Crazy Frog

Crazy Frog is a Swedish CGI-animated character and musician created by Erik Wernquist in 2003. Originally called The Annoying Thing, he was designed to accompany a sound effect by Daniel Malmedahl, who had recorded himself imitating a two-stroke engine. Wernquist created a short animation for TurboForce3D featuring the character, which quickly went viral. Following its success, the character was acquired and marketed by Jamba!, renamed Crazy Frog, and launched into a music career.

A mischievous and carefree troublemaker, Crazy Frog is constantly pursued by his nemesis, The Boss, who created the Drones to put an end to his antics.

Names	Crazy Frog, The Annoying Thing
Gender	Male ♂
Race	Unknown
Occupation	Biker, Singer
Origin	The Annoying Thing Animation (October 7 2003)
Alignment	Mixed
Height	95 cm (3ft 1in)
Created By	Erik Wernquist, Daniel Malmedahl
Personality Type	ESTP, 7w8 (Enneagram)
Voice Actors	Daniel Malmedahl, Erik Wernquist

Appearance

Crazy Frog is a small, light blue, anthropomorphic creature with a frog-like appearance. His body is covered in dark blue spots, which became more pronounced in later designs. He has an asymmetrical face, with the iris of his left eye significantly larger than the right, and a missing upper right front tooth. His physique is short and slightly pot-bellied, featuring a visible belly button. A distinguishing feature of his original design was his exposed penis and scrotum, which were censored in certain media adaptations. The top of his head dips slightly inward, though this was not present in early versions of the character.

Following Crazy Frog’s return in 2020, his model was updated with higher-resolution textures and a shinier appearance. His body also became slightly slimmer around the stomach, and his spots were given more depth, appearing to protrude from his skin.

Outfits

Crazy Frog's outfits vary depending on the scenario, though he is never depicted as actively choosing what he wears. According to a 2022 brand style guide by Kaktus Film, he wears clothing only because someone else has put it on him, and he does not comprehend the meaning of his outfits or props. However, earlier music videos contradict this, as he is seen using objects like a fishing pole (Popcorn), playing soccer (We Are The Champions), and operating a DJ turntable (DJ Video).

Helmet and Leather Vest

Crazy Frog’s most recognizable outfit consists of a brown leather vest and a white helmet with goggles, typically worn with the leather strap unbuckled. This look originates from the original 2003 animation by Wernquist and was featured in the Axel F music video. The back of the vest originally displayed the TurboForce3D logo, while official merchandise often replaced it with The Annoying Thing branding.

Hawaiian Shirt

In the Popcorn music video, Crazy Frog wears an orange floral Hawaiian shirt. Throughout the video, he alternates between a brown panama hat and a yellow snorkeling mask. This marks the first time his bare head is seen in a music video. In the video games, this version of him, wearing the panama hat, is identified as The Holiday Thing. On the Crazy Hits album cover, he wears the same shirt but with DJ headphones.

DJ Outfit

In short videos like DJ and music clips such as Daddy DJ, Safety Dance, and Everyone, Crazy Frog sports DJ headphones, often paired with his leather vest.

Biker Look

In Knight Rider, Crazy Frog wears black sunglasses and a black biker vest. In Daddy DJ and Safety Dance, he appears in black trousers with a belt, a police hat, and a fake black mustache. On the Harley World Collab shirt, he sports a fake beard, black sunglasses, a helmet without goggles (featuring the Harley-Davidson logo), fingerless gloves, pants, and shoes.

Goalkeeper

In We Are The Champions, Crazy Frog wears a white jersey with black stripes, a black and white goalkeeper's jersey with the number "1" on the front and "Annoying" on the back, black and white goalkeeper gloves, and cleats.

Winter Attire

In Jingle Bells and Last Christmas, he wears a red, white, and green bobble hat, a scarf, and mittens.

Naked Appearance

Crazy Frog is seen completely naked in the bed scenes of We Are The Champions. This also occurs in the Whoomp! (There It Is) YouTube short.

"B-Boy" Outfit

During the dance scene in the Tricky music video, he wears a red shirt with white stripes, a white and black snapback cap with "CF" in gold letters, and white sneakers resembling Adidas.

Astronaut Suit

At the end of the Tricky music video, Crazy Frog enters the Space-Y rocket ship wearing a full astronaut suit and helmet. He continues to wear this outfit in the A Ring Ding Ding Ding music video.

Other Outfits

• In promotional renders like Shy Crazy Frog and Crazy Frog in Goggles Riding, he wears fingerless gloves.
• In Crazy Frog in Pants, he is seen wearing pants and shoes.
• In a render from AnnoyingThing.net, he is dressed in The Annoying Thing merchandise, including a shirt and cap featuring his own image.

Personality

Crazy Frog is typically portrayed as dim-witted, childlike, and mischievous. According to the 2022 Kaktus Film brand style guide, he is described as "grain-brained," hyperactive, and a "trouble-maker." His limited intelligence causes him to perceive situations in his own unique way, often reacting with the "wrong" emotion—such as expressing joy in the face of danger or becoming frightened by something humorous. If he appears sad, he is more likely confused than genuinely upset.

He rarely speaks, instead communicating through simple noises like "Ding Ding" and "Bam Bam."

Crazy Frog has an innate ability to "mimic" actions and behaviors, though he does so without understanding them. His iconic "riding an invisible motorcycle" is simply an imitation of how he perceives someone riding a real motorcycle. He can also mirror others' emotions, though he lacks the awareness to grasp their meaning. The brand style guide humorously suggests that "the only reasonable explanation for this 'power' is that he is too stupid to understand that whatever he is doing can't actually be done."

In Crazy Frog Racer 2, his helmet is shown to function as his "vehicle," implying that it plays a role in his ability to mimic motorcycle riding.

History

In 1997, 17-year-old Gothenburg student Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself mimicking the sounds of a two-stroke engine. He uploaded the recording online, where it caught the attention of a Swedish television researcher who invited him to perform the sound live on air. Following its television debut, recordings of Malmedahl’s performance began circulating on file-sharing networks and various websites under the filename 2TAKTARE.MP3 (Swedish for "two-stroker").

By 2001, the sound had been adopted to represent a Formula One car in animations such as Deng Deng Form and The Insanity Test, which featured a static Ferrari F1 car accompanied by the audio.

In late 2003, Swedish animator Erik Wernquist came across the sound and, unaware of its origins, was inspired to create a 3D-animated character to accompany it. He designed The Annoying Thing using the LightWave 3D modeling application, working in his spare time over six to eight weeks. On October 7, 2003, he uploaded the animation to his website and the CGTalk forum.

The animation quickly gained popularity through word of mouth and file-sharing, but the sound was initially credited to "Anonymous." Eventually, Malmedahl learned that his engine impression had been incorporated into the animation and reached out to Wernquist. After performing the sound live to verify his claim, he was officially credited as the original creator.

Ringtone Europe and Jamster België (later merged into Jamba!) acquired the rights to the character in 2004, renaming it Crazy Frog and marketing it as a ringtone sensation. In an interview with HitQuarters, Wernquist later expressed his frustration with the name:

"If I had known that this was going to be such a big thing, I would not have allowed them to use that stupid name. It has nothing to do with the character. It's not a frog, and it's not particularly crazy either."

After 2009, Crazy Frog went on hiatus. In 2018, Kaktus Films, the original rights holder alongside Wernquist, filed a trademark claim that included music rights. On April 22, 2020, an official Twitter account for the character was launched, and later that day, a new album was announced.

In April 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government uploaded a Facebook video showing Russian tanks being destroyed by Ukrainian strikes, set to Crazy Frog’s cover of Axel F.

Discography

Powers and Statistics

Tier: At least 8-B, possibly High 7-C

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Flight/Gravity Manipulation/Surface Scaling (Can float and drive an "invisible bike" or any kind of invisible vehicle [even underwater] as well as fly up buildings with it, and even hold himself in the air for a few seconds. In Tricky he also runs up a rocket shuttle. He's shown to be able to pretty much fly in A Ring Ding Ding Ding.), Self-Sustenance (Type 1), Toon Force, Teleportation (Appeared somewhere else after several robots piled on top of him), Broadway Force (Can make others dance alongside him, be it humans or robots), Size Manipulation/Small Size (Type 0, roughly 95 cm tall but can make himself small enough to fit inside his helmet), Non-Standard Breathing (Type 2), 4th Wall Awareness, Electricity Manipulation and Resistance to it, Weather Manipulation (Seemingly created a thunderstorm in Tricky)

Attack Potency: At least City Block level, possibly Large Town level (Can hurt himself moreso than any explosion he's ever shrugged off.)

Speed: At least Subsonic (Is able to drive up buildings, fast enough to get sent flying several streets away once he reaches the top, can reach speeds of 114 m/s or higher. Managed to reach space, possibly via flight.) travel Speed with higher reactions (Dodged a missile and can dodge dozens of lasers in A Ring Ding Ding Ding.)

Lifting Strength: Unknown, at least Class 1 (Can easily lift Boss Drone and push a car)

Striking Strength: At least City Block level, possibly Large Town level

Durability: At least City Block level, possibly Large Town level

Stamina: Superhuman

Range: Below Standard Melee Range (Is quite short compared to humans, roughly 95 cm tall)

Standard Equipment: None notable

Intelligence: Average (Figured out a way to control other Drones via a nearby panel and seemed to know what he was doing, though he's generally very chaotic and not especially bright.)

Weaknesses: Excessive foolishness, taking most things not very seriously.

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

• Riding in flight: The Crazy Frog can fly at a low altitude by riding an «invisible bike». Then he accelerates fast enough to get sent flying several streets away once he reaches the top of a building.
• Kick off a jump: By tossing up a football ball, the Crazy Frog can jump and kick it powerful enough to defeat 4 drones that survived being smashed by the Giant Drone at once.
• Electricity Generation: By quickly rubbing his hands, the Crazy Frog can generate electrical charges, which attack a nearby target. The Crazy Frog is resistant not only to his own charges but to any electricity at all.

Trivia

• In 2005, the German production company The League of Good People was in discussions with broadcasters about developing a Crazy Frog television series.
• Later that year, Crazy Frog toured Australia, starting in Perth on December 4 and continuing through other major cities. He made appearances at various shopping centers and hospitals nationwide.
• In 2007, Animation World Network reported that a Crazy Frog animated feature film was in development, with plans to complete it by the end of the following year. However, the project was ultimately canceled.
• A documentary titled The Not So Crazy Frog was released in 2017, though it was originally produced in 2012.

• In February 2005, viewers in the United Kingdom filed complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over Crazy Frog's visible genitalia in Jamster's advertisements. Some parents deemed it inappropriate for children. Additional complaints arose over the ad’s excessive airtime, with reports that it aired as frequently as twice per hour on many channels, sometimes appearing multiple times within a single commercial break. The ASA dismissed the complaints, noting that the ad was already restricted from airing during children's programming due to its premium-rate phone number. However, Jamster later censored the character's genitalia in subsequent broadcasts. Similar complaints and resolutions occurred in Australia. In November 2021, Crazy Frog’s official Twitter account referenced the controversy, humorously stating, "A lot of people were shocked to see my PP in 2005. And still shocked to see it now in 2021!!"
• In April 2005, Jamster faced further complaints in the UK regarding misleading advertisements. Viewers argued that it was unclear they were subscribing to a service rather than making a one-time payment for a ringtone. The complaints were upheld. By May, the frequency of Crazy Frog ads had become a major issue, with Jamster purchasing 73,716 advertising spots that month—averaging nearly 2,378 per day—at a cost of £8 million. Reports indicated that 87% of the UK population saw the ads at least 26 times, with 10% seeing them more than 60 times. The relentless advertising campaign led to widespread irritation, aligning with the character’s original name, The Annoying Thing.
• On September 21, 2005, the ASA ruled that Crazy Frog and other Jamster ringtone ads could not air before 9 PM. This ruling was upheld and slightly revised on January 25, 2006.

• Following the release of Tricky on December 10, 2021, an official non-fungible token (NFT) drop was announced on the Metabeats platform. The announcement was met with backlash on Twitter, with account managers claiming they received death threats over the matter. After multiple delays, all references to Crazy Frog were removed from the Metabeats website in late 2023, and shortly after, the official Crazy Frog website also removed its Metabeats link.

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