Dumb Ways to Die Catching Fire is a YouTube parody video created by "Pumpkin Muffin" (also spelled Pumpkinmuffin or Pumkin Muffin; real name: Josh(ua) Nascimiento) either on or before December 29, 2013. The video mixes themes from the viral song Dumb Ways to Die with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but it’s unknown if the video was based on the movie or the book. The video was uploaded to YouTube but was made private sometime between 2019 and 2020, and as of now, it remains inaccessible to the public. The URL to the original video was discovered on the uploader's website (and wasn't archived properly as the first and currently only capture was from 2021).
Updates[]
March 2024[]
The original creator became active again and unprivated Dumb Ways to Die 2 (not to be confused with the game by Metro), another parody he made. This video originally got unlisted in 2019 but was privated in 2021 due to YouTube's update that set unlisted videos uploaded before 2017 to private. This also suggests there might be a possibility that Dumb Ways to Die Catching Fire could also be re-uploaded or made public once more, as this would make the video fully found.
Found photos[]
The Thumbnail[]
The first image was found on Google by a user called niko 6673. It is the thumbnail of the video and appears to depict the chorus of the song, showing a series of colorful characters unofficially named "Colorballs" (note that they are different from Beans) in various states of injury or distress. These include:
- A black Colorball impaled by two swords, who possibly got killed by Cato
- A vermilion Colorball covered in blood rain (?)
- Two black Colorballs, one large and one small, both missing their foreheads
- A blue Colorball with part of their face missing
- A red Colorball bent out of shape
- Two black Colorballs, one sliced in half, the other covered in fire or lava
- A blue Colorball impaled by what appears to be a trident or arrow.
The thumbnail.
Bees[]
The second image features a blue Colorball under attack by bees. It is unknown if this image is actually from the video, as the aspect ratio and quality is slightly different. This image can be seen in the intro of various Pumpkin Muffin videos from 2014-2015.
A blue Colorball (representing an unidentified character or a fanmade one) under attack by bees.
Arrow[]
The third image depicts a cyan Colorball (possibly representing Gloss) being shot by an arrow from a tall black Colorball with brown hair (representing Katniss). A magenta Colorball is also there. This image was found on the official Pumpkin Muffin website.
A transition between two scenes, featuring a bow shooter (representing Katniss) and a cyan Colorball (possibly representing Gloss), along with a magenta Colorball (maybe representing Wiress?)
Pumpkin Muffin Website[]
The fourth image comes from the official website of the creator. It shows that Dumb Ways to Die Catching Fire was once the most popular video on the channel, with over 3,000 views, before being surpassed by Dumb Ways to Die 2, which currently has over 68,000 views.
From the Pumpkin Muffin website.
Thumbnail and Title[]
The fifth image shows the thumbnail and title of the video as it appeared in the "Up Next" section of YouTube, found in a now-private video uploaded in August 2017. It was once also seen in the same section in the same YouTuber's video, Dumb Ways to Die 2.
In the “Up Next” section of YouTube.
Known lyrics[]
According to a user on YouTube called niko 6673 who had watched the video while it was still available, the first line of the fourth verse was “Get in the bloody rain” (which was apparently characterized by the vermillion Colorball in the thumbnail) and the fourth line of the bridge was “Get chosen for the Hunger Games”. Other than that, almost none of the lyrics are known. (But as the chorus is mostly the same as other parodies, the chorus line is known.)
Notes[]
- The video was uploaded either before or on December 29, 2013, according to a blog on the Pumpkin Muffin website.
- The video had over 3,000 views before being privatized.
- This is the oldest known Pumpkin Muffin video, as the oldest public video on the channel was uploaded in January of 2014.
- However, there may be even older videos, but this is unknown as of now.
See also[]
- Razzfro (lost YouTube web series, circa 2013-2014)
- My Version (Partially found YouTube web series, circa 2014-2015)