Bananas on Screen

The banana may be the most reliable comedic prop in the history of visual media. A survey of its greatest roles:

The eternal peel gag

The banana-peel slip is one of the oldest jokes in film, dating to the silent era and vaudeville before it. It was so common by the early 1900s that it doubled as a genuine public-safety concern — discarded peels on city sidewalks really did cause injuries, prompting anti-littering campaigns.

Cartoons and comedy

• Slapstick everywhere — from Looney Tunes to Tom and Jerry, if a character needs to wipe out, a peel appears.
• Minions — the little yellow henchmen of the Despicable Me franchise are banana-obsessed, and their guttural cry of “Banana!” became a global catchphrase.
• Bananas in Pyjamas — the Australian children’s series starring B1 and B2 has entertained kids since 1992.

Gaming’s favorite hazard

• Mario Kart — the banana peel is the great equalizer, a defensive item you drop to spin out rivals. It may be the most-thrown banana in human history.
• Donkey Kong — Nintendo’s tie-wearing ape hoards a banana horde that drives entire game plots.
• Untitled Goose Game, Fruit Ninja, and countless others feature the fruit as collectible, weapon, or target.

The talk-show staple

Bananas are a favorite prop for comedians and hosts precisely because they’re funny to hold — instantly readable as a fake phone, a gun, a mustache, or a microphone. The humble fruit is, in a sense, a professional actor.