Animated media produced outside the major industry
The termsindependent animation orindie animation refers toanimated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major nationalanimation industry.
Ralph Bakshi tried and succeeded to establish an alternative to mainstream animation through independent[18] and adult-oriented productions in the 1970s.
In the late 1960s, animatorRalph Bakshi and producerSteve Krantz founded Bakshi Productions,[19] establishing the studio as an alternative to mainstream animation by producing animation his own way and accelerating the advancement of female and minority animators. He also paid his employees a higher salary than any other studio at that time.[20] In 1969, Ralph's Spot was founded as a division of Bakshi Productions to produce commercials forCoca-Cola andMax, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse, a series of educational shorts paid for byEncyclopædia Britannica.[21][22] However, Bakshi was uninterested in the kind of animation he was producing, and wanted to produce something personal. Bakshi soon developedHeavy Traffic, a tale of inner-city street life. However, Krantz told Bakshi that studio executives would be unwilling to fund the film because of its content and Bakshi's lack of film experience.[22] While browsing the East Side Book Store onSt. Mark's Place, Bakshi came across a copy ofR. Crumb'sFritz the Cat. Impressed by Crumb's sharp satire, Bakshi purchased the book and suggested to Krantz that it would work as a film.[22]
Fritz the Cat (1972) was the first animated film to receive anX rating from the MPAA, and the highest grossing independent animated film of all time.[22] Bakshi then simultaneously directed a number of animated films, starting withHeavy Traffic a year later. Ralph Bakshi became the first person in the animation industry sinceWalt Disney to have two financially successful films released back-to-back.[23]
Animation historiansJohn Canemaker[32] andMichael Sporn[33] also made independent animation in New York, both earning Oscar nods for their work (only Canemaker won in 2005).
In the 1970s, independent animatorSally Cruikshank (known for the 1975 cult shortQuasi at the Quackadero alongside animated segments forSesame Street[40]) continued to explore independent andD.I.Y. distribution options, but were still largely met with rejection even though her work is now considered ground breaking.[41]
The rise of theInternet in the 1990s and 2000s saw an exponential increase in the production of independent animation which included personal independent works by Timothy Hittle,[47]Janie Geiser,[48]John R. Dilworth,[49]Lewis Klahr[50][51] and John Schnall.[52][53]Personal computer power increased to the point where it was possible for a single person to produce an animated cartoon on a home computer, using software such asFlash, and distribute these short films over theWorld Wide Web. Independently produced Internet cartoons flourished as the popularity of the Web grew, and a number of strange, often hilarious short cartoons were produced for the Web.
In the late 1990s, an independent animated short film calledThe Spirit of Christmas was produced for under $2,000 by two artists,Matt Stone andTrey Parker. This film was widely distributed on the Internet as a pirated cartoon, and its phenomenal popularity gave rise to the popular televisionanimated seriesSouth Park.[54] Limited 1990s bandwidth made streaming difficult, if not impossible. While some animators likeSpümcø'sJohn K. opted to useFlash, it still required a plug-in making it unviewable in many earlyweb browsers. Other early online animators likeM. Wartella opted to use theAnimated GIF to overcome these limitations and create early web-based animation viewable through all browsers.[55]
By the mid-to-late 2000sYouTube and theInternet and like-minded online video distribution, in addition to independent broadcasting sites that followed, proved to be a dominant form of independently distributed, broadcast, edited, and produced animation TV shows, anime, feature films, music videos, retro animation, commercials, trailers, original online animation content, and web exclusives[60] (which would otherwise not stand a chance of seeing airtime on more normal and expensive forms of mainstream broadcasting on most television networks, which still continue to function on a more traditional distribution matrix).Annoying Orange, which started off as a series of viral quasi-CGI animated comedy shorts onYouTube, quickly gained a cult following and an excess of 100 million views online. It is an example of an animated web series to transition between Internet and television distribution successfully, as an animated series onCartoon Network.[54]
In September 2025,Polygon said thatVivienne Medrano, creator ofHazbin Hotel andHelluva Boss and founder ofSpindleHorse, was at "the center of an expanding animation empire," with Medrano telling the publication that the creation of an 11-minute animated pilot for the webcomicHomestuck will be a "test pilot" for many aspects, including "the studio, the process, a new style, [and] a new technology." She expressed her hope that the project would be opening the door for Spindlehorse working with additional creators, like artists or those who created webcomics, with "more original projects," to support other voices apart from her own ideas.[85]
LGBTQ+ representation in independent animation has increased over the years, as many series have featured LGBTQ+ characters.Lizzy the Lezzy, which premiered onMyspace in 2006, included LGBTQ+ characters like Lizzy, a lesbian.[86] Plum, a bisexual character, first appeared in the animated series,Bravest Warriors, a show which aired onCartoon Hangover'sYouTube channel from 2012 to 2018, as confirmed by her crushes and by writerKate Leth.[87][88][89] The show was made byAdventure Time creatorPendleton Ward and featuringIan Jones-Quartey, who voiced the character, Wallow, while he directed his own show,OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes which featured multiple LGBTQ+ characters. Although Plum had a crush on Chris, kissing him multiple times during the show, she is also madly in love with her doppelganger as shown in the comics.
The Rooster Teeth animated web series,RWBY, which began in 2013, features lesbian characters,[90][91][92] and atrans woman named May Marigold, voiced by Kdin Jenzen.[93][94]Nomad of Nowhere, anotherRoosterTeeth show, released in 2018, featured a lesbian protagonist named Skout, who had a crush on Captain Toth, her superior.[95][96] In addition,SpindleHorse Toons'sHazbin Hotel, byVivienne Medrano, centers around a bisexual princess of Hell named Charlie, with a girlfriend named Vaggie,[97][98] with the series also featuring an asexual character named Alastor,[97][99] and a gaypornstar named Angel Dust.[100][98][101] Medrano's other series,Helluva Boss, featured various bisexual characters, such as a demon named Moxxie,[102] and a pansexual demon named Blitzo.[103]
My Pride: The Series, which premiered in February 2020 onYouTube, follows a "queer, disabled lioness" named Nothing who is trying to heal the world.[104][105] Yssa Badiola ofRecorded by Arizal hosted aRTX panel, on September 21, 2020, and stated that there would be LGBTQ characters if a full season was ordered.[106][107] Nico Colaleo's animated web series,Too Loud, the first season which ran from July to August 2017, and the second season which aired from September to November 2019, includes an LGBTQ+ character. In the episode "Slumber Party Sneak-In," Desiree plots with her sister, Sara, to dress up as a girl in order to go to a slumber party. The rest of the girls find this out, then console her, accepting, and deciding they like her no matter whether she is a trans girl named Desiree or as a closeted boy.[108] In September 2019, Colaleo later described the episode as important, described it as his favorite episode of the show's second season, and a "pro-transgender episode."[109]
The 2016 autobiographical stop-motion shortDeer Flower, made byLos Angeles-based filmmaker Kangmin Kim, mines his childhood inSouth Korea for themes.[118]
Independent Italian animators include Ursula Ferrara (who used techniques similar to animation pioneers likeEmile Cohl on her 1986 filmLucidi Folli), Alberto D'Amico, Saul Saguatti (known for his 1995 seriesShort Splatter Collection)[119] andBruno Bozzetto, known for the 1976 featureAllegro Non Troppo and the 1990Academy Award-nominatedGrasshoppers.[120]
Independent cel animation made in South Korea during the 1980s-90s included Lee Yong-bae's award-winning tale of Sleeping BuddhaWa-Bull (1994) and powerfully political efforts from Choe Jeong-hyeon.[141]
Independent animation in the Philippines provides as a medium at large by aspiring animators and experimental artists as in the case of the works ofRoxlee (The Great Smoke andABCD).[145]
The non-profit organization Tuldok Animation Studios Inc. is known for Flipino-related projects likeLibingan andPasintabi.[146]
Estonian animatorPriit Pärn is known for his crude drawings,dark humor and satirical absurdist tone on such films asBreakfast on the Grass (1988) and1895 (1995; the latter spoofing cinema's impact on perceptions of history, identity and nationality filled with cinematic references, cultural stereotypes and inside jokes).[155]
Gints Zilbalodis won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature (the first Latvian to win such accolades) for his 2024 dialogue-free effortFlow, about a dark grey cat alongside a dog, lemur and other creatures surviving a post-apocalyptic flood.[156][157][158][159][160][161] The former victory marked the first time that an independent animated feature won in said category.[162][163]
^Television/radio Age. Television Editorial Corp. 1969. p. 13.
^abcdGibson, Jon M.; McDonnell, Chris (2008). "Fritz the Cat".Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi. Universe Publishing. pp. 58,62–63,80–81.ISBN978-0-7893-1684-4.
^Joey Comeau (w). "Shannon Watters, Adam Staffaroni, Kassandra Heller" Catbug is Missing, vol. 1, no. 6, p. 4/5 (March 2013). 5670 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 450, Los Angeles, CA 90036: KaBOOM!.
^Badiola, Yssa; Cabanos, Christine Marie; Kazemi, Joshua; Jenzen, Kdin (September 21, 2020)."RTX - Recorded by Arizal".Rooster Teeth.Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2020. See 44:58-47:11 for the question and Badiola's response.Alt URL.
^"Indies' world view is Pinoy view".entertainment.inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 13, 2011. Retrieved17 June 2024.Roxlee and Nick Deocampo are among six pioneering Filipino independent filmmakers that the Philippine Daily Inquirer is honoring in its 2nd Indie Tribute on Thursday, Dec. 15.
