How Indie Animation CONQUERED the Industry! 

Corporations when they realize letting actual passionate people create series causes more engagement: 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

I've actually been developing an idea for an animated series myself. I'm likely many years away from actually pitching it, but if this keeps up, I'm probably in good hands.

Who knew: Greedy company = bad Original ideas and hardwork= good

I think it's funny that hazbin Hotel for the longest time only had 91 million views but then after digital circus got popular more people wanted to check out hazbin Hotel.

The thing i like about Indie shows is how it doesn't feel like there a company controling the show and making changes to what the creator wanted in the the first place. Murder Drones is one that comes to mind

As an animation student, I'm honestly planning to create my own animated series later on, with a whole lore, character development (or even a connected universe), etc. I'm still thinking about the basic pitch and genre of the series, but it's not guaranteed that everyone will like it, but I hope people will find my series interesting and great, with my own vision.

It's a sign for change the industry refuses to help itself grow they put profits over creative and they're paying the price for it. The choices are either change or get left behind in the dust.

This here is why animation is for everyone around the world. Kids, teenagers, and adults can watch animation and can enjoy it while it lasts!

No company interfering with pandering to an invisible audience is a good reason

This literally gives new meaning to “slow and steady wins the race” because we take our time and don’t worry about profit too much

I think the reason why indie is working so well is because the creators are getting censored alot less and have a chance to provide more. (Like episode amount) When going through a mainstream studio and such you get what they'll allow and that's that. Vivienne for example had originally wanted 22 episodes (21 or 22) for Hazbin Hotel but had to heavily squeeze that all into what we got. But for indie while it can still be limiting they still get more of a chance to tell a story

Regarding the importance of merch sales, remember when fans would get upset over a show getting cancelled or not getting picked up because of how the show lacked (or was never given the chance to have) toy sales? I guess we've all changed our minds about that, now that we've accepted that ad revenue isn't enough to pay for a good animated show on its own.

RIP Akira Toriyama 🙏🙏🙏🙏

I think one reason indie animation is winning is because several mainstream cartoon runners are trying to chase trends or just do bad decisions

Thanks to TADC, It’s been giving me the motivation to create my own animated series with my own characters, world, and story. I’m hoping once I graduate college that I can create something that can inspire others and have a big impact.

Despite controversy with vivziepop, seeing animation like Helluva boss and the hazbin pilot on RU-vid gave me hope that you don’t have to belong to a big studio to make cartoons. Her style of character design, while not to everyone’s taste, is totally mine. And nothing else is like it on regular tv that just gets me excited. And now seeing other indie cartoons coming out, I’m just so happy for other artists and fans who love animation! More opportunities for work or try to push a pilot idea you’ve thought about. Whether or not it becomes a hit, seeing something you made on screen must feel incredible. Anyway for new ideas to come to life is great.

If you ask me, I just think it's probably because it feels a lot more genuine. Like sure, there are a lot of good shows with heart made by really big studios, but the animations you find on RU-vid often start without a budget tied to it. It's made out of pure passion and it really, really shows.

do you guys remember when Indie Animations were actually once rare to find?

Indie animation hasn’t dethroned corporate animation is what I’ll call it. It’s just much ahead of the game and is doing significantly better then corporate. But I think this is perfect, those companies need a big slap in the face so it can be recognized, that they can’t keep doing what they’re doing and be successful. We gotta keep making noise. We gotta keep fighting for this change.

If executives and higher ups weren't so evil there never be indie stuff.

I agree that indie animation has been taking off. Honestly I love it. It gives many creators chances to grow here on the platform. And it goes to show that indie animated shows are becoming super popular

Homestar runner was the first successful indie animation if you think about it, they even got their own game and crossovered with tf2, same thing for BFDI and Eddsworld

I hope the Independent scene does send a message to mainstream that people still want animation and want a lot more from it. Also hoping people with a lot more disposable income can help support the Indie Animation space as well to be much more supportable.

The only issue with indie, though this is much more on the creator side than the audience side, is that getting to a point of success is just as hard, if not harder, than through studios. Hazbin Hotel, Lackadaisy, Murder Drones, and TADC all have one thing in common: they were all promoted by the RU-vid algorithm, which can be more random than the lottery at times. For every indie show that found success, there are dozens others that failed and never became popular. Not saying studios are a better route because of this, but it’s kind of crazy how the first 48 hours of your pilot’s release likely determines if your show is going to end with that one episode, or run for multiple seasons!

like him or hate him, awestruck vox knows his stuff. I adore videos like this on that animation industry. As someone who wants to make a cartoon one day in the future it’s always nice to hear about the state of the industry in present time.

It's like how the Spiderverses set a new standard for superhero movies. Y'know, because the people making it are actually passionate and not just greedy.

Appreciate the shout out, guys! (Shrike on a cereal box would be... terrifying lol)

I think indie animation is the eye opener that mainstream needs. Because of their willingness to adapt and mold to not only the their own desires but the AUDIENCE’s desires is where they start to set themselves apart. As you’ve mentioned it being easily accessible helps a TON, not only to get views but spread their story. Original plots and worlds are getting harder and harder to come by so when one comes up, it’s deeply appreciated I sincerely hope mainstream starts to take a hint and create some watchable stories once more

I’m super excited that The Amazing Digital Circus will be a full series.

I saw a frame from inside job and was saddened. It was a great show and Netflix cancelled it mid-production of season 2

I love that finally, people are just making the stuff they love- and getting rewarded for it. THESE are the shows that people remember. I’ve been working on characters and worlds of my own for years, and this success does make me incredibly excited for the future! Been having a blast working on my game and its animations, and I can’t wait to show it off some time :)

Hugo's Mind Palace creator here! Thank you so much for the mention!

Owl house was my favorite cartoon I watched in a long time. I also love Hilda it was an amazing show.

I've been on Monkey Wrench since day one and it's been great.

We should have a Pomni balloon made for the next Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to not only represents The Amazing Digital Circus but to all indie animation

INDIE ANIMATION FOREVER!!!

Before I start the video I think the main reason why indie is doing better is just the care. We have these talented people making, creating, and Advertising!!!! their work by themselves or with small studios. Big Name Corporations and Studios do and have made many great animated shows, but they treat them like garbage. Like we have seen so many great shows with potential get cancel or shorter and even worst disappear off and removed from the companies platforms even if they had a large fanbase. They see animation as a niche market that doesn't make money(which i think is false) they don't advertise their animated shows well and still expect the shows to get a large audience. We've seen so many shows get canceled and not renewed even when studios tell the creators they are getting another season. I can name like five cancelled shows that were popular or good and everyone can name dozens more that got the same treatment. Inside Job, Close Enough, Final Space, Owl House(Was not cancelled but cut so damn short), Dead End: Paranormal Park. Why get invested in something that likely is going to be a one and done. With indie creators have more freedom to do what they want. People can make what they want to make and not have to fear being cancelled even if they have big audience. And its just a breath of fresh creative air.

Let’s not forget the fact that it’s a lot easier to find indie animation that you can tell has passion poured into it. You can tell that everyone that worked on it truly loved the project that they were working on. That passion goes a long way to up the quality of animation.

Would you consider doing a indepth catalog of all indie animation/pilots on YT? I have a running tally myself, but someone with your platform could breath new life into some smaller or older projects. ADC and the Hazbin-verse are important, but some projects don't get as much love. Obituary and Cool Times are really worth watching. Do your part, spread the love, share your favorite part of the art gallery.

thank you, i feel like no one talks about monkey wrench. Its amazing and it straight up feels like what i would see on TV, you kinda forget its in indie project.

I'm glad the smaller groups are starting to become more popular than the mainstream animation names 😊

First Indie game devs beating corporations in quality and now indie animators. TADC was such a phenomenal.

I believe both can exists problem is studios prioritize money over a good story and don’t believe that animation is for everyone! Not just kids some of my all time favorite stories come from animation it’s a dream to tell such amazing stories I hope Indie animation is a wake up call to big companies though I doubt it

I would say that Indi-animation is popping off for a couple reasons, and same for anime, I think one of the main reasons is they have completely different animation styles, you wouldn't compare One Punch Man and One Piece, the main thing they have in common is they're both anime

I’ve been lucky enough to voice in indie animations and video games regularly and you’d be surprised how good some of them are! Even some of the unknown / less popular ones have really great stories and banger animation styles, if you find the right one. From what I’ve seen, we’re going to be getting more indie shows on TikTok as well

Amazon Prime has a good thing. I hope they don't blow it by being greedy

Really appreciate the huge amount of variety in the clips shown throughout the video.

I'd argue the indie scene is exploding in several areas, specifically video games. Everyday it feels like 'Newest AAA $70 Is bad' but then 'free game just dropped suddenly is one of the best of the year' corporations and execs have destroyed mainstream entertainment.

Once mainstream animation goes extinct, imagine every TV show and movie from every mainstream animation studio being sold to indie people.

Imagine if in like 20 years, indie animation gets replaced by something new too

I think that animation is for everyone

Your son getting nervous watching Phineas and Ferb because he's worried their gonna get busted is so funny.

I will never get over with the treatment of TOH, Inside Job and Infinity Train got... I still love those shows but... damn, it still hurts to watch back. At this point, everything I can ask for those shows is books or whatever even though I doubt TOH will get anything at all in the future. To be honest, nothing in mainstream interests me when I know that the show I get interested will get done dirty by the studios like Molly and probably Moon Girl where I doubt it will get a S3. I guess the only thing I'm looking forward from Indie animation stuff is Murder Drones but I don't want to forget the shows I enjoyed from mainstream media that got dirty either

1:47; may I recommend Blue Eye Samurai? It's an R-rated original animated series on Netflix that handles some pretty dark subjects really well, and it's done well enough that Netflix actually renewed the series for a second season. The show's creators also have plans to create at least 3-4 seasons of the show as well, so I actually have high hopes for the future of that show.

The only reason why Indie is winning is because most of them are giving off the same energy that the mainstream studios use to have. Before all the ececutives stared meddling (DISNEY!) Playing favorites and going canel crazy (NETFLIX!!) or just commiting straight up crimes (ZASLAV and WBD!!!!!!) Honestly the mainstream should really be using this age of Indi animation as walk up call to change their tudes.

The thing about indie animation is that, much like many literatures, they are expressions of the authors' minds. When most shows these days seem to follow a strict formula, it can dull one's enjoyment of a production, and when a work can be allowed to be expressed as the author intended, one can easily enjoy it beyond it being a hype of the month or whatever. Think any film by Jordan Peele; oddities in the horror world, but much more enjoyable when thought of from an allegorical angle.

I have my own idea for an indie animated series, yet I can't draw to save myself and I only have a less-than-moderate imagination. It's a fantasy/dramedy/slice-of-life with plenty of lore. Well, here you go: *"Midnight Private Eyes"* _Synopsis-_ The series follows Valerie “Val” Park settling into her new apartment after graduating private detective school and ready for what comes next. What comes as a surprise to Val is that her rotund roommate is a vampire. The vampire, Cassius von Lovus-Shwarzius, is a mocking representation to his race, having replaced his taste for blood in favour of pizza and developed a tolerance to sunlight over the centuries. Strapped on cash after centuries of freeloading, Cassius reluctantly agrees to let Valerie turn their apartment into a detective agency for the supernatural creatures and cryptic entities seeking assistance when the sun sets on Toronto.

02:51 OMG SOMEONE FINALLY TALKED ABOUT BRIDGE KIDS!

Because Indie animation has the heart and care that mainstream animation has lost

I loved your thumbnail of Owl House, Regular Show and Amazing World of Gumball were horrified that shows like Helluva Boss, Digital Circus and a few other Internet shows are getting lots of likes and fans. Proves that these three shows are constantly screwed over by corporate greed from companies like Disney and Warner Discovery, while Indie Cartoons aren’t tied down by corporate meddling that either ruins or cancels them.

I miss cable TV

Thank you SO much for the Ollie & Scoops exposure in this video! It helps a ton and means a lot to me. No pressure but if you ever want to spotlight O&S in someway I'm happy to give you my time to chat or whatever you'd need. Thanks again for your O&S support, it's very kind of you!!

Who knew greedy companies rehashing popular shows would turn out to be a bad idea

Indie Animation is so cool as much as Mainstream Animated Series. TADC Rocks! Also, Monkey Wrench. Nice footage of Lumi and the great big galaxy!

Honestly when I look back on shows like Ed Edd n Eddy, OK KO, Regular Show, Chowder, I really hope that not all new animation will be serious With serious plots and maybe a little humor on the way. I really hope we can still have those good slice-of-life animations we all loved as kids

HELL YEAH the earth guy was shown its one of my favorite indies im glad it got shown

Not just animation it's indie everything

I'm glad port by the sea is in the thumbnail, you should watching

I love your references to 2010 and 2000s your avatar. The last Airbender reference is perfect. Keep it up.

Personally the only flaw i can find in indie animation is the lack of dubbing in other languages, which prevents accessibility sometimes because despite being free, not everyone may understand english and you'd have to pray that others make a good fandub. And even then, you'd have to wait a long ass time for them to come out (which ok, it's also a problem with cable and streaming, but i think indie suffers a lot more from this). Two exemples I can think of right now about the lack of dubbing (at least in my language, Italian) are the more unknown ones and Disventure Camp (which is a show based off of Total Drama, but ends up being more of its own thing. More similar to real reality shows, such as Survivor instead of having cartoonishly extreme challenges). The latter has an italian fandub sure, but up to the forth episode of season 1, while in English and Spanish (which are both the official dub by the studio Odd Nation Cartoons) is already on the forth of season 3

glad to see someone else talking about the beauty that is Monkey Wrench

Thank you so much for hammering in Monkey Wrench and the attention it needs. It's no joke my favorite thing I watched throughout 2023 and I want to see it continue. The Monkey Wrench team is also one that has been so real about how much goes into making an indie animation. Cannot recommend it enough.

Besides the material not being as constrained as something published by one of the bigger media companies (Disney's amazing series The Owl House got season 3 cut down for... Reasons?), indie works are also more easily transmitted to people through the internet rather than being stuck on cable or paid streaming services. I don't have to buy a Netflix subscription for Helluva Boss, I can just go to RU-vid. So can millions of other people. That matters a lot.

We are Cartoon Indie Television! We are looking to find some indie animated shows and pilots for posting on our program! Saddly and apologize, we can't create or make our Cartoon Indie Television original series.

I have been developing my own cartoon show for the past eight years of my life and I want to finally make it and right now I’m working on a pilot by myself. I don’t know how to make it out there, publicly. And to copyright it, so nobody can steal it. But my dreams are bright to create a beautiful show.

Not just full-on shows either. Channels like Doobus Goobus and Wrath Club still make great one-offs, keeping the Newgrounds spirit alive.

I love animation, but from what I’ve seen, most adult animation still doesn’t feel adult. It Just feels the same as kids animation just with blood and cursing. I feel as if their needs to be more animated series out their like that. ❤🎉😢❤❤

I mean he ain't wrong Hazbin hotel Helluva boss The amazing digital circus Murder drones Skibidi toilet Lackadaisy .B.F.D.I. Honestly I agree some of the NEW shows that have came out recently has really only been indie animation/decendence of indie animation

The best thing about indie animation in my opinion is that, unlike big companies who always cling to old ass IPs and don’t try to innovate, they are not afraid to create new things or experiment or try new fresh ideas.

Ooh I didn't expect to see my animation show up! (The Earth Guy) Thank you so much for featuring! Speaking from my own experience, going indie and doing everything by myself is very hard, but definitely worth it. I'm excited to see so much original and creative ideas being brought to life by indie artists! Keep it coming! ❤

4:31 On that video they mentioned they were gonna do a video about how cartoons nowadays feel the need to shoehorn comedy in, I'm still waiting on that, it's a topic that feels specially more important with every year that goes by

Speaking of projects, there's this upcoming adult indie animated pilot called "Roswell". It's about 3 friends who live in Roswell, NM (the site of the 1947 UFO incident). Josh, the main character, recently lost his grandfather (the eyewitness to the said incident), and he's not only grieving his loss, but also trying to prove to everyone that he wasn't crazy, and that aliens and UFOs are real. At the same time, strange things are happening in his town, and it's up to Josh and his two best friends to figure out what's going on. The RU-vid channel's name is "Polaris Media".

Well said. I myself have become a huge fan of indie projects. Whether that be indie games or indie animated shows. The main reasons indie stuff is usually better, is due to the fact that they want to do it. If you work at a conpany, you are forced to make these games or shows, which lead to laziness and bland creations. However, if you're an indie developer, or even a small group of indie developers, you make that game/show out of love. You have fun doing it, you also have more time to make it and are more creative over it. You also have less people to go against your ideas. This is truly the indie era, and I'm here to support it fully.

When Vox was listing off art directors, I felt insulted he didn’t mention one of the greats, the late Derrick J. Wyatt. You know, the guy whose art style was immediately recognizable in shows like Transformers Animated, Ben 10 Omniverse, or that one show that starred multiple characters from DC Comics that became so popular that people are still trying to get CN to make a season 6?

I think what I love most about indie animation is the freedom that amazing creators can have.

2:23 now that is true

In regards to the filter, a show that really comes to mind is Murder Drones. Because holy hell, someone hold me I'm scared... But also intrigued.

2:16 uh ya it’s the same for the video game industry. Animation and games, things that used to be made with passion and creativity, are being farmed by big companies and it’s becoming super clear to players when games are cashgrabby or made without love. So we’re turning to the indie scene, even tho it’s way less accessible due to many indie games releasing only on pc or switch, and the same is happening with animated media. I for one am loving it. As daunting as it is (I had hoped to have my own indie show by now when I was like 14) I feel like entering the indie scene as a creator will be so warm and uplifting, as seeing the creations now is just insane to me as a viewer.

Considering mainstream animation might go extinct, what does this mean for mainstream franchises like The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, Scooby Doo, The Powerpuff Girls, South Park, and Garfield?

I remember seeing the “Hugo’s mind palace” pilot (clip in this video) and unless it went viral recently, it is super underrated.

I’ve been trying to create an indie animation series and I have this massive vision for it but it is very hard to make especially by myself so anyone who dose produce indie animation I admire them

‼️YES EVERY WORD IS TRUE‼️ I’m an indie creator, I’m working on my own animated series at the moment, and yes when it comes to indie animation and art like it; it is almost always in the viewers and supports hands how far they push the show and to help create it. Most indie shows would not exist without the support of fans! The fans are the people that help build it! When it comes it corporations and studios as you’ve said it is to the higher ups what happens, but with indie those restrictions are almost nonexistent. Their is more control in the creator and fans hands with indie animation. It is more important now than ever to support indie series and stick it to those big corporations and show them that passion and patience, pays. What big corporations don’t understand is that they can lose an audience so quickly if the refuse to listen to their viewers. Indie animation and creatives are more likely to listen to criticism and ideas form the audience then a corporation. Which is another reason to continue to uplift indie projects. Big corporations are running dry and are redoing/rebooting their old successful movies and shows to try and recreate that love and revenue it once had. Disney for example, making live action movies of the old princess movies to try and recreate the money and love that they had held back in the day. While today with indie, fresh NEW ideas are what the public is looking for. Not reruns of a similar plot that they basically know by heart. These newer ideas are exciting and bring more viewers in seeing something completely different. Indie projects are a way to get involved and to get creative. They are pretty much by the people for the people. And has an indie creator, I will back that up 100%. (I do apologize for any words doubling, misspellings, and grammar mistakes. I am dyslexic and have problems finding my errors sometimes 😅)

I do agree Indie shows regardless of it is an Animated or Live Action series is definitely taking over and I might want to Join in as I having doubt leaving my home state on the east coast and joining entertainment companies in LA for a multiple reasons such as the fear of getting my show cancelled and/or cut short by the higher ups.

I am also considering on becoming an animator and creator of my own show in the future but I'm not there yet. I havent gone to college yet for animation yet but eventually I want to. Probably would rather stay in independent creators I would work with if I can. Then eventually when I'm entirely finished making my idea for my animated show I would be willing to try to make it. But thats way in the future so for now I'll enjoy the ride with these amazing creators.

Short answer all the big networks keep shutting down big animation projects in favor of cheaper projects like teen titans go, so people who have wanted to do their own projects without a Hollywood executive controlling what they can and cant do so they do it themselves and it sells

No disrespect to animation I love it as much as the next person but now I kind of wish I want to see a Good ORIGINAL Live Action G-Rated Fantasy movie with Big Action and Stunning VFX (that's not a Disney style Remake) and it's Story feels like a Top-Tier Pixar or DreamWorks Movie.

SO happy to see port by the sea rn

I had been thinking of this in a while: indie animation could also mean that there can be more animation done in countries that just don't have much in general in terms of animation, such as Zimbabwe, Faroe Islands, Bosnia, Portugal, Andorra, Malta, Ghana, Luxembourg, etc.

I'm just happy that more and more creators have the time to shine now. But I also hope that more don't get stuck in the mud and dont achieve the views they need. One good example I can think of is "Tales of Zale" by Sif Savery. They had 2 old episodes in the 2010's and then spent 3 years making a new short called "Tales of Zale: Flickering Lights" back in 2022. It currently has around 890k views, and Sif is currently trying to go the Hazbin route, openly working with a larger studio and an undisclosed broadcaster to hopefully make a Tales of Zale series for TV and Streaming. Either way I highly reccomend checking Tales of Zale out, Flickering lights works really well as a standalone piece so no need to worry.

Its amazing how RU-vid has better shows than 90% of the stuff on streaming services. Im always finding good stuff even parody videos like a Mario Kart anime made by Mashed or Nintendo High which feels like a comic dub over a legit cartoon but still