I have what I suspect will be an unpopular opinion. I’m guessing I’m having a hard time understanding their reasoning. I liked the show, it was great. Love the memes and all. Great guys, nice to get some internet references. But if you’re creatively burnt out after three seasons of a show that’s 10 minutes an episode…really? Are you? Or do you just miss getting donations from playing video games on YouTube? Creating is hard so work hard. Producers allowing this much creative freedom is rare. I liked smiling friends but writing for it doesn’t exactly take a PHD. I imagine it takes several ounces of pot and some acid tabs. They got a golden ticket and it really sounds like they quit because the vibes were off and they couldn’t pick their own deadlines.
I never thought about that, but that's a good point. Riffing with your bros while you collect superchat money is a lot easier than sitting down, storyboarding a show, and going thru the process of producing it. They could've done anything, in any medium, with how SF was set up, but you've got nothing left?
I'm sorry but this is just wrong, I'm not going to say it's somehow the hardest job in the world, but being a showrunner on anything is a grueling task, especially in a situation where they are as directly involved with production as Zach and Michael, they are directors, writers, voice actors, and showrunners. It's not just sitting down and writing a bunch of stuff then passing it off to other people to finish, they have to write a script, edit, revise, edit, revise, get it approved, then they have to storyboard it, more work, then they have to give their notes to the animators and explain in detail about what it is supposed to look like, what that is meant to achieve, then go through rough drafts, edit, revise, approve, all over again. And this is just for their in-house production, Smiling Friends is famous for involving internet creators as well as indie and industry animators as guests, that adds extra work, extra bureaucracy, extra paperwork, extra time, extra edits, revisions, approvals. Zach and Michael are the two primary VAs for the show, they voice almost the entire cast of the show in a normal episode. That is hours, or possibly days spent in recording rooms getting the correct takes for one episode.
Imagine if it were you in this position, you are the head of a popular show, and you yourself have to put in all of this legwork just to produce a ten minute episode, that is author-driven animation for you, it's time-consuming, bureaucratic, and labor-intensive, only to produce a small amount of finished work. I can't blame them for being burnt out, usually showrunners end up checking out and delegating to someone else.
The real tragedy in letting Smiling Friends go the way it is going, is that usually industry cartoons are like seeds. You get your foot in the door by working on something, then if you prove yourself, you get good ratings, they think about giving you a show. Lots of people got their own shows by doing this
Another example is Genndy Tartakovsky with Dexter's Lab, Craig McCracken worked on Dexter's Lab, went on to make Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home, later Wander Over Yonder
Smiling Friends dying has basically cut off a potential seed for other people to get their foot in the door, that being said, it should be applauded because just by existing, it has helped indie animators do this, but it dying will take loads of people out of contact with the industry at large. I suppose if you're a real indie purist, then this is a good thing, but I don't see it as one.
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