10 Weirdest MrBeast Videos

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the arrival of Jimmy Donaldson on Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL YouTube video platform. But if Donaldson's name doesn't ring that proverbial bell, you might know him better as MrBeast.

Donaldson's decade-long journey from a 13-year-old posting Minecraft video commentaries for his own amusement to an online sensation with more than 91 million subscribers and a mini-empire encompassing restaurants, a snack line sold via Walmart WMT and significant philanthropic largesse had numerous twists and turns, with multiple persona reinventions and more than a few videos that created bafflement. And, of course, those bafflement-inducing videos are in our weirdcore spotlight as we celebrate MrBeast's 10 weirdest videos.

“Worst Minecraft Saw Trap Ever???” (Feb. 20, 2012): Donaldson's inaugural video upload came when he was a timid-voiced 13-year-old sharing his Minecraft playing skills with the online world. Donaldson doesn't appear on-screen, but he maintains a running commentary that reflects his annoyance with the game. At one point, he remarks, "Come here, zombie. You better die - you all better die." There is also one F-bomb dropped when the game doesn't go his way.

Watching this video today, it is impossible to imagine that a YouTube career had such a highly unlikely foundation. 

“Always Changing My Name? Mr.Beast or MrBeast6000” (Aug. 3. 2015): The off-screen Donaldson flashes gaming sequences for the viewer while offering a painfully sincere explanation on why he changed his YouTube name on several occasions. While acknowledging his roots as MrBeast6000, he admitted going to MrBeast because "no big YouTubers have numbers in their name and I always let that get to my head."   

On one hand, the video offers a preview of the seriousness that Donaldson brought to his YouTube activities. On the other hand, this could be a classic example of a self-absorbed teen offering too much information.

“Double Agent (Short Film)” (Nov. 1, 2015): Donaldson teamed with several friends to craft this mini-thriller regarding two spies who engage in a highly choreographed fight. Donaldson is absent from the film until the end of the action, at which point he shows up and serves as a living version of the closing credits by identifying everyone involved in the film's creation.

The production is a typical student movie that would not merit wide attention except for Donaldson's participation. The fact that he didn't pursue this detour into narrative filmmaking suggests that he realized (even at 17) that his route to success was not by following in Steven Spielberg's footsteps.

“Exams Be Like” (Dec. 9, 2015): Donaldson tried his hand at vlogging on multiple occasions, and this mild rant on taking tests for schools might be the best (or least bad) of the bunch. As Donaldson observes, "Exams are like Judgment Day for Christians because every little thing will come back to haunt you. You see, every time you pay that smart Asian kid to do your math homework, that's another lesson you don't know how to do and another problem you're going to miss on your exam."

While Donaldson's YouTube-focused sense of humor was in place by this time, he wasn't ready as a monologist. Wisely, he recognized that his appeal came in staccato editing with crisp sound bites rather than in lengthy commentaries.

“I Counted To 100,000!” (Jan. 8, 2017): Ironically, the first offering that put MrBeast on the viral video radar is also his strangest, with Donaldson counting nonstop to 100,000. The video came with a prefix that warned viewers: "The original video was 40 hours long but Adobe caps at 24 hours, so some parts are speed up to get it under 24 hours."

In many ways, this video is the digital age's successor to the 1966 Andy Warhol film "Empire," which consisted of a stationary view of the Empire State Building that covered eight hours of footage. Not unlike Warhol's cinematic excess, Donaldson wrung an avant-garde triumph out of a truly bizarre endeavor.

“Savage Level 9000” (March 8, 2017): This video is the polar opposite of "I Counted To 100,000!" with a silent Donaldson as an anti-social badass breaking the mildest of rules, such as parking in a seniors-reserved spot, bringing far more than 20 items to a Walmart express checkout line and scoffing at a "No Trespassing" sign while strolling into a private property community while Saygrace's "You Don't Own Me" plays on the soundtrack.

While the video has a few amusing sight gags, such as Donaldson placing the racy paperback "Fifty Shades Darker" on a shelf with kiddie books, it also includes a mean-spirited (and obviously staged) scene where he pranks a homeless man and another where he flashes an extended middle finger to the camera. Those indiscretions would not be repeated as his viral video fame became solidified, and he transitioned into a force of financial benevolence.

“Walking Into Random Stores With 100 Dinosaurs” (March 22, 2018): Arguably the first MrBeast video to produce a steady stream of out-loud laughs, this effort finds Donaldson and about a dozen volunteers who dress in tyrannosaurus costumes descend together on a strip mall's stores.

Although this prehistoric bunch are prevented from entering a Walmart, they manage to visit several stores and a McDonald's MCD before three police cars show up and Donaldson gets ticketed for impeding traffic. This Jurassic lark inspired scores of copycat videos on YouTube, as MrBeast-inspired wannabes began pulling outrageous pranks for the camera.

“I Spent 24 Hours Straight In Insane Asylum” (Feb. 10, 2019): Donaldson has a rather peculiar imprisonment fetish, and in multiple videos he's been locked in prison cells, buried alive, encased in ice and trapped in a solitary confinement setting. For this video, he plays captor rather than captive, orchestrating a competition where four of his friends need to spend 24 hours in straitjackets in a large padded room, with those lasting the longest winning a cash prize.

The weird thing about this video is that Donaldson appears to be the only person enjoying the competition, with his tied-up friends clearly going through the paces without feigning the slightest hint of enthusiasm. Donaldson's attempts to spice up the proceedings with irritations, such as throwing a bullhorn set on siren mode among the captive contestants, fall flat. Still, it is a fascinating example of an elaborate video that just never clicks.

“$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!” (Nov. 24, 2021): The most elaborate MrBeast video to date is this $3.5 million recreation of the Netflix NFLX series, albeit without having the failing contestants executed for their shortcomings. Donaldson acknowledged on-screen that this production was financed by Brawl Stars, the multiplayer online battle arena video game.

At this point in time, Donaldson appears to have come into his own as an ebullient game show host coordinating wacky large-scale competitions. And while one has to admire the planning that goes into such presentations, it is difficult not be a tad nostalgic for the imperfect but charmingly off-kilter little videos created by Donaldson as he was trying to piece together his public-facing persona.

Photo courtesy MrBeast's YouTube channel.