26 Seth McFarlane’s Writing Contributions – Cartoon Network Shows
Seth McFarlane wrote for some of Cartoon Network’s most iconic shows, including “Johnny Bravo” and “Dexter’s Laboratory.”
27. Most of the plot for “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island” was originally developed as an episode of “SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron.”
28. Time Squad, a forgotten Cartoon Network show, was the first cartoon produced for their network under the “Cartoon Network” banner rather than Hanna-Barbera. It also featured Mark Hamill as a robot.
29. Five different voice actors, only one of whom was male, portrayed Dexter in the Cartoon Network show “Dexter’s Laboratory.”
30. When Cartoon Network launched in 1992, they played Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture over an animated fireworks show.
31 Powerpuff Girls’ Artistic Influence
The art style of 1960s artist Margaret Keane directly influenced the appearance of the Powerpuff Girls. This is why the girls’ teacher in the Cartoon Network show is named Ms. Keane.
32. The world of Ooo, the setting of the Cartoon Network show “Adventure Time,” is a post-apocalyptic Earth that emerged after a great “mushroom” war. This explains why random, destroyed scraps of technology can be found around the land and why most creatures have odd mutations, with Finn being the last human.
33. Teen Titans had two intro songs. The English intro suggested a more serious episode, whereas the Japanese one mocked the English intro, suggesting a comedic or non-serious episode.
34. There’s a Cartoon Network special crossover episode called “The Grim Adventures of the Kids Next Door,” which also features “Ed, Edd n Eddy” and includes cameos from “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Dexter’s Laboratory,” among other Cartoon Network shows.
35. While working on an early Cartoon Network show, “Archer” creator Adam Reed and animator Matt Thompson were generally “heavily intoxicated” at work. They once lit a set on fire “because they thought it would look cool.”
36 Dexter’s Laboratory Hip-Hop Album – Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network released a “Dexter’s Laboratory” hip-hop album in 2002.
37. Tony Sampson, the voice of Eddy from the Cartoon Network show “Ed, Edd n Eddy,” was threatened with a blacklist after he asked for a small raise. After the show ended in 2009, he retired from voice acting and now works in the Canadian oil industry.
38. Cult Toons was a Cartoon Network show that ran from 1999 to 2000. The show featured a series of seemingly irrelevant and obscure clips from films and cartoons edited together for comedic purposes, with a very surreal and non-sequitur quality, often featuring Andy LeBeau suddenly exploding.
39. Family Guy started as a Cartoon Network short.
40. Gerard Way, singer for the band My Chemical Romance, once pitched a cartoon to the executives at Cartoon Network called “The Breakfast Monkey.” It was accepted but never completed.
41 The Big O’s Second Season – Cartoon Network Help
The mecha anime “The Big O” only got a second season thanks to its popularity in the West. Cartoon Network co-produced the final 13 episodes of this show after poor reception in Japan resulted in half of the 26-episode series being cut.
42. The final episode of season 4 of the Cartoon Network series “Ed, Edd n Eddy” holds the distinction of being the final cartoon in history to fully utilize traditional cel animation, including ink and paint.
43. Adult Swim had an original series, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” reach its 7th season in 2009 before a Cartoon Network show did. “Regular Show” achieved this milestone in June 2015, narrowly beating “Adventure Time.”
44. In 2007, the then-CEO of Cartoon Network resigned after small advertisements for the Cartoon Network show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” were mistaken for bombs.
45. In 2005, DC Comics had four animated series based on their characters running simultaneously on Cartoon Network. All of them took place in different universes and were entirely unrelated to one another: “Justice League Unlimited,” “Teen Titans,” “The Batman,” and “Krypto the Superdog.”
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
46 Adventure Time’s Australian Censorship – Cartoon Network Show
Australia has censored nearly every episode of the Cartoon Network show “Adventure Time” in one way or another, with some episodes completely denied airtime.
47. Only eight actors voiced all 66 speaking characters in the Cartoon Network series “ThunderCats,” with each actor voicing an average of 8.25 characters.
48. The producers of the animated series “ThunderCats” and “SilverHawks” hired a psychological consultant to review every script and ensure the episodes contained positive moral lessons and no disturbing scenes.
49. Teen Titans Go! featured a scene where the characters react to the original “Teen Titans” show and admit that it was way better.
50. The Cartoon Network show “Camp Lazlo” won an Emmy in 2007.
RE: Fact #13 (Dexter’s Laboratory Rude Removal Episode) – The story’s way better than that, and it totally connects to this place. Wikipedia talks about some of it. This episode was rumored for ages, it became like a legend. People were chatting on forums about seeing it at conventions, but they said they’d get sued if they filmed it. Lots of folks thought it was just forum stuff. Then Tartakovsky did an AMA on reddit, and someone asked if the episode existed. To everyone’s shock, he said it did. It was so cool when he admitted it was real, and then when he said he’d try to release a copy, people were super excited. And guess what? He did it, the episode was released online, and everyone was stoked. Personally, though, I’d love to see the last Angry Beavers episodes that were never released, except for a few audio clips. The Angry Beavers finale is interesting because it breaks the fourth wall by saying the beavers don’t exist. Apparently, Nickelodeon cartoons weren’t allowed to do that back then. If I remember right, it also had some funny jokes about the show’s creators not getting paid for reruns.
Tartakovsky said he wanted to release it, but he wasn’t sure if it was still around. Then, an old animator from Dexter’s Lab said he found it in his basement, and sold it to Adult Swim to air it.
RE: Fact #21 (Iron Giant Marathon Airings – – Cartoon Network) – Back in the day, TV stations would do this on holidays so most of the staff could have the day off. It only took a few people to keep the same show running all day. The Wizard of Oz was the usual Thanksgiving night movie.
RE: Fact #34 (Grim Adventures Crossover Episode) – Those Fairly Odd Parents/Jimmy Neutron crossovers were awesome!
The Jimmy Timmy power hour, huh?
Seeing Timmy Turner in CGI always bugged me.
RE: Fact #14 (Regular Show Lawsuit by Mitchell) – This guy was totally crushed in court. He’s one of those guys who thinks he’s amazing, even when he’s completely wrong.
That guy’s really generous, even if he’s a bit of a jerk. The King of Kong was a great movie, and it’s probably why Billy Mitchell got busted.
RE: Fact #2 (Speedy Gonzales Cartoon Ban Lifted) – Just a thought, maybe we should chill out on being offended for others, you know?
RE: Fact #47 (Thundercats’ Eight Voice Actors) – Thanks for dividing 66 by 8 for us!
RE: Fact #10 (Shared Universe: Dexter and Powerpuff) – I think Samurai Jack takes place in the same universe, but it’s a post-apocalyptic one. I’m not totally sure about that though.
RE: Fact #2 (Speedy Gonzales Cartoon Ban Lifted) – What about Slowpoke?
The guy at the drive-thru at my McDonald’s, he’s older, Mexican, and has this super distinct way of talking. The first time I heard it, I thought someone was messing with me. But then I got to the window and saw him, he’s super cool. His voice always makes me smile.
Slowpoke’s awesome, right?
He always seemed like he smoked a lot of weed.
Slowpoke was serious about his weaponry. He made up for being slow by packing some serious heat.
I was like, “No way, you’re making this up!” Then I checked it out and remembered seeing them when I was a kid, but I’d totally forgotten. When Slowpoke pulled a gun… holy crap! That’s the funniest thing a cartoon has made me laugh in ages.
RE: Fact #49 (Teen Titans Go! Acknowledgement) – It’s crazy to even try to compare them. They’re totally different shows, you know? It’s like comparing the old Batman show to the new movies with Batman. My six-year-old daughter gets it.
RE: Fact #18 (Swat Kats Canceled for Violence) – Swat Kats was the best!
Man, I was really into this show, but then it just vanished! I was bummed.
RE: Fact #14 (Regular Show Lawsuit by Mitchell) – Holy crap, Peter Dinklage’s character in “Pixels” totally ripped off this guy!
That’s the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Mitchell.
Turns out I’m not the only one who sees pixels.
RE: Fact #12 (Gumball’s Ripoff Characters Included) – “The Amazing World of Gumball” – The Chinese knockoffs were pretty much the same, but with weird horns on the characters, and Mom’s…well, you know. The creators did the right thing. Wonder what the folks behind that Chinese copy thought?
The knockoff didn’t even flinch – in China, that kind of thing is super common, like, they think it’s totally cool to copy stuff. Actually, the whole fake thing was just a way to get people talking about a milk brand.
RE: Fact #48 (Psychological Consultant for Scripts) – Silverhawks was pretty awesome. The villain used to freak me out.
RE: Fact #5 (Original Name of Powerpuff Girls) – So Chemical X is just a nice way of saying they’re gonna get beat up? That’s awesome.
RE: Fact #24 (Cow and Chicken Episode Ban) – That made me think… Is “buffalo gal” a way of saying “bull dyke”?
RE: Fact #6 (Aging in Adventure Time – Cartoon Network Show) – Finn’s voice changes a lot between the first season and the later ones. It gets deeper and rougher over time, which is a cool detail.
He was probably just going through a phase. Boys get like that sometimes.
It’s because Finn’s voice is done by a guy who was just a kid when the show started.
RE: Fact #34 (Grim Adventures Crossover Episode) – Speaking of which, there was also a kind of miniseries called “Cartoon Network Invaded”, where aliens took over five shows in five episodes.
RE: Fact #26 (Seth McFarlane’s Writing Contributions – Cartoon Network Shows) – Good thing McFarlane didn’t kill off Dexter and swap him out for some cheesy Italian American character.
RE: Fact #9 (Billy and Mandy Emmy Wins) – Courage, Ed Edd n Eddy, and This were my go-to cartoons when I was little.
RE: Fact #47 (Thundercats’ Eight Voice Actors) – It’s so funny because half the time it’s just some dude talking to himself.
RE: Fact #11 (Billy and Mandy Ending Message – Cartoon Network Show) – That show was awesome.
RE: Fact #21 (Iron Giant Marathon Airings – – Cartoon Network) – Yeah, I totally remember that. It’s a great movie, but seeing it on repeat during the holidays when all I wanted was Dexter’s Lab or Power Puff Girls was pretty annoying.
RE: Fact #13 (Dexter’s Laboratory Rude Removal Episode) – They made this for themselves. They knew it wouldn’t be aired, right? Deedee’s even flipping people off in the title card!
RE: Fact #22 (Boondocks Controversy with Sharpton) – The show also won a Peabody for the MLK, Jr. episode because it nailed the social commentary.
I thought it won a Peabody for being a really bold episode, you know, super daring. That’s what I always hear people say.
Turns out, they don’t have categories for the awards. The Peabody website says they got it for being a really funny and sharp episode that reminds us how far we’ve come from Dr. King’s movement. It’s called ‘The Return of the King’, and it’s from ‘The Boondocks’.
That’s awesome! We both win!
That’s the only episode I’ve seen, and it was dead-on. This whole thing makes me think Sharpton’s never seen Boondocks. If he had, he’d know they were on the right track.
And you know what? This is the most reasonable thing I’ve heard him say in years. Still wrong though.
RE: Fact #19 (Powerpuff Girls Production Delay) – A whole month?
RE: Fact #14 (Regular Show Lawsuit by Mitchell) – That whole King of Kong documentary about this guy’s crazy cheating came out way back in 2007.
Oh no, here comes the kill screen!
He’s so jealous, it’s hilarious.
RE: Fact #7 (Ed, Edd n Eddy Creation) – Turns out the guy who made Ed Edd n Eddy looks exactly like I pictured him.
RE: Fact #37 (Voice Actor Blacklist Threat) – That’s seriously messed up. Eddy is a legend! It’s so frustrating that we lost him because of some dumb corporate drama.
So he ends up working in the oil industry. Talk about ironic, right?
It’s a bummer the show ended, not because the voice actor wanted more money. It was CN’s biggest show after the Powerpuff Girls and lasted a whole decade! You’d think he’d get a raise after all that, it’s a shame.
Voice actors are way more replaceable than other actors, you know? People don’t usually notice a change in voice as much as they would a new face. And even the MCU swapped out actors like Ed Norton and Terrence Howard, so it’s not really a big deal.
RE: Fact #7 (Ed, Edd n Eddy Creation) – That’s a pretty strange dare.
Remember Speed Racer, the cartoon from way back when? It actually got a second life on MTV in the 90s. Apparently some MTV boss was like, “I bet I can make any show popular if it airs at midnight,” and someone actually took him up on the challenge. Forty years later, they made a movie with a huge $120 million budget.
The Wachowskis wrote, directed, and even helped make it! It was totally bizarre, not at all what I thought it would be.
RE: Fact #25 (Will.I.Am’s Samurai Jack Theme) – Ugh, I can’t stand Will I Am.
RE: Fact #1 (Space Ghost Coast to Coast – Cartoon Network Show) – That show was awesome!
Braks’ music was awesome. I had this Spaceghost CD I’d listen to when I was high. Some killer tracks on there. These songs are perfect for today’s vibe.
Don’t touch me.
What day is it?
RE: Fact #3 (Flintstones Franchise Record Broken) – Poor Jackie Gleason never got a penny from it, though. He almost sued them for copying the Honeymooners, but he didn’t want to be the one to kill off the Flintstones. One of the creators even admitted in the early 90s that they ripped off the Honeymooners.
RE: Fact #7 (Ed, Edd n Eddy Creation) – He kept sneaking in so many adult jokes, it was crazy. That episode with the swimsuit was really confusing when I was a kid.
RE: Fact #48 (Psychological Consultant for Scripts) – Back then, cartoons had to be all about teaching kids stuff. People were really against toy companies making shows like He-Man, which were basically just long commercials. Thundercats got a lot of that criticism too, so this guy’s job was to argue that it wasn’t bad for kids.
Back in the day, there were tons of rules about TV showing kid-friendly stuff. A lot of those rules have faded away though.
RE: Fact #24 (Cow and Chicken Episode Ban) – I used to watch this show all the time in kindergarten. In the first episode, Cow holds up an ashtray and threatens to tell their parents that she found it in Chicken’s underwear drawer. Chicken, who never wore pants and always showed his butt, is totally freaked out.
There’s one joke from the show I didn’t get until years later. Chicken goes into the girls’ bathroom and says something like, “I think they can get cigars in here.” He acts like he’s bragging on the radio, but later I realized he meant the tampon dispenser.
It was like a pre-teen version of Ren and Stimpy. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an episode with biker chicks eating carpets.
RE: Fact #18 (Swat Kats Canceled for Violence) – My college buddy used to go totally nuts about Swat Kats when he was drunk. He’d get super hyped and play the theme song from his computer. We’d mess with him by asking dumb questions like “Were they janitors or something?” and he’d lose his mind. The best part? I never once heard him talk about Swat Kats sober. He must have hidden that love deep down.
RE: Fact #49 (Teen Titans Go! Acknowledgement) – Remember playing that Teen Titans flash game? I’d always boot it up right when I got home.
And that Gorillaz driving game too.
You mean the one where you pick a character and then play out their story? Like Raven battling that electric monster by throwing barrels of water at it. Or Beast Boy stuck in a maze run by that crazy school teacher bad guy, kind of like Clockwork Orange.
Honestly, the only Flash game I remember is that fighting one.
That game was awesome!
The Raven game was awesome! I’m surprised so many of you guys remember it. I thought I was the only one on factrepublic playing flash games while everyone else had fancy consoles like a PS2 or Xbox.
RE: Fact #2 (Speedy Gonzales Cartoon Ban Lifted) – Meanwhile, Groundskeeper Willie’s a bit of a rough character, but everyone back in Scotland loves him.
Willie’s just your average Scottish guy.
You’ve really ticked someone off!