I just wanted to know what you guy's opinion on the future of the animation business. By that I mean for the rest of this recent decade and beyond. Do you think traditional 2D hand drawn animation will become relevant in films again? Do you think internet based animated shows will gain more momentum? What do you think about the future of CGI or the recent trend of 3D with the CGI movies? Dou you think this trend will stay on? What about animation on television? What's your personal opinions on how the animation output on tv will be?
TV:
I personally think we will get a animation boom and renisance of sorts in terms of quality and quanity of animated shows on tv sooner then later. New animation studios will pop up and others will return with hopefully Amblin animation being 1. Obviously CN, Nick and Disney will continue to air and produce new animation but I don't think atleast in Nick or Disney's case it will get much different then it is now. I think those 2 networks will continue to air new cartoons with the ones failing going away and others becoming hits and staying. I think CN will probably continue to go down it's current path of trying ti incorporate live action and they will get a hit somewhere down the line and start a live action boom making the channel possibly 50/50. However I think there will be a very positive outcome of this.
Disney will show more importance with XD and give animators new opportunities for original shows they wouldn't try on Disney Channel and that network will get sort of a boom of new animated shows as well as purchasing new shows and possibly more anime after the success of Naruto. Nicktoons Network I think will really get a face lift and alot of better original animated shows will come from that and Nick may try their hands in possibly making more teen or even adult orintated shows and possibly purchasing some anime. I think in a few years these cable networks will be the innovators over their basic counterparts the same way HBO and Showtime have become the innovators and risk takers over their basic cable counterparts. In turn I think just like by the quality of the cable networks this will force the 3 big kids channels to focus on making quality animation more then present.
Because if these changes and I also think because of the success of adult based shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Boondocks and so forth other more mature networks may try their hand in getting their own animation. HBO will greenlight some more animation shows as well as Showtime and possibly Starz. Channels like USA and MTV will try at animation again after years of dormancy. FOX will obviously greenlight more animation. I can see Turner possibly giving TBS and TNT the possibility of getting original animation for their demographic or purchasing more animation. A real wild card I think could possibly be AMC.
The biggest thing I think will be Turner's goals for CN, AS and Boomerang. As I said earlier it's evident live action is here to stay in CN atleast for awhile but sooner or later CN is bound to get a live action hit and when that happens a live action boom will start. But as I said I also think cable will become the next de facto place to get the better and more innovative animation. CN will continue to get new shows but Boomerang will actually get a purpose and Turner will actually give it it's own studio instead of CN running it and they'll still focus on showing both old and modern "classics" but I also think that it will be come ad supported and get a slew of original shows and aquisations with the possibility of reboots of CN classics and WB animation getting their limelight on the new Boomerang. A possible name change to fit the new concept as well. I think the most realistic thing will be AS finally getting it's own channel space. With Turner deciding to give AS another hour after it's success, I think after a few years of stepping up the quality of originals and the purchases, Turner will finally give AS a seperate channel instead of sharing airspace with CN. I think that concept would really do big especially for anime fans as the new AS would become a 24 hr network and more ambitious shows could get their chance. With the new importance of the premium cable networks animation, Saturday mornings could get new life with the possibilty of real Saturday morning blocks on them.
In terms of anime i think a new anime boom is bound to happen. It may not be as big as the mid 1990s to early 2000s boom but I think a few anime properties will be done right on American tv on any of the possible networks and crave for more content will occur. With Funimation starting it's own anmie producing studio I think they'll probably start if they aren't already co producing a new DB property with Toei. However I think they'll test the waters with possibly letting DB Kai air on 1 of the networks as well as returns of DB-GT as well as the movies on tv. However if they tv route doesn't work, anime will still flourish on DVD and that's what I'll go to next.
DVD, Blu Ray and Home Entertainment:
Now it's evident that animation will never leave television completely but it could go either 1 of 2 ways which is it doing better then it is now and flourishing or doing worse then now and getting less importance. However no matter the scenario, the home video market will stay a viable money maker and place of importance for animation. Shows will continue to get their home video releases and obviously anime will continue to get it's home video releases. Seeing as the animation market on home video isn't anywhere even remotely close to tv there really isn't much that is in need of change in the future then it is now. However since I spoke on the future DB properites concept I'll speak on it more. Rather or not Funimation or Toes gives the franchise new life on American tv I can't tell but it's been a constant hit in America as it is wolrdwide and the franchise is worth billions. With that in mind I think the need for new DB content will be a necessity somewhere down the line and if it doesn't get new life on tv then I see yearly releases of new content being the next step. Maybe 2-4 new DB stories a year similar to how Marvel and DC are banking off their Marvel and DC DTV releases.
Internet:
A rising factor in the animation industry. Now to avoid confusion I'm not speaking on distribution of animation across the internet but a new way to watch it. With entire websites devoted to animation and showing both original and old content being created all the time, I think the internet will become a big part of the animation industries future for content. Creators will continue to make new original animation on the internet in hopes of getting tv deals or just to make shows on the internet for fun. There's really nothing I can add about this industry that I can think of.
Film:
The biggest money maker for the animation business. There's hundreds of animated films released worldwide a year with some ranging from low budgets to others costing more then big budget Hollywood blockbusters. Then of course there's those that make no money to those that make Hollywood blockbuster money. This is the most stable part of the animation industry and not much is in need of change imo but then again the film industry is almost always known to adapt with the times and trends more then any other media form. With that said the most recent trend is 3D. CGI is no longer a trend and but a staple and it won't be going anywhere. As the CGI and computer technology advances CGI animated films will advance as well in both visual and presentation. What I don't know is rather or not 3D will become the norm which honestly imo it won't. As films use more and more 3D as a selling point based off the few success, it will soon be shown that not every film can or will work in 3D with audiences both live action and animation. Monsters vs Aliens was 1 of Dreamworks biggest disappointments and it's main selling point was 3D. Obviously 3D didn't help sell the film as it was 1 of their least successful in recent times and already been denied of any sequels.
2D traditional hand drawn film animation on the other hand I think will get a boom as well. The Princess and the Frog wasn't a "huge" success but it has made over $230 million in a $105 million budget and is guaranteed more money before it leaves theaters and even more money on the home video market. With that being said, Disney Animation has already said due to the film's success they will continue to do hand drawn films releasing 1 every 2 years. I think that the main reason behind Frogs great but not phenomonal box office success is because well when was the last 2D film released in theaters? Moviegoers I think didn't really know what to do because they hadn't really saw 1 since 2004 and CGI has become the norm instead of the niche which is a total reversal of what it was from 1995-around 2003. With Disney already confirming they'll continue to do traditional animation films, as they continue to release them and moviegoers get accustomed to them again, Disney will get a huge hit both critically and commerically that hadn't been seen with 2D films since The Lion King. It will be the UP of recent traditional animation films in terms of critical success and Finding Nemo in terms of box office success. After that Disney will probably transition from releasing 1 every 2 years to a couple every year then as Disney succeeds other animation film studios from Dreamworks, Sony, Fox and so forth will follow suit just like they did with CGI after Disney and begin to work with traditional hand drawn animation films again. After that I think CGI and hand drawn will co exist with CGI obviously remaining as the de facto form but there won't be another fall off of traditional animation because it won't get out of control like it once was.
End
That was my rant so tell me what you think and of course please give your predictions.
TV:
I personally think we will get a animation boom and renisance of sorts in terms of quality and quanity of animated shows on tv sooner then later. New animation studios will pop up and others will return with hopefully Amblin animation being 1. Obviously CN, Nick and Disney will continue to air and produce new animation but I don't think atleast in Nick or Disney's case it will get much different then it is now. I think those 2 networks will continue to air new cartoons with the ones failing going away and others becoming hits and staying. I think CN will probably continue to go down it's current path of trying ti incorporate live action and they will get a hit somewhere down the line and start a live action boom making the channel possibly 50/50. However I think there will be a very positive outcome of this.
Disney will show more importance with XD and give animators new opportunities for original shows they wouldn't try on Disney Channel and that network will get sort of a boom of new animated shows as well as purchasing new shows and possibly more anime after the success of Naruto. Nicktoons Network I think will really get a face lift and alot of better original animated shows will come from that and Nick may try their hands in possibly making more teen or even adult orintated shows and possibly purchasing some anime. I think in a few years these cable networks will be the innovators over their basic counterparts the same way HBO and Showtime have become the innovators and risk takers over their basic cable counterparts. In turn I think just like by the quality of the cable networks this will force the 3 big kids channels to focus on making quality animation more then present.
Because if these changes and I also think because of the success of adult based shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Boondocks and so forth other more mature networks may try their hand in getting their own animation. HBO will greenlight some more animation shows as well as Showtime and possibly Starz. Channels like USA and MTV will try at animation again after years of dormancy. FOX will obviously greenlight more animation. I can see Turner possibly giving TBS and TNT the possibility of getting original animation for their demographic or purchasing more animation. A real wild card I think could possibly be AMC.
The biggest thing I think will be Turner's goals for CN, AS and Boomerang. As I said earlier it's evident live action is here to stay in CN atleast for awhile but sooner or later CN is bound to get a live action hit and when that happens a live action boom will start. But as I said I also think cable will become the next de facto place to get the better and more innovative animation. CN will continue to get new shows but Boomerang will actually get a purpose and Turner will actually give it it's own studio instead of CN running it and they'll still focus on showing both old and modern "classics" but I also think that it will be come ad supported and get a slew of original shows and aquisations with the possibility of reboots of CN classics and WB animation getting their limelight on the new Boomerang. A possible name change to fit the new concept as well. I think the most realistic thing will be AS finally getting it's own channel space. With Turner deciding to give AS another hour after it's success, I think after a few years of stepping up the quality of originals and the purchases, Turner will finally give AS a seperate channel instead of sharing airspace with CN. I think that concept would really do big especially for anime fans as the new AS would become a 24 hr network and more ambitious shows could get their chance. With the new importance of the premium cable networks animation, Saturday mornings could get new life with the possibilty of real Saturday morning blocks on them.
In terms of anime i think a new anime boom is bound to happen. It may not be as big as the mid 1990s to early 2000s boom but I think a few anime properties will be done right on American tv on any of the possible networks and crave for more content will occur. With Funimation starting it's own anmie producing studio I think they'll probably start if they aren't already co producing a new DB property with Toei. However I think they'll test the waters with possibly letting DB Kai air on 1 of the networks as well as returns of DB-GT as well as the movies on tv. However if they tv route doesn't work, anime will still flourish on DVD and that's what I'll go to next.
DVD, Blu Ray and Home Entertainment:
Now it's evident that animation will never leave television completely but it could go either 1 of 2 ways which is it doing better then it is now and flourishing or doing worse then now and getting less importance. However no matter the scenario, the home video market will stay a viable money maker and place of importance for animation. Shows will continue to get their home video releases and obviously anime will continue to get it's home video releases. Seeing as the animation market on home video isn't anywhere even remotely close to tv there really isn't much that is in need of change in the future then it is now. However since I spoke on the future DB properites concept I'll speak on it more. Rather or not Funimation or Toes gives the franchise new life on American tv I can't tell but it's been a constant hit in America as it is wolrdwide and the franchise is worth billions. With that in mind I think the need for new DB content will be a necessity somewhere down the line and if it doesn't get new life on tv then I see yearly releases of new content being the next step. Maybe 2-4 new DB stories a year similar to how Marvel and DC are banking off their Marvel and DC DTV releases.
Internet:
A rising factor in the animation industry. Now to avoid confusion I'm not speaking on distribution of animation across the internet but a new way to watch it. With entire websites devoted to animation and showing both original and old content being created all the time, I think the internet will become a big part of the animation industries future for content. Creators will continue to make new original animation on the internet in hopes of getting tv deals or just to make shows on the internet for fun. There's really nothing I can add about this industry that I can think of.
Film:
The biggest money maker for the animation business. There's hundreds of animated films released worldwide a year with some ranging from low budgets to others costing more then big budget Hollywood blockbusters. Then of course there's those that make no money to those that make Hollywood blockbuster money. This is the most stable part of the animation industry and not much is in need of change imo but then again the film industry is almost always known to adapt with the times and trends more then any other media form. With that said the most recent trend is 3D. CGI is no longer a trend and but a staple and it won't be going anywhere. As the CGI and computer technology advances CGI animated films will advance as well in both visual and presentation. What I don't know is rather or not 3D will become the norm which honestly imo it won't. As films use more and more 3D as a selling point based off the few success, it will soon be shown that not every film can or will work in 3D with audiences both live action and animation. Monsters vs Aliens was 1 of Dreamworks biggest disappointments and it's main selling point was 3D. Obviously 3D didn't help sell the film as it was 1 of their least successful in recent times and already been denied of any sequels.
2D traditional hand drawn film animation on the other hand I think will get a boom as well. The Princess and the Frog wasn't a "huge" success but it has made over $230 million in a $105 million budget and is guaranteed more money before it leaves theaters and even more money on the home video market. With that being said, Disney Animation has already said due to the film's success they will continue to do hand drawn films releasing 1 every 2 years. I think that the main reason behind Frogs great but not phenomonal box office success is because well when was the last 2D film released in theaters? Moviegoers I think didn't really know what to do because they hadn't really saw 1 since 2004 and CGI has become the norm instead of the niche which is a total reversal of what it was from 1995-around 2003. With Disney already confirming they'll continue to do traditional animation films, as they continue to release them and moviegoers get accustomed to them again, Disney will get a huge hit both critically and commerically that hadn't been seen with 2D films since The Lion King. It will be the UP of recent traditional animation films in terms of critical success and Finding Nemo in terms of box office success. After that Disney will probably transition from releasing 1 every 2 years to a couple every year then as Disney succeeds other animation film studios from Dreamworks, Sony, Fox and so forth will follow suit just like they did with CGI after Disney and begin to work with traditional hand drawn animation films again. After that I think CGI and hand drawn will co exist with CGI obviously remaining as the de facto form but there won't be another fall off of traditional animation because it won't get out of control like it once was.
End
That was my rant so tell me what you think and of course please give your predictions.