Pumkin — Angry orange pumpkin character with purple sleeves at a diner table with empty plate

Pumkin

2006viral videoclassic

Published September 23, 2026

Pumkin is a pumpkin character from the 2006 educational Flash game 'Hungry Pumkin' whose choppy animation and food demands became prime material for YouTube remix videos. After a 2012 revival, the clip spawned a wave of character-swap edits placing figures like Team Fortress 2's Scout in Pumkin's seat.

youtube poop memes flash animation memes character archetype memes late 2000s memes dialogue edit memes

Overview

Pumkin is a pumpkin with arms, legs, and a face who sits down at a table and demands food from the player using stiff phrases like 'Give me the Sandwich' or 'Give me the French Fries'1. Feed him the right item and he swallows it whole, glass and all, including salt shakers and full glasses of juice. Feed him the wrong item and he swipes it off the table while yelling 'NO! I don't want that!'3.

The animation is jerky, the voice acting is flat, and the physics are absurd, which is exactly what made the clip catnip for YouTube Poop editors3. Remixers loop the food demands, chop up the rejection lines, and paste new heads over Pumkin's body to make other characters throw the same tantrum. The core joke is that Pumkin's rudeness, walking out without paying after critiquing the player, reads as unhinged in a game meant to teach English to kids1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Flash game (source) / YouTube (viral spread)
Date
2006

Pumkin originated in an educational Flash title called 'Pumkin Online English Course,' hosted on a Chinese site aimed at teaching English to children, with 'Hungry Pumkin' being the most-played game on the platform3. The earliest known upload of Hungry Pumkin gameplay to YouTube came on October 7, 2006 from user zinconincou1.

The clip sat mostly dormant until May 16, 2012, when YouTube user DeliciousCP posted 'PUMKIN FINALLY REVEALED!'2, and on the same day CaptainBlue uploaded 'pumkin.avi FULL,' a high-quality commentary-free version that became one of the most viewed Pumkin videos4. The game itself was not designed as a meme; the fan edits and remixes are what turned Pumkin into one.

How It Spread

The 2012 re-uploads gave Pumkin a second life on YouTube, and character-swap edits took over from there24. One month after the May 2012 revival, YouTube user Dr. Face (69Starmix96) uploaded 'Scout is Hungry,' which stuck Team Fortress 2's Scout over Pumkin's head and re-edited the dialogue to match Scout's voice lines5. That video hit 1,324,119 views by April 2013 and set the template that other remixers copied3.

A wave of imitation edits followed, each swapping in a different game or cartoon character while keeping Pumkin's exact table gestures and food rejections intact67. The format fit neatly into the YouTube Poop scene, where the appeal is repetition, choppy cuts, and characters saying absurd things in monotone. Pumkin also stuck around as a standalone reference in comment sections and reaction videos long after the initial 2012 surge3.

Timeline

2006-10-07

YouTube user zinconincou uploads the earliest known Hungry Pumkin gameplay clip.

2012-05-16

DeliciousCP uploads 'PUMKIN FINALLY REVEALED!' and CaptainBlue uploads 'pumkin.avi FULL,' reviving interest in the clip.

2012-06

Dr. Face (69Starmix96) posts 'Scout is Hungry,' launching the character-swap format.

2013-04

'Scout is Hungry' passes 1.3 million views, cementing Pumkin as a YouTube Poop staple.

How to Use This Meme

The typical Pumkin edit places another character's head over the pumpkin's body and re-dubs the food demands to fit that character. Common conventions include keeping the choppy original animation, preserving Pumkin's exact 'NO! I don't want that!' cadence, and swapping the food items for jokes tied to the guest character5.

Frequently Asked Questions