The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus Episodes 1-8.

When Glitch Productions released the pilot episode for The Amazing Digital Circus (TADC), created by Gooseworx, back in 2023, no one could have predicted its viral popularity. As someone who had watched the series since day one, it was interesting seeing that popularity grow in real time to the point that it had a very packed panel at San Diego Comic-Con and the series finale would receive a limited theatrical release via Fathom Events starting two weeks before the official YouTube premiere. Naturally, I secured tickets to the opening weekend as soon as I found out about it so that I could witness a historical event in indie animation for myself. Although this finale did get leaked onto the internet ahead of the screening, I went in spoiler-free following a series rewatch and, as per Glitch’s instructions, I will not spoil the finale in return. However, I am allowed to share my thoughts on it, so here’s why I felt that The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (The Last Act) felt fitting, but imperfect.

Stubs - Parasite

Parasite (2019) Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin Directed by Bong Joon-ho Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won Produced by Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, Bong Joon-ho, Jang Young-hwan Run Time: 132 minutes. South Korea Dark Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Foreign

It is rare to see a film for the first time with as much hype behind it as Parasite (기생충) does. Prior to my seeing it, the film had been lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, The Golden Globes, and Writer's Guild Awards. It is also nominated for a string of Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing. Quite a coup as the first Korean film to be so honored.

I recently had the opportunity to watch the film, though it was transactional rather than theatrical. While I like to see films for the first time in theaters, the way they are meant to be seen, sometimes compromises have to be made. And I wanted to see this film before the Academy Awards to see for myself what the hype was about.