Crazy Frog is an animated character used in the marketing of a ring tone based on The Annoying Thing, a computer animation created by Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the animation was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl while attempting to imitate the sound of a two-stroke moped engine.
The Crazy Frog spawned a worldwide hit single with a remix of "Axel F", which reached the number one spot in the UK, Japan, Turkey, New Zealand, Australia and most of Europe. The subsequent album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits and second single "Popcorn" also enjoyed worldwide chart success, and a second album entitled Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits was released in 2006. The Crazy Frog has also spawned a range of merchandise and toys, and a video game, all of which were very popular for Christmas 2005. Negotiations are also underway for a TV series based on the character.[1]
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[edit] History
In 1997, 17-year-old Swede Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself impersonating the sounds produced by internal combustion engines. He posted this on a website and caught the attention of a Swedish television researcher, who convinced Daniel to perform the sound live on air. After the annoying thing television debut, recordings of his performance began appearing on peer to peer file sharing networks and various websites under the filename "2TAKTARE.MP3" ("Tvåtaktare" is Swedish for "Two stroker").
The sound effect was quickly included in Flash animations that spread virally among Internet users becoming an Internet meme. The most notable example was the Insanity Test, which challenged test subjects to keep a straight face while staring at a still photograph of Rubens Barrichello in a Ferrari Formula 1 car as the sound effect was played.
In late-2003, Malmedahl's fellow Swede Erik Wernquist encountered the sound effect and was inspired to create the 3D animation "The Annoying Thing" to accompany it. Erik used the LightWave 3D modelling application to produce the animation and posted it on his website. The animation was a popular attraction at Erik's website, but the sound was credited to "Anonymous". Eventually, word reached Daniel that his impressions had been used in a now well-known animation. He contacted Erik, apparently giving an impromptu performance to confirm his claims. Erik was convinced, and gave due credit to Daniel for his creation. It was broadcast for the first time on two Belgian commercials for Ringtone Europe and Jamster België (now both merged into Jamba!) in mid-2004.
[edit] Ringtone
In 2004, the Germany based Jamba! group (ultimately owned by VeriSign who then sold 51% of the group to Fox in 2006) licensed the animation and sound for distribution as a mobile phone ringtone. Jamba! (trading under names such as Jamster!, RingtoneKing, and others) accompanied the release of the ringtone with a barrage of advertising. It soon became the most recognisable commercially available ringtone in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] Jamba! has earned an estimated £14 million from the ringtone [2], making it the most commercially successful ringtone of all time. Jamba! has also produced other successful animated creature ringtones, including Sweety the Chick and Nessie the Dragon, and produced other ringtones featuring the Crazy Frog including Crazy DJ Frog. There is also a series of Crazy Frog World Tour tones featuring the Frog performing his usual vocalisations against backgrounds of various countries' musical styles. These include the sitar-based "Crazy Frog India", reggae-flavoured "Crazy Frog Jamaica" and Jimmy Barnes-esque "Crazy Frog Australian Rock".
[edit] Musical history
Crazy Hits. The genitalia which caused the controversy about Crazy Frog is visible
In early 2005, two members of the German Bass Bumpers dance music production team were commissioned to record a dance single based around the Crazy Frog ring tone. They produced "Axel F" (a remix of the 1980s Harold Faltermeyer song), which was released on May 23, 2005 and became one of the most successful singles of the year 2005. "Axel F" debuted at number one in the UK[3], remaining there for three weeks and outselling the nearest contender Coldplay by three or four copies to one. The song was then knocked off the charts by rapper 2Pac's single 'Ghetto Gospel'. Similar success took place in Australia and many parts of Europe, and the song remained on the charts for many months in various countries worldwide. However, the song apparently failed to catch on as well in the US and Japan, where it reached #50 and #48 respectively. The "Axel F" music video was produced by Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist, and centers on the pursuit of the Crazy Frog by a bounty hunter. He reprises his role as pursuer of the Crazy Frog in all subsequent videos.
Popcorn (a remix of the Hot Butter song) was released on August 22 and premiered with a choreographed cheerleader performance on Top of the Pops. It also reached #16 in Australia and Top 20 in much of Europe, in many cases while "Axel F" was still charting.
Riding on the popularity of these initial single releases, an album entitled Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits was released on July 25. It contained several Frog remixes of existing songs like "Pump Up the Jam" and the Pink Panther theme, as well as several original tracks such as "In the 80's" and "Dirty Frog". It reached #5 in the UK, #8 in Australia and topped the charts in New Zealand. Surprisingly the album performed much better in the US than the "Axel F" single, reaching #19.
A special Christmas edition of Crazy Hits with numerous holiday-themed bonus tracks was released in November, backed with a double A-side single release of "Jingle Bells/U Can't Touch This". The single peaked at #4 in Australia and #5 in the UK.
In May 2006 the Crazy Frog contributed two tracks to a British compilation album entitled Football Crazy released to coincide with the 2006 World Cup — "Ole Ole Ole (Do the Froggy Wave)" and "Na Na Na, Hey Hey". A second album entitled Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits was released in June 2006, continuing in the musical vein of the first release with Frog versions of songs such as "Ice Ice Baby", "I Will Survive" and "I'm Too Sexy". The first single release is "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)", again a World Cup-oriented track perhaps drawing inspiration from the earlier Football Crazy songs.
A single release with a yet unverified song source is"Last Christmas"
[edit] Unofficial releases
On February 17, 2005, a group of producers naming themselves Pondlife announced the release of an unofficial single featuring the Crazy Frog sound entitled "Ring Ding Ding". This release was backed by DJs Wes Butters, Trevor Jordan and Daryl Denham along with studio-owner Maurice Cheetham.
On March 19, 2005, Pondlife held open auditions to find a live action Crazy Frog to star in their accompanying music video[4]. "Ring Ding Ding" was released on 6 June 2005 and reached #11 on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks after the Axel F version had charted.
An anti-Crazy Frog single named "Kill The Frog" by Frog Must Die was released in the UK on June 20. Since the song did not appear in the top 250 of the UK Singles Chart, it is unclear whether the single was postponed, or simply failed to sell enough copies. As the name explains, this CD is about killing the Crazy Frog.
On June 27, 2005, a dancehall reggae song by L.O.C. sampling the Crazy Frog sound titled "Ring Ding Ding (Frog)" was released in the UK. It reached #58 on the UK pop charts, and higher on reggae charts.
[edit] Other incarnations
On July 1, 2005, UK-based publishers Digital Jesters announced that they had acquired the rights to the video game licence for the Crazy Frog. Crazy Frog Racer (featuring The Annoying Thing), released in December 2005, is a racing game for the PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, PC and Nintendo DS. [5]
The Mitsuoka Orochi was a vehicle designated as the vehicular version of the crazy frog, it has a striking resemblance to a frog.
A string of Crazy Frog merchandise was released in the UK [6], under the name "The Annoying Thing" due to copyright and licensing restrictions. These items were picked as big sellers for Christmas 2005, particularly the Annoying Thing Singing Plush which plays the ringtone when squeezed. Other products available include an electronic game, a desktop nodder, keyring, backpack, lunchbox and air freshener. However, there are bootlegged versions of the Crazy Frog plush. The only way to tell the difference is the goggles; the imitations have big padded goggles whereas the originals have small, rounded open goggles. The crazy frog also has a "Whac-A-Mole" style arcade game, in which you get points for whacking "The Annoying Thing" and lose points for whacking the red robot thing.
The German production company The League of Good People is in talks with broadcasters about a TV series based on Crazy Frog[7], and video clips of Crazy Frog can be seen on. The second version of Crazy Frog games is now out and is called 'Crazy Frog Racer 2'. It is priced at £14.99 with retailers like play.com selling it for £9.99. However, it was extremely negatively received by critics. The game was released on PlayStation2 and PC. www.crazyfrogracer2.com is the official website to the second game.
The Crazy Frog toured Australia in late 2005, beginning in Perth on December 4 and continuing through other major capital cities. He made appearances at numerous shopping centres and major hospitals around the country. [8]
Currently, there are plans to make The Annoying Thing into an animated feature film. [9]
[edit] Discography
Albums:
- Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits (2005)
- Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits: Crazy Xmas Edition (2005)
- Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits (2006)
Singles:
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | UK | CAN | AUS | NZ | IRL | GER | FRA | BEL | |||
| 2005 | "Axel F" | | | | | | | | | | Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits |
| "Popcorn" | | | | | | | | | | ||
| "Jingle Bells/U Can't Touch This" | | | | | | | | | | ||
| 2006 | "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)" | | | | | | | | | | Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits |
| "Last Christmas" | | | | | | | | | | ||
| 2007 | "Crazy Frog in the House" | | | | | | | | | | |
DVD:
