Animation Monday: Lack of Action Animation On TV

By Nathan Young on March 18, 2013

There’s a crisis going on in the animation world. The number of action animated shows being cancelled is alarming. I mean, I enjoy the comedy animated shows like Phineas and Ferb, My Little Pony: FIM, and Adventure Time. But I also like to enjoy the action animated shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Young Justice. Sadly, many animated shows in the action genre have been cancelled. And that sucks!

Last week, Disney and Lucasfilm announced the cancellation on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the delay of the upcoming series Star Wars: Detours. Most likely, Disney is never going to make Star Wars: Detours. The cancellation of The Clone Wars comes at a very bad time! What is going to happen to Ahsoka Tano? Lucasfilm Studios have said they are continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. And they are advising fans to stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content. (cough: Disney XD)

It’s too bad we will probably never see Star Wars: Detours. This comedy series co-created by the Robot Chicken team of Seth Green, Matthew Senreich and Todd Grimes was going to be awesome!

Sadly, Star Wars is not the only cancellation. Many fans are upset that Cartoon Network has cancelled Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice. Both shows ran their series finale episodes last weekend. The fans and the creators of these shows have been all over Twitter trying to pressure Cartoon Network to save these shows. Cartoon Network will premiere Teen Titans Go! and Beware the Batman in April on DC Nation. You can tell Cartoon Network is wanting to take DC Nation to a more comedy direction. Also, did you know Cartoon Network is bringing back The Powerpuff Girls? Here is a screenshot from the new series.

Over on Disney XD. Marvel Universe has struggled along with only Ultimate Spider-Man which has done well. Two new series will premiere this Summer. Marvel’s Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents S.M.A.S.H. will air sneak peaks in late May. My hope is these shows will last instead of being cancelled after just one season just like Motorcity and Tron: Uprising. Sadly, I have noticed that both DC Nation and Marvel Universe have been doing poorly in the ratings. This is not a good thing for people who love action animation!

Nickelodeon has The Legend of Korra and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And The Hub has Transformers: Prime which is on its last season. Many people have said the lack of action animation is due to the lack of merchandise sales and not due to TV ratings. I know many cartoons on TV today are tied to the merchandise sales to determine if the show gets another season or is cancelled. I still think there is a market for action animated shows on TV. The networks have to give these shows a chance to find an audience. I hope I get to watch and review more action animated shows on Geek Alabama in the future!