HBO Max Cutting Batman and Looney Tunes Projects Has Fans Ready to Unsubscribe
Boycott
Everyone, cancel your HBO Max subscriptions. Maybe they’ll finally listen from the backlash they’re getting
— ★ STARIE ★ (@starzopawz) August 19, 2022
When you cancel your HBO Max, be sure to give feedback on why and to mention David Zaslav by name
— J. 'Jay' Oliver II (@hellothisisniko) August 18, 2022
First and foremost, many users called for a general boycott of HBO Max, and described ways of letting the company know that the dwindling animation catalog was the main reason why.
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It’s surreal to me that Warner Bros would be like “nah cancel all those Looney Tunes cartoons” https://t.co/TRkdTfj7ho
— Disney’s Folly (@DisneysFolly) August 23, 2022
To many fans, Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes are practically synonymous. To see the company putting fewer resources into that franchise seemed unthinkable.
prevnextEasy Win
You have to be the biggest idiot to cancel a Batman series with Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Paul Dini attached. As well as an Gumball movie, and two Looney Tunes specials. Absolutely idiocy.
— The Animated Jem(War Against WBD Arc) (@jem_boii_) August 23, 2022
I thought one of the main focus was Batman and the first thing they do is cancel the most anticipated animated series from Bruce Timm and Matt Reeves smh pic.twitter.com/zAKllrsfID
— Harley (@harleysuniverse) August 23, 2022
You don't need to be a particularly hardcore fan of superhero media or animation to know that the team behind Batman: The Animated Series is absolutely legendary. Canceling a new Batman project with those names attached seemed baffling to many fans.
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Why did they boast to stockholders a few weeks ago about having brands/franchises like DC, Batman, and Looney Tunes if they’re just going to cancel a bunch of things made by these brands within these franchises? So weird.
— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) August 23, 2022
This makes no sense:
WAG, Looney Tunes and Cartoon Network are “Key Brands” yet animation is gutted
DC is a major part of your plan, but you cancel projects on a dime
Merging 2 streamers by killing the better one
I don’t understand this logic, Zaslav…
— Afro D. Goofy (@redezrobbins) August 23, 2022
Oftentimes, the explanation given for inscrutable decisions by a streaming service is that it will somehow appease the shareholders and improve the company's stock prices. In this case, many fans thought that it was contradictory.
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This is the craziest part to me about the HBO Max cancellations. In a house with a kid, animation gets way more plays than any live action anything. I don’t get it, when deciding what to subscribe to or what to cancel it is the first thing we consider. https://t.co/CWE5s7XzRM
— Mark Smith (@MarkSmith_0610) August 23, 2022
Many fans wondered what the end goal of these animation cancellations really was. It seemed crazy to imagine that all of the animation projects at Warner Bros. would fall by the wayside, as viewers could remark firsthand on how much of a staple these programs are to households with children.
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I think these are the saddest tweets I've seen about the removal of all those cartoons on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/3NGD3V375G
— Silja 🐝 🐛 (@ghoulymaps) August 19, 2022
Many fans shared their sympathies for the creators of these productions who are losing access to their own work, in many cases.
prevnextWhat's Next?
the fact that they're now stopping projects like batman and looney toons, which are THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF WB, basically means literally *nothing* is safe and *everything* is on the table to cancel. https://t.co/XAMeiNzjhS
— 🏳️⚧️ Joanna Blackhart 🔜 PAXWest🏳️🌈 (@JoannaBlackhart) August 23, 2022
Finally, with about a year to go before the consolidation of HBO Max and Discovery+ is complete, many fans wondered what else could possibly be canceled.
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