Published by Joe on 03 Aug 2009 at 11:40 am
August 3, 2009
I am really blown away by the response to my last post, and my questions. We are starting to shape how entertainment is going to reach it’s audience. I do think there is something to “buyers” of cartoons screening out some of the poor quality, but then again. Taste is different. One mans garbage is another mans treasure. All it takes is an artist will to put the time into sharing, and someone wanting to watch. When it comes to earning the revenue to keep a machine going, that is a whole new ball of wax.
Thanks for your input. Keep it coming. I want to hear ( and others do too.)
Noel Doss on 03 Aug 2009 at 1:54 pm #
As now if you could see Cartoon Networks line up for the day and Cartoon Networks Adult Swim line up has more Cartoon’s then during the day ever since Cartoon Network got Adult Swim they have been keeping strong since Early 2000.
Also as I remember looked up some of Cartoon Network’s Relesed series in the past such as Cartoon Cartoon a series that played full hour of different Cartoons which is no longer on Cartoon Network and Cartoon Networks Top5 That showed the top Cartoons also that is not there anymore pluse came Cartoon Networks Adult Swim that came somewhere around 2000 as I already said they also put it on Friday night back in 2007.
I enjoy staying up late watching nostop Cartoons I just wish they would do that again
but as far as we see no new changes on the Tv about new Cartoons at all hope by Next year there will be some new changes going cause this year it’s all junk to me.
Dave on 03 Aug 2009 at 2:08 pm #
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoonstitute
The only recent hope that existed for new cartoons on the Cartoon Network was a project called Cartoonstitute that was headed by Craig McCracken. Without something like this in place, the Cartoon Network will deevolve into a channel that shows no cartoons at all and instead shows nothing but live action programming all day long. My guess is that the Cartoon Network must figure live action programming is cheaper to produce instead of a cartoon given the current economy. As for Adult Swim, I love Robot Chicken, but I wouldn’t want Adult Swim to be the only source of new programming for the channel overall.
Joe on 03 Aug 2009 at 2:13 pm #
Sadly, Craig is no longer at Cartoon Network, and the Institute got shut down. ( the institute shutting down is not from an official Cartoon Network Source. Just what I heard. I won’t say from who, but reliable.) For CN to let Craig go is a real sign that they are going downhill fast.
They lost an incredible talent.
Joe Murray
Jestoon on 03 Aug 2009 at 5:11 pm #
Would somebody please tell me what good cartoon Channels are left?
Thanks
Best Wishes,
Jestoon
Connor O'Brien on 03 Aug 2009 at 5:17 pm #
wow. I hadn’t even heard of the cartoonistute before and now I’m pissed they dropped it. How could CN be so stupid? They had multiple successful shows come out of that last similiar thing they did, “What a Cartoon!” show. It just doesn’t make sense they wouldn’t do that again.
sarah on 03 Aug 2009 at 6:20 pm #
iteresting to mention that taste is different. I agree that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, i often debate it…I often wonder myself if me and me friends are being pretty grumpy about the animation they are putting out on television today because we think it’s poor quality, or because the things we used to watch are simply nostalgic and therefore a comfort to us. you know like maybe there is somethng genuinly good about bad’ stff and we missed it.
but to look at some modern animation today on a more analytical level, the cartoons i watched i can still enjoy today because most of them have some kind of adult level i can still relate to now- some of them i can’t anymore ! but visually they are appealing. some of the new cartoons we see at the moment are pretty lazy with animation, and also really have only one level, so i really think that it’s not just nostalgia.- but maybe that is also being biased??
some new cartoons though, i still like because they are visually appealing too, or do have that adult level. it’s a shame those cartoons are going to be axed soon =(
also, sometimes i’ll talk to someone even just a few years younger han me, and they haven’t even heard of the things i used to watch- so i feel kind of they don’t know any further than the stuff you are getting righ tnow on Televsion. i wonder if really the taste is different because the buyers essentially control what people watch. not in a 1984 sense, just, it’s been a while now since they’ve shown anything other than the kind of gimicky animation, so i doubt that younger people know any different! you accept what is given to you. just like when i was a kid, i’d barely heard of disco and pretty much blew it off! you never know though!
interesting everyone is talking about all these different channels as well as adult swim- over in the UK it’s very different, we don’t really have anything like this. also, Chowder and flapjack which i hear are going down now as well, thanks to CN have only just begun around here! but live action is still pretty big and popular over here, and boomerang, which used to show old CN 3o’s-5o’s cartons (like hannah barbera and looney toons, and dick darstedly and all that) now has been reserved for mostly live action things.
this also, we have a channel from nickelodeon which plays the old nick toons (such as hey arnold and stuff..i’m waiting for rocko to come back on) I wonder if you folk have that as well?
sorry to post an essay =(!!
Horce B. Faulkner on 03 Aug 2009 at 11:17 pm #
THE CARTOONSTITUTE WAS DOOMED TO FAIL. CARTOON NETWORK DOESN’T CARE ABOUT CARTOONS ANYMORE. LET THE BLEAK TIMES BEGIN!
Christopher on 04 Aug 2009 at 5:04 pm #
Huh.
This is sad, sad times. As a Multimedia Designer/Animation Producer, I one day hoped to pitch my cartoons to Cartoon Network. Obviously, this “CN” is not what it used to be and if releasing talent like Craig is the aim of this new reality-tv-driven company, then I’m just as quick to let the company rot ratings wise. It’s clear they’ve no respect for artists at this point, revenue or not. There are ways to market animation in new and exciting ways that doesn’t spit in the face of decades of sweat and pencil-shavings.
I wonder, and this is a direct question to you Joe if I may as I do plan on buying your book, if there’s any point left to pitching to television companies anymore. To me, television as a whole seems to be dying and the market seems free for more web-accessible shows. Alot of websites already host their shorts, toons, even shows online. How can one compete and survive if the big-time is reserved for Spongebob’s, Miley Cyrus’ and Jonas Brothers and no one is allowing elbow-room even for talents like Craig?
Joe on 04 Aug 2009 at 5:19 pm #
I feel that Cartoon Network will rise back up again when they realize that the business model they are pursuing is flawed. It really is the result of a few executives at the top who are trying to show that they can bring in some quarterly profits by not spending anything.
Nickelodeon is still a good place to pitch. Adult Swim is still “swimming”. Same with Comedy Central, Fox and Disney Channel. ( Maxwell Atoms of Bill and Mandy has something brewing over there).
But this is why I’m looking to see other avenues for the cartoon to go on living. It’s Darwinism. We will find a way to survive. Once the networks see the popularity of well made cartoons anywhere they are shown, they will jump back on the bandwagon!
Joe Murray
Rachel on 04 Aug 2009 at 6:25 pm #
This is an end of a era, even if CN learns from their mistake…will people trust them again?
It wouldn’t be a problem if CN had Live Action in tandem with Cartoons like Nick or Disney did, but they didn’t….they had a couple of LA shows that disappeared and focused primarily on cartoons.
Hell, I wouldn’t even be upset if they showed those godawful LA shows along with the cartoons….but to kill animated shows, fire great directors and just funnel easy money in what appears to be no more then a short term ratings boost is suicidal for the network.
I don’t know what goes on in the industry, I became a animator because of people like you, Gendy and Craig, I was nurtured by Disney 2D animated films and when they killed off 2D for 3D…I wanted to cry. Now 3D is over-saturated in the animation field and has for the most part lost it’s luster, CN is doing the SAME thing….it’s killing off the one thing it had that made it unique and special-A 24 hour cartoon channel and is opting to joining the Nick and Disney pack.
Why can’t you do both? Why can’t you still push animation and live action shows…why cut off the nose to save the face?!
I don’t know…it’s all kinda of rambly and I’m sorry…I feel really bad for everyone, but at this point CN, if you want to destroy yourself…you’re doing a hell of a job. As for you, Gendy and Craig, just point me to whatever channel you guys are putting roots in and I’ll watch. I’ll support you the best I can.
Take care and good luck!
Connor O'Brien on 05 Aug 2009 at 4:52 pm #
You really do have to hand it to Nickelodeon, they’ve always been fairly consistent with their style.