|
===Nickelodeon===
In 1991, [[Nickelodeon]] introduced ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show|The Ren & Stimpy Show]]''. ''Ren & Stimpy'' was a wild and off-beat series that violated all the restrictions of Saturday morning cartoons, instead favoring the outrageous style of the shorts from the Golden Age period. The series' creator, [[John Kricfalusi]]—a [[Ralph Bakshi]] protege—was largely influenced by the classic works of [[Bob Clampett]]. In spite of the show's popularity, the show was beset with production delays and censorship battles with Nickelodeon, which fired Kricfalusi in 1992. The show continued under the production of the network-owned Games Animation company until 1996, though many animators departed with Kricfalusi. [[Spike (TV network)|TNN]] revived the show in a more risqué form in 2003, with Kricfalusi receiving more creative freedom, but it only lasted ten episodes.
[[Nickelodeon]] also gave birth to hit shows such as ''[[Doug]]'', ''Rugrats'', ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'', ''[[The Angry Beavers]]'', ''[[CatDog]]'', ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'' and ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. Many of these shows spawned successful theatrical films as well, most notably ''Rugrats'' (which garnered 3 films), ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (which has garnered 2 theatrical films and several TV movies) and ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (which garnered both a [[The Legend of Korra|sequel series]] and a live action film.)
===Broadcast networks===
As the 1990s began, the "Big Three" networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS) were no longer a three-way [[oligopoly]]. The fledgling [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] launched their [[Fox Kids]] programming block on weekdays and Saturdays in 1990, while [[Kids' WB|The WB]] joined the competition with a kid's programming block shortly after the network's 1995 launch.
When NBC compared the success of the live-action youth sitcom ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' to the paucity of their animated hits, they gave up on cartoons in 1992, instead concentrating on live-action teenage shows with their Saturday-morning [[Teen NBC|TNBC]] block. [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] was purchased by Disney in 1996, and Disney transformed ABC's Saturday schedule into a series of Disney-produced animated cartoons collectively named [[One Saturday Morning]]. [[CBS]] was simply never able to come up with any new hits once the shows that anchored its late 1980s/early 1990s Saturday morning lineup—''[[Muppet Babies]]'', ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', etc.—ran their respective courses. When CBS was purchased by [[Viacom (1971–2005)|Viacom]], which also owned Nickelodeon, Viacom simply repurposed much of the [[Nick Jr. (block)|Nick Jr.]] lineup—in addition to adding a Saturday edition of the CBS morning-news program ''[[The Early Show]]''.
As a result of years of activism by [[Action for Children's Television]] and others against shows they believed blurred the line between entertainment and advertising, the [[Children's Television Act]] was passed in 1990. It began to be strictly enforced in 1996. The [[Federal Communications Commission]] began requiring three hours a week of educational and informational program intended explicitly for children, at times when children were awake. Since this required three hours to be "off limits" to programs aimed at the general public, the networks naturally chose to air them on Saturday morning, when children were already watching. As a result, almost every Saturday-morning network show is required to contain some educational content. Fox and The WB worked around this problem by airing short one-hour weekday children's blocks instead of morning news shows, but those weekday blocks no longer exist (with the notable exception of PBS, which continues to have large weekday children's programming blocks as of 2010). Nonetheless, there were still a few toy-based children's programs in the 1990s, particularly ''[[Power Rangers]]'' and ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''.
Cable networks were not subject to these—or most other—FCC requirements, which allowed their series to have more leeway with content than network shows. The impact of the new regulations was almost instantaneous: by 1997, Nickelodeon had rocketed past its broadcast competitors to become the most-watched network on Saturday mornings.<ref>{{cite web|title=NICK RETAINS SATURDAY CROWN|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75761403.html|work=Broadcasting &Cable|accessdate=October 30, 2013|date=June 18, 2001}} {{subscription required|via=HighBeam}}</ref>
==Animation for adults==
{{main|Adult animation}}
The 1990s saw the beginnings of a new wave of animated series targeted primarily to adults and sometime teens, after a lack of such a focus for over a decade.
===''The Simpsons'' and Fox===
In 1987, "[[The Simpsons shorts(animation)|The Simpsons]]", an animated short cartoon segment of ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'', debuted. [[Matt Groening]]'s creation gained its own [[The Simpsons|half-hour series]] in 1989, the first prime-time animated series since ''[[The Flintstones]]''. Although 70 percent of the [[Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)|first episode's]] animation had to be redone, pushing the series premiere back three months, it became one of the first major hit series for the fledgling [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]]. ''The Simpsons'' caused a sensation, entering popular culture and gaining wide acclaim for its satirical handling of American culture, families, society as a whole, and the human condition.
The show has won dozens of awards, including 24 [[Emmy Award]]s, 26 [[Annie Award]]sAwards and a [[Peabody Award]]. ''[[TIME|Time]]'' magazine's December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th century's best television series. A [[The Simpsons Movie|film version]] grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Simpsons Movie (2007) |url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=simpsons.htm |work=Box Office Mojo |accessdate=2009-06-22}}</ref> On February 26, 2009, Fox renewed ''The Simpsons'' for an additional two years, "...which will secure its place as TV's longest-running prime-time series."<ref name="simpsons-2009-renewal"/> Its 21st season began on September 27, 2009, breaking the 20-season record it once shared with ''[[Gunsmoke]]''.<ref name="simpsons-2009-renewal">{{cite web|title=Fox renews 'The Simpsons' |work=[[USA Today]] |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-02-26-simpsons_N.htm |date=2009-02-26}}</ref>
The success of ''The Simpsons'' led Fox to develop other animated series aimed at adults, including ''[[King of the Hill]]'' (created by [[Mike Judge]]), ''[[Futurama]]'' (also by Groening), ''[[Family Guy]]'', ''[[American Dad!]]'' and ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'' (all created by [[Seth MacFarlane]]). ''King of the Hill'' was an instant success, running 13 seasons. Both ''Futurama'' and ''Family Guy'' were cancelled by the network; after strong DVD sales and ratings in re-runs, both returned to the air—''Family Guy'' on Fox, and ''Futurama'' on Comedy Central.<ref name=RottenTomatoesMattGroenigClarifiesFuture>{{cite web|url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/1648183/|title=Groening's Bargain to Yield Four ''Futurama'' Movies|publisher=Reuters|date= 2007-01-28|accessdate=2010-09-15}}</ref>
===Spike and Mike===
In 1989, a festival of animation shorts, organized by Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble (known as "Spike & Mike") and originally based in [[San Diego]], began showcasing a collection of short subject animated films. Known as the ''Classic Festival of Animation'', it played in theatrical and non-theatrical venues across the country.
The collections were largely made up of Oscar-nominated shorts, student work from the [[California Institute of the Arts]], and experimental work funded by the [[National Film Board of Canada]]. Early festivals included work by [[John Lasseter]], [[Nick Park]], [[Mike Judge]], and [[Craig McCracken]]. Judge's piece, ''Frog Baseball'', marked the first appearance of his dimwitted trademark characters [[Beavis and Butthead|Beavis and Butt-head]], while McCracken's short ''The Whoopass Girls in A Sticky Situation'' featured the introduction of the trio of little girl superheroes that would later gain popularity under their new moniker ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''.
The festival gradually turned into a program of films called ''[[Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation]]'', an underground movement for adult humor and subject matter.
===Cartoon Network & Adult Swim===
{{Main|Adult Swim}}
In 1994, the U.S. cable television network [[Cartoon Network]] approved a new series entitled ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast|Space Ghost: Coast to Coast]]''. In a particularly postmodern twist, this show featured live-action celebrity interviews mixed with animation from the original ''[[Space Ghost]]'' cartoon. It was the beginning of the now common practice of using old Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters for new edgier productions, such as the surrealistic ''[[Sealab 2021]]'', based on the short-lived early 1970s environmentally themed cartoon ''[[Sealab 2020]]''. ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'' was about a lackluster superhero, Birdman—originally the star of ''[[Birdman and the Galaxy Trio]]''—who has become a lawyer. His clientele, as well as most of the other characters on the show, are made up entirely of old Hanna-Barbera characters.
[[Adult Swim]], a scheduling block of adult-oriented cartoons appearing on Cartoon Network beginning after primetime, premiered in 2001. Originally limited to Sunday nights, as of January 3, 2011 Adult Swim now remains on the air every night until 6:00 a.m. Eastern time. Animated series produced exclusively for Adult Swim include ''[[The Brak Show]]'', ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', ''[[Sealab 2021]]'', ''[[Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law]]'', ''[[The Venture Bros.]]'', ''[[Perfect Hair Forever]]'', ''[[Stroker and Hoop]]'', ''[[Tom Goes to the Mayor]]'', ''[[Robot Chicken]]'', ''[[Rick and Morty]]'' and ''[[Metalocalypse]]''. In addition to western animation, Adult Swim also runs popular [[anime]] series such as ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'', ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'', ''[[Eureka Seven]]'', the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' series, ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'', and ''[[InuYasha]]''.
===Other cartoons for adults===
Other TV networks also experimented with adult-oriented animation. [[MTV]] produced several successful animated series especially for its young adult audience, including ''[[Liquid Television]]'', ''[[The Brothers Grunt]]'', ''[[Æon Flux]]'', ''[[Beavis and Butt-head]]'' (and its spin-off ''[[Daria]]''), and ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]''. [[USA Network]]'s ''[[Duckman]]'', starring the voice of [[Jason Alexander]], found a cult following.
Another successful adult-oriented animated series was Comedy Central's ''[[South Park]]'', which saw its beginnings in 1995 with the short cartoon ''[[The Spirit of Christmas (short film)|The Spirit of Christmas]]''. Like ''The Simpsons'', ''Beavis and Butt-head'' and ''South Park'' were given the big screen treatment as ''[[Beavis and Butt-head Do America]]'' and ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut]]'' both of which met with box office success.
==The rise of computer animation==
The 1990s saw [[exponential growth]]{{fact|date=April 2016}} in the use of [[computer-generated imagery]] to enhance both animated sequences and live-action special effects, allowing elaborate computer-animated sequences to dominate both. This new form of animation soon dominated [[Hollywood]] [[special effects]]; the films ''[[Terminator 2|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' and ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'' included [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Oscar-winning]] special effects sequences which made extensive use of CGI. After decades of existing as related-but-separate industries, the barrier between "animation" and "special effects" was shattered by the popularization of computerized special effects—to the point where computer enhancement of Hollywood feature films became second-nature and often went unnoticed. The [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' (1994) depended heavily on computerized special effects to create the illusion of [[Tom Hanks]] shaking hands with Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], and to make [[Gary Sinise]] convincingly appear to be a double amputee, winning a special-effects Oscar. The film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' used computer effects in nearly every scene of its three-hour running time; one of the film's 11 Oscars was for special effects.
While Disney had made the film ''[[Tron]]''—which extensively mixed live action, traditional animation, and CGI—in 1982, and introduced the [[Computer Animation Production System|CAPS]] system to enhance traditional animation in 1990s ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'', a completely computer-animated feature film had yet to be made. In 1995, Disney partnered with [[Pixar]] to produce ''[[Toy Story]]'', the first feature film made entirely using CGI. The film's success was so great that other studios looked into producing their own [[computer-generated imagery|CGI]] films. Computer-animated films turned out to be wildly popular, and animated films returned the highest [[gross margin]]smargins (around 52%) of all film genres in the 2004-2013 timeframe.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McDuling|first1=John|title=Hollywood Is Giving Up on Comedy|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-completely-serious-decline-of-the-hollywood-comedy/373914/|accessdate=20 July 2014|work=The Atlantic|publisher=The Atlantic Monthly Group|date=3 July 2014}}</ref>
Computer animation also made inroads into television. The Saturday morning animated series ''[[ReBoot]]'' won a large cult following among adults; it was the first of a number of CGI-generated animated series, including ''[[Beast Wars]]'', ''War Planets'', and ''Roughnecks''. The quality of the computer animation improved considerably with each successive series. Many live-action TV series (especially [[science fiction]] TV series such as ''[[Babylon 5]]'') invested heavily in CGI production, creating a heretofore-unavailable level of special effects for a relatively low price.
===Pixar===
{{See also|Pixar}}
The most popular and successful competitor in the CGI race turned out to be [[Pixar]]. It originated in 1979 when [[George Lucas]]' [[Lucasfilm]] was able to recruit [[Edwin Catmull]] from the [[New York Institute of Technology]] to start the Graphics Group of its special-effects division. In late 1983, Catmull was able to bring in as a freelance independent contractor a Disney animator, [[John Lasseter]], not long after Lasseter (then unbeknownst to Catmull) had been fired by the [[Walt Disney Company]] for his vigorous advocacy of computer animation; Lasseter was hired as a full-time employee about a year later.
Lucas experienced cash flow issues after his 1983 divorce, and in 1986 Pixar was spun off from Lucasfilm as a separate corporation with $10 million in capital from [[Apple Computer]] co-founder [[Steve Jobs]]. At that time, Pixar primarily developed computer animation hardware, but Lasseter helped the company make a name for itself by creating acclaimed CGI short films such as ''[[The Adventures of André and Wally B.]]'' (1984). After the spin-off, he would go on to produce ''[[Tin Toy]]'' (1988), which won an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]. The company transitioned into TV commercial production and projects such as the [[Computer Animation Production System]] for Disney. After the success of ''Tin Toy'', Pixar made a deal with Disney to produce feature films. The first of these films, 1995's ''[[Toy Story]]'', was a smash hit, which in turn led to additional successful films such as ''[[A Bug's Life]]'' and ''[[Toy Story 2]]''. By then, Jobs had become the owner of Pixar by keeping it alive with additional investments over the years; he had often considered selling it but changed his mind after ''Toy Story''.
Pixar's string of critical and box-office successes continued with ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'', ''[[Finding Nemo]]'', ''[[The Incredibles]]'', ''[[Cars (2006 film)|Cars]]'', ''[[Ratatouille (film)|Ratatouille]]'', ''[[WALL-E]]'', ''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]'' and ''[[Toy Story 3]]'' all receiving rave reviews, earning huge profits, winning awards, and overshadowing Disney's in-house offerings until ''[[Cars 2]]'' in 2011 ended the streak when it proved a critical disappointment, albeit still a commercial success. Disney produced a CGI/live action feature film of its own without Pixar (''[[Dinosaur (film)|Dinosaur]]''), but the film received a mixed reaction, even though it was a financial success. During the later years of Michael Eisner's management, friction between Disney and Pixar grew to a point that Pixar considered finding another partner when they could not reach an agreement over profit sharing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pixar Dumps Disney |work=Money |publisher=money.cnn.com |date=2004-01-29 |url=http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/29/news/companies/pixar_disney/}}</ref> When Eisner stepped down in 2005, his replacement, [[Robert Iger]], arranged for Disney to buy Pixar in a $7.4 billion all-stock deal (${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|7400000000|2005|r=-2}}}} in today's dollars) that turned Steve Jobs into Disney's largest individual shareholder.<ref name = "Holson">{{cite web|last=Holson |first=Laura M. |title=Disney Agrees to Acquire Pixar in a $7.4 Billion Deal |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2006-01-25 |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25disney.html?_r=1&oref=slogin}}</ref> The deal was structured so that Disney Animation and Pixar Animation would continue to operate as completely separate studios under the Disney corporate umbrella; Lasseter was placed in charge of greenlighting all new animated films for both studios in his new role as Chief Creative Officer.
|