The Groaning Plankton Face meme (also known as the Cursed Plankton meme face) is a manipulated, low-res reaction image of Plankton from the animated television show SpongeBob SquarePants used to convey aggravation, angst, or annoyance.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: @MooPintot
- Meme Type: Image macro
- First Appearance: April 22, 2010
- Origin Source: DeviantArt.com
- Peak Popularity: Dec. 2024
@dylanbrookes78 How it be like when you remember something stupid you did years ago. #shitposting #plankton #stupid #fyp #cursed #dumbass #scary #groan ♬ original sound – Dylan Brookes
What is the Groaning Plankton Face meme?
The meme is a rendering of the character Plankton from the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. In the image, Plankton has been edited to look creepy; the undersea color saturation is low-quality and grainy, his antennae are bent, and his humanoid face is pallid and wrinkly. The character’s eyes and mouth are blacked out, but they still reflect a pained expression some users describe as a “moan” or “groan.”
This meme is a version of a “cursed image,” or a rendering of a popular character, object, or location made to seem creepy, uncanny, or off-putting in some way. The identification of an image as such contributes to its meaning; cursed images do not seek to bring positivity or calm to the viewer but a sense of unease.
What does the Cursed Plankton meme mean?
The Cursed Plankton meme is used as a reaction image to something bad or unappealing; this painful situation can be small and banal or large and traumatizing.
Origin and spread
According to ComingSoon.Net, on April 22, 2010, DeviantArt user @Moopintot posted a Photoshopped “cursed” version of Plankton from SpongeBob Squarepants called “Plenkton.” The internet responded positively to the image and it garnered over 30K views and 338 favorites since it was first posted.
The meme circulated the internet (with various upticks in popularity) for over ten years, with bouts of usage on X, TikTok, and Instagram. On Sept. 3, 2023, X user @Mistfulmorning found the original model of the meme’s pained face.
On Oct. 2, 2024, TikTok user @planktongemendo re-popularized the meme by posting it nearly every day, accompanied by heavy groan audio. This account became extremely popular, with some posts garnering over 2 million likes.
From there, others began re-discovering the groaning Plankton face and combining it with humorous captions conveying the various annoyances and ennui of life.
This meme speaks to both the prevalence of Spongebob Squarepants in the cultural zeitgeist and the sense of community that comes with cursed imagery and complaint culture.
@adaamara #fyp #plankton ♬ original sound – ADA
Meme examples
Examples of the groaning Cursed Plankton meme face transformed from a simple image format to a TikTok trend, diversifying the meme’s identity across many platforms. While the original Plenkton meme was a static image, it grew into a comment on the frustrations of everyday life, a moaning animation, and a TikTok trend.
@doritocupcake natasha i made dis 4 u #CapCut #cursedplankton #plankton ♬ som original – Plankton
@gorlwith_sunglasses What da frick yo #morningtime #memes #spongebob #planktongroaning ♬ original sound – I Green Screen Things
More SpongeBob memes:
- The best SpongeBob SquarePants memes on the internet
- The Squidward Window meme is the visual representation of FOMO
- The rise of the SpongeBob Floating meme
- FreakBob is calling…I ain’t answering
- ‘No This Is Patrick’ meme history
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