Frequently asked questions about CN, their shows and their branding. There are also uncommon question based on original research.
What are the Cartoon Network bumper eras?
Cartoon Network has had a number of thematic bumper “eras”, which is not necessarily tied with the management side of the Network. All names are fan-given. A quick round-up:
Checkerboard Era (1992-1997)
Original era. Early ones used animated checkboard patterns as backgrounds and later ones used 3d checkboard patterns with bezels. They featured no original animation for their characters, and most of original animation was used for non-descript characters instead.
Powerhouse Era (1997-2004)
Era that featured original animation for all their shows in commercial break bumpers, with background colors that changed depending of the hour of the day (green, yellow, blue, dark blue). Gains its name for the usage of the song “Powerhouse” by Raymond Scott.
Produced by Primal Screen.
City Era (2004-2006)
Bumpers featuring all the characters interacting in a CGI city. The logo received a redesign, with resembled somewhat the original Hanna-Barbera logo.
Produced by Animal Logic. Some European variations done by InkApache.
Yes! Era (2006-2007)
Short-lived era which featured Fred Fredburger (from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy) and Chesse (from Foster’s home for imaginary friends) saying random stuff against a red background, along with some city bumpers with flat colors.
Fall Era (2007-2008)
Short-lived era featuring live action people and the tag line “Fall Is Just Something That Grownups Invented”. Only used in the US.
Produced by Shilo Designs.
Noods Era (2008-2010)
Era that bumpers that featured blank Kidrobot’s munny-like figurines that changed of colors of textures gaining the shape of characters of the channel, along with a rainbow-colored circle. The logo was redesigned to look completely white most of the time, as to gain new textures depending of the bumper or the show. Only used in the US as-it-is due to right issues but adapted for Latin America.
Produced by Capacity.
Check it Era (2010-Present)
Era that tries to emulate the original Checkboard era, with a complex series of checkboard patterns and modular graphics completely in CYMK colors, along with icons for each show and no original animation for the characters, but animation with non-descript ones. The logo was redesigned based on the city one but much more square. The original logo makes some “cameos” in the bumpers.
Produced by Brand New School.
Some eras from foreign Cartoon Networks:
New wave era
“Era” used in Europe, Asia and Oceania in-between the City and Check it eras. Features the City era logo rotated 45° degrees, and a festive wave.
Toonix era
Adaptation of the “Noods” era for Latin America, but using a new character called “Toonix”, rather than the Kidrobot ones. The Toonix were used as customizable avatars for the CN Latin America sites and are being used as such in some Asian sites.
Produced by Lobo.
Who designed the original Cartoon Network logo?
It was designed by Tom Corey and Scott Nash from Corey McPherson Nash. They also designed the “splat” Nickelodeon logo.
Which is the font used for the CN logo?
Eagle Bold. The last version of the logo uses a custom variation.
Were all the “World Premiere Toons” shorts considered to be pilots for series or are some made to be one-shot stuff?
The short answer is “Yes and no”. Fred Seibert ,former Hanna-Barbera president and funder of What-a-cartoon and Frederator, answers on his blog.
Dexter’s Lab questions:
Why Mandark’s sister Lavalava (from ‘Dee-dee’s rival’) didn’t appear on the later seasons?
Chris Savino, show-runner of the last seasons, answers:”It was difficult to come up new stories for her. Plus adding her into other stories took away time from Mandark who we believed was a better character.”
Why Mee-Mee and Lee-Lee (Dee-dee’s friends) didn’t appear, either?
Chris Savino: “Again, it was about sharing screen time with Deedee. The more they were in a story the less deedee could appear.”
At the beggining of the Dexter’s Lab episode “The Continuum of Cartoon Fools”, what was Dexter supposedly doing when scribbling in an storyboard and timing himself with an stopwatch and making that strange noise?
Don Shank, storyboard artist, answers: “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that episode but what Dexter is doing is timing a storyboard. It’s what a director/timing director does to a storyboard to block out the pacing of the shots and actions for the animator. I can’t remember why I started the episode that way other than I thought it was funny and it was relevant to Dexter as a cartoon character. I wish I could dig up my storyboard drawings for that episode and see what the panels where that he was timing. I think the board he is timing is the board for that very cartoon. Sort of metaphysical. I’m surprised it stayed in.”
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Why the Ed, Edd n Eddy cast is fixed to 12 characters, with no incidental new characters appearing whatsoever?
Sabrina Alberghetti, storyboard artist, answers: “That’s what Danny wanted. He didn’t want it to be one of those cartoons that when stuff started getting old, to throw in new characters to mix it up. He thought that was a cop out. And I think because having that many is really enough for a show… especially when they’re such strong characters that play off each other nicely.”
Ed, Edd n Eddy has a pilot episode?
No, it hasn’t. It was confirmed in an essay written by Linda Simensky (former CN executive), because they were so enthusiastic by the initial pitch (a drawing of the titular characters with the tag line “they are friends because they have the same name”), they started producing it immediately.
