Truly "Adult" Animation

I definitely agree that streaming is going to take over a lot of segments dominated by TV in the past. Theaters, on the other hand, aren't going anywhere. I'm reminded of the mindset in the 1950s, when movie theaters felt similarly threatened by the then-new medium of TV. This resulted in a lot of attempts by theaters to stay relevant; the boom in 3D movies during this time was a result of that. In the end it didn't really matter, because movie theaters and TV found ways to coexist. I'm convinced the same is going to be true for streaming. If nothing else, the pandemic has given us a better idea of what streaming is good for, and what people will go to a theater to watch. And slowly but surely, movie studios are adjusting their expectations accordingly.

The list of adult animated films currently being produced is understandably very short. While things could obviously change in the future, I'm still going to assume the following movies will be released in theaters unless it's officially proven otherwise. The movies in question are:

— The Black Knight (Sony Pictures)

— Bubble (Sony Pictures)

— Fixed (Sony Pictures)

— Jodie (MTV Films)

— The Great Gatsby (DNEG)

Jodie is the only one of these based on a TV show (it's a Daria sequel), and ironically it's also the one I can most easily see going straight to streaming. MTV already announced a Beavis and Butt-Head movie for Paramount+, so Jodie might well be destined for that service as well.

The others are all produced by Sony Pictures. Sony sent their animated movies to Netflix during the pandemic, but I see no reason to believe they'll continue to do so once conditions improve. They also have more of a reputation for risk-taking than the other major animation studios (granted, a low bar to clear).

Edited by ElSquibbonator on May 19th 2022 at 11:14:14 AM

I saw the first episodes of Smiling friends and while it wasn't a bad cartoon it felt like nothing special, it just looks like another adult cartoon with ugly characters and inappropriate jokes, and I'm sick of 99% of adult animation outside of japan being just that.

I think Smiling Friends is alright. It's enjoyable. I'm not saying it doesn't deserve all the love it gets just because I'm not gushing over it myself, but I am a bit surprised by how popular it is.

What are you guys's thoughts on the movies I mentioned above?

As far as TV series go, the number of non-streaming adult animated dramas currently being planned is equally small, if not more so. Primal is the only one currently airing, and the others are as follows:

—Pantheon (AMC)

—Clue (Fox)

— Hawkmaster (Fox)

— NIMH (Fox)

— Faust (Network unknown, but produced by Sony Pictures Television)

Edited by ElSquibbonator on May 20th 2022 at 4:36:10 AM

It's low, but it does feel like an improvement from previous years.

Pantheon has been in production for at least three years, and we know frustratingly little about it— not even any concept art.

Sounds like it might be in development hell

Wait, we're getting an animated take on The Great Gatsby? When did that happen?

First I'm hearing of it

It's being produced by DNEG animation and written by William Joyce. Also, Joyce replied to a tweet claiming he hopes the movie gets a theatrical release. That's no guarantee it will, of course, but he clearly has a vested interest in that happening, and it's not being produced directly for a streaming service. It seems like the sort of movie A24 might pick up, for example.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on May 21st 2022 at 1:54:13 PM

Hey, yeah. A24 is starting to poke around with animation since they were hiring for an executive guy for animation and there's Hazbin Hotel coming from them.

They're also making the stop-motion/live-action hybrid movie Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which honestly looks adorable. Of course, Marcel seems aimed at a younger audience than most of what A24 makes, but if they're distributing animated movies now, I'm willing to bet it's only a matter of time before they put a PG-13 or R-rated one out in theaters. The question is whether they'll do it before a major studio (at this point, almost certainly Sony) does.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on May 21st 2022 at 6:12:10 AM

Agh, I actually forgot about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. (And it's stop-motion? Really thought it was CGI or something.)

Has Marcel been a thing before the movie? Or has he only had the one upcoming movie?

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on May 21st 2022 at 7:03:50 AM

It's based on a series of award-winning shorts. Here's the first one:

Edited by RacattackForce on May 21st 2022 at 8:08:31 AM

I remember seeing a trailer for that in front of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. It looked cute enough, but I remember thinking it was a weird thing to advertise with an R-rated Nic Cage action-comedy.

Same here. But I also think stop-motion has a sort of weird/quirky/"adult" appeal that CGI and hand-drawn animation don't, so movies aimed at adult audiences can get away with using it. It still doesn't happen often, but it's definitely a trend worth considering. It's why we got, for example, Isle of Dogs, which grossed $65 million with a PG-13 rating.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on May 21st 2022 at 10:31:16 AM

While talking about his own adult animated series, Primal, Genndy optimistically notes the push for variety in the medium has been for the late 10s and early 20s.

Indeed. I almost wonder if this new era needs its own page on the wiki, separate from The Millennium Age of Animation. I suggest calling it "The Enlightenment Age Of Animation".

Edited by ElSquibbonator on Jul 11th 2022 at 7:04:30 AM

No offence meant but "Enlightenment Age" kind of sounds pretentious and premature. For we all know, we could be at and end of good animation.

Yeah I was going to say that but in a much less well put way. You rock!

Pantheon, the Titmouse-produced adult animated series by Creator/AMC, has revealed its first four minutes. So far, it seems the series will premiere on September 1st on AMC+.

On the one hand, I'm thrilled that this show is finally coming out, and we should probably make a thread for it. On the other hand, the original announcement suggested that it would be airing on the AMC network, not streaming on AMC+. It is disappointing that they apparently changed their minds, I'm not going to lie.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on Jul 26th 2022 at 8:53:00 AM

I get the feeling, since the announcement explicitly referred to it as a primetime drama. It does make me wonder if the show will eventually air on television, a couple of months after its initial run?

There's an additional article by Animation Magazine, which provides more screenshots and the cast (including the late William Hurt).

Or maybe it's getting a day-and-date airing, where it'll air on AMC the same day it streams. Regardless, they did call it a primetime show, so at the very least I would expect some sort of explanation from them.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on Jul 26th 2022 at 1:33:44 PM

Do you think streaming is good or bad for more diverse adult animation?