A reanimated collaboration (often shortened to reanimated collab or reanimate) is a type of collaborative fan-made animation project wherein each animator recreates one shot of an existing film in their own style. The individual works are then stitched into the original order and published on the internet as a completed collaboration, creating a collaborative tribute to the original film. This differs from a shot-for-shot recreation, as the goal of a reanimate is to display each of the independent animators' unique stylings rather than to produce a unified or identical result. Multiple collaborations focus on media made a decade or more prior that receives renewed interest due to internet memes, nostalgia, or the death of a voice actor. As they are often non-profit tributes to an existing work, animators expect to receive little or no profit.^[1][2]

Notable examples

• Moon Animate Make-Up! (2014)^[3] — Over 250 animators collaborated to reanimate the 38th episode of the Sailor Moon anime series, "Fractious Friends" (1993).^[4] This project is considered to be the first major reanimated internet-collaboration, and eventually led to this style of video increasing in popularity during the late 2010s. As of 2022, the collaboration has over 2.75 million views.^[4]

• Mama Luigi Project (2017)^[5] — 227 animators reanimated the 11-minute Super Mario World episode "Mama Luigi" (1991). Each of the 255 total scenes featured a different animation style. It was dedicated to the memories of Canadian actor Tony Rosato, who voiced Luigi, and Canadian actor Harvey Atkin, who voiced King Koopa.^[6] This project ultimately generated a resurgence of popularity in reanimated collaborations. The video has 6 million views as of 2022.

• Steamed Hams but There's a Different Animator Every 13 Seconds (2018)^[7] — Andrew Kepple of Albino Blacksheep hosted the project, which reanimated "Steamed Hams," a memorable sequence from the 1996 The Simpsons episode "22 Short Films about Springfield," that had a surge in popularity in 2018 due to YouTube Poop internet memes.^[8] As of 2022, the video has over 10 million views.

• Shrek Retold (2018)^[9] — A reanimated collab fan film in which over 200 animators, songwriters, and voice actors recreated Shrek (2001). 3GI is best known for organizing the Shrek-themed festival "Shrekfest" in Milwaukee, WI, held annually since 2014.^[10] The reanimated collab contains mediums including 2D animation, 3D animation, live action, and stop-motion. Collaborators included David Liebe Hart, Michael Cusack, Ratboy Genius, Anthony Fantano, and SiIvaGunner.^[11]

• Kirby Reanimated Collab (2019)^[12] — Featuring over 300 artists, the project recreated Kirby Right Back at Ya! episode 49, "Cartoon Buffoon" (2002). The project was directed by Roya Shahidi,^[13] and it has received over 3 million views as of 2022. The project was taken down due to DMCA copyright claims multiple times, despite Nintendo claiming it was not behind the takedowns.^[14]

• The Zelda CDi Reanimated Collab! (2020)^[15] — PatchToons hosted and released a 21-minute collaboration that recreated the cutscenes of The Legend of Zelda CDi games (1993), which were popularized in the mid-2000s and 2010s with YouTube Poop parodies.^[16] Over 200 animators collaborated on the project. Nintendo Wire reported, "The ever-shifting mediums and the contrasting animation styles, ranging from professional and sophisticated to intentionally goofy and exaggerated, lend themselves incredibly well to cutscenes that were already chaotic and bizarre to begin with."^[17] It was also uploaded to animation website Newgrounds.^[18]

• Team Fabulous 2 Reanimated (2020)^[19] - A collaboration fan short film featuring the work of over 100 animators remaking the late Kitty0706's short film Team Fabulous 2, based on the hit Valve MMOFPS Team Fortress 2. All scenes were done with 2D animation except for the scenes that were 2D in the original (which were remade using Source Filmmaker 2. The short film was released by TFConnect on YouTube, premiering on 6th July 2020, and as of January 2024, it has amassed 4.8 million views. In addition, to pay tribute to the late voice actor Rick May (who voiced the Soldier in the game and died from COVID complications in April 2020), the team also hosted reanimation collabs for the promotional short Meet the Soldier, featuring 2D, 3D, and realistic versions (the latter of which was unfinished). ^[20]

• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Rehydrated! (2022)^[21] — A collaboration fan film between over 300 artists that recreated The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) as a tribute to late SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died of ALS in 2018. Similarly to Shrek Retold, the audio was re-dubbed and re-instrumented specifically to bypass YouTube's copyright restrictions. Despite this, the video was taken down due to a copyright claim from Paramount within an hour of the video's premiere.^[1] This takedown outraged fans and participants of the project, leading to the Twitter hashtag, #JusticeForSpongebob.^[1][2][22] The video has since been restored to YouTube and has over 2 million views as of 2022.

• Shrek 2 Retold (2023) — A collaboration fan film that was originally announced in an April Fools video titled Shrek 2 Retold, in which the project director discussed the creation of Shrek Retold.^[23] Trailers for the project were released during Shrekfest 2019 and on the twentieth anniversary of the original film.^[24][25] The movie premiered at the tenth Shrekfest via an in-person screening at the Oriental Theatre MKE on September 3, 2023.^[26] It was then followed up by a Panel featuring Quinton Reviews, who contributed to the second remake. As of 2024, the film has yet to be released online or on home video.

Additional examples

• SpongeBob Reanimated Collab (Help Wanted) (2019)^[27]
• SpongeBob Band Geeks Reanimated Collab (2019)^[28]
• The Hotel Mario Reanimated Collab (2019)^[29]
• Sonic Rebuilt (2020)^[30]
• Chowder Reanimated (2020)^[31]
• Toy Story 2 Redialed (2022)^[32]
• Squidville (Re)ef-Blown Collab! (2023)^[33]

Upcoming examples

• Prehistoric Beast (2024) - announced on September 16, 2023, it's an upcoming collaboration based on Phil Tippett's short film of same name, it's set to be released in 2024 for the 40th anniversary of the original short film.
• El Dorado Redialed: A YouTube Reanimated Collaboration (2024) - On December 1, 2023, A YouTube channel called Dial-Up Studios announced a project called El Dorado Redialed: A YouTube Reanimated Collaboration with multiple artists to recreate the entirety of The Road to El Dorado (2000) The video is planned to be released sometime around 2024.^[34]
• #MonMassReanimCollab (TBA) - announced on October 12, 2021, it is an upcoming collaboration which is based on The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa episode "Monster Massachusetts".
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Reloaded (TBA) - teased on January 6, 2021, and officially revealed on January 20, it is an upcoming collaboration which is based on the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World film originally directed by Edgar Wright. The project went on hiatus in 2022 and resumed production in 2023 after a soft reboot on December 23, 2022. There are regular updates for this project on its Twitter and Instagram pages (@ReloadedCollab).
• Felix the Cat - The Maltese Milkshake Reanimated (TBA) - officially revealed on November 15, 2022, it is an upcoming collaboration which is based on The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat television series. Featuring the voice of Thom Adcox-Hernandez returning as Felix. There are regular updates for this project on its Twitter and Discord pages (@FelixReanimate2).