>Opinions | Why Tickle U Failed

Originally Posted by Jeff Harris

Cartoon Network has never had much luck in attracting preschool audiences.

Okay, that's a lie. Cartoon Network's programming back in the day could be seen by everybody. The programmers (who were a lot more competent before 2003) aired age-appropriate cartoons in all dayparts, and they tended to air shows with minimal violence and pretty family friendly every morning, including reruns of kid versions of popular shows, including The Flintstone Kids, Tom and Jerry Kids, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.

The network even created branded programming on Sunday mornings aimed towards preschoolers. Big Bag (co-developed with Sesame Workshop) and Small World (a collection of international animation shorts not unlike USA's Calliope) both aired for a pair of seasons beginning in 1996. And they were gone. Just like that. In 2002, Cartoon Network premiered a preschool-friendly anime series called Hamtaro. It aired for about two years, including a somewhat controversial stint on the action-oriented Toonami, but it too was gone. Just like that. That same year, they premiered Baby Looney Tunes, which turned the familiar theatrical stars into infants. The first 26 episodes were very watered down, almost Rugrats-like, but the second cycle actually improved dramatically emulating Muppet Babies a lot more. It too left too early Just like that. In 2005, Cartoon Network introduced a Hanna-Barbera-like adaptation of Krypto The Superpup. It sporadically airs off and on for the next year or so.

Cue to 2005 when Cartoon Network made the announcement that they were launching a new preschool initiative called Tickle U, reintroducing Gerald McBoing Boing and premiering new shows like Yoko! Jakomoto! Toto!, Little Robots, Peppa Pig, Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, Firehouse Tales, and Gordon the Garden Gnome.

That's good and all, but why would Cartoon Network launch a block aimed towards preschoolers without utilizing what they had? Where were Big Bag and Small World? Certainly they could have reached a much wider audience on Tickle U than the shows had at 6 AM on a Sunday morning. Where was Hamtaro, Baby Looney Tunes, and Krypto? Despite sticking out like a sore thumb on the lineup everywhere they were placed, this trio of shows could have worked perfectly for the Tickle U lineup as well as adhering to the original mission statement of providing preschool-friendly shows that'll help develop a sense of humor.

Well, Hamtaro would help with that. You gotta admit, the show was pretty funny.

They filled up the lineup with little-known properties while the age-appropriate shows in their library weren't used at all. If Tickle U had placed their preschool-friendly library of shows on the block as well as handpick some of the "tamer" classic shorts and shows (certainly the Hanna-Barbera "Zoo" of characters and tame shows like Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch could have been a part of the block) to air alongside the new shows, perhaps Tickle U would still be around today. Instead, Tickle U was a failure. A horrible, colossal failure that should have been better.