When Lucas Cruikshank entered into the YouTube landscape as Fred in 2008, it wasn’t by chance he received fame and stardom, it was destiny. The fictional character resonated with audiences far and wide, being able to capture the experiences of a mild mannered suburban child who documented his dysfunctional life during the start of the streaming era. A fictional series like no other, the magic Lucas Cruikshank created was only beginning. The Fred Channel was the first in Youtube history to receive one million subscribers, leading to an eventual movie series being released under Nickelodeon.
“Fred: The Movie” conceptualizes the hero’s journey as no other film had done, up to its release in 2010. Lucas Cruikshank, using his blessed vocal cords as the greatest singer/actor in our modern times, was the star of the film. It was a tale of great romance, comedy, thrills, the occasional horror and war as Fred fought for what he loved most.
The unimaginable cast included Jennette McCurdy to play Bertha, the Sundance Kid to Fred’s Butch Cassidy. The lack of presence of a father figure throughout the Fred web series is explained when John Cena was cast as his Dad. Cena instilled within him the confidence he needed to have the courage to go onto his journey despite the myriad of conflicts awaiting.
Jacob Weary, the film’s antagonist and one of the most evilest characters written in fictional history, would send shivers down Shakespeare’s Iago spine for how much he captures the villain persona.
Fred’s treacherous tour across his town to see Judy takes place when he takes the number six bus instead of the number seven bus. Catastrophe strikes when Fred’s delusions appear to be reality, finding out Judy hadn’t invited him to her party he crashed. Embarrassing himself, he finds redemption in throwing a party that’d rival Project X, and posted a video with the help of Bertha to succeed at making everyone at school jealous. “Fred: The Movie” is an anthem for all the youths having felt left out at some point in their lives.
The second film in the trilogy, “Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred,” takes inspiration from many different horror classics. Released in 2011 during the Halloween season, the villain of the story took the role of the new music teacher “Mr. Devlin,” played by Seth Morris, who Fred suspects is a vampire. Bertha’s role had been replaced by another Nickelodeon legend, Daniella Monet, who played Trina in “Victorious.”
The film engages with other films through cutaway references, from “The Fly,” to “Mosquitos,” and especially with the “Twilight” series that were in full effect at the time. The sequel consists of a lot of art in dialogue with other films in order to engage with the vampire tropes that make Mr. Devlin’s character. From avoiding garlic for fear of burning to his palate consisting of eating raw bloody meat to using an umbrella during the day and more, the film does an amazing job in characterizing Mr. Devlin’s identity.
For a unique time in the Fred series, this was even the closest Kevin had been a friend to Fred, since they aligned with their fear of Mr. Devlin. However, their enemy dynamic returned after Fred fooled the school by pretending he was the real vampire all along. A Halloween classic to stand the test of time, Fred 2 took the fictional character’s adventure to a new avenue that would even put fear in the most frequent horror viewer.
“Fred 3: Camp Fred” was the final installment of the Fred trilogy. The film began with a musical number to use the most of Lucas Cruikshank’s vocal gift. Singing about the last day of school before summer, Fred is ecstatic to join Camp Superior over the summer, but conflict arises unexpectedly when he must go instead to Camp Iwannapeepe. Thrice more, Jake Weary reprises his role as Kevin at Camp Superior to continue the rivalry that has maintained throughout the Fred series.
Fred eventually finds the silver lining in the story, and manages to uplift the rest of the camp by encouraging the truth: they’re the best at being themselves. During the final challenge of the Camp Games, they sing “The Loser Song,” a beautiful ballad to deliver Camp Iwannapeepee’s victory over Camp Superior.
Overall, the Fred film trilogy gives an in depth view of the human experience across multiple genres through several challenges. Issues having to deal with self-identity, self-love and finding ways for growth and love in the most difficult parts of one’s life. If there’s anything to learn from Fred, it’s that self-love is all one needs to succeed and be happy in life.
*This is an April Fools’ publication. This article is not intended to communicate any true or factual information about the writer’s article except through humor and/or exaggeration. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental or is intended purely as satire, parody or spoof of such persons and is not intended to communicate any true or factual information about that person.
