“This”Seagulls! (Stop it Now)” is the most brilliant dumb thing on the internet I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s both funny and a really good song.
And its creator is anonymous…adding to the intrigue.
This one rivals the “Michael Jackson on Fire Diorama” I wrote about.
Thanks to Genius Librarian Leigh Carroll for sharing this with me.
Watch Star Wars Yoda Song “Seagulls (Stop it Now)” on YouTube
Ratings:
- My Rating: 95/100
- IMDB: na
- Rotten Tomatoes: na
Release Date: “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)” was released on YouTube November 25, 2016, following its debut as a brief gag in the December 2015 Empire Strikes Back parody (which was released December 16, 2015).
Background on Bad Lip Reading’s Star Wars Seagulls (Stop it Now)
I wanted to learn more about this awesome piece of art.
So I did some research. The anonymous guy (and he is a man) behind Bad Lip Reading (let’s call him “BLR”) did a Village Voice Interview and Rolling Stone Interview. And he’s got a Wikipedia page.
Here’s what I learned (in QA form)”
Who is the anonymous person behind Bad Lip Reading (BLR)? — He’s an anonymous male music producer from Texas.
What was his inspiration for lip reading? — His mother’s sudden deafness in her 40s inspired him to mute TV speech and mishear funny phrases, which led to his first BLR video—“Gang Fight.”
Why does BLR remain anonymous? — He remains anonymous to protect his serious work.
Who wrote the music and lyrics for “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)”? — BLR composed all the instrumentation and wrote every lyric to match Yoda’s and Luke’s lip movements in about two weeks.
What was the inspiration for the “Seagulls! (Stop it Now)” song? — He got the idea when he muted his Empire Strikes Back parody and watched Yoda’s beach serenade—his brain misread the lip shapes as “seagulls… stop it now.” This sprang from his earlier experiments (inspired by watching his deaf mother master lip reading) of muting TV and hearing absurd non‑sequitur phrases.
Which scene in The Empire Strikes Back inspired “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)”? — The song grew from a short segment in BLR’s “The Empire Strikes Back” where Yoda sings to Luke on a beach, lip‑synched to warn him about “vicious seagulls,” in BLR’s December 2015 parody of Empire Strikes Back.
What role did Mark Hamill play in the success of “Seagulls!”? — Mark Hamill publicly praised “Seagulls!” (and Bad Lip Reading in general) while speaking at Star Wars Celebration in 2017:
“I love them, and I showed Carrie [Fisher] the Yoda one… we were dying. I showed it to her in her trailer. She loved it. I retweeted it… and [Bad Lip Reading] contacted me and said ‘Do you want to do Bad Lip Reading?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to…’”
Hamill and Bad Lip Reading collaborated on Bad Lip Reading’s version of The Force Awakens, with Hamill providing the voice of Han Solo
How long did production of “Seagulls!” take? — From concept to final edit, BLR spent roughly one to two weeks crafting the new music track, recording vocals, and syncing the footage.
What instruments shape the sound of “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)”? –The track features a punchy synth bass line, electronic drum beats, playful keyboard riffs, and layered vocal harmonies for a catchy pop‑comedy feel.
How were Yoda’s vocals recorded and processed? — The BLR producer recorded himself performing Yoda’s lines, then pitch‑shifted and EQ’d the audio in Logic Pro to mimic the character’s unique tone.
Who provided Luke Skywalker’s voice in “Seagulls!”? — Luke’s bewildered replies were also voiced and modulated by the BLR creator, using a lower pitch setting to distinguish him from Yoda.
What editing tools were used to sync audio and video? — BLR employed Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects for frame‑by‑frame lip‑sync editing, and Logic Pro for audio arrangement and mixing.
How did Bad Lip Reading sync the new audio to the original footage? — The creator looped small video sections, nudged recorded vocals frame‑by‑frame, and matched each syllable precisely to the characters’ lip movements.
How many views did “Seagulls!” garner in its first week? — The video surpassed 3 million views on YouTube within seven days of its November 25, 2016 release.
What chart position did “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)” achieve? — reached #1 on Billboard’s Comedy Digital Tracks chart shortly after release, reflecting strong digital sales and downloads.
How did fans initially react to “Seagulls!” online? — Viewers flooded social media with viral memes, Twitter trends, and fan‑made covers on SoundCloud, celebrating Yoda’s absurd beach anthem.
Where else has “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)” been featured? — Beyond YouTube, it was highlighted at Star Wars Celebration, and the full track is available on Spotify and Apple Music.