Toons inherit the Earth?
by Christopher Null
While online entertainment quakes, animation is riding high
Seen the one about the microwaved gerbil? Or maybe you've gone Behind the Music That Sucks? Out of virtually nowhere, animation on the Web has become a pop culture phenomenon in an era that has seen online entertainment flounder helplessly. Once highfliers, the big-time film sites have faced a year of heartache, with Shockwave.com's December buyout of AtomFilms symbolising the end of one era and, possibly, the beginning of another. Today's animated fare isn't just kid stuff; it's very adult, often raunchy, and always hilarious. And it's attracting some of the biggest names in show business.
   MERRIE MELODIES IT AIN'T: (from top of page) Kozik, Gary the Rat, Stainboy, The Goddamn George Liquor Program |
In the age of short-attention-span theatre, animation rules. Shockwave.com, with 30 million registered users, regularly flirts with the Media Metrix 50 (which lists the most-trafficked Web sites), and it draws more visitors per week than sites for Disney or MTV. But that doesn't mean that animation hasn't had its pitfalls. In February, the once-mighty Icebox, home to animated shows from Jonathan Katz, John Kricfalusi (creator of Ren & Stimpy), and Seinfeld's Larry David, announced it was shutting its doors.
The visionaries of film, video, and animation have already set up shop online -- is Hollywood about to take the plunge? Our annual Hollywired report takes a look at where the industry is now and where it's headed.
