What a Cartoon!
| What a Cartoon! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Fred Seibert |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |
| Distributor | Turner Entertainment Company Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Original release | February 20, 1995—November 28, 1997 |
| Run time | 7 minutes |
| Starring | Catherine Cavadini Kath Soucie E.G. Daily Jeff Glen Bennett Bill Kopp |
| Executive producer(s) | Buzz Potamkin |
| Music composed by | Gary Lionelli |
| Writer(s) | Craig McCracken Genndy Tartakovsky Van Partible Pat Ventura |
| Director(s) | Craig McCracken Genndy Tartakovsky Van Partible Pat Ventura |
What a Cartoon!, also known as The What a Cartoon! Show, is an American animated anthology television series created by Fred Seibert. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons for Cartoon Network. It ran from 1995 to 1997, airing 48 episodes that spanned one season. Between 1998 and 2002, it was revived by Sam Register as The Cartoon Cartoon Show, for 34 more shorts, although only seven of those were produced by Hanna-Barbera. In 2021, it was revived for a second time, but this time none of the shorts were produced by Hanna-Barbera.
Each segment was made as a backdoor pilot to a full-length series, and those that were picked up led to successful runs, such as The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and Cow and Chicken. Courage the Cowardly Dog also came from What a Cartoon!, although the series was produced by the creator's own independent studio. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?, which came out of The Cartoon Cartoon Show were produced by Cartoon Network Studios, as Hanna-Barbera folded soon after the pilots was made.
It's also notable for giving Dino, the Flintstones' family pet from The Flintstones, his own shorts, and reviving MGM's George and Junior theatrical shorts. Seth MacFarlane also turned his own project Larry & Steve into Family Guy.
Production
Development
Casting
Music
The music was composed by Gary Lionelli.
Episodes
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
1x01
|
February 20, 1995 |
1x02
|
February 26, 1995 |
1x03
|
March 5, 1995 |
1x04
|
March 19, 1995 |
1x05
|
March 26, 1995 |
1x06
|
April 2, 1995 |
1x07
|
April 9, 1995 |
| 1x08 | April 16, 1996 |
1x09
|
June 18, 1995 |
1x10
|
June 25, 1995 |
1x11
|
July 2, 1995 |
1x12
|
July 9, 1995 |
1x13
|
July 16, 1995 |
1x14
|
July 23, 1995 |
| 1x15 | July 30, 1995 |
1x16
|
August 6, 1995 |
1x17
|
November 5, 1995 |
1x18
|
November 12, 1995 |
| 1x19 | January 1, 1996 |
1x20
|
January 14, 1996 |
1x21
|
January 21, 1996 |
1x22
|
January 28, 1996 |
| 1x23 | February 4, 1996 |
| 1x24 | February 11, 1996 |
1x25
|
February 18, 1996 |
1x26
|
February 25, 1996 |
1x27
|
March 3, 1996 |
1x28
|
March 10, 1996 |
1x29
|
March 17, 1996 |
1x30
|
October 9, 1996 |
1x31
|
October 16, 1996 |
1x32
|
October 23, 1996 |
| 1x33 | October 30, 1996 |
| 1x34 | November 6, 1996 |
| 1x35 | November 13, 1996 |
1x36
|
January 1, 1997 |
1x37
|
January 8, 1997 |
| 1x38 | January 15, 1997 |
| 1x39 | January 22, 1997 |
| 1x40 | January 29, 1997 |
| 1x41 | December 10, 1997 |
1x42
|
February 12, 1997 |
1x43
|
February 19, 1997 |
1x44
|
February 26, 1997 |
1x45
|
March 5, 1997 |
1x46
|
November 28, 1997 |
| 1x47 | February 25, 1997 |
1x48
|
March 4, 1997 |
The Cartoon Cartoon Show
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
1
|
November 6, 1998 |
2
|
August 21, 1999 |
3
|
December 27, 1999 |
4
|
December 27, 1999 |
5
|
December 27, 1999 |
| 6 | June 16, 2000 |
7
|
August 11, 2000 |
Cast
Promotion
Photos
-
A poster hiring creators to fill out the complete 48 shorts.
In popular culture
- For Cartoon Network's 25th anniversary in 2018, there was a special crossover episode written for OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes called "Crossover Nexus," in which several of the then-current cartoon stars teamed up together in Cartoon Network City to take on the supervillain Strike, who has ravaged the city and petrified its citizens, several of whom are former What a Cartoon!/Cartoon Cartoon characters. When Ben Tennyson goes through several transformations to strike the final blow against Strike, he takes the forms of other Cartoon Network characters, which is accompanied by the theme song of What a Cartoon!
