5 Brilliant Parodies of the Game of Thrones Opening...

It’s been a fortnight since the Season Four finale of Game of Thrones. Heads were crushed, hearts were broken and incest, sex and violence was again on the agenda amongst the action this season. But the opening credits has become something iconic – even Today at Wimbledon seems to owe a debt to the stylish opener. Each week, with baited breath, we wait to see the if a new location has been added (Braavos and Meereen both new this year) and then react accordingly when it doesn’t appear in the episode.

But the change in design and excitement in the opening credits alone has spread on the world wide web, as accomplished graphic artists create their own parodies of the titles. Here are five that stand out…

5. South Park  - Not as complicated perhaps, and integral to the “Song of Ass and Fire” and “Titties and Dragon” episodes, Matt Stone and Trey Parker re-imagine the lyric: “Soft wieners, nice and soft, non-erect wieners!”… I’m sure George R.R. Martin would be proud.

4. The Simpsons - this was inevitable. Indeed, The Simpsons have parodied everything from Breaking Bad to The Sopranos. Surely Game of Thrones was going to get Simpsonified sooner or later. As Springfield Gorge replaces The Wall, it only seemed inevitable that Mr Burns became “Burns Landing”…




3. Super Mario World - Almost on another level completely, Game of Thrones is now pixellated and broken into an 8-bit music track. The slow rise of “Yoshi’s Island” seems to fit perfectly as the buildings can often rise in the game play itself. The close-up’s of pixellated features only add to it’s charm. But the age-old battles of Mario VS throwing-hammer-Goomba only brings back my own broken-hearted memories. Too much time on this game in my youth…



2. Disney - more an impressive mash-up of Disney movies rather than a new-video in its entirety, it does showcase how diverse the Disney canon is. Takes about 20-seconds to really hot up, but it then becomes perfectly-placed as the towers and trees from Tangled to Sleeping Beauty hold a medieval charm that links it directly to Game of Thrones. Trains in A Nightmare Before Christmasand the Arabian night of Aladdin then remind you of the wooden-elevator of The Wall and the Dothraki Lands. Disney as a universe has never been so beautiful…



1. The Legend of Zelda – but this is what truly takes the crown. Not only does the fantasy/knife-wielding protagonist of Link fit so well (Indeed, the actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who plays Jojen could surely play the perfect Link…), but the additional 3D-rise of buildings, shining tri-force and beeps straight from the games all manage to make this the best parody of Game of Thrones. Kokiri Forest, Death Mountain and, of course, Hyrule Castle, all feature – only begging the question: When will we see the live-action Legend of Zelda?


BONUS: Jimmy Fallon and Hoot Suite - Jimmy Fallon, of course, is excellent and worth a watch if only because he builds a whole story around his parody. HootSuite, on the other hand, is obviously making an advert – but what quality! Clearly the “world” of social networks makes a great universe to play within… and it’s called The Internet.





This post was originally written for Flickering Myth on 24th June 2014