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Grumpy Cat

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"Tardar Sauce" redirects here. For the sauce, see Tartar sauce.
Grumpy Cat
Grumpy Cat during VidCon 2014
Other name(s)Tard
SpeciesFelis catus
BreedMixed
SexFemale
BornTardar Sauce
(2012-04-04) April 4, 2012 (age 12)
Morristown, Arizona
Occupation
  • Pet
  • Internet personality
  • media personality
  • actor
Years active2012–present
Known forInternet meme
OwnerTabatha Bundesen
ResidenceMorristown, Arizona, U.S.
Parent(s)Calico mother and unknown father
Named afterTartar sauce
http://www.grumpycats.com/

Tardar Sauce (born April 4, 2012),[1] commonly known as Grumpy Cat, is a cat Internet and media personality and actor. She is known for her permanently "grumpy" facial expression, which is caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism.[2][3][4] She came to prominence when a photograph of her was posted on social news website Reddit by Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha, in September 2012,[2][5] and lolcats and parodies created from the photograph by Reddit users went viral. She is the subject of a popular internet meme in which negative lolcats (such as "I Had Fun Once... It Was Awful") are made from photographs of her.

Background

Tardar Sauce was one of a litter of four kittens born to a calico mother and a father of an unknown breed at the home of her owner, Tabatha Bundesen.[6][7] The Bundesens say that Tardar Sauce's face appears grumpy because the feline has a form of dwarfism. She and her brother Pokey were born to normal parents with "a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail".[8] Tardar Sauce is undersized and has hind legs that "are a bit different".[2][4] Although she has a "grumpy" expression on her face and is called "Grumpy Cat", according to the Bundesens, 99% of the time she is a "normal kitty". Her owner recognizes her facial expression as a smile.[2][4][9]

Ben Lashes is Grumpy Cat's manager who also represents Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat.[10][11] Tabatha Bundesen took a leave of absence from her day job at Red Lobster to manage Grumpy Cat's schedule while Bryan Bundesen manages the Grumpy Cat website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.[12][5][13][9]

Media appearances

Photo sessions are only once a week, and handling by strangers is limited.[2] At South by Southwest Interactive, Tardar Sauce made limited two-hour appearances each day as Grumpy Cat.[14]

Grumpy Cat has appeared on NBC News's Today,[15] ABC News's Good Morning America,[16] CBS Evening News, Anderson Live,[17] VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live, The Soup[18] and FOX's American Idol. Grumpy Cat appeared on the "Garage Logic" radio broadcast the day of the Minnesota State Fair live Internet Cat Film Festival. Grumpy Cat promoted Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book at BookExpo America.[13] She attended her book's launch at Kitson and The Grove's Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles.[19][20] In 2014, she appeared in a television commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios.[21] She also appeared on the season finale of The Bachelorette and was a special guest on the November 17 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.[22]

In March 2013, Grumpy Cat attended SXSW Interactive, hosted at the Mashable House.[4][5][23] Friskies paid travel expenses to Austin in order to film "Will Kitty Play With It?"[13][24] CNN, CBS, and CNET called Grumpy Cat the undisputed "biggest star" of SXSW Interactive over Elon Musk, Al Gore, and Neil Gaiman.[5][25][26] Over 600[27] fans, including Dennis Crowley, waited for hours in the line, which was nearly three blocks long, to take a photo.[4][5][28] Ian Somerhalder took photos with Grumpy Cat and called her "my new love", "very peaced out", "sweet as pumpkin pie", and "kind of amazing".[29][30][31][32][33]

In October 2016, Grumpy Cat made a special appearance on Disney Channel's 'Bizaardvark'. [34]

Friskies sponsorship

Grumpy Cat appeared in episodes of the Friskies YouTube game show "Will Kitty Play With It?"[4][24][35][36] In September 2013, it was announced that Grumpy Cat would become the Official Spokescat of Friskies.[37] TMZ reported that Friskies paid for flying first class, a private hotel room with king-sized bed, a personal assistant, a chauffeur, and unlimited Friskies food and bottled water.[24] On March 22, 2013, Grumpy Cat traveled to New York City promoting the show and appeared on Good Morning America[16] and Anderson Live[17] and visited Time for a photoshoot.[27] Michael Noer "interviewed" Grumpy Cat for Forbes, released March 25.[38]

Merchandising

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office database, "Grumpy Cat Limited" applied to trademark "Grumpy Cat" and an image of her at the end of January 2013.[39] Licensed merchandise like t-shirts and mugs are advertised on the website and sold at Hot Topic.[2][10] Stuffed toys are also available, the official plush being produced by Gund.[40] Ganz, the company behind Webkinz, also has a small Grumpy Cat plush which allows for anyone to play with her on their Webkinz page.[41] There are also various key chains and unofficial plushes produced. Bryan said that by March 2013 they earned "mid-five figures"[5] and "low-six-figure" by May 2013.[13] The company has an estimated value of $1 million.[12] Grenade Beverage LLC makes Grumpy Cat "Grumppuccino" iced coffee beverages.[13][42][43] In December 2015, Grumpy Cat, Ltd. sued Grenade Beverage over trademark infringement when the beverage company expanded its line of Grumpy Cat coffees; however, Grenade contends the suit is without merit.[44]

The official Grumpy Cat book, Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book, was published on July 23, 2013 by Chronicle Books.[13] The book is available in both print and digital formats from retailers worldwide. It debuted at #8 Hardcover Nonfiction on the Publishers Weekly best seller list and #7 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[45][46] Additionally, Chronicle Books published The Grumpy Cat 2014 Wall Calendar on July 23, 2013.[47] Another Grumpy Cat book called The Grumpy Guide to Life: Observations by Grumpy Cat was published by Chronicle Books, which debuted at #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[48] Dynamite Entertainment publishes a comic book about Grumpy Cat and her brother, titled The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey.[49] Dover Publications has also published Grumpy Cat paper doll, sticker, coloring, and tattoo books.[50] An official video game called Grumpy Cat: Unimpressed was released by Ganz Studios and is playable on Facebook, iOS devices and Android devices. The game is match-three game where if combos are performed, Grumpy Cat's insults will appear. The players unlock her memes as they pass each level and she can be made angry with meows, hairballs and laser pointers.[51]

Film

Grumpy Cat appears in Lil Bub & Friendz, a documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013, and won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.[10][52][53][54] In May 2013, Broken Road Productions optioned Grumpy Cat for a "Garfield-like feature film" adaptation.[13][18][55][56] Producer Todd Garner said "We think we can build a big family comedy around this character".[18]

On June 11, 2014, it was announced that Lifetime would be producing a film about Grumpy Cat, entitled Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, which debuted on November 29, 2014. Filming took place over the summer, and Tim Hill and Jeff Morris wrote the script.[57] It was reported that Aubrey Plaza would be lending her voice talent for the Grumpy Cat character.[58] Plaza is also a producer on the film and on November 6, 2014, Lifetime released a tongue-in-cheek video about the casting and Plaza's "process" for becoming the voice of Grumpy Cat.[59]

Recognition

  • MSNBC named Grumpy Cat 2012's most influential cat.[18]
  • Swarm by Foursquare released a limited edition sticker featuring Grumpy Cat.[60]
  • Grumpy Cat won BuzzFeed's Meme of the Year Award at the 2013 Webby Awards.[61][62]
  • Grumpy Cat won first prize Golden Kitty at the second annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival.[63][64]
  • Grumpy Cat won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Friskies.[65]

References

  1. ^ "About". grumpycats.com. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "About Grumpy Cat". Grumpycats.com. September 30, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "Internet finds world's grumpiest cat, named Tardar Sauce". Fox News Channel. news.com.au. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Grumpy Cat: The Internet's Favorite Sour Cat Draws Crowds at SXSW - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "The unlikely star of SXSW: Grumpy Cat". CNN.com. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Erin (October 16, 2013). "16 fun facts about Grumpy Cat". mentalfloss.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Holland, Chloe (July 12, 2014). "Interview with Grumpy Cat". yourcat.co.uk. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Internet finds world's grumpiest cat, named Tardar Sauce". Fox News. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  9. ^ a b Harrington, Kristine. "Grumpy Cat back home in Arizona after stealing show at SXSW | azfamily.com Phoenix". Azfamily.com. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  10. ^ a b c "Yes, You Could Totally Meet Grumpy Cat at SXSW: And here's an interview with the people behind the varmint - SXSW Blog". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  11. ^ Rothman, Lily (2013-03-07). "'Lil Bub & Friendz': Internet Cats, Behind the Memes | TIME.com". Entertainment.time.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  12. ^ a b Van Syckle, Katie (2013-09-29). "Boom Brands 2013: Grumpy Cat". New York. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Rosman, Katherine (May 31, 2013). "Grumpy Cat Has an Agent, and Now a Movie Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  14. ^ Movies. "Rise of the Hollywood Cats: Inside Grumpy Cat and Lil BUB's Big Deals | The Wrap Movies". Thewrap.com. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  15. ^ "Meet 'Tardar Sauce,' the grumpy cat gone viral - Video on". Today.com. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  16. ^ a b 03/22/2013. "Grumpy Cat Interview 2013 on 'GMA': Meme Star Exclusive Video | Video - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2013-03-22. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  17. ^ a b "Grumpy Cat in the House!". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  18. ^ a b c d Fleming, Mike. "Grumpy Cat Gets Garfield-Like Movie Deal". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  19. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (2013-07-22). "Grumpy Cat to give 'pawtographs' in L.A.: Exclusive book preview". latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  20. ^ "Grumpy Cat Does Not Look Impressed At Book Signing In Los Angeles (PICTURES)". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  21. ^ Honey Nut Cheerios Commercial 2014 on YouTube
  22. ^ "Grumpy Cat to Host WWE's Monday Night Raw". 2014-11-10.
  23. ^ Dani Fankhauser (2011-11-18). "SXSWi Day 1: Grumpy Cat, 3D Printing and Other Highlights". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  24. ^ a b c "Grumpy Cat - Pamprrrrd at Friskies Photo Shoot". TMZ.com. 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  25. ^ March 11, 2013, 5:54 PM (2013-03-11). "As SXSW Interactive winds down, Grumpy cat is clear winner". CBS News. Retrieved 2013-03-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2013-01-23). "If Grumpy Cat is the biggest news of all, is SXSW in trouble? | SXSW - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  27. ^ a b "Internet Celebrity Grumpy Cat Is Not Impressed by TIME's Photo Shoot | TIME.com". Newsfeed.time.com. 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  28. ^ Elise Hu; Laura Sydell (2013-02-28). "The Most Talked About Tech And Culture Trends At SXSW Interactive : All Tech Considered". NPR. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  29. ^ Schwartz, Alison (2013-01-14). "Ian Somerhalder Meets Grumpy Cat at SXSW 2013 : People.com". Peoplepets.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  30. ^ "'Vampire Diaries' star falls for a certain grumpy cat – The Marquee Blog - CNN.com Blogs". Marquee.blogs.cnn.com. 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  31. ^ "Twitter / iansomerhalder: Me and my new love". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  32. ^ Door ian somerhalder @iansomerhalder. "Twitter / iansomerhalder: Oops! I left out Grumpy cat!!!". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  33. ^ "Ian Somerhalder's New Love: She Is a Sweetie Pie With Beautiful Eyes". E! Online. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  34. ^ http://video.disney.com/watch/disneychannel-grumpy-cat-pitch-53e0a05b1785e5e6c6e53f1d. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ Helen A.S. Open (2012-10-24). "Sex, death and Grumpy Cat: The true meaning of SXSW - Technology on". Nbcnews.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  36. ^ "Grumpy Cat on Friskies® Cat Game Show, "Will Kitty Play With It?"". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  37. ^ Smith, Aaron (2013-09-18). "Grumpy Cat signs endorsement deal with Friskies". money.cnn.com.
  38. ^ Noer, Michael (2012-04-18). "Grumpy Cat: The Forbes Interview". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  39. ^ Slind, Victoria. "Bayer, Apple, Spanx, Grumpy Cat: Intellectual Property". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  40. ^ "Grumpy Cat: Gund Characters". Gund website. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  41. ^ "Ganz Press Release - GRUMPY CAT™ will meet new namesake Webkinz™ on opening day of Toy Fair". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  42. ^ "Grumpy Cat expands empire with iced coffee called Grumppuccino". Fox News. 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  43. ^ @woolyknickers (2013-07-30). "Grumpy Cat Grumpuccino Is Sure to Make You (Not) Smile | TIME.com". Newsfeed.time.com. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  44. ^ "Grumpy Cat Lawsuit". Scribd. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  45. ^ August 2, 2013 (2013-08-02). "Best-sellers: Best-sellers of hardcover fiction and nonfiction". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2013-08-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ "The Official Grumpy Cat". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  47. ^ September 28th, 2012 post by Grumpy Cat (2012-09-28). "Official Grumpy Cat™ Merchandise | Grumpy Cat™ - The internet's grumpiest cat!". Grumpycats.com. Retrieved 2013-07-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ Sehgal, Parul (2014-08-24). "The New York Times Best Seller List". NYTimes.
  49. ^ "Preview: The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  50. ^ "Search: Grumpy Cat". Dover PUblications. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  51. ^ "Grumpy Cat: Unimpressed". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  52. ^ Makarechi, Kia (2013-03-18). "'Lil Bub & Friendz' Trailer: From Meme To The Movies (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
  53. ^ "Lil Bub & Friendz | 2013 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  54. ^ The Editors (2013-04-25). "Here Are Your TFF 2013 Award Winners | Tribeca". Tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2013-04-29. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  55. ^ "That "Grumpy Cat" Meme Gets A Movie". Dark Horizons. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  56. ^ Deming, Mark (2013-05-30). "What Fans Want From Grumpy Cat, the Movie". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  57. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (11 June 2014). "Grumpy Cat to Star in Lifetime Holiday Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  58. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (17 September 2014). "Lifetime Chooses Voice of Grumpy Cat". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  59. ^ Huggins, Sarah (6 November 2014). "Watch Aubrey Plaza nail the Grumpy Cat audition video". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  60. ^ "#EveryCheckInSavesAKitten". blog.foursquare.com. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  61. ^ "Grumpy Cat wins Meme of the Year at The 17th Annual Webby Awards! | Grumpy Cat™ - The internet's grumpiest cat!". Grumpycats.com. 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  62. ^ "Patton Oswalt Presents Meme of the Year". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  63. ^ Brooks, Jennifer (August 29, 2013). "Glamorous. Glowering. Grumpy Cat visits the fair". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  64. ^ "Grumpy Cat Wins Top Award at Internet Cat Video Festival | TIME.com". Newsfeed.time.com. 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  65. ^ "Grumpy Cat Wins Lifetime Achievement Award at The Friskies Awards | TIME.com". Newsfeed.time.com. 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
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