Five Notable Animation Additions Coming To Streaming Platforms In March 2024
February has one more day than normal this year, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer than usual to start enjoying March’s streaming animation additions. To tide us over, we’re taking a look at five big-name titles set to land on streaming platforms in the coming weeks.
Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate and Megamind Rules!
Platform: Peacock
Release Date: March 1
It’s been 14 years since Dreamworks Animation released its villain-turned-superhero film Megamind. Now, the studio is back with a straight-to-streaming sequel and companion animated series. The 83-minute feature, Megamind Vs. the Doom Syndicate, is directed by Eric Fogel, creator of MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch and The Head. Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, who wrote the original film, executive produce the new movie and 8×22-minute series Megamind Rules! alongside Fogel.
Looney Tunes
Platform: Max
Release Date: March 1
We usually try to focus on new series and films with these lists, but there is a trend demonstrated by Max here that we thought was worth acknowledging. When Warner Bros. dropped more than 250 Looney Tunes theatrical shorts from its streaming service last year, it wasn’t clear how or when audiences would be able to access them again. It now looks like Looney Tunes catalog content will appear on Max in cycles, with more than 130 of the shorts heading to the platform in March. That’s the good news. The bad news is that 130 shorts currently available on Max will be removed at the same time. Among the titles set to re-appear on Max are Oscar-nominated titles such as Mouse Wreckers, Greetings Bait, and Rhapsody in Rivets. Other standouts include Bugs’ debut A Wild Hare, Daffy’s debut Porky’s Duck Hunt, One Froggy Evening, and What’s Opera, Doc?
X-Men ’97
Platform: Disney+
Release Date: March 20
Based on Fox’s cult favorite 1990s animated series, this 10-episode series picks up where its predecessor left off and unspools in a world where mutants use their supernatural powers to protect humans who fear and often despise them. In the series’ first trailer, it looks like animators largely nailed the original’s aesthetic, and fans will be pleased to hear that many voice actors from the 1990s version have returned for this reboot. Episodes of X-Men ’97are directed by episodes are directed by Jake Castorena (Reign of the Supermen), Chase Conley (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), and Emi Yonemura (Gen: Lock).
Morphle and the Magic Pets
Platform: Disney+
Release Date: March 20
Morphle and the Magic Pets was co-developed by Mark Palmer and Jill Sanford and is being animated by Toronto’s Guru Studio. The show is based on the hit Youtube franchise created by Arthur van Merwijk in 2011, which was acquired by U.K.-based Moonbug in 2018. The Morphle TV Youtube channel, launched in December 2011, has 11.7 million subscribers, and its videos have been watched over 8 billion times.
The Casagrandes Movie
Platform: Netflix
Release Date: March 22
Based on Nickelodeon’s Daytime Emmy-winning kids and family series The Casagrandes, itself a spinoff from The Loud House, this 2d feature is directed by Miguel Puga, a director on both of those shows. In the film adaptation, the Santiago family takes a surprise trip to Mexico, where things quickly get out of hand after Ronnie Anne confronts a preteen demigod with world-breaking powers. Nickelodeon and Netflix have had a fruitful relationship over the past several years; the streamer’s live-action Avatar the Last Airbender adaptation was its most-watched series last week. If The Casagrandes Movie does well, it wouldn’t be surprising to see other Netflix properties get feature adaptations.