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Crazy Frog
Crazy Frog at the Australian tour in 2005
Background information
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres	Eurodance
Years active	1997–2012 2018-present
Labels	Ministry of Sound Mach 1 Records GmbH Universal Warner

Crazy Frog, originally known as The Annoying Thing, is a Swedish CGI-animated character created in 1997 by Swedish actor and playwright Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba! (later known as Jamster), he was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Australian singer and songwriter Sav Martino and Daniel Malmedahl in 1997 while attempting to imitate the sound of a two-stroke engine.

The Crazy Frog spawned a worldwide hit single with a remix of "Axel F", which reached the number one spot in Turkey, New Zealand, Australia and most of Europe. The subsequent album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits and second single "Popcorn" also enjoyed worldwide chart success, and a second album entitled Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits was released in 2006. The Crazy Frog has also spawned a range of merchandise and toys, and two video games.

History

In 1997, 17-year-old Gothenburg student Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself imitating the noises produced by a two stroke engine. He posted this on a website and caught the attention of a Swedish television researcher, who convinced Daniel to perform the sound live on air. After it debuted on television, recordings of his performance began appearing on file sharing networks and various websites under the filename "2TAKTARE.MP3" ("Tvåtaktare" is Swedish for "two stroker").

The sound was adopted as the sound of a Formula One car as early as 2001 in the form of "Deng Deng Form" and later "The Insanity Test" both of which were a static background of a Ferrari Formula One car accompanied by the sound.

In late 2003, another Swede, Erik Wernquist, encountered the sound effect and, not knowing about the previous incarnations of the sound, was inspired to create the 3D animated character he named "The Annoying Thing" to accompany it. Wernquist worked on the first animation in his spare time using the LightWave 3D modeling application, and the whole process took between 6 and 8 weeks. In October 2003 he posted it on his website and on the CGTalk forum.

The animation was a popular attraction at Erik's website, but the sound was credited to "Anonymous". Eventually, word reached Malmedahl that his impressions had been used in a now well-known animation. He contacted Wernquist, apparently giving an impromptu performance to confirm his claims. Wernquist was convinced, and gave credit to Malmedahl for his creation.

The animation received attention through filesharing and word of mouth, and when Ringtone Europe and Jamster België (now both merged into Jamba!) got wind of this, realizing the monetary possibilities through capitalizing on the underground cult-status they licensed the rights to the creation, renaming it "Crazy Frog" and starting to market it in mid-2004.

In an interview with HitQuarters, Wernquist expressed his displeasure at the choice of name:

"If I had known that this was going to be such a big thing I would not have allowed them to use that stupid name. It has nothing to do with the character. It's not a frog and it's not particularly crazy either."

Other media

On 1 July 2005, UK-based publishers Digital Jesters announced that they had acquired the rights to the video game licence for the Crazy Frog. Crazy Frog Racer (featuring The Annoying Thing), released in December 2005 on PlayStation 2 and PC as a racing game. A year later in 2006 a sequel was released, entitled Crazy Frog Racer 2. Both were extremely panned by critics.

A string of Crazy Frog merchandise was released in the UK.

In 2005, the German production company The League of Good People was in talks with broadcasters about a TV series based on Crazy Frog.

The Crazy Frog toured Australia in late 2005, beginning in Perth on 4 December and continuing through other major capital cities. He made appearances at numerous shopping centres and major hospitals around the country.

In 2007, the Animation World Network wrote in connection with "The Annoying Thing" that there was a "planned feature film" to "be completed by the end of next year" into an animated feature film.

In 2017, a documentary called "The Not So Crazy Frog" was released, originally made in 2012.

In 2018, a trademark claim by Kaktus Films, the original owners alongside Erik Wernquist, that had music listed as one of many rights.

Also in 2018, an official Instagram Page was set up under the name @thecrazyfrogofficial.

Discography

The Crazy Frog was broadcast for the first time on Belgian Television in mid-2004, though was named "The Annoying Thing" There it was marketed as Albert Motàr.

"Axel F" (a remix of the 1980s Harold Faltermeyer song produced by the German band Resource), was released on 23 May 2005 and became one of the most successful singles of the year 2005. The single debuted at number one in the UK, remaining there for four weeks, and it was released on the debut album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits.

Commercial controversies

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1. Wilson, Giles (27 January 2005). "'The Crazy Frog sound? That's my fault.'". BBC. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
2. The Evolution of Crazy Frog – from Deng Deng to Ringtone. Bloggerheads.com (16 January 2005). Retrieved on 6 July 2011.
3. ^ "'The Crazy Frog sound? That's my fault.'". BBC. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
4. Crazy Frog Racer 2 video game Review by British Gaming Television Presenter Wesley Lock. Blisteredthumbs.net. Retrieved on 6 July 2011.
5. Crazy Frog – Ringtones, Music, Posters, Games, T-Shirts and more!. www.crazyfrog.co.uk. Retrieved on 6 July 2011.
6. Grant, Jules (17 October 2005). "Crazy Frog hops on to small screen". C21 Media. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
7. Cashmere, Paul. "Crazy Frog Tour Dates". undercover.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
8. Cartoon Movie 2007: Sneak Peeks European Animated Features. Mag.awn.com (14 March 2007). Retrieved on 6 July 2011.
9. . www.youtube.com (22 December 2017).
10. . US Trademark Search (24 May 2018).
11. . Instagram (8 May 2018).
12. Fligstein, Neil (2008). Euroclash: The EU, European Identity, and the Future of Europe. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191647949. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
13. "Crazy Frog – Historia". Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. "Crazy Frog profile on Discogs.com". Retrieved 24 January 2012.
15. Seenan, Gerard (25 May 2005). "Crazy Frog ringtone outsells Coldplay". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.