Kids Media Club Podcast Kids Media Club: Cory Williams on why he turned down $5million to sell Silly Crocodile
Oct 2, 2025
Cory Williams, the self-taught animator behind the Silly Crocodile franchise, shares his journey from playful inspiration with his daughter to creating a thriving YouTube channel. He reveals the challenges of YouTube monetization, the impact of AI-generated content, and why he turned down a $5 million offer to retain creative control. With a focus on high-quality storytelling and community feedback, Cory discusses his innovative use of game engines for reactive animation and his plans for future character development.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Built A Real-Time Creator Pipeline
- Cory taught himself 3D and began capturing his VR interactions to animate Silly Crocodile.
- He later migrated to Unreal Engine and built a realtime pipeline that lets him converse with the character live.
Learn Only The Tools You Need
- Be transparent about your creative process and learn just the tools you need to tell the story.
- Use accessible tech to produce faster, meaningful results rather than overcomplicating pipelines.
Ad Revenue Is Unreliable
- YouTube ad revenue is highly unreliable and often tiny even at scale.
- Cory treats platform income as means to freedom, not the core emotional driver for creating.