Hello and welcome back to picsandportraits.
Over the past few months we have done retrospectives on TV animation, looking at specific periods
and networks.
So far we’ve seen the launch of Teletoon here in Canada as well as the state of Fox
Animation in 1999.
Today we are diving into the aesthetics and programming of Cartoon Network, 1997.
To put you in the proper headspace: if you were watching Cartoon Network around this
time you might have seen commercials for M&M Minis, America Online, Crash Bandicoot 2,
the theatrical release of Flubber and Space Jam on home video and PayPerView.
They pushed this hard, which makes sense.
This is a year after Time Warner, parent company of Warner Bros., merged with Turner, as in
Turner Broadcasting System.
And I think at this point it will probably be helpful to give a some background on Cartoon
Network so we know how we got to 1997 and why this year is so notable.
It launched in 1992 as part of the Turner family of cable networks, owned by media mogul
Ted Turner.
We covered Ted a bit in our colorization video.
He was a cable pioneer responsible for TBS, also known as the Superstation, one of the
first national cable networks.
He later brought us Turner Network Television, TNT, TCM, Turner Classic Movies, and of course,
the grandfather of 24 hour cable news, CNN.
Cartoon Network came out of Turner wanting to replicate the CNN format with cartoons.
Ted was no stranger to animation.
His first venture into the medium was 1990’s Captain Planet.
Turner is something of an anomaly when it comes to billionaires and this series was
produced to promote environmentalism, one of his passions.
Throughout the ’80s and early ’90s he had also acquired several film libraries,
either in part or full, which included many classic cartoons; MGM, Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera.
He actually acquired Hanna-Barbera Studios which formed basis of a lot of what we’re
going to be talking about.
Much of Cartoon Network’s early programming was comprised of these classic cartoons, along
with other acquired programming.
While Hanna-Barbera Studios was producing animated series for other networks, they did
not create explicit create original content for Cartoon Network until 1993’s The Moxy
Show.
Now we missed this in our history of computer animation.
This series followed an anthropomorphic dog and a flea and featured the voices of Bobcat
Goldthwait and Penn Jillette.
I wish I could find more on it but not a whole lot of it exists.
It’s never been replayed or preserved it seems.
However, the following year, Cartoon Network would produce an original series that I think
informed the channel’s identity and philosophy more than any other.
Space Ghost was 1960s superhero series produced by Hanna-Barbera, reruns would air on Cartoon
Network.
Following in the tradition of The Tonight Show and Late Night, Space Ghost Coast to
Coast recast Space Ghost as a talk show host, with his former enemies, Zorak and Moltar,
serving as his band leader and producer.
It was produced using animation from the original series with guests being transmitted in via
television.
Seeing the choice of guests, it definitely appealed an older/younger audience.
Its demo was the young adult crowd.
The humour was edgier, a lot more absurd, trippy visuals.
This paved the way Adult Swim, both in terms of content and tone, and was the first case
of Hanna-Barbera taking boomer properties and repackaging them for Gen X or millennials
which we will be seeing a lot of.
The early to mid-90s were a boom period for unique and creator-driven animation.
Obviously Nicktoons and even further back than that, MTV and Liquid Television, which
we talked about years ago.
Cartoon Network in its early days had a similar vibe to MTV.
This was likely on account of Fred Seibert.
Seibert was the original creative director at MTV and was hired in 1992 to head Hanna-Barbera
Studios.
His goal was to return the studio to the medium’s roots and present theatrical-style shorts
on television.
Seibert believed this would not only give the network content but may lead to original
series being developed from the shorts, should the interest be there.
The result was What a Cartoon!
This began airing in 1995 and was originally known as World Premiere Toons and later the
Cartoon Cartoon Show.
48 shorts would be produced in the original run.
The creative team behind was comprised of many up and coming and established animators
including Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken, Ralph Bakshi and even William Hanna, that’s
Hanna in Hanna-Barbera, with his final cartoon, Wind-Up Wolf, and many others.
Bakshi was apparently embarrassed and disowned his shorts.
His definitely have vibe different from the rest.
Check out our recent Retrofuturism and Animation for Spicy City which he would’ve been doing
that same year, 1997.
The animators would work on each others cartoons with the shorts ranging in style, tone and
quality.
Some are great.
Some are pretty awful but as Seibert hoped, What a Cartoon would be used as launchpad
for Cartoon Network’s original series with the first coming in 1996.
Tartakovsky’s Dexter’s Laboratory was the most popular of the What a Cartoon shorts,
the one viewers responded to the most, and so it was first to be developed.
In it, child genius Dexter experiments with inventions in his secret laboratory.
Something usually goes wrong due to his sister DeeDee’s interference.
He also competes with his nemesis and fellow child-genius Mandark.
The Dexter segments were supplemented by two other series of shorts: the Justice Friends
and Dial M for Monkey.
The Justice Friends was a parody of the Super Friends with three superheroes living as roommates.
They were Major Glory, Valhallen and Krunk, send ups of Captain America, Thor and the
Hulk.
Dial M for Monkey was similar.
It cast Dexter’s pet monkey as a secret superhero.
It’s adorable and would occasionally crossover with the Justice Friends.
The following year, 1997, the second series developed from What a Cartoon debuted, Johnny
Bravo.
This was created by Van Partible and featured the titular character’s futile attempts
to pick up women.
Post MeToo this comes off a little different.
Granted the behaviour is not rewarded but the crux of the show is more or less harassing
women.
Johnny’s voice characterisation is based off of Elvis.
He has a classic cool look and still lives with his mother.
He is also a textbook narcissist who is obsessed with his appearance and when he's not chasing women
he spends his days hanging out with a young girl, Suzy, little creepy but it was a different time.
Also premiering in 1997 was Dave Feiss’ Cow and Chicken.
Huge Ren and Stimpy vibes here.
You can actually say that about a lot of the What a Cartoon shorts.
That show’s creator, and alleged pedophile, John Kricfalusi was a consultant on the series.
Cow and Chicken follows siblings, a cow and a chicken, as they navigate surreal and sometimes
terrifying situations.
This could be being wrongly imprisoned or forced to wear oppressive braces.
Cow is naive and dumb where Chicken is much more abrasive.
The show relies heavily on gross out humour and even though it’s called Cow and Chicken,
the breakout star was the devil with a juicy ass, known as the Red Guy.
He would serve as their antagonist in a variety of different roles.
All three of these series had edge to them and were controversial in their own ways but
Cow and Chicken pushed the boundaries the probably most out of the bunch.
A season 2 episode, Buffalo Girls, only aired once due to alluding a group of lady bikers
were lesbians by showing them literally munching carpet, a dysphemism for cunnilingus.
Like Dexter’s Lab, Cow and Chicken had a recurring segment, I Am Weasel.
This featured an intelligent weasel, I.M Weasel, and a stupid baboon, I.R.
Baboon, who are constantly at odds due to Weasel’s success.
There are appearances by Cow, Chicken and the Red Guy.
This would be a spun off into a full series in 1999.
Series would also continue coming out of the What a Cartoon shorts, like The Powerpuff
Girls in 1998 and Courage the Cowardly Dog in 1999.
It was also where Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane got his start with the short Larry
and Steve.
Back to 1997, the programming block Toonami, debuted that year.
March 17 to be exact.
This was Cartoon Network’s action block, broadcast from Ghost Industries and hosted
by Moltar, now rendered in CGI.
The original lineup of Toonami featured the ‘80s series Thundercats and Voltron.
Thundercats was produced by Rankin /Bass and animated by Topcraft in Japan and Voltron
was an adaptation or localised version of the anime Beast King GoLion.
Toonami would later introduce an entire generation of westerners to anime so this fitting.
That original lineup also included Cartoon Roulette, which was a compilation of Space
Ghost, Birdman and other old Hanna-Babera superhero shows as well as the Fleischer Superman
shorts, and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
Now that last one was the one I was most into.
It followed in Space Ghost’s footsteps and reimagined Jonny Quest in the ‘90s.
This meant more attitude and the addition of QuestWorld, a Tron-like CGI cyberspace
the characters could jack into.
Turner and Hanna-Barbera had high hopes for this series.
It spawned action figures and other merchandise but interest did not live up to their expectations
and the show was cancelled in 1997.
Aesthetically, in 1997, we are still in what’s known as the Checkboard Era, named after the
design of their logo.
This bled into promos and bumpers as well.
So much of the networks identity came from their promos, interstitials and vignettes.
This year we had Shaggy and Droopy in a Pulp Fiction parody, the Royale with Cheese scene.
Around Halloween there was also a parody of The Shinning with Topcat.
Another crossover was this one between Dexter and Speed Racer, promoting a new episode of
Dexter would debut in a Speed Racer marathon.
They created this animation for the promo, featuring Dexter, DeeDee, Mandark racing Speed.
Spoilers: DeeDee wins.
Speaking of racing, Cartoon Network also had its own Nascar race car around this time.
There is a bunch of promos hyping it, number 29, but I couldn’t find a lot of info on
it.
Feel free to chime in if you know something.
Other segments included Meet the Cartoonist, which introduces you to the creators of all
their original series: Van Partible, Tartakovsky and David Feiss.
They are all interviewed and promote and talk about their shows.
There was also the Cartoon Gang, where a group of kids would sit around and talk about a
topic related to cartoons and share their opinions on current shows.
I’m sure these kids grew up to be podcasters.
Cartoon Network Responds, where fake fanmail would be answered in a humorous fashion.
I found one highlighting just how popular Jim Carrey was in 1997.
Thing To Do, which would walk you through doing some cartoony thing, like turn your
friend inside out or training your eyes to come off your face.
Cartoons That Never Made It, featuring toons that are flawed in some way to make them not
good enough to appear on Cartoon Network.
I also found an ad for something called a Matoonay.
Apparently, throughout 1997 Cartoon Network would screen shorts and an animated feature
at theatres across America.
1997 was a huge year for Cartoon Network, with the release of their original series
and the debut of Toonami.
There is obviously a great deal of nostalgia for this network and this time.
I feel like the generation who grew up on this, self included, and the generation that
has come after is more inclined to be nostalgic because, well, look at the world we are inheriting.
I don’t know.
Let me know what you think in the comments down below.
I’m sure there is tons I missed.
This concludes our unofficial summer of 1997.
You can hear more about my seasonal media association over on Patreon.
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Episode three is now available, looking at the relationship between European art films
and grindhouse and how that translated to animated perversion.
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