Live-action for kids is tricky, but often it is cheaper than animation. For very young kids, things like Bananas In Pajamas or Blue's Clues work just fine, but for gradeschoolers, they want programming that either: 1: Is relatable (and that makes filming a chore, since child actors are costly and time-limited) or 2: Is a hero figure (and hollywood has a devout hatred of positive classical role models). Ideally both, which is why anime gets such a strong audience, fellow kids who are heroes is the staple of the shounen genre.
But those are still possible live-action, especially the more sitcom-style ones. The real problem is those actors age, and so a franchise is really limited to maybe 2-3 seasons at most, when they want a 10-year cash cow.
Live-action for kids is tricky, but often it is cheaper than animation. For very young kids, things like Bananas In Pajamas or Blue's Clues work just fine, but for gradeschoolers, they want programming that either: 1: Is relatable (and that makes filming a chore, since child actors are costly and time-limited) or 2: Is a hero figure (and hollywood has a devout hatred of positive classical role models). Ideally both, which is why anime gets such a strong audience, fellow kids who are heroes is the staple of the shounen genre.
But those are still possible live-action, especially the more sitcom-style ones. The real problem is those actors age, and so a franchise is really limited to maybe 2-3 seasons at most, when they want a 10-year cash cow.