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

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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 that aspires to fly created a major Internet phenomenon after it was hosted on the video sharing site

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. Unofficial versions of the video pair it with Mad World by

Gary Jules Gary Jules Aguirre Jr. (born March 19, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, known primarily for his cover version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World", which he recorded with his friend Michael Andrews for the film '' Donnie Darko''. It ...

. These versions became popular

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through viral phenomenon, 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 ...

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 journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

. Retrieved on 2007-03-29
'Ask a Ninja,' OK Go win YouTube Awards
'', CNN. Retrieved on 2007-03-29Virginia Heffernan,
awards the top of its heap
', International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-03-29 with

describing ''Kiwi!'' as "so cute it hurts" while the '' International Herald Tribune'', 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