From Snow White to Steamboat Willie, animation has been around since the turn of the 1900s. 

Saturday morning cartoons and Disney movies have made up so many generations’ childhoods, yet animation is often pigeonholed as a genre solely for children. Animation goes beyond one’s youth. It is not just a format for Disney and Pixar movies, but rather a medium not defined by any genre, essential to express in a visual manner that which goes beyond the limitations of live action films. 

But it seems the concept of animation as a medium for the general public simply isn’t recognized. Even at the highest regards of filmmaking, at the pinnacle of the silver screen, the Oscars fail to see where animation shines. When announcing the award for Best Animated feature, actresses Lily James, Halle Baileyand Naomi Scott poked fun at the movies supposedly made for children to watch “over and over and over” again. Included in the nominees was Flee, which tells the story of Amin Nawabi as he deals with the trauma and secrets of his life as an Afghan refugee. 

That’s not all. Host Amy Schumer quipped, “The only one I’ve seen is Encanto because of my kid.” When really, the film delves into estrangement, broken bonds, and the complications of family, masked behind the cheery songs and Disney charm. 

The seemingly harmless comments from those at the Oscars contribute to the notoriety consuming animation as adults and parents feel they must endure animated films rather than enjoy them. 

Animation is a medium – an art form – not a genre. 

Animation can be for kids, animation can be for adults, it can be about space, it can be about cowboys, it can even be about both. It can tell real, heart-wrenching stories just as Flee does, and it can tell heartwarming stories just as Encanto does. Animation is such a broad format that it deserves to have its spotlight shine further than children’s movies, which, though they are great in their own right, are not the entirety of the medium. 

 Unfortunately, these are not all of the shortcomings animation faces. 

Under the recent merging of Warner Bros. and Discovery, CEO and president of the conglomerate David Zaslav put under way some “changes” to his acquisitions. Zaslav’s specialty is reality TV: shows such as “Deadliest Catch” and “Naked and Afraid” are his strong suits. These shows are relatively cheap to film, but reel in large profit margins. 

Zaslav fails to see that creativity and business work hand in hand, and when one acts solely in the interest of budget, truly great films will never see the light of day. 

His first strike was axing the production of Batgirl. By dropping the film for a tax write-off, he cemented the film as profitless.

Continuing his streak of cancellations, Zaslav took aim at HBO Max’s animated show collection. All of the shows listed below were removed from the streaming service with no prior warning to its creators: 

• “12 Dates of Christmas”
• “About Last Night”
• “Aquaman: King of Atlantis”
• “Close Enough” 
• “Detention Adventure” 
• “Dodo”
• “Ellen’s Next Great Designer”
• “Elliott From Earth”
• “Esme & Roy”
• “The Fungies!”
• “Generation Hustle”
• “Genera+ion”
• “Infinity Train”
• “Little Ellen”
• “Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart”
• “Messy Goes to Okido”
• “Mia’s Magic Playground”
• “Mighty Magiswords”
• “My Dinner with Herve”
• “My Mom, Your Dad”
• “Odo”
• “OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes”
• “The Ollie & Moon Show”
• “Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures”
• “Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness”
• “Select Sesame Street Specials”
• “Make It Big, Make It Small”
• “Squish”
• “Summer Camp Island”
• “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo”
• “The Runaway Bunny – Special”
• “Theodosia”
• “Tig n’ Seek”
• “Uncle Grandpa”
• “Victor and Valentino”
• “Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs”

Notably on the list is J.G. Quintel’s “Close Enough,” an HBO original from the creator of “Regular Show,” one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows to date. As well as the highly praised “Infinity Train,” and several great shows such as “OK K.O! – Let’s Be Heroes,” and “Summer Camp Island.” 

All of these are esteemed shows and constitute a true loss to HBO Max’s selection of animation. These relentless cancellations come from Zaslav’s dedication to cut $3 billion from the merger. By canceling these shows, royalties are no longer paid to the hard-working animators of these shows. While animators are still supplied with a base salary, these royalties often go towards their healthcare funds. In addition to distress upon being put out of work, animators have to worry if they will even be provided healthcare.

So what can you do? 

Watch.

Stream your favorite shows, explore the animation section, go see screenings at the theater. Whether western animation or anime, there are thousands of shows waiting for you. Don’t know where to start? I’ve got you covered with a list spanning a variety of shows and movies, new and old:

• “Adventure time”
• “Arcane”
• “Avatar: The Last Airbender”
• “Cowboy Bebop”
• “Gravity Falls”
• “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
• “Over the Garden Wall”
• “Primal”
• “Samurai Jack”
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Practically any Studio Ghibli film
• “Teen Titans”
• The Animatrix
• The Mitchells vs. the Machines

So get to binging, most of these titles are available on a variety of streaming services. Thousands of hidden gems waiting to be watched, millions of episodes ready to play. It is a shame that in a time in which we have more content than ever available before, so much of it is cast aside.

Follow Josh Campbell (@JoshDC004) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.