Thailand's famous hippo, Moo Deng, celebrates her first birthday
Crowds have been invited to a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng — meaning "Bouncy Pork" in Thai — frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media fans.
The first day of the extravaganza falls on a Thai public holiday and the agenda includes a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness" while a skincare beautician has paid $4,500 to sponsor her fruit-festooned cake.
Her handlers are also scheduled to auction off her belongings — but it is unclear what possessions Moo Deng has accumulated in her short life at the Chonburi province zoo.
There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa, with only about 2,500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September last year before dramatically declining.
"Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University.
Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise including piggy banks and popsicles — prompting her owners to trademark her likeness.
The pint-sized pygmy hippo quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where her small and sparse enclosure was once broadcasted by a 24/7 live stream.
Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity for their cuteness online, including Melbourne's Pesto the penguin.
Pygmy hippos have a life span of between 30 and 50 years.
While Mr Dale predicts she may lose the limelight to longevity, he says Moo Deng could enjoy enduring appeal as fans recall "how unbearably cute she was when she was very, very small and just born".
AFP
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ABC News
5 days ago
- ABC News
Thailand punches above its weight in film creativity and cross-border appeal. Here's why
A Useful Ghost, an internationally acclaimed new film from Thailand, features a woman who dies from dust pollution and returns to posses her husband's vacuum cleaner to protect him from suffering the same fate. It's a sly commentary about power inequality, queer love, and pollution. Written and directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, the indy film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and was the first Thai film to win a Critics' Week grand prize, or Grand Prix. The award recognises early filmmakers. A Useful Ghost was Boonbunchachoke's debut feature and the first "proper film shoot" he had been on. Judges described the film as bold, free and unclassifiable, "a first feature that plays with genres, bends the rules, and offers a vision that is both intimate and universal." It's just the latest in a slew of Thai drams turning heads abroad as the industry builds on its reputation for distinctiveness and creativity. Last year, humorous tear-jerker How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies set a new Thai record for international box office takings. Mad Unicorn — a series about a start-up courier service — reached fourth on Netflix's weekly top 10 for non-English series last month. Other successful productions included Master of the House and Ready, Set, Love, and Hunger, both on Netflix. According to audience analytics firm Media Asia Partners (MPA), Thai content among South-East Asian nations had the most cross-border appeal in Asia. The "travelability" of Thai content (how much of it was consumed overseas vs domestically) was even catching up to Japan, the agency found. So, what is it about Thai cinema that's pulling audiences from around the globe? Thai people loved a good drama, A Useful Ghost writer-director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke told the ABC. He said they measured a film's success by how emotive it was, driving creators to make dramatic and emotionally rich films. "Thai film is like Thai food — the flavour needs to be strong," he said. "Culturally authentic" hyperlocal elements in film also resonated with audiences, said Mary Ainslie, an associate professor in film and media studies at the University of Nottingham. Besides seeing representations of local identity, these depictions appealed to foreign audiences because that knowledge made them "cultural insiders", she said. "That's about constructing yourself as a very cosmopolitan person, and that's very attractive." Being over-the-top is not limited to drama series or movies. Advertising is often where film directors cut their teeth before producing feature films and Thai commercials have a reputation for being "consistently" creative and unconventional, said Paul Nagy, the chief creative officer at VML Asia Pacific. Mr Nagy judged the film adverts at the 2024 Cannes Lions awards when Thailand won nine awards from 210 entries — the second highest win-to-entry ratio in the Asia-Pacific. "One of the major takeaways for me last year was just how incredibly creative and joyful the work coming out of Thailand was," he said. He said the Western world often followed formulaic narratives in storytelling, whereas Thai creators threw out the rule book and leaned into what felt most interesting. "They don't feel the same kind of constraints as the rest of the world in the same way to tone things down," Mr Nagy said. This made it fertile ground for creative story telling as nothing was too over-the-top he said. He cited as an example a government road-safety advertisement where a motorcyclist's brain came out the back of his head the faster he went, a metaphor for him losing control. "If you're learning your film trade in the advertising industry in Thailand you're unconstrained. "That's why they do such exciting film work when they leave the advertising industry." He said with how sophisticated AI has become at creating traditional advertisements, the rest of the world needed to quickly learn from what Thailand was doing to remain competitive. "We are moving into an era where average is going to be invisible and that's one thing the Thais never are … and that's their starting point." Much of the latest wave in Thai cinemas was the result of a rapid modernisation and an increasingly affluent middle class, said Dr Ainslie. Thailand has the eighth-fastest broadband internet in the world and 91 per cent of its population is connected to the internet, according to the Digital 2025 report by Meltwater and We Are Social. The global average is 68 per cent. Dr Ainslie said modernity was no longer limited to large cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai because the provincial rural population was now affluent, middle-class who were "globally savvy", well-connected, and had travelled overseas. Thai directors were also being trained abroad and returning home and studios had started conglomerating into oligopolies creating an ecosystem of cinema and production companies, she said. Thailand is recognised by international film producers as an attractive filming destination because of its scenery, affordability, and labour force with mature production and English-language skills, aspects the Thai government is capitalising on. This has created even more opportunities for Thai crew to work alongside international productions to hone their craft to an even higher standard, Booncunchachoke said. Last year, 491 foreign films like Jurassic World and shows like White Lotus were shot in Thailand which generated THB 6.58 billion ($309.8 million) for the economy. Along with Pad Thai, mango and sticky rice and Muay Thai, the Thailand's government has identified film as another cultural export instrumental to its influence by persuasion, or soft power. In November 2024, the prime minister met with executives from Netflix, HBO, Disney, and the Motion Picture Association, The government also announced increases in cash rebates of up to 30 per cent for eligible foreign productions if they employed Thai cast and crew, used designated tourist areas as film locations, and portrayed Thailand or its culture in a positive light. The Thai Film Office is part of the government's tourism department and has been integral in growing the industry, but Dr Ainslie warned the incentives biased certain productions which could also lead to a typecasting of Thailand. This could be frustrating for filmmakers wanting to make other kinds of films, she said. The lack of diverse depictions could also result in the curating a history to fit a certain state agenda. "If you construct an image, the image ultimately becomes truth, becomes a representation," Dr Ainslie said. One example was the "salacious and hedonistic" depictions of Thailand associated with sex tourism, lawlessness, and drugs seen in The Hangover Part II and The Beach. After the pandemic, young Thai people participated in widescale anti-government protests. Boonbunchachoke hoped media and cinema would follow suit in challenging the establishment, but felt that traction for freer expression had waned. Nonetheless, he noticed some commercial film studios beginning to take risks beyond their "comfort zone" of crowd-pleasers and join independent films in taking on darker and grittier topics. He has also noticed independent film houses starting to censor themselves less and becoming more creative in how they criticised the status quo. "I think nowadays [these film makers] kind of know and [are finding] new ways to speak and talk about the issue without compromising too much," he said.
SBS Australia
7 days ago
- SBS Australia
Thailand's viral hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday
Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame. Big crowds are expected at a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng — which means "Bouncy Pork" in Thai — frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media followers. The first day of the extravaganza fell on a Thai public holiday with an agenda including a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness", while a skincare beautician paid to sponsor her fruit-festooned birthday cake. Around 100 fans gathered outside her enclosure on Thursday morning, fewer than the hordes she commanded at the height of her fame, but still animated with adoration. Jennifer Tang took a week off from her work in Malaysia to make the pilgrimage, telling AFP she was "a little bit obsessed" with the calf she described as a "chaos rage potato". "She's really special to me, she makes me happy," she said. Tang insisted Moo Deng is "still really sassy and funny" despite approaching maturity. "Take a look at the crowd today - she's still a legend," she added. Moo Deng has swollen from 5kg at birth to 93kg today. She spent her birthday plodding in her enclosure, munching fruit and vegetables, a stark contrast to the energetic yet clumsy antics that earned her fame as a pint-sized pachyderm. "Moo Deng used to be very naughty and jumped around all the time," said Attaphol Nundee, one of her six handlers. "Now she only eats and sleeps." "Her popularity has slowed," admitted the 32-year-old. "But some old fans have returned, and there are new ones too." Despite her waning fame, "her eyes light up when people take photos of her", he added. Her handlers are set to auction her belongings later, but it is unclear what possessions she has accumulated in her short life at the Chonburi province zoo, a two-hour drive from Bangkok. 'Cute doesn't last long' Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise, including piggy banks, party shirts and popsicles, prompting her owners to trademark her likeness. She once quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where she resides in a sparse, stone, five square metre (54 square feet) public enclosure, once livestreamed 24/7 to sate the internet's appetite for her. There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa, with only around 2500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September last year before dramatically declining. "Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University. "Maybe part of our appreciation of cuteness is knowing that it's something that doesn't last very long," he told AFP. Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity for their cuteness online, including Australia's Pesto the penguin and China's Hua Hua the panda. Pygmy hippos have a lifespan of between 30 and 50 years.
News.com.au
7 days ago
- News.com.au
Hippo birthday: Thai internet sensation Moo Deng is a year old
Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame. Big crowds are expected at a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng -- meaning "Bouncy Pork" in Thai -- frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media followers. The first day of the extravaganza fell on a Thai public holiday with an agenda including a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness", while a skincare beautician paid $3,000 to sponsor her fruit-festooned birthday cake. Around 100 fans gathered outside her enclosure on Thursday morning -- fewer than the hordes she commanded at the height of her fame, but still animated with adoration. Jennifer Tang took a week off her work in Malaysia to make the pilgrimage, telling AFP she was "a little bit obsessed" with the calf she described as a "chaos rage potato". "She's really special to me, she makes me happy," she said. Tang insisted Moo Deng is "still really sassy and funny" despite approaching maturity. "Take a look at the crowd today -- she's still a legend," she told AFP. Moo Deng has swollen from five kilograms (11 pounds) at birth to 93 kilograms today. She spent her birthday plodding in her enclosure, munching fruit and vegetables -- a stark contrast to the energetic yet clumsy antics that earned her fame as a pint-sized pachyderm. "Moo Deng used to be very naughty and jumped around all the time," said Attaphol Nundee, one of her six handlers. "Now she only eats and sleeps." "Her popularity has slowed," admitted the 32-year-old. "But some old fans have returned, and there are new ones too." Despite her waning fame "her eyes light up when people take photos of her", he said. Her handlers are set later to auction her belongings, but it is unclear what possessions she has accumulated in her short life at the Chonburi province zoo, a two-hour drive from Bangkok. - 'Cute doesn't last long' - Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise including piggy banks, party shirts and popsicles -- prompting her owners to trademark her likeness. She once quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where she resides in a sparse, stone, five square metre (54 square feet) public enclosure, once livestreamed 24/7 to sate the internet's appetite for her. There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa with only around 2,500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September last year before dramatically declining. "Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University. "Maybe part of our appreciation of cuteness is knowing that it's something that doesn't last very long," he told AFP. Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity for their cuteness online, including Australia's Pesto the penguin and China's Hua Hua the panda. Pygmy hippos have a lifespan of between 30 and 50 years.
