As animation evolves, its economic and cultural correlates multiply; this concept gains even greater verity as the number of corporate players increase and modes of transmission by media become ever more diversified. This summer brings us two examples of how the marketing of animation has adopted a novel trend previously unseen by both the public audience and animation's more specified fandom: With the premieres of Hey Arnold! The Movie,The Powerpuff Girls Movie and the recent announcement of a SpongeBob SquarePants feature we are witness to the cementing of that trend. Even the pious plants of Veggie Tales are not to be denied. The small screen is moving to the big screen in heretofore unprecedented numbers, and this month we shall examine what this new development may mean for American animation.

The Powerpuff Girls were to pose a triple threat at the box office but were mysteriously underviewed. © Cartoon Network; Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Turning animated shows into theatrical releases is neither an original nor expressly American idea. This has been done in Japan for most of the past decade with rousing success until these transformations were expected by audiences as a matter of course. A popular series such as, for example, Urutsei Yatsura might spawn several films, all fitting more or less within the continuity of the series. It was only a matter of time until American producers and distributors wised up, as they did with the concept of direct-to-video (OAV) and followed suit. Therefore, this new trend has a strong precedent of proven economic success. Considering the general timidity of Hollywood where novel ideas are concerned, one supposes such a track record would have to be demonstrated in order for TV-based features to move to the big screen at all.

Track records apply in more than one instance here; not only does the practice of adapting animated series to theatrical release have to be a winner, so do the cartoons. If we consider the series mentioned above, the facts are unarguable. SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats have continually vied for the cable ratings championship over the past two years. Hey Arnold! can be frequently found in the top ten. Some of their star power is attributable to the fact that Nickelodeon typically broadcasts these series during prime-time hours as well as on afternoons and weekends, but the shows in question are also popular, likable offerings that feature winning scripts more often than not. In the case of Hey Arnold!, Craig Bartlett's spin on Hal Roach has made the grade without the ubiquitous merchandising associated with Nick's other hits. Not much needs to be said about the popularity of Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls; the mighty moppets have attained classic status within their time, and nearly every product that can be marketed to a child carries their goggle-eyed images. So confident is distributor Warner Bros. that the film carries a PG, rather than G rating (even though most of the violence is aimed at cartoon simians).

A New Age
The present and future animation scene is crowded with possibilities; Samurai Jack is headed for the big screen via live-action, The Simpsons, which has been a big-screen rumor since Mrs. Flanders was still alive, seems to be underway, and who's to say that John Kricfalusi (once again in control of Ren and Stimpy courtesy of Viacom), won't make the big-screen feature that fans were hoping for ten years ago? One of the most interesting questions regarding this new trend has to be: Why now? How is it that we weren't treated to a Beany and Cecil feature or a Rocky and Bullwinkle flick in the mid-sixties? The only contemporary precursors to the new boom in small-screen to feature animation were the two Hanna-Barbera films Hey There It's Yogi Bear (1964) and The Man Called Flintstone (1966). Why weren't The Archies or Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on the feature docket in the 1970s? These shows were certainly popular enough, and wouldn't have needed a Dalton Trumbo or Tennessee Williams to write the screenplay. The reasons are varied and have to do with the business, and the audiences, involved with animation in the 2000s.

In the halcyon days of the 1960s and 1970s TV cartoon animation was largely confined to a tiny corner of Saturday morning, and networks bought any schlock that could fill a half-hour slot. No one (including many of the kids watching) constituted a fan base that would have justified any feature films derived from a given series. No producer or distributor would have taken such a risk based on such limited exposure and demographics. A 24/7/365 channel that broadcast naught but toons was an unthinkable fantasy, and any executive that suggested it would have been placed on a considerable dose of antipsychotic medication. Today such a thing does exist, and some cable stations either have or are considering adding animation "blocks" to their programming.