Tron: Uprising is everything we theoretically want out of a cartoon. It’s mature, well-written, possessed of a distinct and gorgeous design, and it has a top-notch voice cast. While it’s kid-friendly, you can watch it as an adult and enjoy it as a well-written action show. In theory, this is everything Disney would want out of an animated show that appeals largely to nerds in their twenties and thirties.
Of course, this assumes Disney wants any show of theirs to appeal to adults.
We the nerd blogs are as culpable as anything. After enjoying the pilot, the show honestly disappeared from my radar, largely because Disney wanted it that way. It got zero promotion to nerd blogs, and in fact it wasn’t even clear the show was available on streaming services.
To give you an idea of just how much Disney wants to put a bullet in this show, after a long hiatus over the summer it returned. To Sunday nights at midnight, and this is a show on Disney XD, a primarily kid-targeted network. Most midnights, it’s showing reruns.
So why is Disney packing off a show that has a rabid cult following, generally the kind of thing tiny cable networks want to encourage, off to die? Because it’s a show that appealed primarily to adults.
It’s worth noting that the ratings weren’t great even before Disney decided to put a bullet in the show, so that’s a factor. But a larger factor was probably who was watching, for two reasons. The first is that Disney XD isn’t designed to sell adult products to grown men and women, but toys and junk food to kids. The second requires a look at the corporate mindset.
It’s easy to forget that for most toy and cartoon conglomerates, the idea of having a Brony-like phenomenon on their hands scares the ever-loving hell out of them. Keep in mind that to a lot of people, being an adult fan of a children’s show still immediately marks you, at best, as a man-child who lives in the basement and writes creepy sexual fanfic. Some networks have realized that hey, money’s money, but for many, an adult fan base for a kid’s show is essentially the kiss of death.
It’s pretty clear Disney ran the numbers, decided they didn’t want the audience this show was getting, and worked to put a bullet in it. And that’s a shame. Tron: Uprising is a genuinely good show; well thought-out, faithful to the material without being slavishly dedicated to it, and making good use of its cast. Characters have personalities and opinions in this show, which is rare for even adult fare. It’s not perfect, by any means, but it is available on Amazon Instant Video, and if you like animation, it’s well worth buying an episode and giving it a try.
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That is a shame…my son and I watched the pilot, tried to find the next airing…..and it vanished like a fart in the wind. Which is a shame because we both enjoyed it, and that is truly a flower in the desert that is Disney XD. As is it, I hate anytime my son puts that channel on but this was the eclipse-rare time that not only did I not mind, but I was ready to plop down and watch. Thanks Disney, you tw*ts
Like I said, it’s on Amazon Instant Video, and considering they want two bucks an episode, it’s worth paying for.
Is this a theory of yours, or has Disney stated it in the past? It does make sense… what with most Super Hero shows from 2008 on wards only lasting 1 or 2 seasons before being pulled and rebooted.
It’s a theory of mine, based on outside observations of Disney and how Disney has functioned in the past. Also, I know adult Disney fans, and it’s an ongoing theme with them that the Disney subculture will fall in love with something, and Disney will immediately strangle it because OH SHIT THESE WEIRDOES LIKE IT.
Just saw this today from Director and Executive Producer of the show – Charlie Bean’s Twitter:
“A giant thanks to the cast and crew of #TRONUprising. I am so humbled and honored to have had the opportunity to work with all of you.”
A very sad day indeed, reminds me of when Spectacular Spider-Man was canceled, and Avengers. I can safely say I have lost all respect for Disney. I hope they someday revisit this project in some way or another. But as long as we remember one thing, then there is always hope: TRON LIVES
Don’t forget Wolverine and The X-Men. An excellent show that was cancelled after only 1 season.
YES just before age of apocolypse too (perhaps my favorite comic arc). Jesus i was so pissed. I really think though, that this is the one that hurts the most. Just because they haven’t told us this story yet in any shape or form. (Where as with marvel we have seen the same kind of stories just in different ways) Tron:Uprising is completely new and would have loved to see them finish it out.
Good point. If you’re a fan of the original Ninja Turtles, or the 2003 show, and haven’t seen the newest one, it’s certainly worth checking out. It’s a tad immature, but not in an unwatchable way… and it makes me laugh pretty hard at least once or twice an episode.
I’m kind of hoping that the show sells enough streams that Disney reconsiders, or perhaps goes for a web show.
You think that would be possible? I was considering buying it on itunes and rewatch it all in HD, and if what your saying is a possibility then that would be an even better reason. It ain’t cheap, but I’d do anything that could help.
Well, put it to you this way: If profitability is a concern, being able to go to Disney and say “Hey, we got one million people to buy nineteen episodes at $2. So that’s $38 million, in your pocket” is definitely useful ammunition. I always buy shows I want to watch directly, both because I don’t have cable and also because there is nothing that says “I want more of your show” like paying for it.
Good point. If you’re a fan of the original Ninja Turtles, or the 2003 show, and haven’t seen the newest one, it’s certainly worth checking out. It’s a tad immature, but not in an unwatchable way… and it makes me laugh pretty hard at least once or twice an episode.
Part of me thinks this reasoning is the same reason the cancelled The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and replaced it with the new show. I know the official reason was to bring every animated show into the same continuity, but everyone I knew who watched it was in college or in their 20′s.
That probably didn’t help, but honestly, I think the lion’s share of the blame lies with Jeph Loeb. Once he took over in the writer’s room, there’s a pretty distinct slide in script quality, and his policy of “NO MULTI-EPISODE ARCS” really didn’t help.
They also put a bullet in MOTORCITY. One of my favorite shows of last year.
That comes up a lot, I’m going to have to check that one out.
As much as I will miss this show I’ve got to give Disney credit for making it at all. Tron has always been a black sheep property for Disney and airing a children’s cartoon that essentially centers around a terrorist trying to take down a fascist government is pretty far out of their comfort zone.
Heh, that’s a good point. That it lasted nineteen episodes with no meddling is also a miracle.
Whew! I don’t live in the basement so I’m in the clear
“You’re dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.” — Walt Disney
that being said, i think you have very naive ideas about corporations work if you really think they would spend time and money and effort to create something, only to kill it publicly because it found the “wrong” audience. an audience is an audience and advertisers are advertisers. if it was getting numbers it simply wouldn’t matter.
and putting it on at midnight rather than taking it away altogether, is more a fan service than anything else. they know you have DVRs so they’re giving you a chance to see a show that they are more-than-likely upset is a failure.
if they hated it, and you, it would just be gone.
It’s not “naive” to assume a show gets killed for drawing the “wrong” audience. This happens all the time on TV, and it’s been happening for decades. Just one recent example: Harry’s Law was, in raw numbers, a massive hit. But it was a massive hit with old people, so NBC killed it: [latimesblogs.latimes.com]
You’ve got to understand that many networks sell themselves to advertisers in a VERY specific way. Go outside those boundaries, and you basically have advertisers saying “Why the fuck am I paying for ads in a show that nobody I want to reach watches?”
If you can’t make any money off of old people, then why does CBS exist? Seems like most of their shows pull huge numbers from the “old as dirt” demographic.
man, if I could make it through just one Tron conversation–JUST ONE–that doesn’t refer back to a Kathy Bates legal show for old people, I’d die a happy man.
So last night’s episode was a cliffhanger. iTunes has the first 10 episodes as season 1, and last night was episode 9 of season two. I assume the next episode was intended to be the last of the season. I went on iTunes this AM considering buying the season and saw that it is no longer available as a season pass, and has an odd price to purchase the season. That is kind of disturbing.
Couldn’t they have just given us the last episode? I’ll buy it if I need to, but I’m concerned that it isn’t going to be available to purchase. How do we find out where and if I can get more? My son is going to lose it.
Amazon Instant Video has the whole series, last time I checked.
I hope theres a 2nd season… its a beautiful show.
for all the people who havent seen the 18 episodes yet heres the link [www.watchcartoononline.com]
its how I’ve watched most of them since Disney XD’s showings are weird
Yea not a good time for mature animation that doesn’t sell backpacks and action figures. Young Justice and Green Lantern are dead too. [www.bleedingcool.com]
DAMMIT. After that whole fiasco last year, you’d think they’d be kissing everyone’s ass trying to make up for it.
ALTHOUGH, remember Thundercats wasn’t on last year’s upfronts either and they did end up finishing out the season later after a long…oh why bother. Cartoon Network is swimming in Seth Macfarlane’s filth. More and more shows that are not cartoons or even fun. Everybody’s on coke, Ben 10 went down the shitter after Dwayne Macduffie died and it just continues to get worse. Of course I’m watching My Little Pony, it’s only decent show on.
Okay, the TMNT revival is pretty good.
AM I EVER GETTING THAT GODDAMN SHADE THE CHANGING MAN SHORT?!
The music on the show was incredible as well.
NEWS FLASH these days the only ones who care enough about Tron are the same ones that used to kids when the movie was a thing.
This further proves how disconnected Disney is and how lost they are when it comes to connecting with families. Times change, and your fans from old are the ones that introduce their own children to those reboots to enjoy. But, that’s ok. Why? Most of us stop caring about Disney since the 90′s.
So, you think ‘bronies’ are a new thing? That adults only suddenly started watching shows ‘aimed at children’ as a threat? Threat to WHAT? Is that really why you’re letting what may be a decent show flush down the pipes?
I never stopped watching Cartoons. Hell, everyone I grew up with watching cartoons. They should cancel Gravity Falls then, even if I never bothered to watch an episode it seems to have a huge adult fanbase seeing how a ton of ‘bronies’ and other adults watch that series too.
Is Disney afraid adults will demand them to make ‘show accurate toys’? You do realize these fans of animation, because not all of us enjoy being fed white trash TV and legal dramas 24/7 thank you, are the same adults with said target demographic children that have the money to even consider buying your toys, right?
Honestly, to write such ignorant and last century mentality of what adults should enjoy, is just outright slanderous when you straight up and point fingers at another group for their enjoyment of a show that actually doesn’t send waves of lawyers after you because you drew a picture or made a song of one of their IPs.
Walt Disney was no saint, but he never made a show or backed one that didn’t appeal to the WHOLE family, and not just the ‘kiddies’ just to earn a quick buck off a toy. Disney as a company has long ago lost touch with the original ideals that mister Disney laid out.
Far as the writers opinions on this goes, it’s stagnant closed minded America, ever fearful of change -OH MY- that keeps us from being able to get better quality animations dubbed on TV. Anime has long since been catered to all walks of life. It’s why I and millions stick to japan for our fix, usually through fandubs. And then companies have the gall to cry a river over how little ratings or sales they get off their own cartoons or why they should of licensed that one show sooner.
TL;DR Everyone watches cartoons at all ages, and have been since Cartoons were made. Guess what? Most of us have jobs and family too. You’re hillbilly redneck views of what people that watch cartoons as being a ‘manchild’ ignorant and implies that women don’t do the same. ANIMATION ISN’T MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE TO ANY AGE GROUP!
I’ll end there, this has been a waste of my time. All this article did was bring attention to a series no one cared about and used it to slander groups of people that enjoy not watching what white trash filled ‘reality’ show on MTV, and sit down to watch something with a pinch more context then what STD Britney brought home.
Good day mister 1960′s.
Take it easy, he wasn’t calling us man children. He said that’s what he thinks corporations like Disney think adults fans are. I don’t personally agree with his theory, but I don’t think he was attacking bronies.
If Disney can’t handle “man-child” audiences then why did they buy Star Wars? Tron is based on an old movie and the majority of interest is going to come from adults who enjoyed the movie as kids. It’s possible that they had that in mind when they set it for the midnight air-time similar to how Cartoon Network had their Midnight Run/Adult Swim. It should also be noted that My Little Pony not only had to change its marketing for adults, but for a different gender, Tron wouldn’t have to worry about the latter and some aspects of kid-oriented merchandise such as action figures and posters, can be enjoyed by adults as well.
“My Little Pony not only had to change its marketing for adults, but for a different gender”.
I’m sorry,but I think you have it a little bit wrong.
The thing the did was to simply add other kinds of merchandise that aren’t that common for a franchise like this,like,comics (actual comics,not the shameless promotion vectorized ones) for example.
But they haven’t change anything.The franchise still has Girls as it’s main target.Even if they have acknowledged the adult fanbase.
All the good shows are getting canned but the shitty shows like the new Looney Toons and Ultimate Spiderman live on, I am loosing faith in humanity.
Got some citations of all these things you Claim about Disney? Source for “Disney hates bronies!!” and such that you’re claiming? No? Then stop stating it like it’s fact. As it is right now, this is nothing more than pure speculation. And statements like “Adult fans = manchildren” don’t really make you sound very credible.
>SIGH< Look, I don’t know what forum this got posted on, but clearly you read somebody dashed-off summary, and not the actual article. I said that Disney’s perception of adult fans tends towards the stereotypical. I greatly enjoy “Friendship is Magic” myself. Calm down.
You really have no idea about demographics do you? Just because a show aims at a lower audience, doesn’t mean they want to turn away older fans. The 18 – 34 year old demographic with expendable income has always been the most coveted age group, if the show really did hit this demographic, then the ratings wouldn’t have been so low which YOU pointed out.
“It’s worth noting that the ratings weren’t great even before Disney decided to put a bullet in the show”
And then you went into baseless conjecture that you couldn’t back up with anything.
If you think for even a moment that disney is afraid of the older audience, you haven’t spent more than a minute thinking about it. A company that goes out and buys marvel and lucas arts, and then revives a franchise like tron from the freaking 80′s is NOT worried about attracting an older audience.
Oh and while you were reading this, your cereal got soggy. You can blame that on the bronies too.
I just realized why this story was written, it’s nothing but an inflammatory statement to get clicks, comments and views.
Well played article man…. well played. As for everyone else, nothing to see here, don’t bother with increasing his counts.
I remember reading an article about the fact that it was likely to be cancelled. The creator asked people to watch the show because it wasn’t getting enough viewings and that it was likely to get axed. It looks like it has been axed, and it’s probably for that reason and not the one you’re stating. So don’t blame bronies for it getting cancelled, it was cancelled bacause no one was watching it.
The amount of reasons I could give why people probably weren’t watching it, is huge. It’d be mostly timeslot and advertising, but trust me, that is enough to end any show, and has ended many good shows.
True, and like I said, I’m only theorizing.
Yes, it seems INCREDIBLY likely that a company, especially a huge one like Disney, would pull the plug on a project because they’re terrified of having a larger audience to market to and profit off of than they had anticipated. As we all know, the last thing any mega corporation wants is more success.
Nothing about this article makes sense. Why wouldn’t you want an audience of all ages watching your show? Either Disney isn’t playing it smart at all or this article is bullshit. Personally I’m inclined to go with the latter.
The problem doesn’t seem to be the fan base but rather the target demographic isn’t also being attracted to the show. If kids absolutely loved it and so did adults, I don’t think there would be any issue. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has both bronies and the traditional girl audience. The target audience could even slip a little for it as long as the same or more toys are bought. Having an adult audience is something that Disney or Hasbro adore because they have the money but that doesn’t mean the target demographic can be neglected at their expense.
Saw this article through Equestria Daily, and I thought I drop a comment or two.
First off, sorry that Tron: Uprising got cancelled. Judging from the comments, it sounded like a really cool and mature show that people enjoyed. Also sounded like a lot of love went into the show.
I have to say though, it kind of sucks that Disney would pull it off the air. Tron has never gotten enough love, and Uprising was a sweet deal for people who still wanted to visit the Tron universe . Not only that, but because Disney didn’t want people to think it attracted the stereotypical sicko online, that they would pull the show off the air? To me, that’s not only unfair to the audience of Uprising, but also the people that are being accused of being sickos.
I’ve never really liked judging an entire fanbase based on what I hear online, because I know it’s not as simple as “it’s a hivemind, everybody is like this”. Everybody is different, and for one bad apple you find, your also going to find a well rounded individual who is unfortunately being lumped together by an awful stereotype. Hopefully, Tron will return in one form or another.
Lastly, I’ve never watched Tron: Uprising. I’ve seen a trailer for it when it was first announced, and to be honest I wasn’t really interested in it. After seeing Tron Legacy, I kind of wanted to see another movie that would continue where Legacy left off…not only that, but the style looked too much like Peter Chung, and I kind of have mixed feeling about the skinny Chung style of animation. After hearing about it in this article though, my interest for Uprising has peeked now. I’ll be reading the Six reasons article on this fine website, but if anybody wants to give me additional reasons to watch, then go ahead.
With all of that being said…it’s sad to think that Tron 2.0 isn’t canon with the Tron series anymore…in fact, I’m not sure if I should play the Dead Space 3 demo, or boot up the ol shoot and light disk em up again.
End of Line
As was stated before, I suspect that your theory that Disney doesn’t want an adult audience doesn’t hold much water given the popularity of Gravity Falls and Phineas and Ferb among the same ‘brony-like’ demographic.
Thought I do want to say, from one sly bastard to another: Good move upping your article view count by mildly trolling the one group of extremely active internet fans who will stampede in in droves only to mildly chastise you for said antagonism. Out of curiousity, how many more views did this article get than your typical articles?
Still, it does suck that this show was canned– it certainly had promise!
Monday Feb. 18th, 2013 shows episode 20 playtime, but we all know how some of the listings in the past have been posted but yet aired.
Here’s to hoping.
i’m not going to accept this from disney xd taking good shows to replace them with sh*t one’s i mean the least they can do is take off the shows no one cares about like phineas and ferb you can literally predict whats going to happen for instant( phineas and furb builds somthing candas gets mum then all of a sudden poof!! because doofenshmirtz and perry have a fight and blast something always directed to phineas’s back yard) i’m sorry disney xd but if you want to delete a show it best not be tron
Let’s start a petition, or purchase the episodes to get it back on, this is very unacceptable and can’t be tolerated.
4 fingers pointed at you, 3 on top with an extra one beneath it
WAIT, EVERYONE! I have an idea! Even though it is unlikely to work, it’s still worth a shot. For many reasons you all will most likely be able to point out yourselves. My plan is, get another network to adopt the show, and, with enough hope, maybe they won’t ruin a single thing about it, and keep the show going in the direction it was support to go from the start, whatever that might be. Because I want to see if Beck and Paige ever end up together, or if anyone else ever finds out Beck is the Renegade, because I would love it if either happened.
Oh, one last thing, DISNEY, IF YOUR LISTENING, I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TOGETHER EVERYONE I NOW TO STOP WATCHING YOU UNTIL YOU BRIN BACK TRON: Uprising, now who here will do the same?
Also, spread the word to all corners a Facebook, twitter, the city you live in, we are fighting to keep TRON: Uprising alive, by not watching any version of Disney channel until they bring it back, and someone should probably make it clear to Disney why we are not watching there channels. Oh, and, $&@/ my last plan, this one will be more likely to get us TRON: Uprising back.
NOW, ONE AGAIN, WHO’S WITH ME!? Also, I posted three comments in a row to make sure someone would notice me, and my plan wouldn’t just be lost in the Internet forever.
im down with you bro…..TRON LIVES
my name on Facebook is BazarroKyle you should make a facebook page about this and add me
F@#$in’ bronies ruin everything…
DISNEY is really the worst.. they will never be as good as they were back in the 70′s.. CANCEL TRON because you didn’t like the audience?? Please gimme a break.. I hope that someone make a fan film continuation so we can enjoy the half meal DISNEY gave.. AT LEAST a TWO HOUR FINALE!!!!! CLOSURE!!!!!
Way to blame Bronies for something and have no proof of it. You lack journalistic integrity with how you treat your own speculation as fact without any proof. You also show your bias. No one takes a biased journalist seriously.
Disregard the previous comment. Didn’t realize the author was a fan of MLP. Thought he was bashing us like everyone else.
BRING IT BACK…. finish what you started…. a least let the ending connect with the movie!!! PLEASE …just one or two more episodes..PLEASE!!!!
What’s all this nonsense? I like Tron, so I’d tune to Disney XD and watch it ,or watched it on the ipad app,if Id miss it. What’s the complication jeez…Now THAT is acting like a man child,stop whining lol
I find myself wondering where media corporations like Disney get their “viewer numbers” these days. I sincerely hope it’s not the antiquated dinosaur known as the Neilson Ratings, especially since more and more people are streaming their shows and bypassing cable altogether; heck it took Neilson years just to adjust their ratings system to account for people who *record* their shows rather than watch them live.
On another note, I have to at least partially agree with Dan; Disney has historically been known to make some weird marketing decisions regarding their properties. For instance, after a spectacular first season in 1985, Disney’s “The Adventures of the Gummi Bears” (aimed at a more mature audience at the time) inexplicably had its second and third “seasons” cut down to a mere 8 episodes (when most other cartoons of the time got at least twice that each year), leaving fans fearing Disney was attempting to cancel the series and prompting a huge letter writing campaign to keep it alive – which was no small feat in the pre-internet era.
Similarly, Disney had a rare winner with their “Kim Possible” property in 2002 – again a hit with more mature audiences and Disney’s most popular show ever at that time, even winning a Daytime Emmy in 2005. Yet it took an online petition with a huge number of signatures to get them to grudgingly give in and produce a 4th season so the fan base could get the sense of closure that season 3 neglected to provide.
So am I surprised that Disney continues in the same vein as others to put the kibosh on shows aimed at a more mature audience like Avengers:EGH, Motor City and Tron:Uprising? Nope. Disappointed and even a little disgusted, but not surprised. And that’s a pity, because other shows such as Nickelodeon’s Avatar and Oban:Star Races have proven that a mature animated series can make money if the creators are allowed the free reign necessary to be creative.
Perhaps Disney just continues to be unlucky when it comes to animation. They’ve had to save themselves from obscurity at least twice, first with The Little Mermaid in 1989 after a string of box-office failures, then again with the purchase of Pixar in 2006 after another string of failures; their staff seems to have a hard time staying in touch with today’s audiences, even today – or am I the only person who thinks the lively and original plot for Wreck-It Ralph probably came from Pixar while the mild and predictable plot from Brave felt like “standard-substandard” Disney fare?
Why is that these type of “good shows” end up being canceled? I have to say that i enjoyed it the series and i can not see any negative side that it promoted that would cause for it no longer to be aired. Its ashame that Disney and other companies waste time and money on prolonging the shows that arent half as good as this series yet find some reason to rob the viewers of quality shows suck as this one. I vote to continue the better! Tron!