The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh (1988)

Premiering September 10, 1988 on ABC, The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh was Disney’s fourth venture into television animation. Inspired by A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, the cartoon is a continuation of the series of “Pooh” short films released from Disney from the 1960’s till the 1980’s.

For whatever reason, I never really thought much of this program. It kind of stands out in what Disney was putting out at the time. While other shows were reviving old characters with a modern twist, this series was more of an extension of the previous “Pooh” films and therefore involved a different type of storyline. I always thought of this show to be more preschool-ish than anything else, and that’s why it stands out in Disney’s list of animated television programs (excluding the list of shows intentionally aimed at preschoolers). While Pooh merchandise has always sold well for Disney, I never saw a big fandom surrounding this show. This is more than likely why I can’t find too much production information about it. Nonetheless, it was enjoyed by many kids for many years. Personally, I never really got into this program and didn’t watch it that often. Perhaps its storylines in the 100 Acre Wood set in a classic time just didn’t interest me. I haven’t watched the show in years and have more than likely grown out of it now. Despite this, the series boasted quality animation with original songs and scores.

The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh ran for 83 episodes, the last one airing on October 7, 1991. A Christmas special entitled Winnie The Pooh And Christmas Too based on the series aired on December 14, 1991. Oddly enough reruns of the show continued to air on Saturday mornings on ABC until the fall of 2002 – therefore The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh holds a record for being the longest Disney series to be broadcasted in reruns on the original network it premiered on, and no other Disney cartoon since then has come close to airing that long on its original network of debut. Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger also appeared in the 1990 drug prevention video Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue.

The last time Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in the summer of 2007; at the time of its removal from the network it was the oldest Disney cartoon airing on the channel. No episodes are currently on Youtube and the series has no DVD releases as of yet. It goes without saying – the opening theme song (and the ending theme) from this show is flawlessly crafted to sing along with and will surly evoke childhood memories within seconds of listing to it. The singer kind of sounds the same from the DuckTales theme but I can’t say that for sure. These oldschool Disney themes are a mystery when it comes to who the singers are.

DuckTales (1987)

If the success of Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was any indication of what Disney could accomplish in an animated television series, than their next series about Scrooge McDuck and his nephews in Duckburg surely wiped away any doubt in what they could achieve.

DuckTales, which premiered on September 18, 1987, was a straight shot out of the park for Disney and much like Adventures Of The Gummi Bears, set the standard for what a cartoon at the time could really accomplish. Entertainingly funny with interesting characters and rich storylines, tied together with good animation – DuckTales was a step up from most other boring cartoons offered at the time. It was also the first show to revive an old, classic Disney character and catapult them into a new era, whilst adding new characters into the mix. This template would be exercised in many more Disney productions to come. The series was loosely based on Carl Barks’ comics, and has been a unique vehicle for bringing many comic-related characters to the small screen such as Gyro, Magica, Gladstone, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot which successfully translated from comics to the cartoon, albeit with some modifications.

DuckTales is notable for being the first Disney cartoon to be produced in syndication, and paved the way for many future Disney productions. If not for its success it would be hard to question where Disney would have gone with their television animation department. DuckTales was successful in an attempt to create high quality animation for a television series, and Disney invested a far greater amount of money into the series than had previously been spent on animated shows of the time. It was considered a risky move because at the time animated television shows were generally considered low-budget investments. In the end it was a risk that paid off well. Disney gambled on the idea that a larger investment into quality animation could be made back through syndication – a concept that worked well with live-action television reruns, but which had only been used with inexpensive cartoon shows that either recycled theatrical shorts from decades past or only featured limited, low-budget animation.

Disney has yet to top the success of DuckTales after its premiere two decades ago, and it still holds the record for the largest amount of episodes of any Disney cartoon at 100 half-hours. The first season consisted of 65 episodes, the standard length for a Disney television cartoon. The second season included 35 episodes adding new characters such as Bubba Duck and Fenton Crackshell a.k.a. GizmoDuck. Along with them came stories that generally shifted away from the globetrotting plots of the first season, and revolved primarily in the contemporary setting of Duckburg. The final episode of the series is disputed to have aired either on March 11 or May 6, 1990.

The popularity of the show even launched a full-length motion picture in 1990 called DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp – a somewhat rare occurrence back then to have a feature-length theatrical film based on a current cartoon series. This gamble however did not pay off as hoped and the film was not a success finically, which more than likely caused other proposed feature films based on current and future television cartoons to be scrapped. There were plans for there to be several DuckTales movies following this film, but these were all shelved as well. I have a feeling if this franchise had been around in current times, the movie would have been a hit. Several television cartoons now adays have made great transitions over to film. But in 1990 animated movies weren’t the big money makers they are today.

Not only does DuckTales hold the title for most episodes and the only television production to have a feature-length film thus far, it also spun off two other series – Darkwing Duck and Quack Pack. In 1989 Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers was paired with DuckTales in an hour long syndicated block through the 1989-90 television season, and in 1990-91 the block was expanded another hour to create The Disney Afternoon which would see success for many years to come. DuckTales therefore has another merit of being one of the early flagship cartoons in the block. Huey, Dewey, and Louie all appeared in the 1990 drug prevention video Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue, while Scrooge and Launchpad appeared in Disney’s short-lived series Raw Toonage. As for merchandise, there were two series of comic books (one ran 13 issues from 1988-1990, the other 18 issues from 1990-1991), as well as comic stories featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from 1990-1996.

The last time Scrooge McDuck and his nephews were seen in Canada was on Family Channel in the summer of 2003. I watched this show when I was younger, and I remember trying out some episodes when it was last on – at the time I was 18. It didn’t really capture me to stick with watching it, or maybe I just needed to give it a chance. Or maybe I had grown out of its characters and stories? In any case episodes are currently up on Youtube if you want to relive those childhood days without paying for the DVD’s. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) from DuckTales is one of the most remembered cartoon themes not only from the Disney catalogue, but from the 1980’s as well. As stated in my previous post, anyone got any leads on who the singer is?

Adventures Of The Gummi Bears (1985)

Disney’s second venture into television animation ended up doing much better than their previous offering that only lasted one season. Although by premise the show sounded as weird as The Wuzzles was – a bunch of brightly colored anthropomorphic bears living beneath a pond, guarding a secret recipe for a juice that makes them jump higher. Adding to that, it also took place in medieval times.

Luckily for them, Disney’s Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was just what the newly founded television animation department needed – a hit show. It premiered alongside The Wuzzles on September 14, 1985 on NBC. The idea for the show again came from Michael Eisner, and was based on a popular European candy called, of course, gummi bears. Oddly enough he sourced the idea after his son asked him one day for some gummi bear candies, which I guess was enough to convince him he could make an animated program loosely based on them. With better stories, better characters, and better animation, the show lasted five years and 65 half hour episodes – 30 of which were made up of two smaller cartoons, therefore totaling 95 individual episodes. Why the format was changed I have no idea; it’s an odd trait as most cartoons usually stay with one type of episode format for their entire run. The show was also produced by seasons and not in syndication (meaning all the episodes were made first and then all aired), and ran on NBC from 1985-1989, and for what ever reason moved to ABC in 1990 where it aired its final episode on December 8, 1990. I wasn’t aware of this until researching the show for this post, but the series actually had a proper series finale – the last two episodes marking the only time a single storyline followed throughout. For an animated cartoon, it’s a rare thing to have an ending episode, even today. The fact an 80’s cartoon like this ended properly is an extreme rareness, as a lot of cartoons back then were mass produced for a line of toys, and writers could care less about making an “ending” episode to make viewers happy. While the show was popular it didn’t spawn an overly large amount of merchandise; a few comics and books, buttons, and some figurines were about it.

Adventures Of The Gummi Bears exceeded many animated television shows at the time, and with the passage of time is now looked back upon as a show that jump started the massive boom of television animation in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s. Disney would not only find the same type of success in their next series, but it would grow to overcome Adventures Of The Gummi Bears to become their biggest series ever. The longevity of the show could be attributed to the extremely rich universe it portrays – one which is clearly anchored in a Medieval Europe similar to Earth history, but whose pre-history is underlined not by men, but by the Ancient Gummis. The series also became the forerunner for Disney’s popular Disney Afternoon block when it premiered in 1990. It holds the record for the most seasons of any Walt Disney Television Animation production at six – seasons did not overlap into the following year, but rather each year had its own season. This can be disputed though with Disney’s release of the first three seasons on DVD and the amount of episodes included – I’ll leave you readers to work out the details.

The last time these bouncing bears were seen in Canada was on Family Channel around 1999/2000 – that’s a guess mind you, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen any of the episodes. I remember finding out the show was back airing, but only on weekends at like 6:30 in the morning. I wasn’t quite old enough to care to program the VCR and I remember getting up early just to watch this show. Of course that was a long time ago, I wonder if I really sat down and watched the series now – would I still like it, or would I have grown out of it? If only I had the time to prove that theory – one Youtube user has taken the time to upload the entire series (among other great Disney titles) for viewing online. Of course the opening theme song (and the ending theme) for this show was nothing short of awesome and is irresistible to sing along with (I couldn’t find a good quality video of just the opening so I linked a random episode). They sure don’t make them like his anymore. The only thing about this opening theme and the other Disney themes to follow is that the singer is unknown – at least to me. Anyone got any leads?

The Wuzzles (1985)

“The hell is this?” That was my first reaction when I came to discover this program. For the longest time when I was younger, I always had the notion that Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was Disney’s first animated cartoon. I was pretty surprised to find a show had been produced prior to that one, as I knew a lot of Disney titles but never heard of this show up until that point I found out about it.

It was more than likely because The Wuzzles was a flop. With only 13 episodes made, it still stands with the lowest amount of episodes of any animated television program Disney has put out thus far. That, and with a long passage of time, has made a show like this almost forgettable. I can’t recall this show ever airing in Canada, and this is the only Disney series I have never laid eyes on. Truth be told, I never even saw the opening credits until I searched for the show on Youtube while writing this entry. I can kind of see why it wasn’t a big hit – because it looks weird. Of course readers who actually saw this series could prove me wrong, as I can’t base any real opinion on it since I’ve never seen any of the episodes.

The Wuzzles premiered the same day as Adventures Of The Gummi Bears on September 14, 1985, with one show airing on CBS and the other on NBC. It was Disney’s first venture into animated television for kids. From what I’ve researched the idea of the show came from then CEO of the Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner, in association with toy manufacturer Hasbro, to create a group of animal characters with a roughly even and colorful mix of two different species of animals. Yes, it’s really that weird. And the theme song mentions “livin’ with a split personality” as a reference to this, which sounds even weirder. And they all have wings on their backs…no I’m not making this up. It gets better…all of the Wuzzles live on the Isle of Wuz. Is this meant to mean “Wuztf?”, because that’s basically all I can say about this cracked “what were they smoking?” type of cartoon. Another reason it failed: while Disney later on would become known for making shows about entertaining kids first with good stories and characters, this series was the opposite. It carried with it the standard marketing ploy of the time to get products to sell, and The Wuzzles were marketed extensively with books, plush toys and a board game, among other things. And while not a huge factor as voice actors can be replaced, one of them who voiced one of the main characters died, which only nailed another nail into the coffin for the series.

While The Wuzzles was not successful here, it did fairly better in the UK where its pilot episode aired as a theatrical feature. What the show did have was a catchy opening theme, which would become a trademark of many Disney cartoons to follow. There are some random clips of the show on Youtube. I quickly viewed them, and just shook my head at lameness.

Walt Disney Television Animation

I’ve decided to kick off my reviewing of cartoons with the long and vast collection of shows Disney has been pumping out for the past 20 years. You should note that for these reviews and future ones for other shows, I’m going to assume you know a little bit about them to begin with. If you want specific information about characters, setting, and plot, you can find most of that stuff on Wikipedia and fansites. I’d like to hope my readers are well prepared and know their stuff before coming here. It would just take a longer time for me to name off all important characters, where the series takes place, and what the stories usually involve. That being said, for more lesser known cartoons and more so ones that are from Canada that don’t get much exposure anyplace else, I’ll shed more light on those. Who knows, I may just go back on all what I’ve said here if there is enough demand from people wanting to know more about characters/setting/plot for the more popular shows.

Television animation was in a dark state in the first half of the 1980’s. It was mostly used for pushing a popular brand of toys. Stories were drab, animation was horrible, and most of these shows haven’t aged well. The tide started to change by the middle of the decade with Disney – a company that brought us shows based on good stories, solid characters, imagination, and better animation. It wasn’t about pushing a product; it was about characters and their adventures, and entertaining kids first. Walt Disney Television Animation was launched in 1984 and a year later would premiere its first venture into television animation with The Wuzzles.

Since then Disney has come to produce and air a wealthy line of cartoons; to which they could and should be separated into categories. There was an explosion of syndicated television animation from 1985-1992 that revived all the old classic Disney characters with a modern twist. Shows like Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and DuckTales – these shows brought to life old favorites while ushering new characters into the mix, while other shows from this time like Darkwing Duck and Adventures Of The Gummi Bears were totally original, new ideas. All these shows in this time period followed a strict likeness to each other. Each had a catchy opening sequence that clicked in at a minute long, each used the exact same font in the ending credits text, and the ending credits themselves always had a background picture of scenery to that show’s setting and/or character’s residence. It can be argued, however, that not all of these programs were syndicated and that some were produced by seasons – a trend of back and fourth-ness that has continued to his day with Disney. While I never thought of it to be a separate section, what Disney put out between 1993-1996 differs slightly from what was produced prior, but in some ways you could still consider it a good couple years where they still made decent programs. These years saw more productions based on recent movies like Aladdin and Timon & Pumbaa, while still churning out innovative shows like Gargoyles and The Schnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show.

By 1997 Disney had used up all their old characters, and changed direction with making more original, tween-oriented shows no longer featuring anthropomorphic critters but with “real” people – shows like Pepper Ann, Recess, and The Weekenders. I’d incase 1997-2002 as another chapter in Disney’s animated television history, as some of these shows in this timeframe have grown to become modern classics of their own. They were also part of the popular Disney’s One Saturday Morning block as well. The newest chapter of Disney’s television animation stems from 2003 to current time, which features a mix of anthropomorphic animal characters (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers), humans (The Replacements), and series based on recent movies (The Emperor’s New School).

I’d have to put the golden age of Walt Disney Television Animation between 1987 and 1992, as they put out hit after hit of (now classic) cartoons, and it was a very popular time for their animation block known as The Disney Afternoon. Sure they had shows before 1987, but they didn’t hit their stride until DuckTales became a huge success; which still stands as their longest running series with 100 half-hour episodes. Many of the cartoons during this time were heavily merchandised as well. Animation improved slowly, but it faltered here and there with Disney outsourcing their animation to other companies (a topic to cover for a later date). Between 1993 and 2001 while not in their prime, Disney still managed to make some good cartoons, although not heavily merchandised as the previous ones were (or in some cases not at all). It seems after 2001 the quality of many Disney programs fell fast and hard. No merchandise or hardly anything of value to really buy, boring ideas and repetitive scenarios, ugly character design and average animation, and no popular block to air them in anymore (lets face it, the current ABC Kids sucks and is mostly live-action programming now). This all leads to series closing up shop pretty quickly after beginning, and none of their recent efforts have made it past two years of production.

It’s hard to signify exactly where Disney jumped the shark, as even through a sea of tiresome cartoons they can still come out with a good show once in a while. What Disney currently has in production now is utter crap to what they used to put out; even their shows five years ago were of somewhat better quality. The Emperor’s New School, The Replacements, Phineas And Ferb – these shows just don’t compare. From being a cartoon making powerhouse to not knowing what the hell they are doing, Disney sure has fallen from its once high perch as a great network that made enjoyable animated programs.

The Buzz On Chowder

Hungry for something new and refreshing to satisfy your animation appetite? Look no further – Chowder is here. Originally I was going to wait until I would eventually cover this program when going through a review of Cartoon Network’s programming, but at the current pace this blog is set at that could take me a year or more. And blogs, in one view, are used to keep up with current news and events. I just couldn’t keep quiet about Chowder, so here are my two cents about it thus far.

It’s hard to write a review about this show – because most of what I could say has been said by many fans already. Chowder, which made its premiere on Cartoon Network in November 2007, stands out so far from everything else in animation these days that it’s on another planet. It’s uniquely original in all aspects. It’s set up in a whimsical world of exotic locale, where you never know what will happen next. It’s styled so much more differently and doesn’t feel as it’s ever limited by what it can do. It has a funky soundtrack that keeps characters in tune. It’s creatively written and jumps from being very funny and cute, too being totally gross but not in an excessive way. It’s full of random moments that make it interesting to watch, and is scripted to be unscripted with many funny “in-between” moments. The characters are designed well and have distinctive personalities, and let’s just face it – Chowder is downright adorable to watch as he’s such an innocent and energetic character that feels real. Adding to the winning formula, Chowder has an excellent voice cast and all characters interact well. One of its best traits is its dialogue – it’s written to be amusing for kids, but has such widespread appeal older viewers can enjoy the show as well. At 22 I found the show to come off very entertaining, sometimes thinking to myself, “Is this really just meant for kids ages 9-12?” It’s got hilarious moments that would wholly go over many young viewers’ heads, and yet it still retains a playfulness and charm I can’t recall ever seeing in a cartoon before.

Chowder for me was a series of firsts. It was the first time I ever noticed voice acting before anything else, and that’s rare. I was very surprised to look up Chowder’s voice actor on the net, and to find he has little to no previous acting credits – and he voice acts like a pro! He brings such a youthful exuberance to his character and as a good voice actor should, makes the character come alive. I can’t imagine anyone ever replacing Chowder’s voice, so lets hope his young voice actor Nicky Jones can hold off puberty for as long as possible. Panini’s voice actress Liliana Mumy was an excellent choice, I love the persona she gives her character. Add that she has a long acting resume, minus that I’m sure puberty won’t effect her as much so she can voice Panini for as long as possible.

Chowder was also the first time I realized it’s been far too long since a cartoon was traditionally animated, something I thought I’d never see again. Could it really be the lost art of making cartoons is making a comeback? In a world of flat Flash and cheap 3-D CGI, the show racks up more points with me just for that fact its animated in traditional 2-D, but from what I know it’s in a digital format (Someone want to clear up what the exact difference is? Will cells exist? Or is it all done by computer?). The animation is fantastic. It has a large palette of colors that really gives your eyes a visual treat; its backgrounds are textured and extensively detailed to wrap the show in its own jokingly quirky universe. It also has good flow and motion as well, a trait I often search but fail to find in other shows that offer jerky and stiff character movements. Lips move well to the voices, and facial expressions are nicely exaggerated when need be, all the more adding to a character’s personality.

Chowder was also the very first time I went out of my way to see a new cartoon. And that really says something, moreover the fact because I’m out of the prime age range they are trying to reach. Cartoon Network’s productions eventually make it to air on Teletoon here in Canada, but it takes months for them to finally get here and by then we are so far behind our viewers in the US. But I just couldn’t wait. After seeing short clips of it on Youtube, I actively looked and found a download of the first four episodes. The picture and sound quality weren’t all the great, but the series was as good as I thought it would be, and it made me wonder where a show like this has been hiding for all these years. Comparing a show like this to anything else is almost criminal, but I’d put Chowder between a cross of SpongeBob Squarepants and The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Chowder is one hot dish of a cartoon right now. Since my discovery of it towards the end of 2007, I’ve seen its online fandom rapidly flourish in a short time in forms of fanart, websites, and various fan-made videos on Youtube – some of which have over 100,000 views already. What a handy marketing trick to get the show noticed even more. The show had high expectations when it came to premiere, and has already quickly become one of the network’s headlining series. I can only hope it continues to have the success its having this early on, as sometimes victory too early can result in expectations becoming too high far too soon. I sincerely hope Chowder doesn’t jump the shark that quickly, and that it lives every episode like it was its first. The worst thing that could happen to an original show like this is repetition in stories and character behavior, and I hope “Chowder/Panini” episodes don’t take over the series just to satisfy fans that want to see a couple together.

Chowder leaps out of the creative mind of C.H. Greenblatt, whose blog is linked here. You can find up-to-date information and media on the series there. A good review of the series from Toon Zone can be found here, as well as a cool fan-made flash video here. And please flame this reviewer off the face of the earth for stating the cartoon is a “throw away series”. It’s the exact opposite – Chowder has a winning recipe behind it, and when all mixed together creates a scrumches delicacy that will satisfy the taste buds and cravings for the true animation connoisseur. I hope to get my fill of Chowder when it lands on the menu here in Canada. Let’s hope it’s soon – because I’m starving.

Networks In The United States – Part 5

To wrap up this segment – I’ll cover the rest of the networks that air, or used to air, cartoons and live action kids shows in the US. Mind you I’m doing this to the best of my knowledge as I don’t live there, so if I have made any errors don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

MTV – Known more for their music videos than cartoons, although these days that wouldn’t even be true in relating to the music videos, the network has produced and aired many popular and cult classic teen/adult oriented shows. This first started in 1991 with the premiere of Liquid Television, an animation showcase of creator-driven short cartoons. The show served as a launching point for several high-profile cartoons like Beavis And Butt-head and Æon Flux. In the years to follow they would produce many more shows, many gaining a cult following long after their cancellation such as Downtown, underGRADS, and Daria. They don’t seem to be doing much these days with animation; as far as I know they haven’t produced anything new for at least five years.

UPN – Don’t know much about this network, only for the fact it had the exact same life span as The WB at 11 years, and would end up shutting down in 2006 and merging with it to form The CW Television Network. When the station launched they aired cartoons on weekends in a lineup known as UPN Kids – some affiliates airing the block on Sundays instead of Saturdays. It mostly aired old anime like Dragon Ball Z and Samurai Pizza Cats. In 1999 the network made a deal with Disney to air select programming from Disney’s One Saturday Morning block; the new lineup would be called Disney’s One Too. Many station affiliates were already airing the syndicated Disney Afternoon block to begin with, and with the new block Disney’s cartoons were no longer syndicated but aired on UPN stations – some markets running it on weekday mornings, others weekday afternoons. After eight years of airing animated shows, the network dropped out in airing children’s programming in September 2003 when their contract with Disney came to an end.

USA Network – Had a popular animation block called USA Cartoon Express which ran from 1982 to 1996. It has the honor of being the first structured animation block on cable television, predating Nickelodeon’s animation blocks by half a decade and Cartoon Network by more than a decade. Its initial setup was comprised mostly of reruns from the Hanna-Barbera library, but by the end of the 80’s a more diverse lineup of cartoons aired in the block including The Real Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, and Alvin & The Chipmunks. Turner Broadcasting purchased Hanna-Barbera and launched Cartoon Network in 1992, thus taking a chunk of Cartoon Express programming with it. In 1994 the block was moved from weekday afternoons to weekday mornings, in addition to its Sunday morning lineup, and revamped the entire look of the block. The block even launched original shows – the first two Cartoon Express series The Itsy-Bitsy Spider and Problem Child didn’t catch on with viewers. The network briefly acquired the broadcast rights to Terrytoons shorts and DC Comics related cartoons. Eventually the block was revamped into a weekday morning “all-action” block named USA Action Extreme Team with programs like Mighty Max, Sailor Moon, and Gargoyles. By the summer of 1996, USA Network ended all animation blocks on all its outlets after a 14 year run.

ABC Family – This network came to be after Fox Family was sold to ABC in 2001. Even though I never got the channel, I do remember promos for Fox Family Channel, and while I’d like to expand more on the network there isn’t much info about it. All I know is that it premiered sometime in the 90’s and aired much of what Fox Kids was airing at the time in an assigned children’s programming block. The network would also come to air many older shows and Saturday morning “classics” like Bobby’s World, Camp Candy, and Dennis The Menace, meanwhile ushering in various Canadian produced shows like Braceface and Mega Babies. ABC Family’s Jetix block made its debut on the network in 2002 airing anime such as Medabots, Beyblade, and Digimon: Digital Monsters. The block ran until August 2006 when it was switched to air on Toon Disney, leaving the network without an animation block they have yet to replace.

More information about these networks can be found on Wikipedia. If there is one trend that is evident after compiling this post – its that these major networks with small blocks dedicated to children’s programming all eventually fell victim to cable networks that were solely dedicated to children’s programming all the time (with the exception of MTV). Therefore with losing an audience who would rather watch Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, these networks lose interest in hosting a block with cartoons as they don’t see it profitable, and they eventually fade away – much like the classic Saturday morning blocks of my time. It goes back to what I mentioned at the end of this post, and that only networks that air cartoons 24/7 are the places to really find your animation fix these days – as major networks have abandoned their small blocks of animation because no one is paying attention to them anymore. As with the case of MTV – adult animation has always been a hard market to be really successful in, and I think perhaps they just gave up on making anymore animated shows as most of them only lasted one season.

In pertaining to the three previous children’s networks I covered (Nick, Disney and CN), there is another trend I’ve come to realize – is that they all more or less share the same progression as they age. They have an early stage where the network develops its identity with viewers, and during this time they will import shows from various other networks and countries. They will eventually enter a golden age where the network is very popular with viewers, and during this time original productions commence. Of course you can only appreciate a golden age once many years have been put behind it and you finally realize it was a golden age, but back then it was just the network improving on itself. These networks (moreover the older ones) seem to have a good first ten years, but then they reach a point of jumping the shark. They improved so much, did so many things, released so many great shows – and suddenly the winning formula is lost due to the changes of time and shifts in viewership to a new generation of audience. They begin to falter, over and over again, lose their status as the network they were once known for, and worst of all start to get compared to how they used to be years ago. During this time these networks will make sister/spin-off channels because they have such a large catalogue of programming they can’t fit it all on their current network, therefore many older shows see the light of day again – this being more of a treat to older viewers. It’s not enough though, and the network just isn’t putting out the same greatness it once was. Was it the audience? Or the changes in animation itself that cause some networks to miss the mark with almost every new show they put out? Has every story from every point of view been told? Is nothing truly new anymore? From what I’ve examined in the lifespan of a children’s network, and how most of them aren’t what they used to be, I think it’s time we got a new animation station so the process of a fresh and new network that airs great cartoons can once again be celebrated.

Networks In The United States – Part 4

The WB Television Network – Launched January 11, 1995 / Dissolved September 17, 2006
Usually referred to as The WB; while it was not a full fledged children’s network, Warner Bros. Animation’s biggest hit shows would eventually find a home there. The WB launched the Kids’ WB programming block in September 1995 which mixed Warners’ biggest hit shows (like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs that originated on Fox Kids or in syndication) with new productions and original shows.

After the Turner-Time Warner merger in 1996 Kids’ WB formed an alliance with Cartoon Network, and overtime they shared more and more programming. In 1999 they acquired from syndication the American version of the popular anime Pokémon that became a widespread hit with viewers. Eventually the weekday version of the block dissolved by 2006 along with the network, but retained a Saturday morning lineup on the new CW Television Network under the same name. However by late 2007 the network stated the Kids’ WB block will end in September 2008, selling the programming to (I hope you’re sitting down for this, as my jaw hit the floor when I found this out) 4Kids Entertainment – the same crap factory that ruined the old Fox Saturday morning lineup of cartoons.

If that wasn’t enough to make Warner Brothers jump the shark in relation to animation, its also the fact that they haven’t produced a decent hit show since 1998’s Histeria!, the last good Tom Ruegger produced show for Warner Bros. Animation. So if you are asking has Warner Brothers jumped the shark with its viewing audience and current programming – they have. A show like Animaniacs has aged well and is still as fresh as ever to watch; you sure won’t be able to say that for any of the current (forgettable) cartoons they’ve made recently. The WB network never expanded to Canada – most likely because YTV, Fox, Global, and Teletoon aired most of their programming. Youtube has lots of WB Network related stuff and Kids’ WB related stuff so check that out as well. You can view their network sign off here.

Networks In The United States – Part 3

Cartoon Network – Launched October 1, 1992
Created by Turner Broadcasting; in 1990 the company purchased animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions and acquired its large library of cartoons. Cartoon Network was created as an outlet for their huge library of animation, and initial programming on the network consisted exclusively of reruns of classic cartoons from Warner Bros., MGM, and Hanna-Barbera.

H-B started production on What-A-Cartoon! Show which was a series of creator-driven short cartoons (much like Nickelodeon’s Oh Yeah! Cartoons series) that premiered in 1995. This show spun-off several successful series and gave birth to CN’s first set of originally produced shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and Cow & Chicken. By 1998 the Hanna-Barbera name began to disappear from the newer shows from the studio in favor of the Cartoon Network Studios name – The Powerpuff Girls being the last cartoon to end with H-B’s trademark swirling star logo in the ending credits. In 1996 Time Warner purchased Turner Broadcasting and with it Cartoon Network, who gained access to the complete Warner Bros. cartoon library. Along with this they focused on creating new material for Cartoon Network, which came in perfect timing with the What-A-Cartoon! Show mentioned above that premiered a year earlier.

Eventually the classic cartoons were replaced with current Cartoon Network Studios shows (and other cartoons sourced from other networks and other countries), which therefore led to the spin-off sister channel Boomerang making its debut in April 2000. Starting in 2004, as like The Disney Channel started to do with their own in house shows, CN started to take off the more “recent classics” they produced from the 90’s. The network has had a series of very successful programming blocks as well, such as Cartoon Cartoons (used to be a collective name for Cartoon Network’s original shows). The action-oriented Toonami block has been running since 1997, and is known for showing a large impressive list of Japanese anime and movies. Another claim to fame is its Adult Swim block that ultimately turned into CN’s adult sister network of the same name, which premiered in September 2001. The block plays American animated comedy and animes and OVA’s intended for audiences 18 and older, generally with minimal or no editing for content – and like CN’s normal programming, this block has aired a noteworthy amount of shows. A good portion of the Adult Swim block is made up of original programming produced by Cartoon Network in association with its network division Williams Street, which produces and programs Adult Swim. Cartoon Network has expanded all over the world, but Canada remains one of the few places where it hasn’t – most likely because YTV and Teletoon have aired most of their programming.

Has Cartoon Network jumped the shark with its viewing audience and current programming? As far as I see it, no they haven’t. CN was a latecomer in producing its own shows (compared to Nick and WB), and it wasn’t until the mid 90’s where that ball starting rolling. I think they are still in their prime. Where other networks have continued to falter over the years with failing cartoon shows, CN is the only notable network I see still pumping out good shows. Personally, I saw this proved over and over again first starting in 2004 with Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, and then The Life & Times Of Juniper Lee made its debut in 2005 – both are solid shows. Out of all the new offerings for animated shows from (major) networks in the US in 2006, their series Squirrel Boy was the only one that stood out over a cavalcade of bland offerings. They struck gold again with their new series Chowder which premiered in November 2007 – a show that hasn’t even made it here yet but already looks like a fantastic series. It’s just further proof that this network hasn’t lost their touch. They also have a knack for making animated shows live long lives – Codename: Kids Next Door just recently aired its last episode in January after premiering in December 2002. At the time of its premiere I didn’t think nothing of it, but only now realize as with the shows mentioned above that it proves CN makes good, entertaining animation. It illustrates this in its current fleet of programming, and its back catalogue full of great, long running shows. Never has a network been so deserving and true to its name – Cartoon Network truly is an excellent network for cartoons. Youtube has lots of Cartoon Network related stuff so check that out as well. The network has a parade of original animated bumpers, like this one. Too bad other networks didn’t celebrate their anniversaries with cool ads like this.

Networks In The United States – Part 2

The Disney Channel – Launched April 18, 1983
Based in Burbank, California; early on they used to air some live action kids programming along with various half hour compilations of old Disney shorts. Again, like most networks from this period do early on – they aired several foreign animated shows and movies including Asterix (this was English dubbed at some point?), the original stop motion Paddington Bear series, and The Raccoons.

By the mid 80’s however, the network started to produce their own brand of television animation starting with the short-lived series The Wuzzles in 1985. Disney became a king of Saturday morning cartoons in its own right, as not only did their productions air on their network, but also aired on major networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, and even Fox. DuckTales, Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, etc, are now considered contemporary classics. They had many programming blocks over the years, the most notable being The Disney Afternoon which began in 1990 to house all their television animation. Its name was shortened to TDA in 1994, and by 1997 started getting phased out and replaced by Disney’s One Saturday Morning block solely on the ABC network. This block had a short-lived spin-off starting in 1999 called Disney’s One Too that aired on weekends and weekdays. Both blocks were eventually phased out in the fall of 2002, as Disney’s One Saturday Morning simply became ABC Kids. In April 1998 the network spun-off a sister channel called Toon Disney; meant to air older Disney cartoons and other shows from The Disney Afternoon, which saw many older cartoons jump ship off The Disney Channel and onto this network. However starting in 2004 with the addition of the Jetix block on Toon Disney, most of the older programs vanished (Canadian counterpart Family Channel followed suit as well), although currently some older shows have made their way back on the network.

The Disney Channel/Toon Disney networks have expanded all over the world, but Canada remains one of the few places where it hasn’t – most likely because Family Channel has aired most of their programming. Has Disney Channel jumped the shark with its viewing audience and current programming? Absolutely – their pre-teen lineup of shows has taken over the network, the focus doesn’t even seem to be on animation anymore. They may have ruled Saturday mornings in the 80’s and 90’s, but these days their cartoons are garbage compared to the quality offerings they used to put out. Youtube has lots of Disney related stuff so check that out as well.