Animutation
Encyclopedia
Animutation or fanimutation is a form of web-based computer animation, typically created in Adobe Flash
and characterized by unpredictable montages of pop-culture
images set to music, often in a language foreign to the intended viewers. It is not to be confused with manual collage animation (e.g., the work of Stan Vanderbeek
and Terry Gilliam
) which predates the Internet.
. Cicierega claims to have been inspired by several sources, notably bizarre Japanese commercials (parodied, for example, by the Simpsons
' Mr. Sparkle
), and the video to "Habbeetik" (rebranded as "Hatten är din
" by its creators) by Azar Habib
. The term animutation was popularized in early 2001 with flash animations such as Japanese Pokerap, and more notably, Hyakugojyuuichi!!, which featured the credits music from older episodes of Pokémon
. The popularity of Hyakugojyuuichi!! quickly made it an Internet phenomenon. Since that time, others have adopted a similar style and communities of similarly-minded animators have sprung up around the web. These versions made by fans were christened "fanimutations".
songs were used in many of the original animutations by Neil Cicierega, but newer animutations use songs in a wide variety of languages, including English
, Dutch
and gibberish. Some bands/singers who have performed a song in at least one animutation include Cibo Matto
, Polysics
, Rip Slyme
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
, Rammstein
and Imakuni?
(as part of Suzukisan).
The foreign language songs are often "misheard" into English by the creators and added as subtitles. The words are not translations but soramimi
s, English words that sound roughly the same as the original lyrics. For example the animutation title "French erotic film" is a soramimi of the original Dutch lyrics "Weet je wat ik wil" in an Ome Henk
song. The actual translation of the lyrics is "Do you know what I want?"
's likeness is used in many Animutations. The running gag
is either used prominently in the animutation or is hidden or even in a single frame.
, which serves as the replay button. When you hover your cursor over the package, it increases in size slightly. At the bottom of the video, there is text informing the user to "Click the Mentos to play again."
episode was used as a pointer, rotating clockwise to indicate how far into the animutation you were at in a given time.
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
and characterized by unpredictable montages of pop-culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
images set to music, often in a language foreign to the intended viewers. It is not to be confused with manual collage animation (e.g., the work of Stan Vanderbeek
Stan Vanderbeek
Stan Vanderbeek was an American experimental filmmaker.- Life :VanDerBeek studied art and architecture first at Cooper Union College in New York and then at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where he met architect Buckminster Fuller, composer John Cage, and choreographer Merce Cunningham...
and Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
) which predates the Internet.
History
Animutation was "invented" by Neil CicieregaNeil Cicierega
Neil Stephen Cicierega , is an American comedian, filmmaker and musician. He is the creator of a genre of Flash animation known as "Animutation". He has also released several albums as a musician under the stage name "Lemon Demon"....
. Cicierega claims to have been inspired by several sources, notably bizarre Japanese commercials (parodied, for example, by the Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
' Mr. Sparkle
In Marge We Trust
"In Marge We Trust" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eighth season, which originally aired April 27, 1997. It was written by Donick Cary and directed by Steven Dean Moore. The episode guest stars Sab Shimono as Mr. Sparkle, Gedde Watanabe as the factory worker, Denice Kumagai and Karen...
), and the video to "Habbeetik" (rebranded as "Hatten är din
Hatten är din
Hatten är din , was a internet meme from 2000. It is a Flash animation featuring the music of Lebanese musician Azar Habib; the name of the song playing is "Habbeetik"...
" by its creators) by Azar Habib
Azar Habib
Azar Habib born in Marjayoun, Lebanon, was a Lebanese composer and singer. He lived in Marjayoun until he was four years old and then his family moved to Beirut. He was mostly known for his love ballads and for mixing traditional Arabic music with modern western pop.He was most popular in Lebanon...
. The term animutation was popularized in early 2001 with flash animations such as Japanese Pokerap, and more notably, Hyakugojyuuichi!!, which featured the credits music from older episodes of Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
. The popularity of Hyakugojyuuichi!! quickly made it an Internet phenomenon. Since that time, others have adopted a similar style and communities of similarly-minded animators have sprung up around the web. These versions made by fans were christened "fanimutations".
Audio
Animutations can be based on songs of foreign, independent, or mainstream origin. JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
songs were used in many of the original animutations by Neil Cicierega, but newer animutations use songs in a wide variety of languages, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and gibberish. Some bands/singers who have performed a song in at least one animutation include Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto are a New York City-based band formed by two Japanese women, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, in 1994...
, Polysics
Polysics
is a Japanese new wave and rock band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in Tokyo...
, Rip Slyme
Rip Slyme
Rip Slyme is a Japanese hip hop group. It is composed of four MCs; Ryo-Z, Ilmari, Pes & Su, and a DJ, Fumiya...
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
, Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
and Imakuni?
Imakuni?
, is a name of a costumed character played by Tomoaki Imakuni and created for the promotion of Pokémon series related products and services. Imakuni? appeared in many promotional live events conducted in Japan between 1997 and 2002, although his appearance in front of public has declined since...
(as part of Suzukisan).
Soramimi
or ; is a Japanese term for homophonic translation of song lyrics, that is, interpreting lyrics in one language as similar-sounding lyrics in another language...
s, English words that sound roughly the same as the original lyrics. For example the animutation title "French erotic film" is a soramimi of the original Dutch lyrics "Weet je wat ik wil" in an Ome Henk
Ome Henk
Ome Henk , is the main character of a Dutch CD, DVD and comic series of the same name. The Ome Henk CDs consist of stories which depend on dialogue and sound effects, and songs, some of which are parodies....
song. The actual translation of the lyrics is "Do you know what I want?"
Recurring motifs
Though animutations are close in relation to the random nonsense of dadaism and can be entirely unpredictable, they sometimes exhibit recurring memes among them as a result of being influenced by each other and internet culture. Among the many recurring motifs found in animutations are:- The inclusion of Colin MochrieColin MochrieColin Andrew Mochrie is a Scottish Canadian actor and improvisational comedian, most famous for his appearances on the British and US versions of television improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.-Early life:...
from Whose Line Is It Anyway? Regularly, a picture of Mochrie's head superimposed into a crudely drawn sun is also used. This inclusion is largely due to Neil Cicierega's bizarre fixation on the comedian. - The inclusion of Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
in various forms, often edited in a bizarre fashion. Neil Cicierega, also the creator of the Potter Puppet PalsPotter Puppet PalsPotter Puppet Pals is a web series parodying the Harry Potter novel series by JK Rowling, created by Neil Cicierega.-Airing:The first two episodes were animated, both released in 2003 on Newgrounds. On September 26, 2006, the series was re-launched on YouTube under Cicierega's page as "Potions...
, is responsible from the outset explosion of Harry Potter's use in animutation, most notably starting in Hyakugojyuuichi. - Obscure pop-culture references, typically obscure catchphrases or images.
- Random cartoon characters, usually from PBS educational programs or anime, although obscure characters are also used.
Phonetic Translations
For those Animutations which are in a foreign language, english subtitles are often placed which resemble the phonetic pronunciation of the lyrics. Because these translations are based purely on what the foreign words sound like in English, they are often nonsensical. Hyakugojyuuichi!! makes heavy use of this.Colin Mochrie
Scottish-Canadian actor Colin MochrieColin Mochrie
Colin Andrew Mochrie is a Scottish Canadian actor and improvisational comedian, most famous for his appearances on the British and US versions of television improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.-Early life:...
's likeness is used in many Animutations. The running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
is either used prominently in the animutation or is hidden or even in a single frame.
Replay Button
While many flash animations have a "replay button" at the end, Animutations often use a silly graphic which animates when interacted with, included with instructions on how to replay the animutation. For instance, at the end of Cold Heart, the title character is holding a package of MentosMentos
Mentos is a brand of mints, of the "scotch mint" type, sold in many markets across the world by the Perfetti Van Melle corporation. Mentos was first produced in the Netherlands during the 1950s. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior...
, which serves as the replay button. When you hover your cursor over the package, it increases in size slightly. At the bottom of the video, there is text informing the user to "Click the Mentos to play again."
Progress Animation
Similarly to the replay button, a graphical and often animated progress animation is used in many Animutations, especially the later creations. For example, in Jesus H. Christ, a paper-mache duck which was originally in a Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
episode was used as a pointer, rotating clockwise to indicate how far into the animutation you were at in a given time.