Since laws were passed to put a stop to making cartoons that were vehicles to sell toys to kids. But is it really that bad of a thing to make a toy based show? Kids seem to like them, and they still like the stuff after growing up. And the merch lines make a lot for a lot of people.
Is it really immoral to make and sell this? It's not really a dangerous addiction.
No, they're awesome and I wish they'd come back, but CN doesn't like to play action cartoons and Saturday Morning cartoons are dead on all the main networks.
>CN doesn't like to play action cartoons and Saturday Morning cartoons are dead on all the main networks.
truly we live in the worst timeline
The toyetic shows stood the test of time, Transformers, GI Joe, Masters of the Universe, She-Ra, Thundercats, etc. have each had multiple cartoon series, comic books, and in the case of the first three, live action movies, and also books, video games, etc., over the course of decades. This is partly because to sell toys you need really cool eye-catching visual designs, and cartoons are a visual medium where characters standing out are important. Also most of these shows used archetypal characters, you can even look across these shows and see the same character archetypes in different shows. This may seem cliche but it is one reason these shows have resonated so well. Also many of these shows combine genres; Thundercats, MotU and She-Ra combine fantasy with science fiction. GI Joe went from semi-grounded military stuff to mystic cults and eldritch serpent aliens. Transformers eventually combined alien robots with spiritual ideas. These settings work great for toys because they are less limited than most, when all sorts of things are 'allowed' the imagination is sparked. Not just for kids playing with toys, but also for the official writers of these media who can let their fantasies run wild.
Netflix and streaming networks are really the only hope for cartoons like this to return. Masters of the Universe has two new shows coming out, one an adult geared mini-series that continues in the original filmation universe, and one that's a new computer animated take aimed at kids. There's also a new G.I. Joe series in the works that will probably end up somewhere like Netflix, because of the toy line's revival.
What if we just made a cartoon to sell toys to adults?
Can we get merchandising rights on liquor and shotgun ammo?
>Can we get merchandising rights on liquor and shotgun ammo?
Nah, I think there's laws against it, because there was a perception back in the 90's that cigarette companies were advertising to minors when they used mascots. I dunno if you could get a liquor company to do an adult toy tie-in because of it.
>laws were passed to put a stop to making cartoons that were vehicles to sell toys to kids
But there’s still a lot of recent tie-in media for toys. Monster High had web shorts and multiple movies, the Bionicle reboot had web shorts and a Netflix miniseries, DC Superhero Girls was made to sell dolls, and let’s face it every Star Wars movie and cartoon post-Empire is an ad for toys.
if the show is made only to sell toys then quality suffers, there are rare exceptions though, like first seasons of mlp.
>let’s face it every Star Wars movie and cartoon post-Empire is an ad for toys.
That goes all the way back to the start. Disney Star Wars has achieved the impossible by nearly killing Star Wars toy sales.