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Fred Figglehorn
FЯED character
Fred Figglehorn in (from top left) Classic FRED, 2010, Fred: The Movie, and It's Fred!
First appearance	Fred on Halloween (2006)
Last appearance	Fred: The Show (2012)
Created by	Lucas Cruikshank
Catchphrase	Hey, it's Fred!
In-universe information
Occupation	Student
Family	Hilda (mother), unnamed father and grandmother
Nationality	American
Age	6 years (Internet series) 15 years (film)

Fred Figglehorn (stylised on webpage and on T-shirts as FЯED) is a fictional character created and portrayed by American actor Lucas Cruikshank. Fred is a six-year-old boy with a high-pitched voice, dysfunctional home life, and anger management issues. Cruikshank, a teenager from Columbus, Nebraska, created the Fred video series for his channel on the video-sharing Web site YouTube, to center on the Fred character. Although Cruikshank voices Fred, the audio is digitally altered to sound higher-pitched than Cruikshank's true voice.

History

Lucas Cruikshank introduced the Fred character in a video on JKL Productions, a channel he started on YouTube with his cousins, Jon and Katie Smet. He and his cousins set up the JKL Productions channel on June 11, 2006, and Cruikshank uploaded several videos testing out different characters. His first Fred video was uploaded on October 30, 2006, and when this character started to become popular, Cruikshank made more videos featuring Fred. On April 30, 2008, these videos were removed from JKL Productions, and added to the Fred channel. On May 1 the first official video of the series, titled Fred on May Day was released, explaining that Cruikshank asked YouTube for the Fred channel. Someone else previously owned the channel, which was later turned into one of Fred's enemies in the Fred series. By April 2009, the channel had over one million subscribers, making it the first YouTube channel to do so, and the most subscribed channel at the time. However, in August 2009, YouTube celebrities Ryan Higa's and Sean Fujiyoshi's channel, Nigahiga, overtook Fred as the most subscribed channel. It was the third to reach 2 million, in September 2010, shortly after falling to third. As of August 2019, the videos have received over 1.2 billion views, and over 2.8 million are subscribed to the channel.

In December 2009, Cruikshank filmed Fred: The Movie, which aired on Nickelodeon on September 18, 2010. Nickelodeon created a franchise surrounding the character, with the sequel, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred, airing on October 22, 2011. In 2012, Fred: The Show aired, consisting of 24 11-minute episodes; a third movie, Fred 3: Camp Fred, premiered the same year.

Content

Fred Figglehorn
The Fred title card
Genre	Children's, Comedy
Created by	Lucas Cruikshank
Written by	Lucas Cruikshank
Starring	Lucas Cruikshank
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4 (plus two unofficial)
No. of episodes	48 (plus numerous unofficial)
Production
Production location	Columbus, Nebraska
Editor	Lucas Cruikshank
Production companies	The Collective Varsity Pictures (2007-2011)
Original release
Network	JKL Productions (pre-series) Fred (seasons 1-5)
Release	October 30, 2006 (2006-10-30) – February 23, 2011 (2011-02-23)
Related
Fred: The Movie Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred Fred: The Show Fred 3: Camp Fred

Fred (stylised on webpages as FЯED) is an Internet video series centered on the dysfunctional 6-year-old Fred Figglehorn, created by Lucas Cruikshank.

Fred lives with his recovering drug-addicted and alcoholic prostitute mother, whose deep voice is often heard, and his grandmother. It is implied that Fred has been the victim of child abuse for example being locked in a dog cage for three days, however he frequently speaks of his love for his mother, particularly after her stay at rehab. Fred's father is mentioned several times as being a former rock musician, and currently on death row in the state penitentiary. Fred has not met his father, as he left Mrs. Figglehorn while she was still pregnant with Fred. In seasons one through three, Fred communicates with all characters off-screen.

On screen characters are seen for the first time in a dream sequence, in Fred A Star In His Own Mind, Fred dreams of being a famous actor, meeting fan girls and other famous actors. Season four, as it was filmed after Fred: The Movie, marked a change in production style, it is filmed in a higher video quality, and shows other on-screen characters. The original production style was revived for a few episodes in 2010, introducing the Claudio character, after the movie was released in the UK, and ended when Cruikshank returned to movie filming. Leading up to the second movie's release, a new series, called Figgle Chat was produced and features Internet and television stars. Following that, an animated series, It's Fred!, named after Fred's catchphrase, began being uploaded to the channel.

Cruikshank has described the channel as programming for kids by kids. The series is intended as a parody of people who, in Cruikshank's words, think that everyone is so interested in them. Cruikshank believes that viewers either automatically love Fred or automatically hate Fred, there is no in between. The videos primarily consist of the character speaking to the audience about what is happening in his life. Fred has a high-pitched chipmunk voice, making him sound more like a 6-year-old. According to Cruikshank, this effect, and the hyperactive appearance of the character, are achieved by speeding up the audio.

The first season follows Fred attempting to perform a number of activities during the summer, until his mother attends rehab. Fred Goes Swimming is the second most watched video on the Fred channel, with over 68 million views. The second season explores Fred's infatuation with Judy, a girl in his class, and attending school. There Fred decides to run against class bully Kevin, for class president. The song Watch How I Do This, by Kev Blaze, is featured in a number of the season 2 videos. Season three again follows the daily adventures of Fred, in school, and with classmates, and shows Fred's interest in singing. The fourth season, now with on-screen characters, shows Fred traveling around town trying out different occupations. Following this, Fred holds contests surrounding his first two movies, gets a visit from a creeping character named Claudio, gets invited to host a talk show, dispels rumours of being owned by Nickelodeon, becomes animated, and is kidnapped by a Korean corporation. In the few Fred videos on Lucas' personal channel, Fred lives in the house of a middle aged man named Jeffrey, who lets Fred live there for free as long has he cleans the house once a week in nothing but his underwear. His mom currently is watching over various children, none of which are related to her, that she has tried to leave to be kidnapped multiple times. However, nobody will kidnap them.

The series uses a floating timeline, meaning it is always taking place in the current year, and Fred is perpetually six years old and in kindergarten.

Filmography

This is a list of videos uploaded to the Fred channel. 60 videos are considered part of the original Fred series, however no official list exists. The YouTube show feature lists 49 episodes, split into four seasons, while a playlist, linked to from the Fred channel, named The Best of Fred, contains 18 videos ranging from 2007 to 2010. Since the end of the Fred series in early 2011, three series have been produced and uploaded, a six episode arc titled Figgle Chat, where Fred interviews Internet and television stars, a nine episode animated series titled It's FRED! which shows Fred attend school, and the previously off-screen characters, and the nine episode New Fred Saga, which sees the Fred channel taken over by a Korean corporation. Nine music videos are also listed here.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Charted songs

Films

Fred: The Movie

Fred: The Movie is a 2010 film based on the YouTube series about Fred Figglehorn. It features Lucas Cruikshank as Fred, Pixie Lott as Judy, Jennette McCurdy as Bertha, Jake Weary as Kevin, John Cena as Fred's imaginary dad, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Fred's mom. It follows the character as he tries to track down his crush, Judy (after she moves away). It is written by David A. Goodman, directed by Clay Weiner, and produced by Brian Robbins. Filming began November 9, 2009, and wrapped up December 20, 2009. The movie premiered on Nickelodeon on September 18, 2010, and the DVD was released October 5, 2010 as well as streaming media such as Netflix.

Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred

Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred is a 2011 Halloween-themed sequel to Fred: The Movie. It first aired on October 22, 2011. After Fred has broken up with Judy, he meets Kevin's sister Talia, and becomes convinced that his new neighbor is a vampire. The Judy character does not appear, and Jennette McCurdy was replaced as Bertha by Daniella Monet.

Fred 3: Camp Fred

In late 2011, a third Fred movie was announced. Fred 3: Camp Fred premiered July 28, 2012, on Nickelodeon, which also aired Fred: The Show, a series of 24 11-minute-long episodes, in 2012. For summer, Fred attends Camp Iwannapeepee, where he meets several different characters, and must compete against Kevin's camp.

TV series

Fred: The Show

In 2012, Fred became the protagonist in his own TV series, which ran between January and August 2012. The series received dismal reviews, particularly for Fred's childish and annoying attitude, and grating voice, and ratings continued to slip until the show was axed, after which Cruikshank severed ties with Nickelodeon, and Fred was retired.

Sponsorship and appearances

Zipit Wireless Messenger (Z2) sponsored the first season of Fred, which had several cameos in various videos posted to the Fred channel. Although the collaboration had originally been kept low-key, Fred has a separate website promoting the Zipit. Walden Media hired Cruikshank to promote the film City of Ember, along with the sci-fi novel it was based on, and cameos from the film's star Tim Robbins in Fred episodes and a mock movie trailer.

Cruikshank made a cameo appearance as both Fred and himself on Nickelodeon's iCarly in iMeet Fred, which originally aired on February 16, 2009. Also in 2009, in the episode Fred Gets Dissed at Bible School, the comedy film Year One is quoted several times.

Cruikshank has launched a website to promote the Fred series, and sell Fred T-shirts and other merchandise. The merchandise is also available at Hot Topic, Justice, and Five Below stores. Fred has appeared at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards as well as the 2010 Kids Choice Awards presenting awards to winners off-stage.

In October and November 2011, videos were uploaded to the Fred channel, as well as Cruikshank's personal channel, with Ari Gold as his character Power, from the film Adventures of Power.

Other channels

Cruikshank was originally a part of JKL Productions, a group comprising twins Jon and Katie Smet and Lucas Cruikshank, their cousin. Although Cruikshank formally left the group, JKL prefers to keep Lucas L in its name. Cruikshank deleted all of his individual videos when he left JKL Productions, but he can still be seen in a few of their videos. In January 2009 he set up his own channel, called lucas, in which he appears as himself. In the June 25, 2010, Annoying Orange episode, Cruikshank made a cameo as Fred, the first time Fred has officially appeared on a different YouTube channel. In a video released August 29, 2013, on lucas, Cruikshank reprised the Fred role, while his friend Jennifer Veal played Judy, and on August 19, 2014, a video was uploaded as part of the New Fred Saga. Since then Cruikshank has reprised the role of Fred a number of times on his personal channel.

References

1. Fred on May Day (Video). United States: YouTube. May 1, 2008. Event occurs at 0:34. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014. If I would've joined two years ago, I would've only been four years old. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
2. Fred: The Movie (Motion picture). United States: Varsity Pictures. September 18, 2010. Event occurs at 1:17:16. But I'm 15.
3. Stephen Hutcheon, with Tom Burton (June 20, 2008). "Fast-talking Fred is the toast of YouTube". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. ^ Andrew Keen (July 28, 2008). "Andrew Keen on New Media: Kids with cameras lead the way in giving web users their daily Fred". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. ^ partnersproject (April 21, 2011). "Lucas Cruikshank aka Fred Exclusive Interview: The Partners Project Episode 19". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. Editorial Team (November 13, 2008). "BB Suggests: The Best of Web TV". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
7. "Fred". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
8. ^ Barnes, Brooks (March 24, 2010). "'Fred: The Movie' Lands on Nickelodeon - Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. Cruikshank, Lucas (February 22, 2011). "Tweet 40139239941210112". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. Cruikshank, Lucas (March 3, 2011). "Tweet 43282065155829760". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
11. Brook, Anderson. "The Teen Behind Fred". CNN. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
12. Fred (June 19, 2008). "Fred Goes Swimming". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
13. Fred. "Fred Uploaded Videos". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. Fred (September 12, 2010). "FRED - show". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
15. Fred (2011). "Best of Fred!!!". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
16. Fred. "Figgle Chat - Season 1". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
17. Fred. "It's Fred! - Season 1". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
18. Fred. "The NEW FRED Saga". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
19. ^ "Fred Figglehorn Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
20. "Who's Ready to Party? by Fred Figglehorn - Download Who's Ready to Party? on iTunes". Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
21. "YouTube Sensation Fred Releases Christmas Album and Premiers Music Video « Pynk Celebrity". Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
22. • "Christmas Cash" and "I Wanna Be a Celebrity": "Comedy Digital Tracks: Oct 2, 2010". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
    • "Christmas is Creepy": "Comedy Digital Tracks: Jan 1, 2011". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
23. "Holiday Digital Songs: Oct 09, 2012". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
24. Barnes, Brooks (December 7, 2009). "A High-Pitched Whine Brings ‘Fred’ to the Movies: Bigger Screen for a High-Pitched Whine". New York Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
25. Sanchez, Adrian (December 28, 2009). "Cruikshank's YouTube character to hit silver screen". Columbus Telegram. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
26. ""Fred 3: Camp Fred," Premieres". The Futon Critic. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
27. Andreeva, Nellie (December 1, 2011). "Nickelodeon Greenlights Third 'Fred' Movie, Picks Up 20-Episode 'Fred' Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
28. "ROFL w/ Fred". Zipit. Archived from the original on July 28, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
29. Sanders, Pete (September 18, 2008). "Studios Hope YouTube Tie Sells Movie". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
30. Albrecht, Chris (November 18, 2008). "'Fred' Cranks Up the YouTube Views and Ad Dollars". Business Week. Archived from the original on May 12, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
31. lucas (October 27, 2011). "Lucas Gets Kidnapped!". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
32. Cruikshank, Lucas (August 29, 2013). "Lucas Is Back". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
33. Cruikshank, Lucas (August 19, 2014). "Lucas Goes To Korea". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
34. Cruikshank, Lucas (December 27, 2015). "Where is FRED Now?!". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
35. Cruikshank, Lucas (February 14, 2016). "Fred Tries Online Dating". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
36. Cruikshank, Lucas (September 6, 2016). "Reacting to Fred Fanfiction". YouTube. Retrieved September 6, 2016.

External links

• Fred at IMDb
• FRED's channel on YouTube
• Fred's official website
• jklproduction's channel on YouTube

• 2006 web series debuts
• 2011 web series endings
• Child characters in television
• Fictional characters from Nebraska
• Fictional characters introduced in 2006
• Internet memes
• Viral videos
• YouTube videos