Celebrating 16 Years of CartoonBrew.com
Dear readers,
The word “celebrate” in the headline might be a bit of a stretch. We’re not doing anything special today. There’s obviously no party since we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. We’re all self-isolated or with our families, which frankly isn’t that difficult to do since Cartoon Brew has always been a remote company and every member of our team is located in a different city around the globe.
But still, I didn’t want to let March 15th pass without acknowledging that Cartoon Brew launched on this day back in 2004. It’s been a wild journey: what began as a fun little hobby has against all odds (and certainly not by design) become the animation industry’s most widely-read-and-discussed global news resource. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, but I can assure you that it’s not something any of us here at the site take for granted.
Our mission has evolved over the years. This site was initially created simply to have a little corner of the Web to write whatever was on our minds about animation. In recent years, as more and more readers around the booming global industry have come to rely on Cartoon Brew as a primary news resource, we’ve matured our vision and redoubled our efforts to keep readers informed with timely and reliable information.
Yes, we cover the art and business and production of animation, but we are also committed to covering the important and vital issues that affect the lives of workers throughout the industry. This is something we’re able to do only because of you — the community — who trusts us and works with us closely. Artists, executives, educators, studio owners, government officials, PR folks, students, festival directors and programmers – you all are the reason that we’re able to continue doing what we do and I thank you for your participation and cooperation.
What we hopefully haven’t lost over these years is the independent spirit that drew readers to us in the first place. We’re not afraid to have fun doing what we do and we’re not afraid to occasionally stir up the hornet’s nest to make a point. It’s not unlike the art form itself: animation is a wondrous graphic art capable of the most beautiful imagery and most expressive ideas, while at the same time being a widely-consumed commercial product that must play by certain rules to sustain the employment of hundreds of thousands of workers. Finding a balance where both sides can co-exist in harmony is often the biggest challenge. We don’t always get it right on Cartoon Brew, but we will continue to strive to retain our point of view on animation even as the site continues to grow due to our fundamental underlying belief that the industry needs passionate, informed, and honest voices.
Whether you’ve been reading Cartoon Brew for years or you’re just discovering the site, thank you for coming along with us on this journey and for your support of the site. Please stay safe and healthy, and as always, keep creating!
Sincerely,
Amid Amidi, publisher and editor-in-chief