The independent animation space has made some significant strides in recent years. Projects like Hazbin Hotel, Helluvaboss, and the Amazing Digital Circus, all of which got their start online, have managed to garner success on the mainstream, gain a global audience, and even be hosted on popular streaming sites like Amazon Prime. The Amazing Digital Circus made a massive stride this June with the theatrical release of its final episode.
This success has only highlighted the problems within this industry that will no doubt negatively affect any future projects that appear in this space. No community is free from controversy; however, the independent animation industry seems to be rife with community problems that only seem to compound.
It is a peculiar issue that seems unique compared to other areas of entertainment, likely caused by the degree of separation from the audience and creator. Modern indie animation has an almost symbiotic relationship with the internet, due to how much easier it has made it for prospective creators and animators to share their work with an audience. Websites like YouTube and Newgrounds were places for artists and content creators to network and build community, and while the internet has changed, many of those old creators have developed enough fame and work to branch out into official projects.
That said, it doesn’t always take years of dedication and careful brand building; virality has also been a great indicator of an indie animation project’s success. Many creators used to push their projects into the spotlight. Unsurprisingly, this creates a breeding ground for jealousy, which could easily lead to artist beef. Throwing fandoms into the mix makes matters even worse.
Because of how close indie animation creators are to indie fandoms compared to industry animation creators, this has resulted in a pervasive fan entitlement towards productions’ creative direction, especially if it goes against the fan characterizations of characters. The Amazing Digital Circus is a major unfortunate example, likely due to how closely its creator, Gooseworx, engaged with its fandom.
Of course, that isn’t to say that independent animation creators should receive no scrutiny, including Gooseworx and others within the cast of The Amazing Digital Circus. However, the indie animation space should take care to be a space that can both criticise and welcome new creators.
