Animator vs. Animation

Last updated
Animator vs. Animation
AVA Season 2 Poster Logo.webp
Logo as shown in the poster for 'The Showdown'.
Also known asAvA
Genre
  • Action
  • Technology
  • Animation
Created by Alan Becker
Written by
Directed by
Composers
  • AaronGrooves
  • Scott Buckley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes
  • 10 (AvA branded)
  • 18 (including spinoffs, excluding AvM)
  • 36 (AvM episodes)
Production
Producers
  • Alan Becker
  • Skim
Running time3-17 minutes
Production company Atom.com (Season 1, Episode 2) [1]
Original release
Network
Release3 June 2006 (2006-06-03) –
present

Animator vs. Animation is a 2D animated web series created by Alan Becker. [2] [3] [4] The original animation was first published on Newgrounds on June 3, 2006, [5] with a sequel following 5 months later. [3] All the installations were animated in Adobe Animate.

Contents

The premise of the web-series is a stick figure attempting to escape the animation program they were created in, whether that be through using the built-in animation tools or through sheer brute force. [6] The series contains no spoken dialogue [7] (excluding the 4th episode).

Known for its unique concept and exceptional animation, it became an immediate internet hit, receiving 4.78 stars on Newgrounds [8] and 80 million views on the YouTube variant. [9] The 4th installation gained almost 5 million views on YouTube within a month. [10]

A kickstarter for the 4th installation of the series was created July 10, 2013, [11] [12] reaching their $10,000 funding goal on August 9, 2013. The episode released on October 2, 2014.

A flash game adaption of the series was created in 2006 named 'Animator vs. Animation Game: SE' (SE presumably standing for 'Special Edition'), being developed by Charles Yeh. [3]

Plot

Animator vs. Animation (2006)

Noogai (the animator) creates a stick figure in Adobe Flash (now known as Adobe Animate), naming it 'victim'. The stick figure comes to life, beginning to wreak havoc on the animator's animation software, proceeding to also clone themselves by using the software's library tool and using Flash's built in tools (eg. brush, pen, etc).

Noogai eventually manages to click out of Adobe Flash, deleting the project file in the process.

Animator vs. Animation 2 (2006)

Presumably a few months later, Noogai tries again to create a stick figure, this time naming it 'The Chosen One', making them even more powerful. Again, The Chosen One comes to life, this time making it to Noogai's desktop and destroying Noogai's desktop applications and files, all while Noogai is attempting to message a friend on AIM for help, before The Chosen One 'kills' AIM.

Before they could shut down the computer, The Chosen One is recognised as a virus by Noogai's antivirus software, Avast, and is immediately and swiftly captured. Later, it is revealed that The Chosen One is being used as a pop-up locker by Noogai.

Animator vs. Animation 3 (2010)

Five years after the events of the previous installment, The Chosen One is still an ad blocker used by Noogai. [13] Longing for freedom, he sees a website about Stick Figure Slavery where he could be free, but Noogai swiftly stops his chances. However, he manages to manipulate Noogai's cursor, making the cursor click on the option to free him and he immediately begins destroying Noogai's computer. While The Chosen One fights Clippy in Microsoft Word, [14] Noogai quickly draws a red stick figure called The Dark Lord, coding it with the mission of destroying The Chosen One. The fight becomes more destructive as The Dark Lord manages to convince several desktop applications such as Firefox or Windows Movie Maker to help him defeat The Chosen One, however they are defeated easily.

As the battle rages on, The Chosen One and The Dark Lord comes to the realisation that Noogai doesn’t care about them at all, only focusing on his Solitaire match as if they didn’t exist. So, in a final attempt to stop Noogai, the two team up to destroy his computer, creating a vortex and crashing his desktop, ending the episode.

Animator vs. Animation 4 (2014)

Around 4 years after the previous episode, Noogai is animating an orange stick figure whilst chatting with a friend through direct messages about the events of the previous episode.

Spinoffs

The series has also had multiple spinoffs, [15] with some of them gaining more views than the original series itself.

A notable spinoff called 'Animation vs. Minecraft ' was uploaded on December 14, 2015. The video briefly had the title of the most popular Minecraft video on the internet for a month. [16] It then also had its own spinoff called 'Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts', with its 14th episode being the most popular Minecraft video on the internet briefly and Becker's most popular video.

Another notable spinoff is 'Animation vs. YouTube ', which featured over 30+ famous YouTubers, including PewDiePie and Markiplier.

'Actual Shorts' are shorts formatted for YouTube Shorts, with the name mocking the fact that the 'Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts' are on-average a duration of 20 minutes.[ citation needed ]

Development and History

2006

Becker was inspired by many popular animations and stories such as Duck Amuck and the 1959 animated version of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Many other flash games such as 'Cursor Thief' on Newgrounds also gave him the spark to create the animation. [17] Approximately 3 months after beginning animation, Becker posted the animation to Newgrounds. The next day, the animation received second place for the entire day. [8]

Becker began receiving many emails and instant messages from website owners that wanted to host the animation on their website, with one of the websites even offering $75 as long as they received exclusive rights to the animation. Becker declined after reading a email above from Steven Lerner, owner of Albino Blacksheep. [17] [18]

eBaum's World controversy

'Animator vs. Animation' was put onto eBaum's World , without Becker's permission and with no credit. [19] Legal action was threatened against eBaum's World under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. [19]

eBaum's World later contacted Becker, offering him $250 as compensation and pressuring Becker into a fake testimonial. Becker later retracted the statement, and officially asked eBaum's World to pull the animation and the testimonial off the website. [17] [19]

Rest of 2006

AtomFilms offered to fund the making of 'Animator vs Animation 2', and it released on November 4, 2006. [17] Becker used his real AIM username in the animation, which caused him unable to use AIM without being spammed constantly by fans who messaged him online.

2007

Becker began uploading the videos on YouTube, reporting reuploaded copies of the video using YouTube's copyright report system, but it reportedly took a few years.

2010

Becker uploaded 'Animator vs. Animation 3' onto Atom.com (and later, YouTube and Newgrounds) on October 4, 2010, intending for it to be the finale to the trilogy. Becker then went to study animation at Columbia College of Arts and Design, with the goal of getting hired at Pixar. [17]

2013

Becker launched a kickstarter for the funding of Animator vs. Animation 4 after being motivated by his teacher's words and encouragement to keep going. The kickstarter launched on July 10, 2013 and the $10,000 funding goal was reached on August 9, 2013. [17]

2014

On October 2, 2014, 'Animator vs. Animation 4' was released onto YouTube. It reportedly gained almost 5 million views on YouTube within a month. [10] Becker began creating spinoffs of the series, such as the popular 'Animation vs. Minecraft'.

Reception

The series gained an overall positive reception.[ citation needed ]

Episodes

Season 1

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byOriginal release date
11"Animator vs. Animation"Alan BeckerJune 3, 2006 (2006-06-03)
22"Animator vs. Animation 2"Alan BeckerNovember 4, 2006 (2006-11-04)
33"Animator vs. Animation 3"Alan BeckerOctober 4, 2010 (2010-10-04)
44"Animator vs. Animation 4"Alan BeckerOctober 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)

Season 2

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byOriginal release date
51"The Virus"Alan BeckerAugust 19, 2018 (2018-08-19)
62"The Chosen One's Return"Alan BeckerOctober 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)
73"The Flashback"Alan BeckerMarch 12, 2019 (2019-03-12)
84"The Showdown"Alan BeckerOctober 24, 2020 (2020-10-24)

Season 3

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byOriginal release date
91"Wanted"Alan BeckerApril 29, 2023 (2023-04-29)
102"The Box"Alan BeckerNovember 4, 2023 (2023-11-04)

Characters

Real life characters

Hollow heads

Stickman Gang

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryAnimationResultRef
2007 Webby Awards 'People's Voice' Award'Animator vs. Animation 2'Won [12] [20]
2014 Cleveland International Film Festival 'Best of Ohio' Award'Animator vs. Animation 4'Unknown [lower-alpha 3] [21]
2024 Independent Mediaintiative 'Unknown''Animation vs. Math'Won [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Flash</span> Discontinued multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to websites

Adobe Flash is a discontinued multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich internet applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players.

Newgrounds is a company and entertainment website founded by Tom Fulp in 1995. The site hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and offices in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Xiao Xiao is an Internet Flash cartoon series by Chinese animator Zhu Zhiqiang, featuring stick figures performing choreographed fight scenes. Some of the cartoons are interactive and game-like. All cartoons are in the Adobe Flash format, with the exception of Xiao Xiao #1, which was originally in AVI format and converted to Flash format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stick figure</span> Simplistic drawing of a person

A stick figure is a very simple drawing of a human or other animal, in which the limbs and torso are represented using straight lines. The head is most often represented by a circle, which can be filled or unfilled. Details such as hands, feet, and a neck may be present or absent, and the head is sometimes embellished with details such as facial features or hair. Simpler stick figures often display disproportionate physical features and ambiguous emotion.

<i>Nicktoons Film Festival</i> American TV series or program

The Nicktoons Film Festival was an annual event that was created by producer Fred Seibert and produced for its first three years by his Frederator Studios.

eBaum's World is an entertainment website owned by Literally Media. The site was founded in 2001 and features comedy content such as memes, viral videos, images, and other forms of Internet culture. Content is primarily user submitted in exchange for points through a monetary point system "eBones."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash animation</span> Animation technique made using Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash animation is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate platform or similar animation software and often distributed in the SWF file format. The term Adobe Flash animation refers to both the file format and the medium in which the animation is produced. Adobe Flash animation has enjoyed mainstream popularity since the mid-2000s, with many Adobe Flash-animated television series, television commercials, and award-winning online shorts being produced since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny</span> 2005 single by Lemon Demon

"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", often shortened to "The Ultimate Showdown", is a comical song and video released on December 22, 2005. The song was written and performed by Neil Cicierega under the pseudonym Lemon Demon, appearing as the fifth single of the project's fifth studio album Dinosaurchestra. The song describes a massive, citywide battle set in Tokyo started by Godzilla and Batman, ultimately lasting for a century and involving dozens of pop-culture icons with the music video's animation by Shawn Vulliez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edd Gould</span> British animator, artist and voice actor (1988–2012)

Edward Duncan Ernest Gould was a British animator, artist, and voice actor. He was best known for creating Eddsworld, a media franchise consisting of flash animations and web comics featuring fictionalised versions of himself and longtime collaborators Tom Ridgewell, Matt Hargreaves, Tord Larsson and others. After Gould's death in 2012, production of Eddsworld was passed on to Ridgewell and after Ridgewell's departure from Eddsworld in 2016 it was passed to Hargreaves and Gould's family.

Aaron Long is a Canadian animator and filmmaker. He is best known for his independent cartoons Sublo and Tangy Mustard and Fester Fish, and his work on the television series BoJack Horseman and Tuca & Bertie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Gilardi</span> American internet personality

Max John Gilardi, also known as Max G or his Internet pseudonym HotDiggedyDemon, is an American internet personality, YouTuber, cartoonist, animator, and voice actor. He is best known for his PONY.MOV web series, a parody of the popular children's animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, other viral videos, and his media analysis series known as Brain Dump.

Alan Becker is an American online animator, YouTuber and artist, best known for creating the Animator vs. Animation web series and the spin-off Animation vs. franchise, in particular the web series Animation vs. Minecraft.

Josiah Alan Brooks, known online by the mononym Jazza, is an Australian YouTuber, artist, animator, and presenter best known for his "quirky" art tutorials, humorous challenges, and detailed animations. As of September 2022, his five YouTube channels have collectively reached over 1.37 billion total video views and 7.11 million subscribers.

Adam Phillips, also known by his online alias Chluaid, is an Australian filmmaker, animator, and former freelancer. He is best known for his animation work, consisting of flash animation compositions published on his website, Bitey Castle, and on the flash portal Newgrounds. His animation work on the latter has over 16 million views, making him one of the most-viewed artists on the site. Phillips created the fantasy animation shorts series, Brackenwood, the first of which was posted on Newgrounds in March 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruffle (software)</span> Open source emulator for Adobe Flash

Ruffle is a free and open source emulator for playing Adobe Flash (SWF) animation files.

Pencilmation is an American animated comedy web series on YouTube created by Ross Bollinger. The series follows the endless struggle between creator and creation as pencil-drawn stick figures and doodles come to life and grapple against the torment of their animator's pencil and his arsenal of other drawing implements. The cartoon can be recognized by its trademark ruled paper backdrop, traditional frame-by-frame animation technique, inclusion of pencils and other drawing material, energetic music, classic cartoonish sound effects, simplistic character designs, and a mix of slapstick, situational comedy, meta, and doodle-based humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Hadel</span> American animator and YouTuber (born 1993)

Zach Hadel, known by his pseudonym psychicpebbles, is an American animator, writer, director, voice actor, and YouTuber. He and Michael Cusack are co-creators and co-stars of the Adult Swim animated series Smiling Friends. He is also known for his Internet animations and for being a co-host of the Let's Play web series OneyPlays.

Christopher Luke O'Neill, also known by his Internet pseudonym Oney or OneyNG, is an Irish YouTuber, animator, cartoonist, video game designer, musician, and voice actor. He is known for his Flash animations and being the founder and host of the YouTube Let's Play web series OneyPlays. He is also the owner of the video game production company OneyWare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Cusack (animator)</span> Australian animator and voice actor

Michael R. Cusack is an Australian animator, writer, director, producer, musician, voice actor, and internet personality. He is known as the co-creator of the Adult Swim animated series Smiling Friends (2022–present), in which he voiced the characters Pim, Allan, and various others. He is also the creator of the Adult Swim animated series YOLO (2020–present) and the Hulu animated sitcom Koala Man (2023–present).

David Firth is an English animator. He created the Newgrounds animated web series Salad Fingers in 2004 and co-wrote the 2017 live-action feature film Kuso.

References

  1. ↑ Schechner, Sam (2007-06-22). "The Joy of Sticks". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  2. ↑ "Animator vs. Animation 3 Hits Atom.com". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  3. 1 2 3 Beale, Scott (2008-01-08). "Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  4. ↑ "Alan Becker - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  5. ↑ Becker, Alan (2006-06-03), Animator vs. Animation , retrieved 2024-08-18
  6. ↑ Silverberg, David (2014-10-02). "Alan Becker releases long-anticipated Animator vs. Animation IV". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  7. ↑ "Animator vs. Animation". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  8. 1 2 Becker, Alan (2006-06-03). "Animator vs. Animation". via Newgrounds . Retrieved 2024-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Becker, Alan (2007-05-14). Animator vs. Animation (original) . Retrieved 2024-08-27– via YouTube.
  10. 1 2 Verma, Arpit (2014-11-26). "This Animator vs Animation Video Goes Viral and Worth Sharing". Fossbytes. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  11. ↑ Silverberg, David (2014-10-02). "Alan Becker releases long-anticipated Animator vs. Animation IV". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  12. 1 2 Nobilt, Jennifer. "Becker shooting for 4th 'Animator vs. Animation' installment". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  13. ↑ "Animator vs Animation III". Newgrounds.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  14. ↑ "Animator vs Animation 3". TechEBlog. 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  15. ↑ "Alan Becker (@alan-becker) / Passes". Passes. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  16. ↑ "Alan Becker". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Becker, Alan (2016-06-03). The Story of Animator vs. Animation - 10 Year Anniversary . Retrieved 2024-08-18– via YouTube.
  18. ↑ "Animator vs. Animation series". Albino Blacksheep. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  19. 1 2 3 "June 2006". Albino Blacksheep. May 2006. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  20. ↑ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  21. ↑ "Animator vs. Animation IV - Cleveland International Film Festival :: March 22 - April 1, 2023". dev.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  22. ↑ @theI_M_I (2024-06-12). "For "Animation vs Math," @alanthebecker will receive an award of $50,000. Known for his reoccurring YouTube series, 'Animation vs,' he makes stick figure animations and captivates audiences with his mastery of animation while tackling subjects like physics & animation. #IMIAwards" (Tweet). Retrieved 2024-08-22– via Twitter.

Notes

  1. ↑ victim was originally colored black in their debut. Their color was changed to grey to show a difference between them and The Chosen One.
  2. ↑ While the 3rd episode (their debut) was released on Atom.com in 2010, Becker confirmed in "The Flashback" that the events took place on October 2, 2011, the day the episode made its way onto YouTube.
  3. ↑ Unable to find result of nomination, only proof is a LinkedIn profile claiming to be Becker with no proof.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.