Monday, February 2, 2009

The Top Five Dark Knight Youtube Parodies

“It’s just things that you don’t want, I can use ‘em
Meg can use ‘em, we can do something with ‘em
We’ll make something out of ‘em
Make some money out of ‘em at least
(This fits me perfect, give it to me)
Hey, if you ain’t gonna use it just give it to us
We’ll give it a home”
- The White Stripes, “Rag and Bone”

This is the last thing I’ll write about The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008,) I swear.



The youtube generation is the Rag and Bone generation of pop culture, picking and choosing, mashing up and mixing and matching with impunity. Give us all the detritus, all the good, all the bad, and we’ll make something out of it. High or low, crass or class, they’ll remix it, remaster it, remake it, make it all their own.

The Dark Knight may have been snubbed for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but this film is clearly taken the popular imagination by storm, and has popped up within a series of youtube parodies. Not surprisingly, a lot of them revolve around Heath Ledger’s Joker performance. Here are 5 of my favorites:

5. The Joker Blogs


Not a parody in the strictest sense of the word, but this is clearly inspired by the film’s Joker, but has plenty of extra-curricular knowledge (like Harley Quinn.) It’s rather well-done, and the kid they have doing The Joker does a great job. The other videos (there are 4 of them and a Christmas themed one) are pretty good.

4. “The Dark Knight Trailer Spoof”



Silly low-budget parody of the trailers. Takes a lot of serious dramatic bits to their natural conclusion, so it’s got plenty of opportunities for jokes.

3. “The Dark Knight - Spoof Sweeded (bekindrewind)”



A lot of the funnier youtube videos out there, taking a page from Be Kind Rewind are doing 0-budget versions of real movies. I like seeing things built out of cardboard from Star Wars on down. I’m just amused at the special effects.

2. The Fresh Prince of Gotham


Nostalgia-riffic song parody from an internet meme. Only thing more obvious is a Joker Rick Roll:



Thank you Internet for not disappointing.

1. Dark Knight PSA Series


The impressions are lame and awkward, but that’s really the point. This whole series gives me a bad case of the giggles, especially this one and the bike safety one. Check them all out. I love the bumpers.

Honorable Mention: The Amazing Adventures of Little Batman






This is so adorable it makes me want to cry.

Also, the guy does a spot-on Adam West, and, clearly somebody has traveled into the future and used all the Batman paraphernalia I’d like to own.

Did you find a more hilarious Dark Knight parody? Comment and let me know!