JibJab
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:JibJab logo.png JibJab is a website featuring Flash cartoons. It is run by two Americans, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, who call themselves "the JibJab Brothers". When they are credited together (such as when they are co-directors), they call themselves Grevan Spiridellis, which is a combination of Gregg and Evan.
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Prior to Election 2004
JibJab was started in 1999. The brothers had made several short films prior to the 2004 presidential election, including several Rumple sketches (Rumple was the President's three-inch tall imaginary friend) even though the website was not as well-known as it became when the "This Land" video was released. Some of these movies involved politics, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor in California's 2003 recall election, and another one involved the 2000 presidential election.
A few of the non-political cartoons are as follows:
Jibjab also featured a few extras on their site as well:
Cartoons made for various companies:
Election 2004
"This Land"
For the 2004 presidential election, JibJab created a Flash movie entitled This Land, which featured a parody of Woody Guthrie's song "This Land is Your Land", sung by animated caricatures of George W. Bush and John Kerry.
This animation was an instant hit. Visits to the site skyrocketed, and the site was listed number one on Alexa's "Movers and Shakers" list. After being linked to on thousands of websites, the song was featured several times in the printed media and on television, including NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight. On July 26, 2004, the creators appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The popularity of the animation has resulted in The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music Unit, threatening legal action. JibJab and Ludlow Music reached a settlement after JibJab's attorneys unearthed evidence that the song had passed into the public domain in 1973. The terms of the settlement allowed for the continued distribution of This Land, with JibJab donating 20% of the net proceeds to the Woody Guthrie Foundation, as well as linking to the original song lyrics. Jim Meskimen voiced almost all the characters.
"Good to be in D.C."
Due to the popularity of This Land a second parody, Good to be in D.C. featuring President George W. Bush, Former Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman was made to the tune of Dixie. It also poked fun at Vice President Cheney's ties to Halliburton and former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's coming out as a homosexual, Former President Bill Clinton in the arms of two women while his wife Hillary smacks him, and actress Jane Fonda dressed as a 1960s hippie protesting the Vietnam War and being set on fire. The cartoon was shown on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, and many other news programs. Jim Meskimen voiced most of the characters again.
"Second Term"
For the inauguration in January 2005, a third parody, "Second Term," featuring most of the political figures already mentioned, was made to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain." The cartoon premiered on The Tonight Show. It dealt with the reactions to Bush's 2004 electoral victory, both in the US and around the world. Jim Meskimen voiced almost all the characters once more.
Post-Election 2004
"Matzah!"
There's no Bush or Kerry, but this cartoon features a burning bush hip-hop Jew. Matzah features a hip-hop Hebrew, Smooth-E, rapping about matzah, the unleavened bread observant Jews eat during Passover. The main character is reminiscent of rapper Eminem, and appears in front of rap-video cliches. It also features a burning bush -- part of the story of Exodus, which is told at Passover -- but no George W. Bush. It was aired on The Tonight Show on Thursday, April 21, 2005.
"Big Box Mart"
Another criticizing cartoon, "Big Box Mart" follows Jibjab's tradition of lampooning big retailers. It premiered October 13, 2005 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It follows a man, representing the typical American consumer, who shops and purchases "crap" with "a wallet full of credit cards" at a fictional store called Big-Box Mart to fulfill his "needs". Later the man's factory job is outsourced to another country, as it's cheaper to sell merchandise to retailers by using cheap foreign labor. He ends up as an employee at the big-box store he regularly shopped at, Big Box Mart, an obvious caricature of Wal-Mart. The cartoon is notable for containing the faces of approximately one thousand JibJab fans.
The video is sung to the tune of Oh! Susanna.
Budweiser advertising campaign
Their new project is an advertising campaign for Budweiser. More information on this partnership can be found by going to their site.
"2-0-5"
This cartoon, which premiered on the Tonight Show on December 15, 2005, is sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" and "Turkey in the Straw". It depicts President George W. Bush singing about the many issues he has faced and allegedly caused during 2005 and how he is hoping that 2006 will be better. Jim Meskimen provided the voices.