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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/toothpastepixie/status/795484340171902976



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

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.

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/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