Animated series

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An animated series is a set of animated television works with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either a finite number of episodes like a miniseries, a definite end, or be open-ended, without a predetermined number of episodes. [1] They can be broadcast on television, shown in movie theatres, released on the internet [1] or direct-to-video. Like other creative works, animated series can be of a wide variety of genres and can also have different target audiences: both males and females, both children and adults. [1]

Contents

Television

Animated television series are presented daily or on certain days of the week during a prescribed time slot, including for example saturday-morning cartoons, prime time cartoons, late night anime, and weekday cartoons; series broadcast only on weekends. [1]

The duration of an episode also varies. Traditionally, they are produced as complete half-hour or nearly half-hour programs; however, many are presented as animated shorts of 10—11 minutes, which can be combined for filling a set time period in "segments", including several such shorts. When advertising is taken into account, the cartoon itself may be only 15—20 minutes of the half hour, although Netflix and many other streaming companies do not show commercials. There are also series with a very short episodes lasting approximately five minutes; they have recently become more common in Japanese animation.

If a local station of a television network broadcasts an animated series as a part of its own programming, the time-slot will vary by region.

All early animated television series, the first being Crusader Rabbit (1950—1959), are comic cartoon series. However, later series include sports [1] ( Speed Racer , Captain Tsubasa , Slam Dunk ), action ( Hajime no Ippo , [1] G.I. Joe ), science fiction ( Mobile Suit Gundam , Tenchi Muyo ), drama ( Neon Genesis Evangelion ), adventure ( Dragon Ball ), martial arts ( Baki the Grappler ), and other genres. [1]

The first animated sitcom was The Flintstones [1] (1960—1966), [2] produced by Hanna-Barbera. It was followed by other sitcoms of this studio: Top Cat (1961—1962), Jonny Quest (1964—1965), The Jetsons [1] (1962—1987) and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972—1974), an adult-oriented animated series [2] in the style of All in the Family . The Alvin Show from Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and Beany and Cecil from Bob Clampett are also sitcoms. [1]

Broadcast network

The 1980s and 1990s were a renaissance of the animated children and adult television series. Various broadcast networks and media companies began creating television channels and formats designed specifically for airing cartoon and anime series. Companies that already had these types of formats in place began to revamp their existing models during this time. Most of this animations were American-based or Japanese anime. Listed below are examples of television networks and channels that include animated programs.

American

British

Japanese

Canadian

Australian

Examples of animation-focused networks and channels are listed below; but some of them aired live-action programs occasionally.

American

South Korean

Canadian

Japanese

During the 1990s, more mature content than those of traditional cartoon series began to appear more widely, extending beyond a primary audience of children. These cartoon series included The Simpsons , South Park , Family Guy , [2] Futurama , [1] The Ren & Stimpy Show , Rocko's Modern Life , Beavis and Butt-Head , King of the Hill , and Duckman . Canadian computer-animated series ReBoot , which began as a child-friendly show, shifted its target group to ages 12 and up, resulting in a darker and more mature storyline. [3]

Film theatrical

Animated film theatrical series include all early animated series: Doc Yak (1913—1915), [4] Colonel Heeza Liar (1913—1924), [5] the Tom and Jerry cartoon short films released in movie theatres from 1940 to 1967, and many others. [1]

Direct-to-video

Direct-to-video animated series include most Japanese original video animations (OVAs). The first OVA series (and also the first overall OVA) was Dallos (1983—1985). Almost all hentai (pornographic) anime series are released as OVAs.

Web series

Animated web series are designed and produced for streaming services. Examples include Happy Tree Friends (1999—2023) and Eddsworld (2003—present).

They can also be released on YouTube, such as Asdfmovie, which debuted in 2008.

Related Research Articles

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Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973. Terrytoons was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including Fanny Zilch, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character Farmer Al Falfa was also featured often in the series.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bray Productions</span> American animation studio

Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the Fleischer brothers, Walter Lantz, Paul Terry, Shamus Culhane and Grim Natwick among others.

<i>Time for Timer</i> Animated television series of short public service announcements

Time for Timer is a series of seven short public service announcements broadcast on Saturday mornings on the ABC television network starting in 1975. The animated spots feature Timer, a tiny cartoon character who is an anthropomorphic circadian rhythm, the self-proclaimed "keeper of body time." The series was produced by the cartoon studio DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

<i>Modern Madcaps</i> Animated short film series

Modern Madcaps is an animated film series produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios animation division between the years 1958 and 1967. The series featured assorted characters that later became part of the Harvey Comics library. A total of 56 shorts were produced and released.

<i>Gary Larsons Tales from the Far Side</i> American TV series or program

Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side is an animated short film created in 1994 by Gary Larson, based on The Far Side comic strip. Both the title and concept are largely inspired by EC Comics' Tales From The Crypt. It was first shown as a Halloween special on CBS television, which aired on October 26, 1994. Later it was awarded the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

<i>Spike and Tyke</i> 1957 shorts films

Spike and Tyke is a short-lived theatrical animated short subject series, based upon the English bulldog father-and-son team from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Tom and Jerry cartoons. The characters first appeared in the Tom and Jerry series in the 1940s.

<i>WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3</i> 2001 film

WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 is a 2002 Japanese animated science fiction thriller film directed by Fumihiko Takayama and written by Miki Tori. The third and final installment of the Patlabor film trilogy, it takes place in between Patlabor: The Movie and Patlabor 2: The Movie and serves as a side story, focusing on two police detectives and SV2 as they investigate a series of mysterious acts of deadly destruction occurring in and around Tokyo Bay that may be connected to a genetic experiment gone wrong. It was animated by Madhouse and produced by Bandai Visual and Tohokushinsha.

The Impractical Joker is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop. Jack Mercer provides the voice for Irving.

<i>Making Stars</i> 1935 American film

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This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1930 and 1939, plus the pilot film from 1929 which was used to sell the Looney Tunes series to Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. A total of 270 shorts were released during the 1930s.

Dog Tales is a 1958 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on July 26, 1958.

In 1938, the comic strip The Captain and the Kids was adapted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, becoming the studio's first self-produced series of theatrical cartoon short subjects, directed by William Hanna, Bob Allen, and Friz Freleng. The short-lived series was unsuccessful, ending after one year and a total of 15 cartoons. Following that cancellation, Freleng returned to Warner Bros., where he had earlier been an animation director. The Captain was voiced by Billy Bletcher, Mama was voiced by Martha Wentworth, the kids were voiced by Shirley Reid and Jeanne Dunne, and John Silver was voiced by Mel Blanc.

Honest Love and True is a 1938 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and her erstwhile boyfriend Fearless Freddy.

Nanny and the Professor is a 1972 American animated comedy TV movie based on the sitcom by the same name. The series' original cast reprised their roles from the live action series. Unlike in the television series, Nanny openly performs magic, while in the TV series it was only implied. The film was broadcast on September 30, 1972, as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.

The Riveter is a 1940 American Donald Duck short film directed by Dick Lundy and produced by Walt Disney. In the short film, Donald lands a job working high steel as a riveter for construction foreman Pete.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Федюшин, Владислав Валерьевич (2023-10-06). "Анимационный сериал" [Animated series]. Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия»[Great Russian Encyclopedia Online] (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Шпоть, Василиса Виталиевна (2023-10-18). "Ситком" [Sitcom]. Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия»[Great Russian Encyclopedia Online] (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  3. ↑ Hetherington, Janet L. "As Mainframe's technology reaches adolescence, there's a 'ReBoot' Renaissance". Animation Magazine #59. Vol. 11, Issue #8, September 1997.
  4. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 26. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  5. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 2024-04-01.
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