Did These Motherf#$%ers Really Just Kill Cartoon Network?!
Layoffs continue as Warner Bros. Discovery pushes to cut $3 billion from its budget. But what does that mean for Cartoon Network?
The internet caught on fire today when Warner-Discovery executed its most recent round of layoffs and project cuts. The announcement comes as company CEO David Zaslav continues his crusade to shave a whopping $3 billion off of company costs overall.
Leaked photo of David Zaslav coming in for another typical day at the office.
Batgirl & Beyond
The company first raised eyebrows when it scrapped the nearly-completed Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace and fan-favorite Brenden Fraser. In the same proverbial breath, films were quietly removed from HBO Max while the first round of layoffs went into effect. Also cut were several upcoming projects and series, including the Wonder Twins movie and Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Caped Crusader animated series.
The choice to scrap Batgirl undoubtedly received the most ire from fans – exacerbated by the news that the Latina-led film was axed so Warner-Discovery could take a tax write-off.
Cartoon Network Merges With Warner Animation
This week has seen announcements of another series of staff changes at Warner Bros. Discovery. According to Deadline, 26% of personnel, a total of 125 positions, will be cut across scripted, unscripted, and animation departments.
The development and production teams at Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation will become one department. In the company’s statement to remaining employees, Warner-Discovery chairman Channing Dungey said the studios are moving to “a new streamlined structure”. The head of the merged studios will stay the same – Sam Register has and will continue to run both studios as well as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe (which will still operate independently).
After the news broke, an article published by Cartoon Brew went viral reporting the merger and staff cuts. The author goes on to speculate about the future of Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), writing:
“This also seems an ominous sign for the future of new, original Cartoon Network animation. WBA has traditionally been a much more catalog/IP-driven studio, while CNS has been the studio that puts out original series and specials that occasionally become touchstones for generations of viewers.”
Is Cartoon Network as We Know It Gone?
In the aftermath of some dramatic production cuts, the announcement does feel, as the viral post says, “ominous”. But creators who are still working at Cartoon Network Studios have pointed out that these assumptions don’t necessarily reflect what’s happening behind the curtain.
Shame on @cartoonbrew for spreading panic. These are decisions that affect real people, studios, & jobs, and it seems like you’re concerned with crafting a story with the most sensationalized (inaccurate) version of events.
Your lack of journalistic integrity is showing, dude.
— David DePasquale 🔜 Lightbox Expo 513 (@wolfinsheeps) October 12, 2022
Proclaiming that Cartoon Network is dead does seem to disempower those remaining behind to carry the torch. And while I will always personally hold a grudge against Zaslav for the Barbara Gordon movie that never was, perhaps it’s best if we wait for the dust to settle before planting a gravestone on top of a cornerstone of our childhoods.
