The Cartoonstitute, a Cartoon Network project conceived by executive Rob Sorcher, aimed to showcase animated shorts. 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) executive produced the series. However, the project was abruptly canceled after only 14 out of the planned 39 shorts were produced.t announced on April 3rd, 2008 at Cartoon Network's annual upfront in New York City. The project would be similar to The Cartoon Cartoon Show (more commonly known as the "What A Cartoon!") which aired on the network more than a decade earlier, and which gave birth to some of the channel's first animated series, such as Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken. The Cartoonstitute hoped to establish a think tank for animators and create an environment in which animators can 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.
Goal[]
The project holds an ambitious goal of producing 39 animated shorts in the timespan of 20 months. Sorcher, the creator, says the goal of the project is to create a swift track for Cartoon Network's original programming. While the project will set up 6 core artists to create animated pilots for the showcase, Sorcher hopes to enlist some 30 more artists as development progresses. Unlike the What A Cartoon! project, the showcase does not aim to bring new, fresh artists into the animating industry. However, Sorcher is not completely against the idea of bringing new, unknown talent into the project in the future.
Pilots[]
| Title | Created By | Synopsis | Release Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Yes | David P. Smith | A merman enlists a family from the country to assist him in an effort to help people realize and fulfill their dreams. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial)[1] May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
Meddlen Meadows | 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
Regular Show - "The Pilot" | 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
The Borneos | Chris Staples | The 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) |
 |
Uncle Grandpa | Peter 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
3 Dog Band in "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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) |
 |
Spleen Stab | Mike Bell | A barbarian attempts to become a kind and gentle person with the help of a forest elf. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan - "Lava Ball! The Ashes of Heroes" | Josh Liberman and Joey Giardina | 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
Joey to the World[2] | Craig Kellman | A 35-year-old kangaroo decides to move out of his mother's pouch and into the Alaskan wilderness. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) |
 |
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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
 |
Stock Boys of the Apocalypse | Derek Drymon | A 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. | May 28th, 2009 (DVD Compilation) June 9th, 2009 (CN Studios Screening) September 26th, 2009 (Unofficial) May 7th, 2010 (Cartoonnetwork.com) |
Staff[]
The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan - Lava Ball! The Ashes of Heroes [3][4]:
Produced By: Cartoon Network Studios
Created By: Joseph Giardina & Josh Lieberman
Directed By: Joseph Giardina & Josh Lieberman
Executive Producers: Craig McCraken, Rob Renzetti, Rob Sorcher, Joseph Giardina, Josh Lieberman, Brian A. Miller, Jennifer Pelphrey
Supervising Producers: Derek Drymon, Chris Reccardi, and Dave Smith
Story By: Joseph Giardina & Josh Lieberman
Art Direction: Joseph Giardina & Josh Lieberman
Animation Direction: Robert Alvarez
Storyboard: Joseph Giardina & Josh Lieberman
Character Design: Dan Bob Thompson, Josh Lieberman, Joseph Giardina
Character Layout: Dan Bob Thompson
Background Design: Chris Tsiriotis
Prop Design: Michael Camarillo
Background Paint: Timothy Barnes
Cleanup: Joseph Giardina & Erik Elizarrez
Color Stylist: Timothy Barnes
Casting & Voice Direction: Kris Zimmerman
Voice of Manny: Adam Paul
Voice of Khan: Keith Ferguson
Animation By: Big Star Animation
Supervising Editor / Color Corrector: Paul Douglas
Original Music: James L. Venable
Sound Recording Engineer/Sound Effects: Robert Serda
Recording Studio Manager: Karie Gima Pham
Dialogue Editor:Tony Ostyn
Animatic Editor: Greg Levitan
Producers: Janet Dimon, Nate Funaro
Director of Production Technology: Antonio Gonella
Machine Room Operator: Chris Hoetger
Production Coordinators: Laura Allen, Brent Tanner
Post-Production Coordinator: Alicia Parkinson
Production Assistant: Brook Chalmers
Created by: Peter Browngardt
Art Direction: Peter Browngardt, Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti
Character Designs: Peter Browngardt, Phil Rynda
Clean Up: Mike Collins
Thundermanns (unproduced)[7]:
Art Direction: Stephen DeStefano, Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti
Character Designers: Stephen DeStefano
Clean-Up: Mike Collins
Danger Planet[8]:
Art Direction: Derek Drymon, Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti
Character Designer: Derek Drymon
Clean-Up: Mike Collins
Meddlen Meadows[9]:
Created by: Chris Recardi
Art Direction: Chris Reccardi, Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti
Director: Chris Reccardi
Character Designer: Craig Kellman and Chris Reccardi
Clean-Up: Mike Collins
Color Stylist: Brian Smith
Animation Director: Eric J. Pringle
Joey to the World:
Animation Director: Eric J. Pringle
Stockboys of the Apocalypse:
Animation Director: Eric J. Pringle
Spin-Offs[]
Two spin-off shows were produced after the cancelation of the Cartoonstitute:
- Regular Show: A show that debuted on the Cartoonstitute.
- Secret Mountain Fort Awesome: A show based on the Cartoonstitute short Uncle Grandpa.
- Uncle Grandpa: Another show based on the Cartoonstitute short of the same name.
Trivia[]
- The 14 Cartoonstitute shorts were privately screened at Cartoon Network Studios on June 9, 2009. [10]
- A DVD (compiled on May 28th, 2009) was given to CN employees during the screening. [11]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://ukracattack.blogspot.com/2009/09/cartoonstitute-shorts-online.html
- ↑ Note: This was the only Cartoonstitute short intended for adult audiences.
- ↑ https://www.jgart.net/mannyandkhan
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20250321222830/https://www.jgart.net/mannyandkhan
- ↑ https://mikecollinsportfolio.blogspot.com/2011/08/uncle-grandpa.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20231203041635/https://mikecollinsportfolio.blogspot.com/2011/08/uncle-grandpa.html
- ↑ https://mikecollinsportfolio.blogspot.com/2011/08/thundermanns.html
- ↑ https://mikecollinsportfolio.blogspot.com/2011/08/danger-planet.html
- ↑ https://mikecollinsportfolio.blogspot.com/2014/01/meddlen-meadows-keyframe-assets.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SuperPhatCat/status/1580370250159116288/photo/1
- ↑ https://x.com/bfredmuggs/status/1772970078797279671/photo/3