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The town's name New Holland was once the name of the island continent of Australia from the mid 1600s till the 1800s. It was named by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman after whom the Australian island state Tasmania was named.
Victor's friend and next-door neighbor is Elsa Van Helsing, a reference to Abraham Van Helsing, Bram Stoker's Dracula character, and Elsa Lanchester, the original Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
The hair on the head of Elsa Van Helsing's dog Persephone is copied from the hair of Elsa Lanchester's character in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) right down to the white streaks.
The turtle "Shelley" is named for Mary Shelley, who wrote "Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus," the 1818 novel on which this film is loosely based.
The mayor of the town is Mr. Burgermeister, which means "mayor" in German. His name/appearance is also a homage to Burgermeister Meisterburger, the antagonist of the stop-motion film Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970).