The line comes from Shrek, the 2001 animated film, where Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, admires a rock while travelling with Shrek. Fans isolated the shorter phrase 'I like that boulder' from the longer exchange, removing the follow-up about a nice boulder, and shared it as a standalone reaction clip. It spread through meme pages and short-form video because the earnest praise is easy to repurpose, and it remains popular as a quick way to celebrate something random, sturdy or unexpectedly impressive.