Los Angeles Times:
Since launching several live-action reality shows in June and moving away from its animation roots, Cartoon Network, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting, has been playing a game of hide-and-seek with its audience.
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i do not want to watch the new reality shows they have. it is the same old stuff but with kis they have on all the other networks. i want cartoons! that is their name after all. they are a great break from all the news.
For me it was over when they got rid of Toonami . I mean I loved Cartoon Network I feel sorry for my kids though when I was growing up on Saterday there were cartoons on atleast two channels WWF,Kung Fu theater than Nightmare theater . Now all there are is infomercials . Cartoon network was great . Reality shows on a network devoted to cartoons im sure theres some irony in there somewhere .
It's Cartoon Network. CARTOON Network!!! What's next? Is MTV going to play something other than music videos!? Because that would also be a terrible thing!! Oh, wait a second...
It's been downhill for awhile, but this just sucks. I know it's pathetic for a 29 year old to get a bit niffed, but I have fond memories of Dexter and Powerpuffs during my college years.
In a way, thank goodness OUR cable channels are regulated. You get raked over the coals if you stray from your license. That said, Teletoon _has_ gotten to air a limited amount of live-action fare.
How effin' (((hard))) is it to program a 24/7 cartoon channel? Even if you
take out the classics -- all those are now on Boomerang (50s, 60, 70s
and even 80s) -- it's EASY to scoop up all the cartoons from the last
15 years ONLY and air them.
Teletoon (Canada's Cartoon Network)
Teletoon Retro (Canada's Boomerang)
Pretty hard. First, there's acquiring all the rights to shows. CN was built on top of the Hanna Barberra library, but all that has moved over to Boomerang. The last 15 years worth of cartoons were generated from disparate sources and no one is just going to hand over the rights for free.
Plus, the key problem for them is advertising revenue. As the article indicates, the traditional supporters of kids shows (fast food, soft drinks, cereals) are cutting back big time in light of backlashes against their traditional advertising campaigns.
"...the network might drop "Cartoon" from its name."
So it'll just be Network? I've always hated CN. Adult Swim is great to have in the background though, while I'm surfing the net. They brought the Mighty Boosh to me so that's laudable, especially w/out BBCAmerica in my lineup.
How soon will they change their name?
Cartoon Network programmers suck. They run the same 6 episodes of the same show for hours on end, and then start all over. What, are there only 6 episodes of cartoons in the entire world? My husband has amassed a giant DVD cartoon collection that far surpasses anything Cartoon Network has run for years. When they started running all the classics on Boomerang, that was pretty much the end. Folks, the classics were great! They are so much better than the computer-animated el crappo that passes for entertainment now. When I was a kid in the 80s, I watched all the Merry Melodies from the 40s and later that I could get my hands on, because they were entertaining. They don't even need to do any new animation...just show the classics, and mix them in with the new ones. Pick a theme a day, find some cartoons to go with that theme, and run with it. I can guarantee their ratings will rise 1000% pronto.
Seriously, you can't even find the classic Loony Tunes anywhere on TV anymore. Those old shorts are timeless. There's more comedic genius and pure artistic talent in one Warner Brothers short from the 40's than anything original that CN has ever put out.
Focus groups and consultants are killing all creativity and innovation in both journalism and entertainment.
Time Warner has been driving all their cartoon-related activities into the ground. Look at their subsidiary DC comics, it's been bleeding talent and profit for years as well.
It's sad that with Nick, Disney and CN out there, not ONE of them have stepped up to the plate and really given all the animators out there a chance to showcase their work. CN's Adult Swim was ahead of its time, but now it's all about being quirky, bloody or both. Seriously, tell me which of the newer shows (Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Xavier: Renegade Angel, Superjail, Frisky Dingo, Metalocalypse, and ATHF) DON'T fit that model?
I give 'em credit for putting a lot of anime up there, but it may just be too little too late. Losing Craig McKracken (!!) after 17 years at the company says a lot about where CN's priorities lie; they don't seem to be with animation.
After reading the article, a key point is driven home: corporate entities (i.e. publicly traded companies) are destined to pump out FAIL. CN is profitable, but just not as profitable as Nick or Disney. Fine. You wanna be more profitable, CN? Well... make better cartoons!
Here's a prime example: the first new animated Scooby movie was good. The animation and story were solid. But most of all, the fact that the ghosts were real added a new exciting suspenseful dimension to the cartoon and an intriguing new direction for a series. Unfortunately, the subsequent animation series reverted back to the old "guy in a mask" theme. There is simply no real suspense since you always know that at the end it will always be a guy in a mask. That was fine for the 60's and 70's, but kids today need much more than that.
I could run down the list of blunders with regards to the programming, but it would be a very long post:) In any case, they may ultimately boost ratings over time with their new approach, but I suspect that it will ultimately lead to even more failure if they expect to overtake Disney or Nick. They really should stick to what they know, and endeavor do it better.
You'd think that a network called "The CARTOON Network" would show... um... y'know... CAR-friggin'-TOONS! At least there's Adult Swim. They tried messing with AS Anime Saturday's a few weeks back and it flopped; they had to bring back the Anime. Let's hope that "CN-Real" flops and they get back to basics.
Reminds me of when the History Channel ran "Planet of the Apes".
I think they need to read there own name. "Cartoon Network".
If it was a situation with 1 owner 1 network - ok, I would understand. But Cartoon Network is owned by Turner Broadcasting which is part of Time Warner. They own enough channels that they can dedicate each channel to a theme or area. I appreciate it when channels give me the content I expect.
I've been really disappointed with the change. On the plus side, they're not really touching Adult Swim, and Boomerang still has plenty of classics on but, there's a lot of room between contemporary/alternative young adult entertainment and 60s/70s classics that don't have somewhere to go.
Meh.
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First Posted: 08-17-09 10:33 AM | Updated: 08-17-09 10:40 AM