Why this dancing baby was a phenomenon

And we danced.
Patreon reaction video is LIVE now!
/ 77245316
More info and sources at bottom.
Find me elsewhere:
Instagram: / philedwardsinc
Twitter: / philedwardsinc
Patreon: / philedwardsinc
Where I get my music (Free trial affiliate link):
share.epidemicsound.com/olkrqv
My camera, as of February 2022 (affiliate link):
amzn.to/3HDcWVz
My main lens: amzn.to/3IteXEK
My main light: amzn.to/3pjO0M8
My main light accessory: amzn.to/3M6eL0j
Sources are a little scattershot here, since there was no book or anything.
Rob Sheridan's Patreon!
/ i-have-to-make-16584611
The news videos featuring Rob were uploaded on his channel:
www.youtube.com/@RobSheridanP...
Original dancing baby webpage!
web.archive.org/web/199708052...
Sample newsgroup search, kinda fun to nerd out on.
groups.google.com/search/conv...
Great article that gave me the history of Hooked On a Feeling.
americansongwriter.com/the-st...
Kirby's channel: / @kirbyferguson
Blog post about Chuck Poynter (Gifmaker): blog.geocities.institute/arch...
Fun thesis that had some nuggets I wouldn't have otherwise found:
academiccommons.columbia.edu/...
Old NYTimes Digital Article about the baby:
archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim...
Character Studio!
archive.org/details/kinetixch...
The baby on Ally McBeal:
• Ally Mcbeal I can't st...
Demo with the dance:
• 3D Studio Max Characte...
Ron Lussier's site:
dancing-baby.net/Babygif.htm
Dancing baby NFT:
dancingbaby.io/
There are more! Ping me in the comments if I'm missing a source you need!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Trying out a commentary vid over on Patreon; www.patreon.com/posts/77245316 Lemme know if you like this, would prefer different stuff, etc. oogachaka!

[@BlairCarlyle]

It’s so bizarre and strangely comforting to see the world when the internet was such a naïve and seemingly innocent place. Ahh how far we’ve come. Great work as always Phil!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

I was just struck by the joy in those news articles that a baby might excite the internet!

[@cosmosisrose]

generally naive and innocent, but also with a very dark side considering the lack of rules and regulations 🥴

[@BitmapFrogs]

@@cosmosisrose that was what made it good... the excitement of a new frontier

[@huyxiun2085]

Imagine when they'll say the same things about us. - Imagine, the 2020s, such a great time! - You know it started with that epidem... - Whatever dude, see these articles, these videos, these tweets from people getting all mad and enthusiast and scared and amused by a CHATBOT! A Freaking CHATBOT! - ... I still think the epidemic sucked. - why do you care about diseases? Just make your updates, no worries.

[@BBWahoo]

@@PhilEdwardsInc Oh, a baby still excites the internet, but not the kind of excitement you'd want 🤢

[@sonny5068]

That baby has more dancing skill than I ever will

[@PetesGuide]

The baby was a so much more of a hot annoying topic around my office than most other companies-let me explain. I was the tech editor of Cadence magazine, which covered AutoCAD. Our spin-off magazine, 3D Design, covered 3D Studio Max and the rest of the artistic 3D market. So 3DS was ingrained in our culture, and when the baby took off, we couldn’t ignore it. We were getting rickrolled by it almost on a weekly basis. It was so bad I think I even had a tie with the baby on it! Thanks for the memories!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

haha i can see you getting sick of that baby!

[@megsley]

oh my god I'm 37 and I definitely remember the dancing baby on ally mcbeal and how it was this weird flash in the pan kind of cultural moment.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

it was huge!

[@charissabihl1731]

I totally thought the dancing baby originated with Ally McBeal.

[@WolfeBTV]

It was literally the first moving image I remember seeing on the internet Weird that's something I remember about as clearly as some major events

[@fl0atpvnk]

Im 31 and ally mcbael sounds faintly familiar

[@monicarenee7949]

It’s the first time I saw the baby. I’m 35

[@josereycampued5262]

This baby was showed in the center of the mall in 1997.it was like a computer show.i was stuned and people were so amazed people where like gather in one monitor watching this baby dance.

[@yesyesbutwhy3342]

The dancing baby and Hamster dance. The 90’s were great.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

was so tempted to get sidetracked by hamster dance....

[@ZuperZocker]

The chaotic energy of the ending is what I needed this morning

[@AdmiraloftheCrackNavy]

2:43 Biblically Accurate Baby

[@mattheweburns]

Around the same time, there was an alien dancing to Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive” and after a few seconds, because capacity was so limited, the disco ball fell down and crushed the alien. The quality of this was way better than that of the dancing baby. Websites like stivkdeath and Fark omg fark was like the precursor to people of Walmart, it just had pictures of ugly people to make fun of yes, very cruel, but they were always uglier than anybody at our school, so everybody could make fun of them together

[@0o0ification]

Thanks for covering this topic! This little animation is still a core element of my personal ‘90s zeitgeist, all these years later, and it delights me to learn more about it.

[@NickRaven]

I was really expecting you to dance with your hellish baby monstrosity. That baby needs love too, even as its polygons sear and tear in horrifying ways.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

haha i'll save it for the sequel directed by david lynch

[@Cornerboy73]

Solid dancing Phil, I knew you had it in you 🕺Thanks for the great video !

[@VeryHappyCat]

2:45 remember dancing baby? This is him now, feel old yet?

[@tjenadonn6158]

Biblically accurate dancing baby.

[@Acidlib]

2:42 seeing the MAC Baby is like looking in to the eyes of an elder god, I must finish typing quickly before the atoms of my brain stem d̸̢̺̰̭̦͍̤̩͙̮̆̓̈́͊̉̈́͛̓́̉̆̋̿̇ͅi̸͓̟̜͚̖͑̎̃̃̄̾͋̏s̶̙̩͉̟̠͓̘͒̀̄̃̈̀̿̏̈̀́͘ì̶͖͎̝͚̪̠͙͖̱̻̺͎̈́ǹ̶͙͎̞͚͎̮͎̟̜̹̫͙͍̞̈́̆̆̂̀̀̃̅͌̓̌͒̒̒t̷̘̣̩̫̝͎͉͈̦͇͎͕͇͌̈̏͆̅̆͒̍̉̉͋͂̈́͗ͅę̶̛̭̣͎͔̖̹͎̟͓͉̠̗͎͔͐̀͑͆͒͛̃̌̀̒̀̒̆̚g̶͚̱͇͈̯̬̦̫͕̐̈́́̄͋̓͜͝͝r̶̡͚͎͉̠̗̝̿̀́̎͂̕͘à̸̛͉̱͉̟̓̌̽̓̈́̊͐̊ẗ̴̨̰͈̥̺̝̥́̇̿́̔́̂͘͠ẻ̵͍͉͉̮̺͔̭̩̂͛̓̚

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

you are one with him now

[@90snerd53]

how are you such a small channel?? this is the second video of yours i’ve seen and i mistakenly thought you were a large youtuber based on the sheer production quality. just wow. you deserve so much more attention. your videos are so wonderful. you put so much effort into them and the outcome is something beautiful

[@EvenFilms]

I love that the longer you go with this channel, the more surreal your bits become. I’m here for it! Good on you for starting a Patreon, I’m sure I’ll be there soon enough!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

i mentioned this in another comment, but i really wanted to rent a roller rink for this. maybe i can figure out how to fit it into a video about...like...tax policy or something.

[@EvenFilms]

@@PhilEdwardsInc haha 😂 That sounds incredible

[@felsiccanis]

My heart genuinely dropped when i heard the dancing baby is an NFT now. How the mighty have fallen.

[@october7672]

the scene with in the ampitheater is very appropriate and a certain emotion comes with it. the internet and the outernet are a very amazing place in the ways that everything is connected.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

9:30 until the dance number at the end your use of the Blue Swede song was totally within fair usage and I’m sure by disputing and appealing the claim you could have still monetised this video. The final scene though probably went beyond the limits of fair use 😂 I file copyright disputes and appeals everyday on my channel so if you want any pointers just send me an email 😊 great video again!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Hey thanks a lot - I've never done the whole dispute and appeal thing so it's actually helpful to have somebody be optimistic about the process. I didn't know it actually worked for real creators! As I was editing, I kinda had the thought of..."hmm, maybe this is ok," but then I just decided I needed more time with the song.

[@IMPERIALYT]

Really love the pacing of this video, great work as always Phil!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

thanks!

[@WilliamHaisch]

2:43 “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

ozymandias watch out

[@dtheguy]

Wow haha I really liked it and never anticipated the ending. This made me smile a full smile in the middle of the night . Good job Phil !

[@Wat-Dat]

You are one of my favorite creators on KZbin. Another fantastic video!

[@halfcrown626]

Loved this video. Found it by accident while looking for the Ally McBeal clip. Was going to show it to a friend. I watched that show all the way through with my mother not long ago while we were watching older TV from every decade (starting with the 1950s and going up to the modern day!). My mother had mentioned the dancing baby clip before and I didn't get it until I got to watch it. It's one of my favourite clips in TV next to the insanely comical character death of Monica Mancuso in the show Las Vegas (2003 - 2008 but this character was in the show in 2005 I think...?). Loved finally knowing where this dancing baby came from! So nicely made! Well done!

[@Random_Videos_I_Make_For_Fun]

Brings back to the past, probably one of the first videos seen that was everywhere. Love this video too❤

[@KristianWontroba]

Baby, this was a great video! Fascinating stuff!

[@equesviridis]

Man, you make best videos! Thanks for them. Keep doing what you do.

[@noisepuppet]

I remember when this happened. "Dancing baby" quickly became shorthand for "waste of computing resources." 😂

[@wolfheartdarnell324]

As someone who was three years old in '97, you could say I was a little young to remember even though technically "I was there." That being said, pretty much anything looking back on the '90s will feature the dancing baby, almost as if it expects you to know exactly what you have in front of you while making zero reference. This video helped clear up years of confusion I've had regarding that clip. Thank you. Also, that corrupted playback is definitely going to be staring in my nightmares tonight.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Starring in your nightmares tonight? Or every night, until time's end?

[@HeathJinkins]

Found your channel a few weeks ago (thank you algorithm 🙏) and you're quickly becoming my favorite content creator. The cinematography, lighting, editing, content, delivery, you've nailed literally every aspect. Huge, huge props, excited to keep watching!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

hey thanks a lot!

[@samsanimationcorner3820]

This is great. A real blast from the past and a dose of creativity. Good job!

[@fANYA_KOPlan]

I didn't have access to the Internet or computers back then but I still saw that baby. The local TV station of our northern Russian city was showing a commercial with this baby (I remember him looking metallic) dancing on some sort of hi-tech background. Music had no lyrics, there was no context, he did that dance, got to the point where he bows and disappeared. And then it turn out to be an a commercial for a computer store. I was rather confused and asked my mom what was the connection between that and computers and she said that it was probably the fact that the baby was computer-animated.

[@Pwtz]

I recognized that stage and having to do that jump while at a morning workout group. Brought back a lot of memories. Good to see ya, Phil.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

it's higher than you'd think, isn't it!!!!

[@Pwtz]

Dude I’m a tall I’m 6’2” and it still took me like 8 tries.

[@Ghost456t]

The end of the video has so much unexpected energy, and I love it!

[@mr.doctor4335]

I just can’t get enough of this content! Super fun, informative, and funny! Really brings you back in every time, both in curiosity and information.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

thanks doc

[@ShapeShifter499]

Videos like this are why I like your content. Curious stuff you might not know about, historical views, and various looks back into the crazy things that make up what and where we are today

[@NobodyQuiteLikeMe]

Duuuude you are so creative. Every one of your videos make me laugh at least once.

[@tumblingrosesstudio]

Ton of fun and knowledge!! Thanks!!!

[@SebastianUVG]

this man can make everything super interesting, really good videos

[@AaronKlapheck]

Thanks! Great video, keep up the good work.

[@copyjockeynk]

I honestly thought you put the baby through AI when you only converted it from PC to Mac. Love it!

[@robotortoise]

It was really wild to see the upload of the 3D model software, think, "wait, didn't I upload that?" and then click on the link.... only to be taken to my upload! What a fun video!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

wow go robotortoise! thanks!!!

[@vincegay986]

I finally got to see Phil dance! Awesome!

[@hepcatliz]

this baby lives rent free in my head to this day! thanks for this blast from the past 🤣👍

[@AB-Prince]

I remember the late oughts to the early 10s, it was dwindling to be sure, but it was still common to see a gif of that dancing baby randomly on a handful of websites

[@serious.lybobby]

That was the best outro ever. Luv u Phil ❤

[@uptown3636]

I've been using your videos on Vox as well as these videos as examples in my Media Arts classes this semester, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to pay it forward by supporting this channel on patreon. Thanks for making videos good enough to supplement my formal education--I really appreciate your hard work.

[@someonelikemevl3360]

Just discovered your channel, your vids find a real good spot for me.

[@westybestie]

It's weird seeing that headline with "Boomer" in it where it didn't mean 'old person'. As a Millennial, I suddenly feel my impending mortality.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

yes i noticed this too!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

imagine those future articles about millennials getting hip replacements...

[@JessHull]

I loved seeing you dance with giant BabyCha!

[@isaacperlich]

Thank you, Phil. Thank you.

[@onedeadsaint]

i'm convinced you filmed that end sequence first and then made the rest of the video as an excuse to show it.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

lol i began with dreams of doing it in a roller rink. someday....

[@GeoSukarno]

Back in 1997, when i was an elementary kid, in Jakarta, majority of computer stores played the Dancing Baby video. Also in Computer exhibition expo at JICC Senayan, Dancing Baby being played on some computer. Back in 1997, I thought it was a real 3D to tell consumer that the computer is powerful that can play a 3D so smooth. It's when i didn't understand what is prerendered 3D. Or i can say, they just play an avi file and it amazed me that their computer can play 3D so smooth 😆. Although the 1997 computers are not able playing an MPEG2 codec video (DVD) , if not have a Pentium II processor and a MPEG card.

[@rmeng3]

2:44 "The Spacing Guild requires the spice melange. All these cha-chas within cha-chas within cha-chas are a distraction."

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

the cha chas must flow

[@travistaylor4342]

I'm 36 the dancing baby is probably my first memory of the internet

[@Bflorio12]

Phil, I love your channel, and I am very happy to help support you.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

thank you!!

[@shavoshaco2402]

Lmao I love the amount of investigation you put into the most random inquiries!

[@miaxavier2513]

this is AMAZING!!!😍

[@bw5530]

The Beach Boys also used the ooga choga on a song they did in the 70s. It's on their boxset

[@AlexanderTBratrich]

Geez, you make me feel old; Great video, always great to see some videos about early internet stuff

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

I think what made me feel old was that the news reports were all pretty good, but they needed the CONTEXT of long hindsight and combining all of the perspectives....which made it legit history IMHO. That is very old-feeling.

[@ljphoenix4341]

Love that Bill Clinton Sax is now a part of the video set, a nice touch! Great video, really interesting, as well as a bunch of fun to watch

[@christophedevos3760]

I always thought that AllyMcBeal was herself a creation of Character Studio.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

McBeal's head size was exaggerated by the designers.

[@alexanderdiogenes8067]

Yeah like Callista Flockhart was IRL bighead mode. It was rad.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

@@alexanderdiogenes8067 if you played nba jam with her and shawn kemp in bighead mode you were unbeatable

[@christophedevos3760]

@@PhilEdwardsInc she plays in a new series now: CGI Miami. About deep fakes.

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I remember Running Bear from a podcast about a completely different cultural phenomenon, that of songs about teenage lovers, one of whom dies tragically in some kind of accident.

[@esgee3829]

that was great phil thanks

[@zairafaith]

Great video 🤣❤️

[@guybrush1701]

That graphics glitch in the desert is like the final form of a boss fight

[@hisokamorrow6767]

2:40 that reminds me of the demon baby from the sims

[@musewolfman]

And now im here, because The Hives have released yet another cover of this song (at probably almost double the tempo, it's hilariously bad on purpose,) and it unlocked this memory from my childhood.

[@timothyjuarez5306]

So memes must have a certain amount universality of understanding, a certain amount of remixability and a certain amount of portability. I can not tell you how much but can tell you part of the ingredients to the recipe. It's like having a bowl of soup and being able to identify some of the seasoning. Good luck!

[@AnalogDave]

I got so sick and tired of seeing that baby everywhere back in the day!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

he was briefly inescapable

[@SamAronow]

Ah yes, _Ally McBeal,_ the show _Time_ magazine declared "The Death of Feminism."

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Ally McBeal was a titan.

[@Geeksmithing]

Congrats on Patreon Phil! Say, while we are on old video memes, anyone remember the Killer Bean phenomenon?!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

you must enlighten me!!

[@kelownatechkid]

So fun!!

[@jimbrittain402]

I remember this!

[@mattheweburns]

Consumer computers were almost too old to run this. I remember seeing this in a 1.44mb floppy disk 3.5in “ high capacity” on a 386 66mhz computer with 64mb ram (upgraded) no video card just a big CRT monitor that has probably given me Cataracs

[@shadowgodthegamer5738]

This channel should have more subscribers

[@thompsonnoel]

Probably my first computer memory ❤❤

[@rer9287]

Phil - you rock

[@raytsh]

This is a great case of the uncanny valley for me.

[@alyssao.9577]

This reminds me of the bottled water company, Evian's commercial with the roller skating babies

[@Thebreakdownshow1]

How did i not see this lol. This epic

[@mattheweburns]

I’ve always been curious about this, I remember my dad bringing home a floppy disk with this and some other moving images. I don’t even think they were.gif yet.

[@chaseism]

Thank you for digging this back into my consciousness! I really love how this channel is evolving. Have you thought about joining Nebula at all? A few of the KZbinrs I follow post their videos there, especially if they think they'd be demonetized because of certain topics. I think your content would fit in there.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Haha thanks a lot! I have thought about it - I think their terms would slightly conflict with my day job, but maybe someday. I love the whole Nebula crew.

[@canalSilly]

This one was great!!! Also a shout out to Kirby Ferguson, his series on "Everything is a remix" is a real gem!

[@charlesparadis4652]

Sweet Lord! That demon baby blotted out the sun!

[@jermsp]

hahahahha great one Phil.

[@huubhuijbens8816]

My uncle had this baby as screensaver (multiple babies doing the same dance wich made it very joyful) my brother and I asked when he got a baby daughter if he would learn the baby the dance m. My niece is now more sixteen-years old, almost seventeen 🥲

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

i taught the dance to my kids last week!

[@michaelhannell4083]

Now you need to get with Richmond city to do a dancing baby show at Dogwood Dell in the summer. Lol

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

2 hours, full stadium, in the end the baby wades back into the river

[@haskeymorrison]

This video led me to running bear, which led me to the big bopper, which led me to American pie

[@amorphousblob]

Pretty big leap from Tin Toy's baby to this.

[@Shiftarus]

NFTs are beyond stupid but the dancing baby gif might be the only image actually worthy of being what NFTs wish they were

[@lPsychoMax]

Oh so THAT is what that was in Chowder! I thought they were just being a weird cartoon!

[@Vodhin]

Salvador Dahli would have approved of your PC to MAC adaptation of the Dancing Baby...

[@Faesharlyn]

2:42 MOTHER. I HUNGER. NOURISH ME.

[@Finch460]

This fkn baby has been haunting my dreams for 25 years.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

and tonight he shall dance in them once again

[@Finch460]

@@PhilEdwardsInc YOU SON OF A ##### Great video btw. Thanks for the lovely content.

[@codemiesterbeats]

2:44 not sure if intentional but definitely had Salvador Dali vibes 😂

[@irighterotica]

I remember the baby. I'm getting Olde.

[@samk2407]

My brother in Christ is your phone UPSIDE DOWN in the shot where you stumble back from the giant baby

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

listen that baby rocked my world

[@prowlingmonkey]

I remember 3rd Rock from the Sun doing a parody of the baby. Was my first knowledge of it.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

dang i missed that one!