Dramatic Chipmunk

Dramatic Chipmunk is an Internet comedy viral video.[1][2] The video is a five-second clip of a prairie dog (erroneously referred to as a chipmunk) turning its head while the camera zooms in and dramatic music is played.

The prairie dog after turning its head

Origins

The clip became widely known through uploads on YouTube and CollegeHumor on June 19, 2007.[1] An earlier and identical version, titled as Dramatic Look, had been uploaded to YouTube on June 6, 2007.[3]

The clip of the prairie dog is from the Japanese television show Hello! Morning featuring Mini-Moni's segment, Mini-Moni Chiccha.[4] The clip has a prairie dog inside a transparent box being shown to the hosts in the studio. CollegeHumor also released a longer clip under the title Undramatic Chipmunk, showing how the video looked in the original Japanese version.[5]

The audio used in Dramatic Chipmunk is taken from the score of the 1974 Mel Brooks film Young Frankenstein, which was composed by two-time Oscar nominee (and longtime Brooks collaborator) John Morris, and orchestrated by Morris and EGOT recipient Jonathan Tunick.[6][7][8] It uses three dramatic chords (A minor, C♯ minor, and E minor) performed in full orchestral tutti, and has a rumble of thunder in the background. The "chipmunk" turns its head and stares at the camera with a "surprised" look while the music is played.

Popularity

Since its release, the video has received over fifty million views.[9] People Magazine named the Dramatic Chipmunk as one of The 10 Wildest YouTube Stars of 2007.[10]

Since 2013, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have been known to play the Dramatic Chipmunk video on the Jumbotron during home football games to distract opposing kickers.[11]

In the video game Overwatch, the Wrecking Ball character – an enhanced-intelligent hamster that pilots a mecha – was given a highlight introduction in April 2019 that spoofs the Dramatic Chipmunk meme.[12]

References
  1. "Five-second 'Dramatic Chipmunk' video takes the Web by storm". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. NME.COM. "NME Music Blogs - NME.COM". NME.COM. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  3. YouTube - Dramatic Look Video uploaded by magnets99 on June 6, 2007.
  4. "Spot the memes in Weezer's Pork and Beans". News.com.au. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  5. Undramatic Chipmunk Archived May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Young Frankenstein - Original Isolated Score - John Morris. YouTube. 4 September 2016. Event occurs at 4:40. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  7. IMDB Full Cast and Crew for Young Frankenstein
  8. "PBP - Jonathan Tunick". picturebookproductions.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  9. Determining an exact figure is impossible, because the video is uploaded multiple times on different websites. The most popular version on YouTube had over 36 million views as of October 2014. Other versions on YouTube have received millions of views each.
  10. "The 10 Wildest YouTube Stars - THE DRAMATIC CHIPMUNK : People.com". people.com. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  11. "Minnesota unveils 'Dramatic Gopher' vs. Wisconsin « Big Ten Network". Big Ten Network. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  12. Boudreau, Ian (21 April 2019). "Overwatch's Wrecking Ball is now Dramatic Hammond". PCGamesN. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
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