When most people think of Disney, they imagine
a sense of wonder, magic, and fairy tales that end happily ever after⌠But if youâre like me, you think of a company that's creatively bankrupt and growing far too powerful. What most people donât think of is action-adventure
TV shows largely produced in different parts of the world and influenced by Asian culture. Thatâs why they grouped this programming
under the banner of JETIX. I vividly remember watching Jetix growing
up and to the extent of my knowledge, it was semi-popular block that aired on Toon Disney
and ABC Family. However, after weeks of research and months
of putting this project together, I discovered that it was much, much more than that. Allow me to take you back to the 2000s during
the prime of Jetix and letâs pretend like this is the first time Iâve made the video
equivalent of a nostalgia trip. So without further ado, letâs visit the
world of- [JR Producer Tag Sound Effect] [Expletive] wrong sound effect. *clearing throat* The world of JETIX. [Music] The story of Jetix is one that begins with
some confusing, corporate B.S. From the late â90s into the early 2000s,
shows influenced by and imported from East Asia were among the most popular programming
available to kids of the time. It was different, which is why I guess it
was the cool thing to watch. When properties like PokĂŠmon, Yu-Gi-Oh and
DragonBall were absolutely defining the zeitgeist, it only made sense that other companies would
want their own slice of the pie. It was also during this time that the House
of Mouse, a.k.a. the Walt Disney Company, was on the tail end of its renaissance and
booming from the expansion of their film and TV operations. Not to be confused with their relatively recent
acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney purchased Fox Family Worldwide in October of 2001 for
$5.3 billion dollars. This sale included things like the Fox Family
channel, which Disney rebranded into ABC Family, control of the international Fox Kids channels,
and the incredibly lucrative Saban Entertainment library, which had 6,500 episodes of kids
programming and the rights to franchises like Power Rangers. Also included was majority ownership of Fox
Kids Europe, which was independently based in the Netherlands and managed Fox Kids channel
feeds across Europe and the Middle East. What remained of the Fox Kids block in America
was later taken over by 4Kids Entertainment as FoxBox and 4Kids TV. With a newly acquired bundle of broadcast
rights and a library of shows, Disney created a brand new action block for ABC Family as
a place to put that stuff, but it lacked any sort of unique presentation or identity. Internationally, the Fox Kids brand continued
to stay in-tact for a few years, except it had to change because it was no longer affiliated
with Fox. So, in January 2004: the ABC Cable Networks
Group, Fox Kids Europe, and Fox Kids Latin America teamed up Avengers-style to create
Jetix. While Toon Disney was often looked at as an
answer to Cartoon Network, some considered this move to be an answer to Toonami. According to the initial press release, âthe
unique name Jetix was developed with the goal of finding a word that implied action and
adventure and yet could be used in a number of international markets without being a proper
name for something else.â [Typing] [Romanian Translator Voice Says Jetix] [English Translator Voice Says Jetix] Everything checks out! Jetix first launched as a block in the United
States on February 14th, Valentineâs Day, of 2004. At the beginning, you could find it on ABC
Family every morning at 7am EST and on Toon Disney during primetime from 7-9pm EST every
night except Fridays. The original lineup consisted of shows like
The Legend of Tarzan, Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, Digimon, and Beyblade: V-Force. As a way to embrace new media trends and rake
in some fresh viewership, the âJetix Cards Live" game was rolled out simultaneously
with the blockâs launch. Touted as the world's first trading card game
that is played concurrently on TV and online, Jetix Cards Live enlisted viewers to register
on the Jetix website where they could receive virtual cards themed after characters and
elements from the blockâs programming. A battle card would be revealed during weekend
nights, so after watching, youâd hop online and select cards from your deck to play. The users with the highest scores each round
would have their name show up on Jetix every week. With the popularity of trading card games
like PokĂŠmon and Magic: The Gathering, this seemed like a cool way to introduce new viewers,
but it also sounds like something Iâve seen before... The look of Jetix was anchored in a blue-tinted,
CGI environment commonly referred to as "The World of Jetix.â This world was shown at times to have a bunch
of different setpieces, but most promos and bumpers took place in a city with wonky skyscrapers
and twisted roads. This branding was led by a morphing metallic
mascot named Jay, who was commonly known by viewers as âthe Jetix catâ or âthe one-eyed
pointy metal thing.â Maybe itâs because both were shape-shifting
CGI silver objects, but in my youthful mind, I used to always confuse Jay from Jetix with F.L.U.D.D. from Super Mario Sunshine. Not sure if I still get the comparison. Jay would transform into a wide variety of
entities, like a rocketship, a dinosaur, and even... a water pumping device! Although the Jetix visual design was fairly
simple, I think it did a good job of accomplishing what it set out to do. It gave viewers a taste of the fast-paced,
high energy programming that the brand would eventually be known for. Speaking of which, letâs take a look at
the programming you could find on Jetix in the United States. For the sake of time in this already long
video, Iâll be focusing on its more recognizable shows, and donât worry international viewers,
weâll get to you soon! [Music] Youâll find that plenty of Jetixâs shows
were imported from Europe, like Ĺban Star-Racers, W.I.T.C.H., and A.T.O.M., with a pretty good
reason. And no, itâs not because they had a preference
for shows with an acronym as their title. For the most part, European cartoons, from
studios like MoonScoop and SIP Animation, were a bargain because they could produce
episodes for half the cost of American cartoons, and it was way cheaper than sending everything
overseas⌠across that sea. While Jetix had a well established relationship
with Europe, these shows were crafted with American audiences in mind to not only get
the attention of American audiences, but to also market them internationally like shows
that are produced in America. And the cherry on top is merchandising. The bulk of these shows, which were related
to action or adventure, lent themselves well to products like comics, clothing, accessories,
action figures, videogames, DVDs, and so on. Not to mention, some of the series that were
developed for Jetix were derived from existing retail commodities. For instance, W.I.T.C.H. was based on a comic
series of the same name and PUCCA was originally a design from an online greetings card in
South Korea. This video would be incomplete if I didnât
talk more about the uber successful behemoth of Power Rangers. Power Rangers: Dino Thunder premiered on the
day Jetix launched, which I remember watching, and somehow its dinosaur-human hybrid villain
didnât give me nightmares. Spanning multiple new iterations and rerunning
older ones under the name Power Rangers: Generations, the mega franchise called Jetix home for half
a decade and was clearly a big draw for people to tune into the block. The Digimon brand was also a staple of Jetix,
again specific to the United States. In addition to airing the original Digimon
series, Jetix was only place you could catch Digimon: Data Squad, which with its toys and
videogames made it another hot property. Iâm sure it was a great show to watch, but
personally, I never watched Digimon because I always assumed it was a lazy ripoff of PokĂŠmon. Under the name Jetix Animation Concepts, there
were some shows produced by Jetix and Disney specifically for the brand. The first of the bunch, Super Robot Monkey
Team Hyperforce Go!, has strong Japanese influence, Corey Feldman voicing one of the robot monkeys,
and a title I have trouble reciting. Then there was Get Ed, a CGI action series
about a crime-fighting, genetically modified teen named Ed who was riding a hoverboard
10 years before they became cool. And last, but not least, Yin Yang Yo!, which
also has strong Asian influence and a difficult name to pronounce. Having shows heavily inspired by Asian culture
as well as shows like Daigunder and Battle B-Daman directly from the region, it was unique
to see Jetix breaking boundaries with initiatives like the âMade in Japan-athon,â which
offered a glimpse into Japanese life and values for American viewers. It may have been a continuation of a marathon
concept from Fox Family and it may have been a gimmick to promote a new Power Rangers episode
featuring their Super Sentai counterparts, but itâs the thought that counts! Jetix also had tons of content that once aired
on places like Kids WB and UPN in addition to their catalogue from Disney Channel, ABC,
and Fox Kids. Watching Jackie Chan Adventures alongside
Gargoyles and Kong: The Animated Series was always a special viewing experience. As a part of their robust action catalogue,
the block had a fair amount of superhero programming, largely made up of Marvel cartoons from the
90s. And the range of shows on Jetix, from 80s
cartoons like Dungeons and Dragons to something like Dragon Booster in what was then the present,
made it stand out amongst its competitors. With a mix of cheaply licensed, decades old,
and a few new shows (some of which got overambitious with their use of CGI technology), Jetix wasnât
always a consistent source of high quality programming In other words, sometimes Iâd deliberately
watch a different channel, but I knew I always had Jetix to fall back to if nothing else
was on. Now, itâs time to put a spotlight on the
rest of the globe! It wasnât until I started researching for
this video that I discovered how large the worldwide presence of Jetix really was. While it was just a block in the United States,
Jetix took the form of an entire channel across many parts of Europe, the Middle East, North
Africa, and Latin America. Shortly after Jetix launched in 2004 and into 2005,
channels fully occupied by Fox Kids were rebranded as Jetix. In regions such as Canada, Australia, and
most of Asia where Fox Kids channels didnât exist, Jetix, again, took the form of a block. At one point in time, Jetix reached 289 million
households in over 80 countries and 25 languages, so the United States was just a small fraction
of the overall audience. Through Jetixâs âinternational programming
alliance,â most of their original programming, stuff like PUCCA and Get Ed, was also broadcast
on their global affiliates, but there were some evident differences in their selection
of licensed shows. The UK version of Jetix had Totally Spies!
and Total Drama Island, which I grew up watching on Cartoon Network. In some regions, Jetix aired PokĂŠmon, largely
during the Diamond and Pearl era, and Sonic X. In at least Brazil, they showed The Fairly
OddParents. And also, Jetix feeds throughout Eastern Europe
had Lazytown. THAT Lazytown. Besides promotional materials, there wasnât
a lot of original content catered particularly for international audiences, but I was able
to find a show called PXG from Jetix in the UK. PXG covered things like gaming news, reviews,
and cheats with a charming, internet inspired digital aesthetic. [EDM and Sirens] âKonnichi wa Jetix gamers!" "I am Kentaro, from the land of the rising
sun, and this is PXGâ [Rapid kiai sounds] [EDM] Because of the fact that Jetix was at one
point in time the "#1 kids channel" in Europe and the Middle East, it made sense for the
brand to expand into new domains. And by new domains, I mean rebranding more
existing channels. In the early 2000s, Fox Kids Europe had launched
alternate channels called âFox Kids Playâ that were aimed at younger audiences. And as Jetix took over the primary Fox Kids
channels, these were naturally rebranded into âJetix Play.â In skewing towards a young audience, Jetix
Play seemed to mostly broadcast lighthearted, classic shows in the realm of fantasy and
comedy. Although a good chunk of its programming was
made up of things from the Saban library and DIC Entertainment, it had a few shows in common
with regular Jetix. As if all of this extra stuff wasnât already
enough, wait âtil you see the Jetix merch they had in Europe. In the United States at least, it was virtually
impossible to find any merchandise that was specifically Jetix themed. The only piece of Jetix merch I could get
my hands on was this promotional sampler DVD that came with the October 2006 issue of Sports
Illustrated Kids. Itâs pretty cool for something that comes
with a magazine. Thereâs a full episode of Yin Yang Yo!,
clips and promos from other shows, and Jetix bumpers in between each segment. But Europe had everything, and it wasnât
difficult at all to find products representing this brand across the pond. First off, remember when print media was a
thing? There were ten versions of a monthly Jetix
Magazine running throughout Europe. While it primarily focused on covering the
Jetix brand, it was an overall lifestyle magazine for kids, so it had things like competitions,
comics, posters, and interactive DVDs. A series of compilation albums called âJetix
Hitsâ were released. Again, speaking as an American living in the
2020s, I have no idea who most of the artists on these CDs are, but thereâs a few I could
recognize like Kelly Clarkson. There was a game for the PS2 and Nintendo
DS called âJetix: Puzzle Buzzle.â Apparently, itâs just a poorly reskinned
version of an existing game called EggMania: Eggstreme Madness. Having only observed a few minutes of gameplay,
I can already tell that I wouldnât have any fun playing it. Also, who the hell is this? Microsoft paint âgraphic design is my passionâ
looking-ass. There were also plenty of miscellaneous items
like Jetix branded marbles in the Netherlands or Jetix postage stamps in Israel, just scratching
the surface of their image in other parts of the world. You could see the Jetix logo and some of the
characters on display across Dutch airliners. Jetix even had its own monster truck! Iâm not joking, this badass gas guzzler
toured around Europe to help promote Yin Yang Yo! and I honestly canât think of a more
ridiculous, but appropriate way to hype up the brand... Except for in this moment⌠[car flips over, sparks, and sirens blare] Things like the monster truck remind me of
all the inventive ways Jetix tried to market themselves and interact with their fans. Regions throughout Europe had the Jetix Kids
Awards, which seemed pretty similar to the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with celebrities
and musical performances. And continuing a Fox Kids tradition, both
in the states and internationally, Jetix hosted a soccer tournament called the Jetix Kids
Cup to promote fair play and cultural exchange. During the global rise of Jetix, the internet
was quickly becoming a popular way for fans to engage with their favorite shows beyond
the TV. So Jetix hopped on this trend by making their
website an interactive hub for viewers. They had schedules, individual pages for each
show, and of course, a selection of fun 3D groove and Flash games to play. In the present, these games are noticeably
dated and clunky, but some of them are still enjoyable and good for what they are. In contrast to this piece of junk, the âJetiXtreme
3D Racingâ game is far better representation of the brand. Itâs basic, but I love that it takes place
within the Jetix environment and manages to incorporate unique elements from its shows. While the Jetix block in the United States
didnât have awards shows or crazy merchandise, it caught on and performed well in ratings. Just 4 months after it launched, the block
on Toon Disney expanded by an additional four hours every week after an 83% increase in
viewership among boys 6-11. And after more ratings boosts among that demographic, Jetix once again expanded to be 7pm to midnight everyday of the week. Onward, the growth of its airtime on Toon
Disney snowballed even larger, especially in late 2006 when ABC Family dropped Jetix,
making it exclusive to Toon Disney. A reason was never explicitly given for why
it left ABC Family, but it was clear that the channel was moving in a different direction
that geared its programming more to YA and teen demographics with shows like GREEK and
The Secret Life of the American Teenager. This was a move that understandably upset
a lot of people, because ABC Family was way easier to access than Toon Disney. For reference, Toon Disney was available in
about 46 million households, which considerably dwarfs ABC Familyâs 98 million. At least where I was growing up, Toon Disney
was only an option in more expensive and premium cable packages, so while I was fortunate enough
to have it, most of my friends didnât. Jetix began to absolutely dominate Toon Disney,
sometimes making up roughly 70% of their weekly schedule. Looking back at some old schedules from 2006,
Jetix takes up all of the prime-time and overnight timeslots while the traditional Toon Disney
shows are relegated primarily to the daytime, when kids are at school... It was common for people to have the opinion
that Toon Disney had experienced whatâs referred to as network decay, also known as
channel drift. This is where a TV channel moves their programming
away from their original niche or concept to widen their audience and bring in more
profits. Often times, the shift is usually towards
more sensational, lower-quality shows. For instance, TLC was originally known as
The Learning Channel and they had educational programs like Great Books, which you guessed
it, is a series about books that are great. However, if you switch onto TLC nowadays,
youâll come across rather gimmicky reality shows like Long Island Medium or Dr. Pimple
Popper. In the case of Toon Disney, the channel was
launched with the mission of celebrating the magic of Disney Animation - every day, all day. Prior to 2004, Toon Disney was full of classic
Disney shorts and their cartoons from the â80s and â90s; especially the numerous
series adapted from the renaissance films or the stuff from Disney Afternoon like DuckTales
and Chip nâ Dale: Rescue Rangers. By the time Jetix established itself as a
powerful fixture on the channel, many of those classic Disney cartoons began to vanish. Everything on the schedule that wasnât under
the Jetix banner generally consisted of reruns for Disney Channel cartoons that werenât
as dated. Not to mention, Toon Disney began to air shows
in a particular category that makes the blood of many animation fans boil: Live-action. In addition to showing live-action movies,
the Power Rangers were obviously on Jetix and we began to see reruns of The Suite Life
of Zach and Cody. Alongside that, Jetix announced in early 2008
that they had live-action projects in development, like one called âMongoose and Luther.â I wonder what happened to that idea... With Jetixâs programming essentially taking
over the channel with an incredibly small, but active presence of live-action shows,
itâs easy to understand why original Toon Disney fans may have felt abandoned. Some viewers also found problems with Jetix
picking up reruns of shows like Superman: The Animated Series that were produced by
Warner Bros. Animation, who are apparently viewed by Disney purists as their evil arch-nemesis. Personally, I donât see what the big deal
is and thatâs a petty issue at best. Hey, if I can watch great â90s Marvel cartoons
with great â90s DC cartoons back to back on the same schedule, you can count me in! Because I was only a kid when Toon Disney
was around and again, most of my friends didnât have it, I donât recall talking about the
channel or Jetix much compared to the more popular Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. I thought it would be interesting to learn
more about what people thought of Jetix while it was still on the air, so I scoured old
messageboards and forum sites to gather some information. With that said, I kept in mind that the majority
of people participating in these forums were likely older than Jetixâs target demographic
of 6-11 years old, but man, were these comments cynical. Youâll find a few that are positive towards
Jetix, and even some that are kind of neutrally constructive, but the vast majority of comments
I viewed were negative. I found a post on RetroJunk, dated March 2006,
that says: [reading off post] On the former ToonZone forums in 2007, one
user said: [reading off post] Yeah, this is the sort of stuff weâre dealing
with. Also, you canât ask what I think and then
say âI donât care what you think.â And then I came across a Jetix rant video
on YouTube from 2008 and it honestly might be the most 2008 video Iâve ever seen. It was edited in Windows Movie Maker, thereâs
no voiceover, lots of insensitive language, and thereâs a Sum 41 song playing in the
background that this person clearly recorded by putting their potato mic next to computer
speakers. I had to shorten and censor some of this for
obvious reasons, but I tried to recreate the atmosphere using royalty free music and got
my buddy Saltydkdan to provide the nonexistent voice. Take it away Salty! Thanks Monsters! [adjusting potato mic] [reading off text from video] [laughing] [reading off text from video] Oh, that makes more sense. Thanks Salty! Beyond the ones we just went over, I discovered
some unusual posts as well, like this one that says: [reading off post] So this is just the beginning of how people
were talking about Jetix in the mid to late 2000s. The base of these arguments was fairly trivial
to the overall big picture in my opinion. For instance, in a thread called âToon Disney = Sell Outâ, the author doesnât believe Jetix belongs on the channel. As a matter of fact, a lot of people made
comparisons to Europe, where Jetix was its own channel, and thought Disney should create
a brand new Jetix channel in the states. But itâs just not realistic to start an
entirely new channel. Toon Disney was slumping in ratings for a
long time because it was nothing but classic reruns, and while thereâs certainly an audience
for that programming, itâs not sustainable in the long term. It made the most sense for Jetix to air on
their existing, low-maintenance channel where it boosted ratings exponentially. You canât expect a corporate business like
Disney to not make the most money where they can. The entire reason why this wave of action
shows were branded as Jetix and not under the Disney moniker was to differentiate them. And Jetix certainly had a good share of what
at time were considered classics, but perhaps they werenât the ones those angry viewers
were looking for. While Iâm not in favor of these criticisms,
I can at least empathize a little bit and get where theyâre coming from. This was in the 2000s, when internet video
was still in its relative infancy, and the only popular ways to watch stuff were either
catching it on TV or buying it on DVD or VHS, which many shows didnât have. This transition away from classics kind of
happened to Cartoon Network. It started as an old Hanna-Barbera, Warner
Bros, and MGM rerun channel, then they started making their own content and the reruns began
disappearing, then they moved all of the old stuff over to Boomerang, and now Boomerang
is EHHHH. Trust me, I used to be one of those rant-posting
âwhere did my classics go?â people, albeit with far less offensive language, but Iâve
learned a lot as time has gone on about the business and nature of this industry and thatâs
given me a new perspective. Trends come and go, new content is constantly
being created, and itâs not healthy for things to stay the same forever. As this post on RetroJunk from late 2007 puts
it: [reading off post] And with that said, Disney unveiled a rebrand
in August of 2008 after being under wraps for more than a year that would ultimately
put an end to the conflicting sides of Toon Disney and Jetix. Toon Disney would be fully rebranded into
a new channel called DisneyXD, or as one Twitter user called it: âDisney, but for people
who could skateboard.â Although some people assume that it was derived
from Disneyâs Xtreme Digital service, nobody really knows why they named it DisneyXD, but
Iâve always suspected that itâs supposed to represent the XD laughing face youâd
text your friends. You know, Disney (XD). [canned laughter] But really, thatâs what this new and reinvented
channel was all about. It had a tech savvy edge with lots of videogames,
extreme sports, rock music, and whatever else was trendy at the time. Check out the DisneyXD Launch promo and youâll
get a taste of everything I just listed. This was largely because of their heavy targeting
to boys, who between the ages of 9 and 14 reportedly spent $50 billion dollars every
year (of their parentâs money.) They were missing a chunk of that demographic
and struggled to fight the perception that they were only for girls. Disney wanted this channel to be the âtrue
headquartersâ for boys similar to how Disney Channel was that for girls. People had their speculations for why the
rebrand was happening, especially since this was in the middle of the Great Recession,
but Disney just wanted to expand their reach and unify their branding. Itâs also likely that a change was necessary
when Toon Disney was only getting 10-15% of the viewers that Disney Channel had. At the end, Jetix content was airing on Toon
Disney 90 hours a week. Considering that Jetix started out airing
just 12 hours a week on Toon Disney in 2004, itâs fair to say Jetix left a huge impact
on the channel. Alongside the announcement, Disney mentioned
that any decisions regarding the rebrand of international Toon Disney and Jetix channels
would be made on a case-by-case basis at a later date. This was followed up with Disney announcing
in December of 2008 that they planned to obtain 100% ownership of Jetix Europe by purchasing
the outstanding shares they didnât already own. This move seemed to confirm suspicions that
the end of Jetix was near and that Disney wanted this XD branding to reach a global
audience. [Music] DisneyXD launched in the United States on
February 13, 2009 which also happened to be Friday the 13th. This marked the end of Toon Disney after 11
years and it was just one day shy of Jetixâs 5 year anniversary. You could immediately see the push to reach
that tween male demographic reflected in their programming with shows like Zeke and Luther,
Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, and Aaron Stone who, letâs be honest, was an OG epic
gamer. âHey, he might be able to be someone whoâs
not very good-â âSorry bro... But now youâre facing Aaron
Stone.â âCheck this guy out. You think heâs friendly?â Whatâs funny about this situation is that
six months after DisneyXD launched, they actually reported bringing in higher primetime ratings
among girls rather than boys. This was a refreshing change of pace from
Toon Disney, which wasnât exactly the âgo-toâ place for brand new original shows and more
of a dumping ground and cemetery for Disney TV animation. Disney XD was still that, but clearly more
focused on having their own identity. Throughout the rest of 2009 and into late
2010, the 19 international Jetix channels were rebranded one by one into either DisneyXD
or regular Disney Channel. Following that, most of the Jetix Play channels
eventually transitioned into Disney Junior. And yes, even the Jetix monster truck was
rebranded! With the fresh rebranding of European and
Middle Eastern Jetix Play feeds complete by the middle of the 2011, the Jetix brand officially
went extinct. Toon Disney purists, as if they werenât
already angry enough, referred to Disney XD as âJetix 2.0â because of its increased
efforts to include action shows and target males, but I donât think this was the case
at all. Sure, the culmination of Jetixâs increased
presence on Toon Disney throughout the years showed them that action shows were profitable,
but Toon Disney was still there, even if it was in the backseat. The first thing to ever air on DisneyXD was
Phineas and Ferb, particularly the music-centric episode âDude, Weâre Getting the Band
Back Together,â and that doesnât sound very Jetix to me, at least with what they
showed in the US. Despite some rumors a few years back, the
channelâs still alive and kicking-buttowski today. Disney XDâs across the world have shut down,
this including a recent announcement that the UK affiliate is closing in favor of Disney
Plus, but things seem fine in the US. With Saturday Morning Cartoons gone and Cartoon
Network shifting their focus away from the action genre, I appreciate that DisneyXD is
one of the last places on TV to watch action cartoons, even if theyâre not so great. In the time following DisneyXDâs launch,
the Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel and LucasFilm, as Iâm sure we all know, and
itâs allowed Disney to become an even larger juggernaut of an entertainment brand. When I look at DisneyXD today, having been
around for a little over 10 years, theyâve definitely evolved since the start and broadcast
actual âletâs playsâ now. But in 2020, I still feel traces of that combined
Toon Disney and Jetix era, even though thereâs different shows. Theyâve got action-anime stuff like Yo-Kai
Watch and reruns of (now) older Disney Channel cartoons, like Gravity Falls and Star Vs. The Forces of Evil. And in addition to airing the current Disney
Channel cartoons, theyâve got some original shows of their own. Thereâs, of course, the DuckTales reboot
and I guess Big Hero 6: The Series. Heck, if thereâs anything I remember about
Toon Disney, itâs that they aired a lot of cartoons based on their movies. As for the state of Jetix in the present day,
Disney hasnât touched the brand since they stopped using it about 10 years ago. The last evidence I could find of anything
relating to Jetix was an annual shareholderâs meeting for Jetix Europe that occured in March
of 2012. If you try visiting the Jetix Europe website
now, itâll redirect you to the Disney International site. With the exception of some older Disney shows
like Gargoyles and classic Marvel cartoons, you wonât be able to find most of Jetixâs
programming on Disney Plus. The first two seasons of âSuper Robot Monkey
Team whateverâ just got added, so letâs hope that more Jetix shows are on the way. Occasionally, youâll see posts on social
media of people reminiscing about Jetix, but it seems largely overshadowed by its contemporaries:
4Kids TV and Kids WB. Someone in the tiny Jetix subreddit wanted
to start singing the World of Jetix theme song, and nobody followed it up. Letâs get that chain moving! One thing for sure, however, is that its international
fanbase is still around. It makes sense that certain regions around
the world would be more attached to it than its fans in the U.S. because it was their
entire channel. Itâs been fun watching old Jetix branded
content from foreign markets and thereâs also a couple of legally questionable fanmade
Jetix livestreams on YouTube in Russian. Youâll find a lot of fan-made Jetix stuff
all over the place, whether thatâs promos, art, or even revivals! Thereâs been quite a few unsolicited fan
attempts to bring back Jetix, and again, while thatâs legally questionable, itâs nice
knowing that people grew such a connection with that branding that they wanted to make
their own version of it. Itâs interesting to come across a ton of
recent âBring Back Jetixâ campaigns when plenty of petitions to get rid of Jetix were
circulating around when it still existed. I, for one, also miss Jetix. Iâm nostalgic for highly branded content
and long for that âblockâ experience of watching a channel-within-a-channel. Online video is overthrowing cable and network
TV as a dominant form of media consumption, and with that, the need for creative broadcast
bumpers and promos has shrunk. Admittedly, I donât watch a lot of live
TV myself anymore because itâs just not accessible and convenient for me, but itâd
be cool if streaming services tried to make the way they present their content more quirky
and distinctly memorable. And no, not like Quibi. In the 5 years it existed, Jetix allowed its
viewers to escape to a stylistic realm that felt so different from ordinary life. It felt like the World of Jetix really belonged
to you. While the quality of shows that aired on Jetix
could be less than average at times, the selection was diverse and most of them were unconventional
in comparison to my regular preferences. Itâs difficult to imagine any future circumstances
where a return of Jetix would make any sense, but I know Iâll always look back fondly
at times where I could tune into Jetix and experience a fresh domain of cool action and
fun times. Hey guys, thanks for watching and making it
to the end. Let me know in the comments if you have any
memories or opinions of Jetix, especially if youâre a viewer from outside of the US. Also, big thanks to Saltydkdan, Nickandmore,
and Soft Spoken for helping me out with this video, you can find their stuff in the description. Anyway, Iâm MonstersReview, and have a spectacular
day!
I can't believe they made a Jetix Hagada! Holy shit!
Finally someone says at least something about this holy grail of culture
Honestly, I love this video and hey, he gave us a shoutout at the end.