Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Sym-Bionic Titan’ Canceled Due to Lack of Merchandise?

Mar 29, 2011 by Ben Moore

Genndy Tartakovsky's Sym Bionic Titan Has Been Canceled

Genndy Tartakovsky has been responsible for some of the best, most creative, and most iconic animated series of the past two decades, including Dexter’s Lab, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (you know, before it was CGI).

Most recently, Tartakovsky created Sym-Bionic Titan, an animated series about an alien princess, her bodyguard, and their robot, sent to Earth disguised as American high school students to escape the war ravaging their home planet. Frankly, it’s a fantastic show, which is why it deeply saddens me to learn that it has not been renewed.

According to a “Cartoon Networker” who spoke to the TAG Blog:

“Genddy’s moved on to Sony Pictures Animation. Titan got competitive ratings with other action shows, but what shut it down was it didn’t have enough toys connected to it. If you don’t have the [toy sales], the studios don’t want to renew for another season.”

Sym-Bionic Titan is a hilarious, action-packed, and beautifully-rendered homage to anime such as Voltron and Castle in the Sky and 1980s John Hughes films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. (There’s even an episode entirely dedicated to satirizing The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.) Though the action and adventure portions of the show would appeal to animation fans, young and old, the humor is geared toward teenagers, as well as twenty-somethings and above – hence the obvious jokes at the expense of shows like Gossip Girl or The Vampire Diaries.

Check out an awesome clip below:

I think it goes without saying that, if this turns out to be true, Cartoon Network has made a massive mistake. So what if Titan doesn’t have enough toys for the merchandise-addicted children of America to purchase? And so what if the show’s ratings weren’t particularly amazing to start? Let it breathe! Let it grow! Produce more toys, if you must! Advertise this show to those adults who watched Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jack when they were kids. Genndy Tartakovsky is a brand name unto himself, and it’s a shame that Cartoon Network cannot comprehend that. Which is to say, if this turns out to be true.

For fans heartbroken about the rumored cancellation, myself included, keep in mind – Cartoon Network hasn’t officially canceled the show as of yet. That said, they haven’t renewed it either, and with a full series slate next year that includes Green Lantern: The Animated Series, DC Nation (a show that spotlights various DC Comics properties), the Thundercats remake, Level Up, How to Train Your Dragon, The Looney Tunes Show, and more, it’s looking more and more likely that this top-notch series is doomed.

Sym Bionic Titan Official Poster

One of the rumors, though entirely unconfirmed, is that Tartakovsky has moved on to direct Hotel Transylvania at Sony Pictures Animation, an animated film utilizing the classic movie monsters of yore (Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, et cetera).

If true, I’ve suddenly become interested in Hotel Transylvania.

Sym-Bionic Titan airs the last two episodes of the season – and probably the series – on April 2nd and April 9th @9:30AM on Cartoon Network.

Source: TAG Blog [via Bleeding Cool]

Tags: sym-bionic titan