Corporate behemoth Disney has got the girls glued to their seats with fare like High School Musical and Hannah Montana, but tweener boys prefer Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, it seems. Thus Disney is rebranding its Toon Disney channel as Disney XD, with such Wheaties-fueled fare as reruns of Batman: The Animated Series. The LA Times has more:
Animation, traditionally a draw for boys, has been a struggle for Disney Channel, although its newest series, “Phineas and Ferb,” appears to be building a strong male following.
But so far, the network has failed to produce a blockbuster to compete with Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants;” or match the guy-centric focus of Cartoon Network, which one ad buyer described as the ESPN of animation.
“You’re fighting the brand perception, the very, very strong brand equity that’s been in the marketplace for many, many years,” Kahn said of Disney Channel. “It would almost require a completely separate effort to reach tween boys, with a completely different name somehow associated with the Disney property, to reach these tween males.”
The article doesn’t go into much detail on the actual content of the revamped channel — marketing goals apparently being equal to content in Tinseltown — but the shows they do mention are high on the usual suspects: superheroes and manga-themed fare.
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I actually saw part of a “Phineas and Ferb” episode the other day.
Total crack. And I mean that in the best way possible. If it had been on when I was 10, I would probably have made sure I watched every episode.
so, in the image you have included above, the characters are surfing on top of the wave. on top of the wave. fred flinstone surfed on top of the wave. i know this sounds like a very tiny tiny detail but to all of you who aspire to write anything about surfing…go to the beach or watch a movie like Endless Summer, Big Wednesday, Riding Giants. You will see that no one rides on top of the freakin wave. aaaaarrrrrrrrrgh!
other than that, i am glad to see they are making an effort to create something for boys. i may have to record the show…