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Not helping matters in these cases is when Warner Bros. Discovery’s own streaming service seems to lose the licenses to many of its biggest animated originals. Some of these classics are now much harder to watch as they are removed from Max, and there were some big losses as of May 1st this year too. Five major projects have left the streaming service, and they include The Flintstones, The Smurfs, Tom and Jerry, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?.
What’s Going On With Max?
Max has been losing a few animated classics ever since the year began, and many of its bigger licenses are likely going to be reaching their end through the rest of the year unless they’re renewed. As the Max streaming service continues to change, it’s gotten fans wondering about the state of animation within the company overall. Making matters even more unclear are seemingly conflicting statements from those behind the studio too. Because while one side is clearly moving forward with more animated projects, that’s not a sentiment that’s shared by those in other departments either that want to expand on other aspects of the network.
Statements from those behind the scenes have worried animation fans over the seeming lack of interest, but it’s yet to be revealed what form this will take in the future. Because on the other hand, Warner Bros. Animation has been moving forward with all sorts of new projects that plan to bring back nostalgic Cartoon Network (or other successful franchise) properties in new ways for a modern audience. So while these shows are removed for now, they could return to the streaming service in the future as these other projects start to move forward.
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Is The Flintstones Gone?
What’s a bit funny about this latest batch of removals, however, is the fact that three of these classics also have new projects in the works. The Smurfs has a new feature film scheduled to hit theaters later this year, and that’s the latest in many feature films offering a new take on the classic characters. Tom and Jerry and The Flintstones are also interesting removals as Warner Bros. Animation announced during CinemaCon 2025 earlier this year that there are new animated films in the works for those franchises too.
While these classics are no longer available for streaming with Max, they are thankfully not gone entirely. Tom and Jerry is streaming for free with Tubi as of the time of this publication, for example, and The Smurfs and The Flintstones are two of the many shows in rotations on MeTV Toons’ broadcast (but channel listings will vary). But it’s just a shame that their main streaming platform has changed especially when some of these classics have new projects on the way. It will make revisiting the oldies in anticipation even tougher as a result of the shifts.
