Animator vs. Animation

Animator vs. Animation (AvA) is an American animated web series created by Alan Becker.^[1][2][3] The original animation was first published on Newgrounds on June 3, 2006,^[4] with a sequel following five months later.^[2] Almost every installment is animated in either Adobe Animate or Blender, with live action scenes having also been incorporated into the series starting with the fourth episode.

Animator vs. Animation
Logo used in the Season 2 finale poster
Also known as	AVA AvA
Genre	Action-adventure Science fiction Comedy drama
Created by	Alan Becker
Written by	Alan Becker Skim
Directed by	Alan Becker Skim guzzu
Composers	AaronGrooves Scott Buckley
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	11
Production
Producers	Alan Becker Skim
Running time	3–31 minutes
Original release
Network	Newgrounds
Release	3 June 2006 (2006-06-03) – 2 October 2014 (2014-10-02)
Network	Atom.com
Release	4 November 2006 (2006-11-04) – 4 October 2010 (2010-10-04)
Network	YouTube
Release	12 September 2007 (2007-09-12) – present

The premise of the web series is a stick figure attempting to escape the animation program they were created in, either by using the built-in animation tools, or through sheer brute force.^[5] The series contains almost no spoken dialogue.^[6]

Known for its unique concept and high-quality animation, it became an immediate internet hit, receiving 4.78 stars on Newgrounds^[7] and 80 million views on YouTube.^[8] The fourth installment gained almost 5 million views on YouTube within a month.^[9]

A Kickstarter campaign for a reboot episode of the series was created July 10, 2013,^[5][10] reaching their $10,000 funding goal on August 9, 2013. The episode released on October 2, 2014.

Multiple browser game adaptions of the series have been created, including one in 2006 titled Animator vs. Animation Game: SE, developed by Charles Yeh.^[2]

Characters

Humans

• "noogai3" (Alan Becker): The animator. He originally showed disdain towards his creations, before showing more care to them after learning that one of them (The Second Coming) could talk through text.

Stick figures

Artificial Stick Figures

• victim [sic]: A black (later gray) stick figure created in 2006 by noogai3. He debuted in "Animator vs. Animation" before seemingly being killed off in the same episode.^[11] Nearly seventeen years later, he was revealed to have ultimately escaped Adobe Flash via a rocket after being recreated and tortured by his creator countless times over the course of 2006 and 2007, turning dull gray and getting marooned alongside an animated female character known as Mitsi. The two created a technology company together and lived a peaceful life in the Outernet until 2011, when Mitsi was killed by victim's successor, The Chosen One. This prompts victim to track him down over the coming years with the help of four mercenaries.

• The Chosen One: A black stick figure, originally almost identical in appearance to victim, being created in 2007 by noogai3.^[12] He has several superpowers which include fire breathing, laser vision, and superhuman strength, among others. He debuted in "Animator vs. Animation II" and was presumed dead after the next episode before reappearing at the end of "The Virus".

• The Dark Lord: A red stick figure, created by noogai3 in 2011,^[a] programmed solely with the mission of destroying The Chosen One. He^[13] debuted in "Animator vs. Animation III" and was presumed dead in the same episode, before reappearing in "The Flashback", only to again presumably die at the end of "The Showdown".

• The Second Coming: An orange stick figure accidentally created by noogai3 in 2014. He is the leader of the Stick Gang. In almost all animations he appears in, The Second Coming is depicted as being a completely normal stick figure, much like the other figures he meets the same episode he is introduced in, albeit with far more honed fighting abilities. However, he has hidden powers and capabilities that make him one of the most powerful figures currently introduced in the series. These powers include telekinesis, flight, laser vision and extremely powerful punching. These abilities have only surfaced temporarily through vague means, and The Second Coming has zero recollection of his powerful state.

Fighting Stick Figures

A group of four solid-headed stick figures consisting of Red, Blue, Yellow and Green, introduced in 2014. Residing on sticksfight.com, they escaped with the help of The Second Coming before each being terminated by noogai3, then subsequently revived. They were later killed by The Dark Lord during "The Showdown", only to be revived again by The Second Coming.

• Red: A red stick figure that loves animals.
• Blue: A cyan stick figure that likes farming and brewing potions.
• Yellow: A yellow stick figure that likes computer programming.
• Green: A lime stick figure who likes music and is The Second Coming's best friend.

Mercenaries

A group of four stick figures with unique designs and fighting styles.

• Hazard: A pictogram portrayed as uncommitted and comical, but also loyal to victim.
• Agent Smith / Agent / Shady: A thin dark grey Pivot stick figure of above average height. He has a solid white head with a dark grey outline, the same as his body. He wears black sunglasses. He is a skilled fighter and a loyal employee to his boss, victim, often saving him from harm.
• Primal: A tall, brown stick figure (similar to stick figure drawing by cavemen) that embodies a wild and untamed nature, often acting on immediate instinct and raw power.
• Ballista: A pixelated stick figure that can shapeshift and even split his head to reveal a gun. First appeared in Stick Figure vs Door.

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	4		June 3, 2006 (2006-06-03)	October 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)
2	4		August 19, 2018 (2018-08-19)	October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24)
3	7		April 29, 2023 (2023-04-29)	TBA

Season 1 (2006-14)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Original release date
1	1	"Animator vs. Animation"	Alan Becker	June 3, 2006 (2006-06-03) (original) May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14) (YouTube)
Animator Alan Becker creates a black stick figure in Adobe Flash (now known as Adobe Animate), naming it "victim". As soon as Victim comes to life, Alan tries to destroy him, and he tries to defend himself using the animation software's tools and proceeds to clone himself by using the software's library tool and using Flash's other built-in tools (e.g., brush, pen, etc.). Alan eventually manages to close Adobe Flash, seemingly erasing Victim and the project file in the process.
2	2	"Animator vs. Animation II"	Alan Becker	November 4, 2006 (2006-11-04) (original) May 14, 2007 (2007-05-14) (YouTube)
Presumably a few months later, Alan tries again to create another black stick figure, this time naming it "The Chosen One", making him even more powerful based on in-universe rules established by a discussion between Alan and an AIM friend. Again, The Chosen One comes to life, this time making it into Alan's desktop and destroying his desktop applications and files. Alan attempts to message a friend on AIM for help, but The Chosen One crushes AIM with the program window, prematurely ending the conversation. Before he can shut down the computer, The Chosen One is recognised as a virus by Alan's antivirus software, Avast, and is swiftly captured. Alan forces The Chosen One to work as a pop-up blocker.
3	3	"Animator vs. Animation III"	Alan Becker	October 11, 2010 (2010-10-11) (original) October 2, 2011 (2011-10-02) (YouTube)
Four years after the events of the previous installment, The Chosen One is still an ad blocker used by Alan. Longing for freedom, he sees a website about Stick Figure Slavery promising escape, but Alan swiftly cuts off The Chosen One's plans. However, The Chosen One manages to manipulate Alan's cursor, making the cursor click on the option to free him, and The Chosen One immediately begins destroying Alan's computer. While The Chosen One battles Clippit in Microsoft Word to little success, Alan quickly draws a red stick figure, naming it "The Dark Lord", coded with the mission of destroying The Chosen One. The fight becomes more destructive as The Dark Lord manages to convince several desktop applications such as Firefox and Windows Movie Maker to help him defeat The Chosen One, however the apps are easily defeated. As the battle rages on, The Chosen One brings The Dark Lord over to his side while Alan tries to use the Solitaire match to kill The Chosen One. After failing to do so, the two team up to terminate his computer, creating a vortex and crashing his desktop, ending the episode.
4	4	"Animator vs. Animation IV"	Alan Becker	October 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)
Around four years after the previous episode, Alan is animating an orange stick figure whilst chatting with a friend through direct messages about the events of the previous episode. Alan expresses his frustration at having to purchase a new computer, but also explains that he does not believe the events of the previous episodes will happen again. He leaves to go help a presumed partner with the laundry, and in his absence, the orange-colored figure he was animating comes to life and snoops around a bit, before quickly returning to its position upon Alan's return. Alan tells his friend he will return shortly before heading off. The orange stick figure continues to explore, releasing a group of red, yellow, green, and blue stick figures from a website called "sticksfight.com" (A website that did not exist in the real world but is now a working URL). Alan returns and eventually stops the chaos by using Task Manager to "end the tasks" of all the stick figures, including the original. However, Task Manager experiences a problem and Alan gets a message from the orange stick figure, "TheSecondComing.exe", that says: "You ended my friends. Now I will end you." Chaos erupts as The Second Coming, presumably related to The Chosen One from previous episodes, goes around being a general online detriment to the animator, doing things such as insulting his friends on Facebook, and goes between Alan's phone and computer, fighting him as best they can. In the process, The Second Coming animates different drawings, including a horse, a strongman, and a few others. Alan, seeing this, is reminded of his own failed attempts to draw similar ideas, and before he finally captures The Second Coming, hesitates to delete the drawings until one of them attacks his cursor. Alan makes a move to presumably end The Second Coming as he previously has done to Victim, before The Second Coming unexpectedly speaks, begging him to stop. This causes Alan to warm up to a deal with The Second Coming; so long as they teach him how to animate better, the animator will let them free. The Second Coming eventually agrees after the animator revives his friends from the Sticksfight website.
Compilation
–	–	"Animator vs Animation Season 1 (Ep 1-4)"	Alan Becker	July 20, 2024 (2024-07-20)
A compilation of the first four episodes reuploaded together, with adjustments made to the first three episodes to fill widescreen 16:9 aspect ratios. Sound effects were also replaced with higher quality versions of the originals.

Season 2 (2018-20)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Original release date
5	1	"The Virus - Animator vs. Animation 5"	Alan Becker	August 19, 2018 (2018-08-19)
The episode starts with Alan animating a bipedal flower-like character, when The Second Coming walks in from the left. The Second Coming then jumps up into the animation window, asking Alan if he needs help, to which Alan accepts. With the help of two temporary stick figures drawn by The Second Coming, the animation is refined to be more natural-looking. After Alan's cursor and The Second Coming exchange a series of high-fives, a whirring sound becomes audible, and the animator puts his hand to his computer tower, recoiling away after feeling the heat. The Second Coming engages the tooltip of the taskbar's temperature icon, showing it to be 92 degrees Celsius. Alan subsequently opens the Task Manager, showing a program named "ViraBot" using massive amounts of resources. After Alan attempts to shut down the program with Task Manager, a large amount of different "Vira-" apps are shown in the start menu. After attempting to use the system's management options, to which access was denied, the desktop icon of ViraBot.exe is revealed. After trying to use the Recycle Bin to destroy it, Alan draws a hammer requested by The Second Coming, who bashes the icon until it cracks, with a red, four-legged spider-like creature emerging. The ViraBot then proceeds to attack the cursor and the stick figure, with their attempts to defend themselves proving unsuccessful. The Second Coming then opens the browser to inform the visibly overheating Fighting Stick Figures of the virus. After the ViraBot enters the browser's window and destroys Alan's cursor, The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures start kicking it around the desktop. Once they all start kicking it at once, the ViraBot starts fighting back, eventually using a sticky grey substance to trap the four Fighting Stick Figures to the edge of the screen. After The Second Coming tries to run away but gets ensnared as well, the ViraBot generates two spikes and brandishes them, before lunging forward. A sudden explosion interrupts the attack, with a portal opening and a black stick figure stepping out of it, revealing himself to be The Chosen One. The episode ends in a cliffhanger ending right as the two begin to engage in combat.
6	2	"The Chosen One's Return - Animator vs. Animation 6"	Alan Becker	October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)
A battle between The Chosen One and the ViraBot begins. The ViraBot manages to stab The Chosen One with its virus spikes but The Chosen One turns out unharmed or is quickly healed. He then attacks and corners the ViraBot, forcing it to enter and control the computer's system against The Chosen One. Although at first the ViraBot wins the fight, The Chosen One suddenly becomes even more powerful and finally kills the ViraBot, much to now free The Second Coming's and the Fighting Stick Figures' satisfaction. As they bow down to The Chosen One in respect and gratitude, The Chosen One once again creates a portal before saying goodbye to Alan and gaining his respect as well and entering the newly created portal. The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures decide to follow The Chosen One into the portal.
7	3	"The Flashback - Animator vs. Animation 7"	Alan Becker	March 12, 2019 (2019-03-12)
The episode begins with the events that occurred in the end of "Animator vs. Animation 3". This time, however, it is revealed that both The Chosen One and The Dark Lord managed to escape Alan's computer before it was completely destroyed, much to Alan's frustration. After the two escape, they start terrorizing the Internet and games. Years later, in a world called the Outernet, The Dark Lord invents an extremely dangerous virus called ViraBot, with the intention of creating an even greater apocalypse, much to the anxiety of The Chosen One, who by then had undergone a change of heart. After failing to stop The Dark Lord from launching the first virus into Alan's computer, The Chosen One is at first hesitant whether to save Alan or not, as he is the one who used to assault The Chosen One. However, because Alan also created The Chosen One to begin with, the stick figure decides to save him. When both the virus and The Chosen One enter the animator's computer, the events from "Animator vs. Animation 5" take place. The Chosen One, The Second Coming, and the Fighting Stick Figures are then seen traveling through the tunnel the portal leads to.
8	4	"The Showdown - Animator vs. Animation 8"	Alan Becker	October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24)
The Chosen One, The Second Coming, and the Fighting Stick Figures make it to the end of the tunnel, leading to the Outernet, where The Chosen One finds and once again attacks The Dark Lord. As the two start fighting, The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures arrive at the house where The Dark Lord was earlier seen. In the house, they discover a black-red wristband, which The Dark Lord later puts on and uses, giving him more power for the fight against The Chosen One. Seeing this, The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures, especially electronics-knowing Yellow, use The Dark Lord's computer to call Alan (now with his cursor again available) for help and transport his cursor into the Outernet, where Alan and The Chosen One start attacking The Dark Lord until The Dark Lord calls his ViraBots for help, resulting in the cursor being stopped and the program being shut down, separating the animator from the Outernet. As The Dark Lord approaches The Chosen One and surrounds and corners him with ViraBots in order to attack and kill him, The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures arrive and stand in defense. However, The Dark Lord stabs them, making the Fighting Stick Figures vanish while also seemingly killing The Second Coming. With The Chosen One alive but now weak, The Dark Lord orders his ViraBots to terrorize the world, but before this can happen, The Second Coming is suddenly completely healed and gains superpowers greater than those of The Chosen One or The Dark Lord. The Second Coming proceeds to easily kill all of the ViraBots and presumably The Dark Lord. The Second Coming then uses The Dark Lord's computer to revive the Fighting Stick Figures before losing his powers and consciousness, as well as his recollection of having powers when he is finally conscious again. The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures are reunited. Impressed and happy, The Chosen One bows down to The Second Coming in respect, which The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures don't understand as they are not aware of The Second Coming's superpowers either. Then, The Second Coming and the Fighting Stick Figures, with the help of Alan's cursor, return to Alan's computer.
Compilation
–	–	"Animator vs. Animation Season 2 (Ep 5-8)"	Alan Becker	December 5, 2020 (2020-12-05)
A compilation of episodes 5-8, with edits made to fix continuity errors and alter the soundtrack.

Season 3 (2023-present)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Original release date
9	1	"Wanted - Animator vs. Animation 9"	Alan Becker	April 29, 2023 (2023-04-29)
The Chosen One is being chased through an Outernet city by four mercenaries, each using a flying hovercraft with a pixel gun. They manage to shoot The Chosen One, but he escapes, entering Alan's computer. There, The Chosen One begs The Second Coming for help, but nobody but The Chosen One is aware of The Second Coming's powers. The Chosen One takes The Second Coming with him back to the Outernet, with the Fighting Stick Figures following them. When the six make it to the Outernet, the mercenaries are seen looking for The Chosen One. When the mercenaries spot and attack The Second Coming, who still does not use any superpowers at that point, The Chosen One grabs The Second Coming and flies away, only to get shot by one of the mercenaries with an electrocuting gun, causing both of them to fall and weakening The Chosen One. The Second Coming is revealed to have taken a drawing animation tool, which he uses to defend himself and The Chosen One and fight the mercenaries. The confrontation ends with The Second Coming and The Chosen One being paused by Agent, one of the mercenaries and transported in a flying vehicle (which is noticed by the Fighting Stick Figures) to a jail-like restricted area building where The Chosen One (still paused) and The Second Coming are imprisoned. The mercenaries then meet with their boss, revealed to be Victim.
10	2	"The Box - Animator vs. Animation 10"	Alan Becker	November 4, 2023 (2023-11-04)
The Fighting Stick Figures rush in the same direction as the mercenaries in the previous episode, and ask several citizens if they know anything about the rocket symbol they had seen. As the citizens say they know nothing about this, refuse to answer, or ignore, the Fighting Stick Figures spot a delivery truck with the same rocket sign on it and secretly sneak inside it, before its driver, not noticing them, also enters the truck and starts driving. Meanwhile, in the secret organization (symbolized by the rocket) from the previous episode, The Second Coming is forced to teach the organization's workers how to create living 3D creatures with the drawing animation tool. The Chosen One is locked in a special box with Victim, where he has his super strength and eye lasers disabled, and they increase Victim's strength as he starts fighting back, eventually tying The Chosen One to a chair before proceeding to interrogate him about Alan. When The Chosen One refuses to say anything to Victim, Victim puts a memory scanner on The Chosen One's head, allowing him to see everything that The Chosen One had seen in the past. Victim, his mercenaries and the other workers of the organization, and The Second Coming, discover that the latter also has great superpowers, which causes the workers to additionally secure The Second Coming's cage. Victim and the mercenaries continue using the memory scanner and discover that Yellow used The Dark Lord's terminal to summon a large version of Alan's cursor. As soon as they arrive at the organization, they are surrounded by Agent and several workers, who forcibly take Yellow inside.
11	3	"Victim - Animator vs. Animation 11"	Alan Becker	December 14, 2024 (2024-12-14)
Animator Alan Becker creates a black stick figure in Adobe Flash (now known as Adobe Animate), naming it "victim". As soon as Victim comes to life, Alan tries to destroy him, and he tries to defend himself using the animation software's tools and proceeds to clone himself by using the software's library tool and using Flash's other built-in tools (e.g., brush, pen, etc.). Alan eventually manages to close Adobe Flash, seemingly erasing Victim and the project file in the process. Victim is recreated and tortured by Alan countless times over the course of 2006 and 2007 before escaping Alan's computer via a rocket. While flying around the internet, he ends up turning dull gray and gets marooned alongside an animated female character named Mitsi. The two start a technology company together and live a peaceful life on the Outernet until 2011, when Mitsi is killed by The Chosen One and The Dark Lord during their terrorizing. This prompts Victim to track The Chosen One down after seeing him through the Memory Scanner that was put on his co-worker, Agent. Sometime later, Agent shows Victim footage of the battle with The Dark Lord, showing The Chosen One and Alan's cursor together, revealing to Victim that Alan created The Chosen One.

Development and history

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.^[14] Approximately three months after beginning animation, Becker posted the animation to Newgrounds. The next day, the animation received second place for the entire day.^[7] Becker began receiving many emails and instant messages from website owners that wanted to host the animation on their website, with one of the websites even offering $75 as long as they received exclusive rights to the animation. Becker declined after reading an email above from Steven Lerner, the owner of Albino Blacksheep.^[14][15]

AtomFilms offered to fund the making of a sequel, and it released on November 4, 2006.^[16][14] Becker used his real AIM username in the animation, which made him unable to use the service without his desktop screen being smothered by hundreds of fans who attempted to message him online. Becker began uploading the videos on YouTube, manually reporting clones of the videos using YouTube's copyright report system, but it reportedly took a few years. Becker uploaded "Animator vs. Animation 3" onto Atom.com on October 4, 2010, intending for it to be the final episode. Becker then went to study animation at Columbus College of Art and Design, with the goal of being hired at Pixar.^[14] 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.^[14] On October 2, 2014, "Animator vs. Animation 4" was released onto YouTube. It reportedly gained almost five million views on YouTube within a month.^[9]

eBaum's World controversy

Main article: eBaum's World § Copyright infringement and controversy

"Animator vs. Animation" was put onto eBaum's World without Becker's permission and with no credit.^[17] Legal action was threatened against eBaum's World under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.^[17][18] 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 asked eBaum's World to pull the animation and the testimonial off the website.^[14][17]

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.^[2]

On March 26, 2025, a Kickstarter campaign was launched for Animation VERSUS, a fighting game slated for release in June 2028. The game is being developed with help from Muno, who created a Rivals of Aether mod featuring characters from the series.^[19][20][21]

Spin-offs

The series has had multiple spin-offs, under the Animation vs. label, with some of them gaining more views than the original series itself.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[22] A companion series, "Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts" (AvM Shorts), alternating between slice-of-life and serialised storytelling, debuted on November 17, 2017, with its fourteenth episode being the most popular Minecraft video on the internet briefly and Becker's most popular video.

Another spinoff, "Animation vs. YouTube", featured cameo appearances from numerous YouTubers, including PewDiePie and Markiplier.^[23][24] 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.^[25][6]

Reception

The series has gained a generally positive reception.^[26]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Animation	Result	Ref
2007	Webby Awards	"People's Voice" Award	"Animator vs. Animation II"	Won	[10][27]
2014	Cleveland International Film Festival	"Best of Ohio" Award	"Animator vs. Animation IV"	Nominated	[28]
2024	Independent Media Initiative	Unknown	"Animation vs. Math"	Won	[29]

See also

• Flash animation
• Stick figure

Notes

1. While this character's debut episode was released on Atom.com in 2010, Becker confirmed in "The Flashback" that the events took place on October 2, 2011, the day the episode was officially uploaded to YouTube.