Joel Haver
Joel Haver | |
|---|---|
 Haver in 2025 | |
| Born | February 13, 1996 Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Education | Pratt Institute |
| Occupations |
|
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Subscribers | 2.1 million |
| Views | 304.94 million |
| Last updated: January 1, 2026 | |
Joel Haver (born February 13, 1996) is a Canadian YouTuber and filmmaker, best known for his rotoscoped skits and low-budget feature-length films.[1][2][3]
Haver typically plays multiple roles in acting and production – most notably in a 12 movie anthology released throughout 2024.[4][5] He has worked in film, voice-over, and TV productions, recently voicing the character Waterboy in the 2025 video game Dispatch.[6]
Early life and education
Haver was born on February 13, 1996, in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada.[7] He grew up in Belchertown, Massachusetts, and has an older brother.[8] He studied film at the Pratt Institute in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in filmmaking in 2018.[9]
Career
Haver produces comedy sketches and independent films, frequently using rotoscoped animation, a form of animation created by tracing on top of filmed footage.[1][2][10][11] His films are known for their low-budget style, with Haver typically playing multiple roles in acting and production. In addition to his own channel, he has contributed to films, voice-overs, and TV productions, most notably in the video game Dispatch.[1][2][3][6]
Haver has hosted an annual "Movies Shot During the Oscars" film festival, in which he encourages independent filmmakers to shoot feature-length films during the broadcast of the yearly Academy Awards ceremony.[12] Throughout the year, in 2024, Haver published a film anthology of 12 movies, each movie being shot and edited in the span of approximately one month. He noted that he is passionate about making filmmaking more accessible.[4][5]
In July 2022, Joel Haver published the "Toilet Paper Bears" comedy sketch on his YouTube channel, depicting a dispute between the Charmin Bears family, in which the son confronts his father about his dream to be a dancer, to his father's disappointment.[13] Later that year, Saturday Night Live aired the "Charmin Bears" sketch, with similarities to Haver's video. Notably, a young bear confronts his father about his dream to be a dancer, the bears are colored blue, and the father and the son wear similar attire.[13] In late July, following the SNL airing, Haver published a video entitled "SNL stole my video". Despite the title, he denied accusations of theft, rather attributing the similarities to parallel thinking. Haver remarked, "If I still was a smaller creator, which I was for a long time, I could see it rubbing me the wrong way."[14][15][16]
Filmography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2016 | We Are Sasquatch |
| 2017 | 31 Days in Marshall, North Carolina |
| 2019 | Island[2] |
| Taking a Little Time to Feel Sorry for Myself | |
| I'M GOING TO BE FAMOUS - The Movie | |
| 2020 | Forget About Everything for Awhile |
| Pretend That You Love Me | |
| 2021 | A Simple Smash and Bash Job Gone Wrong |
| Drowning in Potential | |
| 2022 | The Bad Guy, The Wolf and the Surprise Party |
| We Have to Leave Here Together | |
| 2023 | Things Could Always Be Worse |
| goodlongpee the movie | |
| 2024 | The Hero's Journey aka My Life aka The Caleb Johnston Story (I'm Caleb) |
| Anyone Else But Me | |
| The Text | |
| Hello My Beautiful Creatures | |
| It Just Takes Time | |
| Hiccups | |
| The Diarrhea Brothers Save the Day | |
| Love, Celeste | |
| The 9th Movie | |
| A Little Film About Friendship | |
| You're Point Girl | |
| Coming Home | |
| 2025 | The Call |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Sheep Theater | Actor |
| 2021 | Off the Air | Director, Actor, Animator |
| 2022 | Making Youtube | Actor |
| The Paloni Show! Halloween Special! | Actor, Guest Animator | |
| Killer Thriller | Actor | |
| High on Life | Voice Actor | |
| 2024 | Smiling Friends | Actor, Guest Animator |
| Hello My Beautiful Creatures | Animation, Soundtrack | |
| 2025 | Dispatch | Voice Actor (Waterboy)[6] |
References
- ^ a b c Shuman, Sean (2022-10-29). "Hulu's the Paloni Show! Halloween Special: Who Are the Artists Behind the Shorts?". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b c d "Filmmaker Completely Removes His Movie From Availability". Streaming. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
- ^ a b "Island review: A small budget movie with a big heart". The Weather Vane. 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
- ^ a b Coulston, John Connor (2024-01-28). "Beloved Filmmaker to Make and Release 12 Movies in 2024". PopCulture.com. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
- ^ a b c "Joel Haver — spearheading an indie revolution with 12 feature films in 12 months". January 2025.
- ^ a b c Stedman, Alex (2024-12-13). "Dispatch Is a Star-Studded New Game With Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, Laura Bailey, and More - The Game Awards 2024". IGN. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ "Joel Haver". Cult Critic Review Aggregator. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ Richardson, Danielle (September 7, 2023). Interview with youtuber and content creator, Joel Haver (Video). Event occurs at 00:07. Retrieved July 2, 2024 – via YouTube.
I grew up in like rural Massachusetts in this small town called Belchertown.
- ^ "Film, BFA". Pratt Institute. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "'Rick and Morty' Co-Creator Parodies 'Star Wars' in Surprise New Video". Streaming. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
- ^ Director, Graham Smith Deputy Editorial; Smith, Graham (2023-09-09). "Starfield's rotoscoped animated advert pokes fun at hoarding players". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Joel Haver YouTube Filmmaker | Anti-Hollywood - YT Film Fest". 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b Bailey, Jonathan (2022-10-05). "The SNL/Charmin Bears Plagiarism Controversy". Plagiarism Today. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Joel Haver addresses accusations that 'SNL' stole his sketch: 'I don't think it was malicious'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "'Wild coincidence' or 'parallel thinking': YouTuber defends 'SNL's' Charmin Bears bit". Los Angeles Times. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "YouTuber Joel Haver On Similarities Between SNL Charmin Bears Sketch and His Video". Yahoo Entertainment. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Joel Haver (2024-03-01). Anyone Else But Me. Retrieved 2024-06-19 – via YouTube.