Some memes are short-lived, while others blossom into media empires. And nowhere is the latter statement more true than with Baby Shark, the ear-worm that will soon be heading to the big screen as Paramount Plus has announced that the song will be transformed into a feature-length movie in 2023.
The track, once just a campfire sing-a-long exploded in popularity in 2016 when South Korean entertainment company Pinkfong released a YouTube video featuring their rendition of the song, performed by Korean-American singer Hope Segoine. The animated video and accompanying dance moves soon went viral, leading to Baby Shark becoming a phenomenon.
It quickly became the most-watched YouTube video of all time, and the first video on the platform to reach 10 billion views. Pinkfong has turned the Baby Shark brand into a marketing juggernaut, creating a tie-in cereal with Kelloggs, licensed toys, fishing tackle, bedding, and even a stage musical dubbed Baby Shark Live.
In June 2020, Pinkfong launched a TV show called Baby Shark’s Big Show! This show was co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio, which also broadcasted the show in America. In 2021 it was announced that the show was renewed for a second season.
While little is known about the forthcoming film, it isn’t the only children’s entertainment juggernaut Paramount Plus will be pushing in coming years. Legendary children’s franchise Blue’s Clues would also be getting a feature-length installment later this year, with a sequel to ‘Paw Patrol: The Movie’ coming next year.