YouTube Doubles Monetization Threshold; ‘Doomsweepers’ Unveiled; Netflix Teases ‘DANG!’

This week started with some rough news for aspiring indie animators. YouTube is making it considerably more difficult for new creators to earn ad revenue. Beginning next February, channels applying to the YouTube Partner Program will need twice as many watch hours or Shorts views to qualify. That’s bad news for all newcomers, but particularly so for animators, given how long animated videos take to produce.

Australia’s Flying Bark finally unveiled its highly anticipated Doomsweepers, a candy-colored 2D “zom-com” from creator-director Sarah Harper, developed with Olan Rogers and his Nashville studio Lightfold. We also took a deep dive into the unruly work of Canadian independent animator Ivan Li, whose crowded CG films explore sex, violence, shame, isolation, and plenty of other subjects rarely found in studio-friendly animation.

Netflix released the first trailer for DANG!, its new Titmouse-animated sibling comedy from The Good Place veterans Andrew Law, Matt Murray, and Mike Schur. Meanwhile, David Spade is preparing to bring Joe Dirt back as the father of three teenage daughters in a Fox animated sequel series set 25 years after the original film.

1. 
   YouTube Is Doubling Its Monetization Threshold, And New Indie Animators Could Be Hit Hardest

   YouTube is doubling the watch-hour and Shorts-view thresholds for new channels to earn ad revenue, creating a particularly difficult hurdle for indie animators.
2. 
   ‘Doomsweepers’: Flying Bark Teams With Sarah Harper And Olan Rogers’s Lightfold On 2D ‘Zom-Com’

   Sarah Harper created and directs the poppy, candy-colored apocalyptic comedy, developed by Flying Bark with Lightfold and Olan Rogers.
3. 
   Waffles, Wanking, And Other Worlds: The Films Of Ivan Li

   Canadian animator Ivan Li discusses the sex, violence, discomfort, and unruly 3D worlds behind Finding Uranus, Fruit, Build, and Jelly Baddies.
4. 
   Life’s A Garden, Dig It: ‘Joe Dirt’ Series In Development At Sony, Fox

   David Spade will reprise Joe Dirt in a Fox animated sequel series that catches up with the cult comedy character 25 years later.
5. 
   Academy-Honored Shorts ‘Butterfly’ And ‘Gauze’ Use Water, Memory, And Animation To Confront Genocide

   Each acclaimed film follows a young swimming champion whose life is shattered by genocide, connecting historical memory with the present.

6. 
   Netflix’s ‘DANG!’ Gets Trailer, Sets September Release Date

   Stephanie Hsu, Poppy Liu, and Andrew Law voice three dysfunctional siblings in the Titmouse-animated comedy from 'The Good Place' veterans.
7. 
   ‘RWBY’ Film And TV Projects In Development At Gotham Group, Viz Media

   The agreement will expand the animated franchise beyond its upcoming tenth volume while opening Viz’s original graphic novel library to adaptation.