Grug Crood from the 2013 animated film The Croods has become a viral meme on TikTok this year.

It's because of a few specific trends that pull from the caveman family man's shenanigans. For instance, there's the "Rhymes With Grug" meme, which focuses on the dad in question. There's also a clip of the Croods running, which has sparked its own influx of content.

The viral memes might be confusing Gen Z and Gen Alpha, even though they likely saw the Dreamworks movie when they were younger.

For those who don't know what's going on with the seemingly random explosion of Croods memes, let's explain.

Who Is 'Grug?'

Grug Crood is one of the main protagonists in the 2013 animated film The Croods. He's the father of a prehistoric family. He's voiced by the famous actor Nicolas Cage.

So that's the answer to the question. However, if you asked a 4channer who Grug is, they might answer differently.

Grug is also the name of a caveman Wojak character, who is supposed to be hilariously dumb. In Greentext Stories, he's often naive, seen speaking in a garbled uppercase-to-lowercase script (LiKe tHiS, similar to Mocking SpongeBob).

The Grug Wojak surfaced a year after The Croods was released in theaters, so some have likened the name to the film's character.

What Is The 'Rhymes With Grug' Meme?

One of the reasons why Grug memes are in full swing is because of a phrasal template, reading, "I call it X (it rhymes with Grug)." TikTokers and other meme creators are replacing the "X" with different inventions and events that Grug is creating and naming.

The meme stems from a scene in The Croods when Grug creates some technological innovations. He says, "I call it a rug, rhymes with Grug. And this one, I call it a ride, rhymes with Grug."

The meme took off recently when TikTokers started sharing some edgy jokes about Grug discovering vices or causing disasters.

Prominent iterations include Grug discovering gambling or drunk driving, making him say things like, "I call it vehicular manslaughter 'cause it rhymes with Grug."

The punchline relies on the taboo being ironically promoted, the egregious non-rhyme and the reference to the beloved film that only true fans would initially understand.

What Is The 'Croods Running' Meme?

Another prevalent Grug meme, known as "The Croods Running," shows him and his family dashing at full speed. The scene comes from the film's opening when the Croods are sprinting to their hunting trip, trying to score some breakfast in the Paleolithic period.

The scene was first used in a meme back in 2020. However, it didn't become a viral format until recently.

A TikToker named @riverrtidee shared the trend's genesis. The video showed her running on a treadmill, captioned, "Sometimes when I'm working out, I play the song when the Croods were getting breakfast and pretend I'm running with them."

In its wake, many creators used the video's TikTok sound. Most people showed themselves running to The Croods main theme, pairing the visual with a funny caption about rushing somewhere.

@riverrtidee its my destiny #fyp #fypシ #croods #funny ♬ original sound – RiverrTidee

@tubac680 We fr saw the goatman 🫶 #viral #fyp #skibidi #pinkhair #2am #croods #run ♬ original sound – RiverrTidee

What Are Some Other 'Grug' Memes?

These two trends about The Croods have opened up a world of memes for the film franchise.

On TikTok especially, we've seen films, TV shows and other pieces of IP get rediscovered and blow up with viral content. Recent examples that come to mind include the sitcom The Middle entering SueTok territory and Nickelodeon's Henry Danger sparking several meme templates last summer.

Thus, "Rhymes With Grug" appears to only be the beginning of the impending The Croods takeover of TikTok. Fancam and fan art of each Crood is already surfacing en masse.

"Never stop making Croods content," chimed one hyped TikToker. "I love that film so much," she said.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7499561420258954518

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7498978736134573328

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7499949265293167918

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7499880168501202222

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For the full history of Grug memes from The Croods, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.