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Image via @artsybypink/Instagram

‘Wow queen you’re so beautiful’ is the ugly duckling of memes

It's so beautiful.

 

Jay Hathaway

Internet Culture

Posted on Nov 16, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 2:03 pm CDT

Once you’ve seen it, you’ll never be able to get it out of your head: a piece of fan art from the ’90s Disney sensation A Goofy Movie, depicting the relationship between Goofy’s son Max and his crush Roxanne. But Max looks more like Goofy, and he’s telling Roxanne (who’s dressed in a Thrasher tee for some reason), “Wow queen you’re so beautiful.” 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEIviEixV-G/


The piece, posted back in April by Instagram user @eboni_, struck viewers as bizarre and hilarious, and it has since become one of those things that people on Twitter confess they can’t stop thinking about: 

https://twitter.com/Its_DuBose/status/794032570228846592

https://twitter.com/toothpastepixie/status/795484340171902976

https://twitter.com/AdamAndrewLenox/status/798340583316033537



What is it about this drawing that gets under everyone’s skin? This list is a good place to start: 

https://twitter.com/meezy_g/status/794406792503562240

Every time you look at the picture, you find some confusing new detail to focus on: Goofy/Max’s 1995 jacket, the little crown above Roxanne’s head… It’s just such a rich vein of weirdness. 

But the level of hate for the drawing seems to be out of proportion to how bad it is.

https://twitter.com/sexualjumanji/status/798639360614666241

Many people think “wow queen” is bad, but what if I told you it’s actually extremely good?

It’s not just about the Goofy drawing anymore: The catchphrase has gone far beyond its original context. Any pic of two characters talking, whether it’s poorly rendered fan art or a photo, can be made funny by captioning it “wow queen you’re so beautiful.” Hell, it doesn’t even have to be two characters. Observe:

https://twitter.com/SombraARG/status/798572038625624064

https://twitter.com/moonlightbee2/status/793558913849233409

https://twitter.com/4evrwme/status/793496924280066048

https://twitter.com/brickchunks/status/798941675540201473

https://twitter.com/TrophyUncle/status/798607271781683201


https://twitter.com/empireawakens/status/798530859372544000




https://twitter.com/Ian_Nieves_/status/798815864191471616




(Sorry, this embed was not found.)



“Wow queen” has all the hallmarks of a strong meme. It’s got recognizable characters posed in a repeatable format, a number of great details to replicate (“Thrasher” is perfect), and a catchphrase that can be used both ironically and sincerely. 

Wow, queen. This meme is so bad that it’s almost beautiful.

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*First Published: Nov 16, 2016, 3:50 pm CST