The whole Nicktoons project was built on a contradiction. Creator-Driven cartoons without the preservation of Creator's Rights. In 1989, Nickelodeon sent feelers out into the animation community that they were interested in developing "creator driven" projects for their preteen-oriented cable network. But from the word go, they wanted to buy the copyrights to any characters developed for the project. This is a common thing in the entertainment industry...when a movie is made, copyright for the script is not given to the writer, but the movie studio. In order to have truly creator-driven animated shows, however, the creator needs to have assurances that their vision is not violated. And the best way to safeguard the creator's vision is to allow creators to maintain copyright on their characters and concepts.
The concept of Creator's Rights has existed for some time in the comic book industry. Image Comics, one of the three big comic book publishers, was founded by Marvel artists looking for the control over their copyrights that they had to surrender working at Marvel, or at the other Big Name, DC. The most popular comic book title in the entire United States is a creator-owned title: Spawn. Creator's Rights has not hurt the comic book industry...in fact, the strongest period of growth in the comic book industry happened after the Creator's Rights movement took hold. The Comics industry is currently undergoing a shakeout after the boom times of the early 1990s, but the shakeout is not because of Creator's Rights but because of the sheer numbers of titles, of smaller independent publishers, and comic book stores.
It is true that an animated cartoon requires more capital and more people to create than a comic book. A cartoon is often storyboarded and the track recorded in America, the materials are then sent overseas to various Asian animation studios, then the raw footage comes back from overseas and is edited and sound effects laid on domestically. A cartoon goes through many, many hands from start to finish, and the process of making cartoons is a capital-intensive business as well. The investors who put the money down to make the cartoons want to have a return for their investment, and one of the best ways to make money back on ones investment is to have strong merchandising campaigns going. And therein lies the rub. By legally owning the characters, investors do not have to share merchandising money with creators, or obtain their advice and consent regarding merchandising decisions.
However, it does not need to be this way. Although plagued with some other technical difficulties, The Tick is a financial success for Fox, and is one of the highest-rated shows on the Fox Kids lineup. Like the ill-fated Ren & Stimpy, The Tick has garnered a large adult crossover audience even though geared towards children. Ben Edlund, the creator of The Tick, maintains his copyright on his characters, primarily because the character has its origin in a Creator's Rights comic book of the same name Edlund drew for the independent New England Comics publishing company. Other animated series which have allowed creators to maintain their copyrights include MTV Oddities: The Maxx and WildC.A.T.S, both of which also had their origin in comic books.
Perhaps it is a prudent move for aspiring animators to copyright their characters in some other medium first. The comic book, which like animation is a visual storytelling medium, is perhaps the best one to use. However, the Internet offers some intriguing possibilities for presenting ones work and obtaining copyright on ones characters. As modems get faster and bandwidth gets wider, technologies like Shockwave and QuickTime look promising for the presentation of animation on the Internet. Even with current technologies like the World Wide Web, the possibilities of Web comic books beckon.
In order for cartoonists to maintain Creator's Rights in animation projects, it is also necessary for animation fans to become as knowledgeable and as good of advocates of Creator's Rights as comic fans are already. Educate yourself about the issue, and support projects which allow creators to maintain their copyrights.
The events surrounding the seizure of Ren & Stimpy from its creators and guiding lights at Spumco are now unpleasant history. The future of animation awaits us, and it still has the potential of being a bright one. Extending Creator's Rights to animation creators is one way to assure that a real animation renaissance is in the offing for the future.
More "Confessions" essays|Back To Menu
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Page last updated 1/15/1998
This web site was built by Catseye Creative Services, Ink.