Communication Research

Analyzing the content of popular animations in streaming media (studying the works of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

reza sarbakhsh 1
Ali Rajabzadeh Tahmasebi 2
Ahmad Soflaei 3
Ali Akbar Razmjoo 4

1 PhD student in Media Studies -Television, Production Faculty, IRIB University, Tehran,

2 Associate Professor, Production Faculty, IRIB University

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Graphic Design and Animation, Faculty of Digital Arts, IRIB University

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, School of Communication and Media

https://doi.org/10.22082/cr.2025.2057531.2795
Abstract
From the first images shown in movie theaters to their distribution on the Internet in the 21st century, the art of Animation has always been one of the most popular moving picture formats. The importance of this format has led many of the world's major streaming companies to invest heavily in producing animation in various formats to market it in a borderless market in the global village. In addition to generating huge profits, these productions help convey the concepts and goals of the producers. With more regions of the world accessing the internet and the easy receipt of these productions, animations have become more popular than in the past. Accordingly, this research attempts to examine the content of the most popular animation productions produced on the web on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus (2018-2024) through qualitative content analysis and finding the codes and themes contained in them. To achieve this goal, the most important and popular products were identified, analyzed, and categorized, and the most relevant content was summarized in this study. The findings indicate that most Netflix animations centered on female or female protagonists often proceed without relying on men and contain content such as witchcraft and its various forms, as well as homosexuality. Amazon Prime's productions have progressed by continuing old popular productions (remakes) in a teenage and heroic atmosphere and the newly established company, Disney Plus, also offers scattered content in the form of spin-offs, relying on the productions of its parent company, Disney.

Keywords

Animation
Content
Streaming
Netflix
Amazon Prime
Disney Plus
Subjects

  • Receive Date 09 April 2025
  • Revise Date 11 June 2025
  • Accept Date 25 August 2025

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