The Cartoonstitute

Last updated
The Cartoonstitute
Cartoonstitute logo.png
Created by Rob Sorcher
StarringVarious
ComposerVarious
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Janet Dimon
  • Nate Funaro
Running time22 minutes (3x7 minutes)
Production company Cartoon Network Studios
Original release
Network Cartoon Network Video
ReleaseMay 7, 2010 (2010-05-07)
Related

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] Thirty-nine 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 that were made, only Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa got greenlit to become animated series. [4] On May 7, 2010, Cartoon Network released nearly all of the shorts to their website. The only shorts not released were Maruined, 3 Dog Band, and Joey to the World. [5]

Contents

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 , The Powerpuff Girls , and Cow and Chicken . The Cartoonstitute was to establish a think tank and create an environment in which animators couls 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. The first short to appear legally online via Vimeo was 3 Dog Band: Get It Together on July 29, 2009. [6] On September 26, 2009, all 14 completed shorts were posted on YouTube and the account was deleted shortly after posting them. [7] [8]

List of completed shorts

All shorts of the project were developed and produced in 2009, despite their release in 2010. [9] [10]

TitleCreated bySynopsisVoice Cast
"3 Dog Band: Get It Together" 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. Jeff Bennett as Stavros
Dee Bradley Baker as Loubie
Phil LaMarr as Sly
John DiMaggio as Mr. Pinkwater
"Baloobaloob's Fun Park" Aaron Springer Two human teenagers, Andy and Jeff, must help an extraterrestrial named Baloobaloob come up with an extraordinary stage act in an attempt to prevent his amusement park from closing. Dee Bradley Baker as Andy, Baloobaloob, Narrator
Tom Kenny as Jeff, Male Audience Members
Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Linster, Male Audience Members
"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.
Note: The short was re-released in 2016 with brighter colors. [11]
Dana Snyder as Danger Planet/DP
Tom Kenny as Forklift
Dee Bradley Baker (recycled voice clips) as Baby
Maria Bamford as Captain
Carey Means as Alien
"Joey to the World" Craig Kellman A 35-year-old kangaroo decides to move out of his mother's pouch and into the Alaskan wilderness.
Note: This is the only short that is written for an older teen/adult audience.
Mr. Lawrence as Joey, Radio Announcer
Estelle Harris as Joey's Mom
Tom Kenny as Snow Monster, Arcade Employee
"Le Door" Matt Danner An inter-dimensional explorer named Le Door takes his young apprentice Frank on a tour through his old academy, only to enter a competition against his old sidekick-turned-rival Zee Window and his apprentice Zee Donut Hole.
Note: Le Door's character is a parody of Doraemon.
René Auberjonois as Le Door
??? as Frank
Eric Bauza as Zee Window
Matt Danner as Zee Donut Hole
"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. Grey DeLisle as Girl
Maria Bamford as Zack
Tom Kenny as Ship servant
Frank Welker as Snortafus
"Meddlen Meddows" Chris Reccardi A bug-like alien has difficulty escaping an alien planet after the power cell of his ship gets stolen by the primitive locals. Paul Rugg as Bacculas, Stick native
Dee Bradley Baker as Round Creature
Kevin Michael Richardson as Red Native, Bush Troll
"Regular Show" J. G. Quintel Two park employees, a blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby, play an endless game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who gets their lollipop humanoid coworker Pops' old, uncomfortable chair.
Note: This short serves as the pilot to the show of the same name, Regular Show . The short was later retooled into the season 2 episode "First Day".
J. G. Quintel as Mordecai
William Salyers as Rigby
Sam Marin as Benson, Pops
Mark Hamill as Skips
Roger L. Jackson as Evil voice
"Spleenstab"Mike BellA barbarian attempts to become a kind and gentle person with the help of a forest elf.Mike Bell as Spleenstab
Jeff Bennett as Treewise and Twinkle
Tom Kenny as Brownie, Cake Troll
"Stockboys of the Apocalypse"Derek DrymonA 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. Alexander Polinsky as Stockboy 1
Richard Steven Horvitz as Stockboy 2
Dee Bradley Baker as Normal Woggy, Mutants
John DiMaggio as Mutant Woggy
"The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan: Lava Ball! The Ashes of Heroes"Josh Lieberman and Joey Giardina (credited as "Josh and Joey")A German-accented leprechaun named Khan and a giant platypus named Manny attempt to retrieve a ball, pretending that the patch of grass surrounding it is lava.Adam Paul as Manny
Keith Ferguson as Khan
"The Borneos"Chris StaplesThe 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. Dee Bradley Baker as Jo, The Wildman, Walla Walla Weirdo, Squirrel, Teensy Tom
Candi Milo as Po
Maurice LaMarche as Unkle Pickle, Clown Host
Kari Wahlgren as Audience Member
"Uncle Grandpa" Pete Browngardt A strange man who is the uncle and grandfather of everyone in the world, simply Uncle Grandpa, must do battle with a gang of mutants, after an attempt to gain the appreciation and love of a nerdy teenager named Ham Sandwich goes awry.
Note 1: This short later became the pilot to Uncle Grandpa .
Note 2: This short also had a nomination for the Emmy Awards in 2010. [12]
Pete Browngardt as Uncle Grandpa
Steve Blum as Ham Sandwich
Grey DeLisle as Judy Jones
"YES"Dave SmithA merman enlists a family from the country to assist him in an effort to help people realize and fulfill their dreams. Tom Kenny as Edwin
Daran Norris as Bob
Grey DeLisle as Alastair, Mom
??? as Gam Gams
Dave Smith as Robot Butler

Rejected/Unproduced

While there are 25 unfinished shorts that remain unreleased, there are currently 6 known pitches/concepts for The Cartoonstitute that may or may not have had their pilot short produced (making a total of 18 remaining unknown pitches).

TitleCreated bySynopsis
"Dynamite Jones"Andy SurianoAn aged elderly homage to Luke Cage that tries to get back to fighting crimes with his son. Originally pitched to BET.
"When Nature Calls" Mike Milo A SpongeBob -alike show but with trees.
"Thundermanns" Stephen DeStefano Synopsis unknown.
"The Sloppy Seconds"Greg AryaSynopsis unknown but some storyboards exist.
"The Brand New Super Crazies" Greg Miller Synopsis unknown.
"Star vs. the Forces of Evil"Daron NefcyA 6th grader that doesn't have any friends gets sent far away from the galaxy to Earth to fight the forces of evil.
Note: This pitch was not picked up/rejected and later in 2015 became a Disney cartoon of the same name and concept, Star vs. the Forces of Evil .

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References

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