About
“How Did it Get Burned” is a hilarious quote uttered repeatedly by actor Nicolas Cage in the 2006 remake version of the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man. Well known for its abysmal critical reception, this scene in particular has become a popular source material for video remixes on YouTube. Also see: “Not The Bees!”
Origin
The modern adaptation of British horror film The Wicker Man was directed by Neil Labute, starring Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burnstyn. Released in September 2006, the film generally received poor reviews and yielded disappointing results at the Box Office.
In the film, Nicholas Cage plays the main character of a policeman named Edward Malus. When Malus’ young daughter goes missing, he embarks on an adventure to find her, which eventually leads to him finding a shallow grave holding nothing more than a burned doll. His reaction to this discovery is widely considered the most memorable scene of the entire movie—Nicholas Cage waving the doll in a woman’s face while frantically screaming “HOW DID IT GET BURNED? HOW DID IT GET BURNED?”
Derivatives
The “How Did it Get Burned” scene within Wicker Man quickly became popular after being uploaded onto YouTube, and soon parodies began appearing on websites like YTMND and 4chan.