JibJab
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
JibJab is a website featuring Flash cartoons. It is run by two Americans, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, who call themselves "the JibJab Brothers". When they are credited together (such as when they are co-directors), they call themselves Grevan Spiridellis, which is an amalgamation of Gregg and Evan. Some of their animations are featured on MSN Video.
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[edit] Prior to 2004 Election
JibJab was started in 1999. The brothers had made several short films prior to the 2004 presidential election, including several Rumple sketches (Rumple was the President's three-inch tall imaginary friend) even though the website was not as well-known as it became when the "This Land" video was released. Some of these movies involved politics, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor in California's 2003 recall election, and another one involved the 2000 presidential election.
A few of the non-political cartoons are as follows:
- Breedin' in Eden
- Nasty Santa
- Geezers
- Sandbox
- Raps!
- Exit 109
- Nookie & Wheels
- Hoola Boy
- Riddle King
Jibjab also featured a few extras on their site as well:
- The Dick Johnson Show
- Turkey Baseball
- The History of Jibjab
- Fart Waffle
Cartoons made for various companies:
- Sony
- Kraft
[edit] Election 2004
[edit] "This Land"
For the 2004 presidential election, JibJab created a Flash movie entitled This Land, which featured a parody of Woody Guthrie's song "This Land is Your Land", sung by animated caricatures of George W. Bush and John Kerry.
This animation was an instant hit. Visits to the site skyrocketed, and the site was listed number one on Alexa's "Movers and Shakers" list. After being linked to on thousands of websites, the song was featured several times in the printed media and on television, including NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight. On July 26, 2004, the creators appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The popularity of the animation has resulted in The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music Unit, threatening legal action. JibJab and Ludlow Music reached a settlement after JibJab's attorneys unearthed evidence that the song had passed into the public domain in 1973. The terms of the settlement allowed for the continued distribution of This Land. Jim Meskimen voiced almost all the characters. Minor characters include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Colin Powell, and Dick Cheney.
[edit] "Good to be in DC"
Due to the popularity of This Land a second parody, Good to be in D.C. featuring President George W. Bush, Former Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman was made to the tune of Dixie. Also featured were Dan Rather, John Ashcroft, Michael Moore, Rush Limbaugh, and John McCain. It also poked fun at Vice President Cheney's ties to Halliburton and former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's coming out as a homosexual, Former President Bill Clinton in the arms of two women while his wife Hillary smacks him, and actress Jane Fonda dressed as a 1960s hippie protesting the Vietnam War and being set on fire. The cartoon was shown on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, and many other news programs. Jim Meskimen voiced most of the characters again.
[edit] "Second Term"
For the inauguration in January 2005, a third parody, Second Term, featuring most of the political figures already mentioned, was made to the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain." The cartoon premiered on The Tonight Show. It dealt with the reactions to Bush's 2004 electoral victory, both in the US and around the world. Jim Meskimen voiced almost all the characters once more. It also featured Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi with Pope John Paul along with a stereotypical Rabbi singing "We Want Peace on earth throughout his second term" with guns and artillery firing in the background. Bill Clinton gets slapped by his wife while reading a playboy magazine in this cartoon.
[edit] Post-Election 2004
[edit] Matzah!
Matzah features a hip-hop Hebrew, Smooth-E, rapping about matzah, the unleavened bread observant Jews eat during Passover. The main character is reminiscent of rapper Eminem, and appears in front of rap-video clichés. It also features a burning bush -- part of the story of Exodus, which is told at Passover. It was aired on The Tonight Show on Thursday, April 21, 2005.
[edit] Big Box Mart
Another criticizing cartoon, "Big Box Mart" follows Jibjab's tradition of lampooning big retailers. It premiered October 13, 2005 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It follows a man, representing the typical American consumer, who shops and purchases "crap" with "a wallet full of credit cards" at a fictional store called Big-Box Mart to fulfill his "needs". Later the man's factory job is outsourced to another country, as it's cheaper to sell merchandise to retailers by using cheap foreign labor. He ends up as an employee at the big-box store he regularly shopped at, Big Box Mart, an obvious caricature of Wal-Mart. The cartoon is notable for containing the faces of approximately one thousand JibJab fans.
The video is sung to the tune of Oh! Susanna.
[edit] Budweiser advertising campaign
Their new project is an advertising campaign for Budweiser. More information on this partnership can be found by going to their site.
[edit] "2-0-5"
This cartoon, which premiered on the Tonight Show on December 15, 2005, is sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" and "Turkey in the Straw". It depicts President George W. Bush singing about the many setbacks and issues he has faced and allegedly caused during 2005 and how he is hoping that 2006 will be better. Jim Meskimen provided the voices. The cartoon competed in the Internet category of the 2006 Ottawa International Animation Festival.
[edit] Geezers: It Bit My Ass!
This cartoon is about two old men, one white, one black. The white grandpa, the pessimist, is complaining because he says that if you give something to a lot of people, they don't give anything back. The black grandpa, the optimist, is on the brighter side. The white grandpa feeds some Wonder Bread (c) to a squirrel, but crows take it instead. He beats the birds with his cane. The squirrel turns evil and bites his behind. Screaming to get it off, the pessimist calls the African American to beat the squirrel with his cane. He tries, but accidentally hits him in the genitals, and has to go to the hospital.
[edit] Santa Claus!
This cartoon is about Santa ranting about Christmas.
[edit] Jokebox
Jibjab introduced a new feature which allows members (who can sign up for free) to compile and view written, video, or photo "jokes" and store them in their own "jokebox".
[edit] "Weird Al" Yankovic video
JibJab have released a video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody song "Do I Creep You Out?", taken from his Straight Outta Lynwood album. The video can be watched on the site. It involves the song's character (played by Weird Al himself, looking similar to Taylor Hicks, the artist who sings the original song "Do I Make You Proud") stalking the object of his affection until his arrest by the police.
[edit] Parodies of Companies (incomplete)
- ENN (CNN)
- Big News Channel (Fox News Channel)
- Mal-Mart (Wal-Mart)
- Big Buy (Best Buy)
- Nexxo (Exxon)
- JMart (KMart)
- Booger King (Burger King)
- Mendy's (Wendy's)
- MyOil (Mobil)
- Golf (Gulf)
- OilCo (Amoco)
- US Allday (USA Today)
