May theme: Streaming Animation

Deadline: May 8th, 2020

Today, numerous are the platforms that offer animated content for streaming. Relatively recently has been launched Disney+ with its many new and classic titles in animation. Netflix also offers a rich catalog of animated works, many of which are originally-produced contents. Animation can also be found on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or Crunchyroll, among others. In light of this growing presence of animated titles available for streaming, our May theme invites posts looking, from any perspective, at the practices and politics of streaming platforms around animation and at how they are changing the animation mediascape. Do existing streaming platforms follow precise and unique politics in terms of the distribution and/or production of animation? Do these platforms represent a future for the medium of animation? What are the peculiarities, if any, of the animation produced expressly for mainstream streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney+? Are streaming platforms changing the viewership of animation? These are only some of the questions to which our May theme wishes to find an answer.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Producing animation for a streaming platform;
  • The different politics of streaming platforms around animation;
  • Animation in mainstream streaming platforms (e.g., Netflix, Disney+, and so on);
  • The state of televisual and theatrical animation in the context of increasing competition with streaming services;
  • The viewership of animation on streaming platforms;
  • The circulation of animated contents on different platforms;
  • Streaming platforms as animation archives;
  • Advertising animation in the age of streaming platforms;
  • Thematic, aesthetic, and narrative analysis of animations originally produced for a streaming platform;
  • Awarding animated works in the age of streaming platforms: trends and politics of key prize givers (e.g., Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ASIFA-Hollywood, and so on);
  • Animation in niche streaming platforms (e.g., Crunchyroll);
  • Streaming platforms and the distribution of animation.

Posts of between 600 and 900 words, which discuss any aspect of the above topic are welcome. Contributors are encouraged to include clips and at least one image to support their posts. Please also include a short bio and 3 keywords. All permissions are the responsibility of the contributor. Please contact the managing editor Cristina Formenti (cristina.formenti@unimi.it) with submissions or questions.