Indian comics, animators hook Gen Z, Gen Alpha with folklore

Webtoon creator Toonsutra, webcomics platform Pratilipi Comics and Chhota Bheem-maker Green Gold Animation, among others, are distinguishing themselves by weaving stories that blend education, entertainment, and emotional intelligence, as today’s children can easily access global content, according to experts.

Plus, some of the older viewers who find these stories appealing also have a higher propensity to convince their parents to pay for subscriptions.

“While kids remain an important segment, our focus has broadened to Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, who grew up with animation and webtoons and are now seeking deeper, more mature stories told in contemporary formats,” said Vishal Anand, Toonsutra’s co-founder and chief executive.

The platform has reimagined comics for the younger generations through “cinematic comics”—a new visual format that blends motion, voice, and music to make reading feel as immersive as watching a short film.

For example, it has adapted the mythic Indian blockbuster Kantara: A Legend, in collaboration with Hombale Films, into a webtoon targeting young adults and the fans of Indian mythology, Anand said.

For Pratilipi Comics, too, children remain the core audience, said business head Rajeev Tamhankar, adding that the platform, however, has also seen strong engagement from parents and young adults.

“It creates a lovely overlap where nostalgia meets new-age design. So we are consciously building all-age, family-friendly universes that can travel from page to screen,” he added.

The firm’s series, such as Hanuman, Krishna, and Shiva, reinterpret timeless mythology in contemporary visual formats.

As far as animation goes, while there was enough content for the 2-12 age group, the 13-plus audience has not really had much to binge on, according to experts.

“It is a natural evolution for the industry to start with focusing on one age bracket and then expand,” said Rajiv Chilaka, founder and chief executive officer of Green Gold Animation, which has 12 IPs (intellectual properties) planned for the 13-plus age group, ranging from mythological to superhero tales.

This segment can also better convince parents to pay for subscriptions, Chilaka added.

The turning point

Experts emphasize that the covid-19 pandemic was a turning point for these categories. Digital consumption habits have shifted permanently since the pandemic—families that once relied on television for entertainment are now discovering comics, animation, and short-form storytelling on smartphones.

Creators are also discovering crossover audiences—gaming and anime or manga communities—along with growth on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, where short animated clips and motion-comic teasers drive millions of organic app downloads.

Competing with games and short-form video, however, means traditional, long-form storytelling no longer works. Stories now need to be fast, emotional, and designed for vertical-scroll, mobile-first consumption.

The theatrical success of animated films such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle and Mahavatar Narsimha is proof that the 25-35 age group is a generation of animation-ready viewers, necessitating the need for more inclusive programming, said Ambesh Tiwari, business head of Sony Kids and Animation at Sony Pictures Networks India.

Comics and animation have always had a wider reach than they are often given credit for, according to Shreyas Joshi, senior vice-president, AI-first comics platform Pocket Toons. “They were never just for kids. The best ones have always explored complex ideas, such as identity, morality, love, and even loneliness, in ways that feel both personal and imaginative at the same time.”

Joshi said it’s not the audience that has changed, but it’s how they engage. “Readers today are digital natives who like to read on the move, during commutes, late at night, or in small breaks throughout the day. Since the pandemic, that behaviour has only intensified. Audiences are used to bingeing content. That shift has changed how stories are written, produced, and released.”

Not an easy road

That said, challenges remain.

One of the biggest challenges in kids’ content today is monetization, especially after the implementation of COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) guidelines, said Sourabh Kumar, founder and chief executive officer, YouTube channel PunToon Kids.

These regulations, while essential for protecting children’s data and safety, have significantly reduced targeted advertising, which was a major revenue driver for kids’ creators, he added.

“Ad-based monetization on digital platforms has dropped sharply, making it much harder for animation and comic creators to sustain high-quality productions. Many creators are rethinking their business models—moving towards brand partnerships, licensing, merchandizing, and subscriptions,” he said.

“There’s also the creative challenge of keeping kids engaged in a world dominated by short-form, fast-paced content. At the same time, there’s a strong push to create safe, culturally rooted, and value-driven stories that parents can trust,” he added.