'TMNT: Mutant Mayhem' gets the 'I Like Turtles' meme guy for promo

16 years later, still likes turtles. 🐢🐢🐢
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 on 
A kid with zombie face paint is interviewed by a local news reporter.
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16 years ago, 10-year-old Jonathan Ware went viral. Why? He liked turtles.

Attending the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon in 2007, Know Your Meme explains, Ware had painted his tiny face to look like a zombie for the occasion. When local news reporter Nancy Francis interviewed him about it for KGW, he had one thing to say about his paint job: "I like turtles." It was a passing vox pop, but one uploaded to YouTube by 3mediapro, where it went viral. Today, it's sitting at 72 million views.

Does Ware still like turtles? If you'd lost sleep over this, you'll get that sweet REM tonight, because reader, he does.

The marketing team for Seth Rogen's upcoming film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem tracked him down and recreated the whole thing.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is in theatres Aug 4.

A photo portrait of a journalist with blonde hair and a band t-shirt.
Shannon Connellan
UK Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.


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