Dancing baby
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2008-06-27T21:03:42Z
Donnabella
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Italics for Ally McBeal added to intro section
[[Image:DancingBaby.jpg|thumb|The Dancing Baby]]
The '''Dancing Baby''', also known as "Baby Cha-Cha", refers to a 3D character and [[3D computer graphics|3D-rendered]] animation of a baby dancing for several seconds. The video, one of the earliest examples of an [[Internet phenomenon]], became popular in [[1996]]–[[1997]] after being distributed widely over the [[Internet]]. The dancing baby originated as a collection of experimental testing data and files, ultimately released in Fall/1996 as a product sample source file with the ground-breaking 3D character animation software product "Character Studio" that is used with [[3D Studio Max]] (both products from Autodesk). The original sample source file was produced and prepared by the original Character Studio development team (Michael Girard, Susan Amkraut, John Chadwick, Paul Bloemink, John Hutchinson, Adam Felt) of Unreal Pictures and Kinetix ([[Autodesk]]). Part of the original Dancing Baby data consists of animation [[keyframes]] that were manually and automatically generated in the "Biped" portion of the Character Studio toolset. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the original Dancing Baby animation data (keyframes) were not created using [[motion capture]] at all.
Subsequent to its release, animators in the commercial sector have used or modified the Dancing Baby source file using the Character Studio product to produce different versions of rendered visualizations for use in media. This helped develop the Dancing Baby animation into a meme or media and internet phenomenon. The dancing baby video and its variations have appeared in a broad array of mainstream media, including television dramas (e.g. ''[[Ally McBeal]]''), commercial advertisements, and music videos such as [[Blue Swede]]'s cover of the song "[[Hooked on a Feeling|Hooked on a Feeling (Ooga Chaka)]]." More stylized versions and parodies were created shortly thereafter, including a 'drunken baby', a 'rasta baby', 'samurai baby', and others.
== Appearance in mainstream media ==
The dancing baby character and animations quickly made the rounds on the Internet through email. It was then featured as a recurring [[hallucination]] on the television program ''[[Ally McBeal]]''. On the series, the baby was meant to signify the ticking of [[Ally McBeal (character)|Ally]]'s [[biological clock]].
The dancing baby was also featured in a [[Blockbuster Video]] commercial immediately after gaining mainstream media attention. In the commercial, the baby dances to the [[Rick James]] hit, ''[[Give It To Me Baby]]''.
In line with the ''Ally McBeal'' appearance, in a ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]'' match between [[Lucy Lawless]] and [[Calista Flockhart]], the dancing baby suddenly appears in the ring with his back turned to the camera. After a moment of dancing, he turns around and is shown to be [[Dennis Franz]] in nothing but a diaper; referee [[Mills Lane]] shouts at him, "I told you I didn't want you in my ring, Dennis Franz!"
At the height of the ''Ally McBeal'' series, a dance group called Trubble released a song called ''Dancing Baby (Ooga-Chaka)'' which charted well in Australia in late 1998/early 1999 and hit #21 on the UK charts.
In the television series ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'', the episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" features a [[demon]] who manifests himself in the form of a baby, dancing to the [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] song "[[My War (song)|My War]]". Writer/director [[Darin Morgan]] based the baby on its use in ''Ally McBeal'', as he commented "It's a terrifying thing, that baby. She dances with it, and you go, 'There's something really wrong with this person.'"<ref>[http://www.fourthhorseman.com/Abyss/Episodes/epi221.htm Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me]</ref>
The Dancing Baby is a recurring feature on [[VH1]]'s ''[[I Love the 90s]]'' series, and it also appeared on ''[[Best Week Ever]]''.
[[Iowa State University]] [[basketball]] games frequently feature the dancing baby on the [[scoreboard]] during timeouts.
The Dancing Baby appeared on an episode of ''[[Unhappily Ever After]]'', with [[Dennis Franz]] as the baby. It appeared on an episode of ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', with [[Harry Solomon]] ([[French Stewart]]) as the baby.
The Dancing Baby also makes an appearance in the [[Xbox]] and [[PS2]] title, ''[[Silent Hill 4]]''.
An easter egg exists in ''[[Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire]]'' where the hero dances in the Dead Parrot Inn. When he does so, he imitates the exact moves of the Dancing Baby.
The Dancing Baby is also spoofed in a ''[[Simpsons]]'' episode. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] creates his first website, which features a dancing Jesus busting the same moves as the baby.
The Cincinnati Ohio classic rock station [[WEBN]] featured the dancing baby grooving to the song "[[You Shook Me All Night Long]]" by [[AC/DC]] on a television commercial for the station.
On the ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'' episode "4 A.M. Miracle", when Danny asks Cal to repair a baby doll that is computerized and reacts like a real baby, Cal asks "Want me to make it dance, too?"
In the [[EA Sports]] football game ''[[FIFA 99]]'', the editor includes an animation of a player doing a version of the Dancing Baby.
The Dancing Baby was used in an animation featured at the end of a level in the game ''RollerTyping''.
In the ''[[Journeyman (TV series)|Journeyman]]'' episode "The Year of the Rabbit", a scene from ''[[Ally McBeal]]'' with the Dancing Baby appeared [[anachronism|anachronistically]] in a [[1997]] scene. In actuality, the Dancing Baby first appeared on ''Ally McBeal'' in a 1998 episode.
In the computer game ''Zoo Tycoon'', the gorillas will sometime do the same dance as the dancing baby.
==See also==
* [[Internet phenomenon]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2008}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9801/19/dancing.baby/index.html "Dancing Baby cha-chas from the Internet to the networks" - Sci-Tech Story Page, CNN, Jan 1998]
* [http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax Source of original animation and technology ]
* [http://www.megababy.com Variations of the original dancing baby by various artists]
* [http://www.dbaby.com/ Dancing Baby Dance Club] - dancing baby fan website with movie downloads
[[Category:Internet memes]]
[[Category:1990s fads]]
[[ja:ダンシング・ベイビー]]