In the dark corner of YouTube lives a disturbing animation series you might have missed, but as of next week, it’s finally coming to Netflix. There’s plenty of unsettling content on YouTube to get lost in – just look at the Schoolboy 9 documentary – but none quite scratch the itch for psychological torment as much as The Amazing Digital Circus. Produced by Glitch , The Amazing Digital Circus first arrived on the platform in October 2023.
The pilot episode was a 25-minute animated short that tapped into an unknown need for all those who crave unusual and frightening content. It’s Harlan Ellison meets Toy Story, with a bizarre, isolated twist. The Amazing Digital Circus takes place in a surrealist animated circus environment, wherein a group of humans become trapped in the CGI world after putting on “headsets” in real-life.
Controlled by an AI entity named Caine, the distorted and disfigured figures attempt to work out where they are and how they can get out. It’s a nightmare under the illusion of a childhood aesthetic, following the trend set by other YouTube hits of its kind, like Happy Tree Friends and Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. If you haven’t yet dipped your toes into this Proustian fever dream style of videos, The Amazing Digital Circus is a great place to start.
At the time of its release, Episode 1 went viral and ended up becoming one of the most-viewed animation pilots on the website, and currently boasts just under 350 million views. Luckily, Episod.