Cartoon Network
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Template:Infobox TV channel Cartoon Network is a cable television network created by Turner Broadcasting and dedicated to showing animated programming. It premiered on October 1, 1992 in the United States, September 17, 1993 in the United Kingdom, and in 1995 in Australia.
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History
USA
By the end of the 1980s, Ted Turner's cable TV conglomerate had acquired the MGM film library (which included the older catalog of Warner Bros. cartoons), and its cable channel Turner Network Television had gained an audience with its film library. In 1991, they purchased animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions and acquired its large library. The Cartoon Network channel was created as an outlet for Turner's considerable library of animation, and the initial programming on the channel consisted exclusively of re-runs of classic Warner Bros. and MGM cartoons, with many Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons used as time fillers.
In 1994, Hanna-Barbera started production on What a Cartoon (also known as World Premiere Toons), a series of creator-driven short cartoons that premiered on Cartoon Network in 1995. It was the network's second original series (the first was Space Ghost: Coast to Coast). The project was spearheaded by several Cartoon Network executives, plus Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi (who was an advisor to the network at the time) and Fred Seibert (who was formerly one of the driving forces behind the Nicktoons, and would go on to produce the similar animation anthology series Oh Yeah! Cartoons).
In 1996, Time Warner purchased Turner Broadcasting, and the Cartoon Network came under their corporate umbrella. This provided still more material for the Cartoon Network, as the channel now had access to the Warner Bros. cartoon library from the 1950s and 1960s.
Time Warner changed the direction of Hanna-Barbera Productions (the production studio now being known as Cartoon Network Studios), and focused the studio exclusively on creating new material for the Cartoon Network channel (which were baptized Cartoon Cartoons). Among the numerous shows the studio has produced are Dexter's Laboratory (1996), Johnny Bravo (1997), Cow and Chicken (1997), and The Powerpuff Girls (1998) (all of which were shorts, previously launched on What a Cartoon with the creative work of Hanna-Barbera Art Director Jesse Stagg), along with more recent shows Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (2004) and Camp Lazlo (2005). But because of these shows the listed classics had become retired.
Shows from other studios (with Cartoon Network's producing) had also shown on the channel, such as Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999, a.k.a. cartoon), Courage the Cowardly Dog (1998, Stretch Films), Mike, Lu & Og (1998, Kinofilm Studios), Sheep in the Big City (2000, Curious Pictures) and Codename: Kids Next Door (2002, Curious Pictures)
Image:CNlogo.gif The older Hanna-Barbera cartoons, as well as the entire Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies library and non-Tom and Jerry cartoons made by MGM such as those made by Tex Avery have been largely moved to the nostalgia-themed Boomerang sister network.
In recent years, Cartoon Network has also made attempts to attract viewers outside its core audience (young children about eight years old). Their mid-afternoon cartoon block Toonami consists of acceptable-for-preteens and teens anime from Japan, as well as some American animation, while a late-night cartoon block called Adult Swim shows more risque, teenage- and adult-oriented cartoons (with a combination of anime and American-produced comedies such Futurama and Family Guy). On April 17, 2004, Toonami was moved to Saturday evenings and the afternoon slot was filled with Miguzi, showing action-oriented American, French, and Japanese TV shows aimed at a slightly younger age group than Toonami.
In June of 2004, Cartoon Network relaunched itself, with a new logo and slogan, "This is Cartoon Network." The bumps now featured Cartoon Cartoons characters interacting in a CGI city. Nearly all of Cartoon Network's classic cartoon programming had been replaced by new programming, except for Tom and Jerry, a longtime staple of the Turner networks.
Recently, Cartoon Network introduced a new programming block for pre-schoolers called Tickle-U. Half of the content on the block are imported British preschool programming (some of them revoiced), while the other half are original made-for-cartoon-network material.
United Kingdom
Template:Main In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Cartoon Network was twinned with movie channel TNT. Cartoon Network ran from 5:00am until 7:00pm, with TNT taking over from 7:00pm to 5:00am. Sunday afternoons saw "Super Chunk", which showed back to back episodes of one show for two hours between 1pm and 3pm. Another feature was "The Longest Day", in which Cartoon Network ran for an extra four hours until 11:00pm on June 21, 1993, every year. This slot was dedicated to full-length cartoon movies. In 1995, Cartoon Network began running for an extra two hours until 9pm, and on December 16, 1996, it became a 24-hour channel, as did TNT. However, a version of the channel called TNT & Cartoon Network continued to appear on some providers.
In 1998, Vbirds launched all the cartoon characters called Wow, Boom, Bling & D:Lin.
In February 1, 1999, saw the introduction of a strand called "aka Cartoon Network", which had a DJ theme and would run from 7pm to 9pm, the 'host' being an afroed cartoon character called Jackie Potato. It would feature selected cartoons from the Cartoon Network library (including Space Ghost Coast to Coast) and a show called Cult Toons, which featured a heavily re-edited Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Aimed at adults, the strand was in some ways a precursor of Adult Swim in the United States.
In May 27, 2000, the channel Boomerang was launched by Cartoon Network in the UK and Ireland, and most "classic" cartoons were moved from Cartoon Network to the new channel, which initally broadcast from 6am–12am. Before long, however, it became 24 hours, and the remaining classic shows also moved to Boomerang. In September of 2000, Toonami began broadcasting weekdays for two hours between 4pm–6pm, and 9pm–11pm, as well as weekends from 10am–12pm and 10pm–12am. Dragonball Z had already been airing on Cartoon Network since 1999, and had been attracting very good ratings, which may have contributed to the decision to launch Toonami in the UK. Its output consisted almost solely of Japanese anime such as the cult Dragonball Z, Tenchi Muyo, and Gundam Wing. The only non-Japanese shows for quite some time were the American-produced The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and Batman Beyond (Batman of the Future in the UK). Around the same time, there was almost completely new programming on the channel, and so Boomerang began in a late night slot.
In June of 2002, Toonami disappeared from Cartoon Network UK, and in October, a new channel was created called CNX. It was hailed as a high-octane, "triple-A mix of Action, Adventure, and Anime." All American and Japanese animation shown on Toonami was broadcast on this 24 hour channel from 6am–12am, and during the night, there were hard hitting American dramas such as The Shield, adventure shows such as Spawn, martial arts films and extreme sports programmes. In 2003, there was a slot between 9pm and 10pm showing Cartoon Network produced comedy such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The extreme sports and films were moved to a small slot between 10pm and 2am. For the rest of the time, Toonami returned, on CNX, showing all of its previous output, plus a number of new shows. In September of 2003, after 11 months on air, CNX was shut down, and Toonami became a 24-hour channel, in line with Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
In April 11, 2005, six months after the United States, the channel received a new logo. The idents also changed to the same ones used in the U.S., with a CGI layout of a town and various characters (usually related to the show that was coming up next) engaging in activities. These replaced the previous idents used since 2003, featuring characters from one TV show falling through something and coming out in another show. Actual show clips were used.
Asia Pacific
Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Korea
Cartoon Network has been available from most Pay TV providers in Asia since the early 1990s. In most part of Asia, the Cartoon Network feed is the same. This means viewers in Singapore gets the same Cartoon Network programming at the same time as the viewers in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, and many other countries in the region. However, some countries such as Japan, the Philippines and India gets a customized version of Cartoon Network for the country and does not use the same feed as the other countries in Asia. Also, unlike the India or Japan counterparts, Cartoon Network Asia does not have a website, and thus the programming schedule must be obtained from any one of the PayTV providers carrying the feed. The Asia feed's headquarters are located in Hong Kong.
Unlike its American counterpart, Cartoon Network Asia does not carry the Adult Swim block, (The Philippine Cartoon Network feed being an exception), but it does carry the Miguzi and Toonami block. It used to carry the Boomerang block late at night, but have ceased doing so lately (speculations are abound that Cartoon Netowrk will launch Boomerang as a separate network in South East Asia soon). However, classic Warner Bros and MGM cartoon programming are still aired regularly as part of its daily programming, as does programming from the Miguzi block such as Teen Titans (they might be carried under the Toonami block, however, as in the case of Teen Titans).
While it does not carry the Tickle U block, it airs a similar block known as Tiny TV. Unlike the Tickle U block, however, this block generally airs programming that're created by Hanna Barbera and/or Warner Bros and might or might not be educational, such as The Flintstone kids and Baby Looney Toons.
Australia / New Zealand
Cartoon Network in Australia is available on Pay TV (Foxtel,Optus and Austar). It is also on 3 mobile as a part of their new mobile TV service although cartoons are repeated frequently on the mobile service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>SKY Network Television has broadcasted the network in New Zealand, since October 1994..<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Cartoon Network feed used in Australia and New Zealand is different from the one used in the Asia region, and thus do not share the same programming as those in the region.
Pakistan
[[Category:{{{1|}}} articles with sections needing expansion]]
Almost all the programs shown on Cartoon Network's around the world are also shown on Cartoon Network Pakistan. The channel broadcasts both English and Urdu translated cartoons; ARY Digital holds rights to the channel and in late 2006 Cartoon Network plans to air a Pakistani made cartoon. The Toonami section broadcasts series such as Beyblade, Pokemon, Duel Masters and Digimon,Transformers Energon,Transformers Cybertron. It is one of the most popular sections. Shows not produced by Turner or Warner Bros. are also aired.
Philippines
Template:Mainarticle Started in 2001, the Philippines has a separate feed of its own, including localized content. Although it has the same programming as the Asia-Pacific feed, it also carries Adult Swim and Toonami. Toonami features Battle B-Daman, Machine Robo Rescue, Yu-Gi-Oh!Granzasers, Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Power Rangers Dino Thunder , Pokemon. This division of Cartoon Network is shown on SkyCable Gold, SkyCable Silver (formerly Home cable and Sun cable) and Destiny Cable and some other provincial cable networks. It will also be the first network to air The Simpsons, after a long period of time being shown on STAR World.
Unlike its other Asian counterparts, CNPhilippines has it's own website which was launched in March 2006. CNAsia have a Website, but they are only using it for Promos/Contests.
Japan
In Japan, Cartoon Network is broadcast on the SKY PerfecTV! platform, cable, and on broadband TV platforms. Cartoon Network Japan airs several anime, traditional Cartoon Network programs, as well as aquired western programs, such as The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show and Clifford the Big Red Dog All non-Japanese programs are available with the orginal English audio, as well as the Japanese-language dub. Cartoon Network Japan was notable for being the only network in Japan outside of Tokyo that aired the second season of The Big O, which was co-produced by Cartoon Network.
Europe without UK
Norway
Cartoon Network have been broadcasted in Scandinavia as long as it has been running. It was not until 2000, however that the network was separated from the US broadcast, when the channel was dubbed to Norwegian, Swedish and Danish (watchable with domestic languages) separate. The channel are different, because cable TV airs Cartoon Network 24h separate from TCM, but often the normal broadcasting merges CN with TCM, just as in the UK. CN broadcasts until 9pm, then TCM takes over. During many program changes, old shows like The Jetsons and The Flintstones has fallen outside these barriers. In Scandinavia, the most effective time to broadcast is the space between 6pm and 7pm. This is due to that normal children's programs are aired on NRK, SVT and DR in this time space. The shows current airing in this block is Codename: Kids Next Door and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends Mondays to Thursdays. In the weekends Codename KND are switched with Camp Lazlo.
[[Category:{{{1|}}} articles with sections needing expansion]]Special programming blocks
Fridays
Template:Main Fridays is a live action show that shows premieres of cartoons, sneak peeks of cartoons and new episodes of cartoons, It is hosted by Tommy Snider and Tara Sands, and features kids as well as puppets acting as comic relief. It airs for five hours at 7 PM (E/P) with a rebroadcast of 6.0 hours starting at 12:30 AM.
Miguzi
Miguzi is a cartoon block that premiered on April 19, 2004. This block is themed around Erin, a girl who finds refuge within the confines of a strange spaceship that is trapped underwater and inhabited by aquatic creatures. Not surprisingly, this lighter-toned action block is from Williams Street, the producers of late-night programming block Adult Swim and Toonami, a block of programming which Miguzi replaced in the weekday-afternoon timeslot.
Miguzi airs action shows from different countries like Zatch Bell and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX from Japan, and Totally Spies and Code Lyoko from France.
Toonami
Image:Toonami logo.gif Template:Main Toonami (a portmanteau of cartoon and tsunami, suggesting a "giant wave of animated entertainment") was initially a block of action-oriented programming (mostly Japanese anime) on Cartoon Network in the US and UK, among other countries. The American version premiered on March 17, 1997 as a weekday afternoon block. The Toonami brand was subsequently used in the United Kingdom as the title of a Cartoon Network-operated UK spinoff channel in its own right in September 2003, a little under a year after the network launched as CNX.
Originally hosted by Moltar from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Toonami is currently hosted by TOM (short for Toonami Operations Module), a sardonic yet heroic robot whose primary functions include piloting the Ghost Planet Spaceship Absolution and processing signals of action-animation programming along with his co-pilot, an AI hologram named Sara. Toonami's programming consisted of mostly anime, most notably popular franchises like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Tenchi, Gundam, as well as DC Comics-based programming like Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, and The Batman, and original productions like Megas XLR (the first Cartoon Network original to air on Toonami) and IGPX (the first original series made exclusively for Toonami).
Toonami had different variations airing outside the regular afternoon block, including Rising Sun (a Saturday morning version of the block, revived as a late-night action block of Batman and Superman), Super Saturdays (a Saturday afternoon block with a few premieres), and Midnight Run (which was originally a late-night action block on Saturday nights in 1999 before becoming an hour-long weeknight action block that aired the uncut version of Gundam Wing and repeats of other shows from the afternoon block before being replaced by Adult Swim in 2003).
Currently, the United States version of Toonami airs on Saturdays from 7 to 11 PM (E/P). Some shows in this program include Zatch Bell!, Dragonball Z, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Justice League Unlimited, Naruto, and One Piece.
In Scandinavia, Toonami airs from 10am (end of Camp Lazlo) to 11am as well as 4pm to 5pm on weekends. On weekdays Toonami only airs 4pm to 5pm. It currently airs series as Duel Masters (second dubbed season coming soon), Transformers Energon, Justice League, B-Daman, Teen Titans, X-Men: Evolution and Megas XLR.
Boomerang
Boomerang was originally a programming block aimed towards baby boomers on Cartoon Network that originally aired for two hours every weekend. The block's start time jumped frequently, with the Saturday block moving to Saturday afternoons and back to the early morning and the Sunday block moving to Sunday evenings. Eventually, Boomerang was cut to one day a week, Saturday, and it was shortened by an hour.
Boomerang (both the programming block and the original spinoff channel that launched on April 1, 2000) followed a unique programming format - every week, cartoons produced during a certain year (and cartoons produced during years prior to that year) would be showcased. For example, if Boomerang was showcasing the year 1969, you would more than likely catch an episode of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" and "The Flintstones".
Once the Boomerang channel was launched in 2000, promos for the channel aired at the end of every broadcasted show during the block in attempt to gain popularity for Boomerang. Also, all of the older programming on Cartoon Network, including Looney Tunes and shows from Hanna-Barbera migrated to Boomerang.
With the relaunch of Cartoon Network in 2004, the Boomerang block no longer had a place on the channel as the last remaining slot on the lineup was taken up by Adult Swim Sundays through Fridays with older reruns of classic anthologies like "The Popeye Show", "The Bob Clampett Show," and former Boomerang fare like "The Gary Coleman Show" and "Super Globetrotters."
In Scandinavia, Boomerang airs after the attractive block at 7pm (currently 8pm due to the Snoopy-Doo block carrying Snoopy and Scooby-Doo. They were aired on Boomerang before their own block was launched) airing series like Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and old shows. Boomerang is however cut off by TCM on public networks by 9pm, leaving Flintstones, Jetsons and Droopy Master Detective. These shows were a part of Boomerang before 9 until the premiers of shows like Foster's and Camp Lazlo.
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is the name for the more "adult-oriented" television programming block on Cartoon Network, which premiered on September 2, 2001 in USA. It basically shows "cartoons for adults".
Originally a Sunday-only block that also reran on Thursdays, Adult Swim airs Saturday through Thursday nights at 10:30 PM (E/P) and Sunday nights at 10 PM (E/P) with an encore airing at 2 AM and then ending with an hour of older shows on every night but Sunday. The block, programmed by Williams Street, the same group that created Toonami and Miguzi, plays American animated comedy series and shorts geared towards audiences 14 and older and a wide variety of anime series and OVAs intended for audiences 18 and older.
On March 27, 2006, Adult Swim started airing a half-hour early at 10:30 PM on Monday through Thursday (E/P).
The name comes from the name for hours designated at public swimming pools where only adults can swim in the pool. On March 28, 2005, the programming block was spun-off as a separate entity from Cartoon Network for Nielsen Ratings purposes.
Adult Swim also have an Asian Version, but only shown on CNPhilippines. They are showinmg it every Weekends at 23:00 to 24:00.
Cartoon Network Block Party
Cartoon Network Block Party is the name for a three-hour block of programming that aired on Saturdays that sometimes featured several new episodes of a single show. It was removed from Cartoon Network in 2004.
Preschool programming
Tickle U (USA)
Image:Tickle-U.gif Template:Main Tickle U was a preschool programming block on Cartoon Network in United States. It premiered in the on August 22, 2005. Tickle U is hosted by Pipoca, Henderson and Place. It's similar to Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr., PBS Kids And Noggin. The block aired for 9:00AM to 11:00AM E/P on Cartoon Network.
Cartoon Network (United States)
After the demise of the Tickle U brand, its constituent programs continued in separate half-hour slots. These programs are:
- Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
- Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
- Peppa Pig
- Firehouse Tales
- Gerald McBoing Boing
- Little Robots
- Gordon the Garden Gnome
Tiny TV (some countries)
A special block of cartoons for young children in the morning slot. It features:
- Noddy
- Pingu
- Oswald
- Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
- Bob the Builder
- Kipper
- Postman Pat and his Black & White Cat
- Merlin the Magical Puppy
- The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
- Little Red Tractor
Half Ticket Express (India)
A special block of cartoons for young children in the morning slot. It features:
- Franklin
- Dragon Tales
- Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends
- Bob the Builder
- The Koala Brothers
- Maisy
- Postman Pat
- Little Red Tractor
Pipola Pepola (Japan)
A special block of cartoons for young children in the morning slot. It features:
Lilletoon
Lilletoon means "Small toon" and are aired early weekdays and weekends approximately 6am-7am in Scandiavia. Current series are:
- Humblebumble
- Noddy
- The Koala Brothers.
- Arthur has been aired, but was replaced with The Koala Brothers late 2005.
Live-action programming
Although the majority of the network's programming is animation, live-action programming has been a part of Cartoon Network over the years. Human-hosted shows like Carrot Top's A.M. Mayhem and the current Cartoon Cartoon Fridays (now called just Fridays) format had live actors introducing animated shows and shorts. In the mid-1990s, the Children's Television Workshop co-produced Big Bag, a series that featured a Muppet character and a human counterpart.
The network has also broadcast films which combine 2D animation and live actors, such as Osmosis Jones and Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Pagemaster, and November 2005 through March 2006 saw the premieres of various fully live-action films such as The Goonies, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Small Soldiers (which used 3-D CGI animation), Batman, Jumanji, Snow Day, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Dumb And Dumber. In 2006, a live-action series with CGI-elements, Zixx, briefly aired. In April 2006, Adult Swim announced that it would be showing the live-action sitcom Saved by the Bell for two weeks. The staff of Adult Swim have expressed their distain for this addition through several of their commercial bumpers.
Controversy
Cartoon Network is not without it's share of problems, however. While the live action has been generally ignored by most of the fans, the ending or removing of several series (Justice League Unlimited, Cased Closed/Detective Conan, Teen Titans, and Megas XLR) and the frequent addition of lackluster shows such as Bobobo and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law has caused many fans to stop watching. Many fans that remain with the network cry out for the return of favorites such as Reboot and Outlaw Star and the continuation of shows such as Case Closed and Teen Titans. They only hope that the network will listen.
References
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See also
External links
- Websites in English speaking region.
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