{"id":956,"date":"2025-04-22T22:34:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T22:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/amazing-digital-circus-is-a-saving-grace-for-independent-animation\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T22:35:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T22:35:03","slug":"amazing-digital-circus-is-a-saving-grace-for-independent-animation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/amazing-digital-circus-is-a-saving-grace-for-independent-animation\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Digital Circus is a saving grace for independent animation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The world of indie animation is small. When pitted against multimillion-dollar studios like Disney or Dreamworks that churn out blockbuster after blockbuster, independent companies frequently get lost in the shadows, along with the art they produce. Animation is expensive, time consuming and labor intensive, and creating a high-quality animated production becomes nearly impossible when you\u2019re a small company with no institutional funding. <\/p>\n<p>Because of this, YouTube has become something of a haven for small animators and startup animation companies to post their work for the public. Although it doesn\u2019t usually compensate artists for their hard work, YouTube provides a free platform for creators to share their talents.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, animators get really lucky. The controversial \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/tv\/hazbin-hotel-is-a-face-plant-full-of-fucks\/\">Hazbin Hotel<\/a>\u201d started as a YouTube venture until it was picked up by A24 and Amazon Prime. Its spin-off, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=el_PChGfJN8\">Helluva Boss<\/a>,\u201d still exists solely on YouTube. At its peak, the pilot of \u201cHazbin Hotel\u201d got more than 115 million views and \u201cHelluva Boss\u201d consistently gets about 50-60 million views. Unfortunately, the success of the creator of \u201cHazbin Hotel,\u201d Vivienne Medrano (also known as Vivziepop), is not a typical story for online animators by any means \u2014 most only see moderate success, if any.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Glitch Productons, known as GLITCH on YouTube, is<strong> <\/strong>one animation channel that found occasional success with a small fan community. Founded in 2017, the company had only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glitchprod.com\/about\">one goal<\/a> in mind: \u201cchange the way the west creates teen and young adult animation.\u201d The small company began posting videos nearly four years ago with a trailer of its first-ever independently funded show, \u201cMeta Runner.\u201d The video only reached about 500,000 views, which is modest by today\u2019s standards of virality. Nevertheless, they continued to post episodes of their show, some even reaching one million views.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Many indie animators have been living off of decent views and strong support from a dedicated but niche fanbase since the dawn of YouTube, and GLITCH was no exception. When they posted the pilot episode of their second venture, \u201cMurder Drones,\u201d they found the success they\u2019d been looking for. At an impressive 63 million views, it was the most-watched video on their platform for a long time. Even after continuously releasing episodes for \u201cMeta Runner\u201d and \u201cMurder Drones,\u201d the YouTube account had less than four million subscribers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For years, it seemed as though GLITCH, just like the hundreds of other animators looking to make their mark on the industry, would never break out into the mainstream.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is why it is so astonishing, and almost jaw dropping, that GLITCH\u2019s newest addition to their repertoire was able to amass more 100 million views within its first month of release, eventually amassing more<em> <\/em>370 million views. Posted in October 2023, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HwAPLk_sQ3w\">THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: PILOT<\/a>\u201d immediately found a fan base that was massive, passionate and ready for more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Created by small content creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Gooseworx\/videos\">Gooseworx<\/a>, \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d is about \u2014 for lack of a better explanation \u2014 a digital circus. The main character, Pomni (Lizzie Freeman, \u201cRilakkuma\u2019s Theme Park Adventure\u201d), finds herself in a strange digital space with no memories of her previous life, a new body and no means of escaping. In this digital circus, she must go on \u201cadventures\u2019\u2019 with her fellow prisoners by the orders of a strange artificial intelligence ringmaster, Caine (Alex Rochon, \u201cFazbear &amp; Friends\u201d). Now in the body of a sad clown, Pomni must find a way to accept her new life and find solace in her new company of wacky characters who have also been imprisoned in the digital circus.<\/p>\n<p>Only four episodes have been released as of now. Each one focuses on a different adventure the cast of characters are sent on, from a horror-themed haunted house mystery to a day in the life of a fast food worker. After each adventure, Pomni learns more about her new life and the people she\u2019s surrounded by.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Although the setting of the show is fantastical, its themes are subversively grounded. In the midst of its surrealist plot, the show focuses on building the relationships between characters as they navigate through this digital hell together. For example, in episode two, Pomni befriends a self-aware NPC, and they discuss the nature of their existence until he is destroyed by Caine. In episode three, Pomni goes on an adventure with Kinger (Sean Chiplock, \u201cMission: Yozakura Family\u201d), a crazy old man in the body of a chess piece, and the two talk about death and finding meaning in such an imprisoned life. The show\u2019s attention to themes of humanity, relationships and resilience are, no doubt, what made the show so popular.<\/p>\n<p>While the speed and scale of the show\u2019s breakthrough into mainstream culture was impressive, \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d managed to achieve something even more groundbreaking. After its resounding success of a pilot episode, Netflix quickly took note of the show\u2019s surmounting popularity, and soon GLITCH and Netflix struck a deal: After its third episode, \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d can be watched on both platforms. Not exclusively on Netflix \u2014 both Netflix and YouTube.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To call this feat remarkable is a severe understatement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although one of the largest distribution channels in existence is now involved in the distribution of the show, GLITCH is not allowing its presence to affect the quality, schedule or format of the show in any way. When GLITCH announced that they would be partnering with Netflix, they, not Netflix, made sure to reiterate that they were still in creative and executive control of the project and episodes would still be made free to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glitch_prod\/status\/1837929867729330444\">update post on X<\/a>, GLITCH made this clear: \u201cWe\u2019re still independently funding everything, we still get full control of the show, and episodes will continue to ALWAYS come out on YouTube first.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Because animation is a long and arduous process, episodes have been released months apart, and that has not changed since the introduction of the content juggernaut. In spite of the added pressures from executives and intense fans, the show remains committed to ensuring its animators are not rushed toward an impossible deadline. Instead, the show has always insisted the new episodes will \u201ccome out when they\u2019re ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For a small company to have this much power and control over their artwork is extremely impressive. To have an independently-funded show with limited pressure from executives to churn out content as soon as possible is an astounding breakthrough for indie animation that will have an impact on the community for years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The newfound popularity of \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d has allowed GLITCH to take a chance on other small creators and fund their passion projects. Since releasing the first episode of \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS,\u201d they have released two trailers: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=07JmdlRkQmE\">THE GASLIGHT DISTRICT<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZgwHNno1WvM\">Knights of Guinevere<\/a>.\u201d Both trailers look visually stunning, with \u201cKnights of Guinevere\u201d being the channel\u2019s first foray into 2D animation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The trailers also demonstrate the amount of creative risk they\u2019re willing to take, no doubt due to the financial and commercial spotlight \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d has afforded them. \u201cTHE GASLIGHT DISTRICT\u201d has an interesting, stop-motion feel to it, something not often seen in mainstream animation entertainment. The creator, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@part_time_seagull\">PartTimeSeagull<\/a>, only has ~9,000 subscribers, but GLITCH is confident enough to let him realize his creative vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the success of \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d and its status as a Netflix series has provided new pathways and opportunities never before seen for small companies. For example, \u201cKnights of Guinevere\u201d is co-created by beloved animator and showrunner Dana Terrace \u2014 creator of \u201cThe Owl House\u201d \u2014 who has a large fanbase of her own.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>GLITCH\u2019s newfound and well-deserved success reminds us that the world is hungry for good stories, regardless of who makes them and how they\u2019re made. The field of animation is often looked down upon for being childish, but \u201cTHE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS\u201d demonstrates that animation is a medium, not a genre, and animated stories can and should be taken seriously. People want interesting content, regardless of whether it\u2019s made by a huge blockbuster or hard-working upstarts in their basement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The world is paying attention to indie animation right now. With the help of newfound fans, respect and funds, indie animation is blossoming into something beautiful \u2014 and it couldn\u2019t have been done without the internet\u2019s favorite clown, Pomni.<\/p>\n<p><em>Daily Arts Writer Ana Torresarpi can be reached at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/arts\/b-side\/pomni-the-sad-little-clown-that-launched-an-indie-animation-into-the-mainstream\/mailto:atorresa@umich.edu\"><em>atorresa@umich.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world of indie animation is small. When pitted against multimillion-dollar studios like Disney or Dreamworks that churn out blockbuster after blockbuster, independent companies frequently get lost in the shadows, along with the art they produce. Animation is expensive, time consuming and labor intensive, and creating a high-quality animated production becomes nearly impossible when you\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1066,1042,1068,1067,528,1070,1069],"class_list":{"0":"post-956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-amazing","9":"tag-animation","10":"tag-circus","11":"tag-digital","12":"tag-grace","13":"tag-independent","14":"tag-saving"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":958,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions\/958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}