Eleven years ago, YouTube animator Alan Becker scored a viral hit with his two-minute stick figure fight sequence “Animator Vs. Animation.” Having since uploaded a number of sequels and garnered nearly three million subscribers, Becker is back with a new video that pits his classic stick-fighters against YouTube itself, expertly weaving a decade’s worth of viral hits into this no-holds-barred brawl.
The video starts off innocently enough with our two stick-protagonists scrolling through YouTube, attempting to find a video worth watching. The trouble starts when server lag stops them from enjoying a classic stick fight animation and they’re forced to do battle with an anthropomorphized version of the video streaming service.
What makes this video so impressive is the way the animated figures interact with the videos playing behind them. The YouTube “character” manipulates the site’s interface and attacks the stickmen with viral hits like “Chocolate Rain,” “Keyboard Cat,” and “David After Dentist.” The stick figures retaliate using pop-up ads, annotations, and their ability to upload themselves, resulting in a violent explosion that nearly destroys the web browser.
Check out Becker’s channel for more videos like this as well as this special behind-the-scenes look at how “Animation Vs. YouTube” came together: