{ "id": "epax75crfz", "slug": "charlie-the-unicorn", "title": "Charlie the Unicorn", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "label": "Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "label": "Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Charlie the Unicorn is Jason Steele's 2005 Flash animated web series (FilmCow), in which two hyperactive unicorns drag a grumpy unicorn to Candy Mountain, where he loses a kidney; five episodes ran 2005-2021.", "snippet": "Charlie the Unicorn is Jason Steele's 2005 Flash animated web series (FilmCow), in which two hyperactive unicorns drag a grumpy unicorn to Candy Mountain, where he loses a kidney; five episodes ran 2005-2021.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "markdown": "# Charlie the Unicorn\n\n**Charlie the Unicorn** is an American animated web series created by [Jason Steele](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-steele-animator), founder of the online video company FilmCow, about a grumpy unicorn dragged into surreal adventures by two relentlessly cheerful companions. The first short was uploaded to [Newgrounds](https://www.edgepedia.org/newgrounds) on November 26, 2005 under Steele's username TypeQueen, went viral on YouTube in 2006, and grew into a five-episode series that concluded with a crowdfunded finale in 2021.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [2](https://www.charlie.fan/about)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Creator | Jason Steele, working through his studio FilmCow; the first short was made as a birthday gift for his mother[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [2](https://www.charlie.fan/about) |\n| First release | Newgrounds, November 26, 2005, under the username TypeQueen[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) |\n| Premise | Two hyperactive unicorns (pink and blue) badger the lethargic Charlie into a quest to Candy Mountain, where he is knocked out and wakes up missing a kidney[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [3](https://meme.com/memes/charlie-the-unicorn) |\n| Episodes | Four shorts released 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2012, followed by the Grand Finale completed October 23, 2021[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [4](https://thetvdb.com/series/charlie-the-unicorn/allseasons/official) |\n| Crowdfunding | A Kickstarter opened February 23, 2016 for a 30-minute finale raised $209,247 against a $50,000 goal[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [3](https://meme.com/memes/charlie-the-unicorn) |\n| Reach | The official FilmCow YouTube upload of the first episode has 46,621,784 views; combined views across copies have been estimated at over 200 million[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY) • [2](https://www.charlie.fan/about) |\n| Cultural footprint | A Hot Topic merchandise campaign and a cameo in Weezer's 2008 \"Pork and Beans\" music video[6](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/charlie-the-unicorn-finale-web-series-tv-show-film-cow/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\n#### Charlie the Unicorn (2005)\n\nThe story opens in a bland gray meadow. Charlie, a dour gray unicorn, is minding his own business when a pink unicorn and a blue unicorn appear and announce that they have found a map to Candy Mountain. Charlie wants nothing to do with it. The pair follow him around, chirping nonsense, until he gives in and walks with them, muttering the whole way.\n\nThe journey is a parade of absurd detours. The unicorns stop to worship a [Liopleurodon](https://www.edgepedia.org/liopleurodon), a giant prehistoric reptile that answers only in roaring, which they treat as a magical guide. They cross a rickety bridge that breaks under them. When they finally reach the mountain itself, Charlie refuses to go into the Candy Mountain Candy Cave, and the mountain answers him: the giant marquee letter Y on the mountain's sign comes to life and sings \"The Candy Mountain Cave,\" backed by the letters C, A, N, and D. The song ends with all five letters colliding and bursting into flames.\n\n**Charlie gives in, steps into the cave, and immediately gets knocked unconscious with a blunt object.** He wakes up back in the meadow, bleeding, and discovers that his kidney has been stolen. The credits roll over his anguished scream: \"They took my frickin' kidney!\" The whole sweet journey was a con, and the two cheerful unicorns were organ traffickers.\n\n#### Charlie the Unicorn 2 (2008)\n\nThe pink and blue unicorns return to torment Charlie again, this time dragging him on a quest to deliver an amulet to the Banana King. Charlie again resists, again gets worn down, and again the adventure ends with him unconscious and robbed. The formula is now set: relentless cheer, escalating absurdity, then the conk on the head.\n\n#### Charlie the Unicorn 3 (2009)\n\nThe third short sends the trio underwater to find a snowman, with Charlie complaining. As before, the moment Charlie finally starts to enjoy himself is exactly the moment the unicorns knock him out and take another organ.\n\n#### Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale (2019–2021)\n\nFunded by a [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) campaign, the finale was released in six installments beginning in October 2019, with the completed film arriving on October 23, 2021. It brings the long-running gag to a close and sends Charlie and his tormentors off for good, ending the series after sixteen years.\n\n### Characters\n\n**Charlie** (Jason Steele) is a gray unicorn whose entire personality is not wanting to be in the video. He is sarcastic, tired, and frequently profane, which makes him the audience's stand-in: every viewer asking why these unicorns won't leave him alone.\n\n**The Pink Unicorn** (Jason Steele) is the louder and more unhinged of the two tormentors, given to non sequiturs and sudden shrieks.\n\n**The Blue Unicorn** (Jason Steele) is her partner in cheerfulness, slightly dimmer, equally relentless, and just as complicit in the kidney thefts.\n\nAll voices in the series are performed by Steele himself.\n\n### Interpretations and controversies\n\nThe original was uploaded to Newgrounds under the username TypeQueen, and the YouTube copy that made it famous was a reupload by someone else, meaning the video went viral on a stolen copy before FilmCow established its own channel. Animation critics have read the short as a reaction against the saccharine cartoons of the eighties, with a debt to [South Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-park) and [The Simpsons](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-simpsons): it takes the bright, singsong world of children's animation and puts a mugging at the end of it.\n\n### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations\n\nCharlie the Unicorn 2 arrived on YouTube on April 14, 2008, and Charlie the Unicorn 3 on April 6, 2009. A Kickstarter-funded Grand Finale closed the series in 2021. A surprise new Charlie the Unicorn video was released in 2024, marking the character's return. Steele's other FilmCow creations, notably [Llamas with Hats](https://www.edgepedia.org/llamas-with-hats), followed in the same deadpan-dark style.\n\n## Origin\n\nIn late August 2005, [Hurricane Katrina](https://www.edgepedia.org/hurricane-katrina) struck the Gulf Coast, and Jason Steele, then 20 years old and living in New Orleans, lost his job, his car, and most of his possessions. He still wanted to give his mother something for her upcoming birthday, and because she loved unicorns he created an animated short about adventurous unicorns. His mother uploaded the animation to Newgrounds in November 2005, where it began gaining attention.[2](https://www.charlie.fan/about)\n\nThe premise of this short established the pattern for the entire series: Charlie, a drowsy unicorn with a gloomy outlook, is badgered by two companions, one blue and one pink, into journeying to the magical Candy Mountain. They consult a Magical Liopleurodon, cross a bridge while the blue unicorn repeats Charlie's name, and a singing letter Y urges him into the Candy Mountain Cave. Charlie wakes up back in his meadow, missing a kidney.[7](https://www.webafterlife.net/grave/charlie-the-unicorn) • [1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n\n## Spread on YouTube\n\nThe video's viral moment came through an unauthorized copy. Geoff Swanson uploaded it to YouTube in 2006, where it took off.[2](https://www.charlie.fan/about) Steele later described the sequence of events in an ask-me-anything session: he had been posting animations to Newgrounds in the early 2000s, and someone took Charlie the Unicorn from that site and uploaded it to YouTube, where it blew up. When YouTube introduced its partner program, one of the first ways creators could receive a share of ad revenue, he decided to start releasing his work there.[8](https://bestofama.com/amas/49prlm)\n\nFilmCow reuploaded the original to YouTube on January 10, 2008 under the username SecretAgentBob, where it had gathered 26,503,000 views as of February 28, 2016; the same upload stood at 46,621,784 views by 2026.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY) In 2008, Cartoon Brew's editor in chief Amid Amidi, an animation industry writer, identified it as YouTube's most viewed original piece of animation, counting well over 32 million views across copies at that time.[9](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-blogs/youtubes-most-viewed-original-animation-5620.html)\n\n## The series\n\nSteele has said that after the original video's enthusiastic response he wrote a roadmap for the series, and that the three sequels he produced all followed it.[6](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/charlie-the-unicorn-finale-web-series-tv-show-film-cow/) The episodes were:\n\n- **Charlie the Unicorn 2** (April 14, 2008): Charlie and friends go to deliver an amulet to the Banana King.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n- **Charlie the Unicorn 3** (April 6, 2009): the trio goes underwater to find a snowman.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n- **Charlie the Unicorn 4** (December 28, 2012): the unicorns travel to the moon to fight a millipede.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n- **Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale** (2019–2021): released in parts beginning October 10, 2019, introducing the character Nyx and a darker lore, and completed as a roughly 40-minute finale on October 23, 2021.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n\nThe finale was funded by a Kickstarter campaign opened on February 23, 2016 under Steele's account, seeking $50,000 for a 30-minute episode and raising $209,247, roughly four times the goal.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn) • [3](https://meme.com/memes/charlie-the-unicorn) In the Kickstarter description Steele explained that he had not wanted to \"mess up what made it special by pumping out a bunch of episodes without good reason,\" adding that his roadmap ended with episode five.[6](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/charlie-the-unicorn-finale-web-series-tv-show-film-cow/) A Christmas Eve epilogue, \"Charlie the Unicorn Enjoys a Moment of Peace,\" followed on December 24, 2024.[10](https://www.patreon.com/filmcow/posts/charlie-unicorn-118618374) On November 26, 2025, Steele marked the 20th anniversary by posting a recorded conversation with his mother about the cartoon and its unexpected success.[11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItoafDg3cGE)\n\n## Reception and influence\n\nThe series became one of the defining viral animations of the mid-2000s. WIRED described it in January 2007 as the tale of a grumpy unicorn whose two friends drag him through a psychedelic landscape, noting that a junior high school student had reported that his entire school was obsessed with it.[12](https://www.wired.com/2007/01/charlie-the-uni/) The characters appeared in the 2008 music video for Weezer's \"Pork and Beans\" alongside other internet stars, and the series supported an official merchandise campaign through the retail chain [Hot Topic](https://www.edgepedia.org/hot-topic).[6](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/charlie-the-unicorn-finale-web-series-tv-show-film-cow/) • [13](https://falcon.myrandomstuff.com/RWS%20AU15/Risk%20Project/Readings/Rediscovering_LA_ActualFinal.pdf) An art car inspired by the series began appearing at the annual [Burning Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/burning-man) festival in August 2011.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n\nThe humor divided viewers. Cartoon Brew's review conceded that the humor works and that the clumsy animation heightens the effect, while noting the shorts belong to a strain of nonsensical non sequitur humor that often fails elsewhere.[9](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-blogs/youtubes-most-viewed-original-animation-5620.html) Commentators have identified the formula as a blend of hyper-cute cartoon visuals with the darkly sarcastic voice of an unhappy unicorn, a combination that found a large teenage audience.[14](https://www.mobt3ath.com/uplode/book/book-23729.pdf?ver=accessable) Quotable lines such as \"Shun the non-believer!\" and the Candy Mountain song circulated widely, and the Candy Mountain setup became shorthand for luring someone into an obvious trap.[3](https://meme.com/memes/charlie-the-unicorn)\n\nThe series also shaped Steele's career. Charlie the Unicorn launched FilmCow, through which Steele produced later series including *Llamas with Hats*, and he has said the only direct offer he received was from [Adult Swim](https://www.edgepedia.org/adult-swim) for a \"Charlie the Unicorn\" series.[13](https://falcon.myrandomstuff.com/RWS%20AU15/Risk%20Project/Readings/Rediscovering_LA_ActualFinal.pdf) • [8](https://bestofama.com/amas/49prlm) IMDb lists the series as running from 2005 to 2021, rated TV-14, with a 7.6/10 rating from 225 users.[15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15526688/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Charlie the Unicorn, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/charlie-the-unicorn)\n2. [Discover the Magic of Charlie the Unicorn Portfolio, CHARLIE (charlie.fan)](https://www.charlie.fan/about)\n3. [Charlie The Unicorn: The 2005 Flash Cartoon Explained, Meme.com](https://meme.com/memes/charlie-the-unicorn)\n4. [Charlie the Unicorn – Aired Order, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/charlie-the-unicorn/allseasons/official)\n5. [Charlie the Unicorn, FilmCow official YouTube upload](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY)\n6. [Charlie the Unicorn Grand Finale Released, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/charlie-the-unicorn-finale-web-series-tv-show-film-cow/)\n7. [Charlie the Unicorn: History & Desktop Nostalgia, WebAfterlife](https://www.webafterlife.net/grave/charlie-the-unicorn)\n8. [I am Jason Steele, creator of Charlie the Unicorn, Llamas with Hats, and other internet videos, BestofAMA archive](https://bestofama.com/amas/49prlm)\n9. [YouTube's Most Viewed Original Animation, Cartoon Brew](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-blogs/youtubes-most-viewed-original-animation-5620.html)\n10. [Charlie the Unicorn Enjoys a Moment of Peace, FilmCow on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/filmcow/posts/charlie-unicorn-118618374)\n11. [Charlie the Unicorn: 20th Anniversary, FilmCow on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItoafDg3cGE)\n12. [Charlie the Unicorn, WIRED (Annalee Newitz, January 15, 2007)](https://www.wired.com/2007/01/charlie-the-uni/)\n13. [Cartoons & Counterculture, Rediscovering LA essay collection](https://falcon.myrandomstuff.com/RWS%20AU15/Risk%20Project/Readings/Rediscovering_LA_ActualFinal.pdf)\n14. [Theorizing hang out: unstructured youth programs and the politics of representation](https://www.mobt3ath.com/uplode/book/book-23729.pdf?ver=accessable)\n15. [Charlie the Unicorn (TV Series 2005–2021), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15526688/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Charlie the Unicorn\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Charlie the Unicorn](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Charlie the Unicorn\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-the-unicorn. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Charlie the Unicorn is Jason Steele's 2005 Flash animated web series, in which two hyperactive unicorns drag a grumpy unicorn to Candy Mountain, where he loses a kidney; five episodes ran 2005-2021." }