Motorcity is an American animated television series created by Chris Prynoski and produced by Prynoski's studio Titmouse, Inc., Robin Red Breast, Inc. and Disney Television Animation. The show is set in a fictional, futuristic version of Detroit named Detroit Deluxe, owned by the evil billionaire Abraham Kane; it is an elevated metropolis built over the old Detroit whose citizens are subject to strict laws and restricted freedom. Below the city lies a group of rebels calling themselves the Burners, led by Mike Chilton, who aspire to protect their underground home and safe haven, the titular Motorcity, from Kane's tyranny.
Motorcity premiered on Disney XD on April 30, 2012, and concluded on January 7, 2013. As revealed by Prynoski, the series was not renewed for a second season. Motorcity was Prynoski's first co-production with Disney; he would go on to co-produce future projects with the company, including ', Kiff, and StuGo.
Motorcity occurs in a fictitious futuristic version of Detroit, which is an elevated metropolis built over the old Detroit, classified as Detroit Deluxe. It is owned by evil billionaire Abraham Kane (Mark Hamill). Ruling the citizens under strict laws, and banning personal freedoms including automobile transportation, Kane now faces one last obstacle: a group of hot-rod wielding rebels who call themselves the Burners. Led by Kane's former cadet Mike Chilton (Reid Scott), the Burners rise to stop Kane from conquering Detroit's last oasis of freedomâÂÂan underground refuge dubbed Motorcity.
According to series creator Chris Prynoski, he conceived the idea for the show in the early 1990s when he worked at MTV. He added that he showed the pitch to development executive Eric Coleman, who was at Nickelodeon at the time; Coleman took a liking to it. Prynoski had revealed that he grown up worshipping car culture in Los Angeles and his inspirations for Motorcity were The Dukes of Hazzard and Star Wars.
Around 1999, Prynoski began development of Motorcity. It was planned to be a series of 26 episodes, each one lasting for 22 minutes. The project's production was shelved a year later, after he made a trailer for it and founded his T-shirt company and later the animation studio Titmouse, Inc., and began work at Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Two pilots were produced, and he pitched the show to Disney investors in 2010. Eric Coleman would begin his tenure at Disney; during this time, he asked Prynoski whether he still had Motorcity, which he agreed to, partnering with Disney Television Animation to pick up production again, where it became the first intellectual property sold to them. Its production also started in October 2010.
For the production of the show, around 80 people worked on it, some from Europe and Japan, such as art director Antonio Canobbio and show director Juno Lee, vehicle designed Brandon Cuellar. As well, Robert Valley who worked on concept design. The first season was planned to have 20 episodes. Though it was not designed as a serial, Prynoski stated that "once the first few episodes set the stage, there will be more of a story arc. As the season unfolds, viewers can expect character-focused episodes that dig a little deeper into each of the Burners' personalities and backstories."'
Motorcitys animation was made with a combination of 2D and 3D elements and effects, using software such as Adobe Flash, Adobe After Effects, Autodesk Maya for 3D models, and Adobe Photoshop for creation of elements and backgrounds, provided by Nepal-based studio Incessant Rain. Additionally, for the production of the show, Prynoski's production company Titmouse, Inc. created Facinator, an exclusive custom plug-in tool, that allows for the manipulation of 2D rigged head models from a wide array of angles, to simulate 3D animation. The tool itself was made for Motorcity, to blend well with the rest of the animation.
Motorcity was first announced in October 2010, initially scheduled to come out in the fall of 2011. However, the show was delayed out of 2011, with the latest date being given around winter 2012. Ultimately, in April of that year, it was announced and debuted on April 30, on Disney XD. With the release on iTune Store in HD quality, following suit in May. In order to promote Motorcity, Disney XD released a mobile game on March 26, 2012, called Motorcity: Drive (see #Video game). In April, Hyundai's Veloster sponsored the show along with its partner Rhys Millen to compete in the Global RallyCross Championship, piloted by Stephan Verdier. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 13, the producers showed "never-before-seen" clips from then-new episodes of the show.
Internationally, Motorcity also premiered in other countries. In Canada it was May 26, in Japan it was September 22, and in Latin American countries it was July 2021, after first premiering online in 2013. Disney XD aired a marathon of the series in the United States on July 27, 2020.
On January 1, 2022, all episodes from Motorcity were made available on Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The series premiered on Disney Channel in Latin American countries on September 16, 2023.
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars; and described the series as "too dark and intense for young kids". But she argued that "it's a rare to find an action-adventure cartoon that illustrates underlying social messages promoting awareness and activism". And overall recurring theme of "residents freedom". She also argued that "series is intended for a slightly older audience, since name-calling and violence are routine, but are examples of positive problem-solving and critical thinking".
On November 5, 2012, it was revealed on the fan-run peopleofmotorcity Tumblr page that the series would not be renewed for a second season. An article by Screen Rant attributes this to Disney moving the show around different time slots, airing episodes out of order, and episodes airing in other countries before the United States, which led to Motorcitys ratings decreasing and, ultimately, Disney making the decision to cancel the show. Despite its, at the time, impending cancellation, the showrunners were able to finish production of the show in time, producing a two-part series finale that aired in January 2013.
On April 29, 2013, crew member George Krstic posted a tweet that Prynoski's production company, Titmouse, was having a meeting on bringing back Motorcity and Megas XLR. No further news has been confirmed.
A toyline for the show was planned while it was in development, but ultimately shelved. Artist Denis Canon's Tumblr reveals that the toyline was planned to have been made by Mattel. The only things made public of this toyline was a replica of Mutt's dog bobblehead.
Motorcity: Drive is a six-level, 3D racing shooter game that came out for mobile devices on March 26, 2012; it was released on iTunes and Disney XD's website, but it has since been delisted. Players control Mike's car, Mutt, as they battle Kane's army of robots with various weapons. Motorcity: Drive received mixed reviews from critics,