5 Animations on YouTube that We LOVE
- Calan Mengel
- Dec 3, 2021
- 4 min read
Whether a proof of concept, music video, independent animator, test animation, or student work achieve, YouTube is home to many animations old and new. Today we take a look at some of my favorites!
***WARNING: May contain some spoilers, please be advised***
1. Drunk by Jaime Rodriguez
While I've known who The Living Tombstones were for a while, I did not find this particular music video until very recently. This piece is unique for a multitude of reasons, the first one being how much this animator allows his characters to move, sway, and turn. In addition, Rodriguez is extremely talented at morphing objects into other objects. Our protagonist's body turns into a bouncing head, that turns into a spiral that falls into a bottle of alcohol. This kind of animation is very pleasing to the eye, easy to follow, and keeps your audience engaged. I always find something new each time I rewatch the video.
On another note, this piece has a deeper story meaning in its music and animation. We count drinks with our protagonist and watch his mental morph and bend through a horrible alcoholic binge trip. There are some comments in the comment section that talk about the meaning behind addiction, some even mentioning how this video helped them to their sobriety.
2. Big Top Burger by Ian Worthington
Big Top Burger has been a favorite of mine ever since the first episode debut back in in June of 2020. Ian has an extremely specific type of animation that really stands out from the rest. Paired with great comedy, we get a mini series featuring a clown-themed food truck that sells burgers.
This is a narrative piece compared to the first animation featured on the list. Each episode follows the shenanigans of Penny, Billie, Tim, and their boss Steve. The minimal character movement at times, mixed with funny facial changes in the characters, makes for interesting visuals. Plus.... CLOWNS! The voice acting and music also add to the whole piece, all created by Ian and a small team.
I highly recommend checking out the rest of his channel if you'd like to see more comedy. And if you're reading this, your in luck: season two of Big Top Burger is currently being release!
3. WORK by Michael Rianda
This hilariously heartwarming short follows the story of a little boy who just wants some damn Moon Shoes...
So he does what any other normal kid would do and gets a 9 to 5 office job.
Jokes aside, this piece does a fantastic job of storytelling along with some very stylistic characters. We get to see how easily the brightness and happiness of childhood goes away over time when your an 'adult'. This piece caters to a multitude of audience members, from children who also just want some Moon Shoes, to adults who understand the bittersweet feelings of growing up and having responsibilities, looking back on their youth.
You know who animated this back in 2010? Michael Rianda. Same guy who worked on Gravity Falls. And directed The Mitchells vs the Machines. And helped on an episode of one of Netflix's newest adult animated TV shows, Inside Job. Let that sink in.
4. Becky Prim by Karl Hadrika
Another classic on YouTube, this time an animatic, so not full animation (only partial bits here and there, general movement and frames, etc.) This one was too good to pass up though.
Becky Prim is the story of bad-ass, edgy teenager named Becky and, well... her death. Becky gets stung by a bee and haunts the school bullies who took her favorite lunch bench. It's hilarious, and the animation gags featured in this proof of concept shine through. This animation doesn't hold back on it's 'uglier' sides too and showcases some more spooky things compared to our other lighthearted picks on the list (except for the concept in Drunk). It's also neat to see Hadrika;s progress on this piece in the piece, adding a bit of color here and there to experiment, especially with Becky and her blue spirit.
The sound effects and voice overs really pull this animatic together as well.
5. [ For girls ] by Yu Eun
Please don't @ me for adding an animation meme to the list. This one's immaculate.
In just 30 seconds of time, director and animator Yu Eun takes this bright little character and lets them WORK the floor. The color scheme is a beautiful magenta, turquoise, and yellow, which are the true primary colors according to film and photography (and how nicely they work together!). We also experience color changes, basic shapes, and motivated white space that allows the audiences viewing be pleasant, organized, and fun.
Story-wise, we do learn a decent amount about this character. For one, the piece is called [ For girls ], so this character may be a little lady, but it doesn't have to be. What's cute about the piece is that we see this character do a multitude of things: skateboard, shake their butt, pick their nose, wield a sword, eat a bunch of junk food. It is a very personable character that most anyone can relate to. All done in 30 seconds!
BONUS: PUPARIA by Shingo Tamagawa
How can I not mention or showcase PUPARIA on this list? Lucky for you, I won't say much, but give it a watch and check out our other article diving deeper into this piece: https://calanmengel.wixsite.com/whathappensnextblog/post/how-puparia-explores-consumerism-self-discovery-and-the-world-values-of-today
Conclusion
These are not the only worth while pieces of animation on the entirety of YouTube; there is a plethora of interesting and inspiring content on the platform that you should research. Many of these animators end up doing really great things!
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