Dracula in popular culture

Dracula in popular culture
Dracula is one of the most famous characters in popular culture. He has been portrayed by more actors in more visual media adaptations of the novel than any other horror character. Actors who have played him include Max Schreck (although his incarnation was given a different name and identity due to copyright issues at the time), Béla Lugosi, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Francis Lederer, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Louis Jourdan, Frank Langella, Klaus Kinski, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, George Hamilton, Keith-Lee Castle, Gerard Butler, Duncan Regehr, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Billington, Thomas Kretschmann, Dominic Purcell, Luke Evans and Lon Chaney Jr. In 2003, Count Dracula, as portrayed by Lugosi in the 1931 film, was named as the 33rd greatest movie villain by the AFI.

Largely because of Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula, it also led to vampires, or at least Dracula-inspired characters, being depicted as speaking with thick Slavic accents, although in the original novel Dracula spoke perfect English specifically to avoid being dismissed as another foreigner regarding his agenda. This would later influence the Castlevania version of the character, where he spoke perfect English (with the exception of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin).

Gary Oldman's characterization of Dracula is notable as being the first version to depict his motives for becoming evil due the premature death of his wife, which would impact later incarnations of the character in various ways, including the Castlevania version (such as the reminiscence in the fates of Dracula's two former wives, Elisabetha and Lisa).

The character is closely associated with the western cultural archetype of the vampire and remains a popular Halloween costume.

Other references to Count Dracula in diverse popular culture media include:


 * Count Dracula is also a very frequent character who appears in comics, graphic novels and all diverse media related to them, where he generally plays an antagonistic role. In comic book companies such as Marvel and DC, Dracula has appeared in a wide variety of incarnations, with each usually pertaining to a different universe (or "Earth)". His appearances in this medium are not restricted to these two companies, though, and he also frequently appears in publications from other companies (including independent ones), where his existence and actions can be fueled by very distinct motivations.


 * The 1948 horror comedy film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein has Dracula in a major role, where Dracula is a wax statue. Remains of the original monster contained in some packages are set to be delivered to the McDougal's House of Horrors by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's characters, only for Dracula to be prematurely revived and, alongside the Wolf Man and Frankenstein, proceed to chase them around the museum. Béla Lugosi reprises the role of Dracula in this film. (1948)


 * Count Dracula appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift. This version is shown to be wearing a monocle. Count Dracula is among the monsters that Baron Boris von Frankenstein invites to the Isle of Evil in order to show off the secret of total destruction and announce his retirement from the Worldwide Organization of Monsters. (1967)


 * Count Dracula was referenced numerous times on cartoons by former animation studio Hanna-Barbera, mainly in classic franchises such as Scooby-Doo (in which at least seven different incarnations of him have appeared, including impostors taking his identity) and The Flintstones, with some of their numerous spinoffs being themed after classic horror films and having Dracula-like monsters as regular or recurrent characters.
 * Of note is a particular short lived series called Drak Pack (1980), which featured modern day versions of classic horror film monsters (Frankenstein's monster, wolf man, mummy, hunchback, etc.). The three teenage protagonists played the role of heroes and could transform from human to monster form and obtain superpowers this way. Their head in command was none other than Count Dracula himself, known in the show by the nickname of "Big D", who was the great-great-uncle of the group's vampire leader, Drak Jr. (1969)


 * Count Chocula, the mascot of the eponymous chocolate-flavored cereal brand, is a cartoon version of Count Dracula, with the latter's unquenchable thirst for blood being euphemized as an insatiable desire for said cereal. (1971)


 * In Sesame Street, there is a character called Count von Count who was based on Béla Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula and Jack Davis's design for Dracula from Mad Monster Party? (1972)


 * Count Dracula appears in Mad Mad Mad Monsters (a "prequel of sorts" to Mad Monster Party?), voiced again by Allen Swift. He and his son are invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's Monster and its mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel. (1972)


 * Dracula is the primary antagonist of the Castlevania video game series and the main protagonist of the Lords of Shadow reboot series. (1986)


 * While not a true appearance of Dracula, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! had its main antagonist, King Koopa (Bowser), assume the identity of "Count Koopula", an obvious reference to Dracula, in the animated episode of the same name. While sucking tomato juice instead of blood, he nonetheless retains the traditional vampire weaknesses against sunlight and garlic, and was also shown to turn Koopas into were-turtles at will. He abducted Princess Toadstool in the episode to vampirize her, although he ultimately was forced to escape by turning into a bat after being exposed to sunlight, as well as garlic breath by the Mario Bros.
 * In the game Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the main antagonist Antasma had various traits taken from Count Dracula, such as transforming into a bat, having vampiric traits, and speaking with a Slavic accent a'la the Bela Lugosi version. In addition, the Russian-language version of the game even partly names him after Dracula with the name "Mrakula".
 * In the game Super Paper Mario, the main antagonist Count Bleck has some similarities to Dracula. Aside from both holding the title of Count, Bleck's motive for villainy was the loss of his love Timpiani, which was similar to the Francis Ford Coppola adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula regarding the titular antagonist's motive for becoming a vampire. On a similar note, Count Bleck's attire bears a passing similarity to the attire worn by Gary Oldman's depiction of Dracula when appearing young. (1989)


 * Count Burns, the main antagonist of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror mini-episode "Bart Simpson's Dracula", is an obvious spoof on the storyline and character. At one point, he ends up appearing as smoke before transforming to greet his guests, and also briefly transforms from a bat just before vampirizing Bart. Most of Count Burns's design was based on the Gary Oldman version, including the twin-bun hairstyle and red dress cloak. He was ultimately killed with a stake through the heart, although not before firing Homer from his job as revenge.
 * He also appears in the Game Boy Color adaptation, where he served a similar role of antagonist. Also, like in the episode, he was dispatched by Homer, although in the game he was vanquished by being forcibly exposed to sunlight.
 * Count Dracula, or at least a similar vampire, also occasionally appears in the main episodes as a member of the Springfield Republican Party, although he's implied to not be very popular among them due to an undisclosed incident involving pizza orders. He also appears in some openings for the Treehouse of Horror specials. His design is primarily based on the Béla Lugosi version, although his debut had him resembling Count Orlok more. (1993)


 * Dracula, going by an inversion of his name, "Alucard", serves as the main character of the manga and anime series Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate, where he serves Integra Hellsing, Abraham's great-granddaughter, as an anti-vampire warrior devoted to the British Crown. (1997)


 * A reworked version of the character was used in the film Dracula 2000, where he was originally Judas Iscariot, the man infamous for betraying Jesus Christ to death on the cross for 30 pieces of silver. His suicide by hanging had been thwarted by God and resulted in him being transformed into a vampire. Aside from Dracula, he also went by various other identities, including Gilles de Rais. Owing to its ties to his punishment, silver acts as his one weakness. (2000)


 * Although not Dracula himself, the minor antagonist of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, NOS-4-A2, was directly based on him and even managed to turn one of the minor characters into a wirewolf (based on werewolves and Dracula's ties to them) in his debut episode, eventually forcing Buzz Lightyear's group to blow up the moon to turn the character back to normal, although NOS-4-A2 ultimately survived this due to his retrieving a piece of the moon. He was eventually killed by being impaled by a metal rod, a reference to how vampires are often killed via a stake. In addition, his name is a reference to the German word for vampire, "Nosferatu", and also a silent film involving Count Orlok. (2000)


 * Count Batula, a vampiric gray squirrel, was one of the antagonists for the Nintendo 64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day. His overall design and mannerisms were derived from the Gary Oldman version. He welcomes Conker into his abode with the intention of killing him and draining his blood, although he was forced to change his mind and turn Conker into a bat instead after villagers arrived at his home with the intent of killing him. He then had Conker bring villagers to him, or rather, a meat grinder right below him so he could drink their blood. Largely because of this, Conker does not directly fight him. Ironically, this ultimately proved to be Batula's undoing, as it resulted in him gaining a significant amount of weight and causing the beam he was hanging from to break, having him fall into his own meat grinder. Just before the boss fight, Batula also claims that Conker was his descendant and also alludes to a forefather who fought in a Crusade that was one of the few instances where the Squirrels and Panthers had an alliance. Aside from Batula, a gravestone lists Count Conkula, although it's left ambiguous as to whether they're meant to be the same character or not. His speech also has him frequently using the term "pray", which in context was an archaic form of the word "please". (2001)


 * Dracula acts as the main antagonist in the 2004 film Van Helsing. He was originally the son of Anna Valerious's ancestor, who sold his soul to Satan, which saved him from murder via the "left hand of God", although at the cost of becoming a vampire. He is weak to werewolf venom, with his being ultimately slain by Van Helsing after narrowly losing his werewolf form due to the moon being dimmed. (2004)


 * The Béla Lugosi version of Dracula was briefly referenced by Para-Medic in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater if the player survives after being tortured by the main antagonist, Colonel Volgin. Incidentally, this leads to a nightmare being experienced by the main character, Naked Snake (who had previously admitted that he gets nightmares for stuff relating to vampires).
 * Dracula is also referenced by Para-Medic when she referenced Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein in another save opportunity, causing Snake to dryly quip that sometimes tragedy can be funny. Oddly, he has no reaction to Para-Medic referencing him despite his fear of vampires. Also, her description erroneously claims they were to unknowingly deliver packages containing the Wolfman and Frankenstein, with Dracula being the implied recipient, when in actuality, Dracula was the one who was to be delivered alongside Frankenstein, and the Wolfman was the actual intended recipient. (2004)


 * Dracula acts as the main antagonist of the DC Comics film The Batman vs. Dracula, where he attempts to turn Gotham City into a city for vampires by infecting the populace. He also is noticeably demonstrated to be immune to the vaccination due to being the original vampire, as well as "evil incarnate". He also tries to resurrect his wife Carmilla via Vicky Vale. Similar to Hellsing, he also uses "Alucard" as an alias. He is ultimately destroyed by being exposed to sunlight.
 * Dracula has a similar role in the Elseworlds story Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, although he ultimately succeeds in causing Batman to become a vampire before his death. (2005)


 * Dracula appears as the lead character of Dracula the Un-dead, a novel by Stoker's great-grand nephew, Dacre, presented as a sequel to the original. (2009)


 * Count Dracula is the main character of the Hotel Transylvania franchise, voiced by Adam Sandler. (2012)


 * Although not an appearance of Dracula himself, the antagonistic character Alcina Dimitrescu from the upcoming Resident Evil Village has several traits taken partly from the character, such as her implied Romanian nationality, being exceptionally long lived (one of the collectable lore in the Maiden demo indicates she was active since 1958, while the main game proper takes place in the 2020s), having three "daughters" who were heavily implied to have been made into such, similar to Dracula's wives in the original novel, having an exceptionally tall build, and especially her vampirism. Her tendency to prey on girls and her gender, however, also have traits reminiscent of the real life Countess Elizabeth Báthory. (2021)