Animation is in Trouble
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Listen. I don’t play around about Gravity Falls. Growing up, I watched and rewatched episodes on my family TV, spent hours on YouTube studying videos of decoded cryptic title cards, and rejoiced after the year-long hiatus finally ended. I still remember where I was when “Not What He Seemed” dropped, and the author of the journals was finally revealed (which I won’t spoil, I guess, but I feel like everyone should know this information by now. If you don’t, I wish I could be you and relive the suspense again. Consider your ignorance a precious gift). I knew all the lore back then and most of it has still stuck: if you’re ever in a bind on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and need to phone a friend about Dipper’s real name, I’m your girl.
That’s why the resurgence of Gravity Falls this summer that came along with the release of The Book of Bill made my childhood heart incredibly happy. I spent more time than I’d like to admit on thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and stalked Alex Hirsh’s Twitter for an inkling of information on a possible third season (which has already been confirmed will never happen, but one can dream). Despite myself, I am relieved old fans still get some semblance of content in a tasteful way and not through some far-removed reboot that has nothing to do with the original series. I respect how strictly Hirsh has stuck to his guns on never creating a spinoff. Even though it would be popular (and lucrative), it was never about the money, and always about telling a great story. Though, growing up with quality stories is something I never thought I would take for granted.
AI is a looming threat over most creative industries these days, animation included. A survey was conducted in 2023 by CVL Economics that reveals some sobering information about how entertainment companies are largely embracing artificial intelligence. 75% of the 300 interviewed executives agreed that GenAI software had supported the elimination of jobs; 90% agreed that most entertainment companies were fully embracing AI. CVL Economics also estimated that around 203,800 creative jobs would be replaced by AI by 2026.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Of course, it’s not all happening at once, but layoffs have already begun on a mass scale. And it doesn’t just affect people who have been fired either–it only means the work piling up for the existing employees and animators having to do more work than one person can handle while they take on the tasks of multiple people for no extra pay. In a report from IGN, working conditions on Pixar’s Inside Out 2 were “horrendous” after Pixar laid off 175 employees in May. And sure, Inside Out 2 was still good despite its limited workers, but that kind of endurance isn’t sustainable. One anonymous employee admits in the report: “The internal culture of Pixar right now is really rough. There is just an incredible amount of people who are like, ‘I can't do this anymore.’”
I’m sorry Strikelandia for being a Debbie Downer, but I’m passionate about this stuff. Frankly, it’s bullshit that we all got the privilege to grow up on something as well-written and thoughtful as Gravity Falls while the new generation is dealt out stories cooked under intense pressure from the industry, scripts half-baked by robots, or another sequel no one asked for (who the hell is actually going to the theaters to see Paddington in Peru?). I think the silver lining to all this is that people are standing up to the big corporations. Rallies have begun to congregate and the hashtag #NewDeal4Animation has been created as thousands of workers and allies demand change. People aren’t just going to hunker down and pretend like everything is fine when it’s not. The only thing we can really do as consumers is spread awareness about what’s happening and encourage people to support original, human ideas as much as we can. I love a good sequel, but how are we gonna let the next new story flourish if we don’t even give it a chance?
Strike Out,
Sophia Massebeau
Editor: Maya Kayyal
Sophia Massebeau is a Staff Writer for Strike Magazine, Saint Augustine. You might catch her busking downtown or apologizing for how messy her car is. You can find her @sophiamassebeau on Instagram or sophiemass1355@gmail.com.
