Beloved ’90s Cartoon Network Show Is Getting Rebooted

Cartoon Network Studios is reaching back into its catalog to bring back one of its namesake network’s classic animated shows. On April 15, the studio announced plans to reboot Cartoon Cartoons, the programming block that consisted of various animated shorts. The original series, a successor to What a Cartoon!, ran from 1997 to 2003 (in addition to various reincarnations in the years that followed). This block launched lots of animated shows, including hits like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Courage the Cowardly Dog and Ed, Edd and Eddy.

As the press release notes, this revamped Cartoon Cartoons will be Cartoon Network Studios’ “first dedicated shorts program in over a decade.” While one might expect the show to be set for Cartoon Network itself, the studio notes Cartoon Cartoons shorts “have the potential to be globally distributed by WarnerMedia across a variety of platforms including linear broadcast through Cartoon Network, streaming through HBO Max, online and much more.” The Cartoon Cartoons reboot is also striving to tell innovative stories from diverse and new talents.

“Cartoon Network Studios has a proud legacy of animated shorts,” said Sam Register, President of Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation (WBA). “We are building on that legacy today with a program that will champion new and diverse voices, energize creativity and provide resources for artists to share their stories with the world. I am so grateful to the producers serving on our Creative Council and our partner organizations for their commitment to make Cartoon Cartoons a successful and creatively rewarding endeavor.”

A group known as the “Cartoon Cartoons Creative Council” will oversee the shorts, providing guidance and mentorship to the artists who contribute to the new Cartoon Cartoons. Announced names for the council are Pete Browngardt (Looney Tunes Cartoons), Manny Hernandez (We Bare Bears, Inside Out), Katie Rice (The Book of Life, Hulu’s Animaniacs) and Aminder Dhaliwal (The Owl House, Close Enough). To ensure diversity in the programming slate, Cartoon Network Studios has partnered with Black Women Animate Studios and Exceptional Minds, an animation academy for young adults on the autism spectrum. No release date has been set.