Ideas on how action shows can gain profits or merchandising without a toyline

[PapaGreg]

I think networks should be more versatile on making profits towards action cartoons, kids don't by as much toys as say a decade ago and most action cartoons have more of a older audience( teens and young adults) so here are some ways they can improve on making profit on action cartoons.


Game Apps: CN as game apps for Regular Show and Adventure Time, so why not for YJ or Thundercats, I mean the concepts alone for the show can make some impressive 1.99 game apps for the show, like for example YJ can become a turnbased RPG or Motorcity can become a rail shooter. CN can also go back to the days where they make their own games on the Internet and only give out the actual games when people buy them

Clothes: I see like thousands of different clothes for Regular Show and Adventure Time but zero for Symbiotic Titan or Generator Rex, despite the fact they have a older audience. I know they don't have the same audience as AT or RS and I know jack crap about marketing and merchandising but is it really harder to make a shirt or hat with the shows logo than a actual toyline

So what are your ideas

 

[SF4Ever]

If an animated program is on the air and gets good ratings, keep it on the air, because ratings and viewership are first and foremost- the merchandising bit can work itself out in time and before the toyline, why not start out with comic books, story books and paperback novels, among other things, then begin with the toyline. It's one step at a time, but before starting a toyline that's tied to ab animated program, the show needs to get the ratings and viewership, first.

 

[aegisrawks]

I like how Vortexx gives old action shows a new life!

 

[Dudley]

One way to make action cartoons gain profits is to make them cheaper to produce, and that can be done by avoiding realistic character designs. The more cartoony the designs, the cheaper and easier it is to animate.

 

[ILDC]

One way to make action cartoons gain profits is to make them cheaper to produce, and that can be done by avoiding realistic character designs. The more cartoony the designs, the cheaper and easier it is to animate.

Then you might as well just make it mostly a comedy.

 

[Silverstar]

Simplify the artwork and designs. Like Dudley said, part of the reason action cartoons take such a hit when they fail is because they're so much more expensive to produce. Dial back on the intricate artwork, make the show less expensive.

Promotion. One reason why the DC Nation shows keep failing (outside of Teen Titans GO!) is because they get next to no on-air promotion from the network. Run ads, encore the shows once a week, give them mass exposure. Kids aren't going to watch a show when the network that runs said show barely talks about it.

Make the stories more accessible to a general/mass audience. Another reason action toons are having such a tough time right now is because many of them follow extensive story arcs, which not only makes them hard for a newbie just coming in to them to keep up with but also shortens their lifespan in reruns, since only the most devoted fans are willing to revisit an arc once it's over. Perhaps making more stand-alone stories is the way to go, since that way the episodes can be rerun in any given order without viewers feeling lost.

 

[Goldstar!]

I think that action cartoons should try to have more self contained stories rather than having so many season long story arcs, as self contained stories have greater replay value because the episodes don't have to be shown in any particular order and ongoing sagas tend to not do well in reruns.

 

[GPRailroad8794]

Then you might as well just make it mostly a comedy.

Samurai Jack disagrees.

It's a combination of all the things that's been said so far: Scale back on the details, all action cartoons don't need to try to look like anime/ have AAA budgets. They can still be detailed and accurate but not intricate (i.e.Steven Universe, Batman: TAS, Gargoyles, and even Codename: Kids Next Door). Make episodes standalone but long enough to convey all the necessary details of the story being presented (at least a half hour) and maintain some sense of continuity with overarching plots and episodes kept to a minimum/ when plot points have reached a climax. Promote them of course and give them a chance to succeed by airing them in more lucrative timeslots elsewhere on the schedule besides Saturday mornings (weekday afternoons).

Another thing that I think will help is if we had some more original ideas put on display rather than yet another DC, Marvel, or another long established franchise being used. Give us something new to invest into, make a new line of superheroes, supervillians, and other larger than life characters to care about. At the very least stop plastering only Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and The Avengers everywhere and give us more Silver Surfer, Flash, Deathstroke the Terminator, Teen Titans, and many of the other underutilized properties they own. I understand that these are what put butts in seats and these franchises sell but why not build up some more on their level, and make more people care? These companies can only make more money if done right. It's risky but business is a risky venture; shooting and missing is better than not shooting at all.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

I think that action cartoons should try to have more self contained stories rather than having so many season long story arcs, as self contained stories have greater replay value because the episodes don't have to be shown in any particular order and ongoing sagas tend to not do well in reruns.

This is a really good point. Networks aren't going to show them in a reliable, coherent order after the first go-round anyway.

 

[Dudley]

I remember a lot of 80's action cartoons being standalone stories, except for the occasional two or three-parters. It might be good to go back to that format.

 

[ILDC]

Hmm, so basically all action cartoons should have frugal animation, be mostly episodic, and not always take themselves too seriously.

...You guys mind if I keep on just blaming promotion and scheduling?

 

[GPRailroad8794]

Hmm, so basically all action cartoons should have frugal animation, be mostly episodic, and not always take themselves too seriously.

...You guys mind if I keep on just blaming promotion and scheduling?

Frugal animation doesn't have to mean low budget. Just trim some of the details that'll lessen the cost. Also, I could be mistaken but doesn't "episodic" mean that the plot picks up where the previous episode left off like most action cartoons do?

Who said anything about action shows being less serious?

 

[ILDC]

Frugal animation doesn't have to mean low budget. Just trim some of the details that'll lessen the cost. Also, I could be mistaken but doesn't "episodic" mean that the plot picks up where the previous episode left off like most action cartoons do?

Episodic | Define Episodic at Dictionary.com

Who said anything about action shows being less serious?

The shows you mentioned (Samurai Jack, Steven Universe, Batman: TAS, Gargoyles, and Codename: Kids Next Door) all have plenty of light moments.

 

[GPRailroad8794]

The shows you mentioned (Samurai Jack, Steven Universe, Batman: TAS, Gargoyles, and Codename: Kids Next Door) all have plenty of light moments.

I was referring to their art styles and even action shows have light moments. Very, very few cartoons of the genre are straight up action, violence, and darkness with no lighthearted moments in between.

 

[Dantheman]

The whole "standalonme episodes with the occasional multi-part episode" isn't a bad idea to go back to. It doesn't necessarily means no continuity or ongoing storylines, just have things that make it clear the this episode takes place before this one, and all that, like that Batman TAS episode where a pre-Two Face Harvey Dent goes on a date with Poison Ivy.

EDIT: Although if they're going to do things like introduce a new character and have said character's presence be a big deal in some following episodes, for Heaven's sake, show the episode that introduces that character first! I always hated when programming screw-ups like that happened when I was younger, probably because of "It's just a cartoon, the kids won't care"-thinking adults.

 

[Hordesman]

Part of it is toy costs have gone up. But I am testing how much I can game the system with my toy drives this year. I've bought out the BtB figure Stock at puzzle zoo and the Times Square toys r us.

 

[Goldstar!]

First, I have to say that I really don't get how Steven Universe qualifies as an action show. Granted, we're only 1 episode in so far, but the action on Steven Universe is so mild that it barely fits into the action genre. At the most, Steven Universe is a comedy cartoon that pokes fun at the action genre, not unlike The Powerpuff Girls.

Having said that, there are plenty of action shows which have had light moments. You never have action all the way through, not even on an action oriented show.

And GPRailroad made a very good point about simplifying the art for some action shows. Yes, making an action toon look as realistic as possible looks nice, but realistic drawings and backgrounds also cost more money to produce. Not every studio has Disney and Dreamworks money. I'm not suggesting that the art and animation be crude by any means, but shows like Samurai Jack managed to do just fine with it's more stylized, artsy look, and I've yet to meet a kid who gave a crud what a show looks like as ling as it was good. The only people turning up their noses at a cartoon because of the way it's drawn or animated are adults who are outside of the kids' network's target viewing demographic, and their numbers are so minimal that it's hardly worth making a note of.

Also, why don't cable/satellite channels run action cartoons on weekday afternoons anymore? Toonami in it's hey day did well in the ratings on weekday afternoons for years. Miguzi (which was like a scaled down Toonami geared toward a slightly younger audience) wasn't as successful as Toonami was, but the block at least did well enough to stay on for a couple of years. That formula worked once, why can't it work again?

 

[Gatordragon]

First, I have to say that I really don't get how Steven Universe qualifies as an action show. Granted, we're only 1 episode in so far, but the action on Steven Universe is so mild that it barely fits into the action genre. At the most, Steven Universe is a comedy cartoon that pokes fun at the action genre, not unlike The Powerpuff Girls.

And GPRailroad made a very good point about simplifying the art for some action shows. Yes, making an action toon look as realistic as possible looks nice, but realistic drawings and backgrounds also cost more money to produce. Not every studio has Disney and Dreamworks money. I'm not suggesting that the art and animation be crude by any means, but shows like Samurai Jack managed to do just fine with it's more stylized, artsy look, and I've yet to meet a kid who gave a crud what a show looks like as ling as it was good. The only people turning up their noses at a cartoon because of the way it's drawn or animated are adults who are outside of the kids' network's target viewing demographic, and their numbers are so minimal that it's hardly worth making a note of.

I don't see Steven Universe as a comedic parody of action shows. To me, it's more of an action-comedy, but I digress.

This whole artstyle argument reminds me of the video game graphics arguments I hear often amongst gamers. There are some that only like games with photorealistic graphics and there are others that say graphics are not everything (I'm one of these people). Like many people on this thread before me, I don't mind an action show with a stylized artstyle as long as the artstyle is appropriate. Even a show with a realistic artstyle can still be crudely animated, as good animation can happen regardless of artstyle. However, if the artstyle clashes too much with the atmosphere of a show, it can get bothersome and confuse people.

Having said that, there are plenty of action shows which have had light moments. You never have action all the way through, not even on an action oriented show.

To get off-topic again, the only times I've seen something that was nothing but action were those stick figure fighting animations that are all over the Internet. Go search for "stick figure fights" on YouTube, you'll see what I mean.

 

[HG Revolution]

I'd say DVDs since they saved Avatar from an unsuccessful toy line, though the DVD market has been weakening.

 

[Rhaynebow]

One way to make action cartoons gain profits is to make them cheaper to produce, and that can be done by avoiding realistic character designs. The more cartoony the designs, the cheaper and easier it is to animate.

That may be a challenge though. While it might be a hit with the kids, if it's an action show intended for an older audience, the target demographic may not be able to take the shows seriously if the characters are all squashing and stretching and have designs based off triangles and inanimate objects. Action shows need things to move fluidly and somewhat realistically. I believe that having human characters with basic human anatomy, while more expensive, is easier for animators to covey in action. How could a dog possibly hold a sword? With no thumbs, it would have to be held by the mouth, but then there's the question of just HOW a dog could swing the sword in its mouth. This might require more research on how a dog's head rotates and how one could exaggerate that. To save time, the quickest way to solve this whole dilemma would be to make the dog more human, perhaps by letting it stand on its hind legs and have elbows, or make it an anthro. By having some sort of human reference, animators can convey what actions are being done because they KNOW how the human body twists and turns. Action shows with such abstract characters that aren't remotely human-looking will, unfortunately, almost always be dismissed as a comedy, since only children will understand why a tree is somehow wielding a sword.