Who Is Dr. Livesey From Soviet 'Treasure Island?' Soviet Cartoon Memes Explained

Dr. Livesey, the chad doctor from the Soviet cartoon Treasure Island, took the internet over by storm, his walk setting a new standard for swagger and his brilliant smile illuminating our feeds with the power of a thousand suns. If you wish to expand your knowledge of this gem of Soviet animation and you wonder how it got unearthed in the year 2022, stick with us for our quick explainer.

Who Is Dr. Livesey?

Dr. Livesey is a character from the 1988 Soviet animated film Treasure Island, which itself is an adaptation of the 1883 novel of the same name by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson. In the novel, Dr. David Livesey is the character who exhibits common sense and rationality and treats wounded pirates just as he does his own friends, but the cartoon adds a lot of flavor to the good doctor. In the Soviet adaptation, Dr. Livesey is a boundlessly optimistic, enthusiastic, quick-to-laugh physician who also excels at strategizing and combat. Telling a pirate that he's going to die unless he quits drinking with a cheerful laugh, and taking his sweet time to smell a flower while fending off three enemies with a rapier — that's what Dr. Livesey is about.

Where Do Dr. Livesey Memes Come From?

Dr. Livesey memes, together with Soviet Treasure Island memes in general, started in the VK community Treasure Island Memes For Every Occasion, launched in December 2018. In the group, Dr. Livesey achieved particular popularity due to his colorful personality, his laugh and his catchphrases such as "The words 'rum' and 'death' should mean the same thing to you."

The character achieved further popularity among Russian-speaking users in 2021 when the Creepy Dr. Livesey comparison format, based on the Traumatized Mr. Incredible format, went viral, spreading to other communities on VK and Twitter.

Finally, Dr. Livesey achieved the global recognition he always deserved in early July 2022, after TikToker weirdyunus posted a phonk fancam of Dr. Livesey's chad walk. It went viral on Twitter after in early August user @JackdawJackal posted a re-edit of it.

This is how I NEED to walk EVERYWHERE pic.twitter.com/8luXImEMyk

— JayNico the Immovable (@JackdawJackal) August 7, 2022

Dr. Livesey In Memes

In Russian memes, Dr. Livesey appeared in a variety of meme formats, including Creepy Dr. Livesey, Dr. Livesey Laugh and memes referencing his line "The words "rum" and "death" should mean the same thing to you."

However, in the West, Dr. Livesey is primarily known for the Dr. Livesey Walk meme.

Dr. Livesey Walk Memes

Started by a viral TikTok, Dr. Livesey walk memes have been initially used for object-labeling, but the format quickly developed into more high-effort fan animation trend once it got noticed on Twitter. Now the trend mainly involves creating animations in which characters from various fandoms walk like Jim Hawkins, Squire Trelawney and, of course, Dr. Livesey.

How Do You Pronounce Dr. Livesey?

The correct way to pronounce Livesey is /ˈlɪvsi/ (LEEV-see).

For the full history of Dr. Livesey, Dr. Livesey Walk and Soviet Treasure Island, be sure to check out our entires for more information.