By KAITLYN HENSON
Staff Writer
As of recently, people in the animation industry are calling out studios and companies for their harsh working conditions and minimal paying jobs. Since the recent expiration of TAG’s (The Animation Guild) contract, it’s come to the question of what needs to be changed in this industry. Companies such as Disney, Cartoon Network, Netflix, and several others have been revealed to be paying their animation workers less than live-action workers when it comes to writing, concepts, drawings, animating, etc., when it’s very obvious that animation takes a lot more time and effort to do than live-action and shouldn’t be seen as minimal in comparison. And now, the animation guild is standing strong and fighting back using their new hashtag #NealDeal4Animation.
Campaigns have been going on across social media featuring numerous animators and showrunners such as Owen Dennis (creator of Infinity Train) and Dana Terrace (creator of The Owl House) along with other artists in this industry demanding better working conditions and higher-paying jobs like their counterparts in the entertainment sphere. Negotiations for these new arrangements should start next month as news coverage of this has been on the rise as of recently.
To make their voices louder and clearer, The Animation Guild hosted a rally in Burbank, CA on March 20th, 2022 with several familiar animators, storyboard artists, and writers alike standing together and preaching for a new deal. This was a big event with so much support and passion for this medium and it truly shows just how much this is important to so many talented people.
Be sure to support the hashtag and follow these incredible people in the animation industry, because they truly deserve better than what they’ve been getting! This mistreatment in the work environment needs to stop now!