Grooses Theme Goes With Everything
Groose's Theme Goes with Everything is a series of YouTube remix videos that overlay the bombastic theme music of Groose, a character from *The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword*, onto unrelated video footage for comedic effect4. The trend started in late November 2011, shortly after the game's release, and directly challenged the long-running "Guile's Theme Goes With Everything" format as the internet's favorite piece of soundtrack dissonance1.
Overview
The format follows a simple formula: take any video clip and replace or overlay its audio with Groose's triumphant, brass-heavy character theme from *Skyward Sword*. The humor comes from the mismatch between the grandiose, almost absurdly heroic music and whatever mundane, dramatic, or completely unrelated footage is playing on screen4. This type of comedy, known in film as "counterpoint" and on the internet as "unfitting music," works because the tone of the soundtrack clashes with the visuals5.
Groose himself is a supporting character in the 2011 Nintendo Wii game *The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword*. He starts as a school bully on the floating island of Skyloft who picks on Link and has a crush on Zelda4. Over the course of the game, Groose's relationship with Link improves and he eventually joins the fight against The Imprisoned using a catapult-like contraption called "The Groosenator"4. His arc from comedic antagonist to lovable ally, combined with his ridiculous pompadour hairstyle, made him a fan favorite. *Skyward Sword* was the first *Zelda* game to use a fully orchestrated soundtrack, with music composed by a team led by Hajime Wakai under the supervision of Koji Kondo2. That orchestral bombast gave Groose's theme the over-the-top quality that made it such effective remix material.
The meme kicked off in late November 2011, right after *Skyward Sword* launched on November 182. YouTuber SUPERMARIOGALAXY13 uploaded a video titled "Groose's Theme Goes With Everything Funny" that paired Groose's theme with a scene from the *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* episode "May the Best Pet Win!"4. The choice of *MLP:FIM* footage was likely no accident. The show had attracted a massive online following of adult fans known as "bronies" by that point, and its fandom was one of the most active remix communities on YouTube in 20113.
The video's title was a deliberate nod to the well-established "Guile's Theme Goes With Everything" meme, which had been running since 2008 using the *Street Fighter II* character's iconic stage music4. SUPERMARIOGALAXY13 was essentially throwing down a gauntlet: Groose's theme could go with anything too.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
The format is straightforward:
Pick any video clip. The funnier the mismatch, the better. Mundane activities (grocery shopping, walking), dramatic moments (political speeches, movie scenes), or already-funny clips all work.
Replace or overlay the audio with Groose's theme from *Skyward Sword*. The full track works best because it builds from a bold opening into an increasingly bombastic crescendo.
Title the video "Groose's Theme goes with [subject]" to fit the naming convention.
Upload and let the dissonance do the heavy lifting.
Cultural Impact
Fun Facts
*Skyward Sword* was the first mainline *Zelda* game to use a live orchestra for its music, which gave Groose's theme the cinematic punch that made it work so well as remix material.
The original remix video used footage from *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, connecting two of the biggest internet fandoms of 2011.
Groose's in-game weapon, "The Groosenator," is a fan-favorite name that added to the character's meme appeal.
Halolz explicitly framed the meme as a direct competitor to Guile's Theme, writing "Look out Guile, your theme has some competition!".
The art style of *Skyward Sword* was influenced by impressionist painters like Paul Cézanne, making it one of the most visually distinctive *Zelda* games.
Derivatives & Variations
"Guile's Theme Goes With Everything" comparisons
— The two memes were frequently pitted against each other, with forum threads debating which theme was more universally applicable[1].
Other "Goes With Everything" entries
— The format has been applied to dozens of other game soundtracks over the years, but Groose's Theme was one of the most successful challengers to Guile's dominance[4].
Groose fan art and "Grooseland" jokes
— Groose's popularity from the meme fed into broader *Zelda* fandom creations, including fan art and jokes about Groose as the true hero of *Skyward Sword*[4].
Frequently Asked Questions
References (8)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordencyclopedia
- 5My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magicencyclopedia
- 6Tumblrencyclopedia
- 7The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Wikipediaencyclopedia
- 8My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - Wikipediaencyclopedia