Only on the internet could a Czech animated movie that boasts an art style that could generously be described as rudimentary become a viral sensation a whole 15 years after it first released, but if you spent perhaps too much time online, then the chances are high you’ve stumbled across Goat Story in one form or another.
To be more specific, you’ll have seen the character Katie, with he buxom maiden becoming a phenomenon that’s been repurposed for all sorts of memes, GIFs, reactions, and all of the other social media bells and whistles that regularly turn the most innocuous of things into unstoppable freight trains that capture the imagination.
Seeking to discover the reasons why Goat Story has waited a decade and a half to find its place on the pop culture pantheon, especially among the younger LGBTQIA+ demographic, The Hollywood Reporter tracked down director Jan Tománek to get his side of the story. In what proved to be a hilarious stroke of fortune, though, he could not care less.
“I don’t know. This doesn’t happen here in the Czech Republic. It’s more of a YouTube fad in America. Some YouTuber makes a meme out of something and others ride the wave. It’s a kind of a fad. It’s nice, but it leaves me completely cold. I’m not really in the Generation Z gay community — so I have no idea what’s going on in their heads. I guess you’d have to ask them.”
There you have it, folks; Tománek is fully aware you’ve turned his magnum opus into a source of mirth, but you can keep those memes to yourself.
