Drone Show of Iconic ‘Futurama’ Scene Leaves Original Artist “Uncomfortable” Amid WGA and SAG Strikes: “Companies Say They Cannot Afford to Pay Us”

While the Animation Guild (TAG) isn’t on strike alongside the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA, that doesn’t mean studios have been treating them fairly.

Animation artist Aimee Steinberger, who worked on Futurama during the show’s initial runs on Comedy Central and Fox as a storyboard artist, an assistant director, and a character artist, felt “uncomfortable” after seeing a drone show recreation of a scene she storyboarded at San Diego Comic Con as part of the advertising campaign for the new Hulu reboot. 

“This is… a strange timeline. I storyboarded this sequence originally. Imagine if animation artists got any residuals at all,” she tweeted last week.

The drone show emulated a scene of the lead character Philip Fry (Billy West), a former pizza delivery boy who cryogenically preserved himself for 1000 years and awakens in the future at the top of the series, holding out a wad of cash and exclaiming “shut up and take my money!” The scene comes from the 2010 episode “Attack of the Killer App,” and, over the last few years, has exploded into virality. 

Speaking about spotting the familiar art at the fan event, Steinberger told Decider over email, “I have warring feelings about it. I’m very pleased that the show is being promoted and advertised so well because there definitely have been times when I have worked hard on a show only to have it barely advertised at all and then no one watches it.”

She also enjoyed seeing a life-size replica of Professor Farnsworth’s (West) conference room at SDCC, as she had drawn the room several times. 

This is… a strange timeline. I storyboarded this sequence originally 😂. Imagine if animation artists got any residuals at all. https://t.co/4ZmkknIkoJ

— Aimee ✨ Director – looking for work (@aimeekitty) July 23, 2023

That said, the ongoing strikes led by creatives against studios and streamers, who are denying them fair pay and protections for their work, cast a pall over the joy Steinberger felt.

“It does give me an uncomfortable feeling in that WGA and SAG — and really IATSE and TAG as well, even though we are not currently striking — are wanting better pay and better working conditions, and the companies say they cannot afford to pay us,” Steinberger said.

As mentioned, TAG is not on strike along with the other two organizations. However, the union shares many of the same concerns as their colleagues. Steinberger noted that members of the organization don’t necessarily get the “bonus residuals” WGA receives (despite the amount being “next to nothing”), as instead, it is put towards healthcare.

“Would your favorite show be as great if it was just a radio play and had no images? It feels like often artists are treated as just sort of replaceable cogs to facilitate someone else’s idea, even though in reality we do a lot more than that,” Steinberger argued.

Beyond that, Steinberger said storyboard artists do not get writing credit or fair residuals for their work on storyboard-driven projects, despite often contributing to the writing process.

Circling back to her specific Futurama scene, Steinberger wasn’t concerned about being appropriately credited for its creation because she felt as though “there’s not really any way for them to say ‘Aimee drew this meme, and this writer wrote that joke!'” But rather, she’s concerned over the lack of compensation for her work and finds that many of her colleagues agree. “Shouldn’t a lot of us be compensated appropriately for a show that gets replayed so much and is clearly popular?”

In addition to Futurama, Steinberger has worked as a storyboard artist on Phineas and Ferb, Disenchanted, and most recently, Max’s Velma. 

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Steinberger echoed that in addition to low compensation, the animation community is also concerned about streaming platforms getting away with paying under union minimums and the uptick in uncontrolled usage of artificial intelligence. She stated that many unions, including WGA, IATSE and SAG-AFTRA, are “fighting for a lot of the same issues” and TAG should be standing in solidarity with the striking members, despite not being permitted to strike until next year when their contract is up. 

Still, Steinberger refused to let the situation make her vindictive against animation as a medium, or even Futurama as an entity, as she credited her work on the show to be her “first real animation job.” She felt happy the series was coming back and has longtime coworkers working on the new episodes. However, Steinberger continues to be concerned about the pay gaps between animation workers and live-action workers, as TAG stated in 2022 that for half-hour scripted series, Animation Guild writers make 47 to 60 cents on the dollar per week compared to live-action writers, and 20% to 63% less per freelance script than live-action writers — all of which points to a larger conversation.

“I feel like this is part of an overall attitude that animation is ‘just for kids’ and somehow worth less. In reality, animation is a medium not a genre. Animation can be for any age group or present any subject matter or genre. It’s not ‘easier’ than live action,” Steinberger said.

Perhaps rather than ordering a drone to replicate Steinberger and her colleagues’ work, Hulu should’ve presented them with a generous wad of cash à la Fry.

An earlier version of this story did not clarify that instead of bonus residuals, animation artists’ pay is applied to health care. The language has been updated to reflect this change.