Chapter 16

The Animated Feature

Concerns in Greenlighting an Animated Feature

A major animation feature is very expensive to make, and studios are reluctant to take too many risks when they’ve got millions of dollars at stake. Many studios purchase the rights to a book or well-known character for their feature rather than buy an original spec animation script. Or they retell a classic myth, fairy tale, or story that’s in the public domain. Some films, like The Wild Thornberrys and The Powerpuff Girls, were popular TV series before they expanded to the big screen. These stories with marquee value practically guarantee a built-in audience. Often studios commission a script for their feature based on a subject that they think will sell a lot of ...

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