Buzz
We often take the internet for granted. Just imagine filling out tax forms by hand and mailing them or using paper maps to navigate unknown places. And what about humor? Nowadays, memes dominate the internet, spreading humor and virality in unpredictable ways, but it wasn’t always like this. When the internet first became popular in the 1990s, people had the ability to create and share their own content outside of the control of mainstream media. It was a platform for ordinary people to share their creations with others.
Animation was one of the most popular methods for spreading humor back then. Usually made with Adobe Flash, these animations were raw, often profane, and sometimes violent. They were also bizarre, humorous, and full of memorable quotes. These animations blended childish humor with darker themes and captured what was both funny and unsettling to the average person of that time.
The combination of humor and highly quotable lines from these animations created a viral storm that laid the groundwork for the meme era. In fact, some of these early animations were so viral that they transcended the internet and even made it to the big screen. Whether you’re here to explore the early days of the internet or just seeking some nostalgic moments, here are 10 of the most influential early web animations.
10. The Dancing Baby
Arguably the quintessential '90s phenomenon, the Dancing Baby was an early 3D animation of an infant performing a cha-cha. The exact origins remain a bit hazy, but the credit goes to animators Michael Girard, Robert Lurye, Tony Morril, and John Chadwick, who were working on a project called Biped that utilized Character Studio, a popular 3D animation software. From its debut in 1996, the animators realized they had created something that was both eerie and strangely captivating. Later, the animation was paired with Blue Suede's 'Hooked on a Feeling,' and the Dancing Baby shot to viral fame.
The Dancing Baby quickly made its way across the internet, appearing on news broadcasts, commercials, and eventually on the hit TV show Ally McBeal, where it served as a symbolic representation of Ally's looming biological clock. Its viral spread was unmatched at the time, setting a precedent for internet memes. Although it resurfaced over the years as a nostalgic reference to the '90s, the original GIF has since been remastered in high definition and turned into an NFT. Personally, I believe the Dancing Baby was instrumental in giving Robert Downey Jr. a career revival, thanks to his role on Ally McBeal.
Classic line: Oogachacka!
9. 'I’m the Juggernaut B*tch!'
Two of the defining traits of early internet humor were profanity and absurdity. Both are abundant in the viral video 'I’m the Juggernaut B*tch.' Uploaded to YouTube in 2005 by Xavier Nazario and Randy Hayes of My Way Entertainment, the video is a dubbed version of a 1992 episode of the animated series X-Men. The video features Randy voicing the iconic Juggernaut as he battles Charles Xavier and the team, all while spouting profanity and bizarre lines like the infamous 'Do you know who I am? I’m the juggernaut, b*tch.'
According to their website, the parody dub was initially created in 2005 as a time-killer and wasn't shared with the public until 2006 when it was uploaded to YouTube. The video rapidly gained popularity and became so iconic that it even made its way to the big screen. In the live-action film X3: The Last Stand, the Juggernaut delivers the famous line while battling Kitty Pryde. However, by the end of the year, the video was removed from YouTube due to copyright issues with Marvel, only to be re-uploaded in 2007 by another user, where it has since accumulated 8.8 million views. My Way Entertainment, the creators, are still active and continue to post content on their channel.
Famous quote: 'Don’t you know who I am? I’m the juggernaut, b*tch!'
8. The End of Ze World
It might seem paradoxical, but the rawness and simplicity of early internet animations were part of their charm. These animations were crafted by artists using whatever resources they had at hand. While crude, they resonated with everyday internet users. 'The End of Ze World' is a prime example of this DIY, grassroots style of animation.
This short animation imagines a dark scenario where all the nations with nuclear weapons start launching them at each other. It’s a heavy topic, but considering it was made in 2003, right after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it reflected the global mood of the time. As with all great satire, the video turns a serious and tragic subject into comedy, using exaggerated voices, stereotypes, and plenty of memorable quotes to lighten the mood.
Jason Windsor, the creator behind the viral video, came up with the concept while hanging out with friends and imagining how different superpowers would react to nuclear missiles being launched. After that, he went home, created a basic Flash animation with voiceovers, and shared it with his friends. Eventually, the video found its way onto the Albinoblacksheep website, eventually gaining widespread attention. Even though the video predates YouTube, it was uploaded in 2008 and has since accumulated over 14 million views. Windsor didn’t profit much from it, but it helped kickstart his career in animation.
Some of the most iconic lines from the video include: 'H’okay, so here’s the Earth,' 'Fire ze missiles!' and 'But I am le tired.'
7. Homestar Runner
By the turn of the millennium, Homestar Runner was already a cultural phenomenon. If you hadn't seen the show, you probably heard a Strong Bad quote somewhere. This quirky web series followed the adventures of its main character, Homestar Runner, and featured a host of other bizarre and hilarious characters. Its unpredictable, surreal content often parodied pop culture, making it a unique gem in early internet entertainment. The idea for Homestar Runner originated from a children's book concept by Mike Chapman and Craig Zobel. Although the book was never published, they decided to revisit the character when Mike and his brother Matt turned to Flash animation.
Homestar Runner's official website launched on January 1, 2000, and the brothers started releasing short episodes soon after. The series really gained momentum in 2001, thanks to the debut of the Strong Bad Email segment. In this series, Strong Bad, the antagonistic character, would read fan emails on his computer, often mocking their spelling and grammar while ignoring the actual questions. The show quickly became a fan favorite.
The Strong Bad Email series was so beloved that if the Chapman brothers ever fell behind on releasing new episodes, they’d receive a flood of emails demanding to know when the next one was coming out. The website’s popularity soared, attracting millions of visitors between 2001 and 2009. The series even captured attention beyond the internet—Joss Whedon included references to it in his shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and in Guitar Hero 2, players could jam out to Strong Bad’s iconic song, 'Trogdor the Burninator,' as a bonus track.
What’s truly remarkable about Homestar Runner is that it never made a cent from ads. Instead, the site was self-sustaining thanks to sales of their merchandise. The site is still alive and well, offering fans a treasure trove of animations, games, and other content—all without any ads. These guys were true pioneers of early internet animation.
Memorable quotes: There are too many to count. Just watch it and see for yourself!
6. The Badger Song
Whether you think it’s genius or madness, The Badger Song is a 30-second loop of pure absurdity. The original website version would endlessly repeat the song, reminiscent of Lambchop’s 'Song that Doesn’t End,' but with an even more nonsensical twist. The video features badgers, a snake, and a mushroom in the desert, while an upbeat dance track narrates the oddball visuals. It’s hard to explain just how silly the video is—sometimes the simplest things are the most ridiculous.
The iconic video was brought to life by Jonti Picking, the creator behind Weebl and Bob, and debuted in 2003. Its viral success helped secure a People’s Choice Award for Picking’s website. When the video hit YouTube in 2008, it quickly amassed over 28 million views. Additionally, the catchy dance performed by the badgers sparked a wave of fan-created videos, including one of my own.
Famous line: 'Badger (x12), mushroom (x2), a snake, a snake, ohh, it’s a snake.'
5. Salad Fingers
While most of the animations covered thus far have been bright and playful, Salad Fingers takes a starkly different path. It’s dark, eerie, and tackles unsettling themes. The protagonist, Salad Fingers, is a gaunt, green figure with a peculiar, creepy nature and possible mental instability. In the first episode, he describes the sensation of rusty spoons against his fingers as almost orgasmic, revealing his bizarre psyche. There are currently 12 episodes, each exploring his lonely existence in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world.
Salad Fingers stands out as a distinct outlier on this list, with its focus on the creepy and unsettling rather than humor. To fully grasp its viral success, it's crucial to understand the cultural context of its 2004 debut. At that time, Hot Topic was becoming a mall staple, emo music was gaining traction, and films like *The Nightmare Before Christmas* were experiencing a resurgence. Works such as *Johnny the Homicidal Maniac* were cultivating a cult following, creating the perfect environment for Salad Fingers' disturbing world. It’s no surprise that the series has accumulated over 110 million views on YouTube and has been shown at multiple international short film festivals. Creator David Firth even released a new episode this year, proving that Salad Fingers’ eerie allure endures.
Memorable quotes: 'Hubert Cumberdale, you taste like soot and poo!' 'I like rusty spoons.'
7. Happy Tree Friends
Happy Tree Friends delivers its own brand of disturbing content, but in a distinctly different way. The show takes the concept of children’s cartoons, like *Tom and Jerry* or *Tiny Toons*, and pushes the boundaries of cartoon violence to the extreme, transforming it into bloody, gory horror. Imagine *Itchy and Scratchy* from *The Simpsons*, but with cuter characters and even more grotesque depravity. The shock value comes from the contrast between the adorable woodland creatures and the brutal violence they inflict on each other. The plot of most episodes revolves around these cute characters engaging in normal activities—until a seemingly innocent event, like a balloon popping or a beaver stumbling into a lollipop, triggers a violent chain of events.
Created by Rhode Montijo, Aubrey Ankrum, and Kenn Navarro of Mondo Media, the first short of Happy Tree Friends premiered in 1999. The series quickly gained massive popularity, eventually reaching 15 million monthly views. Its success was so profound that it even led to its own television show, which debuted in 2006. Over the years, Happy Tree Friends has garnered numerous awards and even appeared in a Fall Out Boy music video. Though no new episodes have been released since 2016, the show has not officially ended, leaving fans with a glimmer of hope for more bloody mayhem.
Memorable quotes: the sounds of cute creatures getting mutilated.
3. The Spirit of Christmas
The Spirit of Christmas mirrors the viral appeal of the Dancing Baby animation, not by sheer viewership numbers, but by the influential individuals who saw it and shared it. This 1992 stop-motion animation, made from construction paper, depicts four boys reenacting the story of Frosty the Snowman. However, when Frosty comes to life, he goes on a violent rampage, killing two of the boys. The survivors turn to Jesus, who uses his halo to remove Frosty’s hat. In the end, the boys reflect on the true meaning of Christmas: presents.
The animation was discovered by Brian Graden, a Fox executive, who asked the creators to make a sequel for him to send as a Christmas card to his friends. The follow-up features a battle between Jesus and Santa Claus over the true meaning of Christmas, which is interrupted by the four boys. The video concludes with the boys deciding to convert to Judaism to get more presents during Hanukkah’s eight nights.
Here’s a crucial detail that adds context to why this animation was so influential: the creators behind The Spirit of Christmas were Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the minds behind South Park. The interest from Fox led them to develop the characters and pitch the show to the network. Unfortunately, the pitch was rejected, partly because of a character who was a talking piece of feces.
The animations spread through bootleg copies on the internet and eventually landed at Comedy Central, who picked up the show. South Park premiered in 1997, quickly becoming a pop culture juggernaut, with 318 episodes, a movie, multiple video games, and a continuing run. The Spirit of Christmas was an early example of internet animation, featuring crude art, foul-mouthed but unforgettable dialogue, and dark humor.
Memorable quote: “Oh my God! Frosty killed Kenny!”
2. Gröûp X
Gröûp X is a collaboration between the group itself and various online animators. The band portrays itself as a Saudi Arabian rap-rock group from the fictional town of Cramshananteen. Their music consists of humorous tracks, often featuring vocalists with comical accents over simple drum beats. However, the group’s true rise to fame came from the fan-created music videos that popped up on platforms like Newgrounds and Albinoblacksheep. Three videos stood out: “Bang Bang Bang,” “Schfifty Five,” and “Mario Twins.” Each of these videos was created in a similar style, depicting the band as stick figures and humorously acting out the lyrics.
As of now, each of these videos on YouTube has garnered over 500,000 views, with “Schfifty Five” alone reaching 10 million views over the course of 15 years. The videos gained popularity due to their amusing accents, simple beats, rough animations, and lyrics that are both quirky and accessible—whether it’s about searching for carnal love (Bang Bang Bang), counting up to Schfifty Five (Schfifty Five), or joking about how the Mario Bros. are hard to distinguish (Mario Twins). The lasting popularity is evident, as even my spell checker recognizes the word 'schfifty.'
Memorable quote: “I know how to count all the way to Schfifty Five, and I can do it faster than you can say ‘poopty peupty pants.’”
1. Charlie the Unicorn
Charlie the Unicorn is another polarizing entry on this list. Much like the Badger Song, people either love it or despise it. After losing nearly everything in Hurricane Katrina and relocating to Orlando, Jason Steele didn’t have much to give his mother for her birthday, so he created a unicorn-themed Flash animation. The animation follows Charlie, a cynical, rough unicorn who is approached by two overly enthusiastic unicorns. They claim to have discovered the way to reach Candy Mountain. What begins as an innocent adventure quickly spirals into absurdity, and by the end, Charlie is double-crossed, waking up in a meadow to discover his kidneys have been stolen.
The animation was uploaded to Newgrounds by Steele’s proud mother, where it quickly gained popularity. Eventually, it found its way to YouTube, where it currently boasts 68 million views from its original upload and 37 million more from its official release. While many viewers found the falsetto voices and excessively cheerful unicorns annoying, many others resonated with Charlie, who, much like them, finds himself constantly frustrated by his overly peppy companions and ultimately ends up being duped.
The video gained such immense popularity that it was even featured in the music video for Weezer’s song “Pork and Beans.” It’s wild to think that something as surreal and nonsensical as this animation could emerge from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. But given the dark humor running through the storyline, perhaps it was an inevitability.
Memorable quotes: “Charlieeee! Heeeeey, hey Charlieee!” “Shun the non-believer!”
