Cartoon Brew’s 2024 U.S. Animation Energy Record

2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of Cartoon Brew. Anniversary celebrations usually look inward, amounting to little greater than self-congratulatory pats on the again. However that’s by no means been what Cartoon Brew has been about. We exist to serve the group, and to convey consciousness to this youthful and nonetheless largely misunderstood craft.

What higher means then to acknowledge our twentieth 12 months of publication than by analyzing the trendy state of American animation and the people who find themselves shaping its route.

This checklist was a large group effort, a lot as is animation manufacturing itself. A whole bunch of polls have been despatched to folks within the animation business to solicit their enter. Many extra conversations have been had privately with people. As soon as the checklist was decided, it required the cooperation of studios, publicists, and people represented on the checklist.

What grew to become clear as we put this collectively is that there are lots of extra noteworthy folks than we may ever presumably match on a single checklist. Animation is a comparatively minor section of the American leisure business, however it’s a important and thrilling sector full of marvelous inventive, technical, and enterprise innovators.

The write-ups on people is the mixed work of Tara Bennett, Jamie Lang, and myself. Lindsey Olivares offered the incredible caricatures of the Prime 10 figures. Chris McDonnell designed the print version of the checklist, and the online model of the checklist was designed by Aric Harris.

I welcome any and all suggestions on the checklist – and I invite you to turn into a part of the method as we put collectively our 2025 checklist.

Right here’s to animation without end and at all times,