No, RIPCartoonNetwork Doesn’t Mean Cartoon Network Is Literally Dead

If you saw the hashtag #RIPCartoonNetwork and got worried, there’s not actually a reason to fear for your favorite animation – not yet, anyway. #RIPCartoonNetwork started trending on Twitter after a community page called Animation Workers Ignited posted that the Warner Brothers-owned network was dead.

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A few other accounts picked up on the trend and posted about it as if it were absolute truth, probably in response to Animation Workers Ignited encouraging everyone to “spread the word” about “what’s at stake for animation.” It turns out the community used the term “dead” loosely after the original Cartoon Network building was closed down , and they wanted to start a conversation about the state of animation more broadly, specifically how difficult it is even for animators working with unionized studios to get enough work to pay their bills.

Whether anything in Cartoon Network’s lineup is safe for long or if we ever see anything fresh and new from the brand in the future is anyone’s guess. Warner Bros. Discovery owns the network, and CEO David Zaslav’s favorite pastime for the last year or so is randomly delisting dozens of shows across WBD’s catalogues, particularly on Max, as a desperate way to cut costs - never mind the fact that Zaslav made close to $50 million in 2023 and Warner Bros. already made $1 billion in 2024 . Several CN projects were reportedly canceled after the Warner Bros-Discovery merger as well, and Cartoon Network functions essentially as a support studio for Warner Bros. Animation now.

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Anyway, the short version is: Cartoon Network’s original, physical studio is gone, its lineup continues under the Warner Bros. Animation brand, and animation workers – like creators in other professions – are struggling to make ends meet as executives concentrate as much revenue as possible in the hands of themselves and their shareholders. It’s far from a cheerful thought and perhaps stems from a slightly misleading source, but the Animation Workers Ignited group certainly got one thing right: The future of animation isn't looking bright.