Netflix has one big shortcoming and high ambitions in animation.

Who would have thought that Netflix would grow to be one of the biggest content providers out there? In fact, in terms of sheer volume, they really are putting more out there than pretty much everyone else. Their years spent investing billions in original content has really paid off, especially in the time of COVID. They have more shows and films than anyone could possibly watch in a lifetime.

And yet, Netflix isn’t perfect. For years, one of their biggest problems has been one of their biggest strengths. Yes, they have a mountain of content, but their quality control isn’t the greatest. And, given how much they have on their plates, they do a terrible job of advertising it all. And, as I’ve said for years, they’re not exactly a brand of franchises. When you think Netflix, there likely isn’t a handful of big mainstream “franchises.”

As it turns out, Netflix’s co-CEO Reed Hastings agrees with this.

“The thing that many studios are able to do is create great franchises,” Hastings admitted. “We’re making great progress on that with Stranger Things and other properties, but compared to Harry Potter and Star Wars, we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a super exciting project, Three-Body Problem, we just announced that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are producing for us. That has great potential. So, we’re getting there and we’re learning things bit by bit.”

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Indeed, Stranger Things is the closest thing they have to a franchise, but that started years ago. Maybe The Witcher could be their next big thing, but I don’t think it’s there quite yet. Hopefully, they have actionable steps to change that. If there was a time to prove that home is the place to be for entertainment, it’s now.

One arena Netflix has really invested in in recent years is animation. You may recall a couple of years ago at this point where they touted a whole host of creatives making their way to the streamer. It’s clear they’re jumping into animation in a big way, but they have a very specific giant in mind they want to topple.

“We want to beat Disney in family animation,” Hastings declared. “That’s going to take a while. I mean, they are really good at it. We’re both very focused on building out our animation group and, you know, it’s a friendly competition. We both want to do incredible stories for consumers and we want to be able to raise the bar in that area. We know that they will be a challenger and a competitor for the next 50 years.”

They certainly have their work cut out for them, as Disney Animation has been on a role for years now, especially at the box office. But, with a bit of time, money, and clout, I’m sure it’s something they can do. We’re in need of more voices in family animation, so I’m excited to see what they have to offer in the years to come.

What do you think of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings opening up about the streamer’s big shortcoming and animation ambitions? Sound off down below!

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SOURCE: THR

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