It’s award season again, and not just for the Oscars and Golden Globes. That’s right, the Annie Awards are just around the corner. With the ceremony set for Feb. 17, nominations have just been revealed. Certainly, some of the biggest names in animation have gotten their fair share of shout outs this year, including a Best Feature nod for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
But there’s one viral short that’s also received its own Annie Award nomination — an animation you might have only heard about in bits and pieces, but haven’t quite gotten to check out yet.
That’s right, The Amazing Digital Circus has received a nomination for the Annies, all thanks to its beloved first episode. It’s a pretty big win for the series, and a sign that this viral short was not just a one-off fad that took over Twitter in fall 2023, but an appreciated work of art recognized throughout the entire animated industry.
The Amazing Digital Circus and the Annie Awards, explained
For the uninitiated, The Amazing Digital Circus follows Pomni, a woman trapped in a colorful 3D virtual world after putting on a VR headset. In the Digital Circus, life works a bit differently; humans are forced to participate in adventure after adventure concocted by an all-powerful and immensely goofy AI ringmaster named Caine. The pilot episode deals with Pomni coming to terms with her new reality, despite her best efforts to escape. We also learn what happens when a trapped human succumbs to insanity within the Digital Circus. No spoilers here, but it’s not pretty.
According to the Annie Awards, The Amazing Digital Circus’ pilot received a nomination for “Best Character Animation – TV/Media.” Nominating lead animator Kevin Temmer for the award, TADC goes up against Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Blue Eye Samurai, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and Star Wars: Visions — contenders from some of the biggest studios in animation, suggesting Glitch Productions is punching well above its weight.
This marks the first major award nomination for The Amazing Digital Circus, as the series did not make the shortlist for the Academy Awards’ “Animated Short Film” category.
The initial pilot episode, which premiered in mid-October 2023, has over 220 million views on YouTube. According to Glitch Productions, the pilot episode for TADC originally reached two million views in just its first day, with 100 million clicks by October.
While the series remains highly popular with internet denizens, and even received a coveted recommendation from Chainsaw Man’s very own Tatsuki Fujimoto, the short still remains an esoteric oddity to many internet users who simply aren’t terminally online. Despite a wide assortment of viral memes — including one where series lead Pomni ends up robbing a bank, complete with official voice acting — there’s a very high chance you simply missed the short when it briefly took over the internet last fall.
So do yourself a favor and go catch The Amazing Digital Circus now, before the Annie Awards arrive. It’s well worth your time. Just don’t show it to your kids.
(feature image: Glitch Productions)
