Tardar Sauce (April 4, 2012[1] – May 14, 2019), nicknamedGrumpy Cat, was an Americaninternet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by anunderbite andfeline dwarfism.[1][2][3] She came to prominence when a photograph of her was posted on September 22, 2012, on social news websiteReddit by Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha Bundesen.[1][4] "Lolcats" andparodies created from the photograph by Reddit users became popular. She was the subject of a popularInternet meme in which humorously negative, cynical images were made from photographs of her.[5]
As of June 3, 2023, Grumpy Cat had 8.3 million total likes onFacebook,[6] 2.6 million followers onInstagram[7] 1.5 million followers onTwitter[8] and 276,000 subscribers onYouTube.
Tardar Sauce was one of a litter of four kittens born to acalico mother and a blue-and-whitetabby putative father at the home of her owner, Tabatha Bundesen ofMorristown, Arizona.[1] The Bundesens said that Tardar Sauce's face appeared grumpy because the feline had a form ofdwarfism.[9] Though the mother and father were described as "normal-sizeddomestic short-hair cats",[9] Tardar Sauce was undersized and had hind legs that were "a bit different".[1] Both she and her brother, Pokey, were born with "a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail".[2] Although she had a "grumpy" appearance and was called "Grumpy Cat", according to the Bundesens, "Ninety-nine percent of the time she is just a regular cat."[3]
Grumpy Cat appeared in episodes of theFriskiesYouTubegame show "Will Kitty Play With It?"[3][13][14][15] In September 2013, it was announced that Grumpy Cat would become the Official Spokescat of Friskies.[16]TMZ reported that for Grumpy Cat's SXSW Interactive appearance in Austin, Texas, Friskies paid forfirst-class flights, a private hotel room withking-sized bed, a personal assistant, achauffeur, and unlimited Friskies food and bottled water.[13] On March 22, 2013, Grumpy Cat traveled to New York City promoting the show and appeared onGood Morning America[17] andAnderson Live,[18] and visitedTime for aphoto shoot.[19]
Grumpy Cat Limited held eight trademarks in August 2018 registered with theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office; 1082 items were available on the official Grumpy Cat online shop.[20]
Licensed merchandise like T-shirts andmugs are advertised on the Grumpy Cat website and sold atHot Topic.[21]Stuffed toys are also available, the original officialplush was produced byGund, though as of August 2018, no Grumpy Cat merchandise was available on the Gund website.[22][23]Ganz, the company behindWebkinz, produced a small Grumpy Cat plush which allowed anyone to play with her electronic likeness on the Webkinz website.[24]
Additionally,Chronicle Books has published The Grumpy Cat Wall Calendar each year since 2013, with a 2022 edition available as of January 2022.[25][26][27]
The official Grumpy Cat book,Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book, was published on July 23, 2013, by Chronicle Books.[12] The book is available in both print and digital formats from retailers worldwide. It debuted at #8 hardcover nonfiction on thePublishers Weekly best seller list.[28] Another Grumpy Cat book calledThe Grumpy Guide to Life: Observations by Grumpy Cat was published by Chronicle Books and debuted at #3 onThe New York Times Best Seller list in the Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous category.[29]
Dynamite Entertainment publishes a comic book about Grumpy Cat and her brother, titledThe Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey.[30][31]
In December 2013, an official video game calledGrumpy Cat: Unimpressed was released by Ganz Studios and is playable onFacebook,iOS devices andAndroid devices. The game is amatch-three game where if combos are performed, Grumpy Cat's insults will appear. The players unlock her memes as they pass each level and she can be made angry with meows, hairballs and laser pointers.[33]
In May 2013, Grumpy Cat Limited partnered with Grenade Beverage LLC to market "Grumppuccino" iced coffee beverages.[12][34][35]
In December 2015, Grumpy Cat Limited filed a lawsuit against Grenade Beverage LLC citingtrademark infringement when the beverage company expanded its line of Grumpy Cat coffee offerings beyond what was originally agreed upon, producing and marketing a Grumpy Cat roasted ground coffee even after being told by email that they were not approved to do so.[36]
In January 2018, theU.S. District Court for the Central District of California jury decided in favor of Grumpy Cat Limited, and ordered Grenade Beverage Company to pay $710,000 in damages for copyright and trademark infringement, as well as a $1 nominal damage fee for breach of contract.[37][38]
Tardar Sauce died at her home in the arms of her owner Tabatha following complications from aurinary tract infection on May 14, 2019, at age 7.[39][40] Her death was announced on May 17, 2019, onsocial media. Tributes were posted worldwide.[39] She was buried at Sunland Pet Rest Cemetery inSun City, Arizona.[41]
Grumpy Cat appears inLil Bub & Friendz, a documentary premiered at theTribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013, and won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.[21][42][43][44] In May 2013, Broken Road Productionsoptioned Grumpy Cat for a "Garfield-like feature film" adaptation.[12][45][46] Film producerTodd Garner said, "We think we can build a big family comedy around this character".[45]
On June 11, 2014, it was announced thatLifetime would produce a film starring Grumpy Cat, entitledGrumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever. The film debuted on November 29, 2014.Tim Hill, the film's director, and Jeff Morris wrote the script, and principal photography took place over the summer.[47]Aubrey Plaza voiced the Grumpy Cat character,[48] and was also a producer on the film. On November 6, 2014, Lifetime released a tongue-in-cheek video about the casting and Plaza's "process" for becoming the voice of Grumpy Cat.[49]
The film received mostly negative reviews.[50][51] Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 27%, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 4.17/10.[52]
In March 2013, Bryan Bundesen indicated that Grumpy Cat earned them income in the "mid-five figures", which increased to "low-six-figures" by May 2013.[4][12] The Bundesens have not disclosed the Grumpy Cat brand's net worth, though online speculation estimates it between $1 million and $100 million.[53][54]
^"Celebrities".Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. May 31, 2013. p. 4-2.Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. RetrievedDecember 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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