Biggest "what ifs?" in animation history.

[Darklordavaitor]

Mr. Antonucci originally pitched Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy to Nickelodeon, but Nick rejected it.

From what I understand, that’s not quite the case. Danny pitched the show to both Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, and both channels were interested. Nick, however, wasn’t comfortable giving him complete control in a post-Ren & Stimpy world, while CN, who were looking for successors to their new hit original, Dexter’s Laboratory, agreed to allow him creative control. That’s why he went with CN instead of Nick.

 

[Stumpos]

What I want to know is what would've happened if Nick had just aired Man's Best Friend with a couple of censor cuts instead of shelving it. It's likely John and Vanessa's work relationship wouldn't have completely disintegrated and the show would have continued as-is for a while longer. Not too much longer though....John would have found some other way to get fired.

That wasn't the reason he got fired. The real reason John K got fired was due to constantly missing deadlines and delaying episodes, going overbudget, and creating a toxic work environment. He also sent Nickelodeon a letter stating "cost what they cost and take as long as they need" during season 2.

 

[colomb]

Greg Weisman said Eisner was talked out of buying Marvel in the mid 90's. What kinds of animated shows and movies could we have gotten if he hadn't?

What if the AOL/Warner merger never happened? It could possibly have implications for Kids WB, CN, and the movie department. This scenario was actually discussed on another forum.
alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/what-if-the-aol-time-warner-merger-never-happened.545278/

 

[Dantheman]

That wasn't the reason he got fired. The real reason John K got fired was due to constantly missing deadlines and delaying episodes, going overbudget, and creating a toxic work environment. He also sent Nickelodeon a letter stating "cost what they cost and take as long as they need" during season 2.

That, and I think he said something to the effect of, "You will air what I make".

Wow. Just, wow.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Marvel almost bought Harvey Comics in the early 80s, but Harvey backed out of the deal at the last minute, so Marvel created Star Comics instead. Imagine Disney owning Casper, Wendy, Richie Rich and the like. I wonder what they'd do with them.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

That, and I think he said something to the effect of, "You will air what I make".

Wow. Just, wow.

Right. In Slimed, Gerry Laybourne stated that her final reason for firing John K came from a dinner with him where he stated that he could get away with whatever he made, regardless of how much he spent, when their shows dropped, or what he filled the show win. Her response was that she didn’t care about the show going over budget or even missing deadlines, but content was the one war she wouldn’t let him win.

I do think that Ren & Stimpy episodes coming out so late was an important element, but John K’s ego and envelope pushing were equally deciding factors.

 

[John Pannozzi]

What if in 1984, Saul Steinberg succeeded in buying Disney and then selling off its various assets?

What if in the late 1980s, New World Entertainment (including Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions) was bought by 20th Century Fox instead of Ron Perelman, and all of New World's assets were kept together?
In this scenario, Fox would own around half of the pre-existing Marvel-related movies and TV shows, and would hold most movie and TV rights to Marvel characters (with the notable exceptions of Cannon Films having the movie rights to Spider-Man, and Constantin having the movie rights to Fantastic Four).

 

[harry580]

what if blue sky studios remained opened and sold to another company (warner bros, paramount, sony or lionsgate)

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Right. In Slimed, Gerry Laybourne stated that her final reason for firing John K came from a dinner with him where he stated that he could get away with whatever he made, regardless of how much he spent, when their shows dropped, or what he filled the show win. Her response was that she didn’t care about the show going over budget or even missing deadlines, but content was the one war she wouldn’t let him win.

I also have that book (and Sick Little Monkeys). That dinner was before Season 2 even went into production. That was the same dinner where he asked if he could make two George Liquor cartoons and the staff, hyped on success and possibly booze, said "YES." He was far from getting fired.

 

[Rick Jones]

Marvel almost bought Harvey Comics in the early 80s, but Harvey backed out of the deal at the last minute, so Marvel created Star Comics instead. Imagine Disney owning Casper, Wendy, Richie Rich and the like. I wonder what they'd do with them.

My mind went to the seemingly random live-action adaptations Disney made in the 90s and 2000s (Mr Magoo, George of the Jungle, Inspector Gadget, Underdog, etc). I forgot all those Harvey characters were adapted in the 90s already. The things I expect Disney to do and what they actually do are always so different.

What if in 1984, Saul Steinberg succeeded in buying Disney and then selling off its various assets?

What if in the late 1980s, New World Entertainment (including Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions) was bought by 20th Century Fox instead of Ron Perelman, and all of New World's assets were kept together?
In this scenario, Fox would own around half of the pre-existing Marvel-related movies and TV shows, and would hold most movie and TV rights to Marvel characters (with the notable exceptions of Cannon Films having the movie rights to Spider-Man, and Constantin having the movie rights to Fantastic Four).

It feels like any studio could have had it all for far less than 4 Billion if they saw the vision back then.

Greg Weisman said Eisner was talked out of buying Marvel in the mid 90's. What kinds of animated shows and movies could we have gotten if he hadn't?

I'd like to imagine they'd produce shows with consistent quality like Gargoyles or X-Men Evolution. I always wished there were tie-in movies to Marvel shows as a kid but I also always imagined Disney making animated movies for Marvel back then. Probably with a few more musical montages.

 

[ThePharaohZ]

Mr. Antonucci originally pitched Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy to Nickelodeon, but Nick rejected it.

Why am I not surprised...

 

[John Pannozzi]

What if Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier got to write the Rocky & Bullwinkle movie?

Also, and this is unverified, but I've heard rumors that Matt Groening once had the chance to produce a revival of Rocky & Bullwinkle, but ultimately bowed out of it to do Futurama instead.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

Thought of a couple more-

What if Warner decided to keep their shows on Fox Kids, or Fox made them too good of an hour for them to leave? Would we get more Animaniacs and Batman: TAS, or would they still pivot to Pinky & the Brain and Superman?

What if Jackie Gleason didn’t mind being known as the man who took Fred Flintstone off the air and successfully had The Flintstones pulled?

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Thought of a couple more-

What if Warner decided to keep their shows on Fox Kids, or Fox made them too good of an hour for them to leave? Would we get more Animaniacs and Batman: TAS, or would they still pivot to Pinky & the Brain and Superman?

The real question you're asking is "What if The WB never happened," because that's the only way Warner would NOT have pulled those shows for itself.

Fox's renewal of BTAS was rather sloppy -- they ordered 20 episodes, but way too late to air them in September. It took until May of that season for them to start appearing, and then they were aired VERY sporadically over the course of three years as "The Adventures of Batman and Robin." I would have hated to see the same thing happen to Animaniacs. Also I don't think Fox would have kept either show alive quite as long.

 

[Pooky]

What if Jackie Gleason didn’t mind being known as the man who took Fred Flintstone off the air and successfully had The Flintstones pulled?

Perhaps not the thread to discuss this, but in recent years I've started to doubt this story (it seems to come from a single, not particularly substantive, source), and even if it is true I certainly don't think he would have succeeded had he gone through with it, which always seems to be the unspoken assumption whenever it was brought up. We all know The Flintstones was more than a little "inspired" by The Honeymooners, but that doesn't mean it would fit any legal definition of plagiarism, the similarities are in isolation all pretty generic things that Gleason certainly didn't invent; there is perhaps nothing The Flintstones shares with The Honeymooners, that The Honeymooners itself doesn't share with Laurel & Hardy's Sons of the Desert.

But going with the idea that he did somehow succeed I guess that would have put pay to Scooby-Doo as we know it, as that is widely believe to have been similarly inspired by Dobie Gills. You'd like to think maybe Hanna-Barbera would have gone for more original ideas, or maybe they would have just doubled down on the celebrity cartoons and live action tie-ins.

What implications would it have retrospectively as a precedent I wonder? Would MGM have been able to put pay to Herman & Katnip for being too close to Tom & Jerry? Would Superheroes be OK; when we get down to it, aren't most superheroes at least a little derivative of Superman or Batman? Would the owners of The Shadow have been able to put pay to Batman? How far could it have gone?

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

After watching Anastasia recently, I wonder what a Don Bluth take on My Fair Lady would have been like. For those of you not in the know, 20th Century Fox gave Don Bluth the choice of doing a remake of Anastasia or My Fair Lady. I think he made the right choice because Anastasia allowed more fantasy elements that would be better for animation.

 

[Pooky]

What if instead of upholding the complaints about Hot Wheels in 1969 the FCC had shrugged and said "who cares?" Would the toyetic wave of the 80s have happened 10 years earlier?

What if the Children's Television Act had never been passed?

 

[harry580]

what if fox animation studios remained opened after 2000 and instead fired don bluth & gary goldman and let someone who used to work for disney to takeover operations of the studio with blue sky studios being acted as fox's pixar

 

[Zorak Masaki]

What if instead of upholding the complaints about Hot Wheels in 1969 the FCC had shrugged and said "who cares?" Would the toyetic wave of the 80s have happened 10 years earlier?

What if the Children's Television Act had never been passed?

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, what if Reagan hadnt deregulated children's programing (meaning no toy-based cartoons)? Would the creator-driven cartoon trend of the 90s to present happen earlier?

 

[Vuxovich]

1. What if the Ruby-Spears animation studio made an animated franchise based on Mega Man, Mega Man X et cetera?

2. What if DIC Entertainment made a Castlevania cartoon?

3. What if DIC Entertainment kept doing Sonic cartoons after the release of Sonic Adventure?