Well, Hello

What is visible in the frame

The hall is done in red: patterned wallpaper, a glossy red floor, a quilted sofa bench along the wall, and framed paintings on the wall. In the lower part of the frame, a small character in an orange tracksuit, large glasses, and dark hair sits on the bench. He has leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and stretched out his legs, with the toes of his white sneakers pointing up.

The pose conveys complete calm and a sense of being in charge: this is how one waits for a person whose arrival was known in advance. The bright red around him reinforces the impression that the hero is in his element.

The lighting also serves the image: shadows on the wall and red reflections on the floor make the scene theatrical. Even without knowing the film, it is clear that the hero took his place in advance and is in no hurry.

Vector and the cartoon

Vector is a character from the animated film “Despicable Me,” released on July 9, 2010. In the original he was voiced by Jason Segel. The character's real name is Victor Perkins. He is a young villain-inventor who rivals the main character, Gru, and introduces himself with the line that he commits crimes “with direction and magnitude.”

Since 2017, images of Vector, above all concept art in the orange tracksuit, have circulated online as a separate branch of memes. Where exactly the Russian “Well, hello” is taken from, and in which scene Vector sits exactly like this, is not known for certain, and there is no point in inventing a context: the joke does not need one.

How “Well, hello” works

The phrase combined with the picture sounds like a lazy, slightly sarcastic greeting. The hero settled in comfortably long ago and has now finally gotten his guest. It can be a threat, irony, or a weary “yep, you again.”

This explains why the template is popular: it can be handed to anyone, from an old debt to an alarm clock. The main thing is that the addressee is expected but unwelcome, or, on the contrary, long desired.

The difference from similar templates is that there is no facial expression here: the face is small and the expression cannot be made out. So the pose is what matters, and the caption sets the mood. The same body can belong to a triumphant person, a bored one, or a dangerous one.

Examples for your own caption

“Well, hello, deadline. And I just haven't done anything.” The hero calmly meets the problem, and the calm is funny precisely because the problem is enormous.

“Well, hello, Monday.” A classic “meeting” with an unpleasant day: the upright pose on the bench conveys that the person has already given up.

“Well, hello, tax office.” An ironic anticipation of a letter that one has no strength to face.

“My cat, when I finally woke up: well, hello.” An application to a pet that waited for its owner since morning.

How to use the template

A short caption of two to four words works well: it preserves the feel of a line of dialogue. If the caption is long, Vector's relaxed pose stops doing its job.

It is best to avoid quotes from the cartoon that are not in the frame: the meme rests on the pose, not on the plot. You can caption yourself as the “hero” and any inconvenient event as the “guest.”