For years, Cartoon Network Studios has played a significant part in every 90s kid’s heart. It is one of the many things that still invoke the nostalgia of the good old times. Warner Bros. Animation recently made an announcement about its merger, causing outrage from fans all over social media.
Earlier, there had been rumors of the children’s channel closing down for good which caused panic among viewers. This was never confirmed, but the latest reports say that Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios are now officially merging.
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Cartoon Network Shutting Down News Outraged Fans
With this news, Cartoon Network is not shutting down, but only merging with Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. Despite the unification, these three studios will operate individually and will not affect the content they produce. The rumors came out after Warner Bros. Television Group reported they had laid off 26% of their staff.
When the news broke out on social media, fans went wild and thought the network is leaving them for good. Hence, Twitter gave birth to another hashtag, ‘RIP Cartoon Network’. Posts under this tag showed fans lamenting over the supposed shutting down of the network. Check out their tweets:
THEY JUST SHUT DOWN CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS
JUST LIKE THAT
WOW— KAZ/DIEGO🪲🐞🐛 (@y2_kazoo) October 12, 2022
RIP Cartoon Network Studios, my childhood wouldn’t be complete without you #firedavidsaslav #ripcartoonnetwork pic.twitter.com/Q1GMDK9TfK
— Al-Azeem (@AlAzeemRasaq) October 13, 2022
Rip Cartoon Network Studios 1994-2022. The studio will be merged with Warner Bros. Animation. #RIPCartoonNetwork pic.twitter.com/DqK330VzKM
— VIV ‘ACE’ AJAY (@TarakSpace) October 12, 2022
RIP Cartoon network 🥺🥺
Thank you for all the memories and making our 90s kid childhood awesome pic.twitter.com/OrlEbdHbGg— Shikhar Sagar (@crazy__shikhu) October 13, 2022
RIP Cartoon Network pic.twitter.com/8R30DiTo6U
— Charlie Schneider (@AwesomEmergency) October 12, 2022
The announcement was reported on Tuesday via a memo from the network’s chairman, Channing Dungey. Meanwhile, the three studios will be headed by Sam Register.
What Is The Future Of Animated Series Under Warner Bros?
Cartoon Network is one of the few animation studios that catered to a diverse type of characters since 2010. They paid attention to every type of story, be it queer, sapphic romances, or non-binary storylines. This has created a strong impact on the television experience over the years, now that we have LGBTQ animated television series such as Adventure Time, Harley Quinn, and Velma.
According to The Daily Beast, the layoffs made by the studio in August were mostly people of color. The former employees of Warner Bros. had speculated that this was because of a shift in their ideology, with contents now focusing on diversity (the Velma series will now feature a South Asian lead).
It is still an open question on how Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will work together, given that the former usually leans on familiar formulas, rehashing the same storylines. The latter is more open to possibilities and takes more risks. Hopefully, both networks will come up with an agreement that will not compromise the essence of entertainment in the name of money.
