Shoop Da Woop
“Shoop Da Woop” is a meme originating in
2006 but the actual origins are unknown.
Many belive it comes from a flash anima-
tion called Syntax Error #2 posted in 4chan’s
/b/ board, which featured an image of the
Dragonball Z character ‘Cell’ in blackface with
the caption: “I’M A’ FIRIN’ MAH LAZER!!”
The image is a dramaticization of the actual
Dragonball Z character, who has large lips
and dark green skin. (Fig. 37) The meme
became popular in 2007 after the release of
the flash cartoon “The Lazer Collection.”
The Shoop Da Woop face also appears in the
well known “Impossible Quiz,” which was a
flash game made by Splapp-me-do in 2007.
The crossed eyes and red lips are the most
iconic part of the meme and that is usually
what gets photoshopped over other faces.
Charlie and his two mischievous unicorn
friends. It was originally posted on Newgrounds
and Youtube and the original video has over
30 million views. The videos have a generally
abstract and macabre narative, often featured
as the punch line. In the first video, Charlie’s
kidney is stolen by his two “friends” after being
persuaded into a cave called Candy Mountain.
However, they maintain a lightness by add-
ing childish songs. In 2016, a Kickstarter
was launched to create a 30 minute final epi-
sode to the Charlie the Unicorn saga.
Film Cow is an animation studio
started by Jason Steele and they have
made a number of viral animations. “Llamas with Hats” is the other most well
known of the Film Cow animations. These fol-
low two llamas wearing hats, Carl, a psychotic
and violent llama who gets more deadly as the
videos continue and the “straight man” Paul.
(Fig. 38) The videos get progressively ridic-
ulous the violence becomes more grandiose,
with the first video focusing on Carl’s obses-
sion with eating human hands, and the twelfth
and final set after the apocalypse, brought
about by Carl, and ending with his suicide.
Charlie the Unicorn was a cartoon first released
in 2005. There have been a number of sequels
since the original video’s release. The series
revolves around a disgruntled unicorn named While there have not been many memes or par-
odies born from the Film Cow animations, they
are a staple of internet culture and an indication
of the comedy sensibilities in the mid 2000s.
Film Cow
fig. 37
20 | Part One: Early Memes
fig. 38