Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? is an American animated television series that ran on Cartoon Network from 2002 to 2003. The pilot premiered on Cartoon Network on June 16, 2000 during Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, as an entrant in the upcoming contest titled The Big Pick, which featured 10 animated shorts competing to become the next new Cartoon Network series. While The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy won the contest with 57% of the vote, Robot Jones came in second place with 23% and was given its own series run beginning on July 19, 2002. During the second season, the show was burned off on Fridays at 11pm. The series was cancelled after the conclusion of the second season on November 14, 2003.
It is the first series to be greenlit under Jim Samples.
Plot
The show centers on Robot Jones, a robotic 12-year-old attending a suburban middle school.
Characters
- Robot Electro Jones (voiced by a text-to-voice program in season one and Bobby Block in season two; redubbed by Block for reruns of season one) is a robot who does whatever he can to fit in the human society, which can sometimes go awry. Whenever the day ends he adds to his memory called Data Log Entry something he learns through the experience. His brain is a giant light bulb.
- Dad Unit is Robot's father. When he says something, he often says it three times; one example would be "Listen to your mother! Listen to your mother! Listen to your mother!" as said in the inaugural episode. He has one hand, wears a tie and in his focus on tasks he often gets into shenanigans such as smashing through walls. He is voiced by Macintalk's 'Ralph' voice, which was also used for the voice of Auto in WALL-E.
- Mom Unit (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is Robot's mother. She is pink in color and her hands look like the ends of a gas pump's hose which she uses for giving fuel to her fellow units. She seems to generally have a no-nonsense attitude.
- Timothy "Socks" Morton (voiced by Kyle Sullivan) is the best friend of Robot Jones. He is quite a fanatic to rock music. He has blond curly hair and wears a green jacket.
- Charles "Cubey" Cubinacle (voiced by Myles Jeffrey) is the shorter friend with dark, straight hair, sunglasses with window blinds for lenses, and roller skates. He is a video game lover and wears a Pac-Man T-Shirt.
- Mitchell "Mitch" Freeman Davis (voiced by Gary LeRoi Gray) is a lad often seen wearing headphones, a red sweater and sandals. His eyes are obscured by his long hair. In "Scantron Love", his last name was Davis.
- Lenny and Denny Yogman (voiced by Josh Peck and Austin Stout respectively) are the notorious young genius twins of the show. They wear red hats that resembles the 1980s band Devo's energy dome hats, yellow shirts, and black sneakers. Lenny is tall while Denny is short. They do whatever they can to take Robot's brain.
- Shannon Westerburg (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a girl whom Robot loves because she has more mechanical attachments than any human he has ever seen, specifically a large orthodontic appliance and a prosthetic leg. She is unaware that Robot has a crush on her and typically finds him more of an annoyance than anything else. Shannon talks with a lisp.
- Mr. McMcMc (voiced by Maurice LaMarche in the pilot and Rip Taylor in the series) is Robot Jones' math teacher.
- Clancy Q. Sleepyjeans (voiced by David Koechner) is the school janitor.
- Principal Madman (voiced by Maurice LaMarche in the pilot and Jeff Glen Bennett in the series) is the principal of Polyneux Middle School. His mustache resembles that of Adolf Hitler's; as such, he is very tyrannical to his students.
- James Nob (voiced by Gedde Watanabe) is the tyrant owner of Nob's Arkaid, where Robot and his friends hang out. he keeps telling kids that they're breaking his arcade mechines, every time they play them. In "Hookie 101", it is revealed that he has a discount on game tokens during school.
- Gramps Unit (voiced by Macintalk's 'Zarvox') is Robot Jones' grandfather. Gramps Unit sounds like Robot Jones' father, but he could be the dad of either Dad Unit or Mom Unit.
- Mr. Workout (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is the Gym teacher of Polyneux Middle School.
Episodes
| Season: | episodes: | premiere | finale: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | June 16th, 2000 | ||
| 1 | 6 | July 19th, 2002 | September 13th, 2002 |
| 2 | 7 | October 3rd, 2003 | November 14th, 2003 |
Pilot (2000)
| name: | Directed by: | Written by: | Original airdate: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whatever Happened to… Robot Jones? | Greg Miller and Rob Renzetti | Greg Miller | June 2000 | ||
Season 1 (2002)
| Number in
Series |
Number in
season: |
name: | original airdate: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | P.U. to P.E./Vacuum Friend | July 19th, 2002 |
| 2 | 3 | Cube Wars/Sickness | July 26th, 2002 |
| 3 | 2 | Parents/Embarrasment | August 2nd, 2002 |
| 4 | 4 | Politics/Growth Spurts | August 9th, 2002 |
| 5 | 5 | Electric Boogaloo/The Groovesicle | September 6th, 2002 |
| 6 | 6 | Jealousy/Scantron Love | September 13th, 2002 |
Season 2 (2003)
| Number in
Series: |
Number in
Season: |
name | original airdate: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | Gender/Math Challenge | October 3rd, 2003 |
| 8 | 2 | Family Vacation/Hair | October 10th, 2003 |
| 9 | 3 | Garage Band/Work | October 17th, 2003 |
| 10 | 4 | The Yogmans Strike Back/Hookie 101 | October 24th, 2003 |
| 11 | 5 | House Party/School Newspaper | October 31st, 2003 |
| 12 | 6 | Safety Patrol/Popularity | November 7th, 2003 |
| 13 | 7 | Summer Camp/Rules of Dating | November 14th, 2003 |
Unreleased/unfinished episodes
These episodes of Robot Jones were originally planned to be part of the series but left unfinished after its cancellation.
| Number: | name: |
|---|---|
| 1 | Risk |
| 2 | Robotic Graffiti |
| 3 | History of Robotics |
| 4 | Talk Show |
| 5 | 3rd unknown episode |
| 6 | Untitled/planned ending |
Trivia
- Greg Miller stated in an interview on Facebook that he used a Microsoft Word 98 text-to-speech software on his old Macintosh computer for Robot's voice during production for season one, but after the first season was completed, the executives of Cartoon Network disliked how it sounded. Bobby Block was chosen to take the role of Robot in season two. Robot Jones's text-to-speech voice was also recorded for production of the second season, but because the voice change happened during the production of those episodes, this voice was never dubbed into the final prints. In that interview, he also said that he would want to do a revival of Robot Jones, but it would be up to Cartoon Network.
- This was the sixth Cartoon Network Series to be added to the Cartoon Cartoon Fridays block line up; the first five being "Mike, Lu & Og", "Courage the Cowardly Dog", "Sheep in the Big City", "Time Squad", and "Grim & Evil".
- This series was produced using traditional hand-painted cels at a time when most TV cartoons were in the process of switching to digital animation (possibly due to the fact that this series takes place in the 1980s). It ended up being the final Cartoon Network Studios production to be done with cel animation, as all subsequent shows would utilize digital ink-and-paint.
- On September 2023, Whatever Happened to… Robot Jones? was officially acknowledged by Cartoon Network UK on an opening intro evolution video on their official YouTube channel to celebrate their 30th Anniversary in 2023 itself.
Appearances in Later media
- Robot Jones made a cameo in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, Crossover Nexus.
- Robot Jones made an appearance in the Jellystone! episode, Crisis on Infinite Mirths.
Broadcast and availability
The series re-ran as part of The Cartoon Cartoon Show from 2005 to 2006.
In 2015, the series began to air on the Latin American TV channel, Tooncast.
Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? was released on HBO Max in Latin America on April 2022. As of 2024, the series in general has yet to be available legally in the U.S.
Gallery
promotional VHS
storyboards of the unproduced talk show episode (1/2)
storyboards of the unproduced talk show episode (2/2)
Robot Jones in Cartoon Network's 20th anniversary music video
Robot Jones in Cartoon Network's 20th anniversary poster.
.jpg "CrossoverNexus (127).jpg (271 KB)")
Robot Jones as stone in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, Crossover Nexus
.jpg "CrossoverNexus (355).jpg (269 KB)")
Robot Jones as one of Ben 10's transformations in Crossover Nexus
Robot Jones after being restored by Strike's pen in Crossover Nexus
Character model sheet
Early sketch of Robot Jones
HBO Max cover
Horizontal HBO Max Latin America cover
The show's premiere on July 19th, 2002
The episode, Jealousy, on a broadcast of The Cartoon Cartoon Show on November 22nd, 2005
A broadcast of the first segment, Vacuum Friends, on The Cartoon Cartoon Show on January 13th, 2006
An airing of the episode, Parents, on February 7th, 2004
The premiere of The Yogmans Strike Back/Hookie 101 on October 24th, 2003
The premiere of House Party/School Newspaper on October 31st, 2003
Lunch box
An airing of Pilot/Electric Boogaloo/Groovesicle on January 16th, 2004
Powerhouse bumper where Robot is plugged in while Socks was eating lunch, and then Lenny and Denny throw mashed potatoes at Robot himself
Powerhouse bumper where Shannon slaps Robot
The premiere of Garage Band/Work on October 17th, 2003
Updated Max Latin America cover
Robot Jones' cameo in Crisis on Infinite Mirths
Cartoon Network Studios Series
| 2000 | Johnny Bravo |
| 2001 | The Powerpuff Girls • Time Squad • Samurai Jack • Grim & Evil |
| 2002 | Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law • Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? |
| 2003 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy • Evil Con Carne • Star Wars: Clone Wars |
| 2004 | Megas XLR • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi |
| 2005 | The Life and Times of Juniper Lee • Camp Lazlo • My Gym Partner's a Monkey • Ben 10 |
| 2006 | Squirrel Boy • Class of 3000 |
| 2007 | Out of Jimmy's Head • Chowder • Transformers: Animated |
| 2008 | Ben 10: Alien Force • The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack |
| 2010 | Adventure Time • Ben 10: Ultimate Alien • Generator Rex • The Cartoonstitute • Regular Show • Tower Prep • Sym-Bionic Titan • Robotomy |
| 2011 | The Problem Solverz • Secret Mountain Fort Awesome |
| 2012 | Level Up • Ben 10: Omniverse |
| 2013 | Incredible Crew • Uncle Grandpa • Steven Universe |
| 2014 | Clarence • Black Dynamite • Over the Garden Wall |
| 2015 | We Bare Bears • Long Live the Royals |
| 2016 | The Powerpuff Girls • Mighty Magiswords |
| 2017 | Ben 10 • OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes |
| 2018 | Apple & Onion • Craig of the Creek • Summer Camp Island |
| 2019 | Victor and Valentino • Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart • Infinity Train • Primal • Steven Universe Future |
| 2030 |
Cartoon Network Original Series
| 1993 | The Moxy Show |
| 1994 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast |
| 1995 | What a Cartoon! |
| 1996 | Dexter's Laboratory • Big Bag |
| 1997 | Johnny Bravo • Cow and Chicken • I Am Weasel |
| 1998 | The Powerpuff Girls |
| 1999 | Ed, Edd n Eddy • Mike, Lu & Og • Courage the Cowardly Dog |
| 2000 | Sheep in the Big City |
| 2001 | Time Squad • Samurai Jack • Grim & Evil |
| 2002 | Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? • Codename: Kids Next Door |
| 2003 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy • Evil Con Carne • Star Wars: Clone Wars |
| 2004 | Megas XLR • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi |
| 2005 | The Life & Times of Juniper Lee • Camp Lazlo • Sunday Pants • My Gym Partner's a Monkey • Ben 10 |
| 2006 | Squirrel Boy • Class of 3000 |
| 2007 | Out of Jimmy's Head • Chowder • Transformers: Animated |
| 2008 | Ben 10: Alien Force • The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack • The Secret Saturdays |
| 2009 | Destroy Build Destroy • The Othersiders • BrainRush • Dude, What Would Happen • Bobb'e Says |
| 2030 |