"Take me to your leader" is a science-fiction cartoon catchphrase, said by an extraterrestrial alien who has just landed on Earth in a spacecraft to the first human it happens to meet. In cartoons, the theme is frequently varied for comic effect, such as a pun on the phrase to suit the setting, or the alien addressing an animal or object it assumes is an earthling.
It is believed to have originated in a 1953 cartoon by Alex Graham in The New Yorker magazine. The cartoon depicted two aliens telling a horse "Kindly take us to your President!"
By May 1957, when the "Mr. Zero" episode of the Adventures of Superman aired, the phrase was already a popular cliché.
The phrase is also frequently used in parody science-fiction media. Notable examples of its use include:
"If it's not too much of a cliché, take me to your leader. If it is too much of a cliché, take me anyway."
(Luke Skywalker, in
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (2008))
The phrase is used in the form of an extraterrestrial message to Jodie Foster's character in Robert Zemeckis's 1997 film Contact.
"I want you to do something for me", she said, and unexpectedly laughed. "I want," she said, and laughed again. She put her hand over her mouth and said with a straight face, "I want you to take me to your leader."
(from
Life, the Universe and Everything (1982) by Douglas Adams, describing Trillian addressing the inhabitants of Krikkit)
Numerous uses on BBC television series Doctor Who (1963—present), usually spoken by the Doctor in a tongue-in-cheek or annoyed manner
Titles of songs, albums, and other works - see Take Me to Your Leader
An episode of season 3 in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is called "Take Me to Your Leader".
