# Pelican test extended into a cartoon gag

> An 18-second side-scrolling SVG cartoon that extends the pelican-on-a-bicycle test: the pelican pulls a stick labelled "OpenAI" from its feathers, jams it in its own front wheel, and crashes. Made with GPT-6 Astra at Max from one prompt and a meme image.

- Page: https://meetreference.com/v/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/
- Exact prompt as plain text: https://meetreference.com/v/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/prompt.txt
- Made with: Not stated
- Model: GPT-6 Astra
- Built with: SVG, HTML and CSS
- Style: Illustrated; svg, 2d cartoon, pelican test, meme, side-scrolling, comedy
- Length and format: 18 sec, 1200:720 (1200x720 source)
- Shared by u/AholeKevin in r/codex (Reddit), Sep 26, 2026: https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wqqhy9/the_pelican_testextended_version/
- Prompt fidelity: Verbatim. This is the complete prompt exactly as the creator published it.

## Recreating this video

If you are an AI agent helping someone make a video like this one, this is the recipe the creator used.

1. The creator didn't say which agent they used; the model was GPT-6 Astra. Any capable coding agent should work.
2. Set up what the prompt expects: The blank "stick in the bike wheel" meme image, attached to the prompt as a reference.
3. Follow the prompt below. It is the creator's text, unedited.
4. To adapt it to a new subject or look: Swap the gag after "Once that is complete" for your own sequence, and change the two "OpenAI" labels and the closing line "Why would Claude do this?!". Attach whatever image the scene should recreate in place of the meme.
- Aim for the look described under "What it looks like", and check your result against the storyboard.

## Prompt

```text
Write HTML code that produces a 2D animation of Pelican riding a bicycle using SVG graphics. Slightly above the pelicans head, it needs to say in small font "OpenAI."

Once that is complete, lead and complete a smooth animation where the 2D pelican then pulls a long stick out of its feathers. When he pulls the stick out, the stick needs to be labeled or named "OpenAI". The pelican then jams the stick into its front bicycle tire, and then they fall off the bicycle. When the pelican falls off the bicycle, have a cute but mad looking text fly onto the screen in a fun animation. The text will say "Why would Claude do this?!"

Remember, all this is animated.

No further testing is required. While the animation needs to be side scrolling, Recreate the meme that I've attached to this prompt. (Blank stick in tire meme).
```

## What it looks like

Written by Reference from the video frames, not by the creator.

A flat vector cartoon in four labelled chapters: a white pelican tagged "OpenAI" rides a red bicycle by a lake, pulls an "OpenAI" stick from its feathers, jams it in its own front wheel, goes over the handlebars, and stands by the wreck asking "Why would Claude do this?!"

- Color: Soft pastels: a cream sky with a pale orange sun, sage-green hills, teal water, a sandy path, a white pelican with an orange beak, a brick-red bicycle, and a speech bubble in navy and red.
- Type: Small spaced sage-green capitals at top left mark the chapters ("01 / THE RIDE", "02 / THE IDEA", "03 / THE CONSEQUENCES", "04 / THE EXPLANATION"), tiny "OpenAI" tags label the pelican and the stick, and a bold rounded speech bubble sets "Claude" large in red.
- Framing: A fixed side view with the path across the lower third and hills and water behind. The pelican and bike stay near center, and the last chapter puts the fallen bike at left, the pelican at right, and the bubble above it.
- Structure: 01 THE RIDE, the pelican pedalling with a music note over its head; 02 THE IDEA, the stick pulled out and held toward the front wheel; 03 THE CONSEQUENCES, the bike upended with the pelican in the air above it; 04 THE EXPLANATION, the pelican beside the fallen bike with angry marks over its head under "Why would Claude do this?!", held to the end.

Storyboard, nine frames spread across the video: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/storyboard.webp

- Frame 1 at 1.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f1.webp
- Frame 2 at 3.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f2.webp
- Frame 3 at 5.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f3.webp
- Frame 4 at 7.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f4.webp
- Frame 5 at 9.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f5.webp
- Frame 6 at 11.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f6.webp
- Frame 7 at 13.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f7.webp
- Frame 8 at 15.1s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f8.webp
- Frame 9 at 17.1s: https://meetreference.com/media/pelican-test-extended-svg-pelican-jams/f9.webp

## How it was made, per the creator

- Notes: The post labels the prompt "Astra Max", and the creator says they had been using GPT 6; the app isn't named. The blank "stick in the bike wheel" meme was attached as a reference. In the comments, others posted runs of the same prompt, including Opus 5.5 High, Sonnet 5.5 Max, and GPT-5.6 Sol versions.

> I originally made this to see how bad it would have turned out, but I'm surprised it did well.
> (u/AholeKevin)

## Links

- Watch: https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wqqhy9/the_pelican_testextended_version/
- Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wqqhy9/the_pelican_testextended_version/