More Age-Inclusive Cartoons on Disney Streaming?

I see what you mean. I like Rebels, the first season seemed a bit juvenile, but as it progressed it grew up. Thing is they can't really make a live action tv show. Cartoons are relatively cheap to make.
The new Comics I find to be adult oriented. The Lando vol1 was fairly suggestive.
I suppose with the new GOT directors making new content we should see a more adult theme, i just hope they don't take it too far.

 

how do you feel about the DC animated movies (if you watch them)?
i find the mix of cheap animation and adult themes to be confusing to my brain (i'm old that way).
but i could see Star Wars maybe experimenting down that path?

either way, i'd love to see non-CG animation for a change of pace.

 

i think it's a hard demographic to hit exactly right. i think with Rebels they came out geared toward kids and then got more confident that adults were watching and that it could be more sophisticated.

but i agree with you 100% that they should worry less about the demographic and more about just telling good stories for everyone.
i hope this is what they do with the next series they come up with.

that said, i do like the aesthetic of Forces of Destiny and for very young children (and also adults) i think they are quite nice.

 

That's an interesting thought.

I'm not sure, though. I'd say Rebels was first more "adult" by Episode 5, "Rise of the Old Masters". Definitely feels like a slog to get to, but five episodes isn't a long time in the TV world when it comes to gathering demographics. At least, not when it comes to making and implementing creative decisions after gathering demographics.

Personally, I think Rebels has less to do with demographic issues, and more with pacing issues. Stuff like Rise of the Old Masters, the final arc of the first season, Twilight of the Apprentice, the Siege of Lothal, Zero Hour, Jedi Night... they were all big moments that had huge impacts. And I think Filoni and Co realized that these impacts hit even harder given the contrast to the relatively lower stakes, swash-buckly, lighter sections that the show had.

I'm also not sure that payoff was quite executed perfectly.

Take this now famous example, for instance:

Spoiler: Spoilers for the S4 Finale

The Call is often considered to be one of the worst filler episodes on Rebels (outside of some of the droids ones).

However, in the end, they ended up being instrumental in the show's conclusion. It's possible this was done to address the filler of that episode, but given the Bendu's prediction this decision was likely at least made by the time Zero Hour was finishing production.

However, at least on first viewing, that still doesn't change the fact that many still find The Call to be a really boring episode to watch.

Despite the obvious stuff (like the show almost refusing to show death on screen, with the exception of Stormtroopers), I think Rebels always had potential to drift into pretty adult territory in every episode. It just rarely did so.

 

I'd argue that TCW is, for the most part, a great show for all age groups, and while Rebels can be enjoyable for everyone, it just wasn't as targeted for adults. With TCW airing on Cartoon Network, it drew in a larger crowd, because it aired on an easily accessible channel where most of its content can be enjoyed by everyone (well, before they started airing Teen Titans Go and Teen Titans Go only). Not to mention that it was the first of its kind and had George Lucas working on it, which helped draw in more viewers. With Rebels, they're airing it on a network mainly watched by young males and isn't as easily accessible. Not to mention Disney being stricter than CN on what can and can't be shown, meaning that it was easier to have a broader target demographic for TCW.

Surprisingly, I think that at a couple points Rebels got as mature and dark as TCW, but that wasn't enough to draw in an adult crowd, in large part due to Disney themselves. They couldn't promote as much of the heavy stuff, as that would turn away some of the target demographic for Rebels. There was also no new movies during TCW's run which meant that it could have more of a spot in the lime light. As long as future Star Wars cartoons and animated programs have the Disney logo, they will always be seen as more kid-oriented and being more restrained (thus not being as inclusive to older audience members), especially when restricted to one platform.

 

If there is one thing having your own streaming service, is that it's really up to you on how much you want to push the level of content. To that end, I think it's time we get a tv-14 type show.

 

A Star Wars fan with a bunny as his avatar has a problem with kid friendly Star Wars shows...jk oh, the bunny is toting a laser gun, oh I see lol. I collect Star Wars comics so I know exactly who that bunny is, anywho this also reminds me of the misconception that only kids read comic books. For last couple decades I've seen mostly adults shop at comic shops with one or two kids with their parents, yet the media always portrays kids as the only ones who read comics. Comics are expensive, their not 50 cents anymore and most people I know who watch the Clone Wars, Rebels, and yes, Forces of Destiny are adults. They should create animated shows for kids as well as adults. Attach a rating if they are strictly for mature audiences.

 

Rebels was way too kiddy for me and I could never shake that. I do not hold it in any ill regard for that, I just understand that being 24 years old it is not for my age demo. I would love for them to return to the Clone Wars' tone and the overall superior quality.

 

The first season of The Clone Wars was kiddy and as the season progressed the tone changed drastically.

 

Exactly Clone Wars grew. That is something I feel Rebels never did. It was perpetually stuck in its target demo which like said is not a slight. I just want a future Star Wars TV show to have more crossover appeal. The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies and I enjoyed it as a kid for different reasons than I do as an adult. That is what I want in future Star Wars projects.

Also I am a big fan of hand drawn animation. I would rather have a show that looked like this than painfully average animation of Rebels. I have no idea if this is more cost effective but it definitely is more visually appealing.

 

I just watched the first episode of the Clone Wars and you are right the tone is much different then Rebels. Its been a while since I watched it. I certainly agree hand drawn animation is much better. I like the way Grievous was portrayed in that series, formidable.

 

Right! Lot of people forget but this animated version was his first appearance so it really raised hype levels for this character. Movie version was definitely way less formidable and the Clone Wars neutered him even further. Shame.

 

Bring back Tarkofsky for the next Star Wars animated series. Its definitely a shame how Grievous was cough, cough, dumbed down.

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 4, 2018, Original Post Date: Apr 4, 2018 ---

It took me awhile warmup to The Clone Wars as well. It came off as too kiddy, but I gave it a chance. I liked so much that when Rebels was released I immediately watched it. I hope the next animated series' tone is similar to the Clone Wars.

 

First we would need to change the mentality that cartoons are for kids. I don't think Lucasfilm would risk it by producing an adult cartoon that won't have an audience because it's too strong for kids, but adults won't watch it because it "looks childish".
That being said, The Clone Wars actually has a lot of not child-friendly elements. Many episodes are very dark or suggestive, to a level that was actually quite satisfying and it felt like genuine Star Wars.

 

If Disney is really trying to reach for the big one in the terms of integrating all aspects of the company from various liens of business, they would not do age inclusive content for star wars, which is what their Disney Junior brand is for as well as *potentially* that new weird animated star wars short program. With the new Disney streaming service, it will already have kid centric content such as disney animate movies and such. I think that it will be just fine. The Star Wars brand itself is something that goes above ages, demographics, and generations for the most part so I dont see it as a necessity to space it all apart if there is a story team as well.

 

but...but...space whales, @DarthSnow! SPACE WHALES!!!