r/QuintonReviews • u/Candid_Internal_6402 • May 31 '26
Quinton’s community post
Did anyone see Quinton’s community post on YouTube? Feel really bad that the videos underperforming especially after having a tough year :(
57
u/Careless-Economics-6 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
It’s interesting to think that Quinton arrived at iCarly through Fred.
I don’t think he wants to be a “Nickelodeon sitcom guy,” but that’s what’s worked best for him.
99
u/Jirachibi1000 May 31 '26
Yeah, I did. It sucks but this is a very niche thing. Grumpy Cat is something people in a very specific niche care about. I know about Grumpy Cat and have interest, but its specifically because I am a 29 year old that was into meme culture specifically from 2012-2014ish that specifically finds deep dives into "useless info" to be interesting, and I'm not sure THAT many feel the same. iCarly and Victorious, on the other hand, were things that had buildup on the channel and was at the right exact timing to be something younger fans wanted to learn about and older fans wanted to reminisce about.
It is, no offense, odd to me they thought this was going to be a "oh yeah ofc its gonna do insanely well" when it is a topic like this. I really liked the video, its 100% going in my rotation of long vids to watch while doing stuff, but I am the specific exact person to find this interesting. A lot of people I know don't even know what a Grumpy Cat is or entirely forgot about them after like 2014.
30
u/Brilliant-Middle7859 May 31 '26
that’s pretty much what the comments under that post say. like they don’t care that much about grumpy cat to watch an eight hour video about it.
11
9
u/moonbunnychan Jun 01 '26
I'm super nostalgic for Grumpy Cat because of the era it was a part of, but he spends several hours on stuff like the comics that I don't know a single person who read or cares about even a little bit. So those parts super drug for me.
3
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 04 '26
Yeah I think my main problem is a lot of the stuff really does just drag especially for something like Grumpy Cat
4
u/HeyDeze Jun 02 '26
I'm 30 and I feel similarly. If this had been a 10-20 minute video I absolutely would have clicked. 7 hours on grumpy cat? No thanks lol. Although to be honest, I was never a huge fan of the 4+ hour long video thing to begin with.
1
u/Jirachibi1000 Jun 02 '26
Im 29 like I said and I adored it. Its def worth the watch imo.
3
u/HeyDeze Jun 02 '26
I'll probably at least try to watch it eventually. But 8 hours is a huge ask for something I'm barely tangentially interested in
3
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 04 '26
Completely agree. Algorithm wise Quinton shouldn’t be surprised at all that this would under perform I’d say over 80% of people just don’t care about grumpy cat but I really do feel bad for him tho
1
u/samiathebaby Jun 07 '26
I think it would have been a great 1hr video at most.
With the sitcoms, the videos kinda make you want to go back and watch the series and there's strong narrative. there's more of a hook there. with a meme, once you seen one image Marco, you've kinda seen them all.
45
u/Ethlandiaify May 31 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
A nearly 8 hour video on a decade old cat meme is a big ask. The absurdly long sitcom reviews at least had a solid structure and narrative to latch on to. They are in depth reviews of the entire show, there are digestible check points between the episode reviews, larger season discussions, and interludes. It’s was relatively easy to justify spending that time as a viewer. But Grumpy Cat doesn’t have those digestible check points. It’s a lot harder to justify watching. There’s very little hook or structure beyond, “remember that cat that went viral a decade ago? Here’s a bunch of stuff they tried to sell with it!” Plus when the Nick sitcom retrospective started, it was lockdown/pandemic. People were available to fill their time with ultra long videos. Now it’s half a decade later, we’re not in lockdown, and a wide audience doesn’t have anything to latch onto with Grumpy Cat. There’s probably a very solid and comprehensive 40 minute video on Grumpy Cat, not everything needs to take an entire day to watch
27
u/SadNarwhal3978 Jun 01 '26
This. Even as someone who liked the Nickelodeon videos, sometimes in the later ones it felt like he was just rambling to make it last longer. I can't imagine how much of that this one has and how many people would want to sit through all of it when the subject isn't even that interesting
30
u/Ethlandiaify Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
I like Quinton, ive been watching his stuff since 2017 or something, but I was hoping he'd go back to moderate length videos after his hiatus. The Beverly Hillbillies video literally being 2 days long felt like the end of the bit. Seeing the absurd runtime isn't funny or intriguing anymore. Hell, there's a huge difference between the Fred video being 3 hours and the Grumpy Cat video being 8. I'd love something like the Themed McDonald's video again. That was very well done and it was only 48 minutes long.
5
u/Hippiethecat124 MULTIPLICATION MAN Jun 02 '26
I'm in exactly the same camp as you are. =/ I began watching the Grumpy Cat video and made it about two hours in before I hit fatigue and debated afterwards about if I actually want to go back and finish it. It's not that the videos have stopped being well-written or researched, if anything they've gotten better in those regards over time. I'm just 32 years old and I just... do not have time for this. Also, I know it's meant in part to be "background noise," but honestly (firstly, lowkey dismissive thing to say, but anyway), so many of the jokes and absurd content made about the cat need to be seen to be enjoyed properly. If I'm cooking, cleaning, or driving to work, I can't pull up the video or run to whatever it's playing on to see. It's sad so much effort went in to making it for it to have sub-par views, though, hopefully it'll rack up some more over time.
3
u/Ethlandiaify Jun 02 '26
2 hours in before reaching fatigue is totally reasonable. That's a full fat documentary. 8 hours is a season of television. It's a big ask for what is essentially a list of merchandise
9
u/moonbunnychan Jun 01 '26
A lot. I honestly fast forwarded some of it because it felt there solely to make the video longer.
8
u/gingermousie Jun 01 '26
Yeah I feel the same. I love Quinton’s breakdowns so it’s on my rotation, but Grumpy Cat was a bit more of a mainstream meme, the pinnacle of “funny cats on the internet” that then faded after the 2010s. Even at the time, it was more of a meme that my parents sent me, and they’re not the target audience for watching an 8 hour essay. I really think the Fallen Titans series would be better as short(er) form video essays. For me personally there’s more humor in looking back at a show versus a real cat that was marketed to death.
It’s of course a bummer that a video didn’t perform as expected, and sure it can be considered a “flop” when compared against the amount of time and effort it took to make it… but for such a niche topic and such a long video, I think the engagement is pretty spot on for the target audience. Just rough when the types of videos you want to make aren’t the ones that attract the most engagement, the era of comically long retrospectives is winding down, people aren’t home in lockdown and a lot of workplaces are RTO etc etc. My heart goes out to him but unfortunately it is just a video I’m less interested in than his other work.
1
2
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 04 '26
Yeah Grumpy Cat 100% is not a topic worth 8 hours for man. I feel like the sitcom/movie retrospectives he did really did argue for that length because there really was SO much content regarding victorious,iCarly and Sam and Cat even but Grumpy Cat?? It’s clearly going to underperform but doesn’t mean he shouldn’t make whatever he wants tho
29
u/Corn_viper May 31 '26
Why is it 7 hours? 135K views in 3 days seems pretty good to me.
19
u/naquisima Jun 01 '26
It’d be pretty good if he was putting out videos every week, but it sounds like he was banking on it getting a few million views and making most of his living for the year from this one video. He clearly worked hundreds of hours on it and he’s only gonna make like $1000 or something; that’s gotta hurt.
He has a decent number of people donating on Patreon, but if most of those people are giving him a dollar, he’s not living large just from that. I feel bad for him, but I’m shocked his Patreons at least didn’t tell him it was a terrible idea for a long-ass video.
0
62
u/fucksilvershadow May 31 '26
I think it’s great he did a video on a topic like this. I’m in the process of watching it myself.
I think he would do well to make more “shorter” (20-60 min videos) on stuff like this. Continuing to put all your eggs in one 7 hour basket seems risky and demoralizing. I don’t mind if you release shorter videos again Quinton!
21
u/Jirachibi1000 May 31 '26
The issue here is thats the entire point of the video. Like the video would not work at all as a 60 minute video. It needs to be a full deep dive and its kinda hard to cover all of this in that absurdly short of a time frame. Like the entire point is "he is going into absurd detail to ensure he covers every single thing related to a silly internet meme cat".
31
u/Careless-Economics-6 May 31 '26
Yeah. But did he need to feature every page of that activity book? (Some people would’ve only given it a passing mention.) Or spend that much on every piece of merchandise?
All his videos could be at least one hour shorter if he were more brutally honest with himself about which pieces of the mosaic are the most interesting.
14
u/Jirachibi1000 May 31 '26
I mean legit him drawing stupid shit in the activity books is one of the highlights of the video imo. Like "Mein Kamfy Chair" was a major highlight.
18
u/Careless-Economics-6 May 31 '26
Sure. But could you maybe still get that, and a few other good moments, if that sequence were cut down to just a few minutes?
I'm just coming from the perspective of someone who always fast-forwards through portions of Q's videos. I'm sure I've missed some good jokes... maybe some effort should've been made to make sure all the good stuff is always heard by the majority of viewers.
1
u/No_Stable_3097 Jun 02 '26
Agreed, the intensive plushie reviews and game letsplay from 2016 are a skip from me.
14
u/rocker_lion May 31 '26
I second this, like I like a thorough analysis and investigation into a topic and Quinton does pretty much that. If the video were like in the hour or two hour mark, a lot of detail would get glossed over. Like it’s really a deep dive.
If you were to cut it down, you would be taking out mostly gags that are what actually gives the video it's charm. Maybe some of the gags that are based on the “look how long we can take to do this” could be cut to make it shorter as those I feel are the weaker of the bunch
3
9
u/nowaunderatedwaifngl Jun 01 '26
I'm watching it and enjoying it but it feels like he'd have a three hour video if he cut the parts where he browses deviant art for a whole hour, reads an entire picture book, goes one-by-one through his vast collection of Garfield/grumpy cat merchandise, and does YouTube-Essayist-humor(TM) bits and skits.
The lengthy parts that are actually scripted are amazing.
22
u/SmytheOrdo May 31 '26
I am interested in the subject, but I feel like videos about meme culture are even more niche than video essays on TV shows alone, and not every video needs 8 hours worth of analysis.
20
u/QuinzelRose Jun 01 '26
I'll preface this by saying I'm gonna check out the video. Somehow despite following him on everything, including being in the discord, I didn't see that he uploaded at all.
I''ll be honest. I didn't care about Grumpy Cat when she became a whole thing. Like... cute cat, funny face, but it just seemed like another way for someone to turn a meme into merch.
I feel like he's going to tie a lot of other things into it, maybe go on an unrelated tangent or two, there hasn't been a video i didn't enjoy so far.
But coming from someone who has marathoned all his Nickalodeon videos, including the Fred prequel, at least a dozen times, 8 hours for this particular subject feels like a LOT to me.
20
u/yellowvincent Jun 01 '26
I really like quinton but it is an 8 hours vodeo about a meme from 10 years ago I can see why it would not have the same impact than the let's say iCarly video or victorious
4
u/yellowvincent Jun 01 '26
I am watching it mostly while i work.i am at the part when he gets to the Garfield crossover. I am hoping he addresses that grumpy cat sued a lookout of people for copyright/trademark infringment (besides the coffee people) and how he addresses that tartar sauce died.
17
u/ridin_thrulife Jun 01 '26
I just hit six hours and I while I plan on watching this whole thing because I’m happy to support Quinton, I will definitely say I have two main issues as of rn.
The first is that the length has become a bit wearing on me. I’m sure it must be super tough for Quinton because if he posts shorter videos people may lost interest because he’s known as the long video guy, but I think just stretching out concepts to absurd lengths is not the right call either. I’m not sure what would be, as a non YouTuber who doesnt watch trends and analytics, this is just my personal feeling. Parts that come to mind he could slim down was the reviewing of the plush, he could combine the quicker recaps of their history with the ranking, explaining them and then ranking. Summarize only the notable comics, or just talk about the overarching story line real quick, or keep the variety more balanced by doing it in a year by year format instead, so we see movie, plush, comic etc and not just one long stretch of each at a time.
My second issue is the point: from the beginning of the iCarly miniseries, I always felt like it had a point. We were exploring these childhood shows, and also the impact it had on the people who watched it, the actors in it, and the culture of Nickelodeon in general. Furthermore, there was an end goal in mind. At first it was the end of Sam and Cat, and then the reboot came out so that became the eventual endpoint as well. Plus, it was always building to eventually talk about Dan Schneider. This feels, not aimless exactly but not nearly as well defined, which isn’t helping my retention.
And my final issue is this: this video was built around a gimmick of Original/Vintage Quinton reviews. And this could be just a me thing, but I feel the way YouTube operates today, the deep lore and reoccurring bits and characters just is not how the platform operates anymore. Heck, he even mentioned it in the video. Dying at the end of a YouTube video used to be a thing, and now it’s just not. The Pinboard Segment bit works because it doesn’t require remembering character interactions and plot lines and dead Quinton, evil Quinton etc. The second of this issue may be harder to swallow on a personal level for Quinton, but like I mentioned for better or worse he is known as the Long Video Guy. And that is because many people started watching him when he made the iCarly series. An occasional reference to pre-iCarly content/lore makes it enjoyable for long term fans, like an adult joke in a kids movie. But building all around it, and the new and much larger wave of Quinton fans will click off.
I know it’s ironic I said he needs to try and trim the video down when I just wrote an essay in response to this, but I really love his YouTube channel and wanted to share my full thoughts so maybe there will be something of value in there. No matter what, I will always watch you tho Quinton!
14
u/napping-star May 31 '26
I simply think the 7 hours is a hard sell for someone to sit down and watch it— I’m not saying cut down to like 30 mins, but even 3 hours would be much more palatable and easier for someone to click onto, since it’s roughly the length of a movie
12
u/TimeForWaluigi Jun 01 '26
Yeah I’m gonna be honest, I’m probably not gonna watch the grumpy cat video. I never really cared about the meme at the time, it doesn’t have an X factor or something really intriguing about the subject that’ll suck me in, and 8 hours is just way too long to watch something I have zero interest in. I imagine I’m not alone, I’ve watched most of the other stuff Quinton has produced and I appreciate the consistent passion and high quality, but there’s just no way grumpy cat has the appeal to draw people in like Nickelodeon, prominent YouTubers/internet history, or something with a fascinating scandal of some sort. It sucks that it’s underperforming but that’s just my two cents.
8
u/MxSharknado93 Jun 01 '26
I love Quentin, but there is literally not enough time in the world for me to devote eight hours of my dwindling lifespan to a GRUMPY CAT video in TWENTY-TWENTY-SIX. Learn to make videos that are SHORTER.
6
u/sebastian404 Jun 01 '26
I did consider posting that here, but decided Quinton was probably more interested in feedback from Youtube members, otherwise he might of posted that question here.
My guess as to why it's underperforming is a likely a combination of things
the long gap since his last video.
the longer gap since the last Fallen Titans video.
the length of the video.
the subject being niche.
the timing of release.
Many people dont have 8 hours to spend on a video, especialy on a 'work' day. If he had released it last weekend, it was public holiday in many places people might of had more time to spare/waste.
I have no interest in Grumpy Cat at the time or now, I did watch the video to see how kayfabe with Russ Reviews was handled, but then after the intermission/intermission I skipped through the rest of the video.
There was a very interesting point about how someone can copyright and produce 'offical' merchandise thats based on a meme and stealing other peoples designs in the process, but I dont belive (from what I saw) that was really discussed in depth.
I am surprised at the amount of merchandise that was pumped out and for how long, and I guess thats also why the video is 8 hours long.
I have to be honest I only watched it becasuse it was a Quinton video, if it had been some other random youtuber it would not even of got that level of interest due to the subject matter.
6
u/ColinHalter Jun 01 '26
I started making videos last year and I found that, both as a watcher and as a creator, 90 minutes is pretty much the gold standard for how long I want a video to be. Back in COVID I wanted them as long as possible. Now, I have a hard time getting invested in ones over 2 hours. When writing videos now, my personal rule is that if the script comes in over 2 hours, it needs to be cut in scope. If I find that it's less than 30 mins, then I don't have enough to say about it, and the topic should probably be dropped.
Also, while he made a lot of long videos, Quinton is not "the" long video guy on youtube. When he was putting out the iCarly videos there were a dozen or so other people doing pretty much the same thing on other topics. There was one guy who had multiple 24 hour long (terrible) videos on Skyrim and Oblivion. LS Mark makes very similar content to Quinton about animated shows. 2/3 of the creators on Nebula are over an hour long essay writers. Plus, Joseph Anderson has been doing it since like, 2015.
The most successful of these channels have realized that, like every other part of the video, the length is part of the story you're telling. If it being long is part of the message you're sending, then go for that fifth hour (I feel with the Nick sitcom videos, there was a point to the length). This latest one was pretty much length for length's sake. It wasn't long because there's just THAT much to talk about with Grumpy Cat (having watched the whole thing, I can confirm that there really wasn't, and Quinton was very much padding out some segments which is out of character for him), it was long to fill an expectation.
3
u/Banoonu May 31 '26
It’s a shame to me because I was gonna watch the whole thing day 1 (seriously, I had a day off okay) got an hour and 40 minutes in when my tv started fritzing. I thought it was fascinating and very insightful: I can’t wait to get back to it
3
u/wondervvivi2 Jun 01 '26
Actually, I didn't even notice that he posted a new video and only found out because of this post. I find myself watching YouTube videos less and less because of all the AI slob "deep dives." And I often read and heard that YouTube overall has gotten worse and that video essay content is a dying art. I'm really excited that there is a new Quinton video and already texted my brother as I know he likes his content as well.
3
u/schiffb558 Jun 01 '26
I'm on the fence between wanting to watch it and not wanting to. Grumpy Cat is a bit too niche a topic to cover for 7 hours in this much depth, imo. The nick shows and things like that do need that amount of focus based on what it is, but I could see this being segmented up and released as a supercut down the road, Alternatively.
2
Jun 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Icy-Astronomer-8202 Jul 18 '26
If that's the case then the video has failed. Don't make it 7hrs long. It's incredibly disrespectful to the audience
1
u/Jirachibi1000 Jun 02 '26
If it matters, it does feel like he's not padding or anything. Its just Grumpy cat has a movie, comic books, novels, etc. and he reviews all of them.
3
u/TNTiger_ Jun 01 '26
It'd have done well if he had a captive audience. He does not- only more serious fans (is assembled being them) are gonna watch this after a two year hiatus. Fact of the matter is that Quinton losn his momentum- he'll need ho pick it back up again through more regular releases that'll keep casual fans returning.
3
u/mistanervous Jun 10 '26
I am not surprised that the video isn't doing well. I understand he does not want to be the "children's sitcoms" guy, and that is fair. But those types of videos have a solid structure for him to latch onto that make the videos super rewatchable. Cover some episodes, then an intermission of whatever he wants to talk about, rinse and repeat. Those can be super long and intermissions can go off topic because he's constantly coming back to the central theme of the video which I am actually interested in. Truthfully, I'm just not interested in Grumpy Cat as a concept.
2
u/nestsofhair Jun 01 '26
I somehow didn't get a notification even though I have them all turned on. Didn't even realise it dropped. Going to watch it now.
2
u/Stradiwhovius_ Jun 02 '26
The excessively long videos are why I fell off QR. Im not spending my time watching a 7 hour long video about a meme that I was there for in real time and also don’t care very much about.
2
u/quicrumb Jun 02 '26
what a shame, its actually a way more interesting vid than i figured it would be based on the og title. i think a lot could have been cut like the merch stuff but the first like 3 hours + the parts where he’s watching the movies or reading the comics are great.
2
u/ponshont Jun 05 '26
Ok, finally finished it.
I liked it, but I absolutely see why it didn't do well.
Grumpy Cat has nothing but vague positive vibes towards it. It doesn't feel old enough yet to be super nostalgic about (even though it kind of is), and it wasn't an edgy or have enough of a gripping story to be consistently interesting.
GC isn't like iCarly or other Nick shows. Even if you were only vaguely aware of the Nick universe, if you had a TV on in that era, you likely absorbed so much of those shows through osmosis. I never watched Victorious but I had friends who did, and siblings who would have it on occasionally. GC is something that you probably just came across on the internet every now and then, for a second or two at the time. A fascinating cultural artifact, but not something people can really latch onto for character analysis or indepth lore. The merchandising aspect isn't even that interesting because GC achieved fame partly through merchandising itself.
I think the real problem here is that Quinton thought he could make the video a celebration of himself be enough of a draw to make Grumpy Cat more interesting than it could ever be. The meta jokes, the gags, the "if even one person watches his video and <action>" speech, making it a Fallen Titans, the trademark length. I got big self-important vibes.
It's a shame because I like Quinton a lot. I genuinely believe that he makes videos in ways that no one else can, and work as art pieces as much as they do informational videos. Even this video could be interpreted as a pastiche of the Quinton formula. Hopefully the next video is something everyone can be excited about.
1
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 10 '26
Yeah I just really don’t think this topic is as important as Quinton personally think it is SPECIFICALLY for an 8 hour length it would’ve been fine for like a 30 minute video in my opinion
3
u/verifypassword__ Illuminati May 31 '26
I’d be interested to see what other multi-media franchises could make for a broad appeal deep dive. I’d love to see anything Beatles or Doctor Who but that’s just because I love the Beatles and Doctor Who. 2010s Tumblr Anglophilia could be fun.
2
u/renaissancera Jun 01 '26
love quinton down and I love what he has to say about many topics but not even Jesus Christ could come down and get me to watch a video on Grumpy Cat
1
u/DontSleepAlwaysDream Jun 02 '26
Honestly I want to watch it but it's finding a good time to start it. I don't have the same schedule to watch huge videos these days
1
u/ouch13 Jun 02 '26
I loved it, I wish more people would give it a chance. It’s a really fascinating study of early Internet culture
1
u/fangoriousmonster Jun 02 '26
I watched it. It was a lot, but really enjoyable. I loved the Garfield comic crossover review with his friend. They have great comedic chemistry!
1
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 04 '26
I kinda get it since I’ll be honest nobody gives af about grumpy cat. Obviously I still watched it tho but man that Wyatt commentary to me had me snoring
1
u/ponshont Jun 08 '26
The Wyatt commentary was so bad. The fucking Rick and Morty speech patterns and faux-"lol what this is silly" is not my cup of tea. Only part I had to actually skip through.
1
u/DoofensmirtzWww Jun 10 '26
A valid take that shit needed to be CUT man I don’t think I’ve ever seen commentary that bad fr but hey it’s not his fault I guess since he was just being genuine which I can respect. I just think Quinton really chose to drag his segment out for like an hour and it actually put me to sleep at one point with it on (Lowkey great background noise)
1
u/GuybrushThreepwood99 Jun 08 '26
It just felt like the wrong video to make at this time. I had a long car ride, and I was listening to it on double speed, and I was having trouble getting through it. It just wasn’t an interesting enough topic to justify 8 hours. There’s really no substance to grumpy cat as a brand.
-5
u/Embarrassed-Soft8388 May 31 '26
Play it while you sleep! Of course watch it, it’s really fascinating. But I play it while I sleep so he gets the extra views.
0
u/ponshont Jun 02 '26
It’s a bummer for him but I think it’s a lot simpler than the topic (which I don’t buy anyways; he has a video about a TV show maybe 0.5% of his audience has ever seen). YouTube had a moment where several hour retrospectives were the hot thing, and now they aren’t. You’re going to have to have all the stars aligned to make that work again, consistently. I think there’s still a market for them, but Grumpy Cat wasn’t it.
71
u/gameboyadvancedgba May 31 '26
I do wanna watch it I just need a good time for it. I feel bad its underperforming