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Animaniacs, Freakazoid Producer Credits Pokémon For WB Cartoon Decline
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Producer, director, and animator Tom Ruegger held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit on Tuesday where the Animaniacs creator answered fan questions to celebrate the show's move on to Netflix.
User "aznprd" asked what led to the decline of Warner Bros. cartoons, like Freakazoid, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Tiny Toon Adventures. Ruegger responded that it was the advent of Pokémon.
According to Ruegger, the Kids WB programming block struck a deal with 4Kids Productions to air Pokémon that was so cheap and, followed by the show's huge popularity, that they no longer wanted to to spend the money on programming.
Kids WB was handed Pokémon for free and it pulled down big numbers -- so then they wanted everything for free.
Ruegger's last Kids WB show was the educational program Histeria! that aired from 1998-2000. He has since worked on Animalia, Sushi Pack, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, and The 7D.
