Cartoon Network and HBO Max Announce Two New Animated Projects
Netflix's recent well-documented stumbles are at least in part due to increased competition in the streaming space. And while Netflix lost subscribers, the first half of 2022 has only seen HBO Max's grow. Warner Bros Discovery's service is currently the third most popular in the United States, behind only Netflix and Prime Video, and ahead of Disney Plus. And luckily for us, HBO Max is also a heavy investor in animation.
Two new projects have been announced jointly by HBO Max and Cartoon Network Studios. Invincible Fight Girl is a half-hour action-comedy from first-time creator and executive producer Juston Gordon-Montgomery (DC Super Hero Girls). Set in Wrestling World, where wrestling is more than a sport "it's a way of life", it follows Andy, a young girl who dreams of becoming a champion wrestler.
Andy sets out into the bizarre and colorful Wrestling World, determined to make a name for herself. Along the way, she meets cynical retired champ: Aunt P, the endearingly innocent Mikey— great wrestling analyst-in-the-making, and the unscrupulous Craig, who doesn’t so much love wrestling as he does scheming ways to profit off it. United in the goal of helping Andy achieve wrestling glory, this found family embarks on a journey filled with adversity and self-discovery as they chase their dreams, push past their limits, and most importantly…deliver smackdowns on the toughest wrestlers they can find.
The second is Driftwood, a 90-minute sci-fi comedy adventure movie from Victor Courtright who was one of the brains behind the recent Aquaman: King of Atlantis mini-series and Thunder Cats Roar. It follows a tiny mouse-like creature named Clover who sets off on a galaxy-spanning adventure to save his homeworld.
In a decaying forest civilization dependent upon a toxic fuel source and ruled by an evil organization, Clover - a tiny mouse-like creature – races across the stars to find Driftwood, society's last free city which may hold the key to a safe and sustainable fuel source and future for the galaxy. The evil overlord Thorn will stop at nothing to eliminate Clover and destroy Driftwood in order to maintain their power. Clover, and his new friends Marigold and Caspia, must make a stand to stop them once and for all and save their forest on the edge of infinity.
The move into more original movies is an exciting one for Cartoon Network Studios. In the past, most movies they produced would have been feature length spin-offs from their series, such as Steven Universe and We Bare Bears. A move into more long-form storytelling opens up new possibilities for exciting storytelling.
"Cartoon Network Studios is a creator-driven studio and these two projects underscore our commitment to being the home for artists to tell bold and original stories, " said Sam Register, president of Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros Animation. "Victor Courtright has created an imaginative world in Driftwood that will transport audiences to an entirely new universe. And Juston Gordon-Montgomery has put together one of the most charming, aspirational and simply funny ideas for a children’s animated series with Invincible Fight Girl, in which the underdog group of characters are absolutely irresistible.”
": Cartoon Network has always been home base for kids and families to discover off-the-wall shows that have become iconic classics." Amy Friedman, Warner Bros Head of Kids And Family added. "With HBO Max as a growing kids and family destination, Sam and his brilliant studio teams will expand our reach to showcase even more epic, heartwarming, and hysterical adventures like these new upcoming originals."
