#me personally i was a disney channel kid. but i also watched nicktoons boomerang and pbs kids

[thatcartoonnetworkblog]

I feel like I should write about the blogger a little.

Hmm, well, I’m a guy in my mid-20′s, and a film student in my last semester of college. I really want to write and direct movies of my own, but there’s always something about animation that brings me back.

I’d say that my first love would be Disney, my second love Warner, and my third Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network. Like practically every child of the 90′s, I grew up with my favorite Disney tapes on a loop again and again, but one thing about me is that I became so fascinated by Disney’s history, and tried to collect and see every animated movie they’ve done, and a good deal of their live-action stuff. 

I remember on a somewhat rare appearance by my father, he was taking us to Toys R Us to buy us a tape of Peter Pan, as per my mom’s request. While that was one of my favorites and I did want to finally own a copy (this being a new release, finally exiting the Disney Vault after a couple of years when we were lucky to find it to rent), I tricked him into buying us Fun and Fancy Free instead, which just came out, and I was curious to see what Jiminy Cricket was like as a host. My mom wasn’t happy, even though I did end up enjoying the movie, and she got us Peter Pan a couple of days later herself. So it was basically a win-win. And I remember being similarly excited when The Black Cauldron and Saludos Amigos were released, so I could finally see these and find out why they were vaulted for so long.

I also remember being excited to finally get Disney Channel as a full-time channel. I loved when we got our weeklong previews every one or two times a year, and getting to watch Disney Afternoon series as well as classic movies and shorts on there. But when we got it... I ended up being disappointed. 

Shows like DuckTales and TaleSpin had moved to Toon Disney, which we had yet to get, the studio’s older films were relegated to late nights, and their core schedule consisted of live-action shows that didn’t interest me for the most part, and Playhouse Disney, which I was a little too old for at that point. Around that point, their only animated series was The Proud Family (I got the channel somewhere between the time Lizze McGuire and that started), which I tolerated, but never particularly enjoyed. My attention was more tuned to CN and (to a lesser extent) Nickelodeon. Even when Kim Possible, which I thought was an improvement aired, it wasn’t enough, and I never really connected to the channel aside from Boy Meets World and the handful of times I could stay up for Vault Disney. 

That’s about all my Disney-loving self could really accept. I did eventually get Toon Disney, though, and I really liked it in its first few years, as I even liked a lot of their One Saturday Morning shows, but the more that their older series were being taken off for repeats of their Disney Channel cartoons and for Jetix, the less I was into it. I kind of zoned out by the time it became Disney XD. Gravity Falls and Star vs the Forces of Evil are good shows, though.

I was more of a Nickelodeon fan when I was a bit younger, and really liked it in the early 90′s. Their live-action shows were clever and creative, and even today I still enjoy Pete & Pete, Clarissa Explains It All, and the game shows. But I’m a cartoon person at heart, so those are what stick out to me. I wasn’t born when the first 3 Nicktoons aired, and was probably a little too young to watch and appreciate Rocko’s Modern Life as it premiered, but from 94-96, I was really into all of their Nicktoons, including the aforementioned 4. I’m not sure if it was because I was losing interest in the network itself, or if the shows being made at the time didn’t appeal to me, but I wasn’t into most of the shows made from Angry Beavers on, not even SpongeBob, and I still kind of am not. What really killed interest for me was how reliant Nick was becoming on Klasky-Csupo, whose later shows were never as creative or enjoyable to me as Rugrats or Real Monsters (give or take As Told by Ginger). Invader Zim was the next Nicktoon that I really got into, and I don’t care if it’s the edgy choice, I really liked the show, and it was one of the last that I ever got into (I’m not as in love with Avatar: TLA as the rest of the world, but I recognize it as a great show, and I recently got into and really dig Harvey Beaks). It was my favorite Nicktoon for a while, but I think Rocko edges it out now.

I lost interest in Nickelodeon around that time because I discovered Cartoon Network, which for me, was perfect. A channel entirely devoted to animation, including some faces I was familiar with, like the Looney Tunes (which I had grown to love via Nickelodeon and VHSes, but really fell for and started to idolize these cartoons now), The Flintstones and Jetsons, and Scooby, and some I wasn’t as familiar with, like many of Hanna-Barbera’s other creations, and their newer works, like 2 Stupid Dogs, SWAT Kats, and Dexter’s Laboratory. Fitting the decade’s rise of animation at the time, these new series were edgy within tasteful regions, and had good characters that made me feel welcome. They were different from the older shows, some of which had fantastic comic timing and colors that popped out, but also kind of complimented them at the same time. It was a good fit.

But I especially fell in love with the channel when they started to integrate more originals. Johnny Bravo and Cow & Chicken were worthy follow-ups to Dexter’s Lab, being similar in energy but standing out in many other ways. The Powerpuff Girls was another great addition that I instantly started to like as much, if not more, than these 3, and by the time Ed, Edd n’ Eddy hit, I was completely in debt to CN. This one especially looked and felt different from their other shows. Dexter, Johnny, and PPG had old-school designs, and while EEnE had its own retro vibes, the designs and characteristics were more modern, and instead went for Warner and MGM-esque expressions and movement, as opposed to the other show’s Hanna-Barbera/UPA inspired-aesthetics. Right away, I could tell that it was different from the others shows, which we really needed.

And of course there was Toonami! The first year or two of its existence wasn’t too exciting, when it was just HB’s action shows, and a couple of 80′s shows they owned. But when they started to integrate more anime into the network, and replaced Moltar with TOM, Sara, and a backstory, that’s when it became worth watching. Adding the DC shows was an additional great touch, as it was a perfect addition to Turner and Warner’s new-found synergy. Getting to watch Batman: TAS, along with Animaniacs and Freakazoid! on Cartoon Network was perfect.

I’d say CN’s peak was the Powerhouse era, which was 1997-2004, with around 1999-2002ish as the absolute best. Besides some great bumpers and ads, this was a great time to watch the network. The originals were great, while the best of the classics were still being aired, as most else were moving to Boomerang. You were bound to find something good on the network. I’d say that absolute peak started to end when Dexter’s Lab returned after its hiatus, with weaker writing and production values, and was increasingly going down when the post-movie Powerpuff Girls episodes were aired, and had the same problems. Moving The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and even eventually Looney Tunes to Boomerang were additional lowblows that were signaling a change that I wasn’t crazy about.

Not that the City Era wasn’t great in an aesthetic style. I really like the look of those bumpers, and the way that all of these characters fit together. Ed, Edd n’ Eddy, Billy & Mandy, and Kids Next Door were still airing new episodes, and some of their newer shows were showing interest like Foster’s Home and Megas XLR. But their newer shows after these were for the most part getting a little lamer, their old shows were all but gone, and Toonami became a weekly block, instead of being on 5 or 6 nights a week. Things weren’t the same.

Then CN Real was happening, and... yeah. Things have definitely changed since then, with 2010 introducing some great shows that have impacted the network in a great way. And they’ve made some great stuff since.

I made this blog, as well as unofficialcartoonnetwork, to celebrate the network from all ages and periods, not just be a nostalgia hound. I still love Hanna-Barbera, but I keep up with most of the new shows, too, and I think there’s room for everything. Animation appeals to me for all of the wonderful things that can be expressed through it, and I like there being communities where we can appreciate this. I hope my followers can find something in common with that here, even if our experiences are different.