Schnappi

Schnappi das kleine Krokodil
Die Sendung mit der Maus character
Created by	Iris Gruttmann
Portrayed by	Joy Gruttmann
Information
Nickname(s)	Schnappi
Species	Nile crocodile
Gender	unspecified

Schnappi das kleine Krokodil (Snappy the Little Crocodile) is a German children's cartoon character. The introductory song "Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil" became an Internet hit before it reached № 1 on the German charts in January 2005, and was widely popular in other European countries as well, topping the singles charts in Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for several weeks.

Inception

Schnappi was a character in a popular animated German children's TV show called Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Show With the Mouse). In the cartoon in which the character appeared, Schnappi is seen singing a song about life in Egypt. That song, which is sung in German, has a catchy tune and simple lyrics.

The song, which first appeared in the Sendung mit der Maus show in 2001, was written by Iris Gruttmann and performed by her then-six year old niece, Joy.

Success

In 2004 Schnappi became very popular^{[weasel words]} on the Internet. It got more and more popular while playing on the Internetradio RauteMusik. The moderators and listeners often played that song before it got released on CD^{[citation needed]}. In December of that year, the song Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil was released on CD. The single reached #1 on the German Pop-Charts on 3 January 2005.

A bootleg translation into English was recorded and released on the Internet on the 20 February 2005 by the Bronx artist DJ Damien. Despite being an unofficial cover, this version was made available on the official Schnappi website. The original recording artist was said to be very glad Schnappi made it to England, referring to the English version in an interview with The Guardian newspaper^{[verification needed]}. Other translations by collaborations involving DJ Damien include a French version "Crocky le Petit Crocodile", Lithuanian "Šnapis mažas klokodilas" and a Japanese version "Togetogeshi, chiisai wani" (刺々し、小さい鰐).

Alternative versions of the song - varying from simple remixes of the basic vocal track, to a full cover version by Belgian techno group Dynamite - were also at numbers seven and ten in Belgium, and at number two in the Netherlands.

The track was also sampled in a Benny Benassi song. [1]

Swedish humor metal band Black Ingvars also recorded a cover version in heavy metal style with Rammstein-like vocals. The song was released on a compilation album in Sweden.

A flash movie, Up Skit Creek Vol. 2 by Andrew Kepple, features an animutated version of Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter), stalking Schnappi and eventually trapping him in a strong grip- evidently too strong; Schnappi's neck "Schnapped". Steve Irwin referred to him as "the little German bugger who won't shut the hell up!" in layman terms.

In August 2005 Jamba! released Schnappi in a number of downloadable formats.

Schnappi has been frequently referenced by Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy in over a dozen different RiffTrax commentaries, usually referring to a reptilian creature.

Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil is also a downloadable song for the Xbox 360 karaoke game Lips.

Chart performance

The song reached number one in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, whilst reaching the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and France. The song was released in the UK on Monday 3 October 2005, but it only reached the bottom end of the UK Singles Chart Top 40 and only reached #15 in Finland.^[1]

See also

• Internet phenomenon
• Mickael Turtle

References

1. ^ Chart positions @ Australian-charts.com Retrieved June 2009

External links

• Schnappi at the Internet Movie Database
• Schnappi video
• Official website (in German)
• lyrics (in german)
• lyrics (english translation)