Indie animation, or independent animation, hasn’t been around that long, but it has taken the world by storm. Several indie animated shows including “The Earth Guy,” “The Amazing Digital Circus” and “Monkey Wrench” are all independently funded.
Animation has given rise to some of the world’s most beloved films by the best animation studios, but what if creating a series didn’t have to be backed up by major corporations like Netflix or Disney? What if that series was funded by a community of animation lovers on the internet?
Recently, major networks like Netflix, Max and a few other streaming platforms have been purging animated content off their streaming platforms for tax write-offs. Some shows never see the light of day thanks to these corporations.
This was especially prevalent during the Warner Bros/Discovery merger which purged and wrote off thousands of animated shows and films just to save some money. Most of these shows are no longer available for legal streaming thanks to that merger.
This is where Indie animation comes into play.
Creators fund indie animation with their own money. Some get this money through sites like Kickstarter, GoFundMe or Patreon. Viewers can support the project by buying merchandise from the show, pledging to a Patreon that the creator has set up or just watching the content on the platform it was published on.
I love watching animated content, especially on YouTube and New Grounds, because creators can do whatever they want and show off their works to the world. Some of my favorite shows are indie animated, and for good reason – they take risks.
If audiences were to look at the most recent original animated content on streaming, it would more than likely be canceled before it had the chance to show what it’s made of. This is mainly because of corporate greed and companies not giving shows a chance to shine.
I think the reason indie animation is the new way forward is that creators don’t have to listen to big corporations to get their shows off the ground. They can do what they want and the fans will be there to support their favorite shows.
One show that’s indie animated is a series called “Monkey Wrench.” It’s an indie series on YouTube about two friends who are bounty hunters who take on a series of jobs across the galaxy. It is crowd-funded and no corporation has any say on what they can or can’t do in the show. The same can be said of “The Earth Guy.” It’s another series on YouTube that is also crowd-funded. The style of the animation gets better every episode as the artist gets better and the series progresses.
The same can also be said of Glitch Productions. They are a crowd-funded company on YouTube that produces high-quality 3-D shows like “Sunset Paradise,” “Meta Runner,” “Murder Drones” and more. Their most recent original show, created by Gooseworxs, got a deal with Netflix to air their show on the platform, and Netflix doesn’t have any say in what the show can or can’t do.
Fans might be saying that indie animation is in its golden age, but I think it’s only just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what it has in store for the world.
