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The animation revival seems to have got Hollywood's creative juices flowing. "It allows you to do physical comedy, which isn't really being done on television," says Jeff Sagansky, president of CBS Entertainment. Among the cartoon shows in development for CBS: a version of The Pink Panther, which combines animation with live action, and Family Dog, a canine's view of the world produced by Spielberg and director Tim Burton (Batman). Rodney Dangerfield will get a cartoon makeover next year in the animated feature Rover Dangerfield. And Spielberg is planning an animated movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. "With animation, we can get into the heart, soul and fur of cats," he says. "There are unlimited possibilities."
There are also possibilities for overkill. "Animation is an art form that, through the loss of care, fell by the wayside," says David Kirschner, the newly installed president of Hanna-Barbera. "If it's exploited again without care, it will again fall away." Should the field become glutted, the studios that are currently in love with cartoons might make a quick about-face and say, "That's all, folks."