History MediaNotes / TheMillenniumAgeOfAnimation

[[caption-width-right:349:When rendered 3D and 2D both held the spotlight.[[note]]L-R, descending: [[Anime/SpiritedAway Chihiro and Dragon Haku]], WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants, WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Applejack]], [[WesternAnimation/WallE Wall-E and Eve]], [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells Brendan, Aisling, and Pangur Bán]][[/note]]]]

Creator/{{Disney}} began to experience its first box office failures since the early '80s. ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' is often cited as the film where the downward spiral began, though some say it began earlier with ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'' (which made money but was a critical disappointment, while also having the added misfortune of being put up against the immensely successful CGI-pioneering film we know as ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1''). The company's next films would each do worse than its predecessor with the sole exception of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''. After the failure of ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', Disney announced that it would discontinue traditional animation for good ([[NeverMyFault blaming the medium itself]] instead of, perhaps, the MisaimedMarketing that went on for most of these movies). For the next five years, they certainly tried to kill 2D animation; their second attempt at producing a rendered 3D film of their own, ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'', had a mediocre showing (but ended up making a profit)--then there was a two-year gap before their next [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon canon entry]], ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'', was released. That film was followed in 2008 by ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', which achieved (at least) critical success in spite of having languished in DevelopmentHell after a much-needed ExecutiveMeddling by John Lasseter.

Overall, thanks in large part to economic woes mentioned above, animation as a whole is widely considered to have suffered in the late 2000s (around 2006-2009), though there are exceptions. ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' started a growing trend of high-budget animated action series for TV. Often, these series are [[{{Animesque}} anime-influenced]], in which the influence of anime on American shows is largely the reason for the rise of shows with continuous, overarching story lines such as the aforementioned ''Avatar'', which may be a TropeCodifier in this regard. Further examples of shows of this type include ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'' (the non-canon Tartakovsky 2D cartoon), ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' (the canonical Lucas CGI series), ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'', ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', a number of them becoming smash successes in their own right. One could very well say that, generally speaking, action cartoons produced in America have actually reached a higher medium standard than what was the case during the Renaissance Age (back then, while mature action cartoons did exist, the vast majority were quite juvenile and rarely had very complex storylines). A looser continuity is still the norm when it comes to comedy shows however, such as ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', which rose to the position of Nickelodeon's CashCowFranchise, and Disney's ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. There are also shows that do have a mix of both serial and episodic elements such as ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', a series from the 2010s based on the popular [[Franchise/MyLittlePony toy line]] for girls which created a stir in large part because it played a major role in blurring [[GirlShowGhetto the line between "girl shows" and "general audience shows"]]. That and the show itself created an unexpected PeripheryDemographic of adult male fans.

NetworkDecay has had a devastating effect on television animation. Many basic cable channels have jettisoned their {{Saturday Morning Cartoon}}s and after-school blocks due to cable competition and [[MoralGuardians increasing restrictions on advertising]], and for the longest time, Creator/FourKidsEntertainment was the only game left (and even they had been [[http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/4kids-ceo-takes-pay-cut/ facing financial problems]]), before bankruptcy came and forced them to sell part of their empire to Saban Brands, including their block on Creator/TheCW, which was renamed Creator/{{Vortexx}}, which was ultimately the final traditional Saturday morning cartoon block. Meanwhile, syndicator Litton Entertainment created a monopoly over what was left, first taking over Creator/{{ABC}}'s airtime, then replacing preschool cartoon block Creator/CookieJarTV on Creator/{{CBS}}, then taking over the five-hour timeslot where Vortexx resided, and finally replacing Creator/{{NBC}}'s block of shows culled from sister network Creator/{{Sprout}}. As a result, the only major over-the-air networks still airing animation are Creator/{{Fox}}[[note]] They no longer air children's cartoons, but still have their very popular animated block on Sunday nights.[[/note]] and Creator/{{PBS}}[[note]] As a public channel, they operate under different rules and are almost completely immune to NetworkDecay and most of the market forces that have devastated animation everywhere else; they still have animated E/I fare airing daily, under the Creator/PBSKids brand.[[/note]].

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' (2024)

** Creator/PeteDocter (''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'')

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' (2001)

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' (2013): A prequel to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''

** Creator/PeteDocter (''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'')