| Creator: | Fred Seibert |
| Theme Music Composer: | Gary Lionelli |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Cartoon Network |
| Company: | Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |
| Num Episodes: | 16 (48 segments) |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Runtime: | 22 minutes |
What a Cartoon! (later known as The What a Cartoon! Show and The Cartoon Cartoon Show) is an American animated anthology series created by Fred Seibert for Cartoon Network. The shorts were produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions; by the end of the run, a Cartoon Network Studios production tag was added to some shorts to signal they were original to the network. The project consisted of 48 cartoons, intended to return creative power to animators and artists, by recreating the atmospheres that spawned the iconic cartoon characters of the mid-20th century. Each of the shorts mirrored the structure of a theatrical cartoon, with each film being based on an original storyboard drawn and written by its artist or creator. Three of the cartoons were paired together into a half-hour episode.
What a Cartoon! premiered under the World Premiere Toons title on February 20, 1995.[1] The premiere aired alongside a special episode of Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast to Coast called "World Premiere Toon-In", which features interviews with animators Craig McCracken, Pat Ventura, Van Partible, Eugene Mattos, and Genndy Tartakovsky, as well as model Dian Parkinson. During the original run of the shorts, the series was retitled to The What a Cartoon! Show and later to The Cartoon Cartoon Show until the final shorts aired on August 23, 2002.
The series is influential for helping to revive television animation in the 1990s and serving as a launching point for the Cartoon Network animated television series Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and The Powerpuff Girls. Once it had several original shorts, those became the first Cartoon Cartoons. From 2005 to 2008, The Cartoon Cartoon Show was revived as a block for reruns of older Cartoon Cartoons that had been phased out by the network.
Fred Seibert became president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in 1992 and helped guide the struggling animation studio into its greatest output in years with shows like 2 Stupid Dogs and . Seibert wanted the studio to produce short cartoons, in the vein of the Golden age of American animation. Although a project consisting of 48 shorts would cost twice as much as a normal series,[2] Seibert's pitch to Cartoon Network involved promising 48 chances to "succeed or fail", opened up possibilities for new original programming, and offered several new shorts to the thousands already present in the Turner Entertainment library. According to Seibert, quality did not matter much to the cable operators distributing the struggling network, they were more interested in promising new programs.[3]
With Turner Broadcasting CEO Ted Turner and Seibert's boss Scott Sassa on board, the studio fanned out across the world to spread the word that the studio was in an "unprecedented phase", in which animators had a better idea what cartoons should be than executives and Hanna-Barbera supported them.[4] [5] The company started taking pitches in earnest in 1993 and received over 5,000 pitches for the 48 slots. The diversity in the filmmakers included those fromvarious nationalities, race, and gender. Seibert later described his hope for an idealistic diversity as "The wider the palette of creative influences, the wider and bigger the audiences."
Seibert's idea for the project was influenced heavily by Looney Tunes. Hanna-Barbera founders and chairmen William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, as well as veteran animator Friz Freleng, taught Seibert how the shorts of the Golden Age of American animation were produced. John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, became a teacher of sorts for Seibert and was the first person Seibert called while looking for new talent for the project.[6]
As was the custom in live action film and television, the company did not pay each creator for the storyboard submitted and pitched. For the first time in the studio's history, individual creators could retain their rights, and earn royalties on their creations. While most in the industry scoffed at the idea, encouragement, according to Seibert, came from the cartoonists who flocked to Hanna-Barbera with original ideas.[7]
The format for What a Cartoon! was ambitious, as no one had ever attempted anything similar in the television animation era. The shorts produced would be a product of the original cartoonists' vision, with no executive intervention: for example, even the music would be an individually crafted score. Each 7-minute short would debut, by itself, as a stand-alone cartoon or a stand-alone series on Cartoon Network. Three of the 7-minute cartoons are paired together into a half-hour episode. Seibert explained the project's goal in a 2007 blog post: "We didn’t care what the sitcom trends were, what Nickelodeon was doing, what the sales departments wanted. [...] We wanted cartoons."
| "On top of [a research and development program], I reinvigorated the 'who comes in the studio' equation. Now talented people wanted to show up. Some 5,000 people pitched us cartoons from all over the world. We got into business with Ralph Bakshi, with Bruno Bozzetto; we got into business with a broad range of people who never would've given Hanna-Barbera a passing chance. We worked with people who were 70 years old, who were 20 years old. We turned on its head the perception the people in the community had of us." | ||
| — Creator Fred Seibert on the variety of directors for What a Cartoon |
Many of its crew members later went on to write and direct for Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and The Powerpuff Girls, including those named above. The Kitchen Casanova director John McIntyre is particularly known for directing several Dexter episodes. Ralph Bakshi's series (Malcom and Melvin) was considered too risqué to be shown.[8] It has been rumored that John Kricfalusi was slated to direct several new What a Cartoon! shorts of his own (produced by his production company, Spümcø). However, both Yogi Bear-influenced cartoons were commissioned separately by Seibert, and instead premiered as their own: Boo Boo Runs Wild and A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith both premiered in 1999.[9]
Inspired by Seibert's interest in the modern rock posters of Frank Kozik, each of the shows' creators worked with the internal Hanna-Barbera Creative Corps creative director Bill Burnett, and senior art director Jesse Stagg, to craft a series of high quality, limited edition, fluorescent art posters. The Corps launched a prolonged guerrilla mailing campaign, targeting animation heavyweights and critics leading up to the launch of World Premiere Toons. The first poster campaign of its kind introduced the world to the groundbreaking new stable of characters.[10]
The first cartoon from the What a Cartoon! project broadcast in its entirety was The Powerpuff Girls in "Meat Fuzzy Lumkins", which made its world premiere on Monday, February 20, 1995, during a television special called the World Premiere Toon-In (termed "President's Day Nightmare" by its producers, Williams Street). The special was hosted by Space Ghost and the cast of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and featured comic interviews and a mock contest with the creators of the various cartoons. The Toon-In was simulcast on Cartoon Network, TBS Superstation, and TNT. To promote the shorts, Cartoon Network's marketing department came up with the concept of "Dive-In Theater" in 1995 to showcase the 48 cartoon shorts. The cartoons were shown at water parks and large municipal swimming pools, treating kids and their parents to exclusive poolside screenings on 9' x 12' movie screens.[11]
Beginning February 26, 1995, each What a Cartoon! short began to premiere on Sunday nights, promoted as World Premiere Toons.[12] Every week after the premiere, Cartoon Network showcased a different World Premiere Toons made by a different artist. After an acclimation of cartoons, the network packaged the shorts as a half-hour show titled World Premiere Toons: The Next Generation, featuring reruns of the original shorts but also new premieres.
Eventually, all of the cartoons were compiled into one program which was used the name World Premiere Toons: The Show until the summer of 1996 when it started bearing the name of the original project: The What a Cartoon! Show. The show's initial premieres for each short preceded Cartoon Network's Sunday night movie block, Mr. Spim's Cartoon Theatre. The shorts continued to air on Sundays until 1997, when the network moved the shorts to Wednesdays at 9pm.[13] Following the premiere of Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken as full series in July 1997, the series shifted to Thursday nights, where it remained.[14]
The What a Cartoon! Show continued airing new episodes on Thursdays until November 28, 1997, when the final short of the 48 contracted during Seibert's era aired. In 1998, Cartoon Network debuted two new short pilots and advertised them as World Premiere Toons: Mike, Lu & Og and Kenny and the Chimp,[15] both of which were produced by outside studios and produced after Time Warner's acquisition of Turner Broadcasting in 1996. The two pilots were later compiled into The Cartoon Cartoon Show, while both shorts eventually garnered their own series, Mike, Lu & Og in 1999 and in 2002. One pilot entitled King Crab: Space Crustacean, which released in 1999, was also retconned into The Cartoon Cartoon Show anthology.
On June 9, 2000, The What a Cartoon! Show was relaunched as The Cartoon Cartoon Show. In this new format, it aired reruns and new episodes of the full-series Cartoon Cartoons, as well as new Cartoon Cartoon shorts and old WAC! shorts. From 2000 to 2001, the pilot shorts appearing on the network's viewer's poll that lost to The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and (except for Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?) were added to the anthology. The show continued to air until October 16, 2003, when it was temporarily dropped from the network's schedule.
On September 12, 2005, The Cartoon Cartoon Show was revived, this time as a half-hour program featuring segments of older Cartoon Cartoons that were no longer shown regularly on the network, such as Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and others. Some Cartoon Cartoons were moved exclusively to this show and the Top 5, though there was also some overlap with shows that already had regular half-hour slots outside the series. In 2006, the programming was expanded to also include non-Cartoon Cartoons that were regularly shown on the network, such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, and Squirrel Boy. The show ended on June 21, 2008.[16]
In 2007, reruns of What a Cartoon! played briefly on Cartoon Network's retro animation sister channel, Boomerang.[17]
In 2020, a selection of shorts were added to the Cartoon Network website and app.[18]
On July 29, 2024, reruns of What a Cartoon! returned to Cartoon Network, airing only on Monday evenings as part of [adult swim]'s Checkered Past block.
What a Cartoon! is the first short cartoon incubator created by Fred Seibert. Starting with What a Cartoon! and continuing throughout his cartoon career, his Frederator Studios has persisted in the tradition of surfacing new talent, characters, and series with several cartoon shorts "incubators," including (as of 2016): What a Cartoon! (Cartoon Network, 1995), Nickelodeon/Nicktoons' own Oh Yeah! Cartoons (1998), Nicktoons Film Festival (2004), Random! Cartoons (2008), The Meth Minute 39 (Channel Frederator, 2008),[19] The Cartoonstitute (Cartoon Network, 2009/unfinished), Too Cool! Cartoons (Cartoon Hangover, 2012), and GO! Cartoons (Cartoon Hangover, 2016).[20] These laboratories have spun off notable series like: Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Family Guy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samurai Jack, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, , The Fairly OddParents, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Nite Fite, The Mighty B!, Fanboy & Chum Chum, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Bravest Warriors, Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, Gravity Falls, Bee and PuppyCat, and Uncle Grandpa.
Dexter's Laboratory was the most popular short series according to a vote held in 1995 and eventually became the first spin-off of What a Cartoon! in 1996. Two more series based on shorts, Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken, premiered in 1997, and The Powerpuff Girls became a weekly half-hour show in 1998. Courage the Cowardly Dog (spun off from the Oscar-nominated short The Chicken from Outer Space) followed as the final spin-off in 1999. In addition, the Cow and Chicken short I Am Weasel eventually was also spun off into a separate series: in all, six cartoon series were ultimately launched by the What a Cartoon! project, any one of which earned enough money for the company to pay for the whole program. In addition to the eventual spin-offs, the What a Cartoon! short Larry and Steve by Seth MacFarlane featured prototypes of characters that would later go on to become MacFarlane's massively successful Family Guy.
The What a Cartoon! project and its assorted spin-offs brought Cartoon Network more commercial and critical success, and the network became an animation industry leader as the 1990s drew to a close. In 2001, coinciding with the death of William Hanna, Hanna-Barbera Productions absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network opened its own production arm, Cartoon Network Studios, in Burbank, as the rightful Hanna-Barbera successor to produce original programming for the network and future projects. Two What a Cartoon! shorts, Wind-Up Wolf and Hard Luck Duck, were the last cartoon shorts directed and produced by co-founder and co-chairman William Hanna. In addition, What a Cartoon! and spin-offs were the final original productions released by Hanna-Barbera.
Creator of The What a Cartoon! Show, Fred Seibert, left Hanna-Barbera in late 1996 to open up his own studio, Frederator Studios, and has persistently continued in the tradition of surfacing new talent, characters, and series with similar shorts "incubators", including (as of 2015) Oh Yeah! Cartoons (Nickelodeon, 1998), Nicktoons Film Festival (Nickelodeon, 2004), The Meth Minute 39 (Channel Frederator, 2008), Random! Cartoons (Nickelodeon/Nicktoons, 2008), Too Cool! Cartoons (Cartoon Hangover, 2012), and GO! Cartoons (Cartoon Hangover, 2016). Oh Yeah! Cartoons[21] showcased What a Cartoon! alumni (Butch Hartman, Rob Renzetti) and launched several successful Nickelodeon series, including The Fairly OddParents, ChalkZone and My Life as a Teenage Robot. Frederator Studios also launched an animation film festival, Nicktoons Film Festival from 2004 to 2009; only to have The Mighty B! greenlit as a series based on the Super Scout short; though one short from Alex Hirsch would later go on to make Gravity Falls for Disney Channel/Disney XD. The studio launched another animation showcase in 2006, titled Random! Cartoons, which in turn produced Nickelodeon's Fanboy & Chum Chum in 2009, Cartoon Network's Adventure Time in 2010, and Cartoon Hangover's Bravest Warriors in 2012.
A sequel-of-sorts to the What a Cartoon! project, a Cartoon Network project titled The Cartoonstitute, was announced on April 3, 2008. Created by the channel executive Rob Sorcher and headed by The Powerpuff Girls creator Craig McCracken and My Life as a Teenage Robot creator Rob Renzetti, the project was to "establish a think tank and create an environment in which animators can create characters and stories", and also create new possible Cartoon Network series.[22] [23] However, the project was eventually scrapped as a result of the late 2000s recession and only 14 of the 39 planned were completed.[24] Nevertheless, J. G. Quintel's Regular Show short and Peter Browngardt's Secret Mountain Fort Awesome were greenlit to become full series. A recurring character on the show, Uncle Grandpa, would get his own series two years later.[25] The Big Cartoon DataBase cites What a Cartoon! as a "venture combining classic 1940s production methods with the originality, enthusiasm and comedy of the 1990s".
On April 15, 2021, Cartoon Network announced it debuted a new iteration of Cartoon Cartoons.[26] The lineup of the first nine shorts were announced on November 24, 2021: Accordions Geoffery & Mary Melodica by Louie Zong (of The Ghost and Molly McGee and We Bare Bears), Dang! It's Dracula by Levon Jihanian (of Tig n' Seek), Hungy Ghost by Jesse Moynihan (of Adventure Time), Fruit Stand at the End of the World by Rachel Liu, Off the Menu by Shavonne Cherry (of Ren and Stimpy and The Looney Tunes Show), Harmony in Despair by Andrew Dickman (of Looney Tunes Cartoons), Unravel by Alexis Sugden, Mouthwash Madness by Lisa Vandenberg (of Animaniacs), and Scaredy Cat by J.J. Villard (of King Star King).[27] [28] On June 7, 2022, more Cartoon Cartoons were announced.[29] The next seven shorts include The All-Nimal by Nick Edwards (of Apple & Onion and The Fungies!), Buttons' Gamezone by Fernando Puig (of The Cuphead Show!, Middlemost Post and Tig n' Seek), Tib Tub, We Need You by Sean Godsey and Mike Rosenthal, I Love You Jocelyn by Tracey Laguerre (Art and Animation Director for brands like Google, DreamWorks Animation, BuzzFeed, etc.), Pig in a Wig by Sam Marin (of Regular Show), The Good Boy Report (based on the webcomic of the same name) by Kasey Williams (of Niko and the Sword of Light and Harley Quinn) and Maude Macher and Dom Duck by Kali Fontecchio (of The Looney Tunes Show and Jellystone!). On March 21, 2024, GiAnna Ligammari (of Niko and the Sword of Light and Inside Job) announced a Cartoon Cartoons short ISCREAM created by her.[30] Four days after, the short was announced as being completed.[31] The shorts were showcased in a screening on April 25, 2024.[32] [33]
See also: Fred Seibert cartoon shorts filmography.
The following is a list of the original shorts produced under Fred Seibert's management for What a Cartoon! by Hanna-Barbera. The shorts are listed in the order that they originally aired.
| No. | Series | Title | Created by | Hanna-Barbera | Cartoon Network Studios | Short summary | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | The Powerpuff Girls | "Meat Fuzzy Lumkins" | The Powerpuff Girls Blossom (voiced by Cathy Cavadini), Bubbles (voiced by Kath Soucie), and Buttercup (voiced by E.G. Daily) fight to stop the plot of Fuzzy Lumpkins (voiced by Jim Cummings) to turn everything in Townsville into meat. Note 1: This episode was included as a bonus toon on various Cartoon Network Video releases throughout the series run. Note 2: First pilot to The Powerpuff Girls. | [34] | ||||
| 1b | "Dexter's Laboratory" | Dee Dee (voiced by Allison Moore) and Dexter (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) battle turning each other into animals, using Dexter's latest invention. Note 1: First short to become a series after being deemed most popular through a vote held in 1995. Note 2: This episode was nominated for an Emmy. Note 3: First pilot to Dexter's Laboratory. | [35] | |||||
| 1c | Yuckie Duck | "Short Orders" | Pat Ventura | Yuckie Duck (voiced by Bill Kopp) works as a cook and waiter in a dirty restaurant, and delivers unappealing orders to the demanding customers. | [36] | |||
| 2a | Dino | "Stay Out!" | The Flintstones' pet Dino (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) tries to keep the house cat outside for the night while Fred Flintstone (voiced by Henry Corden) is out bowling with Barney Rubble. Note: First spin-off episode to The Flintstones. | [37] | ||||
| 2b | "Johnny Bravo" | Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett) tries to score with a zookeeper girl named Mary (voiced by Soleil Moon Frye) by capturing a runaway gorilla (voiced by Roger Rose). Note: First pilot to Johnny Bravo. | [38] | |||||
| 2c | Sledgehammer O'Possum | "Out and About" | Patrick Ventura | A trouble-making possum named Sledgehammer (voiced by Faizon Love) frustrates the plans of a dog named Dogg (voiced by Larry B. Scott) to enjoy a quiet summer day out. | [39] | |||
| 3a | George and Junior | "Look Out Below" | Classic duo George (voiced by John Rubinow) and Junior (voiced by Tony Pope) attempt to fix a lightbulb that an angry pigeon (voiced by Rob Paulsen) keeps breaking. Note: This short was a re-imagining of the original George and Junior cartoons. | [40] | ||||
| 3b | "Hard Luck Duck" | William Hanna | After venturing away from the watch of his friend Harvey Gator (voiced by Brad Garrett), Hard Luck Duck (voiced by Russi Taylor) is a target of a hungry fox chef (voiced by Jim Cummings) to be cooked. Though the fox's attempts are constantly thwarted by Harvey. Note: This short is similar to the classic Yakky Doodle cartoons by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. | [41] | ||||
| 3c | Shake & Flick | "Raw Deal in Rome" | Michael Rann, Eugene Mattos, and George Johnson | A flea named Flick has a personal agenda with a local performer, a poodle named Shake, in an anachronistic Rome setting where the two constantly try to one up each other. Note: This short was nominated to be adapted into a series but it lost to Johnny Bravo. | [42] | |||
| 4a | The Adventures of Captain Buzz Cheeply | "A Clean Getaway" | Meinert Hansen | Captain Buzz Cheeply (voiced by Richard M. Dumont) and his robot sidekick Slide (voiced by Rick Jones) must escape a planet full of "Blubnoids" (voiced by Paul Zakaib) who have abnormally sized foreheads but small-sized brains whilst trying to do their laundry. | [43] | |||
| 4b | O. Ratz with Dave D. Fly | "Rat in a Hot Tin Can" | Jerry Reynolds and Russ Harris | A rat named O. Ratz (voiced by Harvey Korman) and his fly companion Dave D. Fly (voiced by Marvin Kaplan) try to find a place to stay for the night during winter in the city. | [44] | |||
| 4c | Pfish and Chip | "Short Pfuse" | Butch Hartman, Michael Rann, and Eugene Mattos | A shark named Pfish (voiced by Robert Picardo) and a short-tempered lynx named Chip (voiced by Butch Hartman) attempt to stop the squeaky-laughing Mad Bomber (voiced by Pat Fraley) while the Chief (voiced by Jeff Bennett) naps. | [45] | |||
| 5a | The Fat Cats | "Drip Dry Drips" | Jon McClenahan | Louie (voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell) and Elmo (voiced by Hank Azaria) set a laundry business, expecting to earn some cash. They get a request from the President of the United States (voiced by Doug James), but accidentally destroy his suit. | [46] | |||
| 5b | George and Junior | "George and Junior's Christmas Spectacular" | Mail carriers George (voiced by John Rubinow) and Junior (voiced by Tony Pope) are forced by a Christmas elf named Steve (voiced by T.K. Carter) to deliver one of the presents of Santa Claus (voiced by T.K. Carter) after they fail to mail in one of his letters. They end up having to contend with a vicious dog. | [47] | ||||
| 5c | "Yoink! of the Yukon" | The mounted police has its uniforms stolen by a bear named Noof (voiced by Rob Paulsen) in retaliation for his forest friends being skinned of their fur, so Yoink (voiced by Rob Paulsen) and Sergeant Farnsworth Farflung (voiced by Rob Paulsen) are sent by the mounted police captain (voiced by Charlie Adler) to retrieve them. | [48] | |||||
| 6a | Yuckie Duck | "I'm on My Way" | Patrick A. Ventura | Yuckie Duck (voiced by Bill Kopp) works as a paramedic, but does more harm than good to his patients. | [49] | |||
| 6b | Mina and the Count | "Interlude with a Vampire" | A vampire known as the Count (voiced by Mark Hamill) is forced to play with Mina (voiced by Ashley Johnson) after a mix-up in the schedule with his victims caused by his assistant Igor (voiced by Jeff Bennett). Note: Pilot to the Mina and the Count shorts that are featured on Season 2 of Oh Yeah! Cartoons, making it the only short to appear in both cartoon variety shows. | [50] | ||||
| 6c | Cow and Chicken | "No Smoking" | The Devil (voiced by Charlie Adler) kidnaps Chicken (voiced by Charlie Adler) who must be saved from damnation of smoking (that the Devil tempted him to do) by his sister Cow (voiced by Charlie Adler) in her Super Cow form. Note 1: This episode was nominated for an Emmy. Note 2: Pilot to Cow and Chicken where the Devil was later known as the "Red Guy". | [51] | ||||
| 7a | "Boid 'n' Woim" | C. Miles Thompson | A worm named Mr. Woim (voiced by Tom Fahn) hitchhikes in the middle of the California desert alongside a bird named Mr. Boid (voiced by C. Miles Thompson). While driving there, Woim crashes Boid's car and they begin to hallucinate which leads to Mr. Boid chasing after Mr. Woim to eat him. | [52] [53] | ||||
| 7b | Jof | "Help?" | A cat named Jof (voiced by Roberto Frattini) pricks his finger while sewing asks for help at the hospital, but its personnel do more harm than good. | [54] | ||||
| 7c | Podunk Possum | "One Step Beyond" | Joe Orrantia and Elizabeth Stonecypher | A possum (voiced by Denver Pyle) acquires an abandoned farm with three chickens (voiced by Kath Soucie) to lay eggs for him, and has to defend them from a fried chicken titan named Major Portions (voiced by Mayf Nutter) while unaware of a plan by a bunch of aliens. | [55] | |||
| 8a | The Powerpuff Girls | "Crime 101" | Craig McCracken | The Powerpuff Girls Blossom (voiced by Cathy Cavadini), Bubbles (voiced by Kath Soucie), and Buttercup (voiced by E.G. Daily) aid the bumbling Amoeba Boys (voiced by Chuck McCann) in becoming able criminals where the demonstration of a bank robbery gets them in trouble with the police. Note: Second pilot to The Powerpuff Girls. | [56] | |||
| 8b | "Wind-Up Wolf" | William Hanna | The Big Bad Wolf (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) creates a robot minion wolf (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) to attempt to finally get the Three Little Pigs (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and Jeannie Elias). Note 1: William Hanna's final cartoon short.[57] Note 2: Cameos from The Jetsons. | [58] | ||||
| 8c | "Hillbilly Blue" | A crawdad named Eustace (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is fed-up with being treated as food and goes with possum pal Mortiche (voiced by Charlie Adler) on a cross-country trip to New Orleans. | [59] | |||||
| 9a | Courage the Cowardly Dog | "The Chicken from Outer Space" | A cowardly pink dog named Courage (voiced by Howard Huffman) tries to stop an alien chicken's plans to invade Earth while on his owners' farm. Note 1: This short was nominated for an Oscar. Note 2: Pilot to Courage the Cowardly Dog. | [60] | ||||
| 9b | Pizza Boy | "No Tip" | Pizza Boy (voiced by Gary Imhoff) must deliver a pizza from his dad Kocoum (voiced by Phil Hayers) to an Eskimo couple (voiced by Brian Cummings and Candi Milo) and their polar bear (voiced by Gregg Berger) that are sick of blubber products to the Arctic Circle safe and sound under five minutes or else he will receive no tip. | [61] | ||||
| 9c | "Gramps" | Mike Ryan and Butch Hartman | Gramps (voiced by Rob Paulsen) tells his grandchildren (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh and Kath Soucie) about his battle against invading aliens (voiced by Charlie Adler and Neil Dickson). | [62] | ||||
| 10a | Dexter's Laboratory | "The Big Sister" | Genndy Tartakovsky | Dexter (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) prevents giantess Dee Dee (voiced by Allison Moore) from attacking the whole city after she eats one of his experimental chocolate chip cookies that were meant for his laboratory rats. Note 1: This episode was nominated for an Emmy. Note 2: Second pilot to Dexter's Laboratory. | [63] | |||
| 10b | Bloo's Gang | "Bow-Wow Buccaneers" | Mike Milo and Harry McLaughlin | Bloo (voiced by Mike Milo) and his dog friends Simon and Skully (voiced by Nick Jameson and Mike Milo) sneak out of their respectful owners' houses at midnight to set on a pirate adventure in the city and soon end up contending with a group of cats (voiced by Gregg Berger and Frank Welker). | [64] | |||
| 10c | Jungle Boy | "Mr. Monkeyman" | Van Partible | Jungle Boy (voiced by Cody Dorkin) is a feral child who lives deep in the heart of Africa and saves the local animals. Jealous King Raymond (voiced by Michael McKean) attempts to taint the reputation of the hero Jungle Boy after he begins to lose fame. Note: Second pilot to Johnny Bravo. | [65] | |||
| 11a | Godfrey & Zeek | "Lost Control" | A giraffe named Godfrey (voiced by Tom Kenny) and a pig named Zeek (voiced by Rob Paulsen) leave their zoo home and visit a residual water treatment plant to retrieve the remote control they accidentally flushed down the toilet. | [66] | ||||
| 11b | Tumbleweed Tex | "School Daze" | Robert Alvarez | A Wild West outlaw named Tumbleweed Tex (voiced by Phil Hayes) needs to finish the fourth grade and deal with his obnoxious class rival Little Timmy (voiced by Candi Milo) while contending with his teacher (voiced by Candi Milo). | [67] | |||
| 11c | "Buy One, Get One Free" | Charlie Bean, Carey Yost, and Don Shank | In New York Ciry, a man named Reilly (voiced by Roger Rose) gets a cat named Flinch (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) to impress a female cat lover named Sofie (voiced by Lala Sloatman) and threatens the cat that if there is a scratch on anything while he's away, he will send him to the violin factory. It won't be easy when Sophie leaves Flinch a feline playmate named Fix (voiced by Greg Eagles) that only wants to party. | |||||
| 12a | "The Kitchen Casanova" | A first-time cook named Casanova (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is preparing a dinner for his date Doris (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman) while neglecting the feeding of his dog Pudge (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker). Trouble arises with one of the attempts when the wind flips the pages from his cookbook causing a mixture of ingredients. | [68] | |||||
| 12b | "The Ignoramooses" | Mike Milo and Harry McLaughlin | Two moose named Pomeroy (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and Sherwood (voiced by Tom Kenny) believe they are going to be adopted by a rich hunter named Ed (voiced by Jeff Bennett) due to tracking collars that a biologist named Jimmy (voiced by Jeff Bennett) put on them (they think they are pet collars) and wreak havoc in his mansion. | [69] | ||||
| 12c | Johnny Bravo | "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women" | Van Partible | Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is left stranded in an island filled with beautiful giant Amazon women (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro and B.J. Ward) whose village is protected by an elephant named Christopher (voiced by David Lander). Note: Third pilot to Johnny Bravo. | [70] | |||
| 13a | Pfish and Chip | "Blammo the Clown" | Butch Hartman, Michael Rann, and Eugene Mattos | The bomb squad Pfish (voiced by Robert Picardo) and Chip (voiced by Butch Hartman) face yet another clown bomber named Blammo. It isn't easy when they have to watch and protect the chief's teddy bear while the Chief (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is attending a carnival. | [71] | |||
| 13b | "Awfully Lucky" | A greedy guy named Luther (voiced by Jim Cummings) discovers the Paradox Pearl discarded by an old man (voiced by Nick Jameson) which brings him good luck, but not without bad luck consequences. When Luther tries to turn it in to the city museum for ten million dollars, he finds out just how harsh the following bad lucks are. | [72] | |||||
| 13c | "Strange Things" | Mike Wellins | A robot finds a job as a janitor. He must remember the advice from his supervisor Mel (voiced by Ronnie Schell) that if it says "Don't Touch", don't touch. Note: The series' only 3D animated short. | [73] | ||||
| 14a | "Snoot's New Squat" | Jeret Ochi and Victor Ortado | Snoot (voiced by Jeret Ochi), the flea-like alien, finds a new home on a neurotic neat-freak dog Al (voiced by Jeff Bennett) under the orders of his commander (voiced by Derek Webster). Though Snoot does come to Al's aid when he helps to deal with Al's frustrated doctor (voiced by Glenn Shadix). Note: A reference to the popular movie Forrest Gump is made by Snoot when Al runs away. Snoot morphs into a girl and shouts the same way as Jenny does to Forrest. | [74] | ||||
| 14b | "Larry and Steve" | A dog named Steve (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is adopted from the pound by dimwit Larry (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) who is the only man to understand dog. Steve and lives disaster after disaster when Larry takes him shopping for new furniture. Note: Episode's style developed into MacFarlane's Family Guy. | [75] | |||||
| 14c | Sledgehammer O'Possum | "What's Goin' on Back There!?" | Patrick A. Ventura | Sledgehammer O'Possum (voiced by T.K. Carter) takes shelter from the cold in a mailbox during the winter season much to the dismay of a mail carrier named Ethel (voiced by Kevyn Brackett) who will stop at nothing to make him leave. | [76] | |||
| 15a | The Zoonatiks | "Home Sweet Home" | Paul Parducci, James Giordano, and R.J. Reiley | A bear named Bill (voiced by Paul Parducci), a monkey named Knuckles (voiced by R.J. Reiley), and a snapping turtle named Shelby (voiced by James Giordano) try to enter the all-star Hackensack Zoo after feeling unwanted at the circus while contending with the zoo director Mr. Prescott (voiced by James Giordano) who doesn't want them moving in. | [77] | |||
| 15b | Swamp and Tad | "Mission Imfrogable" | John Rice and Achiu So | Two frog guards named Swamp (voiced by Charlie Adler) and Tad (voiced by Jim Cummings) work on Planet Marsh. They are sent by their general (voiced by Jim Cummings) to get a package on Earth for the King (voiced by Charlie Adler) and suffer a delay when a dog (vocal effects provided by Jim Cummings) makes off with it. | ||||
| 15c | Dino | "The Great Egg-Scape" | Hanna-Barbera | After getting fired by the museum scientist (voiced by Nick Jameson) for letting two criminals get away with a giant egg, Dino (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) takes care of a baby dinosaur (vocal effects provided by Russi Taylor) that hatched from the egg that rolled away during the high-speed pursuit and tries to prevent him from growing. Though the baby goes on a rampage when two police officers (voiced by Nick Jameson and Rob Paulsen) raid the Flintstone house upon Dino being accused of harboring the egg. Note: Second and final spin-off episode to The Flintstones. | [78] | |||
| 16a | "Malcom and Melvin" | Melvin (voiced by Craig Marin) is an alienated loser until he meets Malcom (voiced by Craig Marin), a trumpeter cockroach who has a huge talent. Note: The creator Bakshi disowned both shorts upon release. | [79] | |||||
| 16b | "Tales of Worm Paranoia" | Eddie Fitzgerald | Johnny is a peaceful and forgiving worm (voiced by Patrick Pinney) until a human (voiced by Patrick Pinney) steps on him repeatedly. As a result, the worm becomes paranoid and angered at the human race, seeking revenge. Note: Style reminiscent of John Kricfalusi's The Ren & Stimpy Show; he is listed with a "Special Thanks" credit. (Co-animator Bob Jaques had previously worked on The Ren & Stimpy Show.) | [80] | ||||
| 16c | Malcom and Melvin | "Babe! He... Calls Me" | Ralph Bakshi | Melvin (voiced by Craig Marin) continues as his partnership with Malcom (voiced by Craig Marin) is compromised by the intrusion of an urban superhero (voiced by Ralph Bakshi). Meanwhile, Melvin's mother (voiced by Barbara Rosenblat) aids a criminal after being unable to meet with her son. Note: The creator Bakshi disowned both shorts upon release. | [81] |
After What a Cartoon! ended its run in 1997, Fred Seibert left Hanna-Barbera in 1997 to launch Frederator Studios. In 1998, Sam Register, who was Cartoon Network's vice president at the time, took over What a Cartoon!, and two years later, turned them into The Cartoon Cartoon Show. Register would later create Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi for Cartoon Network in 2004. Two Cartoon Cartoon shorts were produced in 1998 and one in 1999. All Cartoon Cartoon shorts produced between 2000 and 2001 were entered in The Big Pick, a contest to choose the newest Cartoon Cartoon. The shorts premiered on Cartoon Cartoon Fridays in the weeks leading up to "The Big Pick" and the winner was revealed during the actual event. The winners were The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, in 2000, and , in 2001.
In 2002, eight new shorts premiered during the Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest. They did not compete against one another. These were the final Cartoon Cartoon shorts before the brand name was dropped. One short, LowBrow, was given its own series under the name Megas XLR.
From 2000 to 2003, The Cartoon Cartoon Show featured new episodes and reruns of the full-series Cartoon Cartoons (which were introduced in 2002 for the primetime hours), interspersed with premieres and reruns of the Cartoon Cartoon pilot shorts (some of which were retconned WAC! shorts). From 2005 to 2008, the block was revived, this time dropping the pilot shorts.
Episodes from each show were anthologized into 7 and 11-minute segments. This is a list of shows that were presented on the block: