>>88356540I think Alex is a really great creator who doesn't acknowledge that part of the reason he had so much early success was the connections he made at CalArts. There are a lot of really talented people who are as good or better than Alex. You don't need to go to CalArts or even art school to learn animation and be great at it. He has said this frequently and even mentions how much CalArts costs him financially. In spite of that, going to CalArts unquestionably gave him industry connections unavailable to a lot of people. He was at a HUGE advantage not just because of his skill, though it certainly helped, but because that skill got him noticed in a school run by "the right sort of people." The Oldboy network is very real and Alex uses it, he'd be stupid not to. Notice that while just a student he made films that featured both Weird Al and Billy West. Do you think you could manage that as just a lonely animator on the internet?
Justin Roiland made all sorts of weird crap for years before finally hitting it big with Rick and Morty (and only after doing voice work in animation and meeting people) while Hirsch got Gravity Falls at 27.
His films were featured in venues that look to find the best cartoons from CalArts students. Industry people were looking for stuff coming out of CalArts. He has said in the past, that if you make something and its funny enough and you put it online, then someone will notice it. As it stands, Alex's student films are online, and they don't have many views. Yet Jeffery Katzenberg himself called up Alex to offer him a job right out of CalArts because he saw his stuff and liked it. Now, I don't doubt he liked his stuff. I do doubt he noticed it on his own. Someone clearly told him to look into Alex. Alex was also friends with Thurop Von Orman who then hired him onto his show. That is another connection most people would not have.
Alex is quite talented, maybe even a genius, thought he had significant advantages over other geniuses
