The Old Cartoon Network Thread

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Please, do yourself a favor and watch this if you haven't already

 

[D'Snowth]

Anyway, I was thinking back on the old Cartoon Cartoons, and it seems to me that out of all the original Cartoon Cartoons, only two of them were true flops: MIKE, LU & OG and SHEEP IN THE BIG CITY - neither of them survived beyond a second season, as opposed to the standard four seasons that all the others got.

Actually, I forgot a couple of others that didn't last beyond a second season either:

TIME SQUAD, essentially PEABODY'S IMPROBABLY HISTORY with Mr. Peabody replaced with Tuddrussel (interestingly, we have a car dealership in my town that's run by a Ted Russell) and Larry 3000. I guess gay stereotypes and implications fly over my head all the time, because the TIME SQUAD TV Tropes is full of entries that suggest Larry (and possibly Tuddrussel) is gay, and I never saw any of this. While I didn't mind TIME SQUAD at all, I don't think it really got any love: I don't recall it ever getting any kind of material in merchandise, not even comics.

EVIL CON CARNE: it was to THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY what I AM WEASEL was to COW AND CHICKEN . . . however, after CN split the two shows into their own, EVIL CON CARNE lasted only one season as its own show, then CN just dumped and drooled over Billy and Mandy for a number of years afterward. Not really sure why; I think I kind of like the EVIL half of GRIM & EVIL a little bit better.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Actually, I forgot a couple of others that didn't last beyond a second season either:

TIME SQUAD, essentially PEABODY'S IMPROBABLY HISTORY with Mr. Peabody replaced with Tuddrussel (interestingly, we have a car dealership in my town that's run by a Ted Russell) and Larry 3000. I guess gay stereotypes and implications fly over my head all the time, because the TIME SQUAD TV Tropes is full of entries that suggest Larry (and possibly Tuddrussel) is gay, and I never saw any of this. While I didn't mind TIME SQUAD at all, I don't think it really got any love: I don't recall it ever getting any kind of material in merchandise, not even comics.

EVIL CON CARNE: it was to THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY what I AM WEASEL was to COW AND CHICKEN . . . however, after CN split the two shows into their own, EVIL CON CARNE lasted only one season as its own show, then CN just dumped and drooled over Billy and Mandy for a number of years afterward. Not really sure why; I think I kind of like the EVIL half of GRIM & EVIL a little bit better.

Don't remember much about these shows but I do remember that my mom didn't let me watch any of them.

 

[Drtooth]

EVIL CON CARNE: it was to THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY what I AM WEASEL was to COW AND CHICKEN . . . however, after CN split the two shows into their own, EVIL CON CARNE lasted only one season as its own show, then CN just dumped and drooled over Billy and Mandy for a number of years afterward. Not really sure why; I think I kind of like the EVIL half of GRIM & EVIL a little bit better.

I hear conflicting things about the creator actually liking Grimm better and focusing on that. Personally, I didn't like Evil as much as Grimm, but then again, I'd think that if the thing continued, it would have been a more solid show.

Plus, if there's one thing I really like about Grimm, it's that Billy is played by the guy who played Invader Zim, somehow managing to channel in a bit of GIR for the role.

But Sheep was an underrated masterpiece. I met Mo Willems at a book fair, as he also writes a series of kid's books. I have one of the DC CN comics, the Johnny Bravo one with the first Sheep comic as a back up that he did himself. He was amazed by it because he forgot all about it. We had a nice short conversation about it. He even drew Sheep on it because it was quicker than signing somehow.

I love the one where the narrator keeps getting annoyed by how everything turns out to be a dream and commenting on how you know it's one because things get increasingly wacky.

 

[D'Snowth]

I've heard similar things about I AM WEASEL; they've apparently been disproven since then, but the story that went around for a while was that David Feiss didn't want to do Weasel anymore when COW AND CHICKEN got a second season, but CN insisted they keep the Weasel shorts in, so Dave had it worked out that Red Guy could start making crossover appearances to hold his interest. That turned out to be not true, but it's what went around for a while.

Billy and Mandy were pretty good to start with, but as I said, once CN suddenly went all SpongeBob on it, I felt it lost its charm by then.

But I agree about Sheep, and like I said, I think kids then weren't able to fully appreciate the obviously Rocky and Bullwinkle-inspired humor and format, which was before their time.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Sheep was an underrated masterpiece. I met Mo Willems at a book fair, as he also writes a series of kid's books. I have one of the DC CN comics, the Johnny Bravo one with the first Sheep comic as a back up that he did himself. He was amazed by it because he forgot all about it. We had a nice short conversation about it. He even drew Sheep on it because it was quicker than signing somehow.

I love the one where the narrator keeps getting annoyed by how everything turns out to be a dream and commenting on how you know it's one because things get increasingly wacky.

I like this clip with Joey Mazzarino where he plays a guy in a turtle suit on a children's show and he gets ticked off at the audience because they can't find where the dog is.
EDIT:I found it

 

[D'Snowth]

Both Sheep and Courage had Sesame connections, and it makes sense, as both Mo Willems and John R. Dilworth did animations for SST. In the case of Sheep, Joey Mazzarino, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and Jerry Nelson did voices; with Courage, Fran Brill played a fishonary, and Craig Sheman wrote a few episodes.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Both Sheep and Courage had Sesame connections, and it makes sense, as both Mo Willems and John R. Dilworth did animations for SST. In the case of Sheep, Joey Mazzarino, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and Jerry Nelson did voices; with Courage, Fran Brill played a fishonary, and Craig Sheman wrote a few episodes.

Ruth Buzzi also appeared on the show.

 

[MuppetSpot]

I like grim and evil, but I hated how grim was as D'snowth said spongebob by the network. I hated how sheep was treated but, I can see why.

 

[Drtooth]

I've heard similar things about I AM WEASEL; they've apparently been disproven since then, but the story that went around for a while was that David Feiss didn't want to do Weasel anymore when COW AND CHICKEN got a second season, but CN insisted they keep the Weasel shorts in, so Dave had it worked out that Red Guy could start making crossover appearances to hold his interest. That turned out to be not true, but it's what went around for a while.

Funny thing is, while I always loved Cow and Chicken, there's just something about I Am Weasel I liked a tiny bit more. I'd see why David would prefer C&C over IMW, as the original series was siblings trying to get along with each other, only making it as bizarre as possible with deranged characters and animation. At the heart of the series, there was a sweet story of brother and sister buried under divine craziness. Seems that earlier I Am Weasel cartoons were just I.R. being ticked off at how much better Weasel was, but as it progressed it just got...weird, and the show was just that much better for it.

But I was always amazed that the show was mostly Charlie Adler showing off his pipes. He's one of the most manic voice actors out there, and he really shines in these shows (and Eek the Cat as well). Strange thing is, I was watching AAAAAAAAH Real Monsters, and it really seems that, considering he was part of the cast, he almost based Red Guy off of the Gromble. The characters have the same effeminate vocal mannerisms and sadistic tones. If it's coincidental, that's a heck of a coincidence.

But I agree about Sheep, and like I said, I think kids then weren't able to fully appreciate the obviously Rocky and Bullwinkle-inspired humor and format, which was before their time.

Yeah. There's something special about Sheep. It's part Bullwinkle, part absurdist cartoon deconstruction. Whatever it was, it flew over the heads of kids, and it was a shame it did. I really wish the show got more love from inside the demographic, but like Freakazoid, I don't think the wee ones the show was intended for could appreciate the weirdness of the series. You see some shows today, and they totally have a similar level of absurdity and kids are embracing it.