I was surprised no one was talking about this. But now it begs the question, is Andrew Lloyd Webber a billions-of-years-old clown from outer space or a fraud?
@@KNIGHTMARE__ there's a third option: given enough time, things may begin to repeat independently due to probability. However, I definitely think the clown composer bears a striking resemblance to Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I think they're the same person; it would explain a lot.
I like the implication that either A. Steve brought the play Cats to earth with him inside of his head, and it proved to be not quite the world-defining hit it was on the clown planet or B. Cats, as a play, is an art object in the collective unconscious of the universe, such that ANY planetary society, after inventing writing and theatre, will eventually independently come up with Cats.
It could also be complete coincidence. If you look at the infinite monkey theorem, you see that if you sat infinite monkeys at infinite keyboards and had them type keys at random, one would eventually write the entire works of Shakespeare with no typos. This theory clearly proves that even with complete randomness anything can happen
Putting the main character's backstory on the theme song, but being too absurd for anyone to think he was being literal about it, was Worthikids' greatest prank.
He did the same for Cesare. It's actually wild how much detail has gone into this. And like it has to have been planned from really early on because the song has existed since the start.
@@tokyoghoulfan21 Yeah, it really calls back to _It's_ "smoke-hole" ceremony, does it not? Has to be some sort of reference. That part always confused me, as they're supposed to have gone back to the time of the dinosaurs, but they also see gigantic bats, modern birds and sabre toothed tigers, but Chiopterae, Neoavians, and Smilodons hadn't been invented yet.
I love how Cesare is just a guy doing a job who employs all theater majors, whereas Steve is a theater major who employs people just trying to do their jobs
I kinda like the implication that the reason Steve has a clown theamed burger van and makes his employees dress up as clowns is not just so he can blend in but also because he misses his home and being around people like himself. I love this series and look forward to how it develops further
not to pain you, but this felt very conclusive to me :') I hope there's more to come, but also looking forward to whatever else Worthikids puts out tbh
I love how Steve faced lifelong trauma and banishment for ruining a performance of Cats, while Cesare’s reaction to being murdered, having his body dumped into a canal and being resurrected as a walking corpse is “I can’t wait to retire! Tampa, I’m coming!!! :)”
@@alexhead2645 "Friends in Low Places" from this series (eg the after-credits song) and "Down" from last series' soundtrack, though we get a reprise of it when he's slamming Steve with the hammer.
I love how this series absolutely obliterates the Clowns as Horror Villains trope. Clowns being whimsical beings of mirth and mischief from beyond the stars is so much more compelling.
It actually reinforces everything they represent. Look at what Steve caused...and his kin as well. They just banished Steve as it was a special slap in the wrist; also they obliterated the Mezosoic Era just out of spite and sense of fun.
That are so powerful that one of the average clowns of that place can literally get send at possibly beyond speed of light and blow the planet earth by causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. All that without any fatal wounds. That some anime or comic level of power.
Origin stories for mysterious characters usually kill all the magic, but this one was quite charming and solid enough in its unspoken denials of other questions to keep some of that magic.
Yes, the key to keeping the magic of mysterious, incomprehensible characters is a backstory that is EVEN MORE mysterious and incomprehensible and damn if Worthikids deliver! I am in awe
It's doing less hot for the fact that Clowns were pretty much invented in USA by appropriating English bastardizations of mainland European commedia dell'arte traditions, and jsut turned it into a hateful public mockery of drunks, on who the pale face and red nose is based on. The mockery then lived on in blackface because same culture so openly hates these other instances, that they want to make the PAINT a problem without addressing positive depictions of the same thing. And so they DON'T HAVE positive depictions like Aqualung by Jethro Tull. It's just blackface for an acceptable target, while blackface for genuine comedy is not even acknowledged as possible because Americans want to blame the depiction, and veer away from THEIR OWN hateful APPLICATION of it as the problem. For example japan happily uses archetypes in anime like Iyami from Osomatsu, but black people are openly encourgaed to become violent when even seeing same kind of imagery.
@@Luxia-f1eI don't thinkthe hate id pointed directly at Steven, Cesare's simply someone who takes his job very seriously. It's kind of like how certain detectives/officers can connect with the criminals they are hunting down, even while knowing they feel some kind of sympathy. At the end of the day they NEED to be stopped and this was Cesare's BIGGEST case. He said his 1000 years were up, not that they were GOING to be up, which makes me think Cesare stayed on the forece knowing that if anyone could catch Steve it was him. Steve was his biggest case, he can finally hang up his badge knowing he finally put in everything he had for the force. Even if he feels sympathy or contempt for Steve, doesn't matter. He got the one Clown no one could catch off the streets. His jobs done, and that's the end of that.
@@artisticdreamer2429 ANdy Serkez, but he said that he doesn't normally need help on a case either but for Steve he basically had to pull an entire trap expo. SUre he couldn't snag Andy but Steveis clearly up there
The way Steve says “I didn’t DO anything,” makes me feel like he knew who/what he was and who/what was watching him, so he tried not to do anything too chaotic to avoid drawing attention. When I go back through to series and watch how he reacts every time he sees Cesare, it really drives the theory home for me that he knew what Cesare’s job was and was trying to avoid him.
One time he Naruto ran at about 80+ MPH and then sliced Cesare's truck in half with a katana before jumping onto his own vehicle and steering it by standing on top of it. So. I 'unno about that one.
Worthikids wrote the music for this episode two whole years ago. Damn, that’s respectable to be able to keep something planned and work on it for that long. Bigtop Burger is such an incredible animated show!
not only that. Steve literally a Celestial Being banished from his World and The one who responsible for the creation of human being. just like The Engineers. talk about God among human. His lore is exceed my prediction. love it
The cause of the Late-Devonian extinction is unknown, with an impact being one theory. I guess it makes sense now that we don't understand the cause- no one would have guessed a banished Clown launched into the earth!
@@firdanharbima6997That's not what understudy means, understudies simply learn the same role in the event a theatre actor is unavailable to perform on a given day and serve as a substitute, they're also known as a cover. They are not the actor's student.
@calculusbandit6127 I... never knew this. I never used the word myself, but just realized I've misunderstood it whenever i've heard it all my life. So thanks!
@@TallestKAT Mr. Munkustrap is a separate character from Peanut. Munkustrap was the one that sent Steve to be banished and Peanut just took his place in the play. They even have separate voice actors
The realization that Steve's lore was in the song "Up" the whole time has me shook. I was just jaw wide open this whole time. Insane. Rewatching. Thank you so much, this is always such a joy.
Cesare has probably seen the whole world several times over and deciding that he wants to retire in Tampa is crazier than anything Steve could ever pull 😂
i love that the flashback scene is entirely handdrawn / no 3d models for the characters whereas the modern day stuff is done with a mix of 3d and 2d...really gives the clown backstory this more storybook/retroish feel
It also adds to how important this episode is, in episodes before this the fact that they're done in 3d is used for some jokes and is generally used to give the show a lighthearted feel. But this episode being entirely 2d adds more weight to the events and how characters move/emote
I haven’t felt this kind of absolute child-like joy and love for a series in years. I have watched this so many times already and have not been able to stop smiling. The way worthi writes, animates, and composes; the performance from the VA’s, and just the line by line and shot by shot pacing, it’s goddamn good and I’m so glad this show exists.
i never thought that alex hirsch and trey the explainer would ever be on the same project in a million years. that is absolutely amazing. what a fantastic job y'all did!!
@@sammieegoldwand I'm unsure who Alex is, but Trey is almost certainly the Tiktaalic that turns to his friend and tells him to make a wish on the falling Steve. Edit: Yeah Alex was the play director who took away Steve's status as Old Deut.
Nooo! Not Adult Swim!! Those fucktards don't like their shows to be too complex! See what happened to Metalocalypse Maybe Rick & Morty are an exception, but it doesn't require to watch the episodes in order so you can understand the story
I love how you can see Steve's orbit path as he passes saturn at 4:34. This implies his flight path through the solar system brought him within the orbit of at least jupiter before orbiting saturn which then must have sling shot him towards earth. Cool detail Worthikids :) Thank you for making and sharing this art :)
Sometimes Worthikids has to remind us that they can make unsetling sounds and animations... That initial scene of the cats surrounding Steve was SPOOKY.
Right?? I was so prepped for more laughs and that scene caught me so off guard, worthi is so freaking good at tone setting I was scared and nervous for Steve who was under such intense pressure and scrutiny
A lot of people think that Steve has been training for this one role for almoat his entire life, but I don't think that's the case. I think he has actually held this title for mutplile years after getting it, since in the first flash-back with "back on Broadway yet again." he is actually seen singing. What i think happened is that in this performance, he had simply cracked under pressure from how long he had been doing this.
The way all the other clowns were saddened during his punishment seems to indicate indicate that yeah he had been doing this for a while and people loved him. His boss and understudy were legitimately saddened at what happened and what they had to do to him based on their traditions.
Or his successful broadway performance happened here on Earth after he.... excavated himself? I mean, the stakes are much lower here (we won't fire an actor into the next galaxy for flubbing a line) so that probably let him relax a lot more.
That was my impression too. Looking at how much time passed, and the reactions of the other clowns, I think he'd successfully played "old deut" for literally a million years. One day he just cracked
Longer it seems even. I think it's suggested he was at this for 225 MILLION YEARS. He's not some nobody, he's at the very least spent actual eons climbing up the ladder. My guess is he's had this part since forever, and even though the performance didn't, time itself changed. New clowns came in, new standards evolved, ever demanding more and more from him until eventually he just.... cracked. This wasn't some simple banishment, this was a high profile excising from clown society.
@@vigorouslethargyI don’t think so since all the other clowns in his act look the same as in the clip from “Kid”, so I think he has indeed been at the role for a long long time, the way he was yelled at “you’re supposed to be Old Deut!” And Steve proclaimed “I AM old Duet! I..” then “NOT! ANYMORE!” So yeah he just seems to have cracked after millions of years of performance and then gotten banished. Otherwise I don’t think Steve would’ve had something THAT important placed on him that he’d be banished on his first try and failure.
It's almost an insult to the industry as a whole that you haven't broken 1mil subs yet. Every frame is beautiful, every musical note is a melody, the voice acting is surreal, and the story just becomes deeper each episode.
People with real talent dont get subs. People who use others content for views like streamers/letsplayers/reactions get them. Trust me, I've been making original content for like 2 years with my music then see people who sell out to the meme of the week suprpass it.
It is a shame that most of the time great art gets unnoticed. However, that not why great artist make great art. They make it because they must, and even if only one person sees it and enjoys it, then all the effort will have been worth it.
@@DaBaSoftware Oh dont get me wrong, 250k is no small feat. Worthikids deserves every single one of those views. Most of us just think more people should know about projects and creators like this.
I'm blown away by Steve's backstory. The fact that he came from outer space in a clown world is something I never expected. Along with that, the fact CATS is the reason he got banished makes me go crazy. This is such a fascinating story. You went over the top on this one Worthikids! AMAZING!!!
I always loved the implication that steve and cesare were actually weird guys and not just dudes in costumes, and now that theres confirmation its even better! the parallels are incredible
So yeah, Alex Hirsch gave one of his best performances as Munkustrap. Also such an amazing episode. Great animation, story and world building. I can’t wait for more.
Many people pointed it out, but I can't get over how a throwaway gag from season 1 has been incorporated into the story, and in such an intriguing way too ! My favorite part has to be the eyes, especially when they sentence Steve to banishment. Your artstyle and ways of storytelling are so cool and satisfying to me, I can't get enough of it !!
Oh my god, the uncovering of lore, the initial theme song, Up, clicking into place, hell a new version of Up, and the animation as always is beyond spectacular
Seeing references to previous animations was actually a chill inducing moment. Overjoyed to see how far, large, and bizarre the world of Big Top Burger has come :)
4:38 Semi-fun fact! Assuming that Steve was roughly the average male clown weight of 100 kg at the time of his banishment (due to their denser and more comedic molecular structure) -- to cause the Chicxulub impact (estimated energy 300 ZJ), he would need to have been traveling at 182.7 times the speed of light! Or in Star Trek terms, warp factor 4.8. _Edit:_ We can therefore deduce that he was fired out of a Warp 5 cannon.
@@13.ghaniziyadsagiansyah66 Good point, and I will admit I did not initially pick up on that. But that said, we can presume the impact was at least comparable to the K-Pg event, given the way we see the ejecta similarly cover the entire Earth. This calculation may be in fact a lower bound for Steve's velocity!
I went to go recalculate your results for the Siljan impact, which is the one I believe Worthi is attributing to Steve, with the presumption that the effect of the impact was artistic license so I wouldn't analogize to K-Pg. Unfortunately, it turns out that from what literature I could find, most Siljan impact structure research is focused on oil & gas, not the impact event itself, so trying to get an estimated kinetic energy for the impact to make a stupid little joke on UA-cam would be like...... actual geophysics research.
Love the choice that Penny and Steve’s mom have the same voice (and hair color), makes me wonder if Steve hired her bc she unconsciously reminded him of his mother.
@@AgentSteffiOn top of that in the episode where Steve turns into a child, which we now know is how he canonically looked as a kid, he first presented himself to Penny and didn't start disappear until the others showed up. He probably sees Penny as being the most clown like, and thus the closest thing he can get to his old clown society.
Dude this is such a perfect, delicate, PERFECT balance between some serious really compelling storytelling beats and just ultimate goofyness, this is the best show on youtube
Backstory of Steve is absolutely breathtaking, the fact that you all tied in the different animations you’ve done over the years was fantastic. I’m happy to wait the next 8 months for more! Edit: I love how you incorporated Up within this episode. Already had it downloaded on Spotify but this just now adds to the fun of listening to it!
The fish-creatures at 4:37 are Tiktaaliks, which lived during the late Denovian Period, over 100 million years before the earliest dinosaurs. They are believed to be an important link between fishes and four-legged (land) vertebrates. Coincidentally, the second of the 'Big Five' mass extinctions took place around that time. Specifically, it seems that Steve was likely the cause of the Hangenberg Extinction Event, which marked the end of the Denovian Period and the beginning of the Carboniferous Period.
I can't get over the look on Steve's face as he's shot out of the cannon. Fear and uncertainty turning to regret and grief at having lost everything. The fact he is being banished for a goofy reason doesn't even matter, the raw complexity of emotion is deeply moving. I really, really like this cartoon, you guys.
I got the general feeling that Steve's director meant the "moments of happiness" line more literally. Perhaps, for Steve's home planet, these seemingly silly productions meant to entertain are actually vitally important to the way they live their lives or maybe even vitally important to the planet they live on.
@@HiThere-ig5iz yeah i think the implication is that somehow their planet is *literally* powered/given life by entertainment and the happiness it creates, which would explain why messing up something that is literally vital for the entire population is such a terrible crime & why ppl practice their whole lives for it. it also explains, well, why their civilization is one of clowns lol
@@HiThere-ig5iz Yeah, I think it's made fairly clear in the flashback sequence that _Cats_ is something akin to a religion for the clown people. But that's a Watsonian explanation. From a Doylist point of view, it's goofy (and that's not a bad thing! It's meant to be as silly as it is heartrending).
@@hotelmario510| Couldn't have said it better! If we think metatextually, a "clown" only ever exists in a state of performance. It's a stage persona. When a clown steps off the proverbial stage or breaks character, they stop being a clown and start being just a guy in makeup. In the context of this clown world, a clown failing to perform puts themselves and every other clown at risk.
The banishment sequence is the best musical animated sequences I'll ever see man. I don't know how to express that in a way that fully conveys my admiration.
I know this is a fictional story but Steve's backstory + character progression makes me feel a little better about myself. He's so resilient and durable, mentally and physically, and even though I think this whole experience was like an ego death/rebirth for him, he STILL struggles with being socially awkward in the current day because you cant just cure social anxiety. He learned to accept his limitations and found happiness in running a burger truck. It's kinda silly but I find that inspiring since I've lived a similar life. I pursued dreams that didnt work for me as a person (but were socially acceptable), got humbled, took some time to think, and came to accept my true self along with my true dreams
See...after watching this like...10-20 times so far, I can't help but appreciate how Steve's origin story is so succinct. Nothing feels wasted, nothing feels like it needs to be longer, it's just so concise. I love how these episodes can be so short, yet so full of excellent animation, humor, and storytelling.
Agreed. Additionally, I loved the revelation that Bigtop Burger and Wire are set in the same universe. And the added depth to little hints in the previous Bigtop episodes, like how Steve doesn't take his makeup off and when Billie says "Dude, clowns aren't real. That's wild."
@@anneabelle7098I'm pretty sure its been said by worthikids themselves that the similarities to wire don't actually mean they take place in the same universe. the fact that they both revolve so heavily around clowns is a weird coincidence but
yeah i think the big difference is that usually the backstory is something relatively mundane (story-wise) that explains why theyre weird or where their weird powers came from etc. but in this case the backstory is just as absurd, so it doesnt detract from the initial weirdness or recontextualize it as having a normal explanation lol its aaaaallll weird
As a fellow clown I must say that I love how this series is playing it's own big part in changing peoples minds on clowns and getting people to enjoy clowns outside of horror and/or villain rolls again!! Cuz it's about time!!!!!
@@chumblespuzzspuzz4080| It's been one of the main broadway musicals for decades now. You don't stick around that long WITHOUT having good music. Is it for everyone? No. Was it a good idea to try adapting it to film? Hell no. Is it objectively a "good" musical? Unequivocally.
@@chumblespuzzspuzz4080 lol, it's Andrew Lloyd Weber. Nobody ever thought the music is bad. It's just one of those things that got too big for it's own good.
You can really feel how much love was put into this. Even just how Up has been telling us about Steve's backstory this whole time without us knowing shows the thought and care Worthi has been BREWING. It's bloody inspiring
I might point out, Friends in Low Places is the story of Cesare's life. A puppet maker who got murdered and then resurrected, presumably to hunt weirdos like Steve
Whats crazy is how much more than just a reference it is. The lyrics to the outro song in episode one are exactly what happened in this episode. Well, the full version of the song. Only the first half plays during the credits Brush my hair Read my lines It's time to go Put on my suit Put the makeup on Put on the show Up, up, up, to the Heaviside layer Up, up, up, I'm going straight up Take my lunch Lose my lunch It's a shaky start I'm old Deut Now he's old Deut I've lost the part Down, down, down, to the center of the Earth Down, down, down, I'm going straight down
@@Mittens_McG Same thing with the new intro/outro song. It's literally just Cesare's backstory. Cesare's an extremely Italian name, and Venezia is the proper name for Venice. He mentions that he's no longer a watcher now that his 1000 years are up in this episode, even.
@@Oops-All-GhostsConsidering when and where he is from, Cesare is a few hundred years old at most. I imagine that he watches for 1000 years *unless* he catched a clown, in which case he is freed.
@@badethics7542 He's from Venice, which was founded in the 600s, and we know he's caught more than one "freak"; we don't know anything more than that, so it seems safe to say he means thousand years literally.
Something tells me that Cesare is ultimately going to get screwed over by his bosses and break Steve out as a way of saying "Screw you, upper management!"
Cesare looked kind of particularly concerned when he realized STeve didn't know how long he was at the center of the earth. It makes me think now he's really wondering if Upper Management is making the right call on this one. Sure Steve was a hard culp to catch, but otherwise he really wasn't doing anything too out there. I think Cesare is going to start second guessing this one. Something avout it doesn't feel right.
I mean he seems to enjoy his job and dislike Steve, it seems like the burger crews (big top and zomburger) are probably gonna crawl down the giant hole that Cesar made to rescue Steve.
@@The_KingDoge He laughed it off in the end yes but after he saw how confused Steve was he clealry had a moment of thining about what was happening. He seemed earnestly shocked to find out Steve didn't know how long he was inside the planet
This is WILD - the culmination of so much of Worthi’s work. He’s been telling Steve’s life story since the first episode, Up was always telling us the whole story!!
To think the “Back on Broadway yet again” line from KID actually had substantial lore behind it is just so Steve, I love the fact Worthikids used the same side track at 3:03 as his other CATS animation. This is made even better by the fact that, this was uploaded on my birthday.
1. I really love the lonely plucking, harmonizing, and fittingly creep-fantastic rendering of the Cats theme - I hope it's eventually available somewhere 2. Also, if I felt the cast spiritually waiting for my failure, I, too would brick and "fumble it" eventually (if not immediately) 3. ALW as the consummate prophet of Clown World is really something
This episode just straight confirms that CATS was not only created millions of years ago before humanity and the concept of theater existed on Earth, but it was created far far away. Implying Steves exile is the only reason CATS reached the human race.
The fact that this song was on Spotify the entire time and the lyrics match what happened, that weird episode with tiny Steve, and Greaselaint show how brilliant they are at foreshadowing!
I always thought UP had an odd spacey vibe, so its surprising (but perfect) that Steve is quite literally from space! Also i love the aesthetic of the Clown Society. Really delicate and pleasant looking, like something out of an 80s fantasy movie but with a touch of rococo.
The Clow aesthetic here is like the opposite of Pennywise. It's artful, whimsical, and nothing feels "off" about the vibe. Like they're these beings older than anyone can imagine, and their entire society revolves around entertainment and happiness. I love it.
I mean I thought Killer Clowns From Outer Space but I really doubt Steve killed anything more sentient than perhaps a wayward elk for some burger meat @@JulioTMaker
I can't figure out if Cesare referring to Andy Serkis is a nod to all the wacky characters he's flawlessly portrayed, or because Serkis is pronounced like Circus, where clowns are typically found, but I loved that line regardless.
I love how there is such deep and kind of really badass lore... but it's also just a society of ancient magical clowns, and cozy whimsical silly vibes centered around workplace shenanigans.
The hype I felt at hearing UP actually in the show animated was crazy, this episode was beautiful, and hilarious, as always. Clown planet, clown banishment, we love to see it.
Absolutely love the new context added to Up, giving us a nice chunk of Steve's origin story. Wonder what we can gleam about Cesares origin with "Friends in Low Places" now. Also, I applaud your ability to get really awesome VAs for your characters.
I have some theories lol We know he sold marionettes in Italy. Clowns were popular characters for puppets and such at the time. I think maybe in the downtime he likes to play things out with them, havin bc fun with having the upper hand in that HE was the one moving clowns on wires instead.
Honestly, this show had no right going from the silliest fucking shit to an emotional climax like this episode. I can't put my finger on why exactly but this episodes not only goes so hard, but hits so fucking hard.
I need the lore of that clown that wrote Cats. He barely gets any screentime, doesn't say A SINGLE WORD but that smile... The obvious care and love he has for his music... Gold ink! I'd die for that clown but something tells me he'd prefer it if I lived for him and made someone else smile.
The fact that Steve played a role in a major extinction event is somehow not the most important revelation here and honestly very on brand. Once again a banger animation.
Retroactively revealing that UP was just as lore significant as DOWN! Peanut is also a friendo supreme for still being sympathetic for Steve, despite the fact he just got the part he's been studying all his life for.
I listened to the up reprise religiously after my terrible coming out because I related so much to the feeling of putting on a different face and acting as someone other than you are for people. At the time I felt like I was slowly sinking to the center of the earth, like the weight of my problems broke the earths crust and pulled me down with it which I also found in this song. It’s so silly but it fits so well to know the song was about a clown’s tragic backstory all along skskdkdkd
I've watched this like 10 times now already, this is an absolute masterpiece. There's so many details to talk about, I'm especially obsessed with Cesare's pause and facial expression after he realizes Steve didn't know he was underground for so long, you can tell *so much* about his thoughts just from those few seconds alone. And just, the design of the clown planet is beautiful, and the unique writing system too?? And just, the sequence of Steve flying through space is amazing, this episode makes me feel so hard for him. I'm not even talking about a lot of the other things people have already mentioned, like with the insane Cats lore.... and what's with the secretary??? Either way, this is more than amazing, I'm so glad I got into this series.
I find it very interesting that the outfits Steve’s employees wear are similar to the banishment garb. Maybe I’m looking too into it but I wonder what it means?? Why did Steve choose that pattern for his employees??
I like the fact that Steve caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and also that he can survive in lava which means the deer he fought in season 1 was more of a challenge to fight that being in lava
I could be that Steve is literally a being of emotion as his people are built around performance and he was told that the entire planet spins around happy feeling, this could be figurative but knowing this series it might be literal. He could have just thought the elk was stronger than it was resulting in him somehow losing. (This could be utter bullshit though I am NOT a writer)
@@finderfinder4290Yeah, Maybe he emerged during the Permian (when what is now Russia literally blew up because lava got into a coal seam as wide as the us and 12km deep)
Dude this is the best lore I’ve seen. -there is a clown planet -Steve is a part of the clown race -being a performer is the most honorable thing ahd Cats is one of the biggest performances. -Steve fails and gets banished to earth and sealed in the core of the earth for millions of years. I can’t wait for new lore to drop :)
also the fact that CATS has been around for 9 billion years lolll - i absolutely love all this lore. Poor steve tho - they really banished him from the planet for having stage fright ;-;
So, this may be unintentional, but the song escalating from its normal tone to a stereotypically sci-fi-y theme is such an awesome way to tie it together with the origin, to the point where I half-wonder if this was planned in advance. You nailed it!
watched Cats for the very first time at my university and i SPRINTED to rewatch this directly after the play ended so i could truly absorb the affect of Steve's crime against clownery
I think my favorite part of Worthikids' animation style is how the framing is used kinetically. Like the zooming when Steve is climbing into the cannon. Or when he hits the earth and the explosion is freeze framed, but only partially, ambient animations still occur, but we get a slice of what the impact is like for just a singular moment, then BOOM.
The lore and world building is super unique but the whole exile sequence blew me away without a word . Worthikids art is some of the greatest of all time
It's really important for me that everyone appreciates the design in this video, because Cesare is based on the character with the same name in the old Silent movie ""the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", and let me tell you all of those trippy lines across the walls and bars? That's the same art-direction as in the original black and white movie. *chefs-kiss*
don't let Steve and his backstory distract you from the fact that Cats was written 9 billion years ago
I was surprised no one was talking about this. But now it begs the question, is Andrew Lloyd Webber a billions-of-years-old clown from outer space or a fraud?
@@KNIGHTMARE__ he's English, of course he stole it
@@KNIGHTMARE__ when you consider that those two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive it becomes even more complex
@@KNIGHTMARE__Sir Funny Lloyd Webber The Clown
@@KNIGHTMARE__ there's a third option: given enough time, things may begin to repeat independently due to probability. However, I definitely think the clown composer bears a striking resemblance to Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I think they're the same person; it would explain a lot.
I like the implication that either
A. Steve brought the play Cats to earth with him inside of his head, and it proved to be not quite the world-defining hit it was on the clown planet
or
B. Cats, as a play, is an art object in the collective unconscious of the universe, such that ANY planetary society, after inventing writing and theatre, will eventually independently come up with Cats.
Cats is to consciousness as crabs are to evolution. It just keeps happening
Or Steve didn't do a good retelling... He is an alien after all
It could also be complete coincidence. If you look at the infinite monkey theorem, you see that if you sat infinite monkeys at infinite keyboards and had them type keys at random, one would eventually write the entire works of Shakespeare with no typos. This theory clearly proves that even with complete randomness anything can happen
@@vaga4239We will never experience the true form of CATS 😢
It's a nice spin on Douglas Adams and cricket, that's for sure.
I can't believe that Old Deuteronomy gag ended up being an important plot point
I fucking love this series
I mean it's mentioned in another song but people thought it implied Cesare lost the role to Steve, now we know it's not that
Worth inspires me.. My parents said if i get 40K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
@@namantherockstar No
Putting the main character's backstory on the theme song, but being too absurd for anyone to think he was being literal about it, was Worthikids' greatest prank.
He did the same for Cesare. It's actually wild how much detail has gone into this. And like it has to have been planned from really early on because the song has existed since the start.
@@BlazingImp77151 Yeah and i'am super exited to see where this goes.
So this is the origins of pennywise the dancing clown/ IT what a tragic story
@@tokyoghoulfan21 Yeah, it really calls back to _It's_ "smoke-hole" ceremony, does it not? Has to be some sort of reference. That part always confused me, as they're supposed to have gone back to the time of the dinosaurs, but they also see gigantic bats, modern birds and sabre toothed tigers, but Chiopterae, Neoavians, and Smilodons hadn't been invented yet.
Do you think the song or the backstory was written first?
I love how Cesare is just a guy doing a job who employs all theater majors, whereas Steve is a theater major who employs people just trying to do their jobs
Perfect summation, no notes
So profound 😢
This might be my favourite comment of anything ever
Astute
Yeah your right, I thought Cesare was Munkustrap for a minute
I kinda like the implication that the reason Steve has a clown theamed burger van and makes his employees dress up as clowns is not just so he can blend in but also because he misses his home and being around people like himself. I love this series and look forward to how it develops further
😭
My headcanon is that Steve doesn't make them wear make-up. They just showed up for for their first work day and assumed it was part of the uniform.
I will point out that pattern is only seen on the clown world as punishment garb .
not to pain you, but this felt very conclusive to me :')
I hope there's more to come, but also looking forward to whatever else Worthikids puts out tbh
He also talks in previous episodes like hes still on clown broadway doing an act, like hes still practicing despite his exile.
Worthikids is so powerful he not only pulls out full-fledged high quality animations but simultaneously improves the reputation of CATS
The Broadway show never had a bad rep afaik
@@Yuuri066 oh it did, it really did
Yoda real 👏👏👏
@@louzo5175 the people who camped out to get tickets gave it a bad rep, the show didn't earn it itself.
Cats' reputation have been fluctuating from masterpiece to joke to masterpiece to joke again for decades.
I love how Steve faced lifelong trauma and banishment for ruining a performance of Cats, while Cesare’s reaction to being murdered, having his body dumped into a canal and being resurrected as a walking corpse is “I can’t wait to retire! Tampa, I’m coming!!! :)”
Did I just completely miss Cesare’s backstory?
@alexhead2645 listen to the song "friends in low places". It's the one that plays during the season credits
honestly based on the song I'd say he was stoked to be revived as a zombie
@@alexhead2645 "Friends in Low Places" from this series (eg the after-credits song) and "Down" from last series' soundtrack, though we get a reprise of it when he's slamming Steve with the hammer.
Well he had 1000 years to find peace
I love how this series absolutely obliterates the Clowns as Horror Villains trope. Clowns being whimsical beings of mirth and mischief from beyond the stars is so much more compelling.
Also the idea of having to make people happy so the world continues to spin is kinda horrifying as an implication
"Clowns being whimsical beings of mirth and mischief from beyond the stars" - Homestuck
@@ZIMMOTHI:o)
It actually reinforces everything they represent. Look at what Steve caused...and his kin as well. They just banished Steve as it was a special slap in the wrist; also they obliterated the Mezosoic Era just out of spite and sense of fun.
Considering clowns were based off harlequins (actual demons). They're fucked over in that regard.
I absolutely love CATS being a part of the lore of this show lmfao
I love that CATS is older than terrestrial vertebrate life on earth
From an alien race of CLOWNS, no less.
As it should be
STRAIGHT UP I did not see it coming
Cats and clowns go hand In hand
I love how Cesare has been doing this work for a thousand years and he never bothered to learn the details of his job
nah i can vouch for him on that one
Thats just how it be. If i dont need to know it to do my job, i dont care enough to find out
Probably was not being paid enough to ask questions, just wanted to get there 1000 years in so he could retire.
That tracks.
Makes me wonder who his boss is gonna be then
I just have to say, cosmically ancient space baroque is an aesthetic theme I've never seen before and I *will* be obsessing over it
That are so powerful that one of the average clowns of that place can literally get send at possibly beyond speed of light and blow the planet earth by causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. All that without any fatal wounds.
That some anime or comic level of power.
What's his name... Twin Peaks Guy's 1980s Dune did that.
@@DefensiveBalloonsI thought it was more how strong Steve must be, to not only survive but had no visible scratches on him
@maxdefense9914 think it was supposed to be the Permian Extinction, aka "The Great Dying" that made way for dinos and, well, us.
@@dboot8886 Oh yeah, that's true. Also that means he was the cause of the biggest mass extinction in history.
Origin stories for mysterious characters usually kill all the magic, but this one was quite charming and solid enough in its unspoken denials of other questions to keep some of that magic.
Yes, the key to keeping the magic of mysterious, incomprehensible characters is a backstory that is EVEN MORE mysterious and incomprehensible and damn if Worthikids deliver! I am in awe
@@EvonixTheGreatestdude exactly, it raised more questions than it answered and I'm all for it!!!
I just like how I did pay close attention to the years and still needed a cut into earth to understand what was going on… the whole scene was great
It's doing less hot for the fact that Clowns were pretty much invented in USA by appropriating English bastardizations of mainland European commedia dell'arte traditions, and jsut turned it into a hateful public mockery of drunks, on who the pale face and red nose is based on.
The mockery then lived on in blackface because same culture so openly hates these other instances, that they want to make the PAINT a problem without addressing positive depictions of the same thing. And so they DON'T HAVE positive depictions like Aqualung by Jethro Tull.
It's just blackface for an acceptable target, while blackface for genuine comedy is not even acknowledged as possible because Americans want to blame the depiction, and veer away from THEIR OWN hateful APPLICATION of it as the problem. For example japan happily uses archetypes in anime like Iyami from Osomatsu, but black people are openly encourgaed to become violent when even seeing same kind of imagery.
STEVE LITERALLY COMES FROM A CLOWN WORLD THAT HAS BEEN PUTTING ON THE MUSICAL "CATS" FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS I LITERALLY CANNOT 🤣🤣🤣
I like how Cesare doesn't even pretend to hate Steve anymore it was always just part of the job.
i mean he might still, but now he’s won so hes happy anyways
@@Luxia-f1eI don't thinkthe hate id pointed directly at Steven, Cesare's simply someone who takes his job very seriously. It's kind of like how certain detectives/officers can connect with the criminals they are hunting down, even while knowing they feel some kind of sympathy. At the end of the day they NEED to be stopped and this was Cesare's BIGGEST case. He said his 1000 years were up, not that they were GOING to be up, which makes me think Cesare stayed on the forece knowing that if anyone could catch Steve it was him. Steve was his biggest case, he can finally hang up his badge knowing he finally put in everything he had for the force. Even if he feels sympathy or contempt for Steve, doesn't matter. He got the one Clown no one could catch off the streets. His jobs done, and that's the end of that.
@@tsunertoo9149i thought there was a clown too slippery for him though
@@artisticdreamer2429 ANdy Serkez, but he said that he doesn't normally need help on a case either but for Steve he basically had to pull an entire trap expo. SUre he couldn't snag Andy but Steveis clearly up there
@tsunertoo9149 I think he just ment that he was retiring soon not that he stayed just to catch steve
Can we not forget that Worthikids MAKES ALL THIS MUSIC THEMSELVES!!!! and STILL puts out quality animations like this! TALENT TALENT!!!!!
Literally the most talented person on the planet
I was wondering why the audio was so damn crisp. I know the audiophiles are pleased.
The way Steve says “I didn’t DO anything,” makes me feel like he knew who/what he was and who/what was watching him, so he tried not to do anything too chaotic to avoid drawing attention. When I go back through to series and watch how he reacts every time he sees Cesare, it really drives the theory home for me that he knew what Cesare’s job was and was trying to avoid him.
One time he Naruto ran at about 80+ MPH and then sliced Cesare's truck in half with a katana before jumping onto his own vehicle and steering it by standing on top of it. So. I 'unno about that one.
@@FriscoCatshark To be fair, that was already a life-or-death situation for his human friends, so may have warranted some Clowning.
@@clockworkkirlia7475 *honk*
I thought he was being litteral with his performance on cats
Worthikids wrote the music for this episode two whole years ago. Damn, that’s respectable to be able to keep something planned and work on it for that long. Bigtop Burger is such an incredible animated show!
where can i find the music ? this stuffs straight fire
@@ILikeBeer123 Yeah, where banana
@@ILikeBeer123 he's got a spotify under the same name Worthikids
@@ILikeBeer123 It's all on Spotify!
Yeah I would pay for that cover of "The Jellicle Ball".
I can't believe Steve was the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs. It just shows how powerful he really is.
Eh, 375 nillion years ago is way to early to be the dinosaurs
not only that. Steve literally a Celestial Being banished from his World and The one who responsible for the creation of human being. just like The Engineers. talk about God among human. His lore is exceed my prediction. love it
@@TalenkauenTVno telling how long he flew through space
The cause of the Late-Devonian extinction is unknown, with an impact being one theory. I guess it makes sense now that we don't understand the cause- no one would have guessed a banished Clown launched into the earth!
Those animals in the video are not dinosaurs. If anything, steve caused the Late Devonian extinction or even worse, the Permian extinction.
If you ever feel down, remember that Steve trained 225 years for one part and still fumbled it.
225 million years even
@@firdanharbima6997That's not what understudy means, understudies simply learn the same role in the event a theatre actor is unavailable to perform on a given day and serve as a substitute, they're also known as a cover. They are not the actor's student.
@calculusbandit6127 I... never knew this. I never used the word myself, but just realized I've misunderstood it whenever i've heard it all my life. So thanks!
@@calculusbandit6127 sorry I'm bad at english
@@calculusbandit6127 I also didn't know this, thank you.
Even Peanut is shedding a tear for Steve. Seems like a nice guy.
Pretty sure that’s Mr. Munkenstap
@@TallestKATthey both are
@@TallestKAT Mr. Munkustrap is a separate character from Peanut. Munkustrap was the one that sent Steve to be banished and Peanut just took his place in the play. They even have separate voice actors
@@p1nk_anthem I acknowledge that. The clown who sheds a tear at 4:03 though is Mr. Munkenstrap
@@TallestKAT ah I see what you mean now I assumed you had peanut and munkustrap mixed up
The realization that Steve's lore was in the song "Up" the whole time has me shook. I was just jaw wide open this whole time. Insane. Rewatching. Thank you so much, this is always such a joy.
Sameeeee!!!!!!
Well, yes, just like Cesare's story is in "Down". This episode is such a freaking masterpiece.
It's just like how it turned out that 'Down' was Cesare's story all along.
Dude sameeeee
To be honest, I thought it was just a big metaphor, but it's like word for word. This channel needs more attation.
Cesare has probably seen the whole world several times over and deciding that he wants to retire in Tampa is crazier than anything Steve could ever pull 😂
The only good thing in Tampa are Cuban sandwiches. I completely understand him.
@@AaronTatsDudes doesn't eat food how can he enjoy any of that
Someone's gotta tell him about the state of Florida right now, not the place to be
@@sphinxwidget that’s why I said the only good thing in Tampa lol
Bros going to Margarittaville
Holy shit, the Steve lore is a lot deeper than I thought.
I wonder if Seal Team Clown will tie in at any point
There is no way that doesn’t tie into anything.
@@caseyp5861 he gets rescued 100% by them. this is the only way forward.
I think Worthikids has denied a connection, but also I don't believe him
@@thegreatandterrible4508just different faction of clowns
@caseyp5861 I say the clowns have started a war with the vampires on earth while Steve was slumbering
i love that the flashback scene is entirely handdrawn / no 3d models for the characters whereas the modern day stuff is done with a mix of 3d and 2d...really gives the clown backstory this more storybook/retroish feel
It also adds to how important this episode is, in episodes before this the fact that they're done in 3d is used for some jokes and is generally used to give the show a lighthearted feel. But this episode being entirely 2d adds more weight to the events and how characters move/emote
I haven’t felt this kind of absolute child-like joy and love for a series in years. I have watched this so many times already and have not been able to stop smiling. The way worthi writes, animates, and composes; the performance from the VA’s, and just the line by line and shot by shot pacing, it’s goddamn good and I’m so glad this show exists.
Beep bop... I'm the Philosophy Bot. Here, have a quote:
"All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us"
~ Gandalf
Same here. Its just so amazing.
couldn't have said it better myself. i feel the same way dude.
i never thought that alex hirsch and trey the explainer would ever be on the same project in a million years. that is absolutely amazing. what a fantastic job y'all did!!
the historical counsel got me good lol
What
I’m almost scared to ask but Is Alex the dude playing the black cat 😭
WAIT ALEX HIRSCH AND TREY ARE IN THIS?????
@@sammieegoldwand I'm unsure who Alex is, but Trey is almost certainly the Tiktaalic that turns to his friend and tells him to make a wish on the falling Steve.
Edit: Yeah Alex was the play director who took away Steve's status as Old Deut.
I can't decide what you deserve more, an adult swim series or a record deal. For real man, you are crushing it.
Why not both?
Nooo! Not Adult Swim!! Those fucktards don't like their shows to be too complex! See what happened to Metalocalypse
Maybe Rick & Morty are an exception, but it doesn't require to watch the episodes in order so you can understand the story
New age Brendan smalls
"New age Brendan Smalls" super truth here
Adult Swim ain't what it used to be. It's probably safer to stay independent at this point.
I love how you can see Steve's orbit path as he passes saturn at 4:34. This implies his flight path through the solar system brought him within the orbit of at least jupiter before orbiting saturn which then must have sling shot him towards earth. Cool detail Worthikids :) Thank you for making and sharing this art :)
love this detail!
Oh I actually saw that when I saw your post. It’s small but you can see Steve whip around Saturn!
@@denakay3633 I never noticed that until you said something, that's so cool
Sometimes Worthikids has to remind us that they can make unsetling sounds and animations... That initial scene of the cats surrounding Steve was SPOOKY.
No one is talking about this!!!!! I got chills! Felt straight out of Mandela Catalog
Right?? I was so prepped for more laughs and that scene caught me so off guard, worthi is so freaking good at tone setting I was scared and nervous for Steve who was under such intense pressure and scrutiny
Honestly!!! That creeped the hell outta me
when the stage fright is truly frightening
A lot of people think that Steve has been training for this one role for almoat his entire life, but I don't think that's the case. I think he has actually held this title for mutplile years after getting it, since in the first flash-back with "back on Broadway yet again." he is actually seen singing. What i think happened is that in this performance, he had simply cracked under pressure from how long he had been doing this.
The way all the other clowns were saddened during his punishment seems to indicate indicate that yeah he had been doing this for a while and people loved him. His boss and understudy were legitimately saddened at what happened and what they had to do to him based on their traditions.
Or his successful broadway performance happened here on Earth after he.... excavated himself? I mean, the stakes are much lower here (we won't fire an actor into the next galaxy for flubbing a line) so that probably let him relax a lot more.
That was my impression too. Looking at how much time passed, and the reactions of the other clowns, I think he'd successfully played "old deut" for literally a million years. One day he just cracked
Longer it seems even. I think it's suggested he was at this for 225 MILLION YEARS. He's not some nobody, he's at the very least spent actual eons climbing up the ladder. My guess is he's had this part since forever, and even though the performance didn't, time itself changed. New clowns came in, new standards evolved, ever demanding more and more from him until eventually he just.... cracked.
This wasn't some simple banishment, this was a high profile excising from clown society.
@@vigorouslethargyI don’t think so since all the other clowns in his act look the same as in the clip from “Kid”, so I think he has indeed been at the role for a long long time, the way he was yelled at “you’re supposed to be Old Deut!” And Steve proclaimed “I AM old Duet! I..” then “NOT! ANYMORE!” So yeah he just seems to have cracked after millions of years of performance and then gotten banished. Otherwise I don’t think Steve would’ve had something THAT important placed on him that he’d be banished on his first try and failure.
Didn't expect to love a show about clowns selling burgers, but here I am thinking it's one of the best shows on UA-cam.
Completly Agree 😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤❤
For sure!
This and Helluva Boss really are the new Kings of Animation.
@@AfroX-StayLegendary helluva boss is really hit or miss tho
@@AfroX-StayLegendaryhelluva is kinda alright, I wouldn't go that far lol
Cesar's voice sounding like he's speaking in an empty room with just a smidge of echo when he shouts is something i hope stays around.
It's almost an insult to the industry as a whole that you haven't broken 1mil subs yet. Every frame is beautiful, every musical note is a melody, the voice acting is surreal, and the story just becomes deeper each episode.
People with real talent dont get subs.
People who use others content for views like streamers/letsplayers/reactions get them.
Trust me, I've been making original content for like 2 years with my music then see people who sell out to the meme of the week suprpass it.
I'm sure the million plus sub count is on its way
It is a shame that most of the time great art gets unnoticed. However, that not why great artist make great art. They make it because they must, and even if only one person sees it and enjoys it, then all the effort will have been worth it.
It literally got 250k views in 8 hours. I swear if it's not over 1 million in the first few hours ppl lose their gd minds
@@DaBaSoftware Oh dont get me wrong, 250k is no small feat. Worthikids deserves every single one of those views. Most of us just think more people should know about projects and creators like this.
I'm blown away by Steve's backstory. The fact that he came from outer space in a clown world is something I never expected. Along with that, the fact CATS is the reason he got banished makes me go crazy. This is such a fascinating story. You went over the top on this one Worthikids! AMAZING!!!
And that CATS is actually 9 billion years old.
I always loved the implication that steve and cesare were actually weird guys and not just dudes in costumes, and now that theres confirmation its even better! the parallels are incredible
@@vigorouslethargy We normal people didn't create it, Steve blasted it into our minds.
I like how whimsical clown world is.
The not-so killer clown from outer space
Shout out to Worthi for getting a legend like Alex Hirsch to play a role! Speaks to the quality of his work
Gosh I can't for the life of me figure out which character he plays.
The guy who banishes Steve, I get a hint of grunkle Stan in his voice
@@zoeythebee1779 The planet SPINS around moments of happiness, AND YOU FUMBLE IT.
These UA-cam animators just pulling massive names out of the blue is something to behold for sure
dude ayo edebiri from the bear is here
So yeah, Alex Hirsch gave one of his best performances as Munkustrap.
Also such an amazing episode. Great animation, story and world building. I can’t wait for more.
insane that that’s alex hirsch
Many people pointed it out, but I can't get over how a throwaway gag from season 1 has been incorporated into the story, and in such an intriguing way too ! My favorite part has to be the eyes, especially when they sentence Steve to banishment. Your artstyle and ways of storytelling are so cool and satisfying to me, I can't get enough of it !!
which throwaway gag?
@@Emile.gorgonZolahim being in cats probably
@@Emile.gorgonZola ^^he mentioned being back on broadway again in s1e3 !
was it a throwaway gag though? The OG themesong seemed to be about losing the part of playing old deuteronomy
Well up the full song referenced the play and old deut before this came out. I’m sure he had this all
Planned and it’s just a callback
Oh my god, the uncovering of lore, the initial theme song, Up, clicking into place, hell a new version of Up, and the animation as always is beyond spectacular
Seeing references to previous animations was actually a chill inducing moment. Overjoyed to see how far, large, and bizarre the world of Big Top Burger has come :)
Real as fuck, what an intricate tapestry of lore
4:38 Semi-fun fact! Assuming that Steve was roughly the average male clown weight of 100 kg at the time of his banishment (due to their denser and more comedic molecular structure) -- to cause the Chicxulub impact (estimated energy 300 ZJ), he would need to have been traveling at 182.7 times the speed of light! Or in Star Trek terms, warp factor 4.8.
_Edit:_ We can therefore deduce that he was fired out of a Warp 5 cannon.
@@13.ghaniziyadsagiansyah66 Good point, and I will admit I did not initially pick up on that. But that said, we can presume the impact was at least comparable to the K-Pg event, given the way we see the ejecta similarly cover the entire Earth. This calculation may be in fact a lower bound for Steve's velocity!
I went to go recalculate your results for the Siljan impact, which is the one I believe Worthi is attributing to Steve, with the presumption that the effect of the impact was artistic license so I wouldn't analogize to K-Pg. Unfortunately, it turns out that from what literature I could find, most Siljan impact structure research is focused on oil & gas, not the impact event itself, so trying to get an estimated kinetic energy for the impact to make a stupid little joke on UA-cam would be like...... actual geophysics research.
@@chronikuru Yeaaaaaahhhh, afraid that's a little above my pay grade. 😁
Wiz and Boomstick over here…
@@cjmoore9966 DEATH BATTLE mentioned.
+1
love how the little joke of "back on broadway yet again" was a real statement with a real backstory and was clearly planned from that orignal episode.
My brain gained a wrinkle from all the dots connecting! It’s like Pepe Silvia all over again!
Love the choice that Penny and Steve’s mom have the same voice (and hair color), makes me wonder if Steve hired her bc she unconsciously reminded him of his mother.
I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE THAT OMG
Shit that's a really good observation. In the intro she also tucks a kid to sleep.
@@AgentSteffi The kid is Penny's kid
@@AgentSteffiOn top of that in the episode where Steve turns into a child, which we now know is how he canonically looked as a kid, he first presented himself to Penny and didn't start disappear until the others showed up. He probably sees Penny as being the most clown like, and thus the closest thing he can get to his old clown society.
Assuming she isn't actually his mother. Could be time travel BS involved.
Dude this is such a perfect, delicate, PERFECT balance between some serious really compelling storytelling beats and just ultimate goofyness, this is the best show on youtube
The delivery on "you - cookin da burgers" is so brilliant + the perfect expression on Cesare's face..! I laugh every time.
Backstory of Steve is absolutely breathtaking, the fact that you all tied in the different animations you’ve done over the years was fantastic. I’m happy to wait the next 8 months for more!
Edit: I love how you incorporated Up within this episode. Already had it downloaded on Spotify but this just now adds to the fun of listening to it!
Amén Jesús♥️♥️
So Steve was a hit clown on a floating airship I knew it
but wasn't this the ending?
@@groetaer hopefully not, we just learnt about all the characters
Congratz on getting Alex Hirsch on here dude! I love this series, glad to see it being recognized by one of my favourite cartoon creators as well.
Wait Alex Hirsch was on here???
@@ZeusHadANOTHERkid he played munkustrap
Holy shit, I didn’t even recognize his voice.
Yeah when I saw his name in the credits, I was floored. Worthikids is definitely going places.
@@BlinksAwakening He's an overnight success... because he put in the decades of work.
It’s interesting that what made Steve fumble his performance isn’t the audience’s attention, but his fellow performers
Spending hundreds of millions of year rehearsing must build so much anxiety
The fish-creatures at 4:37 are Tiktaaliks, which lived during the late Denovian Period, over 100 million years before the earliest dinosaurs. They are believed to be an important link between fishes and four-legged (land) vertebrates.
Coincidentally, the second of the 'Big Five' mass extinctions took place around that time. Specifically, it seems that Steve was likely the cause of the Hangenberg Extinction Event, which marked the end of the Denovian Period and the beginning of the Carboniferous Period.
aaaand now im obsessed with the idea of interstellar deities being the direct cause behind mass extinctions
I love the idea that all the Big Five mass extinctions happened because a clown hit earth and messed things up.
Oh man, I thought it was supposed to be the Permian Extinction. Good catch!
@@jimboringo9958Go play Pathways into Darkness.
This is why I read comments dude. Thanks for this info man.
The blend of surreal absurdist humor and beautifully stylized character lore is so so good.
Plus the music!
You can say it's a nice blend all using blender (Get it? Cuz the program they use... I'll see myself out)
I’ve never seen a series so fascinatingly comfortable in its own skin- this series is such an unique comfort and endlessly charming!
This and No Evil are like that.
I can't get over the look on Steve's face as he's shot out of the cannon. Fear and uncertainty turning to regret and grief at having lost everything. The fact he is being banished for a goofy reason doesn't even matter, the raw complexity of emotion is deeply moving.
I really, really like this cartoon, you guys.
ME TO
I got the general feeling that Steve's director meant the "moments of happiness" line more literally. Perhaps, for Steve's home planet, these seemingly silly productions meant to entertain are actually vitally important to the way they live their lives or maybe even vitally important to the planet they live on.
@@HiThere-ig5iz yeah i think the implication is that somehow their planet is *literally* powered/given life by entertainment and the happiness it creates, which would explain why messing up something that is literally vital for the entire population is such a terrible crime & why ppl practice their whole lives for it. it also explains, well, why their civilization is one of clowns lol
@@HiThere-ig5iz Yeah, I think it's made fairly clear in the flashback sequence that _Cats_ is something akin to a religion for the clown people. But that's a Watsonian explanation. From a Doylist point of view, it's goofy (and that's not a bad thing! It's meant to be as silly as it is heartrending).
@@hotelmario510| Couldn't have said it better!
If we think metatextually, a "clown" only ever exists in a state of performance. It's a stage persona. When a clown steps off the proverbial stage or breaks character, they stop being a clown and start being just a guy in makeup.
In the context of this clown world, a clown failing to perform puts themselves and every other clown at risk.
I really like the added vocal mix to "UP" for this episode. There's a lot more emotion than the usual jam
I hope we get the double reprise on the season soundtrack!
The banishment sequence is the best musical animated sequences I'll ever see man. I don't know how to express that in a way that fully conveys my admiration.
AGREE AGREE AGREE
This was pretty good but metalocalypse doomstar requiem can't be topped imo
so true, I’ve watched it like 5 times now
I can see why this episode took 8+ months to make. Absolutely stunning
Oh my god. I feel like that was like just a couple months ago. What even is time?
I’m the 1k like, feeling good
The explosion scene is probably like 90% of the animation time
So much lore in one episode!
The balance between how goofy and serious it was in this one is such a treat!
I think this is the most cannon episode lol
@@lazyfish7675 Upvote for your service my good fish
@@lazyfish7675 most CANNON
@@lazyfish7675* ba dum tss*
I know this is a fictional story but Steve's backstory + character progression makes me feel a little better about myself. He's so resilient and durable, mentally and physically, and even though I think this whole experience was like an ego death/rebirth for him, he STILL struggles with being socially awkward in the current day because you cant just cure social anxiety. He learned to accept his limitations and found happiness in running a burger truck. It's kinda silly but I find that inspiring since I've lived a similar life. I pursued dreams that didnt work for me as a person (but were socially acceptable), got humbled, took some time to think, and came to accept my true self along with my true dreams
The amount of joy worthikids content has given me over the past 3 years is indescribable. The music, animations, comedy; I deeply love it all.
Worth inspires me.. My parents said if i get 40K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging...
See...after watching this like...10-20 times so far, I can't help but appreciate how Steve's origin story is so succinct. Nothing feels wasted, nothing feels like it needs to be longer, it's just so concise. I love how these episodes can be so short, yet so full of excellent animation, humor, and storytelling.
Agreed. Additionally, I loved the revelation that Bigtop Burger and Wire are set in the same universe. And the added depth to little hints in the previous Bigtop episodes, like how Steve doesn't take his makeup off and when Billie says "Dude, clowns aren't real. That's wild."
but we do wanna know what happens to billie and the others
I doubt they were paid thousands by the hour like those art majors
@@anneabelle7098I'm pretty sure its been said by worthikids themselves that the similarities to wire don't actually mean they take place in the same universe. the fact that they both revolve so heavily around clowns is a weird coincidence but
Brings an actual tear to my eye every single time.
I think that’s why they only release like two episodes a year😂
Normally I don't like getting backstory for weird characters like Steve, but that was so outrageous, I love it!
It's very rare that a weird character manages to get a sufficiently weird backstory, but Worthikids has succeeded.
yeah i think the big difference is that usually the backstory is something relatively mundane (story-wise) that explains why theyre weird or where their weird powers came from etc. but in this case the backstory is just as absurd, so it doesnt detract from the initial weirdness or recontextualize it as having a normal explanation lol its aaaaallll weird
It's obvious they were gonna explain Steve's deal though
As a fellow clown I must say that I love how this series is playing it's own big part in changing peoples minds on clowns and getting people to enjoy clowns outside of horror and/or villain rolls again!! Cuz it's about time!!!!!
The Up reprise had me hollerin’, this entire sequence is unparalleled.
wildest part is this is actually the original Up and the official reprise of Up is what was used for Greasepaint, season 1's finally
I never thought I'd find a series centred around clowns so beautiful but the 2:15 sequence is just breath-taking
It truly is the animation and the music is just top tier
@@cannibleflower4960 See, the music in Cats IS good!!
@@chumblespuzzspuzz4080| It's been one of the main broadway musicals for decades now. You don't stick around that long WITHOUT having good music.
Is it for everyone? No. Was it a good idea to try adapting it to film? Hell no. Is it objectively a "good" musical? Unequivocally.
@@chumblespuzzspuzz4080 lol, it's Andrew Lloyd Weber. Nobody ever thought the music is bad. It's just one of those things that got too big for it's own good.
You can really feel how much love was put into this. Even just how Up has been telling us about Steve's backstory this whole time without us knowing shows the thought and care Worthi has been BREWING. It's bloody inspiring
I was looking for this comment! I just looked at the lyrics and it clicked
What is this 'us' you're talking about?
The part of "Take my lunch Lose my lunch" showing he was nervous and throw up is a genius
Oh my god I didn't even realize! The lyrics! That song has been one of my alarms for literal years, how did I not put that together
I might point out, Friends in Low Places is the story of Cesare's life. A puppet maker who got murdered and then resurrected, presumably to hunt weirdos like Steve
As a lover of clowns as wholesome beings who bring silliness and laughter to people, I super duper quadruple appreciate this series ❤
The aesthetic of the starry clown world reminds me of a quilt. I love it. All of the backgrounds in this episode give it a real story book vibe
Seeing references to old episodes pay off, as well as Worthi animations I've watched 100 times made me strangely emotional. Incredible season finale!
Like No, comeback, Micheal, my son( episode elk?) maybe he had a son
And Back on broadway once again. (Little kid)
Whats crazy is how much more than just a reference it is. The lyrics to the outro song in episode one are exactly what happened in this episode. Well, the full version of the song. Only the first half plays during the credits
Brush my hair
Read my lines
It's time to go
Put on my suit
Put the makeup on
Put on the show
Up, up, up, to the Heaviside layer
Up, up, up, I'm going straight up
Take my lunch
Lose my lunch
It's a shaky start
I'm old Deut
Now he's old Deut
I've lost the part
Down, down, down, to the center of the Earth
Down, down, down, I'm going straight down
@@Mittens_McG Same thing with the new intro/outro song. It's literally just Cesare's backstory. Cesare's an extremely Italian name, and Venezia is the proper name for Venice. He mentions that he's no longer a watcher now that his 1000 years are up in this episode, even.
@@Oops-All-GhostsConsidering when and where he is from, Cesare is a few hundred years old at most.
I imagine that he watches for 1000 years *unless* he catched a clown, in which case he is freed.
@@badethics7542 He's from Venice, which was founded in the 600s, and we know he's caught more than one "freak"; we don't know anything more than that, so it seems safe to say he means thousand years literally.
I absolutely LIVE FOR THIS CLOWN DEEP LORE. The world building and story telling alongside the killer music and animation make this show legendary
insane that he can animate, voice act, and produce music all to a standard greater than 99% of studios put out. ridiculous
Something tells me that Cesare is ultimately going to get screwed over by his bosses and break Steve out as a way of saying "Screw you, upper management!"
Cesare looked kind of particularly concerned when he realized STeve didn't know how long he was at the center of the earth. It makes me think now he's really wondering if Upper Management is making the right call on this one. Sure Steve was a hard culp to catch, but otherwise he really wasn't doing anything too out there. I think Cesare is going to start second guessing this one. Something avout it doesn't feel right.
@@tsunertoo9149I don't think ceser really cares. He was literally laughing at Steve.
I mean he seems to enjoy his job and dislike Steve, it seems like the burger crews (big top and zomburger) are probably gonna crawl down the giant hole that Cesar made to rescue Steve.
@@The_KingDoge He laughed it off in the end yes but after he saw how confused Steve was he clealry had a moment of thining about what was happening. He seemed earnestly shocked to find out Steve didn't know how long he was inside the planet
They might just challenge all of the absurd business expenses he claims before he heads to Tampa.
This is WILD - the culmination of so much of Worthi’s work. He’s been telling Steve’s life story since the first episode, Up was always telling us the whole story!!
To think the “Back on Broadway yet again” line from KID actually had substantial lore behind it is just so Steve, I love the fact Worthikids used the same side track at 3:03 as his other CATS animation. This is made even better by the fact that, this was uploaded on my birthday.
Yo Happy Birthday
HB!
@@louisenobrega6183 happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
happy mf birthday :]
1. I really love the lonely plucking, harmonizing, and fittingly creep-fantastic rendering of the Cats theme - I hope it's eventually available somewhere
2. Also, if I felt the cast spiritually waiting for my failure, I, too would brick and "fumble it" eventually (if not immediately)
3. ALW as the consummate prophet of Clown World is really something
Seconding for the Cats theme, any updates
This episode just straight confirms that CATS was not only created millions of years ago before humanity and the concept of theater existed on Earth, but it was created far far away. Implying Steves exile is the only reason CATS reached the human race.
I absolutely love the musical tone of 2:16 to quote a famous musician “It’s haunted, it’s woody, it’s… underutilized in rock music.”
That's cats baby
@@MrSchlesselWhats the songs name to look it up?
@@Sambenmaggie Cats - Overture
That iconic bit is from a ways into the song.
@@ReddCrystalit's more like the leimotif of "The Jellicle Ball", the overture has the melody too but for a very short time.
@@bazzjedimaster You nailed it, thanks a bunch!
I honestly think my favorite part of the episode is Trey's delivery of "look pal, make a wish"
The fact that this song was on Spotify the entire time and the lyrics match what happened, that weird episode with tiny Steve, and Greaselaint show how brilliant they are at foreshadowing!
I always thought UP had an odd spacey vibe, so its surprising (but perfect) that Steve is quite literally from space! Also i love the aesthetic of the Clown Society. Really delicate and pleasant looking, like something out of an 80s fantasy movie but with a touch of rococo.
Clown society is also older than the universe which is interesting
@@The_KingDoge nah the Big Bang happened longer ago than that
A planet of clowns from outer space. Hmm now why does that sound familiar..
The Clow aesthetic here is like the opposite of Pennywise. It's artful, whimsical, and nothing feels "off" about the vibe. Like they're these beings older than anyone can imagine, and their entire society revolves around entertainment and happiness. I love it.
I mean I thought Killer Clowns From Outer Space but I really doubt Steve killed anything more sentient than perhaps a wayward elk for some burger meat @@JulioTMaker
I can't figure out if Cesare referring to Andy Serkis is a nod to all the wacky characters he's flawlessly portrayed, or because Serkis is pronounced like Circus, where clowns are typically found, but I loved that line regardless.
I can’t remember for sure, but I’m pretty sure he actually went to clown school and is technically a clown lol
Or Gollum an underground creature.
I kept hearing Andy's circus until i read the comments. Anything is possible at this point
@@anewhero1216So it's kind of like a triple reference then
He also played a character name Caesar in Planet of the Apes
Love the little references animators put to previous works in their craft, it's like a fun scavenger hunt.
I love how there is such deep and kind of really badass lore... but it's also just a society of ancient magical clowns, and cozy whimsical silly vibes centered around workplace shenanigans.
The hype I felt at hearing UP actually in the show animated was crazy, this episode was beautiful, and hilarious, as always. Clown planet, clown banishment, we love to see it.
And the crocodile is named TikTaalik
Absolutely love the new context added to Up, giving us a nice chunk of Steve's origin story. Wonder what we can gleam about Cesares origin with "Friends in Low Places" now. Also, I applaud your ability to get really awesome VAs for your characters.
I have some theories lol
We know he sold marionettes in Italy. Clowns were popular characters for puppets and such at the time. I think maybe in the downtime he likes to play things out with them, havin bc fun with having the upper hand in that HE was the one moving clowns on wires instead.
@@MettaFTWHe was also murdered but nobody found his body. He was then sent to the underworld with a new chance to live and to be the “watcher”.
@@MettaFTWmmmmh
Wires...
"I was chosen for a second chance at life"
Yeah we will lmao
What if in a crazy friends in low places is also about Steve
4:10 the way the instrumental fizzles out and its just screaming ... actual chills
That along with the look on his face makes it my favorite part.
The music is my favorite part. I went and looked him up on spotify after this.
Honestly, this show had no right going from the silliest fucking shit to an emotional climax like this episode. I can't put my finger on why exactly but this episodes not only goes so hard, but hits so fucking hard.
We've heard it a million times, we've heard it two ways, and Worthi gifts us with a THIRD variant!? 🤩🤩😭😭🤩🤩
The isolated scream is so good and it syncs up perfectly here. Worthi is a treasure.
I need the lore of that clown that wrote Cats. He barely gets any screentime, doesn't say A SINGLE WORD but that smile... The obvious care and love he has for his music... Gold ink! I'd die for that clown but something tells me he'd prefer it if I lived for him and made someone else smile.
The fact that Steve played a role in a major extinction event is somehow not the most important revelation here and honestly very on brand. Once again a banger animation.
Retroactively revealing that UP was just as lore significant as DOWN!
Peanut is also a friendo supreme for still being sympathetic for Steve, despite the fact he just got the part he's been studying all his life for.
I love the fact that he’s an immortal cosmic clown, the reason he got banished is absolutely hilarious, this series is so creative and funny.
I listened to the up reprise religiously after my terrible coming out because I related so much to the feeling of putting on a different face and acting as someone other than you are for people. At the time I felt like I was slowly sinking to the center of the earth, like the weight of my problems broke the earths crust and pulled me down with it which I also found in this song. It’s so silly but it fits so well to know the song was about a clown’s tragic backstory all along skskdkdkd
A good day when Worthikids uploads.
An even better day when it's bigtop burger
I've watched this like 10 times now already, this is an absolute masterpiece. There's so many details to talk about, I'm especially obsessed with Cesare's pause and facial expression after he realizes Steve didn't know he was underground for so long, you can tell *so much* about his thoughts just from those few seconds alone. And just, the design of the clown planet is beautiful, and the unique writing system too?? And just, the sequence of Steve flying through space is amazing, this episode makes me feel so hard for him. I'm not even talking about a lot of the other things people have already mentioned, like with the insane Cats lore.... and what's with the secretary??? Either way, this is more than amazing, I'm so glad I got into this series.
Secretary is kinda a QT ngl
Wait I think I remember him posting art of that secretary a while ago along with other ghoulish figures we might see
Dude! When he left that cannon, I was 😲😲😲🤯. I felt that!!!
Looks like the secretary handles the money Ceaser pulls from the hole for his employees
I find it very interesting that the outfits Steve’s employees wear are similar to the banishment garb. Maybe I’m looking too into it but I wonder what it means?? Why did Steve choose that pattern for his employees??
This man is changing the way we see clowns and making us want clown lore. What a legend!
I like the fact that Steve caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and also that he can survive in lava which means the deer he fought in season 1 was more of a challenge to fight that being in lava
That elk was JACKED
*YOU LOST THE MOMENT YOU ENTERED THESE WOODS!!*
I could be that Steve is literally a being of emotion as his people are built around performance and he was told that the entire planet spins around happy feeling, this could be figurative but knowing this series it might be literal.
He could have just thought the elk was stronger than it was resulting in him somehow losing.
(This could be utter bullshit though I am NOT a writer)
The timeframe and pictured animals suggests it was the Devonian extinction he caused
@@finderfinder4290Yeah,
Maybe he emerged during the Permian (when what is now Russia literally blew up because lava got into a coal seam as wide as the us and 12km deep)
Dude this is the best lore I’ve seen.
-there is a clown planet
-Steve is a part of the clown race
-being a performer is the most honorable thing ahd Cats is one of the biggest performances.
-Steve fails and gets banished to earth and sealed in the core of the earth for millions of years.
I can’t wait for new lore to drop :)
also the fact that CATS has been around for 9 billion years lolll - i absolutely love all this lore. Poor steve tho - they really banished him from the planet for having stage fright ;-;
-Eric Andre is older than the mass extinction event that eliminated the dinosaurs.
Man...everytime you put one of these out you just keep getting better and better as an artist. I'm speechless man. Keep up the excellent work Ian!
Baller day to wake up to.
And yes, It's not just the great animation but also the direction; it's fantastic!
So, this may be unintentional, but the song escalating from its normal tone to a stereotypically sci-fi-y theme is such an awesome way to tie it together with the origin, to the point where I half-wonder if this was planned in advance. You nailed it!
Glad you pointed that out! I totally missed the parallel there.
Plus, it fits together with the musical Cats lmao
watched Cats for the very first time at my university and i SPRINTED to rewatch this directly after the play ended so i could truly absorb the affect of Steve's crime against clownery
the fact that this implys every animation takes place in a single connected universe is FUCKING MIND BLOWING.
That would also imply the entirety of his own version of star wars played out in this universe
Omg yes! Those clowns thst fought yhe vampires had to come from that planet
I think my favorite part of Worthikids' animation style is how the framing is used kinetically. Like the zooming when Steve is climbing into the cannon. Or when he hits the earth and the explosion is freeze framed, but only partially, ambient animations still occur, but we get a slice of what the impact is like for just a singular moment, then BOOM.
The lore and world building is super unique but the whole exile sequence blew me away without a word . Worthikids art is some of the greatest of all time
It's really important for me that everyone appreciates the design in this video, because Cesare is based on the character with the same name in the old Silent movie ""the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", and let me tell you all of those trippy lines across the walls and bars? That's the same art-direction as in the original black and white movie. *chefs-kiss*