''Kiwi!'' is a 2006 computer-generated animation created by Dony Permedi, a student in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, as his Master's Thesis Animation, with music composed and performed by Tim Cassell. The animation's story of a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

that aspires to fly created a major

Internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

after it was hosted on the video sharing site

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. Unofficial versions of the video pair it with

Mad World "Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Bo ...

Gary Jules Gary Jules Aguirre Jr. (born March 19, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, one-hit wonder, known primarily for his cover version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World#Michael Andrews and Gary Jules version, Mad World", which he recorded wi ...

. These versions became popular

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

Plot

The video itself centers around a kiwi bird who is mysteriously seen to be nailing an array of trees to the side of a sheer cliff so that they stick out horizontally. After the kiwi finishes it returns to the top of the cliff, before donning an aviator's cap and suddenly jumping off. As it dives down the cliff head-first the camera view turns sideways, revealing the purpose behind the kiwi's efforts. A tear wells from one eye as the kiwi achieves its dream, flapping its tiny wings as it "flies" above the forest of trees. The ultimate fate of the kiwi is not explicitly shown (though the sound of a crash can be heard at the end of the video).

Reception

''Kiwi!'' has received a large following for its deep meaning and heart touching manner. One of the most popular activities in the fan base is to create an alternate ending (usually one where the kiwi survives). , the animation has been viewed over 44 million times. It won official recognition on March 26, 2007, when viewers voted it the Most Adorable video of 2006 in the first annual YouTube Video Awards. This was an event large enough to draw international media attentionRebecca L. Lee,
Goes Hollywood
',

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

. Retrieved on 2007-03-29
'Ask a Ninja,' OK Go win YouTube Awards
'',

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. Retrieved on 2007-03-29Virginia Heffernan,
awards the top of its heap
',

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

. Retrieved on 2007-03-29 with

describing ''Kiwi!'' as "so cute it hurts" while the ''

'', critical of the awards, characterized the video as being "sweet but dull."

References

External links

''Kiwi!''
video on

Dony Permedi's websiteDony Permedi interviewedKazakhstani YouTube-like project named after this animation
(Archived) * {{IMDb title, 1051713, Kiwi! 2006 independent films 2006 short films 2006 films 2006 YouTube videos American aviation films American computer-animated films Fictional kiwi American student films Animated films without speech 2000s American films

Plot

Reception

See also

References

External links