The Cartoonstitute
| The Cartoonstitute | |
|---|---|
 The Cartoonstitute logo | |
| Format | Animated variety show |
| Created by | Rob Sorcher |
| Starring | Various voice actors |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 14 (only 4 2/3 completed) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Rob Sorcher Craig McCracken Rob Renzetti |
| Producer(s) | Janet Dimon |
| Running time | 22 minutes (3x7 minutes) |
| Production company(s) | Cartoon Network Studios |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network Video |
| Original airing | May 7, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Regular Show Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Uncle Grandpa |
The Cartoonstitute was a planned Cartoon Network project created by Cartoon Network's executive Rob Sorcher that would have been a showcase for animated shorts created without the interference of network executives and focus testing. It was headed by Craig McCracken (creator of The Powerpuff Girls, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends) and Rob Renzetti (creator of My Life as a Teenage Robot).[1][2] 39 shorts for the project were in development at Cartoon Network Studios, but only 14 of these were completed. Eventually, balancing 5 upcoming shows and adding another proved difficult and the project was scrapped.[3] Of the shorts which were made, only Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa have been greenlit to become animated series (the latter was initially greenlit as Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, before becoming a series of its own).[4] On May 7, 2010, Cartoon Network uploaded nearly all of the shorts to their website. The only shorts not uploaded were Maruined, 3 Dog Band, and Joey to the World.[5]
History
The series was first announced on April 3, 2008, at Cartoon Network's annual upfront in New York City. The project was to be similar to The Cartoon Cartoon Show (also known as the What a Cartoon! Show) which aired on the network more than a decade earlier and gave birth to some of the channel's first animated series, such as Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken. The Cartoonstitute was to establish a think tank and create an environment in which animators can create characters and stories. A section of Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, was set aside exclusively for the project. The "Cartoonstitute" name was imagined by Lauren Faust, the wife of Craig McCracken, and one of the later creators of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.[6]
List of completed shorts
| Title | Creator | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| YES | Dave Smith | A merman enlists a family from the country to assist him in an effort to help people realize and fulfill their dreams. |
| Meddlen Meddows | Chris Reccardi | A bug-like alien ends up being stranded on a primitive alien planet, after the power cell of his ship dies during a clash with a local monster. |
| Danger Planet | Derek Drymon | When a Danger Planet arcade machine and a forklift robot get stranded on an alien planet, they take it upon themselves to protect a human baby, or else a space ranger will make sure that they do not leave the planet on her watch. |
| Stockboys of The Apocalypse | Derek Drymon | A teenage boy falls into a time machine, where he must work at a department store with his (now) elderly best friend and a mutated pig. |
| Baloobaloob's Fun Park | Aaron Springer | Two human teenagers must help an extraterrestrial, Baloobaloob, come up with an extraordinary stage act, in an attempt to prevent his amusement park from closing. |
| Spleenstab | Mike Bell | A barbarian attempts to become a kind and gentle person with the help of a forest elf. |
| The Borneos | Chris Staples | The sole normal child in a family of circus performers must undergo training to prevent the family title of the "Walla Walla Wildman" from being taken. |
| The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan | Josh Lieberman & Joey Giardina (credited as "Josh & Joey") |
A leprechaun with a German accent named Khan and a giant platypus named Manny attempt to retrieve a ball, pretending that the patch of grass surrounding it is lava. |
| Le Door | Matt Danner | An inter-dimensional explorer named Le Door (a parody of Doraemon) takes his young apprentice, Frank, on a tour through his old academy, only to enter a competition against his old sidekick/rival and his apprentice. |
| Maruined | Genndy Tartakovsky | Two siblings, a teen girl and her younger brother, become trapped on a deserted island full of danger, with a strange hippopotamus/dog hybrid as their pet and protector. |
| 3 Dog Band | Paul Rudish | A trio of dogs (all interested in different genres of music) prepare for a gig at an exclusive nightclub, with some minor difficulty along the way. |
| Joey to the World | Craig Kellman | Written for an older teen/adult audience, a 35-year-old kangaroo decides to move out of his mother's pouch and into the Alaskan wilderness. |
| Regular Show | J. G. Quintel | When two best friends, a blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby, play a game of rock, paper, scissors over a couch, it leads to dangerous results. Note: This short was later retooled into "First Day", an episode of Regular Show that serves as the show's pilot. |
| Uncle Grandpa | Peter Browngardt | A strange man who is the uncle and grandfather of everyone in the world, Uncle Grandpa, must do battle with a gang of mutants, after an attempt to gain the appreciation and love of a nerdy teenager goes awry. Note 1: This short later became the pilot to both Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, as well as the show of the same name, Uncle Grandpa. Note 2: This short also had a nomination for the Emmy Awards in 2010.[7] |
References
- ↑ Liu, Ed (04-03-2008). "Cartoon Network Creates The Cartoonstitute". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ↑ Bynum, Aaron H. (04-03-08). 'The Cartoonstitute' Announcement "CN Upfront 2008: 'The Cartoonstitute' Announcement". Animation Insider. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- ↑ "Cartoonstitute's Cancellation". Comments.deviantart.com. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ↑ "Cartoon Network Announces Comedy Animation Greenlights". News.turner.com. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ↑ "Cartoon Network Video | Full Online Episodes of Ben 10 and Your Favorite TV Shows!". Cartoonnetwork.com. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ↑ Faust, Lauren (04-09-08). "The Cartoonstitute!". Lauren Faust. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ↑ "Uncle Grandpa: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - Emmy". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
