so in my last entry, i discussed the channel’s graphic design history and all its ups and downs. i was going to talk about the channel’s intro as well, but the post was getting too long! so i decided to save this topic for the next entry. this entry will talk about the caddicarus show’s intro, other shows will be discussed in another entry.

and yes…this means that i am going graphic designer brain on y'all once AGAIN!

so! all the different eras/generations of caddicarus fans have had different experiences. whether it’s how the channel looked, what video you first watched, what house/room the shows were filmed in, what hairstyle jim had…it depends on which era you came from!

but two things that unite us all, regardless of eras, are the intro…and caddy’s about page.

“subscribe” written with unicode letters has been in the description for quite possibly as long as the channel has existed! it’s like a historical monument!

but back on the topic of intros - the glorious “caddicaruuusss!” choir has been a part of the intro since the totally angelica episode, which only came about four months after the caddicarus show started. since then, it’s stayed in all new iterations of the intro. another element that has always stayed is the fact that at least one explosion occurs.

here’s a video with all of the intros and outros i’ll be discussing today!

i mostly compiled this because the existing youtube video with all the intros is just…very poorly made and some of the dates are wrong and i just had to make my own lol.

by compiling these intros and watching them back, you can really see the channel/show’s true identity slowly developing as time goes on. it’s a great representation of caddy’s growth as a content creator.

at first you have this cheesy rough “heavy metal” kinda aesthetic with the wonderfully terrible cooltext logo and stock grunge background. there’s the tobuscus-like “CADDICARUS!” scream. it’s all put together by a 17/18-year-old who has no idea what all of this will eventually lead to. it’s amazingly early 2010s in its execution.

then a few episodes later, we get that same aesthetic, but the intro is slower and we finally hear that iconic choir. this is the dark and serious intro we were all accustomed to…but then in 2016, this goofy 8-bit track comes in (composed by endigo - yes, that endigo!), somewhat clashing with the aesthetic. then a few months later, there’s this equally-as-goofy logo that comes in, with the beginning “gong” noise, grunge background and explosions and wear and tear and whatnot still intact.

then in 2017 - with the new background and the removal of the beginning gong noise and “woosh” that leads into the logo - there’s finally a bit of stylistic unity again, albeit with the same effects and explosions still there.

then in 2018 - the intro finally receives a major overhaul that harkens back to the days of CRT TVs, and i really loved this particular intro when it was released. the intro was different for every episode depending on the topic and the console, and the channel numbers on the top right were counting down from 3 with each channel change! i used to say “come on down to channel zero” when recruiting potential new beautiful people online in 2018 LMAOO. i also had that beginning click as my text tone for the longest damn time.

and that static-y transition from the intro into the show was so satisfying. while season 10 was one of my least favorite seasons of the old series, the intro was great.

this intro stayed through seasons 11-13, but with slight alterations. one of the channels was now reserved for the hidden block intro (which was already becoming kinda obsolete by that point…EGLX 2018 was pretty much the finale of HB), replacing the channel used for the topic/game of the episode. and the transition from intro to show was now the TV being switched off, which was kinda cool, but it wasn’t as cool as that static! >:( then by the season 12 finale, the intro was shortened even more, with it only featuring the blue screen at channel 9 this time before changing to channel 0 with the logo. this was also when the social media plugs were integrated into the intros.

now - onto the new series!

in 2020 the intro gets rid of the CRT TV filter and channel changing, only becoming three seconds with one singular firework. the logo spins around like it’s a damn early 2000s nickelodeon ident and i love it. and i’m honestly glad that the retina-burning pink from the channel banner at the time only ever stayed in the banner because with how fast the background moves in this intro, having it in that color would’ve done a number on my eyes…

the intro describes the tone of the series well, we don’t need anything else, it can’t be improved on…

…or can it?

2021 brought my favorite caddicarus intro ever!! i already told y'all in the last entry why i love littlemisschii’s branding so much, and this intro is no exception. it wonderfully sums up the show in just four seconds! here’s this goofy british man and- oh god his head exploded!

even though it’s such a small detail, i ADORE how the logo comes to life with all the syllables falling onto the controller. the animation on caddy is gorgeous as well!

then, in 2022, the show’s identity truly comes together with a brand new jingle. while endigo’s 8-bit jingle from 2016-21 is iconic and nostalgic, tee lopes’ recomposed intro is a much better representation of what games caddy is known for reviewing. caddy grew up with PS1 games, so the usage of 8-bit themes in the intro contradicts with that. this new intro seems to mostly resemble tombi’s OST with a little bit of crash thrown in. and i love how there’s this super snazzy halftone fade-in and that the logo bounces in! even the social media plug has a cool transition effect.

and yet…after all the adversity and changes…the choir from 2012 is still intact. god, i love this.

i don’t have as much to say about the outros, but that first one stayed for a very damn long time. nearly 8 years!!! i remember finding out when the outro was first removed back in 2020 and i mourned its removal. i remember HATING the new outro lol. but after i started watching the new series i grew to kinda like it! and then there’s the 2021 outro…which, if you don’t know, was taken from…

the cinemaggots intro!

i like this outro the most out of the two we’ve had this decade. although i can literally not hear it without the deep piano note playing in my head followed by “C I N E M A G G O T S”

i also remember when caddicarus outros would last like 2-3 minutes. i remember during like seasons 5-7 there’d be the video’s sponsor (back when the sponsors were serious and boring and not spoken by a trademarked legally stipulated kite), followed by the “ay ay ay ay subscribe”, followed by an end card with either a minute of outtakes or caddy speaking. now we just get the short outro, some groovy ass tunes, and stan’s segment. how times have changed. but caddy…please bring back outtakes! that’s one thing you should bring back!

woof, this ended up being a LOT longer than i anticipated…but when i get talking about this channel, i get TALKING lol. see y'all for the next entry! stay beautiful! 💜

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