23 Pop Culture References Only '90s Kids Can Fully Appreciate

Forrest Gump is full of iconic, quotable moments, but the one that's endured is Forrest's simple (though pretty accurate) philosophy of life. "Life is like a box of chock'lits — you never know what you're gonna get." The image of Forrest sitting on a park bench, in his white suit, with the chocolate box in his lap, has been parodied plenty over the years, but the quote itself is still pretty sweet.

We've been saying this phrase for so long that most people have probably forgotten where it even comes from. It's from Apollo 13, one of the most-praised movies of the '90s — and it's also one of the most famous misquotes in history. On the real-life Apollo 13 mission, the call said, "Houston, we've had a problem."

With its aesthetic of the 1970s by way of the 1990s, Austin Powers is one of those wacky comedies that's so weird you can't look away. The costumes, the poses, the hair — it's all pretty ridiculous in the best way possible. But Austin Powers and his hilariously over-the-top catchphrase is the one thing '90s kids will never forget.

It's hard to believe that when Clueless first came out in the early 1990s, it was considered a ridiculous satire. I mean, who could possibly imagine a world where computers helped match clothing and every teenager had a cell phone? But nothing could possibly be a more iconic dismissal than Cher Horowitz's three word brush off: "Ugh! As if!"

Unless you were living under a rock in the 1990s, you remember Titanic and the absolute fan mania. No one had ever seen a movie make these kind of pop culture waves (or this kind of box office). Between the iconic arms-stretched-out pose, the hand-on-steamy-window moment that would be subject to a thousand parodies, and the deliciously cheesy line "I'm the king of the world," there's pretty much no moment in Titanic that hasn't spawned pop culture homages and jokes.

No '90s kid could possibly forget Ace Ventura and Jim Carrey's catchphrase. Honestly, the whole character was a constant source of pre-meme era memes, but that drawn-out "alrighty then!" and the accompanying weird smirk definitely takes the cake.

For male-attracted people growing up in the '90s, there was certainly no shortage of animated hotties to spark awakenings. There was Prince Eric with his blue eyes and adorable dog, half-shirtless Aladdin, and Prince Adam (or the Beast, if that's what you were into). But let's be honest: the best '90s animated heartthrob wasn't a Disney prince, it was Dimitri, the floppy-haired con-man-with-a-heart-of-gold from Anastasia. We still swoon at that line, "princesses don't marry kitchen boys." Disney who?

Home Alone was the movie that convinced '90s kids of two things: one, that staying home was actually more exciting than it was; two, that household items could defeat any and all criminals. It also gave us the immortal line, "Keep the change, ya filthy animals!"

Nineties pop culture had a weird subgenre of comedies that really reveled in that post-'80s materialism and "greed is good" mentality. Pretty Woman was one, and Jerry Maguire was another. The latter included a pair of now-classic quotes that have since been reworked and shoehorned in every way imaginable. One is the epitome of '90s greed: Tom Cruise screaming "SHOW ME THE MONEY" into a phone that's high tech for 1996. The other, of course, is the rom-com classic, "You had me at hello."

For '90s kids, The Sandlot was one of those perfect kid adventures that's a little bit ridiculous but still holds up years later. Out of all the memorable lines, one has to be the most recognisable of all: "You're killin' me, Smalls!"

By this point, you've probably noticed that a lot of the items on this list are just as famous for being parodied as they are themselves. That's kind of a hallmark of '90s pop culture: things that were a little silly but iconic back then and are really silly now. Case in point: The Sixth Sense and its creepy but constantly parodied quote, "I see dead people."

Nothing could be more quintessentially '90s action cheese than the Terminator franchise, with its guys-guns-and-a-girl style. And of course, there's the ultimate corny action star of the decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger. While his heavily accented "I'll be back" might be a more famous quote, "Hasta la vista, baby" is definitely the more '90s line.

Has there ever been as quotable an animated movie as Toy Story? It was the perfect blend of quippy Disney comedy and real emotion — that's why '90s kids who giggled at the original movie were the grown adults sobbing in theatres 15 years later at Toy Story 3. But nothing can match the original for snarky references we still use today. "To infinity and beyond" is probably the most iconic, but we're also partial to the perfectly phrased "You are a sad, strange little man."

Sunday evenings in the 1990s were sometimes very special, and all because of the Mouse. For several years, ABC ran The Wonderful World of Disney, an anthology-style program that included reruns, airings of classic movies, and original films. Among the classics of the era? Everyone's favourite version of Cinderella, starring Brandy and Whitney Houston.

OK, so not all '90s references have exactly endured in the pop culture lexicon. If you said "Eat my shorts" today, you'd be laughed out of town. But for a while there, it was a pretty memorable insult, thanks to The Simpsons.

The raunchy, satirical cartoon South Park is still running, but many of its jokes can be traced back to its early seasons in the late '90s. And there's one line that every '90s kid knew from sneaking around to watch the show (or from friends who had managed to catch a glimpse): "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!"

If you came of age in the '90s or '00s, chances are good that Boy Meets World was one of those defining pop culture moments in your life. The sweet comedy didn't shy away from tough issues, but it also remembered to include the goofy sitcom-y moments too. Every '90s kid can still hear Eric Matthews's "Feeny call" ringing in their ears: "Feeny! Fee-hee-hee-hee-ny!" It even got a shout-out on the 2014 revival series Girl Meets World.

Decades before The Big Bang Theory, Jaleel White was making geeks cool over on Family Matters as the scene-stealing '90s phenom Steve Urkel. His nerdy earnestness and sitcom-perfect antics made him a household name. And of course, who could forget that catchphrase. All together now: "Did I do that??"

Catchphrases were a big thing in the '90s; seemed like every TV show and movie franchise had at least one. But the biggest offender by far was Full House, where every other character seemed to have a corny catchphrase that, naturally, pop culture latched on to (whether to imitate or mock, we'll never know). There was Michelle's "You got it, dude!" and Stephanie's "How rude!" There was the puzzling fake-curse "Oh Mylanta!" There was Uncle Jesse's unfortunate "Have mercy!" and Joey's dorky "Cut it out!" complete with accompanying hand gesture. Catchphrase mania is long gone, but '90s kids won't ever forget these ones.

You've probably said this phrase a lot without even knowing how it entered the lexicon. That would be courtesy of the sitcom Seinfeld, the comedy that was famously "about nothing." The multipurpose phrase could be used as a substitute for "etc." or as a brush off; really, the possibilities were endless. Next time you use this phrase, remember you have the '90s to thank!

With Disney's live-action remake of Mulan coming up soon, '90s kids are getting pretty antsy about how it might differ from what was truly an iconic film of our childhood. The soundtrack was packed with unforgettable anthems like "Reflection" and "I'll Make A Man Out Of You," and Li Shang was honestly an icon among leading men. Out of all the memorable moments, though, the line that '90s kids have held on to the most is definitely "Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your cow!"