The creator of Llamas with Hats explains why they made the series
For people of a certain age, Llamas with Hats will bring back some serious nostalgia.
However, those of you who haven't seen it, err... I'm not really sure how to explain it.
The miniseries hit YouTube over a decade ago and quickly became an internet classic, gaining a cult following among teenage Millennials.
What can only really be described as a zoological acid trip was created by Jason Steele and centred on Carl and Paul, two llamas who share an apartment with one another.
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Now, so far, so good, nothing overtly strange about two anthropomorphic llamas hanging out.
However, that's not all of it.
The first episode of the series opens up with the pair standing in front of a dead human body, and centres on Paul's outrage and horror at Carl, who is responsible for the bloody scene.
While we won't give away the ending for anyone yet to experience the genius, it's safe to say that the episodes, which were uploaded over the following six years, got much, much darker.
But the show's creator, Steele, who was also responsible for another hit cartoon series, Charlie The Unicorn, which you also really have to see, has answered some burning questions about it.
Taking to Reddit for an AMA, the writer was asked about why he made the series in the first place. And his answer is probably not what you might expect.
"I lost most of my possessions, and my job, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans (where I was living at the time)," he revealed.
"My mom's birthday was coming up, and I was completely out of money, but I still wanted to get her something.
"Knowing this, she said that instead of a gift I could make a cartoon for her about unicorns. So I made Charlie the Unicorn.
"More than ten years later she still brings up the fact that her birthday present launched my career, hah."
Discussing the tragic ending, Steele said that he couldn't see any other way of it going.
It just had to be really, really sad.
"Originally there was only going to be five episodes, but after the forth one came out everyone guessed what the fifth would be," he explained.
"Carl isn't funny if he can't surprise you. My partner Scuffy disliked the series, and suggested that the llamas should just "blow up". This sparked an idea for a legitimately surprising fifth episode.
"The only way to end Llamas with Hats in a legitimately funny way was to end it as sadly as possible."
Topics: TV and Film, YouTube
Dominic Smithers