Charlie the Unicorn

''Charlie the Unicorn'' is a 2005 Flash animated comedy short film and viral video created by Jason Steele of independent film company FilmCow in Orlando, Florida. The short follows Charlie, a lethargic and pessimistic unicorn, who is taken by a blue unicorn and a pink unicorn on an adventure to the magical Candy Mountain. However, the journey turns out to be a farce, and Charlie has his kidney stolen by the other two unicorns.

Steele originally created the video as a birthday present for his mother; the video was partially credited to her and was released by her under the username "TypeQueen" on Newgrounds, where it rapidly increased in popularity. The video was later uploaded onto YouTube by Geoff Swanson, where it gained large viewership and continued to increase in popularity, leading to a series of sequels and spinoffs. A merchandising line was later produced, as well as four sequels and a parody series titled ''Charlie ''. The first three episodes in the series were released to DVD in 2009 as part of ''The FilmCow Master Collection''.

Plot

In a quiet meadow, Charlie, a unicorn, is resting, before he is awakened by a blue and a pink unicorn. As Charlie awakes from his slumber, the two inform him that they have found a map to the magical Candy Mountain, and that he must come with them on their journey. Charlie initially refuses and goes back to sleep. The blue unicorn begins to jump on Charlie, insistent that he should come, and both begin to pester him with details of the mountain, causing him to begrudgingly give in to their demands.

The trio begin their journey in a forest, where the blue and pink unicorns lead Charlie to a Magical Liopleurodon, who supposedly tells them the way with unintelligible gurgles. The trio then cross a bridge, while the blue unicorn badgers Charlie by repeating his name and reminding him they are on a bridge. When the trio arrives at Candy Mountain, the letters of the CANDY sign come to life and the "Y" sings a song (sung to the tune of the Clarinet Polka) imploring Charlie to go into the Candy Cave. After the letters explode, Charlie reluctantly goes into the cave, and the blue and pink unicorns say goodbye as Charlie is trapped inside and knocked out by an unknown assailant. When Charlie awakens in the meadow, he realizes that they have taken one of his kidneys, much to his dismay.

Characters

* Jason Steele plays Charlie the Unicorn, a grouchy lethargic unicorn who is badgered by his two unicorn companions to travel with them to Candy Mountain. He acts cynical throughout the trip and fails to believe that such a place could be real, but to his surprise, Candy Mountain turns out to actually exist.
* Steele also plays the blue and pink unicorns who annoy Charlie and convince him to travel with them to Candy Mountain. Steele has revealed very little about the two in the ''Charlie the Unicorn'' videos for humorous value, most notably their genders and their names. He believes that his characters are "somewhat scary"''Charlie the Unicorn Adult Swim Pitch'', in ''The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence'' VD 2009. Kunaki. and "more interesting" when little is revealed about them. In March 2016, he revealed via an upload of the original script on his website that the blue and pink unicorns were given the placeholder names Lolz and Roffle in the original script. The unicorns are not named within the series itself.
* In his first musical role in the ''Charlie the Unicorn'' series, Steele performs the singing voice of the Letter "Y", an anthropomorphic letter who resides alongside letters "C", "A", "N", and "D" on the Candy Mountain marquee sign. He performs the musical number "The Candy Mountain Cave".
* The Magical Liopleurodon is a ''Liopleurodon'' character briefly featured in the video. The character communicates in his species' natural call, and supposedly guides the unicorns to Candy Mountain. According to Steele, ''Charlie the Unicorn'' was the first time many viewers heard about Liopleurodons, and following the video's rise in popularity, many would incorrectly pronounce the species' name as as it is pronounced in the video, rather than the correct pronunciation, .

Production

Independent animator Jason Steele of FilmCow conceived ''Charlie the Unicorn'' in 2005 as a gift for his mother's birthday, as she enjoyed unicorn-related conversation.Steele, Jason (2009). Commentary for ''Charlie the Unicorn'', in ''The FilmCow Master Collection: 200 Years of Excellence'' VD Kunaki. Steele had lost his job and most of his possessions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans