Darnell teaches kids about his favorite thing in the world, fire! - Newgrounds Description
Darnell Plays With Fire (also known as Darnell's Pyro 101) is an interactive Flash movie created by Tom Fulp and released on February 25, 1999. Featured on Newgrounds before the creation of the Flash Portal, it is the first official entry of the Pico franchise, acting as the series' introduction. The movie has Darnell displaying his pyromania to the audience by burning down a populated city, before his spree is interrupted by something he didn't expect.
Story[]
The movie starts with Darnell teaching the viewer about one of his favorite things: fire. He shows a "demonstration" across the river of skyscrapers that are on fire or exploding and making a statement about how "nothing is more stunning than the luminous glow of a burning city". He provides a factoid about how the city of Des Moines has nine fire departments and 288 full-time firefighters, before revealing he rigged explosives across each fire department to keep them busy.
An airplane then crashes across the cityscape, which catches Darnell's attention. He heads to the crash site and witnesses the passengers burning alive, now eager to see the plane explode. It does so, and Darnell is amazed by the glorious event, which brings a tear to his eye. However, this moment is short-lived as the leftover wreckage from the plane lands on Darnell. The debris then catches fire, causing him to slowly burn and die. As Darnell states his last wishes and regrets, the screen fades to white, and he appears to have ascended to the afterlife. He is suddenly met by God, who is armed with a flamethrower, which He uses to incinerate Darnell.
The movie ends with a final message from Tom Fulp, teaching a moral lesson that God is a "vengeful muthafucka" and that it's important "not to mess with [His] shit", since he always gets the last laugh. He tells the audience that when they go to bed, ask God to forgive them for all the stupid shit they do, and if He still seems mad (you will know because He will make your life hell), promptly kill themselves and meet with Him face-to-face, pleading for forgiveness.
Characters[]
- Darnell (debut)
- God (debut) (mentioned)
- Darnell's parents (debut) (mentioned)
Transcript[]
- Main article: Darnell Plays With Fire/Transcript
Reception[]
Being one of the earliest Flash movies to be released on Newgrounds, there is no way to discern how popular Darnell Plays With Fire was at the time. After the creation of the automated Flash Portal system and its expected re-release on April 29th, 2006 in anticipation of Pico Day, the movie would receive over 600,000 views and currently maintains an average score of 4.57/5.00. However, unlike Pico's School and Nene Interactive Suicide, it would earn no awards.
Additionally, Darnell Plays With Fire is featured in the Pico collection.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Darnell Plays With Fire is the sole Flash movie within the official Pico series.
- Because of the lack of actual blood or gore, this Flash was given a T rating.
- This is the first entry in the Pico series where God is mentioned in appearance.
- Darnell's pyromania was inspired by and based around Tom Fulp's childhood interest in playing with fire, as well as his desire to stick animated fire and explosion GIFs in a Flash movie.
- The musical loop that plays in the background is a sample of Fatboy Slim's "Build It Up – Tear It Down".
- Darnell Plays With Fire seemed to establish that Darnell lived somewhere in Des Moines, Iowa. Later installments in the Pico series retconned this so that he, Pico, and Nene live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- The plane that explodes would be redrawn and used in the 2000 version of the Pico's World hub.
- Despite apparently dying in the ending of Darnell Plays With Fire, Darnell continued to make appearances in future games. It is possible that this is all just a presentation for his classroom, due to the use of real images as the background, and it would also explain why Darnell is not present in Pico's School, as he must have been suspended for the violent content.
- It's possible that the "Heaven" Darnell ends up in is actually Hell, supported by the fact that the place is described as a fiery area. Additionally, the "God" that burns Darnell with a flamethrower could be Satan, as he is known to punish sinners.
References[]
| Pico | |
|---|---|
| Main Series | Pico's School - Pico 2 - Nene Interactive Suicide - Darnell Plays With Fire - Pico vs. Bear - Pico vs. Überkids - Resident Pico - Pico's School: Love Conquers All |
| Spin-offs | Samurai Asshole - UFA |