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Credit: Inside the MagicWe’re only in the first week of the Writers Strike, but if history is anything to go by, there’s still a long road ahead.
As of May 2, writers across the United States are officially off duty as they push for better pay conditions in the streaming era. This affects everything from late-night and TV awards shows to sitcoms to Marvel movies, with members of the Writers Guild of America prohibited from so much as stepping onto a film set until the strike reaches an end.
Last time, negotiations took 100 days. While there’s no saying if this strike will end earlier – or later – than in 2008, it’s inevitable that it’ll impact the production of several highly-anticipated titles such as Thunderbolts (2024), Deadpool 3 (2024) and the as-yet-untitled Star Wars movie penciled in for 2025.
The whole point is to cause as much disruption as possible, to drive home how much Hollywood’s writers deserve to be paid. But there is one medium that can continue affected: animation.
Fans were confused when Phineas & Ferb creator Dan Povenmire shared a video on TikTok celebrating his first day in the writers’ room for the show’s revival on May 4 – two days after writers started forming picket lines.
@danpovenmire
Responses to the announcement accused Disney of using “non-union writers” to circumvent the Strike, as well as arguing that “they should be on strike in solidarity no matter what guild they are from.”
However, animation TV writer Benjamin Siemon intervened to explain that this was, in fact, allowed during a Writer’s Strike.
“The Animation Guild is under a different contract than the WGA,” he wrote. “A different union.” Not only are they a different union, but they would in fact be penalized for striking in solidarity. “If these writers went on strike they’d immediately be fired. They are paid even worse than WGA writers and basically have no ability to organize. Don’t vilify animation writers. We support the WGA.”
The Animation Guild is under a different contract than the WGA. A different union. If these writers went on strike they’d immediately be fired. They are paid even worse than WGA writers and basically have no ability to organize. Don’t vilify animation writers. We support the WGA. https://t.co/UN73gbktT3
— Benjamin Siemon (@BenjaminJS) May 5, 2023
So, rest assured that Phineas and Ferb have not crossed the picket line.
Animation’s exemption from the Writers Strike is good news for anyone anticipating upcoming releases such as Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5. The latter is even less likely ever to be impacted than anything from Walt Disney Animation; as of 2023, Pixar is not unionized.
However, this should still serve as a sobering reminder of how poorly paid the minds behind some of our favorite stories really are – and that even once the Writers Strike is resolved, more still needs to be done to ensure fair pair for those offscreen.