boomerang.com
Boomerang is a children's cartoon television channel that is now hosted online by the streaming service VRV. You can find Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and more on there.
One of the best things about Boomerang is that it has a large selection of old cartoons. This is great for viewers because they are able to find whatever they are looking for.
The VRV streaming service was created in 2016 and aims to unite channels for fans of different genres of entertainment. Over the years, VRV has hosted a variety of popular channels, some of which have since left the company. Some popular channels that currently reside on VRV include Shudder, Nerdist, Geek & Sundry, and Funimation.
Website Design
The website design is from VRV. It is a large streaming service with multiple channels to subscribers. Some of the channels that can be found on VRV include NickSplat, Crunchyroll, Cartoon Hangover, Hidive, Mondo, Rooster Teeth, and VRV Select.
Furthermore, it can be difficult to navigate the site.
I have mixed feelings about the idea of a parent streaming company offering channels. On one hand, I think it would be lovely if there was an easy-to-use website with lots of great channels to choose from. However, VRV doesn't seem like a great option. The website feels very clunky and it can be difficult to find what you're looking for. Additionally, some of the featured shows on the site are boxed in and not very well organized.
I do not like the navigation on this streaming website. It is confusing and makes it difficult to find the libraries. I would much prefer a website that is easy to navigate and that has library listings at the top.
When it comes to navigating VRV channels, it is uncomplicated but frustrating. A dropdown menu allows users to change channels. The only thoughtful design is corresponding specific channels to colors. For example, NickSplat is orange and Boomerang is the signature blue color the channel has always used. Otherwise, there is nothing special about the design.
Content
Whether you're looking for something lighthearted or dark and complex, Boomerang has it all.
The Boomerang channel has a great selection of content that can be enjoyed by anyone. There are a lot of shows to choose from, as well as movies and series that can be difficult to find elsewhere. The channel is also consistently adding new content, so there's always something new to explore.
As a premium member of VRV, you can access locked content from some of the channels. However, there is plenty to choose from as a free member as well. Not only do Boomerang's older titles include Yogi Bear and The Jetsons, but it also has content from Cartoon Network like Code Name: Kids Next Door and Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Desktop & Mobile Accessibility
I find it unpleasant using the desktop browser to view the streaming service. The poor design is off-putting and frustrating. The good news is that videos do not lag and sound quality is okay. However, navigation gets confusing which takes away from the experience. In the end, I would say that the website is somewhere in the middle on a scale of good and bad.
The mobile browser is aggravating to use. The parent company VRV's home page is a large ad asking for viewers to create an account. Instead of creating my account there, I downloaded the app instead.
The mobile app to watch Boomerang is called VRV, and first thoughts on the application are pleasant. Creating an account is painless and almost fun. There is a feature to shake the phone and receive random username suggestions. After selecting a name you can choose an interesting icon for your profile. The overall app was also underwhelming. The functions were similar to the desktop version, but again, not very user-friendly.
Positives
Despite the frustrating navigation and lack of character on the web site, there are some pretty positive things about it too. Most of the issues lie within the parent company, VRV, and not Boomerang itself. The Boomerang channel is one of the best channels on the streaming service.
There are many shows available to the premium users of VRV. For $4.99 per month, you can watch as many old cartoons as you desire. Even better, for $9.99 per month, viewers can access all of VRV's channels. At first, the price tag might sound alarming, but the amount of unique titles and channels you get in that package is a pretty sweet deal.
The names of the titles are amazing. There are a lot of unique shows that you can only find on Boomerang. Old cartoons like The Smurfs, Carebears, Looney Tunes, and Tom and Jerry are some of the most recognizable. Apart from Boomerang cartoons, there are Cartoon Network shows available, too.
The Boomerang channel provides a lot of free content which is very positive. There are some shows that allow users without premium memberships to watch the first few episodes. There are also many movies available for free.
Negatives
The Boomerang channel has some issues that need to be fixed. The main issue is that it is a separate streaming service from VRV, the parent company. This would fix most of the problems.
I find VRV's layout and design to be very unattractive. The colors used are not pleasing to the eye, and the overall viewer experience is not enjoyable. The layout is in black-and-white, which makes it difficult to see details. Additionally, the website does not use color correctly to make it morereadable.
The website's flow is lackluster. There is no clear pattern to direct the viewer's eyes. It looks like the shows are lumped together without any thought to design. There is no clear pattern concerning genre, category, or subcategory. For a channel with as many shows as Boomerang has, I wish the categories were more distinct.
Without an organized, strategic approach to streaming and video content, most streaming websites will struggle to succeed. The leading streaming sites, like Netflix and Hulu, know this is key to keeping their viewers hooked. Even smaller streaming websites like VRV and the Boomerang channel should reconsider their category and sorting features to better suit viewer needs.
Improvements Needed
There are a few improvements the Boomerang channel could make to their user experiences. Most of these changes would be to the parenting streaming platform, VRV.
If Boomerang could take all of their inventory and move it to an environment with more flavor, they could easily charge the small channel fee. The experience could even include games featuring characters from the cartoons similar to the ones we saw floating around the web in the early 2000s.
If BOOMERANG's library is the only way to stream it, then forcing the company to rethink its organizational system would be useful for all channels. Adding a more visually appealing category system would be best for user experience.
Summary
The Boomerang channel on VRV is overall a very solid choice to watch some feel-good oldies. There are cartoons containing titles from the time Boomerang first started airing to some of Cartoon Network's newer (2000s era) shows. Boomerang delivers a unique experience to viewers.
Despite the navigation and website design being frustrating, the extensive library more than makes up for it. The user experience is not very pleasant and the website's organizational system needs a lot of work, too.
For the price, the subscription is worth it. A monthly supply of amazing new titles is a fair price. Titles of movies you forgot existed will jolt you with nostalgia and convince you to waste several hours binge-watching.
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