Viral earworm ‘Baby Shark’ is getting its own full-length movie in 2023

• Nickelodeon Animation and Pinkfong are producing a “Baby Shark” feature-length film.
• Pinkfong’s version of “Baby Shark” has become a cultural phenomenon since its 2016 YouTube video debut.
• “Baby Shark Dance” is the most-watched YouTube video of all time, with over 10 billion views so far.

A warning to all parents: Viral earworm “Baby Shark” is getting its own full-length movie, Paramount+ announced on Tuesday.

The catchy children’s song started going viral after the “Baby Shark Dance” video was uploaded to Youtube by South Korean edutainment brand Pinkfong in June 2016. It is the most-watched YouTube video of all time with over 10 billion views.

Nickelodeon Animation and Pinkfong are co-producing the “Baby Shark” movie slated for 2023, Paramount+ said. 

According to a 2019 New York Times article, “Baby Shark” is based on a popular decades-old camp singalong. 

But it’s Pinkfong’s 2-minute, 16-second version of the song that has become a cultural phenomenon, starting from Indonesia in 2017, where it spurred a dance craze, according to a Vox report. In 2018, the “Baby Shark” dance challenge went viral across TikTok, the outlet reported.

On January 12, 2019, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 32th spot, where it peaked, according to Billboard magazine.

In 2020, Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark Dance” video was still going strong, Insider’s Palmer Haasch reported.

“Baby Shark’s” success has also boosted the share price of Pinkfong’s major shareholder, Samsung Publishing. Last June, the company’s share price rose more than 10% in a day after Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted about the viral “Baby Shark Dance” video.

The “Baby Shark” feature-length film was announced alongside a slate of new offerings from Paramount+ including three new “SpongeBob Squarepants” spinoff films and a new “Dora the Explorer” CG-animated series, per the company’s press release.