Animated series

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Animated series" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Set of animated works with a common series title

For the technology, see History of animation.

An animated series (or a cartoon series[1]) is a set of animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can either have a finite number of episodes like,[2] for example, miniseries, a definite end, or be open-ended, without a predetermined number of episodes.[3] They can be released on television[1] or the internet,[2] in movie theaters[1][4] or direct-to-video. Like other creative works, cartoon series can be of a wide variety of genres and have different target audiences: both males and females, both children and adults.[5][4][6]

## Television

[edit]

See also: Lists of animated television series

Animated television series are aired daily or on certain days of the week during a prescribed time slot, including, for example, saturday-morning cartoons, prime time cartoons, late night anime, and weekday cartoons; series broadcast only on weekends.[4]

The duration of an episode also varies. Traditionally, they are produced as half-hour or nearly half-hour cartoons; however, many are animated shorts of 10 — 11 minutes, which can be combined for filling a set time period in "segments" including several such shorts. When advertising is taken into account, the cartoon itself may be only 15 — 20 minutes of the half hour, although Netflix and many other streaming services do not show commercials. There are also series with very short episodes lasting approximately five minutes; they have recently become more common in Japanese animation.

If a local station of a television network broadcasts an animated series as a part of its own programming, the time-slot will vary by region.

All early cartoon television series, the first being Crusader Rabbit (1950 — 1959), are comedy. However, later series include sports[4] (Speed Racer, Captain Tsubasa, Slam Dunk), action (Hajime no Ippo,[4] G.I. Joe), science fiction (Mobile Suit Gundam,[6] Tenchi Muyo!), drama (Neon Genesis Evangelion), adventure (Dragon Ball), martial arts (Baki the Grappler), and other genres.[4]

The first animated sitcom was The Flintstones[4] (1960 — 1966)[7] produced by Hanna-Barbera. It was followed by other sitcoms of this studio: Top Cat (1961 — 1962), Jonny Quest (1964 — 1965), The Jetsons[4] (1962 — 1963, 1985, 1987); and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972 — 1974), an adult-oriented animated series[7] in the style of All in the Family. The Alvin Show from Ross Bagdasarian and Beany and Cecil from Bob Clampett also are sitcoms.[4]

### Broadcast network

[edit]

The 1980s and 1990s were a renaissance of children's and adult cartoon television series. Various broadcast networks and media companies began creating television channels and formats designed specifically for airing cartoon series. Companies that already had these types of formats began to revamp their existing models during this time. Most of these animations were American cartoons[8] and Japanese animes.[6] Listed below are examples of television networks and channels that include animation at present.

American

* Fox
* Discovery Family
* Nickelodeon[4]
* Nick Jr. Channel
* TeenNick
* MTV
* Comedy Central
* Disney Channel[4]
* Disney XD
* Disney Jr.
* Universal Kids
* PBS Kids

British

* CITV
* CBeebies
* CBBC
* Pop
* Tiny Pop

Japanese

* TV Tokyo
* Kids Station
* Tokyo MX

Canadian

* Treehouse TV

Australian

* ABC Kids

|
|
|

Examples of animation-focused networks and channels of at present are listed below; but some of them occasionally broadcast live-action shows.

American

* Cartoon Network[4]
* Cartoonito
* Adult Swim
* Boomerang
* Nicktoons

South Korean

* Tooniverse
* Aniplus
* AniBox [ko]
* Anione [ko]

Canadian

* Cartoon Network
* YTV

Japanese

* AT-X

|
|
|

During the 1990s, more mature content than those of traditional cartoon series began to appear more widely, extending beyond a primary audience of children. These cartoon series included The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy,[7] Futurama,[4] The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, and Duckman. Canadian computer-animated series ReBoot, which began as a child-friendly show, shifted its target group to ages 12 and up, resulting in a darker and more mature storyline.[9]

## Film theatrical

[edit]

See also: List of theatrical animated short film series

Animated film theatrical series include all early animated series: Animated Weekly (1913),[10] The Newlyweds (1913),[10] Travelaughs (1913, 1915 — 1918, 1921 — 1923),[11] Doc Yak (1913 — 1915),[12] Colonel Heeza Liar (1913 — 1917, 1922 — 1924),[13] Kapten Grogg [sv] (1916 — 1922),[14] Les Aventures des Pieds Nickelés (1917 — 1918),[15] the Tom and Jerry cartoon short films released in movie theaters from 1940 to 1967, and many others.[4]

## Direct-to-video

[edit]

See also: List of animated direct-to-video series

Direct-to-video animated series include Japanese OVA series, the first of which was the science fiction drama Dallos[6] (1983 — 1985). Almost all hentai (pornographic) anime series are released as OVAs.

## Web series

[edit]

Animated web series are designed and produced for streaming services. Examples include Happy Tree Friends (1999 — present) and Eddsworld (2003 — present).

They can also be released on YouTube, such as Asdfmovie, which debuted in 2008.

* Animation portal
* Cartoon portal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Lenburg 2009, p. XI.
2. ^ a b Rahman, Arifur. "Animated Films vs. Animated Series: The Ultimate Battle for Viewer Loyalty". Toons Mag. Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
3. ^ Lenburg 2009, p. 438.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Федюшин, Владислав Валерьевич (2023-10-06). "Анимационный сериал" [Animated series]. Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия» [Great Russian Encyclopedia Online] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2025-07-13. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
5. ^ Kemner, Louis (2025-01-12). "Shonen Anime: Everything You Need To Know About The Most Popular Anime Subgenre". CBR. Archived from the original on 2025-05-24. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
6. ^ a b c d Магера, Юлия Александровна (2023-04-14). "Аниме" [Anime]. Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия» [Great Russian Encyclopedia Online] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2025-06-22. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
7. ^ a b c Шпоть, Василиса Виталиевна (2023-10-18). "Ситком" [Sitcom]. Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия» [Great Russian Encyclopedia Online] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2025-07-13. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
8. ^ Knudde, Kjell (2025-04-24). "Walt Disney". Comiclopedia. Archived from the original on 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
9. ^ Hetherington, Janet L. "As Mainframe's technology reaches adolescence, there's a 'ReBoot' Renaissance". Animation Magazine #59. Vol. 11, Issue #8, September 1997.
10. ^ a b Bastide, Bernard (2007). "Des cabarets de Montmartre aux studios de Fort Lee: Émile Cohl et Étienne Arnaud, une amitié fertile". OpenEdition Journals (in French). 53. 1895. Mille huit cent quatre-vingt-quinze: 194–209\. doi:10.4000/1895.2473. Archived from the original on 2025-07-13. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
11. ^ Lenburg 2009, p. 48.
12. ^ Lenburg 2009, p. 23.
13. ^ Lenburg 2009, pp. 22 — 23.
14. ^ Bendazzi 2015, p. 67.
15. ^ Loné, Éric (2007). "Les Aventures des Pieds Nickelés". OpenEdition Journals (in French). 53. 1895. Mille huit cent quatre-vingt-quinze: 324–325\. doi:10.4000/1895.2593. Archived from the original on 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2024-07-09.

## Sources

[edit]

* Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-6599-8. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
* Bendazzi, Giannalberto (2015). Animation. Vol. 1\. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. ISBN 978-1-1388-5452-9.

* v
* t
* e

Animation topics

By country|

* Azerbaijan
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brazil
* United Kingdom
* Canada
* China
* history
* Czechia
* Estonia
* France
* Hungary
* India
* history
* Iran
* Japan
* history
* Korea
* North
* South
* history
* Latvia
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* North Korea
* Philippines
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* South Africa
* Spain
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Ukraine
* United States
* Silent Era
* The Golden Age
* World War II
* Early TV broadcast era
* Modern TV cable and streaming era
* Vietnam

Industry|

* Animator
* List
* Animation department
* Animation director
* Story artist
* Animation studios
* List
* Animation database
* Art pipeline
* Biologist simulators
* Animation film festivals
* international
* regional
* Highest-grossing films (Opening weekends)
* Outsourcing
* International Animation Day

Works|

* Films
* Computer-animated
* Feature-length
* Lost or unfinished
* Package
* Short
* Short series
* Stop-motion
* Adult animated films
* Children's animated films
* Series
* Adult animated
* Children's animated
* Computer-animated
* Direct-to-video
* Flash
* Internet
* Television

Techniques|

| Traditional|

* Barrier-grid and stereography
* Flip book
* Limited animation
* Masking
* Rotoscoping
* Exposure sheet

|

Stop motion|

* Claymation
* clay painting, strata-cut
* Cutout (silhouette)
* Graphic
* Model
* go motion
* Object
* Brickfilm
* Pixilation
* Puppetoons

Computer|

| 2D|

* 2.5D
* Flash
* PowerPoint
* SVG
* CSS
* Multi-sketch
* Onion skinning

|

3D|

* T-pose
* Cel shading
* CGI
* Crowd
* Facial animation
* Morph target
* Motion capture
* facial
* hand tracking
* eye tracking
* Non-photorealistic rendering
* Physically based animation
* Procedural
* Skeletal
* Virtual cinematography

Puppetry|

* Traditional puppetry
* Digital puppetry
* Machinima
* Aniforms
* Virtual human
* Live2D
* Supermarionation

Mechanical|

* Animatronics
* Audio-Animatronics
* Linear Animation Generator
* Direct manipulation animation
* Humanoid animation
* Idle animation
* Ink-wash animation
* Magic Lantern
* Scanimate
* Shadowmation
* Squigglevision
* Whiteboard animation

Other methods|

* Blocking
* Character animation
* model sheet
* walk cycle
* lip sync
* off-model
* Chuckimation
* Drawn-on-film
* Erasure animation
* Hydrotechnics
* Inbetweening
* Morphing
* Paint-on-glass
* Pinscreen
* Pixel art
* Pose to pose
* Straight ahead
* Rubber hose
* Special effects
* Sand
* Syncro-Vox
* Zoetrope

Variants|

* Abstract animation (visual music)
* Adult animation
* Animated cartoon
* Animated sitcom
* Animated documentary
* Anime
* influenced
* Educational animation
* Erotic animation
* Independent animation
* Instructional animation
* Virtual newscaster

History|

* Early history
* History of computer animation
* timeline

Related topics|

* Animation music
* Bouncing ball
* Mickey Mousing
* Key frame
* Cel
* Character animation
* model sheet
* walk cycle
* lip sync
* off-model
* Creature animation
* Twelve basic principles
* Motion comic
* Films with live action and animation
* highest grossing
* Cartoon
* physics
* violence
* Most expensive animated films
* List of animated films by box office admissions
* List of animated television series by episode count

* Category
* Portal
* Outline

* v
* t
* e

Media franchises

Media series|

* Animated series
* anime series
* Book series
* Partwork
* Comic book series
* manga series
* Film franchise
* Film series
* Media mix
* Radio program
* Streaming television
* Television show
* Video game franchise
* Web series

Media lists|

* Multimedia franchises
* print
* television series
* films
* games, toys, and merchandise
* Animated series
* anime
* direct-to-video
* films
* Internet
* television
* Comic book series
* manga
* Film series
* Television shows
* most watched
* Video game franchises
* Web series

Highest-grossing|

* Media franchises
* Film series

Best-selling|

* Comic book series
* manga series
* Video game franchises

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template