A woman spent a decade trying to track down an obscure 2000s movie from her childhood. Then the internet saved the day.
Getty/Kinga Krzeminska
- A woman took to TikTok with details of a childhood movie she couldn't fully remember.
- The video racked up millions of views and people successfully found the mystery film.
- The comment section became a community who helped each other reconnect to their own childhood faves.
On January 2, Grace Miller, a 21-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, posted on TikTok with a conundrum that had bugged her for years.
In an on-screen caption, she wrote she had a favorite movie growing up that she would rent from the library, but she and her dad could only recall some of its "super niche obscure details" and had been unable to find it since.
She explained under the post what she could remember: "it was animated, maybe something about a king and an 'ooey gooey river' or 'sticky river.'"
@gracekingsleyyy1 it was animated, maybe something about a king and an “ooey gooey river” or “sticky river” ???????? once a year we spend hours searching for it. #romanempire
♬ Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
The internet quickly got to work, leading the video to blow up with 6.2 million views and over 5,000 comments, many of which suggested movies released between the late 1980s and the early 2000s.
One user, who goes by @slkhere, asked if it was called "King Otis and the Kingdom of Goode: Phoose's Tale of Patience," in the video's most popular comment, which received over 22,100 likes.
"Hoky fuck I think that is it I love u forever," Miller replied.
After years of searching, Miller and her dad had started to think the movie wasn't real
"I was roughly about 5 when I first watched this movie," Miller told Business Insider in an email exchange. "It's not that the movie itself had a special significance, but it's something that five-year-old me loved and that alone brings significance."
Miller's mom had originally taken her to the library where she discovered the movie for the first time. Many years later, Miller asked if her dad, Jon, remembered it too. He did, and they repeatedly tried to find it together, turning up nothing, and started to think it didn't really exist.
Less than 24 hours after Miller had posted her original video, she shared a follow-up in direct response to the most popular comment. Miller could be seen with her hand over her mouth, as she confirmed the mystery had finally been solved "after a decade of searching."
@gracekingsleyyy1 Replying to @whitebreadattumblr you are my hero for real!!!
♬ original sound - Phoebe
The upload received hundreds of comments that celebrated the moment, and applauded everyone who had come to Miller's assistance.
"Sometimes TikTok feels like magic. This is fantastic," one viewer wrote in a popular comment.
Viewers then implored Miller to re-watch the movie for the first time in many years, and record her live reaction.
"I did sit down to watch the movie the day I found it. I was giggling the whole time as it's, for lack of better words, pretty silly," Miller told BI. "It was a fun experience to watch it, and finally have this puzzle solved."
The movie, released in 2002, was part of an educational children's series, and the plot involved a creature named Phoose who "longs for the rejuvenating properties of fresh water. Much as they may complain, however, Phoose and his friends are rewarded with a surplus of the wet stuff one day," according to TV Guide.
Miller explained to her viewers in another follow-up that she was "overjoyed" to be reconnected with the movie, but it may not be "coherent enough" to live-stream, as the 30-minute-long animated movie resembled a "weird psychedelic trip or a fever-induced dream" about half-fish and half-animal creatures that swam through a desert.
@gracekingsleyyy1 Replying to @Mylilneedle #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo This has been suvh a fun experience and im so happy for everyone else who has found their long lost movies!
♬ original sound - Gracekingsleyyyy
Miller's comment section became a haven for strangers who helped each other solve their own mysteries
As Miller's original video continued to skyrocket, others began appealing for assistance too. They gave clues to the books or pieces of media they vaguely but fondly remembered growing up, and asked for help reconnecting with them. Miller told BI her highlight of the whole experience was the community that had formed around it.
"My favorite part is not finding my own movie, but seeing the thousands of comments of people helping others find their own forgotten movies," she said.
"It's honestly brought me to tears multiple times seeing grown men and women thanking eachother for finding bits of their childhood they thought were lost forever," Miller told BI.
While Miller may partially miss the annual tradition of searching for the movie with her dad, she said the hunt "was getting a bit frustrating" and she's happy the puzzle has finally been solved.
"It's super cool to reconnect to something from your childhood, especially something that has felt lost and forgotten," Miller said. "It's like rediscovering a piece of you."