Fred (YouTube)
Encyclopedia
Fred Figglehorn is a fictional character created and portrayed by American actor Lucas Cruikshank
. Cruikshank, a teenager from Columbus, Nebraska
, created the character for his channel
on the video-sharing
website YouTube
. The videos are centered on Fred Figglehorn, a fictional 6-year-old who has a dysfunctional home life and "anger management
issues".
, overtook Fred as the most subscribed channel. It was the third to reach two million, on September 27, 2010, shortly after falling to third.
As of November 2011, the channel has received over 119 million channel views, over 856 million video views since its launch, and over 2.3 million channel subscribers, it is listed as the number eight all-time most subscribed YouTube channel. Cruikshank has made a few television appearances, both as himself, and as Fred. Although Cruikshank voices Fred, the audio is digitally altered to sound higher-pitched than Cruikshank's true voice.
In December 2009, Cruikshank filmed Fred: The Movie
, which aired on Nickelodeon
on September 18, 2010. Nickelodeon has created a franchise surrounding the character and began producing the sequel in March 2011. Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred
aired on October 22, 2011, also on Nickelodeon.
The series is intended as a parody of people who, in Cruikshank's words, "think that everyone is so interested in them." Cruikshank believes that viewers either "automatically love Fred or automatically hate Fred, there is no in between". The videos primarily consist of the character speaking to the audience
about what is happening in his life. Fred has a high-pitched "chipmunk" voice, making him sound more like a 6-year-old. According to Cruikshank, this effect and the hyperactive appearance of the character are achieved by speeding up the video. The song "Watch How I Do This" by Kev Blaze was featured in most of the season 2 videos.
The character lives with his recovering drug-addicted and alcoholic mother, whose voice is often heard, his grandmother, and briefly a man named Claudio who he refers to as 'it'. In seasons one to three Fred communicated with all characters off-screen, unless they were an animal. In the first Fred episode, "Fred on Halloween", Fred's mother was portrayed by Lucas Cruikshank himself. It is implied that Fred has been the victim of child abuse (like being locked in a dog cage for three days), but he frequently speaks of his love for his mother, particularly after she was at rehab. Fred's father has been mentioned several times as being on death row in the state penitentiary
. Fred hasn't met his father as he left Mrs. Figglehorn while she was still pregnant with Fred.
The series uses a floating timeline
, that is, it is always taking place in the current year, meaning that Fred is perpetually 6 years old and in kindergarten
. He also has a crush on a girl in his class, Judy. Fred has described Judy as, "so mean... yet so attractive." Fred's grandmother is mentioned as briefly caring for Fred while his mother was in rehab, on account of alcoholism
and drugs. In almost every episode, Fred sings a song he makes up. It was established early in the series that Fred has anger management issues, which require him to take medication.
On screen characters are seen for the first time in a dream sequence
, in "Fred: A Star In His Own Mind", Fred dreams of being a famous actor, meeting fan girls and other famous actors. Season four, as it was filmed after Fred: The Movie
, marked a change in production style, it is filmed in a higher video quality, and shows other on-screen characters. The original production style was revived for a few episodes, after the movie was released in the UK, until Cruikshank returned to movie filming. Leading up to the second movie's release a new series, called "Figgle Chat", was produced, and features internet and television stars.
.
Lucas Cruikshank
Lucas Cruikshank is an American comedic actor. Living in Columbus, Nebraska, he created the character Fred Figglehorn for his channel, named "Fred", on the video-sharing website YouTube...
. Cruikshank, a teenager from Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in east central Nebraska, United States. Its population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Pre-settlement history:...
, created the character for his channel
Channel (communications)
In telecommunications and computer networking, a communication channel, or channel, refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel...
on the video-sharing
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
website YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The videos are centered on Fred Figglehorn, a fictional 6-year-old who has a dysfunctional home life and "anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
issues".
History
Cruikshank introduced the Fred Figglehorn character in videos on the JKL Productions channel he started on YouTube with his cousins, Jon and Katie Smet. He and his cousins set up the JKL Productions channel on June 11, 2006, and Cruikshank filmed his first Fred video on October 30, 2006. On April 30, 2008, the videos that had been filmed already, got added to the Fred channel, and on May 1 the first official video, titled "Fred on May Day" was released, explaining that Cruikshank asked YouTube for the Fred channel. Someone else previously owned the channel, which was later turned into one of Fred's enemies in the Fred series. By April 2009, the channel had over one million subscribers, making it the first YouTube channel to do so, and the most subscribed channel at the time. However, on August 20, 2009, YouTube celebrities Ryan Higa's and Sean Fujiyoshi's channel, NigahigaNigahiga
Nigahiga is a popular YouTube channel created by Japanese-American Ryan Higa . Since relocating to Las Vegas to study filmmaking at UNLV, Higa's videos are either solo efforts or videos with other people such as KevJumba. They are known for their YouTube comedy videos, which have been viewed over...
, overtook Fred as the most subscribed channel. It was the third to reach two million, on September 27, 2010, shortly after falling to third.
As of November 2011, the channel has received over 119 million channel views, over 856 million video views since its launch, and over 2.3 million channel subscribers, it is listed as the number eight all-time most subscribed YouTube channel. Cruikshank has made a few television appearances, both as himself, and as Fred. Although Cruikshank voices Fred, the audio is digitally altered to sound higher-pitched than Cruikshank's true voice.
In December 2009, Cruikshank filmed Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie is a 2010 independent comedy film written by David A. Goodman, directed by Clay Weiner, and produced by Brian Robbins. The film is based on the adventures of Fred Figglehorn, a character created and played by Lucas Cruikshank for Cruikshank's YouTube channel...
, which aired on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
on September 18, 2010. Nickelodeon has created a franchise surrounding the character and began producing the sequel in March 2011. Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred
Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred
Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred is a 2011 independent comedy film. The film is the sequel to the 2010 film Fred: The Movie, based on the adventures of Fred Figglehorn, a character created and played by Lucas Cruikshank for Cruikshank's YouTube channel. It is a Halloween themed sequel...
aired on October 22, 2011, also on Nickelodeon.
Content
Lucas Cruikshank has described the channel as "programming for kids by kids". Cruikshank obtained the Fred channel in April 2008, and was launched officially May 1, 2008.The series is intended as a parody of people who, in Cruikshank's words, "think that everyone is so interested in them." Cruikshank believes that viewers either "automatically love Fred or automatically hate Fred, there is no in between". The videos primarily consist of the character speaking to the audience
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
about what is happening in his life. Fred has a high-pitched "chipmunk" voice, making him sound more like a 6-year-old. According to Cruikshank, this effect and the hyperactive appearance of the character are achieved by speeding up the video. The song "Watch How I Do This" by Kev Blaze was featured in most of the season 2 videos.
The character lives with his recovering drug-addicted and alcoholic mother, whose voice is often heard, his grandmother, and briefly a man named Claudio who he refers to as 'it'. In seasons one to three Fred communicated with all characters off-screen, unless they were an animal. In the first Fred episode, "Fred on Halloween", Fred's mother was portrayed by Lucas Cruikshank himself. It is implied that Fred has been the victim of child abuse (like being locked in a dog cage for three days), but he frequently speaks of his love for his mother, particularly after she was at rehab. Fred's father has been mentioned several times as being on death row in the state penitentiary
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Fred hasn't met his father as he left Mrs. Figglehorn while she was still pregnant with Fred.
The series uses a floating timeline
Floating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
, that is, it is always taking place in the current year, meaning that Fred is perpetually 6 years old and in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. He also has a crush on a girl in his class, Judy. Fred has described Judy as, "so mean... yet so attractive." Fred's grandmother is mentioned as briefly caring for Fred while his mother was in rehab, on account of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and drugs. In almost every episode, Fred sings a song he makes up. It was established early in the series that Fred has anger management issues, which require him to take medication.
On screen characters are seen for the first time in a dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
, in "Fred: A Star In His Own Mind", Fred dreams of being a famous actor, meeting fan girls and other famous actors. Season four, as it was filmed after Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie is a 2010 independent comedy film written by David A. Goodman, directed by Clay Weiner, and produced by Brian Robbins. The film is based on the adventures of Fred Figglehorn, a character created and played by Lucas Cruikshank for Cruikshank's YouTube channel...
, marked a change in production style, it is filmed in a higher video quality, and shows other on-screen characters. The original production style was revived for a few episodes, after the movie was released in the UK, until Cruikshank returned to movie filming. Leading up to the second movie's release a new series, called "Figgle Chat", was produced, and features internet and television stars.
Episodes
This is a list of videos currently uploaded to the Fred channel. As of November 2011, 47 episodes have been listed as official Fred canonCanon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
.
| Season/ Episode | Series # | | Title | EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... released on November 10, 2009. The music videos for the singles "Christmas Cash" and "Christmas is Creepy" were also released on the Fred YouTube channel. The album was available online via iTunes ITunes iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.... . Who's Ready To Party?Who's Ready To Party? is an album released on September 21, 2010. The music videos for the singles Don't Forget to Brush, Who's Ready to Party?, The Babysitter's a Vampire, and Tater Haters, were also released on the Fred YouTube channel.Fred: The MovieFred: The Movie is a 2010 film based on the YouTubeYouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... series about Fred Figglehorn. It features Lucas Cruikshank Lucas Cruikshank Lucas Cruikshank is an American comedic actor. Living in Columbus, Nebraska, he created the character Fred Figglehorn for his channel, named "Fred", on the video-sharing website YouTube... as Fred, Pixie Lott Pixie Lott Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is an English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Her second single "Boys and Girls", also topped the UK charts in September 2009. Her debut album Turn It... as Judy, Jennette McCurdy Jennette McCurdy Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy is an American film and television actress and country pop singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as Sam Puckett on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly... as Bertha, Jake Weary Jake Weary Jake Weary is an American actor, singer and musician.-Movie career:After an initial guest role on his mother's show, Guiding Light in 2002, he was cast as Luke Snyder on the television soap opera As the World Turns.... as Kevin, John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... as Fred's dad, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Fred's mom. It follows the character as he tries to track down his crush, Judy (after she moves away). It is written by David A. Goodman David A. Goodman David A. Goodman is an American writer and producer and a graduate of the University of Chicago, earning an BA in 1984. He was one of the executive producers of Family Guy, beginning its fourth season, joining the show as a co-executive producer in season three... , directed by Clay Weiner, and produced by Brian Robbins Brian Robbins Brian Robbins is an American actor and producer, director and screenwriter. He often collaborates with Mike Tollin.-Biography:... . Filming began November 9, 2009, and wrapped up December 20, 2009. The movie was released on Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (TV channel) Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers... on September 18, 2010, and the DVD was released October 5, 2010 as well as streaming media such as Netflix Netflix Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California... . Fred 2: Night of the Living FredFred 2: Night of the Living Fred is a 2011 HalloweenHalloween Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day... -themed sequel to Fred: The Movie. It first aired on October 22, 2011. Sponsorship and appearancesZipit Wireless Messenger (Z2) sponsored the first season of "Fred", which had several cameos in various videos posted to the Fred Channel. Although the collaboration had originally been kept low-key, Fred now has a separate website promoting the Zipit and has starred in television ads for the device on Nickelodeon.He made a cameo appearance Cameo appearance A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television... as both "Fred" and himself on Nickelodeon's iCarly ICarly iCarly is an American sitcom that focuses on a girl named Carly Shay who creates her own web show called iCarly with her best friends Sam and Freddie. The series was created by Dan Schneider, who also serves as executive producer. It stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan... in "iMeet Fred", which originally aired on February 16, 2009. Walden Media Walden Media Walden Media is a children's film production and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Its films are based on notable classic or award-winning children's literature, compelling biographies or historical events, documentaries and some original... also hired Cruikshank to promote the film City of Ember City of Ember City of Ember is a 2008 science fiction-fantasy film based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau. It was directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.-Plot:In the... , along with the sci-fi novel it was based on, and cameos from the film's star Tim Robbins Tim Robbins Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon... in Fred episodes and a mock movie trailer. Cruikshank has launched a website to promote the Fred series and sell Fred T-shirts and other merchandise. The merchandise is also available at Hot Topic Hot Topic Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000... , Justice and Five Below stores. Cruikshank has appeared on The Tyra Banks Show The Tyra Banks Show The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks. The last new episode aired on Friday, May 28, 2010.-2005-2009: Syndication:... , as well as in the Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real... episode "Come Fail Away", which aired December 6, 2009. He appeared at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards as well as the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards 2010 Kids' Choice Awards Nickelodeon's 23rd Annual Kids' Choice Awards were held on March 27, 2010 on the Nell and John Wooden Court of Pauley Pavilion, on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California... presenting awards to winners off-stage. Other channelsCruikshank was originally a part of JKL Productions, a group comprising twins Jon and Katie Smet and Lucas Cruikshank, their cousin. Although Cruikshank formally left the group, JKL prefers to keep Lucas' "L" in its name. Cruikshank deleted all of his individual videos when he left JKL Productions, but he can still be seen in a few of their videos. In January 2009 he set up his own channel, called Lucas, in which he appears as himself. In the June 25, 2010, Annoying OrangeAnnoying Orange The Annoying Orange is a comedy web series created by Dane Boedigheimer. The first episode of the series was uploaded on October 9, 2009. The first few episodes were uploaded to Boedigheimer's YouTube channel under the name Daneboe, each getting more than ten million views... episode, Cruikshank made a cameo as Fred, the first time Fred has officially appeared on a different YouTube channel. External links
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