Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System, Cartoon Network, and formerly of Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. (all subsidiaries of the Time Warner media conglomerate), the company focuses on producing and developing original animated programs and shorts for Cartoon Network, but sometimes also for its late-night block Adult Swim.
In a manner similar to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation and Universal Animation Studios, the actual animation production is done overseas, most notably by either Saerom Animation or Rough Draft Studios, with pre-production and post-production being United States-based.
History[]
The studio began on October 21, 1994, at 7:00am as a name-only division of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., which was then focused on producing Cartoon Cartoons for Cartoon Network: What a Cartoon!, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls. In 1997, these series credited Cartoon Network Studios as Warner Bros. Animation's subsidiary Hanna-Barbera. In 1999, Cartoon Network Studios acquired its own facility located at 300 N 3rd St in Burbank, California, which was the location of a telephone communications equipment building. Construction and production of the actual company and its various shows and pilots commenced in late 2000.
After William Hanna died, the Hanna-Barbera name was dropped as a production entity and the Hanna-Barbera studio was folded into Warner Bros. Animation by its chief Jean MacCurdy. Cartoon Network Studios was then revived as a separate entity from Hanna-Barbera, growing out of the animation studio. Cartoon Network Studios has continued to steadily grow with productions such as The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Samurai Jack and newer productions such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa. Some of Cartoon Network Studios' former programming now rerun on Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.
Filmography[]
- Main article: List of works produced by Cartoon Network
Former/current shorts[]
| Show | Year(s) | Creator(s) | Co-production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends shorts | 2006–2007 | Craig McCracken | All released and aired as part of Cartoon Network's New Media Shorts. | |
| My Gym Partner's a Monkey shorts | Julie McNally-Cahill and Timothy Cahill | |||
| Billy's Birthday Shorties | 2006 | Maxwell Atoms | ||
| Camp Lazlo shorts | 2006–2008 | Joe Murray | ||
| The Life and Times of Juniper Lee shorts | 2006–2007 | Judd Winick | ||
| Irwin Hearts Mandy | 2007 | Maxwell Atoms | ||
| The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack shorts | Thurop Van Orman | Aired as part of Wedgies anthology series in 2008. Also the only Cartoon Network Studios shorts featured in that project. | ||
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy shorts | 2008 | Maxwell Atoms | All released and aired as part of Cartoon Network's New Media Shorts. | |
| Ben 10 shorts | 2008–2012 | Man of Action | ||
| Squirrel Boy shorts | 2008 | Everett Peck | ||
| Regular Show shorts | 2011 (DVD) 2015–2017 (Online/TV) |
J. G. Quintel | ||
| Adventure Time shorts | 2012 (DVD) 2015–present (Online/TV) |
Pendleton Ward | Frederator Studios | |
| Mixels | 2014–2016 | John Fang and David P. Smith |
The Lego Group | |
| Mighty Magiswords | 2015–present | Kyle A. Carrozza | First Cartoon Network Studios/Cartoon Network original web series. | |
| Clarence shorts | Skyler Page | |||
| We Bare Bears shorts | Daniel Chong | |||
| Uncle Grandpa shorts | Pete Browngardt | |||
| Steven Universe shorts | Rebecca Sugar | |||
| OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | 2016–present | Ian Jones-Quartey | Second Cartoon Network Studios/Cartoon Network original web series. | |
| Get 'Em Tommy! | Victor Courtright | Third Cartoon Network Studios/Cartoon Network original web series. |
Upcoming/in development series[]
| Show | Debut year | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben 10 (2016 TV series) | March 13, 2017 | Man of Action | Second Cartoon Network/Cartoon Network Studios original reboot series. |
| Summer Camp Island | TBA 2018 | Julia Pott | Based on the pilot of the same name. |
Successful pilots[]
| Show | Year | Creator(s) | Co-production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codename: Kids Next Door | 2001 | Mr. Warburton | Aired as part of Cartoon Network's The 2nd Big Pick Show marathon, later won the competition. Pilot for the show of the same name, who which is entirely produced by Curious Pictures. | |
| Evil Con Carne | Maxwell Atoms | Aired as part of the series premiere Grim & Evil. Pilot for the show of the same name. | ||
| LowBrow | 2002 | Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic | Aired as part of Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest marathon. Pilot for Megas XLR. | |
| The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | 2007 | Thurop Van Orman | Released online in mini sequence as part of the interview with its creator. Pilot for the show of the same name. | |
| Uncle Grandpa | 2008 | Pete Browngardt | Released as part of The Cartoonstitute. The pilot was used as the basis for the series Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, and then greenlit as its own series. | |
| Regular Show | 2009 | J. G. Quintel | Released as part of The Cartoonstitute. Pilot for the show of the same name. | |
| Level Up | 2011 | Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman | D and D Productions | |
| Steven Universe | 2013 | Rebecca Sugar | First of the seven pilots from Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program to be greenlit as a full series. Pilot for the show of the same name. | |
| Clarence | Skyler Page | Second of the seven pilots from Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program to be greenlit as a full series. Pilot for the show of the same name. | ||
| Tome of the Unknown | Patrick McHale | Third of the seven pilots from Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program to be greenlit as a full series. Unlike the other pilots, that were shown online, this was selected for screening in various film festivals (such as the OIAF). Greenlit as Over the Garden Wall. | ||
| Long Live the Royals | 2014 | Sean Szeles | Shown as an artwork at the Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program. Pilot for the miniseries of the same name. | |
| We Bare Bears | Daniel Chong | Based on the webcomic The Three Bare Bears, it was shown at the European KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival. Pilot for the show of the same name. | ||
| Summer Camp Island | 2016 | Julia Pott | Screened at the SXSW Festival. Pilot for the upcoming show of the same name. | |
| Squirrel Boy | TBA | Everett Peck | It wasn't released online or aired on TV, but shown only at School of Visual Arts. Pilot for the show of the same name. |
Failed and uncertain[]
| Show | Year | Creator(s) | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMP, Inc. | 2001 | Chris Reccardi and Charlie Bean | All aired as part of Cartoon Network's The 2nd Big Pick Show marathon. | |
| My Freaky Family | John McIntyre | |||
| Ferret and Parrot | Scott Morse | |||
| A Kitty Bobo Show | Kevin Kaliher and Meg Dunn | |||
| Commander Cork: Space Ranger | 2002 | Mike Bell | All aired as part of Cartoon Network's Weekend Summerfest marathon. | |
| Jeffrey Cat: Claw and Order | Mark O'Hare | |||
| Bagboy! | John Mathot and Ken Segall | |||
| Welcome to Eltingville | Evan Dorkin | First two Cartoon Network Studios pilots made for and aired on Adult Swim. | ||
| The Groovenians | Kenny Scharf | |||
| Party Wagon | 2004 | Craig Bartlett | Snee-Oosh, Inc. | |
| Periwinkle Around the World | Aaron Springer | Refusing to pick it up as a full series, Cartoon Network instead was going to release five shorts from the pilot as mobile phone content, but ended up putting them in their Sunday Pants anthology series in 2005. | ||
| Korgoth of Barbaria | 2006 | Williams Street | ||
| Welcome to Wackamo | John McIntyre | |||
| What's Wrong with Ruth? | 2007 | William Reiss | ||
| Project Gilroy | Shannon Tindle, Shane Prigmore, and Andy Schuhler | |||
| Diggs Tailwagger: Galactic Rover | Derek Drymon | Pilot originally pitched by Nickelodeon. | ||
| Enter Mode 5 | Gabe Swarr | |||
| Locker 514 | Jeffrey Nodelman and Eric Trueheart | First three live-action short pilots produced at Cartoon Network Studios. | ||
| Siblings | Thomas W. Lynch | Tom Lynch Company | ||
| Stan the Man | Matt Dearborn | |||
| Zoot Rumpus | Kaz | |||
| Underfist: Halloween Bash | 2008 | Maxwell Atoms | Spin-off pilot from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. | |
| Mask of Santo | Carlo Olivares Paganoni | Based on the real-life Mexican wrestler icon El Santo, it was originally to be a series broadcast on the network, but the pilot wasn't picked up for a season. | ||
| KROG | 2010 | Mark Rivers | Fourth live-action short pilot produced at Cartoon Network Studios. | |
| Dynamice! | 2011 | Butch Hartman | Billionfold Inc. | |
| Harlem Man | Robert Brewster | Only pre-production pilot from Cartoon Network Studios. | ||
| Aliens in the House | 2013 | Danny Kallis | Last two live-action short pilots produced at Cartoon Network Studios. | |
| Attention Students | Garrett Frawley and Brian Turner | |||
| Lakewood Plaza Turbo | Ian Jones-Quartey | Released as part of Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program. It was later adapted into a mobile game and a mini web series, titled respectively OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes. | ||
| Mars Safari! | Ghostshrimp | All released as part of Cartoon Network' Shorts Development Program. | ||
| My Science Fiction Project | Audie Harrison | |||
| Paranormal Roommates | Benton Connor | |||
| AJ's Infinite Summer | 2014 | Toby Jones | ||
| Back to Backspace | Dominic Bisignano and Amalia Levari | |||
| Pillywags Mansion | Sam Marin | Retrofit Films Swazzle Inc. Chiodo Bros. Productions, Inc. |
Only Cartoon Network Studios puppet show/animated pilot. | |
| Jammers | 2015 | Lizz Hickey | ||
| Ridin' with Burgess | Andres Salaff | |||
| Twelve Forever | Julia Vickerman | |||
| Apple & Onion | George Gendi | Both screened at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. | ||
| Welcome to My Life | Elizabeth Ito | |||
| Bottom's Butte | Minty Lewis | |||
| Victor and Valentino | 2016 | Diego Molano | ||
| Infinity Train | Owen Dennis | |||
| Bumble Braynes | TBA | TBA |
Independent shorts[]
This is a list of Cartoon Network Studios/Cartoon Network original shorts that were not pilots.
| Title | Creator | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Pinkerton | John McIntyre | 2004 | Featured as part of Sunday Pants anthology series in 2005. |
| Flower Pals | 2005 | ||
| Mr. Pike | Lillian Hughes | 2012 | First short winner of Young Writers Program, a special school project created in 2010 by the former Studios' executive Zita Lefebvre, in partnership with Burbank's R.L. Stevenson Elementary School. Its creator, Lillian Hughes, was a fifth grader student of the same school. |
| You Are Special | Sherryn Sim | 2013 | Second short winner of Young Writers Program. Used for the Cartoon Network's campaign "Stop Bullying: Speak Up", the creator Sherryn Sim was an eighth grader student of D.S. Jordan Middle School. |
| Revelation | Boys & Girls Club of Burbank | 2014 | Short created by nine middle/high school kids members of the club for Cartoon Network's campaign "Stop Bullying: Speak Up". These members are: Tamara Chehata, Jonathan Morgan, James Casey, ZanyQa Price, Stephanie Reyes, Karina Lopez, Rosio Iniguez, Aaliyah Arellano, and Angela Ayvazyan. |
Original movies/TV specials[]
| Show | Year(s) | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Flintstones: On the Rocks | 2001 | ||
| A Johnny Bravo Christmas | |||
| Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie | 2001 | Stand-alone film of the first three episodes of Samurai Jack. | |
| It's Valentine's Day, Johnny Bravo! | 2003 | ||
| Twas the Fight Before Christmas | |||
| Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween | |||
| House of Bloo's | 2004 | Stand-alone film of the first three episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. | |
| A Lost Claus | 2005 | ||
| Billy and Mandy Save Christmas | |||
| Juniper Lee Meets the Easter Bunny | 2006 | ||
| Home | Moxie Turtle Tom Lynch Company |
Stand-alone film of the first two episodes of Class of 3000. | |
| Good Wilt Hunting | |||
| The Big Field Trip | 2007 | ||
| Camp Lazlo: Where's Lazlo? | |||
| Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure | |||
| Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen | |||
| Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix | |||
| Nightmare on Wilson Way | |||
| The Grim Adventures of the KND | Curious Pictures | First Cartoon Network crossover special, featuring characters and elements from both The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Codename: Kids Next Door. | |
| Ben 10: Race Against Time | Trouper Productions | First live-action film produced by Cartoon Network Studios. Based on Ben 10. | |
| Transform and Roll Out | MOOK DLE. The Answer Studio Hasbro Studio 4°C |
Stand-alone film of the first three episodes of Transformers: Animated. | |
| Camp Lazlo: Kamp Kringle | |||
| The Class of 3000 Christmas Special | Moxie Turtle Tom Lynch Company |
||
| My Gym Partner's a Monkey: Animal School Musical | 2008 | ||
| Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - Destination: Imagination | |||
| Chowder: Hey, Hey It's Knishmas! | |||
| The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! | 2009 | 10th anniversary special to The Powerpuff Girls. | |
| Ben 10: Alien Swarm | Trouper Productions | Live-action film based on Ben 10: Alien Force. | |
| Low Tidings | Also known as A Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack Very Special: Low Tides Day Special (A K'nuckles Story). | ||
| Firebreather | 2010 | Pistor Productions SAMG Animation Studio |
First Cartoon Network Studios/Cartoon Network original CGI film. Based on the comic book published by Image Comics. |
| Regular Show: Terror Tales of the Park | 2011–16 | ||
| Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United | 2011 | Featuring characters and elements from both Ben 10, respectively Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and Generator Rex. | |
| Adventure Time: Holly Jolly Secrets | Frederator Studios | ||
| Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens | 2012 | Monkey Punch Studio, LLC Tiny Island Productions Cartoon Network Asia |
|
| Regular Show: Exit 9B | |||
| Regular Show: The Christmas Special | |||
| T.G.I.S. | 2013 | Featuring characters and elements from both Ben 10, respectively Ben 10: Omniverse, and The Secret Saturdays | |
| Regular Show: The Thanksgiving Special | |||
| The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed | 2014 | 15th anniversary series special to The Powerpuff Girls. | |
| Regular Show: Skips' Story | |||
| Mixels: Mixed Up Special | The Lego Group | ||
| Regular Show - The Real Thomas: An Intern Special | |||
| Christmas Special | |||
| Mixels: Moon Madness | 2015 | The Lego Group | |
| Say Uncle | Featuring characters and elements from both Steven Universe and Uncle Grandpa. | ||
| Regular Show: Brilliant Century Duck Crisis Special | |||
| Uncle Grandpa: Guest Directed Shorts | |||
| Adventure Time Forever | |||
| Regular Show: The Dome Experiment Special | |||
| Uncle Grandpa Babies | |||
| Mixels: Quest for the Mixamajig | The Lego Group | ||
| Adventure Time: Stakes | Frederator Studios | ||
| Good Jubies | 2016 | A behind the scenes documentary about the making of Adventure Time's episode "Bad Jubies". | |
| Mixels: Every Knight Has Its Day | The Lego Group | ||
| Regular Show: Rigby's Graduation Day Special | |||
| We Bare Bears: Captain Craboo | |||
| Mixels: Nixel Nixel Go Away | The Lego Group | ||
| Clarence: Capture the Flag | |||
| Steven Universe: Gem Harvest | |||
| Regular Show: Christmas in Space | |||
| A Regular Show Epic Final Battle | 2017 | Series finale of Regular Show. | |
| Adventure Time: Islands | Frederator Studios |
Theatrical films[]
All the films are theatrically distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
| Film | Year | Co-production(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Powerpuff Girls Movie | 2002 | First theatrical film by Cartoon Network. Prequel film to The Powerpuff Girls. | |
| Regular Show: The Movie | 2015 | Second theatrical film by Cartoon Network, but in limited release. Based on Regular Show. |
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
See also[]
- Cartoon Network
- Time Warner
- Hanna-Barbera
- Warner Bros. Animation
- Williams Street
- Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe
- List of programs broadcast by Cartoon Network
External Links[]
- Cartoon Network Studios at the Internet Movie Database
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