Cartoon Cartoons

Credits

Descriptions by
wolfie14, Shadeed A. Kelly and rjsmith09

Captures by
PrimalScreenAtlanta, rksexy2finger1991, ccffreak, rocktowers and FanCentralNetwork

Editions by
BenIsRandom, TheRealMarcel2000 and Michael Kenchington

Background

Cartoon Cartoons is a collective name used by Cartoon Network for its fifteen original animated television series that premiered between 1996 and 2003. They were produced by Hanna-Barbera and/or Cartoon Network Studios, with smaller studios like A.K.A. Cartoon, Kinofilm, Stretch Films, and Curious Pictures focusing on individual projects. The Cartoon Cartoon moniker was first introduced in 1997, and went through various incarnations before being fully phased out by 2008.

1st Logo (July 17, 1997-November 5, 1998)

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Visuals: The 1992-2004 Cartoon Network logo is on a green swirly background with beaming turquoise circles. It zooms through the "NETWORK" part of the logo, which changes into the word "CARTOON" letter by letter, then the logo explodes and zooms out slowly. An iris out is seen after the explosion, which closes like an eye.

Variants:

• In the closing version, the 1992-2004 Cartoon Network logo is shown zooming out on the same swirly background as the opening.
• In an alternate version of the intro, the logo starts as usual, except this time, the logo zooms in to show a variety of Cartoon Cartoon characters inside the logo. The logo then zooms out and the rest of the logo proceeds as normal (starting with the explosion).
• On Cartoon Cartoon Weekend in November 1997, the word "WEEKEND" in white appears below the Cartoon Cartoon logo.
• On a Netflix print of a Dexter's Laboratory episode, this logo appears with "A Time Warner Company" below it.

Technique: Digital 2D animation. This and the next logos were designed by Primal Screen, who were responsible for most of Cartoon Network's on-screen branding during this time.

Audio: A silly cartoony jazz sounder with "Boing!" sounds in the middle, with drums at the end with a male voice-over (which is different each time the intro appears) saying "Cartoon Cartoon!". Composed by Stephen Mank.

Audio Trivia: The last seven notes of the theme (but without the voice over) were later used for the 1999-2018 Cartoon Network Productions Ripple endtag.

Audio Variant: At the end of each Cartoon Cartoon, only the last seven notes of the Cartoon Cartoons theme is heard, followed by a combined voice-over of all voice-overs saying "Cartoon Cartoon!".

Availability: The outro is still retained on the Cow and Chicken episode "Meet Lance Sackless" and the Dexter's Laboratory episode "Dexter and Computress Get Mandark/The Justice Friends: Pain in the Mouth/Dexter Vs. Santa's Claws" on Boomerang, with it appearing on the latter show's episode as late as 2018.

2nd Logo (November 6, 1998-September 2005)

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Visuals: Same as before, but there are differences. The background is spiraly blue with beaming turquoise circles and rays. After a few seconds, the CN logo zooms forward, extruding letters when it thrusts forward. This is followed by red and yellow ribbons curling to form a cursive "Cartoon", followed by the letters in "CARTOONS" zooming out one by one (the "OO" zooms out together). A character from the following show pops out of the first "O" in "CARTOONS" and says "Cartoon Cartoons!".

Character Variants:

• Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory)
• Johnny (Johnny Bravo)
• Chicken (Cow and Chicken)
• Bubbles (The Powerpuff Girls), who pops out of both "O"s in "CARTOONS"
• Eddy (Ed, Edd n' Eddy)
• I.M. Weasel (I Am Weasel)
• Mike (Mike, Lu & Og)
• Courage (Courage the Cowardly Dog)
• Sheep (Sheep in the Big City)
• Otto (Time Squad)
• Grim and Hector Con Carne (Grim & Evil)
• Robot Jones (Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?)
• Numbuh Five (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Other Variants:

• On VHS releases, the 1992 Cartoon Network logo stays intact until it thrusts itself forward, with the swirly background still moving. Plus, only Bubbles (from The Powerpuff Girls) can be seen, even when it's not that show.
• Another variant exists, which was used in which no characters pop out at all. Instead, the four "o"s in the logo pop themselves. Also, there is a combined voice-over of all voice-overs saying "Cartoon Cartoons!".
• There's an ending variant where the Cartoon Network logo zooms out in front of the background, similar to the previous logo‘s closing variant.
• A special KND variant (only aired on December 7, 2002) where Numbuh Two (voiced by Benjamin Diskin) interrupts the Cartoon Cartoons opening also exists.
• On Cartoon Cartoon Weekend in November 1998, the word "WEEKEND" appears below the Cartoon Cartoons logo.

Technique: Digital 2D animation from the previous logo. Made by Primal Screen.

Audio: Same as the previous logo; it also includes the characters' dialogue at the end.

Audio Variants:

• When Time Squad, Grim & Evil and Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? aired on the Cartoon Cartoon Fridays block, the characters say "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays!". The Time Squad and Robot Jones versions of this variant ran in the CCF block until Summer 2002, when they got the special Cartoon Cartoon Fridays bumpers.
• On Sheep In The Big City, Sheep (voiced by Kevin Seal) says "Baa! Baa!" since he doesn't speak.
• In the end of each Cartoon Cartoon, a male voice-over says "Cartoon Cartoons!".
• Sometimes, a whoosh sound ("Sound Ideas, SPACE, WHOOSH - FAST WHOOSH BY, SCI FI 10") can be heard when the CN logo zooms in.

Availability:

• The Powerpuff Girls variant can be seen on VHS releases of said series, as well as Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie.
• The Grim & Evil variant does not show up on Cartoon Network airings of said show's spin-offs The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne, despite both being the final two Cartoon Cartoons in 2003.
• The character-less variant was first shown before all shows on November 6, 1998 as part of the 1998 Cartoon Cartoons Weekend.
  • It was also shown before Courage and Mike, Lu & Og for a single month in November 1999 until their custom variants debuted the next month, and in Japan as well as on some promos in Latin America and some U.S. promos for the Saturday Morning Block and Cartoon Cartoon Fridays in 1999.
• Although this logo ended in America in June 2004, this logo still continued usage in Latin America until the end of 2004 and in Asia and Australia until September 2005.

3rd Logo (November 7, 1998-June 13, 2004)

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Visuals: Over a white background, the Powerpuff Girls float on the top right, while a red worm-like object creeps in from the left. Blossom charges towards it and gets stuck, with Buttercup following suit a second later. Bubbles frees them by kicking the space between where they are stuck, and the screen zooms out, revealing the red "worm" to be part of a cursive "Cartoon", except the "n" is not completely formed (which Bubbles easily fixes by punching it). From the bottom, Blossom flies up with the word "CART", and Buttercup does the same with "OONS". Blossom and Buttercup slam the two segments together, with the same background as the previous logo when the logo is formed.

Technique: Digital 2D animation from the previous two logos. Again made by Primal Screen.

Audio: The music from the previous two logos (albeit edited slightly), mixed with squeeze and punch sounds.

Availability: This was likely only seen during The Powerpuff Girls on weekends and Cartoon Cartoon blocks. It was also only ever seen a few times and Cartoon Cartoon Fridays/Weekend airings of the show removed it.

4th Logo (August 20, 1999-September 2005)

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Visuals: On a black background, the Cartoon Network logo zooms out with blue circles coming from the center of the screen. Then, the letters that make up the Cartoon Network logo flash by rapidly one-by-one. Colored squares with Cartoon Cartoon characters in them spiral out, followed by four squares filling the four corners of the screen (this may or may not feature characters from the upcoming show). The ribbons from the 2nd logo (except they are two different shades of blue) then curve and spiral until passing the screen to reveal colored squares moving up and down like a soundbar (with characters inside them). The boxes then disappear and the Cartoon Cartoons (singular logo) logo on a dark blue oval and a light blue circle with an "f" and "FRIDAYS" (or a "w" and "WEEKEND") in it merge from the left and right respectively. Blue circles emerge once they merge and a character from the next show pops out of the second "O" in "CARTOON" and says "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays!" or "Cartoon Cartoon Weekend!".

Character Variants: Same as the 2nd logo.

• Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory)
• Johnny (Johnny Bravo)
• Chicken (Cow and Chicken)
• Bubbles (The Powerpuff Girls), who pops out of both "O"s in "CARTOON"
• Eddy (Ed, Edd n' Eddy)
• Mike (Mike, Lu & Og)
• Courage (Courage the Cowardly Dog)
• Sheep (Sheep in the Big City)
• Otto (Time Squad)
• I.M. Weasel (I Am Weasel)
• Robot Jones (Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?)
• Numbuh Five (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Other Variants:

• On all shows starting with with Time Squad in Summer 2002, the second "CARTOON" is changed to "CARTOONS". Also, all the shows had characters from Dexter's Laboratory in the four squares.
• An ending variant exists, where the logo starts off similarly, before a trail of Cartoon Cartoon characters appear and spin around the logo before disappearing into the distance, then the logo quickly forms up and three blue circles zoom out.
• The logo was used in Latin America for the main intro, but the circle has a "C" with the Cartoon Network logo in it. The Cartoon Cartoon characters simply say "Cartoon Cartoons!", just like the 2nd logo.

Technique: Digital 2D animation from the previous three logos. Once again made by Primal Screen.

Audio: A fast-paced techno remix version of the Cartoon Cartoons theme followed by the character's dialogue. Composed by Michael Kohler and Stephen Mank.

Audio Variants:

• On the first airing of Mike, Lu & Og (November 12, 1999), an announcer (voiced by Scott Sanders) says "And now, the premiere of Mike, Lu & Og" when the ribbons appear. The premiere of Courage the Cowardly Dog that same night also got a similar treatment.
• Starting with Sheep in the Big City, the music was slightly remixed, adding snare drums.
• On Sheep in the Big City, Sheep (voiced by Kevin Seal) says "Baa! Baa!" since he doesn't speak. A similar thing also happened with Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? where Robot Jones says nothing.

Availability:

• Seen on Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, Ed, Edd n' Eddy, Mike, Lu & Og, Codename: Kids Next Door (which is no longer available for streaming outside of Fandago at Home, previously known as Vudu, and possibly iTunes as of 2024), The Powerpuff Girls, I Am Weasel, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Sheep in the Big City during Cartoon Cartoon Fridays until May 2003, as well as Cartoon Cartoon Weekend in 1999 and 2000. Most of the aforementioned shows were on HBO Max, but have since been removed.
• Grim & Evil was the only series that did not use this logo and used the 2nd logo instead.
• The Latin American version of this logo was retired in the fall of 2005.

5th Logo (September 12, 2005-September 9, 2007)

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Visuals: At various shots of the CN City (likely it supposed to be the City of Townsville from The Powerpuff Girls), 2 translucent yellow and red ribbons fly around the city in various different shots, panning as they twist all around the city. After a series of rapid-fire cuts through the city, it then cuts to just above the city as the ribbons form a outline of the Cartoon Cartoon (singular version) logo in a rapid-fire cut fashion. After the outline is finished, it thrusts forwards with a trail effect before the full logo comes slamming into place so quickly, it shakes violently for a second. The logo then sparkles.

Technique: A combination of CGI and traditional cel animation designed by Animal Logic, who worked on Cartoon Network's "CN City" branding from 2004-2006.

Audio: A remixed version of the Cartoon Cartoons theme, followed by Nikki (voiced by Nicole Vicius) saying "Cartoon Cartoon!". Starting in 2006, Johnny Lancaster says the phrase. Composed by Matt Fletcher for Elias Arts.

Availability: Only seen on the 2005 revival of The Cartoon Cartoon Show.

Final Note

In 2007, Cartoon Network's fall branding allegedly had no intro of The Cartoon Cartoon Show and cut straight to the cartoons while the block continued to air until June 21, 2008.