Animation : Kids Content On A Downward Spiral by Bob Harper

Thanks for sharing, Bob Harper. I kept thinking "Someone is gonna fill the kids’ content void" as I read the article.

There's a company looking for Family animated feature films and TV pilot scripts through an Open Writing Assignment (in Stage 32's Writers' Room) until Wednesday, March 6th at 11:59 PST.

Bob Harper sounds like the US streamers are not interested in kids content. I do feel content for adults is becoming too much.

That's so disappointing. I can't imagine my childhood without cartoons.

Do you feel like there is an active movement to destroy childhood, childish thoughts. I was really excited when they began airing more mature cartoons with the creating of adult swim. In the end everything on CN tended to blend together program-wise. Possibly a lot of us envied the creators involved anime and other hip content as having something real to say.

Nonetheless, it became a search for the lowest common denominator in terms of comedy. We always had Beavis and Butthead, but that was a phenomenon unto itself. Also that's not adult swim! Ironically in my mind I think that the children's shows always had longer runs than a lot of the short form or longer form anime content. Unless it was super popular, but all that stuff was constantly in rotation. Made my head spin and for a lot of those shows fame was fleeting if nonexistent.

Ouch, that’s hard to hear. You’d think there’d be more venues looking to produce the next Paw Patrol or Bluey. When those hit, merchandising is huge.

Cee Whirx Most companies do not know how to reach the kids audience, the adult audience is easier for them to market to.

Ashley Renee Smith There will still be kids' cartoons, just not as much, and a lot of high-concept stuff will probably not get made unless it is based on an IP or has an existing audience.

Bob Harper Sad to hear.

Terence Daniels I don't think there is movement to destroy childhood. The kids' market can be a big moneymaking opportunity. It's just that big companies do not really know how to tap into it.

Mike Boas I agree. I think there will still be preschool shows that get a chance because of the merchandise potential, but the 6-12 audience will be less served by the big companies.

Do you think there's a potential for that to turn around a bit now that streamers will be running ads and can market their content more directly? As a kid, I was able to track new shows coming out that excited me because I would see the commercials for them on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, etc. in between the shows I was watching. I feel that the 6-12 year old audience has been such a struggle because they're failing to reach those kids directly.

Ashley Renee Smith I believe there will be a shift in how content gets distributed and once the companies figure out how to monetize correctly then there will be a shift to replicate any success that comes up. If I were producing independent content for kids, I would go the YouTube route and find sponsors interested in reaching that market.

That makes sense! Thank you for the advice, Bob Harper!

Marsy Robinson Never hurts to keep pitching.

Personally, I think the biggest challenge dealing with kid audiences comes from TikTok and Youtube. It's not insurmountable, but there needs to be a shift in how animated shows are delivered. Kids will always love animation, but it's up to us to go where they are, not the other way around.

Brian makes a good point. Are we presenting concepts based on how kids used to watch media as opposed to their current typical screen-time consumption with shorter bits on smaller screens? And yet some big screen long-form projects really succeed, ala FROZEN and MOANA, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, and such. And then there's Anime.

Pamela Jaye Smith, I believe creators are flexible enough to alter the content to fit the right type of format for kids' consumption. It's the industry that isn't catching up or thinking broader. This issue is directed toward kids' TV. The movies you mentioned are four-quadrant or family co-viewing films which is a different type of marketing and distribution.

Thanks for that clarification, Bob. Though I will add that lots of us once "grown up" still enjoy the kids cartoons. Just yesterday a 45 year old was saying how much they like to watch cartoons on the weekend. Hopefully this will all sort out to the advantage of the story-tellers and the kids. Thanks for giving us this information.

That's an interesting signal - thank you for sharing the article and thoughts. I'd just want to draw attention to one obvious but important thing - the children audience still needs the content tailored exactly for their interests despite the drop of investments from big players. What does it mean? If people need something but big producers stop providing it to the market, someone else always comes to do it. That's just a market rule. It's just a time for indie players to step in. The scheme of investments is changing - perhaps, getting rather crowd-funding, because the need is still (and always be) actual.

Good point, Alexander. It will be interesting to see how this shifts.

A pity. I think we all as kids watched many of those shows and I've been missing them for sure. My daughter needs to rely on the streamers if she still wants to catch some cartoons because in The Netherlands there aren't many shows for kids around anymore.

Alexander Kalinkin It will be up to independent producers to figure out a way. Companies like Scholastic are getting further into the game, but they have a robust library and audience. For kid entertainment, the route is getting in position for merchandise deals as the actual episodes do not generate enough revenue to be hugely profitable.

Interesting article, if a bit depressing. It makes me wonder what the half-life on industry trends is. Like, a common piece of writing advice is "Don't chase trends, because they're already done and over by the time you try to get on board (plus nakedly attempting to write to a trend is not how you write a script that means something to you personally)." But at the same time, if you've written, say, a western, you can roll up at a time when "nobody's interested in westerns right now,... until all of a sudden a western hits and now westerns are hot again. And who knows? Maybe YOUR western is the one that breaks the mold and sets the new trend? The odds are against it but it's possible. I can believe studios right now are soft on animation for kids for whatever reason, but it's not like kids are disappearing or they don't like cartoons any more, so at some point it has to come back around, I would think.

Stephen Notley I always suggest write what inspires you instead of chasing a trend. If you write for a variety of genres, then you'll have a packet where something will be marketable. Plus, like you stated, one might become hot again. The kids' market isn't going away; studios must figure out how to deliver content that makes economic sense to that audience. Most of the big guys are too bloated for the traditional YouTube model, which favors leaner creatives.

I suggest indies who want to capture that market create transmedia content that can be delivered to kids in a variety of ways, like online shorts, games, and books. Try to find a corporate sponsor and do your research on marketing. Make it an IP which will give you more options.

Has anyone heard of Bentkey apparently they are trying to bring kids cartoons back?

Daniel Husbands I've heard of Bentkey. They plan to be an alternative to Disney.

Daniel Husbands Yes, Bentkey is Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire's kids streaming app.

Hi, Stephen and Bob. Good points you both make. I agree that writing what interests you, and doing it well, is much better than chasing trends. Which do pass. See more at the DC and Marvel over-saturation and dropping of late.

Our experience: we have a script set in Cuba in 1948 that was under consideration by MGM in the 80s until a regime change. We sent it around over the years. Then when the Obama administration warmed to Cuba we submitted it to the Bahamas Intl. Film Festival. It was one of the winners and we got to spend a week in the Bahamas at a Writers Retreat - pretty fabulous. Recently we had a request for the script. May you all find success with your creative projects.

Pamela Jaye Smith Great point! I think we're all agreed that we should write whatever we passionately connect to, as that will naturally lead to the best work. And, as your experience makes clear, even if what you're passionate about is currently "off-trend," trends change and times change. Good stories written with heart never go out of style!