Joe Cartoon

Last updated

Joe Cartoon
Genre Animation
Created byJoseph C. Shields
Written byJoseph C. Shields
Voices ofJoseph C. Shields
Original languageEnglish
Production
AnimatorJoseph C. Shields
Original release
Release1 December 1998 (1998-12-01)

Joe Cartoon is an Adobe Flash animated cartoon series created by Joseph C. Shields and later animated by Mondo Media. [1] [2] Starting as an independent website, Joe Cartoon was later affiliated with Atom Films, [3] before becoming independent again in 2006, then being bought in 2007 by Endemol. [1]

Contents

Noted for their crude humor and tongue-in-cheek violence, Joe Cartoons were among the first widely distributed web-based productions of their kind. [4] Produced in Macromedia's (Adobe's) Flash format, a number of the cartoons are interactive, such as "Gerbil in a Microwave" and "Frog in a Blender". [4] "Frog in a Blender" has been downloaded at least 110 million times. [5] Before the dotcom crash, the site was said to be making $25,000 per month from banner advertising. [6] Shields won $80,000 in compensation from John Zuccarini in 2001 under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act after Zuccarini cybersquatted domain names. [7]

The cartoons were broadcast on G4 as part of their Happy Tree Friends & Friends evening, and Joe Cartoon was in the top 10 on iTunes for several months. [8] In April 2006, a collection of 40 Joe Cartoon creations was released on DVD in North America, with some DVD-specific content created for the release. [4] Joecartoon was taken down in 2010 and the content was moved over to YouTube; however, the website returned in May 2012.

Characters

The Gerbil

The Gerbil is one of the most well-known characters from the website, next to Superfly. His first appearance was in the 1999 cartoon Gerbil in a Microwave, when the user presses various speeds on a microwave in order for the gerbil to explode from too much heat. He has appeared in most of the cartoons, where he always gets into dangerous situations which results in death. Examples include getting stabbed by a pencil shot from the man in Numbah 2 Pencil III, being devoured by piranhas in Joefish, getting shot by a gun in Gerbill, and even getting run over by a Hummer along with his army of other gerbils while storming to find Joecartoon, who they claim is responsible for the gratuitous violence against gerbils in Gerbil Genocide.

However, in Donkey Bong (Long version), the gerbil laments about people "Kicking his ass, for what? A couple of laughs?" and that he is sick of being in dangerous situations that resulted in death from past films. Even though the Gerbil died in many cartoons, he has returned in other films, even the more recent 'Numbah 2 Pencil'.

Lump the No-Legged Dog

Lump is a big dog without any legs, who made his debut in the 1999 self-titled cartoon which shows him doing a variety of tricks, even though he does not have legs. In 2002, he has made a cameo appearance in Goanna Humpa during the 'technical difficulties'. Lump has been shown in the Greenfields series, when Jebidiah tries to find a solution to end destruction of a city by spray-painting him and calling him 'Super Cow', but he does not have any special powers due to his lack of legs. Lump has recently appeared in Numbah 2 Pencil part 3 trying to pull a parachute string, but he cannot due to his lack of arms. However, he pulls the string after all which makes his bag pop out confetti.

Thuh Greenfields

The Greenfields are a family of pot farming/performance artists who face weird events. Jebidiah is the husband and Gertrude is the wife. They debuted in 2004 with the 15-part series 'Thuh Greenfields'. In it, Jebidiah produces a dominatrix porn video for sale on the Internet which involves him and his wife 'spanking', facing the city destroyed by a giant kid named Gummo, who shortly dies after playing with a spaceship, which explodes.

The Greenfields made a cameo appearance in Joemomma's 10-Pump BB gun. Jebidiah however made an appearance in Joemomma's Psychotherapy, while talking to Joemomma about his problems with Gertrude drinking cider, which almost killed him due to the fact that she farted during sex while he was "lookin' around with his lighter". They have also appeared in the music video for 'I'm a Little Catfish', and even in a small short holiday film in which Gertrude gave a stripper pole to Jebidiah as a Christmas gift and coerces him to "start dancin'" by wielding a rifle she bought for herself.

They recently appeared in a cartoon called 'Possum Whistle', a fake infomercial that describes a device used to lure possums into being crushed by Jebidiah's 4X4 vehicle.

Superfly

Superfly, or Supahfly, is another well-known character from the site. He is a fly who gets himself in certain situations, mostly involving alcohol or drug use. He made his debut in 2000 in '3 Drunk Flies' when he played pranks on a frog while hanging out on top of a man's beer can with two other flies. It quickly became successful and another short was created the same year with Supahfly II, which the fly faced a man typing on his computer and the man inadvertently 'sucked' the fly after being insulted, who spits the fly on the computer screen, then the fly immediately attacks the man through martial arts. Later in 2000, the fly starred in the other cartoon 'Stoneflies', which the fly and his 2 buddies face a man smoking weed and the man kills the other 2 flies. A sequel came out in 2001 with Stoneflies II, which shows a frog flying out of an airplane and being wiped by a sloth mistaking it for toilet paper. It then lands on the man, who dies after licking it on the fly's orders.

Supahfly made another appearance in the 2002 holiday short 'Supahfly Doll Commercial' in which he sees Santa and gets shooed away, but plotted revenge by firing a huge candy-cane pole, which impales Santa. After a 4-year hiatus, Supahfly returned in Supahfly 6, and then later on in 2008 in Bongzai and Thongzai, pts. 1 & 2, along with a small appearance in Numbah 2 Pencil III. He also did a cover of the Greenfields' song 'I'm a Little Catfish.' Superfly was seen recently in the cartoon 'Possum Whistle', when he watches the Greenfields' infomercial along with a man on the couch and a possum witnesses the infomercial and jumps against the screen, but gets blown up back to the wall and dies. He has many catchphrases, such as 'Oh, my freakin' head, I'm so wasted!' to 'Hey man, you pissed off SUPAHFLY!!'

Joemomma

Joemomma is a hyperactive bratty little kid who irritates and annoys everybody he sees, especially penguins. He made his first appearance in the 2003 cartoon 'Joemomma' in which he gets kicked out by his cigarette smoking mother, who Joemomma annoys about not taking care of him and himself being sent away to Social Services while everyone is going to hate the mother for the rest of her life until she dies. Then he sees a penguin and insults it due to its weight and its inability to do anything except walking, but the penguin immediately attacks, which knocks the kid out cold. At the end [after a short cameo by the Gerbil (in the second appearance, he yells that there is no part of his contract about "getting slammed up against the aquarium every two seconds" and goes on a strike)], he is found in a cabinet, making viewers realize that it was all a dream, but then Joemomma gives the finger.

In 2006, Joemomma appeared in Joemomma's 10-Pump BB Gun, which he is putting the gun at many different speeds to shoot the Gerbil. The first projectile misses the gerbil, both his eyes get poked out by the next 2 BBs and the remaining 6 gets shot at various humans and creatures, until he gets 'snake eyes', which make him see again. About to shoot the last projectile, then gets shot by a hunter, who then shoots the Gerbil after being hit by a paint thinner bottle thrown by the Gerbil. Joemomma then congratulates the hunter, a political spoof of Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident, and thinking it could be his 'dad', but the hunter is not.

Joemomma made another appearance in 2006's Joemomma Psychotherapy and he is shown recently at the end of the Supahfly short, Thongzai 2: The Legend of El Condom, in which he sings and runs around the house while the mother watches.

Cartoons

The cartoons available from the website are broken into several categories, structured to highlight and provide easy access to the most popular series or collections.

Press n' splode

The header of this category on the website is actually Press n 'Splode as most of these seventeen cartoons involve one or more characters exploding at some point. Each of these cartoons require varying degrees of interaction from the user. Some as simple as clicking a button to move on to the next section, with others having various branching paths depending on the users selections. This is where to find two of Joe's most famous works, Gerbil in a Microwave and Frog in a Blender.

Superfly

This collection focuses on the ubiquitous character Superfly (aka Supahfly), arguably the most well known character from any of the Joe Cartoons. Each of these places Superfly in a different situation, most involving drinking or drug use. Superfly's catch phrase of "Oh, my freakin' head, I'm so wasted!" often comes into play.

Thuh Greenfields

This is a series of cartoons focusing on Jebidiah and Gertrude Greenfield. The Greenfields are two enterprising pot farmers/performance artists who have a truly bizarre sequence of events, involving a legless dog Lump and a giant Gummo.

In A Blender

This category focuses on interactive cartoons where the user presses the buttons on the blender.

Everything Else

This final category groups together other Joe Cartoon offerings, illustrating a wide range of topics and art styles that have been explored since the website was first created.

Transition to YouTube

In 2010, the Joe Cartoon website was shut down and moved to YouTube according to a statement on YouTube by Joe Cartoon:

"We have now found a new home and it is YouTube. In order to keep the content serving up free, beer flowing and fishing rod wet we have decided to move the site completely over to YouTube—so consider this the official home of JoeCartoon. We hope that all our active fans will find sanctuary in our new spot and keep it active and alive." [9]

On 17 May 2012 Joe announced that his website had returned, the announcement was made on YouTube as well with a video titled: Joe Cartoon - Peace Love. [10] [11]

Controversy

At least one cartoon, "Donkey Bong (Long)", has been self-censored by the creator after its initial publication. The conclusion of the original version featured the Gerbil performing Simon and Garfunkel's hit song "The Sound of Silence", with the lyrics completely altered to describe instead the woes of being stuck inside of a donkey's rectum, which is the Gerbil's ultimate predicament in the cartoon. As the website stepped up its marketing and exposure, the song parody was removed from the cartoon to avoid potential music copyright litigation. However, the Newgrounds submitted version of the cartoon has the deleted scene uncensored.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porky Pig</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedy Gonzales</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast, being quick-witted and heroic while speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. There have been 46 theatrical shorts made either starring or featuring the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosemite Sam</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. He is an adversary of Bugs Bunny and his archenemy alongside Elmer Fudd. He is commonly depicted as a mean-spirited and extremely aggressive, gunslinging outlaw or cowboy with a hair-trigger temper and an intense hatred of rabbits, Bugs in particular. In cartoons with non-Western themes, he uses various aliases, including "Chilkoot Sam" and "Square-deal Sam" in 14 Carrot Rabbit, "Riff Raff Sam" in Sahara Hare, "Sam Schultz" in Big House Bunny, "Seagoin' Sam" in Buccaneer Bunny, "Shanghai Sam" in Mutiny on the Bunny, "Von Schamm the Hessian" in Bunker Hill Bunny, "Baron Sam von Schpamm" in Dumb Patrol, and many others. During the golden age of American animation, Yosemite Sam appeared as antagonist in 33 animated shorts made between 1945 and 1964.

<i>One Froggy Evening</i> 1955 film directed by Chuck Jones

One Froggy Evening is a 1955 American Technicolor animated musical short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn. The short, partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time involving a dancing caterpillar in a small box, marks the debut of Michigan J. Frog: an anthropomorphic frog with a talent for singing and dancing that he demonstrates for no one except whoever possesses the box wherein he resides. This popular short contained a wide variety of musical entertainment, with songs ranging from "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry", two Tin Pan Alley classics, to "Largo al Factotum", Figaro's aria from the opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia. The short was released on December 31, 1955, as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.

<i>The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show</i> Television series

The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show is a half-hour American animated comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and aired in 1995 as a spin-off of the show Marsupilami, a spin-off itself of Raw Toonage. The show represents Disney's attempt to do a more "edgy" cartoon in the vein of Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show and Rocko's Modern Life. Unlike other Disney Afternoon cartoons, Shnookums & Meat only aired once a week, usually Mondays. Only thirteen episodes were produced.

<i>The Red Green Show</i> Canadian comedy television series (1991–2006)

The Red Green Show is a half-hour Canadian television comedy program that aired on various channels in Canada from April 4, 1991 until April 7, 2006. During its fifteen seasons, it had six network homes, but its longest run was with its final network, CBC Television. It is a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy and based on various outdoor shows and 'Do It Yourself' television series. On U.S. broadcast stations, the series aired on more than 100 American PBS affiliates at its peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan J. Frog</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Michigan Jackson Frog is an animated cartoon character from the Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies film series. Originally a one-shot character, his only appearance during the original run of the Merrie Melodies series was as the star of the One Froggy Evening short film, written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. In this cartoon, partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time, Michigan is a male frog who wears a top hat; carries a cane; and sings pop music, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley hits, and other songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries while dancing and performing acrobatics in the style of early 20th century vaudeville. Michigan is discovered inside a metal box sealed within the cornerstone of a recently demolished building by a hapless construction worker. He appears as an ordinary frog with a disinterested facial expression until he takes out his top hat and cane and happily demonstrates his talents. The man plans to profit off Michigan but catches on too late that the frog performs exclusively for whomever possesses his box, and changes back into an ordinary frog the second anyone else sees him, thus thwarting the man's dreams of wealth.

<i>Nicktoons Film Festival</i> 2004 American TV series or program

The Nicktoons Film Festival was an annual event that was created by producer Fred Seibert and produced for its first three years by his Frederator Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Murray (animator)</span> American animator and cartoonist (born 1961)

Joseph David Murray is an American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the creator of Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life, Cartoon Network's Camp Lazlo, and PBS Kids' Let's Go Luna!. Murray is the winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards for Camp Lazlo and the TV film Camp Lazlo: Where's Lazlo?.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash animation</span> Animation technique made using Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash animation is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate platform or similar animation software and often distributed in the SWF file format. The term Adobe Flash animation refers to both the file format and the medium in which the animation is produced. Adobe Flash animation has enjoyed mainstream popularity since the mid-2000s, with many Adobe Flash-animated television series, television commercials, and award-winning online shorts being produced since then.

<i>Congo Jazz</i> 1930 film

Congo Jazz is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Warner Bros.' first cartoon star, Bosko. The cartoon was released on August 9, 1930. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and The Vitaphone Corporation. Congo Jazz was the first cartoon to feature Bosko's falsetto voice that he would use for the bulk of the series' run. It has the earliest instance of a "trombone gobble" in animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blender Foundation</span> Non-profit organization responsible for the development of Blender

The Blender Foundation is a Dutch nonprofit organization (Stichting) responsible for the development of Blender, an open-source 3D content-creation program.

The Mighty Heroes is an American Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 21 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvell Jones</span> American comics artist

Arvell Jones is an American comics artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for DC Comics and its imprint Milestone Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foghorn Leghorn</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the golden age of American animation. All 29 of these cartoons were directed by McKimson.

<i>A Cartoonists Nightmare</i> 1935 film

A Cartoonist's Nightmare is a 1935 Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short in the Looney Tunes series, starring Beans the Cat in his first solo film. The film was directed by Jack King and was released on September 21, 1935.

HobbyKids Adventures is an American children's animated sitcom created by Butch Hartman and produced by PocketWatch, Inc. and Billionfold, Inc. for the YouTube channel HobbyFamilyTV. The series follows the adventures of HobbyPig, HobbyFrog and HobbyBear as they try to make the world a better place with their inventions while evading their archenemies, the SlobbyKids.

<i>Wolfwalkers</i> 2020 animated fantasy adventure film

Wolfwalkers is a 2020 independent animated fantasy adventure 2020 film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and is the third and final installment in Moore's "Irish Folklore Trilogy", following his previous films The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). An international co-production led by Cartoon Saloon and Mélusine Productions, the film premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September and was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 26 October, in the United States and Canada on 13 November, and in Ireland on 2 December. It was released digitally on Apple TV+ on 11 December 2020, to critical acclaim.

<i>My Fathers Dragon</i> (2022 film) 2022 film directed by Nora Twomey

My Father's Dragon is a 2022 animated fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Nora Twomey with a screenplay by Meg LeFauve who co-wrote the story with John Morgan. It is based on the 1948 children's novel of the same name by Ruth Stiles Gannett. The film is also dedicated to Morgan who died from cancer during the film's production in March 2016. It stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo, Golshifteh Farahani, Dianne Wiest, Rita Moreno, Chris O'Dowd, Judy Greer, Alan Cumming, Yara Shahidi, Jackie Earle Haley, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ian McShane.

Pencilmation is an American animated comedy web series on YouTube created by Ross Bollinger. The series follows the endless struggle between creator and creation as pencil-drawn stick figures and doodles come to life and grapple against the torment of their animator's pencil and his arsenal of other drawing implements. The cartoon can be recognized by its trademark ruled paper backdrop, traditional frame-by-frame animation technique, inclusion of pencils and other drawing material, energetic music, classic cartoonish sound effects, simplistic character designs, and a mix of slapstick, situational comedy, meta, and doodle-based humor.

References

  1. 1 2 Ball, Ryan (23 February 2007). "Endemol Puts Joe Cartoon in Blender". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Joe Cartoon Co. Sues For Cybersquatting". awn.com. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Gunn, Angela (24 August 1999). "Gerbil in a Microwave". Village Voice. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Ball, Ryan (25 January 2006). "BCI Brings Joe Cartoon to DVD". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Ball, Ryan (28 September 2007). "Internet Frog in a Blender Gets Political". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Dowd, D.B (2006). "Strands of a single cord: Comics & animation". In Douglas Bevan Dowd, Todd Hignite (ed.). Strips, toons, and bluesies: essays in comics and culture. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 27. ISBN   1-56898-621-1.
  7. ↑ "Weaving a deceitful web". Associated Press. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  8. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (29 March 2006). "Joe Cartoon Puts New Site, DVDs and Deals in Its Blender". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  9. ↑ "Joe cartoon's YouTube page". youtube.com. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "Joecartoon website back". joecartoon.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "Joecartoon Peace Love, website return announcement". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.