At the time of this writing, there’s been much talk about the death of Cartoon Network. The channel is still on the air, but the studios have been consolidated into Warner Bros. studio property. Whether or not you consider Cartoon Network dead is up to you. That said, its original purpose as a showcase for the Turner animation library has been long abandoned. In fact, there was a time–however fleeting–that it did a bit of everything to celebrate animation. It’s undeniable that, as the channel positioned itself to compete more aggressively with Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, emphasis on new programming superseded everything else.
Looking through fan recordings of the network at the turn of the millenium, I noticed a healthy variety in the schedule. There was not only a balance of archival content and brand-new shows, but a selection of programs that wouldn’t have gotten support without the backing of someone with money. For example: in 1998, Cartoon Network aired an 8-hour-long event dedicated to the most acclaimed animation they could access. To boot, it was the place to go for anime, for many kids; granted, it was often put into its own neat little box, away from the other platform’s offerings.
So, the way I see it, I believe a great platform for animation should accomplish a number of goals:
- Archive existing animation, and give it a public stage
- Showcase lesser-known works that would not get an audience without extra support
- Push the art form forward: create and display new animation
- Give the previous three facets equal footing to a reasonable degree
- Make an effort to curate and educate
Cartoon Network was always a capitalistic venture beholden to its young demographic and overarching corporate body. It was never going to be a full-on Louvre for animation. Even if the staff wanted to do that for a time, it probably wasn’t feasible for very long. One could argue that there was a brief time where Nicktoons Network tried to approach these goals; not only showcase reruns, but original shows and even shorts from up-and-coming artists. Considering its status as a side channel to the main Nickelodeon platform, it was too good to last.
For a while, it seems like there hasn’t been a platform that has tried to achieve the same goals that older corporate channels appeared to reach for. There seems to be ten million different streaming services. Some are free, some are paid. Most, if not all, treat animation as a side dish. Some platforms might feature older and/or lesser-known animation, and perhaps invest in new animation. Yet, these must share a platform with reams of live-action films and shows. That’s fine in a way; a healthy media diet consists of more than one medium. Still, not only is the latter given priority, but curation and education simply isn’t a streaming platform’s goal for either medium.
Funnily enough, the closest to a current “Cartoon Network equivalent” is Sony’s Crunchyroll. I will admit that they are investing heavily in bringing new shows to countries outside Japan. I will even admit that they’re investing a surprising amount into bringing older shows to their platform, including the once elusive Minky Momo. Yet, on top of the obvious lack of curation and education, they focus on a single country’s animated output. Never mind the myriad criticisms one could make towards them; off the top of my head, their insistence on non-union dubbing.
I wish I had a neat, happy ending. My conclusion is that I’d like a platform that is interested in showing the average layman the past, present, and future of animation. The worldwide hits and the shit you’ve never heard of. Not just throwing it on, mind; really giving them an insight on who and what makes these damn cartoons. Even if that amounts to a blurb in the description rather than a full blown documentary in the extras tab. I’m sure it might only happen if we had a rich eccentric like Ted Turner around, but I’m not satisfied with “It’s never going to happen.” We have a bunch of pieces that resemble a great platform for animation, we just need them together.
Maybe then, I’ll see ever so slightly less uneducated, batshit opinions on the real people with real lives that power this medium.
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