What was the name of the first viral internet meme featuring a dancing baby?

What was the name of the first viral internet meme featuring a dancing baby? The answer is Dancing Baby.

Dancing Baby, also called Baby Cha-Cha or the Oogachacka Baby, is a short 3D animation of a baby performing a looping cha-cha-style dance. It became one of the earliest widely recognized viral internet videos during the late 1990s, before social-media platforms made sharing instantaneous.

The animation originated as a demonstration for Character Studio, a plug-in for 3D Studio Max. Its baby model was paired with a dance animation and circulated through CompuServe forums, email, websites, and animated GIFs. Developer John Woodell’s GIF conversion helped the clip spread broadly online.

Many people remember the version accompanied by Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” which led to the nickname Oogachacka Baby. The meme also appeared in advertisements and on Ally McBeal, helping turn an obscure graphics demo into a pop-culture landmark.