Big Chungus Is Among Us: The Large Rabbit Explained

That smile. That goddamned smile. Those hands in fluffy white gloves (the only clothing he wears), that thicc belly and those endearing buckteeth. His name is Big Chungus, and you've likely seen him countless times over the years. He's one of the world's most recognizable memes, but a look into what's beneath the Chungus lore may surprise you.

Where Did 'Big Chungus' Come From?

'Big Chungus' represents the best of three meme platforms: 4chan, Tumblr and Reddit.

The fat Bugs Bunny image, originally from a 1940s cartoon, was first posted on 4chan as a funny non-sequitur kind of meme in 2017. At the time, the fat Bugs Bunny was not named or given any defining backstory.

The word 'Chungus' and the description of a 'big chungus' was Tumblr in the mid-2010s, circulating in fandom communities related to video game journalist Jim Sterling and the brothers Green (Hank and John). An Urban Dictionary entry for 'Chungus' dates back to 2012, and the word was one of Tumblr's favorite nonsense words.

The joining of these two strands of memery happened in 2018, when a Redditor paired the fat Bugs Bunny image with the "Big Chungus" name for the first time. The result was electric.

What Does 'Big Chungus' Mean?

Big Chungus is an image that makes you smile. It's a name that is goofy and silly. Often, it seems like the meme revolves around a kind of personality cult surrounding this goofy fictional rabbit. It kind of parodies the real online personality cults people make surrounding famous people or actual characters created by corporations.

But in a broader sense, Big Chungus means whatever you wish him to mean. He's open to interpretation, and he invites you to let your imagination run wild.

How Do People Post 'Big Chungus'?

Big Chungus was at first photoshopped into video game covers, starring in fictional game franchises. The Chungus fandom seemed to revolve around the idea that, in some alternate universe, a being as assuredly non-commercial and ridiculous as Big Chungus could anchor a multimillion-dollar product.

The meme evolved into placing Chungi (or, perhaps, Chunguses) in essentially every situation, or simply circulating his name and image online. Some combined Big Chungus with memes like Ugandan Knuckles. Others sought to make him even bigger.

Why Do People Post 'Big Chungus'?

Big Chungus fits into a larger tradition of absurd character-oriented memes. However, he also bears the same vibe as the admiration for chonkers and absolute units situations where the fluffiness and heft of a character inspires a cuteness overload.

But Chungus also is really a memer's meme: he's the kind of thing which is goofy and wholesome and appealing because it makes no sense to be attached to it. In an all-time win for meme culture, the United States military even named a piece of artillery after Chungus (see below).

For the full history of Big Chungus, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.