The Mainstream Business of Adult Animation
I'm sitting on a plane, headed for the Banff Television Festival in Alberta, Canada. The topic of adult animation weighs heavily on my mind. I have been asked to moderate a panel regarding the future of animation. The panel topic is admittedly a broad one but the more I contemplate these two issues, the more I realize that they are intrinsically linked. Put more simply, adult animation is emerging as the key to survival in an increasingly difficult industry. Difficult, because the proliferation of new cable and specialty channels has effectively spread out the available revenue over a larger market, thereby decreasing each broadcaster's buying power. From a ratings standpoint, broadcasters are being forced to define further their target audience in response to the multitude of new channels.
How does this affect animated children's programming? Specialty youth and children's channels are enjoying strong ratings in their age demographic. Thus, broader-based network and cable channels are being pushed to refocus their efforts on a different demographic. Rather than competing for young eyeballs in the traditional morning and after-school blocks, they look to older audiences. The result: a decrease in shelf space for animated children's programming. This trend has, in part, paved the way for animated adult programming.
Animation Grows Up
From a creative standpoint, this is widely received as good news. It's no secret that the majority of animators and writers prefer to work on shows aimed at an older audience. Abby Terkuhle, president of MTV Animation and creative director of MTV, was North America's first pioneer in the area of adult animation. His network continues to produce and showcase the kind of programming that has made this genre feasible both domestically and abroad. On the topic of creative process, Abby points out that, "For us, producing adult animation is in some ways akin to the creative process experienced in music. It gives our writers and animators an opportunity to experiment with their art and to come up with new techniques and formats. Going back to the early days, it started with something as simple as splashing paint on the MTV logo."
Looking at the line-up of successful animated programming
in North America this year, it is apparent that the industry has moved
to a more sophisticated, edgier and decidedly older audience than that
of three years ago. Even our children's shows are skewing older with shows
like Rugrats, Sam & Max and Cow and Chicken. There
are also more animated adult programs than ever before. As Terkuhle points
out, "The success of shows like Beavis and Butt-head, The
Simpsons, and King of the Hill have allowed for a wider acceptance
of adult animation in the marketplace. There was always a stigma attached
to animation--that it was just for kids. While we are still challenged
by that perception, the industry has come a long way to accepting adult
animation as viable programming. As a result, we currently have programs
like Daria and Celebrity Death Match."
Bob and Margaret is an adult series due to air this
fall on Comedy Central in the US, Channel 4 in the U.K. and Global Networks
in Canada. The series is based on Alison Snowden and David Fine's Academy
Award-winning short, Bob's Birthday. In a recent discussion with
Fine, he pointed out that he has, "always been inspired by films from
the NFB and Britain that are adult films like The
Big Snit [by Richard Condie] and Why Me
by Janet Perlman. Alison and I have always been making adult films. The
big transition has been doing adult series for prime time television, for
the general population. That has happened because of The Simpsons,
in the first instance. It lead to a whole renaissance of quality animation,
for children as well as adults, like Ren & Stimpy. The marketability
and huge potential of animation was re-realized because of the Simpsons."
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