The Amazing Digital Circus
Genre
Created byGooseworx
Inspired by"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison
Voices of
Theme music composerGooseworx
Opening theme"The Amazing Digital Circus Main Theme" (vocals by Lizz Robinett)
Ending theme"Digital Days"
Composers
  • Evan Alderete
  • Gooseworx
Country of origin
  • Australia
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producers
  • Kevin Lerdwichagul
  • Luke Lerdwichagul
ProducerKevin Lerdwichagul
EditorGooseworx
Running time25 minutes, 45 seconds
Production companyGlitch Productions
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseOctober 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) –
present (present)

The Amazing Digital Circus (also known as Digital Circus or TADC) is an independent animated web series created by Gooseworx and produced by Glitch Productions.[1] The series premiered on the GLITCH YouTube channel on October 13, 2023.[2] It received critical acclaim, and amassed over 100 million views in a month, surpassing Hazbin Hotel as the most viewed independent animation pilot on YouTube.

Synopsis

After putting on a virtual reality headset, a human becomes trapped in a circus-themed digital universe, where she assumes the avatar of a jester and meets five others who share her situation, unable to recall their names and details of their pasts. She is given the new name "Pomni", though she is first offered to be called "XDDCC". The six now struggle to retain their sanity in the unnatural and claustrophobic digital world, all while Pomni searches for a way out.

Production

The Amazing Digital Circus first originated from one of three pitches presented to Glitch Productions by YouTube animator Gooseworx, who the company reached out to create a pilot.[3] The show takes inspiration from the short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.[4]

The show's original pitch proposed an animation style similar to computer games of the 1990s. Gooseworx has a background in 2D hand-drawn animation, and animators at Glitch Productions adapted her artwork into 3D.[3] Pre-production began in mid-2022, with production starting in full later that year. The show was made in Maya and Unreal Engine.[5]

The general manager of Glitch Productions, Jasmine Yang, has stated there are no plans for the show to be put on streaming platforms besides YouTube.[3] Gooseworx is planning for the show to have one season of eight episodes.[6] In addition, in a YouTube community post celebrating 100 million views on the pilot episode and stating the company wasn't expecting the pilot to pass 100 million views.[7] Glitch Productions announced there will be more The Amazing Digital Circus content.[8]

Voice cast

Main characters

  • Lizzie Freeman as Pomni, the protagonist and a confused newcomer to the circus, who is stuck in the body of a jester.
  • Michael Kovach as Jax, a purple rabbit and nonchalant trickster who takes delight in pranking and bullying the other cast members.
  • Amanda Hufford as Ragatha, a kindly rag doll who attempts to maintain an optimistic attitude towards her situation.
  • Marissa Lenti as Gangle, a shy humanoid ribbon who wears fragile comedy and tragedy masks that represent her current mood.
  • Sean Chiplock as Kinger, a king chess piece who has been trapped in the circus longer than the others, leaving him anxiety-ridden and neurotic.
  • Ashley Nichols as Zooble, an irritable, unfriendly mix-and-match toy in a vaguely humanoid form.
  • Alex Rochon as Caine, the circus's AI ringmaster with teeth for a head, who tends to the inhabitants of the circus.
  • Gooseworx as Bubble, Caine's AI assistant.

Supporting characters

  • Elsie Lovelock as the Gloink Queen, ruler of the pest-like Gloinks.

Episodes

No.TitleWritten and directed byStoryboard byOriginal release date
1"Pilot"GooseworxNeda LayOctober 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)
A young woman becomes trapped in a circus-themed computer game after donning a VR headset. She meets a group of other trapped humans – Jax, Ragatha, Gangle, Kinger, and Zooble – and, unable to recall her original name, is renamed "Pomni" by the AI ringmaster, Caine. Pomni notices an exit door while touring the circus, but the others dismiss her as delusional. While Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble participate in a quest to gather geometrical critters called "Gloinks", Pomni accompanies Ragatha and Jax to visit Kaufmo, another human searching for an exit, but find he has succumbed to insanity and "abstracted", becoming a mindless beast. While attempting to help Ragatha after Kaufmo causes them both to glitch out, Pomni stumbles upon the exit door and enters it, finding a labyrinth of office spaces that eventually lead her to an out-of-bounds area called "the Void". Caine returns Pomni to the circus, where he imprisons Kaufmo in a cellar with other abstracted humans, and repairs Ragatha's glitching, before explaining that the "exit" is an unfinished extension he made for the circus. He then treats everyone to a feast of unsustaining digital food, which the others enjoy while Pomni is left traumatized by her situation.

Reception

The pilot for The Amazing Digital Circus became a viral video on YouTube,[4] amassing over 152 million views in a month and earned over four million likes.[3][7] The Amazing Digital Circus's jokes were praised as "timed with frame-to-frame perfection", with a sense of humor that is "mature" but "not overly vulgar".[3] The animation was also praised as "wonderful and expressive".[9] Jade King of TheGamer wrote that The Amazing Digital Circus's pilot "has taken over the internet in a way that goes beyond enthusiast circles, slipping into fanart, memes, and a deeper expansion of its characters than a single episode could ever conjure," and that the series "is a big deal, and will continue to be one in the months and years to come as the concept picks up steam and becomes a fully-fledged show that millions seem to already be on board. [...] I wouldn't be surprised if Glitch Productions soon took over the world."[10]

References

  1. ↑ Weston, Christopher (2023-10-16). "The Amazing Digital Circus: Everything you need to know from pilot to characters and merch". HITC. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  2. ↑ Valens, Ana (2023-10-25). "Where and How To Watch 'The Amazing Digital Circus'". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Lang, Jamie (2023-10-26). "'The Amazing Digital Circus' Creator Gooseworx On Developing The Internet's Hottest Animated Pilot". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  4. 1 2 Stanford, Kaitlin (2023-11-02). "What is the web series 'The Amazing Digital Circus'? Why are people obsessed with it?". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  5. ↑ McKenzie, Theodore (7 November 2023). "GLITCH on Character Animations in The Amazing Digital Circus". 80 Level. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "The plan is eight episodes total, one season". Tumblr. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  7. 1 2 Reyna, Leo (November 30, 2023). "Indie Cartoon The Amazing Digital Circus Surpasses 150M Views". CBR. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ "100. MILLION. VIEWS. In exactly 1 month". YouTube. 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  9. ↑ Guerrero, Justin (2023-10-25). "REVIEW: THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS is a jaw-dropping dark comedy". The Beat. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  10. ↑ King, Jade (2023-11-16). "The Amazing Digital Circus Is The Biggest Indie Animation In Years". TheGamer. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
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