Nickelodeon will remove its animated series Made by Maddie from its schedule following outrage that the children's show was plagiarizi...
Nickelodeon will remove its animated series Made by Maddie from its schedule following outrage that the children's show was plagiarizing the Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love.
Made By Maddie was announced September 1 and was supposed to air September 13, but has been pulled after viewers noticed similarities with the short animated film.
Matthew A. Cherry's Hair Love is about a black father attempting to style in his daughter’s hair, and was released last August. It won the Oscar for best animated short film in February.
Made By Maddie geared toward pre-schoolers and tells the story of eight-year-old Maddie and her life in New York City ‘as she uses her imagination and design ingenuity to turn every problem into a positive with the perfect fashion fix'. It was created by Paula Rosenthal.
The two have similar depictions of a black family with a young daughter and gray pet cat. In both series, the fathers have long hair hair, the mothers sport natural curls, and the little girls wear pink bows or headbands.
Nickelodeon says it is pulling the show, but insisted it's not a rip off of Hair Love and was acquired several years ago.
Nickelodeon will remove its animated series Made by Maddie (above) following outrage that the children's show was plagarizing the Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love
Matthew A. Cherry's Hair Love (above) is about a black father attempting to style in his daughter’s hair that released last August and won an Oscar in February
'Made by Maddie is a show we acquired several years ago from Silvergate Media, a renowned production company we have previously worked with on other series,' a Nickelodeon spokesperson said to Variety Friday.
'Since announcing the show’s premiere date this week, we have been listening closely to the commentary, criticism and concern coming from both viewers and members of the creative community,' the statement added.
Nickelodeon paid its respects to Hair Love in announcing it has axed the animated show for the moment.
'In response, and out of respect to all voices in the conversation, we are removing the show from our schedule as we garner further insight into the creative journey of the show. We are grateful to Silvergate Media for all of their work. And we hold Matthew A. Cherry and the wonderful and inspiring "Hair Love" in the highest regard,' the spokesperson said.
Silvergate says it began developing the show in 2015, well before Hair Love's Kickstarter launched in July 2017.
Another image from Made by Maddie pictured above
Matthew A. Cherry pictured with his Oscar at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills on February 9
Social media users blasted Made by Maddie for being too similar to Hair Love. The top left image is Made by Maddie and the other images are from Hair Love
Cherry said Hair Love was getting an animated spinoff, but Made by Maddie wasn't it
Social media users slammed Made by Maddie after Nickelodeon released a teaser at the start of the month and people accused the network of plagiarism.
'This series idea is so cute and I know it will make a lot of little girls happy... but this is still plagiarism...? Like, why not just hire black creatives like @MatthewACherry...?' one Twitter user said.
'PLEASE tell me you’re going to do something about this. I legitimately thought Hair Love was getting an animated series. That alone should tell you enough,' another added.
Some Twitter users shared photos from Made by Maddie side by side with Hair Love stills showing the eyebrow-raising similarities.
Social media users accused Made by Maddie creators of plagerism, noting both families had similar pet cats
Hair Love creator Cherry also shared a tweet with a confused emoji.
Replying to one Twitter user he said they did have a animated series in the works.
'We are getting a series and this wasn't it,' Cherry said.
HBO Max had ordered its own 12-episode animated series based off of Cherry's characters called Young Love, the Hollywood Reporter said in July.
Pearl Low, story artist on Hair Love, went further in her condemnation of the Nickelodeon series, accusing the creators of art theft and saying they were fully aware of the similarities to Cherry's film.
Low tweeted: 'The Director of Made By Maddie was fully aware of Hair Love's existence. Him & I were at the same animation workshop led by @MatthewACherry talmbout [sic] the making of the movie (which included SHOWING designs). This is art theft & Disregard for Black creators & their art PERIOD.
'The lack of creativity is so apparent. I don't know too much about the team that worked on it, but I know there weren't many Black folx on it. I was also offered the opportunity to work on the show and declined for various reasons. Now seeing this makes me furious.
'One thing I also want to bring to the attention of folx is even if the artists themselves felt uncomfortable creating something so similar to Hair Love, so often the higher ups push for their vision, and you gotta make the adjustments accordingly. Esp in Vancouver's anim industry.
'Not an excuse or pass, but it's all a lot messier than a lot of ppl know. Power dynamics are real.
'Also, I gotta say it's sad to see some ppl go "it won an Oscar!" Black art shouldnt have to have that accolade to be given respect and not be plagiarized. The animation workshop was right when Hair Love was nominated for an Oscar so it was before the win, but still. Just sigh.'
Other users were similarly annoyed.
'Instead of hiring black creatives nickelodeon has a white woman steal Hair Love as if we wouldn’t f***ing notice? I appreciate the representation in the cartoon Made By Maddie but stop letting white people be in charge of black stories please,' one Twitter user slammed.
'@NickJr We don't support plagiarism. YOU DIDN'T DREAM THIS OR DRAW IT. #BlackCreatorsMatter You thought you were going to steal from #MatthewCherry right in our faces & we weren't going to say anything??! #NickJr there's nothing new abt stealing Black labor to turn a profit,' another added.
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