Oh, I bet you thought I was done talking about this newsletter, did ya? Jokes on you. When I really like something, I will never stop talking about it.
So I’ve talked about Owen Dennis’ Substack newsletter many times already. And by “many times,” I mean twice: once during my HBO Max tirade, and once just focusing on his overview of how to pitch a show. So for the sake of not boring y’all to death, I’m not gonna repeat myself there. So instead, let’s ask ourselves: What else does this newsletter have to offer?
Not much, apparently.
Yes, from December 2020 to today, there have only been seven newsletters sent. Seven.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the newsletter isn’t dead- the most recent post was a little over two months ago. But that post came after a gap of 11 months- the longest gap between any of the newsletters he sent.
I’m not going to let this deter me, though. I like to preach quality over quantity. And I can’t exactly get on him for an erratic posting schedule when these blog posts don’t even come out regularly. So, what do I think about those other articles I didn’t talk about? Do I like ‘em?
Yes.
So let’s get into why, huh?
The Posts
The newsletters Dennis sends out can be broken into two camps: those related to his own projects (mostly Infinity Train but not exclusively) and peeks into the animation world. Plus an intro post, but it’s pretty short and sweet and just gives some bonus info so we’re just gonna
Coolio.
Now, the bulk of his other posts is talking about events and other happenings regarding Infinity Train: the announcement of the final season, information on a gallery show, a Zoom Q&A (that again no one told me about, how am I so out of the loop??), that sorta thing. But throughout it all, Dennis injects his own thoughts and voice into everything he writes. This is especially the case for his announcement of Infinity Train’s last season, he talks about how animation shouldn’t be seen as something that’s “just for kids,” and the few adult animations that are out there shouldn’t be purely comedies. He has his own ideas for animated shows and movies for older audiences, but he stressed how difficult it can be to get those ideas off the ground. Studios know there’s a future for adult animation, but it’s hard to bridge that gap because of how animation is viewed as a medium.
“I also would strike the phrase “animation isn’t just for kids” out of your brain because it plays into the frustrating narrative by using that narrative’s framing. When you talk about animation, just talk about it like you would any other show or movie… As someone who makes animation, I’ve often dealt with people who act like “oh he just makes kids’ stuff” but after having a conversation about the deeper philosophies of what we’re doing on the show, adults have changed their mind and decided to watch it.”
That’s a perfect summary as to how I’ve seen animation for a long time. Animation is often separated from other movies and TV shows, as if it were its own genre. But no- it’s a medium. A comedy could take the form of an animated series, but it could also be a live-action movie or a book or anything else. Animation can tell grand stories that can resonate with any age, just like any other medium. And it shouldn’t be looked down upon as something that’s only suitable for children. I mean, you wouldn’t discourage someone from reading a book, right? So why poke fun at them for watching cartoons?
…am I rambling? Sorry, I have a lot of feelings about this topic. Maybe I’ll go into it more at another time (wink wink).
Outside of that, he gives some great insight as to how the animation industry works. I already mentioned his article about pitching shows, but he also talked about how shows like Infinity Train are made. And to do that, he used this… unit of a flowchart.
Needless to say, it was a very thorough overview.
So you, dear reader, are likely asking yourself, “Should I check this guy out?” Yeah! If you’re looking into getting into animation, curious as to how it works, or just a big Infinity Train fan, give this newsletter a go! You’ll get very useful info from somebody who’s been in the industry for a long while. It uh… may be a hot minute between posts, but hey, if new projects of Dennis’ comes out, and you wanna see more of his stuff, then this is a great place to hear more!
Hopefully, these articles will be as fun for you to sift through as they were for me!
-Eliza
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