Nyan Cat Explained

Nyan Cat is a YouTube video uploaded in April 2011, which became an Internet meme. The video merged a Japanese pop song with an animated cartoon cat with a Pop-Tart for a torso flying through space and leaving a rainbow trail behind. The video ranked at number five on the list of most viewed YouTube videos in 2011.[1]

Origin

Animated GIF

On April 2, 2011, the GIF animation of the cat was posted by 25-year-old Christopher Torres of Dallas, Texas, who uses the name "prguitarman", on his website LOL-Comics.[2] Torres explained in an interview where the idea for the animation came from: "I was doing a donation drive for the Red Cross and in-between drawings in my Livestream video chat, two different people mentioned I should draw a 'Pop Tart' and a 'cat'." In response, he created a hybrid image of a Pop-Tart and a cat, which was developed a few days later into the animated GIF.Nyan Cat was based on a real cat: Torres' pet cat Marty, who died in November 2012 from feline infectious peritonitis.[3] [4]

Song

The original version of the song "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" was uploaded by user "daniwell"[5] to the Japanese video site Niconico on July 25, 2010.[6] The song features the Vocaloid virtual singer Hatsune Miku. The Japanese word is onomatopoeic, imitating the call of a cat (equivalent to English "meow").[1] The song was later included in the rhythm game , released by Sega in August 2012.[7]

On January 30, 2011, a user named "Momomomo" uploaded a cover of "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" featuring the UTAU voice Momone Momo.[8] [9] The voice source used to create the Momone Momo voice was a Japanese woman named Momoko Fujimoto.[10]

YouTube video

YouTube user "saraj00n" (whose real name is Sara June)[11] combined the cat animation with the "Momomomo" version of the song "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!", and uploaded it to YouTube on April 5, 2011, three days after Torres had uploaded his animation, giving it the title "Nyan Cat". The video rapidly became a success after being featured on websites including G4 and CollegeHumor. Christopher Torres said: "Originally, its name was Pop Tart Cat, and I will continue to call it so, but the Internet has reached a decision to name it Nyan Cat, and I'm happy with that choice, too."[12]

In March 2019, ownership of the YouTube channel hosting the original Nyan Cat video was transferred to Means TV, a worker-owned video streaming service.[13]

In November 2023, the original Nyan Cat video ceased to be available on the saraj00n YouTube channel, and its new location was given as the YouTube channel NyanCat.[14]

Sale as an NFT

In February 2021, it was reported that the GIF's original creator, Chris Torres, had created an updated version and sold it as a non-fungible token (NFT) for 300 ether, the equivalent of US$587,000 at the time of sale.[15]

Reception

The Nyan Cat music video reached ninth place in Business Insiders top ten viral videos of April 2011, with 7.2 million total views.[16] The original YouTube video has received 205 million views . Nyan Cat won a Webby Award in 2012 for "Meme of the Year".[17]

Due to the video's popularity, many new remixes and cover versions have been made, some several hours long. There are also ringtones, wallpapers and applications created for operating systems and devices, including a progress bar substitute for Windows which would show up in various places such as the file transfer progress indicator in Windows Explorer, following a request on the subreddit "Somebody Make This".[18] [19] [20] Video games were developed for iPhone, iPad,[21] Symbian,[22] Android,[23] Windows Phone,[24] and HP webOS,[25] and a variety of flash games such as "Snake" replicas using the cat's rainbow tail.[26] "Nyan Cat Adventure", by 21st Street Games, is an officially licensed game.[27] An officially licensed cryptocurrency entitled "Nyancoin" with the domain name nyanco.in (later nyan-coin.org) was launched in January 2014.[28]

Website

Christopher Torres initially criticized the website www.nyan.cat, which originally featured a similar-looking cat with the pop tart replaced by a slice of toast,[29] and the same background music. The site, which uses the .cat sponsored top-level domain, was described by Torres as "plagiarized".[30] [31] Since 2012 the website has been operated by Torres, and shows the authentic version of the cat.

Temporary DMCA takedown

On June 27, 2011, the original YouTube video was taken down from the site following a Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint from someone claiming to be Torres. Torres immediately issued a statement on his website LOL-comics denying that he was the source of the complaint, and contacted Saraj00n and daniwell, who hold the copyright for the video and the song, in order to file a counter-complaint to YouTube.[32] During the period that the video was unavailable for viewing, Torres received numerous abusive e-mails from people who wrongly believed that he had filed the DMCA complaint. On June 28, 2011, the Nyan Cat video was restored to YouTube.[33]

Lawsuit

In May 2013, Christopher Torres and Charles Schmidt, the creators of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat respectively, jointly sued 5th Cell and Warner Bros. for copyright infringement and trademark infringement over the appearance of these characters without permission in the Scribblenauts series of video games. Torres and Schmidt have registered copyrights on their characters and have pending trademark applications on the names.[34] [35] Torres released a statement saying that he had tried to obtain compensation from 5th Cell and Warner Bros. for commercial use of the character, but was "disrespected and snubbed" multiple times.[36] [37] The suit was settled in September 2013, with Torres and Schmidt being paid for the use of the characters.[38]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Talking Twin Babies, Nyan Cat among YouTube's top videos of 2011. Los Angeles Times. December 20, 2011. December 20, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120605023312/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/12/talking-twin-babies-nyan-cat-and-friday-top-youtubes-most-watched-videos-of-2011.html. 2012-06-05. live.
  2. Web site: Pop Tart / Nyan Cat! . prguitarman . LOL-comics . April 2, 2011 . November 13, 2011 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120906230851/http://www.prguitarman.com/index.php?id=348 . September 6, 2012 .
  3. Web site: RIP Marty --The Inspiration for Nyan Cat . mashable.com . November 2, 2012 . November 2, 2012.
  4. Web site: From Meme To Memory: RIP Marty, Nyan Cat's Inspiration . petslady.com . November 2, 2012 . November 2, 2012 . May 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220531110518/http://petslady.com/articles/meme_memory_rip_marty_nyan_cats_inspiration_59757 . dead .
  5. "daniwell" is variously credited on the web as daniwellP and Daniwell-P; the account that uploaded the song "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" uses the name daniwell.
  6. ニコニコ動画(原宿).【初音ミク】Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!【オリジナループ】. From nicovideo.jp July 25, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  7. News: Watch The Nyan Cat Song In Hatsune Miku Project Diva f . 15 April 2020 . . 9 August 2012.
  8. http://www.vocaloidism.com/2011/05/22/nyan-cat-hit-10m-views/ Nyan Cat hit 10M views
  9. 【UTAU】Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!【桃音モモ】【ミクカバー】 ‐ ニコニコ動画(原宿). From nicovideo.jp, January 31, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  10. Fujimoto . Momoko . Oyamano . Mayo . Yotsumoto Toshimi . 6 August 2011 . Japanese . これがソラリスの海か！ "音源系女子"ガールズトーク . This is the ocean of Solaris! A Girl's Talk with the "Sound System Girls" . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110813005403/http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/624/624499/ . 13 August 2011 . live.
  11. Web site: Profiles in Geekdom: Chris Torres, Creator of Nyan Cat . . February 4, 2012 . March 22, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120308054835/http://www.pcworld.com/article/249299/profiles_in_geekdom_chris_torres_creator_of_nyan_cat.html . 2012-03-08 . live .
  12. Web site: POP Profile: The Guy Behind The Viral Phenomenon "Nyan Cat" . Pop goes the Week . April 19, 2011. October 28, 2011.
  13. Web site: Means TV, with a boost from the Nyan Cat, launches a post-capitalist streaming service. Theintercept.com . March 21, 2019. April 10, 2019.
  14. Web site: Chris @PRguitarman on X . X.com . November 11, 2023 . November 11, 2023.
  15. Web site: Remastered Nyan Cat Gif Sold for the Equivalent of $587,000 in a Crypto Art Auction . Stanley, Alise . Gizomodo . 19 February 2021 . 28 February 2021.
  16. Web site: Top viral videos of April: What's A "Nyan Cat"?. Business Insider. May 3, 2011. November 13, 2011.
  17. Web site: Special Achievement: Meme of the Year: Nyan Cat . webbyawards.com . 13 December 2019.
  18. Web site: Brandrick . Chris . Nyan Cat Invades Windows 7, Dances Along Progress Bars . PCWorld . 2011-07-13 . 2011-09-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120719160627/http://www.pcworld.com/article/235674/nyan_cat_invades_windows_7_dances_along_progress_bars.html . 2012-07-19 . live .
  19. Web site: Robberts . Eric . Nyan Cat Progress Bar . EKM.CO . 12 July 2011 . 19 April 2022 .
  20. Web site: [SMT] A Nyan Cat loading bar UI mod for Windows . 19 June 2011 . 2022-04-19 . 2021-12-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211213203709/https://i.reddit.com/r/SomebodyMakeThis/comments/i3bdk/smt_a_nyan_cat_loading_bar_ui_mod_for_windows/ . bot: unknown . (June 19, 2011)
  21. News: Apps rush: Nutkin, Nyan Cat and more . London . The Guardian . Stuart . Dredge . May 14, 2011. November 13, 2011.
  22. Web site: Nyan Cat on the Nokia Cell Phone . Pdadevice.com . 2011-07-02 . 2011-09-22.
  23. Web site: Nyan Cat: Lost In Space . April 10, 2015.
  24. Web site: Nyan Cat strays into the Marketplace. wpcentral.com. November 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20141019092722/http://www.wpcentral.com/nyan-cat-strays-marketplace. October 19, 2014. dead.
  25. Web site: Nyan Cat for HP webOS . Developer.palm.com . 2011-07-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110810065425/https://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.taytabbb.nyan&applicationid=9147 . 2011-08-10 .
  26. https://archive.org/details/nyake "nyake" – Internet Archive
  27. Web site: Nyan Cat Adventure (Xbox 360 – Indie Game) Review . thegamerplex.com. December 21, 2011. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120406192105/http://thegamerplex.com/temp/nyan-cat-adventure-xbox-360-indie-game-review/. April 6, 2012.
  28. Web site: Cryptocurrencies now being pooped out by cartoon cat. Simon. Sharwood. The Register. January 23, 2014. January 24, 2014.
  29. https://web.archive.org/web/20110531001830/http://nyan.cat/ Non-Stop Nyan Cat!
  30. http://nyan.cat/ nyan.cat
  31. Web site: Huy Hong: so tremendously humbled, thank you. Lies and thievery . prguitarman.tumblr.com . November 13, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426062757/http://prguitarman.tumblr.com/post/4954865409/huy-hong-so-tremendously-humbled-thank-you-lies . April 26, 2012 .
  32. Web site: Walker . Aiden . 2023-11-17 . Original 'Nyan Cat' Video With Over 200 Million Views Gets Taken Down, Creating Controversy Online Between Original Artist And Original Poster . 2024-08-16 . Know Your Meme.
  33. Web site: I did NOT file a Youtube Copyright Complaint . prguitarman.com . June 27, 2011 . November 13, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120726062134/http://www.prguitarman.com/index.php?id=369 . July 26, 2012 .
  34. Web site: Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat creators sue Warner Bros . BBC News . 2013-05-02 . 2013-05-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130504004241/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22397446 . 2013-05-04 . live .
  35. Web site: Adi Robertson . Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat creators sue 'Scribblenauts' studio for using their memes . The Verge . 2013-02-12 . 2013-05-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130505004006/http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/2/4293484/nyan-cat-keyboard-cat-creators-sue-scribblenauts-over-easter-eggs . 2013-05-05 . live .
  36. Web site: Nyan Cat Creator Comments on Warner Bros. Lawsuit. GamePolitics. 2013-05-07. 2013-05-07.
  37. Web site: Phillips . Tom . Warner Bros. and 5th Cell targeted by Keyboard Cat, Nyan Cat lawsuit • News • . Eurogamer.net . 2013-05-03 . 2013-06-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130625164012/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-02-warner-bros-and-5th-cell-hit-by-keyboard-cat-nyan-cat-lawsuit . 2013-06-25 . live .
  38. Web site: Van Syckle. Katie . Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat Come Out Ahead in Lawsuit Against Warner Bros.. Nymag.com. 2013-09-26. 2013-10-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20130930195323/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/keyboard-cat-nyan-cat-win-warner-bros-lawsuit.html . 2013-09-30. live.

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