Warner’s handling of Cartoon Network and its animated legacy in recent months is something that could diplomatically be described as “not ideal,” between the closure of the iconic Cartoon Network Studios building last year, the cancelation of multiple series, and, most recently, the surprising complete closure of Cartoon Network’s website and its archive of free streaming clips and episodes. Now, there’s even further tumult, after several popular CN series found themselves vanished from Max today… after Warner Bros had already redirected fans away from other places to watch those shows to watch them on Max instead.
Today several users reported that a handful of significant Cartoon Network shows—including Ben 10, Steven Universe, Regular Show, the 2016 Powerpuff Girls revival, Amazing World of Gumball, We Bare Bears, and Chowder—were suddenly no longer streaming on Max with the turn of the month, with no prior announcement of their impending removal.
Cartoon Network shows that has been removed from Max today:
– Chowder
– Regular Show
– The Amazing World of Gumball
– We Bare Bears
– Steven Universe pic.twitter.com/WUR63HtDgv— ToonHive (@ToonHive) October 1, 2024
Interestingly, coinciding with the sudden removal, Max’s “Kids and Family” section had its branding updated to replace included images of Gumball and Steven Universe flanking Bugs Bunny to replace them with a Care Bear and Fred Flintstone, respectively.
Ben 10 (2016) got removed too.
Max has notably updated its artwork for the Kids & Family hub to replace Gumball and Steven with a Care Bear and Fred Flintstone. (Jesus are they actually doing this?) pic.twitter.com/x5ZcHF3yWx
— CN News/Schedules (@CNschedules) October 1, 2024
While most of the removed shows are available to stream elsewhere, the move is awkward in the wake of several of Warner Bros’ recent decisions around its animated catalogue and its ongoing attempts to streamline its finances. Weeks ago, the studio announced plans to terminate its classic animation-focused streaming platform, Boomerang (the service was previously announced as coming to an end yesterday, September 30, with subscribers and its library being transitioned over to Max). Shortly after as well, it controversially scrubbed Cartoon Network’s dedicated website, which previously hosted a litany of clips and free streaming episodes from across its former and current series, including from several of the shows that have now been removed from Max.
“Looking for episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows? Check out what’s available to stream on Max (subscription required),” a message on the updated Cartoon Network website previously read. “Sign up for Max, where you can also create a Kids Profile with ratings restrictions and additional privacy protections to keep it fun and kid-friendly!”
io9 has reached out to Max for comment and clarification on the removal, and whether or not the departures were intentional updates to Max’s catalogue or if, like the recent situation with Over the Garden Wall on Hulu, an oversight that will be corrected. We’ll update this post when and if we hear back.
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