Fudgie the Whale is an ice cream cake developed by Carvel.
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Evolution
Although the cake depicts the shape of a whale and was originally decorated as such, it was adapted for holiday uses by rotating it 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that the whale's body, now upright, could represent a face. The whale's tail would then represent whatever a character traditionally had on its head: the Easter Bunny's ears, a leprechaun's hat, or Santa Claus's tassel. Fudgie the Whale was often promoted around Father's Day, using the slogan, "For a whale of a dad."[1]
In popular culture
Fudgie the Whale has been the subject of parody for comedians Patton Oswalt, Kevin Smith and Billy Crystal.[2][3] It has also been used for comedic effect on television shows such as The Simpsons, Damages, Family Guy and The Office.[4][5][6]
In the early 1980s David Letterman "Exposed" the cake as really being a dog in disguise. In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer presents Marge with a Fudgie the Whale on the night of their wedding in Las Vegas. The cake reads "To a whale of a wife."
An episode of The Colbert Report displayed what Colbert called a "Prophet Muhammad Carvel ice cream cake", which depicted Fudgie the Whale with a turban. An episode of The Daily Show played a clip of an exploding whale while playing audio from a Fudgie the Whale commercial.
Musician Jonathan Coulton's song "I'm Having a Party" references Fudgie: "Expect a visit from Fudgie the Whale / Ice cream and crunchies in his fudgy tail". A Fudgie the Whale cake was featured on the January 8, 2007 edition of WWE's RAW, being devoured by a Rosie O'Donnell impersonator.[7]
"Fudgie the Whale" is repeatedly referenced in the long running (1989-1999) Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K). Dub Narcotic Sound System's album Sideways Soul (recorded with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) contains a song entitled "Fudgy the Whale," ostensibly one of sixteen Olympia, Washington-based dances, all named within the song.
In early episodes of Damages, main character Ellen celebrates her birthday with a Fudgie the Whale cake: "Nobody sing, because we all know Ellen hates singing!" "But I love Fudgie the Whale!"[8] Andy Bernard, a character on the show The Office, requested a Fudgie the Whale cake for the group birthday celebration in the Survivor Man episode.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Carvel Products - Holiday Cakes". http://www.carvel.com/products/holidays.htm. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ Patton Oswalt. (2004). Feelin' Kinda Patton. United Musicians.
- ^ Billy Crystal. (1985). Mahvelous!. A&M Records.
- ^ "A Milhouse Divided". The Simpsons. Fox. 1996-12-01.
- ^ "Jesus, Mary, and Joe Cocker". Damages. FX. 2007-07-31.
- ^ "Survivor Man". The Office. NBC. 2007-11-08.
- ^ WWE RAW. USA Network. 2007-01-08.
- ^ "Jesus, Mary, and Joe Cocker". Damages. FX. 2007-07-31.
- ^ "Survivor Man". The Office. NBC. 2007-11-08.
External links
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