Animator vs. Animation

Animator vs. Animation (AvA) is an American animated web series created by Alan Becker. The original animation was first published on Newgrounds on June 3, 2006, with a sequel following five months later. Almost every installment is animated in either Adobe Animate or Blender, with live-action scenes also being incorporated into the series, starting with the fourth episode.

The premise of the web series is a stick figure attempting to escape the animation program in which it was created, either by using the built-in animation tools or through sheer brute force. The series contains almost no spoken dialogue.

Known for its unique concept and high-quality animation, it became an immediate internet hit, receiving 4.78 stars on Newgrounds and 80 million views on YouTube. The fourth installment gained almost 5 million views on YouTube within a month.

A Kickstarter campaign for a reboot episode of the series was created on July 10, 2013, reaching their $10,000 funding goal on August 9, 2013. The episode was released on October 2, 2014.

Two game adaptations have been created or are in development for the series. In 2006, Charles Yeh developed a browser game titled Animator vs. Animation Game: SE. On March 26, 2025, Animation VERSUS, a fighting game, was successfully funded on Kickstarter, which is currently in development and set to be released in 2028.

Characters

Humans

"The Animator" (a self-insert of Alan Becker): The titular character. He was initially an antagonist who showed disdain towards his creations, before redeeming himself and showing more care to them after learning that one of them (The Second Coming) was sentient and could talk through text.

Artificial stick figures Four hollow-headed stick figures all created by the Animator at different points in the story. victim (later named H4CK3R): A black, later dark gray stick figure created on June 3, 2006 by the Animator, who was cruelly tortured for amusement by the Animator until he successfully escaped the computer, but was left deeply traumatized. He is characterized by resourcefulness, enabling his escape by secretly engineering a rocket, and once freed, he leveraged this skill in co-founding a technology company called Rocket Corp with his newly-met friend, Mitsi. After her sudden death, he became driven to avenge her. Once he tricked the Animator in renaming him to H4CK3R, he is granted technological abilities, such as data manipulation.

The Chosen One (TCO) (later named NO ONE): A black stick figure, originally almost identical in appearance to victim, created on March 15, 2007 by the Animator. His powers include pyrokinesis, ice manipulation, laser vision and enhanced strength, although they are lost after he is renamed to NO ONE by H4CK3R. After collaborating with The Dark Lord against the Animator and escaping the computer, he initially followed him in his violent rampages across the internet, until he began mellow out in AVM0 and later disagreed with the release of ViraBot, a malicious virus created by The Dark Lord, rendering them enemies again.

The Dark Lord (TDL): A bright red stick figure, created by the Animator on October 2, 2011, programmed solely with the mission of destroying The Chosen One. He possesses flight and pyrokinesis abilities, which are later enhanced after partially merging with the ViraBot virus. He is an aggressive and sadistic thrill-seeker, deriving enjoyment from committing acts of violence and destruction. He has also shown cunning and ingenuity when creating the ViraBot virus, to cause chaos across the internet.

The Second Coming (TSC) (also known as Orange): An orange stick figure accidentally created by the Animator on October 2, 2014, who has an innate talent for art and animation. He assumes leadership over his group of friends, the Fighting Stick Figures, and collectively they are known as the Colour Gang. Initially, he differed little from them aside from his distinctive head shape, until he is revealed to possess latent abilities such as telekinesis, flight, laser vision, resurrection, etc.

Fighting Stick Figures A group of four solid-headed stick figures consisting of Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green were introduced on October 2, 2014. They originally resided on a website called sticksfight.com, until meeting The Second Coming who introduced them to the world outside. Red: A red stick figure that loves animals and is proficient in close-quarters combat. He is reckless and the most impulsive of the Stick Gang. Blue: A cyan stick figure who is knowledgeable in farming, cooking, and brewing potions. Due to his pacifist nature, he's been described as a "hippie" and has an addiction to nether wart in the Animation vs. Minecraft spin-off. Yellow: A yellow stick figure skilled in engineering and programming. He is characterized as the technically-inclined of the group. Green: A lime stick figure who has musical talent. He is quick at learning and often flaunts his skills. As a result of his arrogance, he tends to be picked on by his friends, or punished by the narrative with karmic consequences.

Mercenaries A group of four stick figures with unique designs and fighting styles, who work under victim's orders. Excluding Ballista, the mercenaries lack official names and are only being referred to with community-created nicknames. "Agent": A thin, dark gray stick figure of above average height who wears sunglasses. He has a solid white head with a dark gray outline, identical to his body, and possesses a toolbar that allows him to use animation tools. His non-canon production name is G.U.I.. "Hazard": A pictogram portrayed as nonchalant and comical. He has control over any pictogram sign, whose meaning or symbol he can utilize for various attacks. His non-canon production name is Sign. "Primal": A tall, brown stick figure in the style of a cave drawing that acts on immediate instinct and raw power. He can manifest primitive weapons such as a spear or a bow and arrow. His non-canon production name is Lasco. Ballista: A short pixelated stick figure that can shapeshift and is short-tempered. He's a crossover character from an animation made in 2003, . His non-canon production name is EZToon, named after the animation program he was created in.

Others ViraBots: A computer virus created by The Dark Lord that takes the form of red robotic spiders. Much like their creator, they are aggressive and hostile. Mitsi: A white graphic figure in a grey dress with dark hair, who was victim's first friend, and the co-founder of Rocket Corp. She is kind-hearted, having helped victim overcome his trauma. Corn Dog Guy: A brown stick figure, who is an opportunistic businessman that runs a corn dog stand in the Outernet. He is exclusive to the Actual Shorts series, but makes a small cameo later in Animator vs. Animation.

Episodes

Season 1 (2006–14)

Season 2 (2018–20)

Season 3 (2023–)

Development and history Becker was born in Dublin, Ohio on May 18, 1989. He graduated from Scioto High School in 2007, and attended Columbus College of Art and Design, graduating in 2013.

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. His first official animation, titled Pink Army, was posted on Newgrounds in 2006. Becker created his YouTube channel on the 24th of July that same year. Approximately three months after starting the animation, Becker posted it to Newgrounds. The next day, the animation received second place for the entire day. Becker began receiving numerous emails and instant messages from website owners who wanted to host the animation on their websites, with one of the websites even offering $75, provided they received exclusive rights to the animation. Becker declined after reading an email above from Steven Lerner, the owner of Albino Blacksheep.

AtomFilms offered to fund the making of a sequel, which was released on November 4, 2006. Becker used his real AIM username in the animation, which made him unable to use the service without his desktop screen being flooded by hundreds of fans who attempted to message him online. Becker began uploading the videos to YouTube, manually reporting clones of the videos using YouTube's copyright report system, but it reportedly took several years. Becker uploaded "Animator vs. Animation 3" onto Atom.com on October 4, 2010, intending for it to be the final episode. He then went on to study animation at the Columbus College of Art and Design and tried to get an internship at Pixar but was rejected twice, with Becker seeking offers from smaller companies. Becker launched a Kickstarter campaign for the funding of Animator vs. Animation 4 after being motivated by his teacher's words and encouragement to keep going. The campaign launched on July 10, 2013, and the $10,000 funding goal was reached on August 9, 2013. On October 2, 2014, "Animator vs. Animation 4" was released onto YouTube. It reportedly gained almost five million views on YouTube within a month.

eBaum's World controversy

"Animator vs. Animation" was uploaded to eBaum's World without Becker's permission and proper credit. Legal action was threatened against eBaum's World under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. eBaum's World later contacted Becker, offering him $250 as compensation and pressuring Becker into a false testimonial. Becker later retracted the statement and officially requested that eBaum's World remove the animation and testimonial from the website.

Other media

Game adaptations In 2006, a browser game adaptation titled Animator vs. Animation Game: SE was released for Adobe Flash Player, developed by Charles Yeh. On March 26, 2025, a Kickstarter campaign was launched for Animation VERSUS, a fighting game. The project's goal of $130,000 was reached in 5 hours. The game is currently in development with the help of Muno, who created a Rivals of Aether mod featuring characters from the series.

Spin-offs

A 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. It later became a full-blown series, alternating between slice-of-life and serialized storytelling, debuted on November 17, 2017. Its fourteenth episode briefly became the most popular Minecraft video on the internet, and it remains Becker's most popular video.

Another spinoff, "Animation vs. YouTube", featured cameo appearances from numerous YouTubers, including PewDiePie and Markiplier. Actual Shorts are shorts formatted for YouTube Shorts, with the name referencing the fact that most episodes in the Animation vs. Minecraft "Shorts" series are too long to be considered shorts, with running times of up to thirty minutes.

Other miscellaneous spin-offs include: Animation vs. League of Legends Animation vs. Pokémon Animation vs. Super Mario Bros Animation vs. Arcade Games Animation vs. Geometry Dash Animation vs. Education (edutainment)

Reception The series has gained a generally positive reception.

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Animation Result Ref 2007 Webby Awards "People's Voice" Award "Animator vs. Animation II" 2014 Cleveland International Film Festival "Best of Ohio" Award "Animator vs. Animation IV" 2024 Independent Media Initiative "Animation vs. Math"

Animator vs. Animation

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