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Albuquerque: THE MOVIE is a 2006 Flash animatedmusic video created by animator Ryan Krzak, also known online as RWappin. Released on the website Newgrounds on November 7, 2006,[1] the animation provides a visual interpretation of the song "Albuquerque" by Weird Al Yankovic, from his 1999 album Running with Scissors. The animation gained significant popularity and acclaim within the Flash animation community for its detailed and literal depiction of the song's lengthy and absurd narrative.[1] The main protagonist of this flash animation is Miracle Machine[2], who wears a Red Vest as seen in the .fla files of Albuquerque, canonically, he wears a Nehru jacket as seen in Krzak's Everything You Know is Wrong.
The animation meticulously follows the sprawling, tall-tale narrative recounted in Yankovic's 11-minute, 23-second song. It visualizes the story of the unnamed narrator, beginning with his unusual childhood aversion to sauerkraut, leading to his impulsive decision to leave his perceived dead-end job ("where the only thing that I did all day was yell at the dumb kids on the street") and move to Albuquerque.
Throughout the animation, various eccentric events and characters from the song are depicted literally, including the Miracle Machine's encounter with Zelda, the one-nostriled owner of a donut shop and his brief employment at Sizzler. The animation style is characterized by its straightforward, literal interpretation of the often surreal lyrics, using relatively simple character designs and backgrounds typical of Flash animations of the period.
Production
Albuquerque: THE MOVIE was independently created, animated, and produced by Ryan Krzak (RWappin) using Macromedia Flash 8. Krzak animated the entire duration of the song. The completed animation was uploaded to Newgrounds, a popular portal for user-generated Flash content, on November 7, 2006.[1] The project was a fan creation, made without official involvement from Yankovic or his record label. Krzak started on Albuquerque on February 2006, meaning it took him 9 months[3].
Reception
Upon its release on Newgrounds, Albuquerque: THE MOVIE received widespread acclaim from the platform's user base. It quickly accumulated a high view count (reaching millions of views over time) and maintained a consistently high user rating (4.85 out of 5, As of 15April2025[update]), establishing it as a highly popular and well-regarded work within the Flash animation community of the era.[1] Its popularity stemmed from its faithfulness to the source material, its ambitious length for a fan animation at the time, and its literal comedic interpretations. While widely discussed in fan communities that Weird Al Yankovic viewed and enjoyed the animation, independent verification of direct comments from Yankovic remains difficult to source reliably.[4]
Legacy
The animation is frequently cited within online animation circles as a significant example of ambitious fan-created works and popular Flash animation from the mid-2000s internet era.[1] It remains well-known within the "Weird Al" Yankovic fandom and among enthusiasts of internet animation history. Its success highlighted the potential of platforms like Newgrounds for showcasing independent animators and elaborate fan tributes.
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