Gephyrophillia | Not An Update #5

Originally Posted on 08/08/2008 by Jeff Harris

This is not an update.

This is dialogue about abandoning an established brand and creating another in its place just to gain media attention. And, surprisingly, this has nothing to do with Toonami nor Cartoon Network.

In case you've been under a rock these last couple of days, or, in the case of the season, on vacation, you may have heard that Toon Disney is going the way of the dodo in February. The once venerable Disney animation channel is about to change into an action-oriented boy-themed entertainment network, and get this: It won't be rebranded Jetix.

I'm surprised too. Jetix is the defacto boy-based brand created by Disney after the complete absorption of the former Fox Kids and Saban brands. I've talked about it many times since its announcement in January 2004, the fact that they were going to air live-action programming on an all-animation channel (the first in the US to do so, more than two years before Cartoon Network did such a foolish thing), accurately predicted Toon Disney's death, oh, five years before it was known to the rest of the world, and pondered whether Jetix was taking over too much of Toon Disney that its identity could become lost (another correct analysis).

Jetix is a powerful and financially successful block for Disney housing familiar properties over the years, including Jetix-owned brands like Power Rangers, Super Robot Action Monkey Hyper-Force Go!, Yin Yang Yo!., Pucca, and Oban: Star Racers as well as being the home of familiar properties like Batman, Spider-Man, Pinky and the Brain, Chaotic, The Tick, Superman, Iron Man, X-Men, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Digimon and other oddities not as well known but popular with fans. The Jetix culture pushed the traditional Disney animation away, including the Disney Afternoon and One Saturday Morning-era shows and also brought in live-action on Toon Disney, a network that was dedicated to the strong animation legacy of Walt Disney Studios.

Now, the powers that be at Disney have decided that Toon Disney has to go. However, instead of fully embracing the Jetix branding that had taken over the culture of Toon Disney over the past four years, the company is transforming the channel into something that looks odd. Yes, cartoons will still have a place, but they're turning it into what amounts to a male-oriented flipside to Disney Channel. The official press are talking about this channel creating a "male version of Hannah Montana" (which, I might add, actually happened about a decade or so ago and called The Famous Jett Jackson, but since it's not HM-huge, it didn't matter), sports-based programming, and more acquisitions. Some fans, for some odd reason, are hoping that One Piece or maybe even Naruto would end up on this channel in the hopes that Disney would treat these properties with "respect."

I haven't told you the network's name. It's Disney XD. No, I didn't post an emoticon. The channel's name will become Disney XD, based on their new kid-friendly, gender-neutral multimedia site.

Funny thing about Disney XD is that a lot of the cartoons of Toon Disney will likely be pushed aside and likely never seen on American television again. Some will transition to Disney XD. Others will probably be buried alongside other shows in the Disney vaults not unlike 4/5 of the Fox Kids/Saban and the pre-Disney ABC animated properties in this country, which is sad.

Another thing that bothers some is the future of the Jetix brand. Some believe that Jetix will continue, but I believe it's toast. Since the entire network is taking on Jetix's mission and not its name, Jetix is likely gone after the shift to Disney XD. That's foolish to say the least because Jetix is just now becoming a recognizable name Stateside because of its apparent takeover of Toon Disney's entire lineup, or at least the majority of it. They could have easily renamed it Disney Jetix, create a perfect blend of old and new Disney, but instead, they're going for another gender-specific outlet.

Do they not know the story of Fox's ill-fated bChannel and gChannel digital networks and Cartoon Network's CNX/Toonami in the UK? Gender-specific children's networks don't work. I don't have much confidence in this new direction of Toon Disney. I'm sorry to see it go and Jetix possibly being dissolved.

This is not an update. It's me wishing Disney XD luck. They're really going to need it.

Jeff Harris,
Webmaster, The X Bridge.