Gephyrophillia #223

Originally Posted on 03/30/2010 by Jeff Harris

Cartoon Network died a long time ago. Yes, I'm aware that a channel by its name continues to exist, but it's been a corpse since January 16, 2006 (that's the date Cartoon Network proudly aired Snow Day, one of Nickelodeon's first live-action films, in prime-time with the often-obscured logo intact on-air). From that day forward, the mission statement of Cartoon Network was no longer to be the best animation channel on the planet. Cartoon Network was determined to be a third-rate children's network. Despite a few bumps in the road (the Month of Miyazaki stunt on Toonami [one of that block's final great moments], the success of Chowder, Flapjack, Clone Wars, Brave and the Bold, Johnny Test, and Total Drama Island, and the growth of Ben 10 as a marketable brand), Cartoon Network has succeeded in that goal by scrapping animation projects like The Cartoonstitute, cancelling Chowder (once considered one of the few shining stars of the 2007-08 lineup), and trashing all the improvements and renewed goodwill from the 2008-09 season with the quixotic live-action agenda that has largely been seen as a failure.

Did you know that 2009 was the first year since 1993 that Cartoon Network had no original first-party animated series premiere on the network (1993 was the year The Moxy Pirate Show, a series hosted by a mo-cap animated character, debuted, and as strange as it seems, yeah, Penn Jillete and later Chris Rock played the role of Bobcat Goldthwait's sidekick)? Instead, all of Cartoon Network's new, original first-party show debuts between November 2008 and April 2010 were live-action properties. The Othersiders, Brain Rush, Dude What Would Happen?, Destroy Build Destroy, and Bobb'e Says came in as did YTV's Survive This. They also premiered a pair of live-action movies based on animated properties (Scooby-Doo and Ben 10: Alien Force). Out of the seven promised animated series they planned for 2009, only one, Stoked (a third-party cartoon) premiered, and the other, Total Drama Action (another third-party cartoon) was a continuation of another series. Three of the promised shows, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, Generator Rex, and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, are premiering in April. The latter two are premiering after the upfronts. Neither Mystery Inc nor Syn-Bionic Titan have been heard from since last year's intial revelations of their existence.

The upfronts are a couple of weeks away aft Cartoon Network, and all signs point to more live-action properties, including their two hour-long dramas Tower Prep and Unnatural History as well as a rushed sequel to Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins, taking center stage. However, after the disasterous showings of 2/3 of the CN Real shows, the lackluster performances of the two remaining CN Real shows, and the shocking viewership drop (people don't want live-action? I am shocked!), there is life pulsing within the corpse of Cartoon Network. Adventure Time and Generator Rex are already building up buzz within the animation communities. Mystery Inc., still unseen, is also building up steam, especially with a sneak peek of the show airing on April 5. Same thing with Sym-Bionic Titan.

Two shows that are peaking interest with viewers that haven't been officially announced are also high on Cartoon Network's radar. Young Justice is the second modern DC Entertainment series to be centered around the youthful heroes of the DC Universe while Looney Tunes will reinvent the classic characters for the 21st century without gimmicks, alternative personas, and moronic revisions that strip away their characterizations. What I've seen of it, I can tell you the new LT show is poised to be the greatest Looney Tunes production since (Blooper) Bunny. I kid you not. Cartoon Network is also returning Totally Spies to its lineup as well as premiering its spinoff, The Amazing Spiez, this year. Regular Show, Robotomy, and a few other ANIMATED shows they're not revealing right now are also on the horizon. After the reevaluation of what the network is supposed to be after a disasterous summer of record low ratings, it's nice to see the cartoony side of Cartoon Network returning. It's not the multitude of toons it used to be, but the channel is slowly returning to the roots that made them fan-favorites.

In spite of being attacked by the big two networks (Disney and Nick), their boy-based animation spinoffs (Disney XD and Nicktoons), and the impending clusterbomb explosion The Hub is going to cause on the television landscape when it debuts in the fall, Cartoon Network is showing some signs of life in its decaying body. There is a pulse. It's a faint pulse, but it's growing louder by the day.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Creator/Webmaster, The X Bridge.