of the U.S., tributes from across the dozen districts must battle to the death. Romances bloom, feuds are born, and the ravenous Capitol audience is satiated.
Why it needs to get schwifty:
Seeing Rick and Morty stripped of their gadgets, forced to make the most of very little would be supremely enticing. Plus, we might get to see what Rick would do with a bow and arrow. Could he beat Katniss Everdeen?
Feature image courtesy of Den of Geek.