CBoyardee (partially lost videos of YouTube channel; 2006-2013)

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CBoyardee.jpg

Schumacker in 2012.

Status: Partially Found

Chef Boyardee (commonly shortened to "CBoyardee") is the internet handle of Eric Schumacker, an amateur animator who was known for his grotesque, surreal YouTube videos. Having previously achieved significant attention for creating the video game Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, he held an active presence on YouTube until 2014.

Though his start as a web animator is currently unknown, he first came to prominence in 2011 with the release of the short "Dilbert 2" and its sequel, "Dilbert 3." Both works, parodies of the long-running comic strip Dilbert, became immensely popular on YouTube for their surreal storytelling, uncanny visuals, and dissonant, serene soundtracks. The shorts even caught the attention of Dilbert creator Scott Adams, who jokingly panned the shorts for depicting Dilbert's shirt pocket on the wrong side of his chest.

Following the popularity of the "Dilbert" videos, Schumacker released numerous other animations of a similar style, being either more parodies or entirely original shorts. Some notable videos include "Italio Disco" (a 30-second parody short featuring Tommy Pickles [from the Nickelodeon TV series Rugrats] dancing to the titular song) and "Oldest Trick in the Book" (a short that openly mocks the then-incumbent American president George W. Bush, who is trapped in a cage and repeatedly called a "war criminal" by Schumacker). By the time the "CBoyardee" channel was terminated, Schumacker had accumulated over 6,000 subscribers.

In 2013, Schumacker made all of his videos private, apparently ashamed of them. This led to disappointed fans reuploading as many videos as they could, before CBoyardee was eventually shut down the following year. When asked about the matter on Twitter a year later, Schumacker stated that he was no longer sure why he shut his channel down. It is currently unknown as to what percentage of Schumacker's videos have survived.

This YouTube channel holds the largest current archive of CBoyardee's videos.