Full Stream Ahead
A special report on what the top animation execs at Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and other streaming outlets are looking for in 2020.
A special report on what the top animation execs at Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and other streaming outlets are looking for in 2020.
'The challenge is fundamentally the same — to work with inventive, inspired creators and help them realize the very best version of their creative vision.' — Billy Wee, SVP of Original Animation at HBO Max
Big names, big budgets, big ideas: the last decade ushered in a new golden age of television, thanks in no small part to the ascendency of streaming platforms. With audiences now accustomed to choosing from a dizzying array of titles at any given moment, both studios and on-demand services have had to adapt quickly to fight for those all-important eyeballs, most noticeably by investing heavily in new content. It’s a strategy that has been welcomed by storytellers and viewers alike, but it remains to be seen whether it represents a sustainable business model. More poignantly, what does the increasing dominance of streaming platforms over both traditional networks and theatrical exhibitors bode for the future of animation?
“Streaming is a more wide-open landscape than linear,” says Billy Wee, SVP of Original Animation at HBO Max. “But the challenge is fundamentally the same: to work with inventive, inspired creators and help them realize the very best version of their creative vision.” Among the titles HBO Max has lined up for the platform’s May launch are Adventure Time: Distant Lands (four one-hour specials based on the beloved Cartoon Network series, which ended in 2018), a new series of Looney Tunes shorts spearheaded by Peter Browngardt, a reboot of Aaron McGruder’s comic strip The Boondocks, and Jellystone, a new Warner Bros Animation show featuring popular characters from the Hanna-Barbera library.
With so much content now at our fingertips, the nature of animation is also adapting, moving away from trend-based concepts to more experimental offerings, particularly now creators are no longer shackled by the stringent time-keeping of traditional television and theater (a newfound freedom that will no doubt further be cemented with the upcoming launch of DreamWorks Animation co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg’s mobile shortform platform Quibi). “As there are more and more opportunities for animators, we are go
ing to see a variety in animated content like never before,” says Mike Moon, Director of Original Series at Netflix. “We want to create great, supportive environments for our creators to come and do their best work — when that happens, the sky’s the limit on what is possible for the artform.”
A Wide Spectrum
“I love the range of creative swings that we saw in 2018 and 2019, and the sheer ambition that has come to define the global animation business,” Wee concurs. “It’s hugely inspiring and I expect to see that continue in 2020 and beyond.”
While, unsurprisingly, Disney+ relied on its billion-dollar brands such as Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen to market the November launch of its streaming service – a goldmine of content that quickly reduced any possible disadvantage the company may have encountered in their relatively late entry to the streaming game – Senior Vice President of Content, Agnes Chu, says the platform is equally keen to embrace the new freedoms that streaming can offer.“We have an unparalleled library of iconic animated feature films and series currently streaming on Disney+, and new animated originals provide the opportunity to complement that offer by breaking out of typical formats, durations, genres and target demos,” Chu explains. Exclusive titles on the platform include Forky Asks a Question (featuring Toy Story 4’s popular character), What If…? from Marvel Studios (which re-imagines pivotal moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), a new season of Star Wars Clone Wars and fresh Pixar shorts. Also in the works are Monsters at Work, Earth to Ned, a
Chip ‘n’ Dale series and Muppets Now.
“Disney has long approached animation as a powerful storytelling medium rather than a genre,” adds Chu. “Nevertheless, we are not resting on our laurels, and it’s exciting to explore this new era of animation with our partners and consider audiences and approaches that expand and broaden the scope of the medium to reach new heights.”
With Disney+ now the sole recipient of its parent company’s long and prolific legacy in American animation, it’s unsurprising other streaming platforms are re-focusing on international output. Last October, HBO Max stole a march on competitors by announcing they had secured the rights to the entire Studio Ghibli catalog – quite a coup considering it has never before been available digitally – while Netflix has the advantage of being largely unfettered by geo-licensing restrictions, which informs its slate. “Every story we produce we release simultaneously in every language and country we’re in,” explains Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Original Animation at Netflix. “We are growing outside the U.S. at a rapid pace, and it’s a really exciting time for us because animation is a form of visual storytelling that travels so well.”
Global Appetite for Quality
Among the animated features Netflix has snapped up from overseas are French fantasy I Lost My Body and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon from Britain’s Aardman Animations. It has even made incursions into Disney’s traditional territory with last November’s Christmas movie Klaus, a hand-drawn animation produced by Despicable Me creator Sergio Pablos almost entirely in his Spain-based studio. Cobb namechecks Klaus and Indian preschool animation Mighty Little Bheem as
'Since we aren’t beholden to advertisers or time slots, we’re able to really focus on the different creators’ visions.' — Mike Moon, VP of Original Series at Netflix