About
“Get To The Choppa!” is a catchphrase often used in playful manner to indicate there is an imminent danger and everyone must evacuate immediately to the helicopter site. Originally spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 sci-fi action film Predator, this phrase caught on due to his thick European accent and and the humor it caused in such a serious scene.
Origin
The phrase was spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, in the 1987 movie Predator.
The scene occurs after the rest of Dutch’s team has been killed off by the Predator, and only he and their prisoner, Anna, are left. Before going up against the monster, he sends Anna to the chopper so she can get him out of the jungle after confronting the Predator.
Spread
“Get to the Choppa!” was an interlude track on Reggie and the Full Effect’s first album “Greatest Hits 1984-1987”
In April 2004, the first YTMND with the phrase appeared, titled RUN! GET TO THE CHOPPER!. As of July 2010, it has 45,000 views. On YMNTD, it has been mashed up with the Bayeux tapestry, Punch-Out!!, Contra, Robotnik and Sonic, Jabba the Hutt, ASCII art, Inspector Gadget, and Mega Man, just to name a few. More can be found by searching Choppa or Chopper on YTMND.
The first entry for the phrase on Urban Dictionary was added in February 2005.
Californian band Austrian Death Machine, a side project featuring members from As I Lay Dying and Destroy the Runner, was created as an homage to Schwarzenegger’s films as a whole. They filmed a video for the song “Get To The Choppa” in September 2008, from the album Total Brutal released July 2008.
Also that month, an achievement was added to the game World of Warcraft called Get to the Choppa!, unlocked once a user obtains a Mechano-hog or Mekgineer’s Chopper, both motorcycles.
The Library of Congress used the phrase in April 2009 as the title of their Wise Guide to Helicopters.
The phrase also appears as an unlockable title in November 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 once the player completes the “Chopper Gunner Veteran I” challenge by calling in 3 Chopper Gunners.
2010 marked the release of Predators, the third movie in the franchise. In an interview with MTV, Adrien Brody said he had a Get to the Chopper moment while filming.
Derivatives
Jim Hopper, Get to the Chopper (May 2007) 110,000+ views
Fan reenactment (July 2007) 176,000+ views
Sparta Remix (June 2008) 238,000+ views
Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged (June 2008) 10,000+ views
Remix (December 2008) 50,000+ views