Cartoon Network Studios (CNS) unveiled Cartoon Cartoons, the next evolution of its prolific animated shorts program, signalling the studio’s largest commitment to animated shorts production to date. Cartoon Cartoons will be the studio’s first dedicated shorts program in over a decade, with a mission to innovate the art of animated storytelling, showcase diverse stories, discover new voices and mentor the next generation of animators. The news was announced by Sam Register, President of Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation (WBA).
“Cartoon Network Studios has a proud legacy of animated shorts. 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,” said Register. “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 endeavour.”
The initial CNS shorts program began in 1995 as World Premiere Toons and thrived as a creative incubator for artists to freely develop and create animated content. Shorts have continued to be an important part of CNS’ production pipeline ever since and in many different forms. Through its existence, the program served as a launchpad for several innovative artists and highly successful award-winning series such as Dexter’s Laboratory (Genndy Tartakovsky), The Powerpuff Girls (Craig McCracken), Chowder (C.H. Greenblatt), Regular Show (J.G. Quintel) and Steven Universe (Rebecca Sugar).
Shorts produced through Cartoon Cartoons will vary in length and subject matter, from character-driven and comedic narratives to experimental animation, for a variety of audiences spanning preschoolers to adults. As they explore, develop and refine their ideas, artists will receive focused studio support from a dedicated production team and veteran producer mentorship. Finished 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 program will be open to artists and producers of all experience levels from both inside and outside Cartoon Network Studios.
As an artist-driven initiative, Cartoon Cartoons will be led by the program’s Creative Council – an all-star rotating group of experienced, diverse and innovative producers. This group will provide peer to peer mentorship and creative guidance for the participating artists and their projects in the program.
