>Opinions | Jetix: The New Toon Disney?

Originally Posted by Jeff Harris

Last year, I lamented the death of Toon Disney, but for a different reason. That reason is because Toon Disney, a network that was created as an outlet for Disney's animation programs, placed a live-action franchise, Power Rangers, on its outlet's newest action block, Jetix. But, in hindsight, even though that acquisition took the "Toon" out of Toon Disney, that wasn't so bad at first, and it actually brought in a lot of viewers to the network. Of course, Jetix grew to tremendous proportions, growing like a virus. At first, Jetix took over the weekend primetime lineup. Then, Jetix took over the primetime lineup. This fall, Jetix takes over weekend afternoons and late-nights every day.

So, what's the deal? Is Jetix a block on Toon Disney or is Toon Disney a block on Jetix? It's very obvious that Jetix is a block on ABC Family because it's only on mornings on that network. However, since Jetix is essentially Toon Disney's primetime to late-night block and soon going to be dominant on weekend afternoons, the Toon Disney name may end up being a memory.

Is that what's really happening?

I know that classic Disney shorts are no longer on the air anywhere (at least, for the time being, all of Turner's and Warner Bros' classics are on Boomerang), and even older shows like those found on The Disney Afternoon have almost completely disappeared from the Toon Disney lineup. Now, it seems that the early One Saturday Morning shows are being pushed aside in favor of Disney Channel reruns like Kim Possible, The Proud Family, and Dave the Barbarian. The truly Disney products are all but gone. The only time you're going to see Mickey Mouse is on House of Mouse.

It's funny and kind of ironic that ABC Cable Group, Toon Disney's controllers, are slowly changing Toon Disney into a quasi-Jetix network. It's funny because when you think of action-animation, you don't think of Disney. Jetix is bringing in more foreign-made products from Europe, which is ironic because Disney tends to be homegrown. Speaking of Europe, Jetix is a network (formerly Fox Kids Europe) rather than a block that airs all kinds of kid and tween-oriented programming, mostly action-animation.

In a time of identity crisis, Toon Disney is at a crossroads. Is Toon Disney willing to fully embrace the Jetix persona and name in America? A good chunk of programming, including the entire primetime lineup, is branded Jetix, so a total network shift wouldn't be that hard to get into. If so, what will become of the Jetix block on ABC Family? Jetix is doing better on ABC Family than on Toon Disney on weekend mornings. The ABC Family version of Jetix could essentially be what the Kids' WB version of Cartoon Network's Toonami should have been, a true brand extension. They've already succeeded in creating marketable franchises, and the viewers feel that both blocks are connected, unlike CN's and KWB's Toonami blocks, which were so disconnected from the beginning. I'd like to see ABC Cable commit strongly to Jetix, even if they have to sacrifice the Toon Disney name. I pray that the network tries to retain the company's strong animation legacy, finding a way to balance the comedic animation with action properties. Certainly, that's not too much to ask, is it?