As The New Yorker reported in a report on Mattel’s post-“Barbie” plans, it’s not just Mattel that’s leaning heavily into IP. Warner Bros. Discovery is working on a scripted “Harry Potter” TV series, attempting to lean into a brand that’s been tarnished for some by its creator’s transphobia, not to mention a series of lackluster prequel films. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins told Variety in a profile published Wednesday that the studio’s upcoming animated films would focus on familiar franchises like “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” rather than going after “expensive original animated” films with less certain audiences.
It’s a Seinfield Is Unfunny situation where it doesn’t seem all that impressive compared to the other long-term narrative animations that have come out of the West over the past twenty years until you realize that the others likely wouldn’t have existed if ATLA didn’t prove that it could be successful in the first place.
I hated Seinfeld from the start and the shows that most directly took inspiration from it don’t do anything for me either.