Animutation is where it's at
Ten years ago on this date a home schooled student named Neil Cicierega published an animation that changed the world, or at least my world. I, and many others had experimented with Flash before. It was for all the wrong reasons a popular tool for Web design and slideshows. However, what Neil did with was much more purposeful. To make Colin Mochrie an Internet star by basardizing him into foreign-music videos of badly cutout found jpegs. There was simply no other reason to be seen.
It was Hyakugojyuuichi!!! that set the template for all future animations known as animutations - a play on the worlds animation and mutation. Neil churned out more and more on a regular basis - each more wacky and filled with pop culture references. Lesko's Revenge from those free money informertials, Team Rocket's Journey Through Time and Space for Pokémon, Cold Heart for Care Bears, Life is Like a Mop refering to Weird Al's UHF movie, and many more obscure and forgotten pieces of culture. Never forgetting to feature Colin Mochrie in some way.
Others followed the trend. These creations by animutation fans were called fanimutations. I made a few. R-Rated ones. I made a clean one on the side, and it became popular. I called it Elvis Lives in Flash.
Other members of the site submitted their own, and those caught attention too. Here's just two of the hundreds.
But there were two worlds. One, the official animutations by Neil Cicierega and the fanimutations the followers he inspired. These fanimutations, though by a different author were still animutations in all other ways to classify them. Why place them in a whole different genre? Why the segregation.
This is where Andrew Kepple comes in, presenting an epic trilogy explaining the liberation of fanimutations. No more hiding Colin Mochrie pictures in the sun. Colin Mochrie is right in the title and took notice of his Internet stardom through this series.
It got out of hand. How could people abuse one persona so much for so long? There's now animutations about animutations. It went meta.
It was not the inclusion of Colin Mochrie that defined the genre. With or without him, it couldn't be stopped. With Neil moving onto bigger projects like Farchie Archie, Potter Puppet Pals and Lemon Demon, Albino Blacksheep members filled the void by showing tribute to the style that became an Internet phenominon.
Slash Dot Dash Professor Fate
Licky Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley (wheatox)
Banana Terracotta Pie guitar__guy
The Tale of the Übercat Lord Zeebmork
3,679 KBBalto: The TRUE Story Lennox
4,503 KBSally' Happy Funtime Adventure ZekeySpaceyLizard
4,718 KBMake Ya Feel RedMongoose
3,622 KB
So today we celebrate 10 years of Hyakugojyuuichi!!!. The animation that made online culture the way it is today. No exaggeration.