Review: “YouTube Rewind 2020” - Mr. Beast vs. YouTube

by Daniela W.

It would be an understatement to say that almost everyone who watched the YouTube Rewind for 2018 hated it. The dislike to like ratio is eighteen million dislikes to almost three million likes as of January 14, 2021. In 2019, YouTube’s Rewind was basically a WatchMojo top ten video. No one liked it any better. To make up for the let-downs from YouTube, YouTuber Pewdipie remade Rewind 2018 and 2019 -- he named the videos “YouTube Rewind 2018/2019, but it’s actually good.”

When YouTube announced that there would be no official YouTube Rewind this year -- with good reason -- YouTuber Mr. Beast decided to take the opportunity to gather as many YouTubers that he could and create a YouTube rewind where the content creators actually had some input.

Mr. Beast’s 2020 Rewind begins with a shot of him standing where Will Smith had stood in the intro of YouTube Rewind 2018. He says, trying not to chuckle, “I think we can all agree that 2020 might be the only thing in existence worse than 2018 Rewind,” before it cuts to the strange noise Will Smith makes in the aforementioned video.

“YouTube Rewind 2020, Thank God It’s Over” includes many highlights from the year despite complications -- YouTubers like David Dobrik taking a break from YouTube and going to TikTok -- and the fact that the video is only six and a half minutes long. The Rewind mentions popular games like Minecraft and Among Us before Mr. Beast calls YouTubers to have their opinion on what should be added to the Rewind.

Then there were also some YouTubers who were mentioned specially as requested by other YouTubers. This includes Dream and Corpse Husband. The YouTubers also requested highlighting the charity and donations made. Of course, the video mentioned Black Lives Matter, K-pop, and complaints on how COVID-19 changed everything.

There were serious parts of the video as well, remembering people who died like Kobe Bryant, Alex Trebek, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chadwick Boseman, and even adding some of their quotes (Kobe).

The video from Mr. Beast is leagues better than what YouTube released in 2018 and 2019. I think that this video is even better than Pewdipie’s from 2018 and 2019. This isn’t because Mr. Beast is just better than Pewdipie, it’s because the video as a whole is more organized and has the input of other YouTubers while Pewdipie’s has a reigning theme of chaos.

Mr. Beast ties off the video by gaining small creators some clout. The last few seconds is a GIF of a bus labelled “2020” crashing into a mountain labelled “COVID-19” and Mr. Beast saying “That’s hot” as a mimicry of Will Smith in 2018 then giggling.

While the year 2020 was certainly wretched, it was also certainly a year for YouTubers. Although many creators took a break, quit, or moved to TikTok, 245 creators reached ten million subscribers, and 6,600 creators reached one million subscribers. Just in 2020! “YouTube Rewind 2020, Thank God It’s Over” is a highly amusing and nostalgic video that makes me hope that Mr. Beast is head of the official Rewind in future years because YouTube just doesn’t have it -- the experience of being a YouTuber who works with other YouTubers themselves.