# Animutation

> Animutation is a 2001 Flash animation genre pioneered by Neil Cicierega, built on chaotic collages of pop culture images paired with foreign-language music and fake English subtitles.

Animutation is a genre of Flash animation invented by Neil Cicierega in 2001, built around chaotic collages of pop culture images set to foreign-language music with fake English subtitles. Born on early Flash portals like Newgrounds and Albino Blacksheep, these deliberately crude, surreal video mashups became one of the first recognizable art movements of the internet era, spawning a dedicated community and influencing later remix genres like YouTube Poop.

## Origin
Neil Cicierega, a teenager from Kingston, Massachusetts, created the animutation format at around age 13[2]. Cicierega, who later became known for *Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny* and *Potter Puppet Pals*, drew inspiration from bizarre Japanese commercials and a Swedish soramimi video called "Hatten är din" by Martin Holmström, which set misheard lyrics to an Azar Habib song called "Habbeetik"[1].

The question of which animutation came first is a matter of some debate. "The Japanese Pokerap" is frequently cited as the earliest example, featuring Mike Brady and random images set to the Japanese Pokémon credits song[12]. On February 28, 2001, Cicierega released "Hyakugojyuuichi," which became his most famous work and is often treated as the genre's true starting point[5]. Within two decades, the Newgrounds upload of Hyakugojyuuichi received over 580,000 views[5]. The FanimutationWiki notes that Hyakugojyuuichi is "often considered the 'first' Animutation, even though it was preceded by The Japanese Pokerap"[6].

- **Platform:** Newgrounds, Albino Blacksheep
- **Creator:** Neil Cicierega (inventor, original animator)
- **Date:** 2001

## Overview
Animutation, a portmanteau of "animation" and "mutation," describes a specific style of web animation made in Macromedia (later Adobe) Flash[1]. The format follows a loose but recognizable formula: take a song, usually in Japanese or another non-English language, cut and paste a barrage of pop culture images over it, add deliberately crude animation, and sprinkle in "misheard" English subtitles based on what the foreign lyrics vaguely sound like[2]. The result looks like a fever dream collage of celebrity heads, cartoon characters, and product logos all mashed together against seizure-inducing backgrounds.

What makes animutations distinctive is their aggressive randomness. Colin Mochrie from *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* might appear as the face of the sun. Jay Jay the Jet Plane could get shot by a machine gunner. A Jesus action figure might battle Colin Mochrie in mortal combat[4]. The animations use crude clip-art techniques, with photographs sloppily cropped and resized, mouths cut out and moved to simulate speech, and stick figures scrawled alongside professional images[2]. Hidden one-frame messages, Easter eggs triggered by right-clicking, and running gags that carry across multiple animutations give the videos surprising replay value[2].

The genre draws from a tradition of cutout animation that goes back to the early 1900s, sharing DNA with Terry Gilliam's Monty Python animations and the early paper-cutout style of *South Park*[5]. But animutations took that collage sensibility and filtered it through early-2000s internet culture, creating something entirely new.

## How It Spread
Fan-made works in the animutation style quickly followed Cicierega's originals. These imitations were christened "fanimutations" as a tribute to the inventor[1]. On November 26, 2001, animator Veloso released "Irrational Exuberance," set to the Japanese comedy group Happatai's "Yatta!" and considered by many fans to be the platonic ideal of the form[9]. A YouTube reupload later pulled in over 150,000 views[5].

Andrew Kepple created the "Colin Mochrie vs. Jesus H. Christ" trilogy, a three-part Flash series beginning with "French Erotic Film." The title is itself a soramimi: the original Dutch lyrics "Weet je wat ik wil" (meaning "Do you know what I want?") were misheard as "French erotic film"[1]. Kepple's trilogy helped establish that "animutations" and "fanimutations" were interchangeable terms[2].

Flash portals became the main distribution hubs. Newgrounds, Albino Blacksheep, and a dedicated site called Animutation Portal hosted growing libraries of the genre[4]. On February 15, 2005, the FanimutationWiki launched as a community database cataloging the movement's history, artists, and in-jokes[7].

The animutation community developed its own ecosystem of recurring characters. Colin Mochrie's face, frequently superimposed onto a crudely drawn sun, became the genre's unofficial mascot. Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Pee-Wee Herman, Harry Potter, Hulk Hogan, and a Jesus action figure appeared across dozens of different creators' works[2]. Mochrie himself became aware of his status as an animutation icon[2].

## How to Use
Animutation isn't a single meme template but a creative format. Making one typically involves:
1. Choose a song, preferably in a foreign language. Japanese pop songs are traditional, but Dutch, Italian, or any non-English language works.
2. Listen to the song and write down English words that sound vaguely like the original lyrics (soramimi). The more absurd and unrelated to the actual meaning, the better.
3. In Flash (or a modern equivalent), assemble a collage of cropped celebrity photos, cartoon characters, product logos, and random images.
4. Animate these elements moving, spinning, and appearing in rapid succession, timed loosely to the music. Crude animation is part of the aesthetic.
5. Add the fake English lyrics as subtitles or sing-along text.
6. Hide Easter eggs: one-frame messages, secret clickable elements, and inside jokes referencing other animutations.

## Cultural Impact
The animutation movement punched well above its weight for a niche Flash animation genre. Neil Cicierega parlayed his early internet fame into a broader creative career, producing *Potter Puppet Pals*, *Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny*, and the *Mouth* album series of mashups[5]. His trajectory from teenage animutation creator to recognized internet artist made him one of the earliest examples of internet-born creative talent breaking into wider recognition.

Quiznos adopted animutation-style visuals for a 2004 television commercial, one of the first documented cases of a mainstream brand borrowing directly from Flash internet culture[2].

In academic and critical contexts, the genre attracted attention as an early form of internet art. Filmmaker Magazine published a lengthy 2016 retrospective tracing the lineage from Cicierega's 2001 animutations through to contemporary YouTube remix art, positioning animutation as a foundational movement in internet-native filmmaking[3].

Colin Mochrie, the unwitting mascot of the genre, acknowledged his animutation celebrity status. The Canadian improv comedian's face appeared in so many animutations that his inclusion became a community-wide running gag that persisted for years[2].

## Fun Facts
- The title "Hyakugojyuuichi" means "151" in Japanese, referring to the original 151 Pokémon. The song used in the animation was the ending credits theme from the first season of the Pokémon anime, sung by Professor Oak's voice actor[6].
- "French Erotic Film" isn't French at all. It's a soramimi of the Dutch phrase "Weet je wat ik wil," which simply means "Do you know what I want?"[1].
- Animutations often had creative replay buttons instead of standard ones. At the end of "Cold Heart," a package of Mentos mints served as the replay button[1].
- The "Hatten är din" video that inspired Cicierega was itself a soramimi project, setting misheard lyrics to a Lebanese Arabic song by Azar Habib[11].
- In 2020, when Animutationportal.com shut down, BlueMaxima's FlashPoint project preserved most of the site's videos, keeping the genre's history accessible after Flash's discontinuation[4].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Animutation?
Animutation is a genre of Flash animation featuring chaotic collages of pop culture images set to foreign-language music, often with fake English subtitles. The style was invented by Neil Cicierega in 2001[1].

### Where did Animutation come from?
Neil Cicierega created the genre as a teenager in Kingston, Massachusetts, drawing inspiration from bizarre Japanese commercials and the Swedish "Hatten är din" soramimi video[1].

### What does Animutation mean?
The name is a portmanteau of "animation" and "mutation," reflecting the genre's approach of mutating pop culture imagery into surreal animated collages[5].

### How do you use Animutation?
Creating an animutation involves picking a foreign-language song, writing fake English subtitles based on how the lyrics sound, and assembling a rapid-fire collage of pop culture images animated in deliberately crude fashion[2].

### Is Animutation still popular?
As a Flash-based art form, the genre is no longer actively produced at scale, but it holds a significant place in internet history and new examples occasionally appear in retro style[4].

### Who invented Animutation?
Neil Cicierega, also known by his online handles Trapezoid and Deporitaz, invented and named the genre. He later became known as the musician Lemon Demon and creator of Potter Puppet Pals[2].

### What was the first Animutation?
There is debate: "The Japanese Pokerap" is sometimes cited as the earliest example, but "Hyakugojyuuichi," released February 28, 2001, is the most widely recognized first animutation[6].

### Why is Colin Mochrie in every Animutation?
Neil Cicierega had a fixation on the Canadian improv comedian and included him in his earliest animutations. The community adopted Mochrie as a recurring element, often depicting his head as the sun[1].

### What is the difference between Animutation and Fanimutation?
Fanimutations are animutations made by fans imitating Cicierega's style. Andrew Kepple's "Colin Mochrie vs. Jesus H. Christ" trilogy established that the two terms are interchangeable[2].

### What is soramimi in Animutation?
Soramimi is a Japanese term for deliberately mishearing lyrics. In animutations, creators write English words that sound roughly like the foreign-language lyrics and present them as subtitles, creating absurd fake translations[8].

### What happened to Animutation Portal?
Animutationportal.com shut down in 2020, but BlueMaxima's FlashPoint project preserved most of its content for future access[4].

### How did Animutation influence YouTube Poop?
YouTube Poop, which emerged in the mid-2000s, is often described as animutation's spiritual descendant, applying similar collage and remix principles to video footage rather than still images[4].

### Did any brands use Animutation?
Quiznos created a television commercial in 2004 that used animutation-style visuals, marking one of the genre's few mainstream crossovers[2].

## References
1. [Animutation - TV Tropes](<https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Animutation>)
2. [Online Encyclopedia and Dictionary - Animutation](<https://www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/Animutation>)
3. [A History of the Fan Mutation, YouTube’s Strangest Art Movement - Filmmaker MagazineFilmmaker Magazine](<https://filmmakermagazine.com/99635-a-history-of-the-fan-mutation-youtubes-strangest-art-movement/>)
4. [Animutation - Know Your Meme](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/animutation>)
5. [Animutation](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animutation>)
6. [Animutation - Urban Dictionary](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Animutation>)
7. [Colin Mochrie](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Mochrie>)
8. [Mr. T](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T>)
9. [Darth Vader](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darth_Vader>)
10. [Hello Kitty](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Kitty>)
11. [Jay Jay the Jet Plane](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jay_the_Jet_Plane>)
12. [List of Dragon Half characters](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dragon_Half_characters>)
13. [Pee-wee Herman](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee-wee_Herman>)
14. [Santa Claus](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus>)
15. [Rainbow (TV series) - Wikipedia](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zippy_(Rainbow)>)
16. [Soramimi - Wikipedia](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soramimi>)
17. [Cutout animation - Wikipedia](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutout_animation>)
18. [The Japanese Pokerap - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/The_Japanese_Pokerap>)
19. [Immortality Devices by Alex Chiu](<http://www.alexchiu.com/>)
20. [Hatten är din - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/Hatten_%C3%A4r_din#Trivia>)
21. [Jesus H. Christ (character) - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/Jesus_H._Christ_(character)>)
22. [February 2008 Archive | Albino Blacksheep](<https://www.albinoblacksheep.com/archive/february2008>)
23. [Irrational Exuberance - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/Irrational_Exuberance>)
24. [JamezBond - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/JamezBond>)
25. [FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/Main_Page>)
26. [Hyakugojyuuichi - FanimutationWiki](<https://wiki.animutationportal.com/Hyakugojyuuichi>)

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