I’m not stopping you – if you want to lay out all the criteria you’ve got for indie animation, be my guest. Our series is loose and we put it together for the fun of it, to review both the fan-favorites outside the mainstream, like Laika or Aardman, and the much lesser known that deserve attention. Writers and readers alike suggested many of our films and have kept our list growing. It’s fun, we’re enjoying it, and it’s spotlighting other films many people, even animation fans, may not have seen yet.
As I said, feel free to outline any and all criteria you think we should apply to the series – maybe that will help us grow the series more. For now, we’re keeping it open to more interpretation than strict criteria.

That still makes little sense. Why can’t you let me lay out the criteria for Indie Animation. Since this whole thing makes no sense at all, there are many little-known animation studios that are in the mainstream, such as Aardman Animation (behind Chicken Run) and Klasky Csupo (behind numerous Nicktoons like Rugrats and The Wild Thornberries).

Which is why I said “mainstream/” and also pointed out the Barbie films. We’re being a bit loose with our definition as we add and include more well-known films, like Laika’s, along with lesser known animated films that deserve more attention, like Sylvain Chomet’s or ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’ (see a couple weeks ago). We’re pushing for more awareness of the animated worlds outside of Disney, Pixar, Illumination, etc.

The whole “Indie Animation is outside of Hollywood” thing is mostly meaningless, as major animation studios like Pixar and Blue Sky aren’t based in Los Angeles. Laika belongs to the upper classes of animation studios no matter how it’s been faring.

Coraline did have a wide theatrical release on February 6, 2009. I’m not sure that rule applies as a limitation for whether a film is indie or not. For example, we’re including some Barbie movies in our line-up, very few of which were released in theaters.