A new Indie darling is threatening the reign of animation’s favorites, as The Amazing Digital Circus maintains its viral momentum.
The series consists of a single episode on YouTube so far, but that pilot episode is prompting widespread demands for more. In just a few weeks, the video has enticed 73 million people to watch, and its more than 3.2 million likes showcase just how quickly it became an online sensation. It’s a truly impressive rise, with The Amazing Digital Circus rocketing from a completely unknown show to a powerhouse in less than a month. Its quick rise has fans convinced that the world of animation is set to be rocked by Gooseworx and Glitch Productions’ latest release.
The pilot gains thousands of views on a daily basis, and the comment section for the show’s first — and so far only — episode is overflowing with praise for individual characters. Everyone seems to have a different favorite, with some praising Kinger’s “indescribable vibe” and others gushing over Jax and his wry, apathetic wit. In total, the show introduces audiences to nine characters — six humans (or former humans), two AI, and one unfortunate soul — and each of them is quickly collecting a fanbase all their own.
The ages of every Amazing Digital Circus character — so far
As noted above, there are six “human” characters in The Amazing Digital Circus and two AI characters. Its much harder to nail down the ages of the AI characters, considering their digitized nature, but we can make some broad assumptions based on the world Gooseworx created.
Caine
It’s not entirely concrete how old the digital circus Ringleader, Caine, is, but he’s got to be at least as old as the circus itself, right? He and Bubble, his odd little AI companion, seem perfectly at home in their brightly-colored world, and we know that a few of the human characters have been there for a solid few years. There are still plenty of mysteries surrounding the odd, digitized prison, as well, which leaves its exact age up in the air.
I’d bet that, once we know for sure how long the Amazing Digital Circus has existed in the world Gooseworx created, we’ll also learn how old Caine is. He’s likely as old as the world itself, which could make him among the oldest — or the youngest — characters in the lineup.
Bubble
Caine’s only AI companion, Bubble, also boasts an unknown age. While all of the humans are broadly aware of how many years they were on Earth — and how many years they’ve spent trapped in Caine’s childlike dream world — we have no idea how long these AI overlords (or minions) have been around. Considering all of those pictures of crossed-out performers, it’s likely that the circus itself has been around longer than any of its current performers, which could make Bubble significantly older than he seems.
Gangle
Some of the character designs in The Amazing Digital Circus are more workable than others, and it’s hard not to empathize with Gangle. She was added to the digital world as a spool of twisted ribbon with dual comedy/tragedy masks in place. Without both masks, unfortunately, it seems Gangle loses control over her emotions and is forced to function only within the bounds of her tragedy mask.
Unlike her AI counterparts, however, Gangle does boast a real age. She is apparently 26 years old when the pilot rolls around, in the midst of her prime and trapped in a strange, circus-like prison.
Jax
Jax is easily among the most popular characters in The Amazing Digital Circus lineup, despite his short tenure thus far. He — like everyone else — has only appeared in a single episode, but he’s already a fan favorite among the show’s millions of viewers. Presented as a gangly, bipedal rabbit-like man with an unwavering smile, Jax is sarcastic and prone to pranks but is clearly well-liked by his peers.
He’s also among the youngest members of the Digital Circus. He’s listed as only 22 years old on the show’s official fandom page, making him a fair bit younger than most of his companions. This isn’t necessarily surprising, given Jax’s playful nature, but his air of leadership certainly gives the impression of a man a few years older.
Kaufmo
Kaufmo isn’t a featured character in the same way Jax or Ragatha are, but his character arc is perhaps the most important one contained within the pilot. Sure, we’re supposed to empathize with Pomni as she comes to terms with her strange new life, but Kaufmo is the avenue through which we properly understand the dangers of the digital world. Once a lean clown with a pleasant, goofy face, Kaufmo enters the episode in his abstract form. Once a human in the digital circus loses their way, they can no longer maintain their “human” shape, and they undergo a transformation called “abstraction.” Kaufmo is the first abstracted character fans are given a shot of, as a mass of glitching black angles and eyeballs of various sizes.
Before he abstracted, however, Kaufmo was a humorous and seemingly kind addition to the digital circus. Given his current state, his age is unfortunately unknown, but based on the other human’s ages it seems safe to assume he was between his early 20s and mid-40s when he lost his grip on… reality.
Kinger
Kinger is the oldest member of The Amazing Digital Circus at 48 years old. He’s the longest-lasting member of the current circus, though it seems likely that those crossed-off performers may have had their own lengthy tenures before giving into despair.
For now, however, Kinger is the oldest, most enduring member of the group. He’s also the most skittish, as displayed by his clear erraticism when presented with pretty much anything startling or new. To curb his paranoid behavior, the odd chess piece with eyeballs often keeps to his “impenetrable fortress,” a pillow fort Kinger often retreats into when the world gets to be too much.
Pomni
The lead character in The Amazing Digital Circus — at least so far — Pomni is the most recent recruit into Caine’s mind-bending prison. She enters the brightly-colored landscape at the outset of the pilot and spends the remainder of the episode gradually falling into a deeper and more hopeless despair, as she realizes just how long some of her peers have been trapped. Pomni’s “toy” form, which is the only one we know so far, presents her in a jester-esque outfit, complete with little bells on her hat.
Pomni is 25 years old and headed quickly toward heart issues if she keeps her current high-strung demeanor up. She’s the embodiment of panic through much of the first episode’s runtime, and for good reason. She’s just been injected into a strange, terrifying prison packed full of other unfortunate souls — you’d be panicking too.
Ragatha
Ragatha comes across as the maternal figure of The Amazing Digital Circus, thanks in large part to her helpful demeanor and patient delivery. She’s the helping hand that guides Pomni through her new world, and she clearly keeps an eye on the other denizens of Caine’s strange prison. She even takes Pomni to greet Kaufmo when he fails to attend the introductory scene, and attempts to talk him down when he’s discovered to have abstracted.
This all matches up well with Ragatha’s look — which presents her as a Raggedy Ann knockoff — and her age, which positions her as the second-oldest group member. That’s not saying much, considering she’s only 30 years old, but it’s enough for Ragatha to seize the reins and ensure — to the best of her ability, at least — that her fellow prisoners are doing as well as possible.
Zooble
Last but certainly not least we have Zooble, perhaps the most bafflingly designed prisoner in all of The Amazing Digital Circus. Gangle’s curled ribbons are certainly a hurdle, but Zooble appears to be little more than jumbled shapes — and ones that don’t stay consistently together, at that. They sport a triangle for a head, various odd shapes for limbs, a single wing, and what looks like a crab claw for a left hand. At least they’ve still got eyes, I guess?
Zooble’s mix-and-match nature suits their age — they match Jax as the youngest performer at 22 years old — but seems, more than anything, like an additional level of torture. The character — in response to their baffling construction — comes across as grouchy and stressed, particularly when one of their parts isn’t fitting on in the right way. Honestly, with so many jumbled pieces to keep track of, can you blame them?