Indie Animation on The Big Screen

By KH

We all remember going to the movies growing up, right? It might have been a tiny mom and pop theater, a random AMC, or a Regal, or maybe you went to a higher-class theater like an Alamo Drafthouse, but you went at least once in your lifetime. So, when was the last time you went to see a major movie from Disney, Universal, Warner, or any of the other media giants? For me I saw The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and I was just so disappointed. I was not alone since many felt the same and not just with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but with many of the recently released films from Hollywood. So why not take a chance on something less mainstream and more Indie?

That is where Battle For Dream Island and Inanimate Insanity came in to play because each of these niche internet shows was able to have their shows projected in theaters! This is not a Simpsons Movie or Rugrats situation where the creators made movies for their shows. Instead, the minds behind the shows decided to make longer more cinematic episodes where they brought the visuals up to snuff with what someone would expect from a movie theater experience.

Now you may be confused what these shows are and how they were able to get into theaters without the help of a major studio coming in and investing in them and it is simple; they spent their entire lives making art. Take Battle For Dream Island for example, it was created by 2 young boys for fun, but it grew into a franchise with 6 seasons, numerous pieces of merchandise, and a dedicated fan base with a similar story being the case for Inanimate Insanity with the creators of both shows being close friends and work together often.

While this is all great, all of these came with the sad downside of limited tickets, theaters, and runs. If they were released by a major studio these episodes would be in practically every theater across the world and there would be abundant tickets for everyone to get a seat eventually but that isn’t the case for these shows due to them simply being less well known so they’re given less screen time by theaters and less advantageous deals. Usually, movies stay in theaters for a few weeks to even a couple of months, but with these shows they are in theaters for only a few days before they are gone from theaters for good. Now sure the episode is eventually going to be released on YouTube, but that brings the downside of spoilers because the episodes will not be released online for around a month and just is not the same experience as watching it in theaters.

The current system isn’t perfect, but the fact that all of these shows could be put on the big screen; the dream of so many artists is a feat that must be applauded. What must also be applauded is the fact that all these shows making it all the way here and showing that all their years of blood, sweat, and tears dedicated to their craft paid off inspires more artists to try and do the same and there is already proof of this happening thanks to The Amazing Digital Circus with the final two episodes being turned into a movie but unlike all these other shows they were able to release this across the world wherever it can legally be shown and also have the most popular Movie Trailer on YouTube beating out Backrooms by A24 and the Harry Potter Reboot.

Something like this has simply never happened before; a new studio has not done something like this since DreamWorks came out with Shrek, and even then, it is not a perfect comparison. And to think this is all thanks to these two funny little Object Shows deciding that this was the next step for their art and taking the leap. You should do the same with your passions because if shows about random objects fighting for cake and money can make it so can you.