Five Of The Most Interesting Streaming Debuts Coming In April 2024
April is nearly here, and there’s a lot of new animation heading to the major streaming platforms, including a pair of big studio features, a new series from Arthur creator Marc Brown, a live-action/cg reboot of a classic cartoon character, and tons of anime.
Below, we’ve highlighted five standout titles that will be debuting on streaming platforms next month, some because of their high profile, some because of the trends they represent, and some because they just look interesting.
If there is anything you’re excited about coming next moth that we missed, please let us know in the comments section below. Happy streaming!
Go! Go! Loser Ranger!
Platform: Hulu
Date: April 7
Based on Negi Haruba’s manga of the same name, this anime series is produced by Yostar Pictures (Arknights) and helmed by veteran animator and director Keiichi Sato (Tiger & Bunny, Gantz: 0). The series unspools amidst a 13-year between invading monsters and Earth’s last line of defense, the Divine Dragon Rangers. In reality, the monsters were put down by the Rangers within the first year and are now trotted out each week to be defeated by the warriors. That is until one of the monsters decides it’s tired of being subjugated and infiltrates the Rangers to take them down from the inside.
Hop
Platform: Max
Date: April 4
Max’s new kids’ series, Hop, comes from Arthur creator Marc Brown, who co-created the new show with Arthur colleagues Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown. Produced by Epic Story Media and Loomi Animation, Hop could provide a much-needed boost to the company’s kids and family catalog. Cartoon Network provides Max with plenty of shows for older kids, but the platform lags well behind Disney+ and Netflix when it comes to content for preschool and kindergarten-aged kids.
Migration
Platform: Peacock
Date: April 19
Benjamin Renner’s Migration, Illumination’s first original animated feature since 2016’s Sing, proved that the studio is still plenty capable of telling new stories and making a profit while doing so. The film has grossed $289 million on a $72 million budget and will almost certainly be one of the most popular titles to hit streaming next month, especially if April showers keep families cooped up inside.
Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp
Platform: Netflix
Date: April 12
It’s not so much that this is a film we want to see, but we’re curious to see how it does with audiences. Kids and family content has long been a key driving factor for most of the major streaming platforms, and Netflix is no exception. If a (presumably) low-budget live-action/hybrid cg film with almost no marketing behind it can prove popular among subscribers simply by being aimed at kids and featuring a familiar character, surely these types of films will continue to get green lights.
Wish
Platform: Disney+
Date: April 3
Disney can’t seem to escape the pandemic-era precedent it set among fans when it sent so many films straight to streaming. Now, families seem content to wait patiently for the company to release its animated features on Disney+, where titles that fail to make a significant impact at the box office often top streaming charts. We expect the same thing here, although perhaps not quite to the level of Elemental, which needed just five days to become the most-watched movie premiere of 2023 on Disney+ and crack the streamer’s Top 10 movie premieres of all time.