Is The Amazing Digital Circus Kid-Friendly?

On YouTube, children can discover and enjoy many independent creations. That means parents should be careful of what their kids stumble upon. At the moment, a popular video is "The Amazing Digital Circus: Pilot" from YouTuber Gooseworx and the GLITCH team. At first glance, the 25-minute episode seems up most kids' alleys. It has wacky characters and a colorful world. However, it soon becomes clear there's a dark underbelly to this project that may make parents think twice about letting their children watch it. 

After all, the video description reads: "The Amazing Digital Circus is a psychological dark comedy about cute cartoon characters who hate their lives and want to leave." The plot follows a group of characters trapped in an AI world who must do darkly comical things. The mash-up of cartoon characters exploring existential ideas of reality is likely part of the appeal, but it'd probably be best to ensure youngsters don't watch it. 

There's nothing outright violent or sexual, but there's certainly a lot of strangeness and implied darkness. The plot centers on Pomni (Lizzie Freeman) trying to escape, leading to a Kafkaesque nightmare of going through numerous exit doors before landing in a strange area called The Void. It may not be explicitly mature, but the weird and potentially scary concepts may be too much for some. With that being said, it's probably safe for older kids and teenagers, but parents should be mindful of what their children can handle before letting them watch it.

As far as the typical naughty culprits, there's no strong language in "The Amazing Digital Circus: Pilot." Characters try to swear but are unable to in this world. Instead, there's a wacky sound effect and a censorship bar over the mouth. There are also light elements of body horror, with Pomni freaking out when she first enters the world, pulling out an eyeball before it goes back into its socket. "The Amazing Digital Circus" is certainly no "Bluey," where kids of all ages can watch it. Some of the more absurdist and existential ideas will perhaps go over their heads completely. 

One of the characters, Kaufmo, becomes "abstracted," which essentially means being turned into a mindless beast without shape or reason. Kaufmo is then banished to The Cellar, a dark space with other entities like him. This is a fear for the rest of the humanoid creatures, who all dread they could become abstracted. And then there's the overarching angst over being trapped in a strange world with no hope of escape, forever encased within a run-down computer. 

From what we've seen so far, "The Amazing Digital Circus" is probably on par with other disturbingly dark children's shows like "Invader Zim" or "Courage the Cowardly Dog." Even some episodes of "Spongebob Squarepants," such as Season 3's "Nasty Patty," where Spongebob (Tom Kenny) and Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) think they've murdered a health inspector, could get to a similar level of strange. With only the pilot out so far, "The Amazing Digital Circus" could get even darker in future episodes, so parents should approach this new series cautiously.