American animation has had a very rough transition into the streaming age, to say the least. Every cartoon fan knows about Max’s frequent cartoon purges and now Paramount Plus is getting in on the cartoon purging. Streaming seemingly cannot create something as intrinsic to pop culture as Spongebob Squarepants on Nickelodeon was. Despite some the difficultly in animation to succeed commercially, the streaming era has allowed for the most artistically innovative titles ever seen. Sure some titles like Pantheon and Scavengers Reign get shafted despite their critical and fan acclaim, but maybe there are possible ways animation could adapt. Let’s look at some ways:
Most animation from the Saturday morning/syndication/cable era of animation were not made with the intention of being “binge shows.” If you were watching Nickelodeon in the 1990s, you’d have an episode of Doug, an episode of Rugrats, an episode of Hey Arnold, and an episode of Ren and Stimpy air one after the other rather than a marathon of one show (except on special occasions). Even the funniest cartoons out there can get stale when marathoned, which is why I feel streaming should allow for users to create playlists to mimic a 1990s style Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network schedule. Streamers should be able to create custom playlists or allow for a randomizer to create playlists. Many animation fans have demanded this, and it would be cool to see it implemented. It seems like streaming executives don’t get animation, especially comedy animation, which thrives on watching varieties of shows with different styles of humors to mix up the laughs.
2. If Crunchyroll can succeed with anime, why can’t American animation try to create its own streaming service:
It does seem obvious that streaming services treat animation as
second class citizens. Some might argue that streaming treats live action shows bad, but the thing is that animation has never had a success story in the streaming era on par with Stranger Things, Squid Game, or Wednesday. Meanwhile, Crunchyroll has created a streaming service that is primarily Japanese animation (they do have live action dramas too, but it’s mostly animation). With Crunchyroll, the cartoons are the main attraction and don’t get treated like something the streamer is ashamed of (like Max seems to treat cartoons). If animation studios want to make animation work for the streaming era, why not instead of trusting these companies that obviously do not value animation, have them on a platform for animation. Just as Cartoon Network was a cable network for animation, there can be a streaming service for animation.
3. Whatever is working, keep doing that:
Even if animation fans keep insisting that the sky is falling, there have been success stories in this streaming era. The new era of artsy adult action cartoons like Arcane and Blue Eye Samurai has brought in tons of acclaim to the medium. This is arguably the crown jewel of success for animation in the streaming era. Adult comedy like Bojack Horseman has also taken lots of artistic risks. These artistically ambitious cartoons is what is keeping animation alive. If these are successful, then they should keep being made. 
I know some people that what’s specifically dying is kid’s animation (specifically non-preschool kids), but there have been success stories like the Jurassic World cartoons. Kids cartoons are going to still be made, even if it seems like adults seem to be the new primary audience for most streaming animation. Streaming need to keep putting out what both child and adult audiences want and capitalize on the successes they have.
All in all, animation isn’t going to die. These are growing pains, but the medium has survived well over a century. I believe there are awesome cartoons around the corner.
The post Editorial: How Cartoons Can Survive The Streaming Age appeared first on Anime Superhero News.