- For other uses, see Disco Zombie (disambiguation).
Dancing Zombie is a zombie appearing in Plants vs. Zombies. It is a zombie that dances across the player's lawn and summons four Backup Dancers in a cross pattern after a short while. The original Dancing Zombie resembles Michael Jackson in his costume from the Thriller music video. The dance moves he is performing also are taken from the selection of dance moves from the video, entering the lawn moonwalking. His design was changed in later versions to one of a '70s disco dancer that extremely resembles Disco Stu from the smash-hit The Simpsons franchise. The Dancing Zombie is the ninth zombie overall encountered in Adventure Mode.
New Dancing Zombie[]
Although this Michael Jackson-inspired zombie was present in the game before Jackson's death, the estate of Michael Jackson objected to its inclusion in the game (more than a year after his death), claiming it resembled Michael Jackson too closely. PopCap Games agreed to remove the zombie from the game and replaced it with a more generic disco-dancing one in a leisure suit, afro, and fish-in-shoes in an update to all future releases of the game.
Suburban Almanac entry[]
(China only) (Archived content)
道长僵尸 | |||
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In English: Taoist Leader Zombie
Any resemblance between Taoist Leader Zombie and persons living or dead is purely coincidental. |
Overview[]
The Dancing Zombie enters the lawn dancing backward. It is accompanied by his own jingle tune and also a color-changing spotlight appears out of the sky, following the Dancing Zombie. He then turns around and summons four Backup Dancers in the squares above, below, in front of, and behind him. Then, he starts dancing across the lawn moving close to the Player's House. The Dancing Zombie and his Backup Dancers dance at the same speed and won't break formation. If one of them has to stop or is slowed down through freezing, the others will stop or slow down as well. If any of his Backup Dancers die, the Dancing Zombie will summon replacements.
The Disco Zombie absorbs 500 damage and his appearance changes upon absorbing 250 damage before dying at 500 damage.
Audio[]
The tune of the Dancing Zombie.
Encounters[]
- Adventure Mode: 2-8, 2-9, 2-10, 4-5
- Mini-games: Wall-nut Bowling 2, Zombie Trap
- Puzzle Mode: Third Vase, ZomBoogie, I, Zombie Endless, Last Stand: Night
- Survival Mode: all levels (except Roof)
- Co-op Mode: all levels except Co-op Day, Co-op Bowling, Co-op Hard Roof and Co-op Zomboss
- Others: Versus Mode
Strategies[]
The Backup Dancers have low health and can be handled by a competent lawn defense, so you should not concentrate on attacking them. To easily deal with them, simply place an instant kill (like a Squash, Doom-shroom or Cherry Bomb) near the lead dancer. Also, the Dancing Zombie is one of the more deadly candidates for a Hypno-shroom, as although any already summoned Backup Dancers will not be hypnotized, it will summon new hypnotized Backup Dancers. Though, if that strategy is used, the Dancing Zombie has to have its health full, because if it lost a part of its health, it could be instantly killed by the Backup Dancer from its back, assuming that this one is not damaged. Most of the time, the Backup Dancer from the back is the dancer from the group which actually takes the least damage, because of the two zombies in front of it (the front Backup Dancer and the Dancing Zombie itself). If the Dancing Zombie took damage and it's hypnotized by placing the Hypno-shroom between it and the front Backup Dancer, it will get to the left, encounter very quickly its back Backup Dancer and fight it, and will usually die without summoning any hypnotized Backup Dancer, being killed by the other Backup Dancer. However, if its health is full, it will be able to win against a solo Backup Dancer, as its health is much greater than the Backup Dancer's one. Fume-shrooms and Gloom-shrooms are very good against these zombies because their fumes will damage the lead dancer as well as the shielding Backup Dancers. Another weakness of the Dancing Zombie is that it and its Backup Dancers must stay in their cross formation. This means that if one Backup Dancer is frozen, slowed or blocked, this will affect the rest of the zombies as well (this only applies to movement speed; if a zombie is frozen or slowed but another zombie is in range, it will eat a plant at the normal rate). Because of this, using movement-restricting plants like Kernel-pults and Snow Peas are a good idea. If you want to block this zombie with a Wall-nut or Tall-nut, you should plant it in the row that the Dancing Zombie itself is in, preferably where the hindmost Backup Dancer is because otherwise, the formation will simply walk onward after the Backup Dancer dies. Note that if the Dancing Zombie is dead, the remaining Backup dancers won't stay in formation.
Survival: Endless[]
In Survival: Endless, the old Dancing Zombie can be very deadly, since it summons Backup Dancers in the second/third column from the right and Cob Cannons are placed in the fourth column in many builds. The new Dancing Zombie summons its Backup Dancers one column earlier and is thus not as large a threat. When you have more than ten Cob Cannons, you can probably blast them off when they are still moonwalking with the correct timing. If you have less than ten Cob Cannons and some of them are inside the attack range of Backup Dancers, you must use other plants to protect your cannons like Gloom-shrooms, Spikerocks or Gatling Peas.
Due to being a low health zombie, specially to splash damage, Winter melons, Melon-pults and Fume-shrooms can also be used effectively against it. Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts on front really helps, as while it doesn't have the most health, its Backup Dancers can cause a problem, due to each eating individually, it means a badly defended strong plant could end dying to it and its Backup Dancers.
I, Zombie Puzzle Mode levels[]
Plant Dancing Zombies in rows (or next to rows) with many Squashes, Potato Mines or Chompers. If the first plant in the row is a Potato Mine, make sure to plant it in the back row so it doesn't get destroyed. Also, if there is a Chomper or Squash in the first column of the row you plant it in, make sure to put a normal zombie or Imp there first so it cannot eat the Dancing Zombie. Don't plant it in rows with Fume-shrooms or Spikeweeds, which can hit both it and the Backup Dancers at the same time. Another strategy is to plant the Dancing Zombie in a cleared row in between two heavily defended rows. Another useful place to use them is where you have cleared a row but a nearby row is very heavily defended, i.e. would take more than two Football Zombies to destroy. It will very probably summon a Backup Dancer behind the last offensive plant, allowing you to get the brain. On the other hand, if there is a Sunflower you really want with significant firepower behind it, this isn't that helpful, although the Sunflower probably will still give you some sun. In many situations, it is the best idea to make a Dancing Zombie start in the back, because it takes time for the zombie to summon the Backup Dancers.
Related achievements[]
Gallery[]
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Dancing Zombie.
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In other languages[]
Please note that only official translations are used.
Language | Name | Description |
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English | Dancing Zombie | |
Simplified Chinese | 舞者僵尸 道长僵尸 in Plants vs. Zombies: Great Wall Edition |
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Traditional Chinese | 舞者殭屍 | |
Dutch | Danszombie | |
French | Zombie danseur | |
German | Tanz-Zombie | |
Italian | Disco zombi | |
Japanese | ダンシングゾンビ | |
Russian | Зомби Танцор | |
Spanish | Zombi bailón | "Dancer zombie" |
Trivia[]
- Much like the late Michael Jackson, the original Dancing Zombie only wore one white glove and moonwalked.
- The new Dancing Zombie has a dead goldfish in his shoe, a nod to Disco Fishbowl Platform shoes from the 1970s.
- It shares this trait with Disco-tron 3000.
- It, Dr. Zomboss, Gargantuar, Giga-gargantuar, Catapult Zombie, Catapult Baseball Zombie, Jack-in-the-Box Zombie and Target Zombie are the only zombies that stop for any reason other than eating the player's plants.
- The new Dancing Zombie walks and summons Backup Dancers even faster.
- The Dancing and his Backup Dancers are the only zombies that have been restyled so far.
- If the Dancing Zombie is slowed down immediately after appearing, it will continue to move at normal speed up uintil the first Backup Dancers are summoned.
- The new Dancing Zombie is featured in the Windows Phone 7 trailer for Plants vs. Zombies. The new Dancing Zombie is dancing some random moves, including the splits to some disco music. The Imp and Zombie Yeti are also featured in this trailer (the Backup Dancers aren't featured in this video).
- The music when the Dancing Zombie summons Backup Dancers is the same as when the "dance" code is activated.
- The old Dancing Zombie, the Imp, Zombie Yeti, Football Zombie, Giga-Football Zombie, Balloon Zombie (when his balloon pops), Gargantuar and the Giga-gargantuar are the only zombies that have straight feet (excluding the zombies that do not step on land).
- The old Dancing Zombie does the "Moonwalk" on his standing animation.
- The new Dancing Zombie does a "Point and Raise" dance on its standing animation. It also does this when summoning Backup Dancers. However, on the iOS and Android versions, the new Dancing Zombie does its moonwalk animation on the spot in the seed selection screen.
- It is rarely possible that a Dancing Zombie that is standing right in front of a Lawn Mower, not setting it off, could summon a Backup Dancer behind the Lawn Mower, passing the lawn. The Lawn Mower won't activate. The Backup Dancer will still eat the player's brains.
- This makes the Backup Dancer the only zombie that can avoid a Lawn Mower by itself and without any rare glitches, and eat the player's brains without activating it.
- It also happens with Zombie Bull in Plants vs. Zombies 2. If it throws a Zombie Bull Rider after it reaches a certain column of the lawn in which the Lawn Mower will also not be consumed and the said zombie will eat the brains. This is also the same case if the player uses a Plant Food on the Spikeweed in a battle against Zombot Plank Walker, it pushes into the second or first column if the said plant is situated at these columns which allows the zombies summon past the lawn mower and the above situation will happen in earlier versions.
- If the player freezes a Dancing Zombie while it is moonwalking, it will turn on the spot and summon Backup Dancers directly.
- When moving backwards, the new Dancing Zombie is the only unhypnotized zombie to have a twisted left leg.
- The new Dancing Zombie is one of the five zombies that have eyewear, the others being the Zombie Bobsled Team, the Snorkel Zombie, the Newspaper Zombie and the Pogo Zombie.
- Dancing Zombie, Zombie Bobsled Team, Dolphin Rider Zombie, Snorkel Zombie and Dr. Zomboss are the only zombies with intact clothing so far.
- The only other zombie to have changed over time is the Zomboni. Its appearance has remained the same, but its Almanac description has extremely altered (in this case, due to legal reasons).
- Sometimes during I, Zombie levels, the old Dancing Zombie might toe-stand just before entering the house even if it still has all its zombies.
- Dancing Zombie's timer is separate from the game's timer. When a player pauses the game, the timer for the Dancing Zombie is still running. Therefore, the player can periodically pause the game to "manuver" the Dancing Zombie and its Backup Dancers.
- The old Dancing Zombie's right-hand changes to a left hand (and vice versa) when it dances. This still happens even when it loses an arm.
- The Dancing Zombie doesn't appear on the roof, due to the fact that it doesn't make sense for the Backup Dancers to spurt out from the roof tiles. The other land zombies not to appear on the roof are the Digger Zombie and the Zombie Bobsled Team. However, in the console versions of Plants vs. Zombies, the Dancing Zombie appears in Co-op Roof.
- Dancing Zombies will only summon three Backup Dancers in Pool or Fog levels.
- The Dancing Zombie is one of the seven zombies that falls backwards when it dies; the other six being Zombie Bobsled Team, the Backup Dancer, the Football Zombie, the Imp, the Giga-Football Zombie and the Balloon Zombie.
- It and Backup Dancer are the only zombies to appear in different sizes in different versions.
- In the Nintendo DS, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network versions, the Dancing Zombie and Backup Dancers are almost as tall as a Gargantuar.
- This also happens if one were to hack the game as to have the new Dancing Zombie in the old PC version.
- In the Nintendo DS, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network versions, the Dancing Zombie and Backup Dancers are almost as tall as a Gargantuar.
- The Dancing Zombie, old Backup Dancer, Pole Vaulting Zombie, Newspaper Zombie, Zomboni, Zombie Yeti and Digger Zombie are the only zombies with significant amounts of hair (though some are clearly wearing wigs).
- If multiple Dancing Zombies are present on the lawn at the same time, they (and their Backup Dancers) will all dance in time with each other, essentially forming one large group. This is most apparent in I, Zombie.
- The new Dancing Zombie has a smaller head on the iPhone and iPad version even though all of the other zombies got bigger heads than normal in these versions.
- The Disco Zombie in Wabby Wabbo sings, "I'm gonna eat your braaaains".
- If the old Dancing Zombie loses an arm in Wall-nut Bowling 2, no bone can be seen.
- In the iPhone I, Zombie, Dancing Zombie can't summon Backup Dancers less than a tile away from the brains, hence it is less useful there.
- In addition, while the Dancing Zombie is consuming a plant, he will not summon any Backup Dancers.
- In the "reanim" folder, the player can find the old Dancing Zombie and old Backup Dancer textures.
- The Dancing Zombie is named "Disco Zombie" in the Plants vs. Zombies Trading Card Game.
- It is also referred to as this in most games in the Plants vs. Zombies franchise.
- It is somewhat similar to the Conga Leader in Plants vs. Zombies Adventures.
- On the iOS versions, the new Dancing Zombie's idle animation is it moon walking, instead of it lifting its glasses repeatedly.
- On the iOS and Android versions, when the Dancing Zombie and Backup Dancer's heads fall off, their jaws fall off.
- On the iOS and Android versions, when the Dancing Zombie summons Backup Dancer's for the first time, only one loop of his song plays instead of two, therefor, his song only lasts four seconds.
- There is a rare glitch on the Nintendo DS version. If a Dancing Zombie appears on Survival: Fog (both normal and hard), the spotlight that appears when it summons Backup Dancers will extremely clear the fog.
- When this happens, it's not enough to be able to see much of anything, but it will clear the most fog at the left-most end.
- This doesn't apply to DSiWare for two reasons: DSiWare doesn't have Survival and the Dancing Zombie doesn't appear on any of the Adventure fog stages (excluding 4-5, which is on the front lawn and consequently has no fog).
- When this happens, it's not enough to be able to see much of anything, but it will clear the most fog at the left-most end.
- In most versions of Plants vs. Zombies, the Dancing Zombie doesn't have a standing animation.
- The only other zombie that doesn't have a standing animation is the Imp. Unlike the Dancing Zombie, though, this occurs in every version of the game.
- Dancing Zombie, Jack-in-the-Box Zombie, Pianist Zombie, Disco-tron 3000, Announcer Imp and Boombox Zombie are the only zombies that play music.
- Dancing Zombie makes a reappearance in Plants vs. Zombies 2, although as a "Disco Jetpack Zombie" summoned by the Disco-tron 3000.
- In the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network versions, the Disco Zombie sways from left to right similar to the Michael Jackson's Thriller.
- According to the Plant vs. Zombies Brain Busters, page 118, the Dancing Zombie hates disco and much prefer polka.
- The zombie makes an appearance in Plants vs. Zombies Live! The Musical, however albeit his afro.
See also[]
V · E | Zombies (Tower defense) | L · G |
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Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version) | |||||||||||
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Ancient Egypt | Mummy Zombie · Conehead Mummy · Buckethead Mummy · Flag Mummy Zombie · Ra Zombie · Camel Zombies · Explorer Zombie · Tomb Raiser Zombie · Pharaoh Zombie · Mummified Gargantuar · Zombot Sphinx-inator · Imp Mummy | ||||||||||
Pirate Seas | Pirate Zombie · Conehead Pirate · Buckethead Pirate · Flag Pirate Zombie · Swashbuckler Zombie · Seagull Zombie · Barrel Roller Zombie · Imp Pirate Zombie · Imp Cannon · Pirate Captain Zombie · Zombie Parrot · Gargantuar Pirate · Zombot Plank Walker | ||||||||||
Wild West | Cowboy Zombie · Conehead Cowboy · Buckethead Cowboy · Flag Cowboy Zombie · Prospector Zombie · Pianist Zombie · Poncho Zombie · Chicken Wrangler Zombie · Zombie Chicken · Zombie Bull · Zombie Bull Rider · Wild West Gargantuar · Zombot War Wagon | ||||||||||
Kongfu World | Kongfu Zombie · Conehead Kongfu Zombie · Buckethead Kongfu Zombie · Hammer Zombie · Flag Kongfu Zombie · Torch Kongfu Zombie · Gong Zombie · Exploding Zombie · Qigong Zombie · Drinking Zombie · Conehead Monk Zombie · Buckethead Monk Zombie · Monk Zombie · Flag Monk Zombie · Drinking Monk Zombie · Swordsman Zombie · Imp Monk · Torch Monk Zombie · Nunchaku Zombie · Han Bronze · Knight Bronze · Qigong Bronze · Gunpowder Devil · Blade-Wielding Hero · Admiral Helmet Zombie · Admiral Helmet Monk Zombie · Rocket Imp | ||||||||||
Far Future | Future Zombie · Future Conehead Zombie · Future Buckethead Zombie · Future Flag Zombie · Jetpack Zombie · Disco Jetpack Zombie · Mecha-Football Zombie · Disco-tron 3000 · Robo-Cone Zombie · Shield Zombie · Bug Bot Imp · Gargantuar Prime · Zombot Tomorrow-tron | ||||||||||
Dark Ages | Peasant Zombie · Conehead Peasant · Buckethead Peasant · Peasant Flag Zombie · Knight Zombie · Jester Zombie · Dark Ages Gargantuar · Imp Monk Zombie · Wizard Zombie · Zombie King · Announcer Imp · Imp Dragon Zombie · Zombot Dark Dragon · Archmage Zombie · Cavalry Zombie · Bandit Zombie · Wolf Zombie | ||||||||||
Big Wave Beach | Pompadour Zombie · Pompadour Conehead · Pompadour Buckethead · Beach Flag Zombie · Bikini Zombie · Bikini Conehead · Bikini Buckethead · Snorkel Zombie · Surfer Zombie · Fisherman Zombie · Octo Zombie · Shell Zombie · Imp Mermaid Zombie · Deep Sea Gargantuar · Zombot Sharktronic Sub | ||||||||||
Frostbite Caves | Cave Zombie · Cave Conehead Zombie · Cave Buckethead Zombie · Blockhead Zombie · Cave Flag Zombie · Hunter Zombie · Yeti Imp · Dodo Rider Zombie · Troglobite · Weasel Hoarder · Ice Weasel · Sloth Gargantuar · Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC · Walrus Zombie · Ski Zombie · Chief Ice Wind Zombie | ||||||||||
Sky City | Pilot Zombie · Conehead Pilot Zombie · Buckethead Pilot Zombie · Flag Pilot Zombie · Flying Imp Zombie · Zombie Fighter · Double-Cabin Aircraft Zombie · Lightning Gun Zombie · Missile Zombie · Transport Boat · Arbiter-X · Flying Gargantuar · Zombot Vulture Fighter | ||||||||||
Lost City | Adventurer Zombie · Conehead Adventurer Zombie · Buckethead Adventurer Zombie · Flag Adventurer Zombie · Lost Pilot Zombie · Excavator Zombie · Parasol Zombie · Lost City Imp Zombie · Bug Zombie · Porter Gargantuar · Imp Porter · Relic Hunter Zombie · Turquoise Skull Zombie · Zombot Aerostatic Gondola · Lost Doctor Zombie · Lost Guide Zombie | ||||||||||
Neon Mixtape Tour | Neon Zombie · Neon Conehead · Neon Buckethead · Impunk · Punk Zombie · MC Zom-B · Breakdancer Zombie · Glitter Zombie · Boombox Zombie · Arcade Zombie · Bass Zombie · Hair Metal Gargantuar · Neon Flag Zombie · 8-Bit Zombie · Zombot Multi-stage Masher | ||||||||||
Jurassic Marsh | Jurassic Zombie · Jurassic Conehead · Jurassic Buckethead · Jurassic Fossilhead · Jurassic Flag Zombie · Jurassic Imp · Jurassic Gargantuar · Jurassic Bully · Egg Pusher Imp · Egg Stealer Imp · Eggshell Imp · Zombot Dinotronic Mechasaur | ||||||||||
Modern Day | Basic Zombie · Conehead Zombie · Buckethead Zombie · Flag Zombie · Gargantuar · Imp · Balloon Zombie · All-Star Zombie · Super-Fan Imp · Newspaper Zombie · Sunday Edition Zombie · Digger Zombie · Riot Police Zombie · Solar Car Zombie | ||||||||||
Steam Age | Labor Zombie · Conehead Labor Zombie · Buckethead Labor Zombie · Flag Labor Zombie · Coal Miner Zombie · Gentleman Zombie · Furnace Zombie · Industrial Imp Zombie · Foreman Gargantuar · Steam Zombot | ||||||||||
Renaissance Age | Sculptor Imp Zombie · Aristocrat Gargantuar · Aristocrat Zombie · Conehead Aristocrat Zombie · Buckethead Aristocrat Zombie · Flag Aristocrat Zombie · Perfume Zombie · Ballerina Zombie · Glider Zombie | ||||||||||
Heian Age | Shogun Gargantuar · Samurai Zombie · Conehead Samurai Zombie · Buckethead Samurai Zombie · Flag Samurai Zombie · Firework Zombie · Ninjimp · Sushi Chef Zombie · Mino Zombie · Onmyoji Zombie | ||||||||||
Secret Realms |
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Penny's Pursuit |
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Memory Lane |
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Others | Dr. Zomboss · Lion Dancer Zombie · God of Wealth · Zombie Commander · Ingot Thief Zombie · Vase Gargantuar · Imp Pear Imp |
Plants vs. Zombies Online | |
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Player's House | Basic Zombie · Conehead Zombie · Buckethead Zombie · Flag Zombie |
Ancient Egypt | Mummy Zombie · Conehead Mummy · Buckethead Mummy · Flag Mummy Zombie · Ra Zombie · Explorer Zombie · Tomb Raiser Zombie · Pharaoh Zombie · Desert Death Zombie · Sphinx |
Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum |
Sergeant Zombie · Bowl Sergeant · Iron Helmet Sergeant · Token Sergeant Zombie · Cavalry Zombie · Archer Zombie · Shield Guardian Zombie · Hawker Cart · Zombie Piggy · Drunk Zombie · Emperor Qin Shi Huang |
Pirate Seas | Pirate Zombie · Conehead Pirate · Buckethead Pirate · Flag Pirate Zombie · Swashbuckler Zombie · Pirate Captain Zombie · Zombie Parrot · Imp Pirate Zombie · Gargantuar Pirate · Pistol Zombie · Torch Juggler Zombie · Peddler Zombie · Zombot Plank Walker |
Far Future | Future Zombie · Future Conehead Zombie · Future Buckethead Zombie · Future Flag Zombie · Jetpack Zombie · Shield Zombie · Bug Bot Imp · Robo-Cone Zombie · Disco-tron 3000 · Disco Jetpack Zombie · Mecha-Football Zombie · Gargantuar Prime · Zombot Tomorrow-tron · Astro-Goop Zombie · Mechanical Wolf Zombie · Harvester Zombie |
East Sea Dragon Palace | Underwater Soldier Zombie · Shrimp Soldier Zombie · Shell Soldier Zombie · Seahorse Zombie · Jellyfish Zombie · Clamshell God Zombie |
Event exclusive | Zombot Sphinx-inator · Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Zombot · Rabbit Zombie · Money Bag Zombie |
Plants vs. Zombies 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Neighborville | Browncoat Zombie · Conehead Zombie · Buckethead Zombie · Flag Zombie · Imp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lost Keys Lake | Ducky Tube Zombie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mt. Quesogrande | Rock-N-Rollin' Imp · Bowling Zombie · Gargantuar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pre-2021 |
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