Through the work of talented animators, 2D cartoons have made the jump into live action many a time- just look at Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It's significantly rarer, however, that real life is stylized into something resembling animation. This is precisely what Australian animator and YouTuber James Lee sets out to do, though, using layers and layers of painstaking VFX to become a grittier, more malleable version of himself right out of the mid-2000s Newgrounds scene (although without all the racism).
Lee's videos are a visual treat in themselves, especially as you try to figure out just how the hell he's doing that, but also take aim at a variety of contemporary topics, from Elon Musk to the pursuit of internet clout at all costs to pseudoscientific remedies being pushed on social media.
If nothing else, one has to appreciate the immense amount of effort this must take, especially with the added context of Lee's VFX breakdowns.
Previously: Movie VFX pros revisit the visual effects from the Star Wars prequels
