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Robbie Rotten (Icelandic: Glanni Glæpur, lit. 'Reckless crime') is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program LazyTown.[1] He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, greedy and lazy, yet goofy, eccentric and silly supervillain, and the arch-nemesis of the series' main protagonists, Sportacus and Stephanie, who promote exercise, healthy eating and an active and healthy lifestyle. As for Robbie, his favorite pastimes include eating junk food and watching TV.[2] Robbie has fair skin, green-grey eyes, and black hair. He usually wears a two-piece suit of maroon and purple with gold pinstripes, formal shoes, a navy blue shirt with cuffs and cuff links. He is the tallest character.
| Robbie Rotten | |
|---|---|
| LazyTown character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ (1999) |
| Last appearance | Mystery of the Pyramid (2014) |
| Created by | Magnús Scheving |
| Portrayed by | Stefán Karl Stefánsson |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Robbie Rotten |
| Alias |
|
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | Icelandic |
Being extremely lazy, Robbie naturally opposes their attempts to spread a healthy influence to the people of LazyTown and employs various schemes, often involving the use of disguises, to discredit healthy living and run Sportacus (whom he refers to as "Sportaflop") out of LazyTown in every episode, although his plans are always foiled in the end. Ironically, Robbie becomes very active when he executes his plans. He was based on his incarnation from the original musical and played by Stefán Karl Stefánsson on the children’s show.
History
editIn the second Icelandic stage play, the character was called Glanni Glæpur and, when he arrived at the town, he wore a completely black outfit; but, when he was disguised as Rikki Riki (a very wealthy man), he wore a purple coat, purple pants and shoes that are similar to those that Robbie wears in the television series—although at that point he did not yet have his hair covered in gel.[3] In the television series, Robbie Rotten usually wears a two-piece suit of red and purple with gold pinstripes, formal shoes, a navy blue shirt with cuffs and cuff links, blue and red striped socks and black shoes with black soles.
Robbie Rotten's song "You Are a Pirate" was Stefán's favorite song on the show to perform.[4] Since 2007, the lyric "Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate" became an oft-quoted meme in YouTube poop and hacker culture, most often in reference to online piracy via LimeWire.[5][6][7]
Around 2016, Robbie Rotten rose to internet fame through the song "We Are Number One".[8][9] The Reddit forum r/dankmemes voted Robbie Rotten "Meme of the Year" in 2016.[10][11][12]
On August 21, 2018, his actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson died of bile duct cancer at the age of 43.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Robbie Rotten". Lazy Town. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Jessie Yeung (2018-08-22). "Stefan Karl Stefansson, 'LazyTown's' Robbie Rotten, dies at 43". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
- ^ "Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ -- English subtitles | Latibaer - LazyTown (1999)". YouTube. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Fennimore, Jack (2018-08-21). "Stefan Karl Stefansson Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ McMullen, Chris (2018-01-18). "7 Wonderful But Ridiculous Skyrim Mods You've Gotta Try". GameSpew. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ Olson, Parmy. "Interview With PBS Hackers: We Did It For 'Lulz And Justice'". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ Do What You Want, Cause A Pirate Is Free... You Are A Pirate, 31 July 2007, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-09-16
- ^ Patricia Hernandez (2018-08-30). "After LazyTown actor's death, fans subscribe en masse to YouTube channel as a final thank you". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
- ^ "From Iceland — He Was Number One: Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Iceland's Meme King". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ "Stefán Karl Stefánsson, the actor behind Robbie Rotten, has stage 4 cancer". The Daily Dot. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ "'LazyTown' actor, Reddit meme icon Stefán Karl Stefánsson dead at 43". The Daily Dot. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ "A meme you've never heard of was named Reddit's Meme of the Year". The Daily Dot. 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ Reilly, Nick (2018-08-22). "Tributes paid as 'LazyTown' actor Stefan Karl Stefansson dies, aged 43". NME. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-09-15.