Animation Memes

About

Animation Memes are short animated videos, usually posted on YouTube or TikTok, consisting of one or more characters performing a simple act of movement synced to a specific song. Many animation memes only have several frames and loop until the video ends, although some are more complex. Animation memes are popular across several fandoms and online communities, including furry communities. The earliest known example of the animation meme genre is Caramelldansen and was popularized on YouTube in 2007.

Origin

Animation memes have their roots in the Japanese reanimation memes of the 2000s. The first animation meme is generally considered to be Caramelldansen. Like modern animation memes, the meme mainly consisted of users animating different characters to the associated dance.

Similar reanimation memes, such as Fukkireta, Hare Hare Yukai, Leek Spin, Just A Bit Crazy and Convenience Store can also be considered roots of the phenomena.

Spread

On June 24th, 2009, YouTuber^[1] webkinzlid, now Void Queen, uploaded an animation meme known as Nya Nya Dance (shown below). This animation meme is the most comparable to more modern animation memes. On July 7th, 2009, YouTuber^[2] Spottedfire25 notably reanimated the animation with another character, garnering over 720,000 views in 15 years (embed unavailable).

On October 4th, 2009, YouTuber^[3] Flightfootwarrior uploaded a more complex example of an animation meme consisting of more scenes, garnering over 800,000 views in 15 years (shown below).

Several similar animation memes sprung up during this time, such as the Step-Turn Dance, Tail Whip, or You Spin Me Right Round. Like the Nya Nya Dance, these were short, looped animations with flashing backgrounds. Many videos featured a version of the message "Remake this," spreading the concept of purposeful reanimation

The term "animation meme" was not used popularly until around 2015. Previously, animation memes had been referred to solely by their individual names and there was no collective concept of animation memes. While the first usage of the term "animation meme" is unknown, the term may have originated from the combination of the separate, commonly used tags of "animation" and "meme" on animation meme videos. Several animators have gained fame by making animation memes, including Void Queen and LupisVulpes.

Animation memes have continued to prove popular throughout the 2020s, with the trend also gaining viral spread on TikTok (examples shown below).

Various Examples

Related Memes

"Photo ID" Animation Meme

'Photo ID' Animation Meme is a series of animation memes set to the song "Photo ID" by Remi Wolf showing animated characters, often anthropomorphic furry characters, dancing to a portion of the song beginning with the chorus, "Ooh, baby, turn off the light." The trend began in September 2021 and continued, primarily on YouTube, over the following year.

"Emo Boy" Animation Meme

Emo Boy Animation Meme or Hey Emo Boy refers to a series of animation memes on YouTube set to "Emo Boy" by Ayesha Erotica. The first animation meme set to the song was posted by YouTuber sashley in June 2020 and inspired numerous variations over the following years.

"Gambino" Animation Meme

The Gambino Animation Meme is an animation meme on YouTube set to the song "Sweatpants" by rapper Childish Gambino. The first animation meme set to the song was posted by YouTuber Kawfi in 2017 but has since been deleted. The song became increasingly popular in animation memes over the following years, often showing one character in a dominating position over another.

"Red Flags" Animation Meme

'Red Flags' is a comedy song by Tom Cardy featuring Montaigne about a man who goes on a date with a woman only to find out that her favorite movie is The Human Centipede, seeing it as a red flag. The song was released along with a music video in December 2022, inspiring animation memes on YouTube. In July 2023, the song went viral on TikTok, specifically the portion, "I try to get the waiter's attention by blinking in morse code," inspiring another wave of animation memes on the platform.

Search Interest

External References