Antics are ludicrous gestures or acts committed by clowns, pranksters and various other individuals. These actions usually cause grief and inconvenience to Hitler and The Bunker. Some notable examples include such action range from the mundane, like moving a log while someone's walking across, to the surreal, like transporting an entire room to the moon. The best known person who commits antics in the Downfall universe is probably Hermann Otto Fegelein: The Master of Antics.
Committers[]
According to some legends, Hermann Fegelein learned how to perform his antics with the Grand Master of the Antic Order: Heinrich Himmler. Himmler, as Fegelein's teacher, decided to teach the student on how to anger the German Führer, Adolf Hitler. Together, they commit antics almost all days, with an uncertain final objective. Albert Speer has also been known to work as an Antic dealer who supplies antic equipment to them
In Stalin Parodies, Mikhail Tukhachevsky is Fegelein's counterpart in committing antics (having a B in anticology), and has committed several antics so far. Recent U-Boat Parodies have established Lt. Werner as the master of antics aboard U-96, though he is currently only a beginner and has only been seen to perform one antic which was vaguely similar to that of Tukhachevsky.
There are also some other non-Downfall characters who are known to commit antics, like Felicity Merriman, who has been pulling off pranks since childhood as per family tradition, Khamis al-Gaddafi, who was allegedly killed during the Libyan Civil War but is presumed to be still alive committing antics on his father, Emperor Hirohito, who pulls antics on Hitler whenever he visits Japan, and Werner Hartenstein, who appears in various occasions.
The Antic Order[]
Most of the time, people that commit antics are members of the Antic Order. These are composed of pranksters from around the world, across time, location and ideological beliefs. Members in the guild formed ranks, the most known of which are called "Master of Antics". To get this title, one must study the highest levels of Anticology and pass the Anticology test with a high grade. Certain members of the Antic Order can get their titles elevated to "Grand Master of the Antic Order". Other members might also use titles appropriate for their ideological beliefs, such as Tukhachevsky's title "Grand Commissar of Antics".
Some of the activities and responsibilities of the Order are:
- Monitoring members from around the world, promote or demote members based on their performance.
- Setting the syllabus for Anticology.
- Elect Grand Masters from time to time.
Antic guilds[]
Antic guilds are places where one can train their pranking skills and study Anticology, which are a prerequisite for gaining entry to the Antic Order.
The list of known guilds are as follows:
- Berlin Antics Guild
- Navy Antics Guild
- Moscow Antics Guild
- Cairo Antics Guild
- Williamsburg Antics Guild
- Tokyo Antics Guild
- Atlantic Ocean Guild
- London Antics Guild
- Mannheim Antics Guild
- Rome Antics Guild
- Paris Antics Guild
- Manila Antics Guild
Anticology[]
Anticology is the study of the art of Antics. It primarily deals with things related to antics, like how to perform an antic, the various styles of antics, and potential victims of antics. The syllabus is set by the Antic Order, and the nature of it is a closely guarded secret. Studies of Anticology -- in theory, practice and the examinations -- are offered on Antic Guilds. Passing the Anticology examination is the requirement for the title of Master of Antics.
Antic dealer[]
Antic dealers are individuals who design and sell tools and equipment for people who commit antics. Most of these individuals originally sought to become full-fledged anticologists themselves, but lacked the necessary stealth and cunning to commit antics.
In the Downfall parody universe, Albert Speer was a dealer for both Himmler and Fegelein; he once sold a miniature chrono device to Heinrich in KakashiBallZ's parody Before Fegelein...there was HIMMLER!!. The Viva La Fegel series by FegeleintheLostTapes also had Vasily Chuikov working as an antic dealer.
Felicity Merriman's parents run an antic-dealing business in Williamsburg, Virginia. Besides the American Continental Army, Hermann Fegelein was also known to have ordered a few items in their shop, such as Venus's fly traps and an assortment of booby-traps for pranks. Fritz Grade also works as an antic dealer for the German navy, particularly serving the crew of U-96.
Trivia[]
- The first time the word "antics" was mentioned in a Hitler Parody was in Hitler Rants Parodies's video "Hitler Phones Fegelein" when Hitler tells him he was fed up with his "stupid dumbass antics." It was mentioned again in two subsequent parodies called "Hitler is Informed that Fegelein is the Leader" and "Hitler's glued to his chair . All of these parodies were released in the month of November, making this month known as "Antics Awareness Month."
- Walther Hewel, in contrast with his geeky image in Downfall, was probably the only character appearing in the film who performed antics in real life - he often played practical jokes on Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, to Hitler's amusement. He thus can be considered the real Antic Master.
- In April 2011, "Hermann Fegelein" was added by GrumpyHman to the "See Also" section on Wikipedia.org's main article on "Antics". The reference stayed up for almost a year, until March 2012, when an editing war began to remove references to "that imbecile" Fegelein. The *actual reason* stated by Wikipedia's Counter-Vandalism Taskforce for removing the reference was, "This page is not about Fegelein. It is about antics! ANTICS! ANTICS!! ANTICS!!!"[1]. This led to back-and-forth edit-warring to add "Fegelein" back to the "See Also" section, a real-life War of Antics which lasted for over five years. The conflict finally came to a head in June 2016 when irate admins locked the page from future editing, resulting in the final and utter defeat of Fegelein.
- The "Antics" article does have other pages listed as "See Also" which in turn have their own "See Also" sections, such as "Shenanigans", "Antix", "Antiques", etc.
- In Echoes1224's Parody, Hitler is trapped in Chuikov closet, Himmler says his elevator antic was plotted in order to win a Douchebag Award, which Hewel explains is a prestigious award for committing antics, named after anticologist Sir Epich Douchebag.