Cartoonito

Cartoonito is a preschool block on Cartoon Network and HBO Max, named after the international brand of the same name.



The Brand as a whole
On September 4, 2006, months after Tickle U ended, the now-defunct British sister channel Cartoon Network Too debuted a new programming block called Cartoonito, running from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily. Series featured in Cartoonito were acquired from countries around the world, and were available in both English and French. The block was later given its own channel on 24 May 2007. Whereas Cartoon Network Too ceased operations in 2014, the Cartoonito channel remains operational as of 2021.

Cartoonito USA
With the announcement of Batwheels on October 6, 2020, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults, and Classics president Tom Ascheim implied about plans for Cartoon Network to jump into preschool.

In a 5 February 2021 interview with Kidscreen, Ascheim revealed that Cartoon Network would be expanding its programming offerings to include series aimed at families, girls, and preschool children. The interview coincided with the acquisition of broadcast rights to Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!, a preschooler reboot version of the original Thomas & Friends series.

On 17 February, WarnerMedia announced that an official Cartoonito block would launch on Cartoon Network in the fall, with an additional streaming component for HBO Max. Launch programming includes 20 new series, such as Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Little Ellen and Tom and Jerry Time (formerly called Tom and Jerry Junior) from Warner Bros. Animation; Bea's Block and Mecha Builders from Sesame Workshop; Jessica's Big Little World, a spin-off of Craig of the Creek; and acquired series Ladybird Lu, Lucas the Spider, Mush-Mush & The Mushables, and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!.

On June 2021, Cartoonito UK's YouTube channel has begin uploading videos of clips and episodes from the US version which confirms that Esme & Roy, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, Love Monster, and The Happos Family are joining the lineup and a newsletter was announced.

On July 2021, Cartoonito UK's YouTube channel has rebranded to match the US branding and four more shows are joining the lineup are Dylan and three acquired series Bing, Odo, and Pocoyo and the trailer for the block is released and it will be hosted by four characters named Nito, Glob, Wedge, and Itty. Cartoon Network has aired the "Alpha Bodies" segment for the block on July 30.

On August 16, 2021, it was announced that the block would launch on September 13, 2021 and it run from 6:00AM-2:00PM on weekdays and 6:00-8:00AM on weekends on Cartoon Network, along with the confirmation of two shows - Baby Looney Tunes, which has been airing on the channel from 2002 to 2010 (returned briefly from 2015-16), and Caillou, which had just left PBS Kids 9 months ago.

On January 8, 2022, Love Monster moved to Saturdays along with Care Bears: Unlock the Magic while Esme & Roy and Lucas the Spider moved to Sundays on January 9th.

As of January 28, 2022, the weekend timeslot ceased with Love Monster leaving, and Care Bears: Unlock The Magic, Esme & Roy and Lucas The Spider Moving to Fridays.

Confirmed shows
BOLD means it's confirmed for Cartoon Network. (MAX) means it's confirmed for HBO Max. (WT) stands for "working title", means that the show's name is not official, and it may subject to change and (CNHM) means the show will be on both Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and HBO Max


 * Baby Looney Tunes
 * Batwheels (CNHM)
 * Bea's Block (MAX)
 * Bing (CNHM)
 * Bugs Bunny Builders (CNHM)
 * Caillou
 * Care Bears: Unlock the Magic (CNHM)
 * Cocomelon
 * Dylan
 * Esme & Roy
 * Jessica's Big Little World (CNHM)
 * Ladybird Lu
 * Little Ellen (MAX)
 * Love Monster (CNHM)
 * Lucas the Spider
 * Mecha Builders (MAX)
 * Mo Willems Storytime Shorts (MAX)
 * Mush Mush & The Mushables (CNHM)
 * The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (CNHM)
 * Odo
 * Pocoyo
 * Sesame Street (MAX)
 * Silly Sundays
 * Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!
 * Tom and Jerry Time (CNHM)
 * Unlimited Squirrels!

Trivia

 * This is Cartoon Network's third attempt to make a preschool block following the educational programming blocks in 1996 and Tickle U in 2005.
 * Before each show played, a curriculum board is shown up to what this show promotes similar to what Nick Jr. did in the past. To see the curriculum boards, click here.
 * Some shows will ONLY be on Cartoon Network, others will ONLY be on HBO Max (Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! will not be on HBO Max as Netflix acquired the SVOD rights).