Badger Badger Badger is a 2003 Flash animation by British animator Jonti Picking, better known as Weebl, showing a row of dancing cartoon badgers chanting their own name over a synth loop before a snake interrupts. It became one of the defining earworm cartoons of the early Newgrounds era.
Origin
British animator Jonti Picking, who works under the alias Weebl, uploaded the cartoon to Newgrounds on September 1, 2003 from the account TheWeebl[1]. Picking had been publishing short animated loops on his own site Weebl's Stuff, and the badger cartoon was one of the earliest of those loops to break out to a wider audience[3].
The original Newgrounds submission racked up more than 1.1 million views over the following two decades, keeping the file alive well after the Flash format itself was retired[1].
- Platform: Newgrounds (viral spread on YouTube from 2008)
- Creator: Jonti Picking (Weebl)
- Date: 2003
Overview
Badger Badger Badger is a looping Flash cartoon showing a line of pixel-art badgers doing stiff arm-lifting calisthenics while a synthesised voice chants the word 'badger' for three measures and then shouts 'mushroom, mushroom' on the fourth[1]. After roughly three cycles the scene cuts to an animated desert where a snake slithers past as a voice calls out 'snake, a snake, oh it's a snake', and then the badgers return and the loop starts again[3].
The whole gag rides on unchanging repetition set to a chirpy electronic backing track, with no punchline beyond the sudden snake interruption[4]. On its original page the animation ran forever, which was part of the appeal for viewers who tried to see how long they could sit through it[3].
How It Spread
The chant format was quickly rebuilt with new audio. On July 11, 2006, YouTube user ReelTreble92 posted a version that swapped the badger vocals for lyrics from Raffi's 1994 children's song, producing the 'Bananaphone' badger remix, which pulled in over 4 million views on YouTube[3].
Fans also turned the animation into a real-world dance, holding both arms out and bobbing in time with the badgers. On March 24, 2008, YouTuber cccati uploaded a live-action performance of the routine that passed 250,000 views[3].
Weebl himself finally posted the cartoon to his own YouTube channel on June 28, 2008, and that upload went on to gather more than 28 million views, giving the loop a much larger second audience once Flash playback in browsers began to disappear[2].
How to Use
The clip is typically shared as the full looping animation or as a 30-second YouTube trim, often linked as a hypnotic gag to trap a friend[2]. In text form, fans quote just 'badger badger badger... mushroom mushroom', or drop the 'snake, snake, oh it's a snake' line as a mock warning when something unexpected shows up[4].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Badger Badger Badger?
A 2003 Flash animation by Jonti Picking (Weebl) in which cartoon badgers dance while a voice chants 'badger' and 'mushroom' before a snake interrupts[1].
Where did Badger Badger Badger come from?
It was uploaded to Newgrounds on September 1, 2003 under the account TheWeebl and racked up over 1.1 million views on that page[1].
What does Badger Badger Badger mean?
Nothing beyond the joke itself, the humor is the repetition of 'badger' and 'mushroom' and the sudden 'snake' interruption[4].
How do you use Badger Badger Badger?
People typically share the looping video, quote the 'mushroom mushroom' line in text, or perform the arm-bobbing dance popularised by fan videos like cccati's 2008 clip[3].
Is Badger Badger Badger still popular?
It is treated as a classic Flash-era meme; Weebl's official 2008 YouTube upload passed 28 million views, keeping the loop in circulation long after Flash itself was retired[2].
