Holiday Business: Cartoon Network Round-Up for Early 2008
http://firefox.org/news/articles/1152/1/Holiday-Business-Cartoon-Network-Round-Up-for-Early-2008/Page1.html
Tracy Garcia
Tracy is a fairly animated character who reads, writes, but can't draw. This has lead to a life storyboarded in sticky notes, and performed to the soundtrack of 'What's Opera, Doc?' By Tracy Garcia
Published on 02/5/2008
With the Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, and Black History Month upon us, timing is everything as toon schedulers scramble to capitalize.
CN Springs Into Ben 10, Valentine's Day, and Web Action
With the Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, and Black History Month upon us, timing is everything as toon schedulers scramble to capitalize. There's a lot of movement behind the scenes at Cartoon Network, which may mean big changes for 2008.
Premieres. Ben 10: Alien Forces will attempt the dangerous time-skip maneuver by adding five years to the popular kid hero. We'll see how Ben manages the alien-shifting Omnitrix (with ten new aliens to morph into), teenage years, and new enemies this coming spring. Look out too for two Brit imports, the currently airing The Mr. Men Show and the upcoming Chop Socky Chooks. Tune in for the brilliant mixed media CN ad "Rap" directed by Shilo and featuring eleven-year-old rapper Elijah.
Despite the ads to the contrary, new Chowder episodes were pulled in favor of reruns. Creator C.H. Greenblatt offers the chef apprentice's purple and lavender patterns for fan-artists to entertain themselves in the meantime (source: Nerd Armada).
CN's Valentine's Day marathon will be hosted by Chowder starting at 6:00 pm ET on the 14th. The love fest includes episodes from Chowder, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (the classic "Frankie My Dear..."), The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Camp Lazlo, and Ed, Edd, n Eddy.
The third annual Kids in the Kitchen initiative is scheduled for CN's "Get Animated" program for National Nutrition Month this March. The Junior Leagues, the USDA, and CN are among several partners in the month-long program hitting the airwaves and the streets in Canada, Mexico, U.K. and U.S.
On the business side, Turner Broadcasting has been promoting and outright luring executives for its new Animation,Young Adults & Kids Media group, which oversees CN and its sister companies. Several positions have been filled since last May, including top execs from Nickelodeon.
The company is also making deals in emerging web-based markets. Its deal with Outblaze in Asia will bring CN brands to "interactive" formats such as games, IM and blog networks, and video creation. Likewise its sister channel Adult Swim has signed up with Artificial Life to develop games for mobile devices, in tandem with their (in)famous web-based offerings. These ventures will be interesting additions to existing fandom networks, particularly for kids.
Premieres. Ben 10: Alien Forces will attempt the dangerous time-skip maneuver by adding five years to the popular kid hero. We'll see how Ben manages the alien-shifting Omnitrix (with ten new aliens to morph into), teenage years, and new enemies this coming spring. Look out too for two Brit imports, the currently airing The Mr. Men Show and the upcoming Chop Socky Chooks. Tune in for the brilliant mixed media CN ad "Rap" directed by Shilo and featuring eleven-year-old rapper Elijah.
Despite the ads to the contrary, new Chowder episodes were pulled in favor of reruns. Creator C.H. Greenblatt offers the chef apprentice's purple and lavender patterns for fan-artists to entertain themselves in the meantime (source: Nerd Armada).
CN's Valentine's Day marathon will be hosted by Chowder starting at 6:00 pm ET on the 14th. The love fest includes episodes from Chowder, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (the classic "Frankie My Dear..."), The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Camp Lazlo, and Ed, Edd, n Eddy.
The third annual Kids in the Kitchen initiative is scheduled for CN's "Get Animated" program for National Nutrition Month this March. The Junior Leagues, the USDA, and CN are among several partners in the month-long program hitting the airwaves and the streets in Canada, Mexico, U.K. and U.S.
On the business side, Turner Broadcasting has been promoting and outright luring executives for its new Animation,Young Adults & Kids Media group, which oversees CN and its sister companies. Several positions have been filled since last May, including top execs from Nickelodeon.
The company is also making deals in emerging web-based markets. Its deal with Outblaze in Asia will bring CN brands to "interactive" formats such as games, IM and blog networks, and video creation. Likewise its sister channel Adult Swim has signed up with Artificial Life to develop games for mobile devices, in tandem with their (in)famous web-based offerings. These ventures will be interesting additions to existing fandom networks, particularly for kids.
Global Moves and [as] Censorship Controversies
Worldwide: The Lunar New Year means big holiday programming in the Asia Pacific markets. In South Korea, CN is going with Tom and Jerry; Disney may prove to have a thematic edge with the Year of the Rat.
In the Middle East and North Africa, CN is opening a branded theme park in Kuwait City. This coincides with publishing the English and Arabic versions of the Cartoon Network Magazine via Teshkeel Comics.
As the cartoon schedule in the Philippines is solidified, the country will see the premiere of two features (the epic "Urduja" and the children's fantasy "Dayo") from animators who cut their teeth on Disney, Warner, and CN productions.
Adult Swim, the late night channel which shares the air with CN, is not faring so well when it comes to timing. Black History Month finds them in the midst of controversy surrounding two un-aired episodes of Aaron McGruder's Boondocks. Advertising Age reports that a spokesperson for CN denies being contacted by BET or its executives, who were mocked on the shows.
A year after a guerilla marketing stunt for Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force brought Boston to a standstill, pranksters placed a similar LED device at Fenway Park (The Boston Channel) and all over the city (MAKE: blog). It's another bizarre layer to an incident which has public safety officials defending their actions (Boston Herald) and even overshadows an MIT student's court case over her wearable LED causing a bomb scare (AP).
Musicans Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, and baseball player-turned-analyst John Kruk didn't seem to have a problem lending their free speech on a recent episode of ATHF.
General sources: Animation Insider, Cartoon Network Pressroom, World Screen News
In the Middle East and North Africa, CN is opening a branded theme park in Kuwait City. This coincides with publishing the English and Arabic versions of the Cartoon Network Magazine via Teshkeel Comics.
As the cartoon schedule in the Philippines is solidified, the country will see the premiere of two features (the epic "Urduja" and the children's fantasy "Dayo") from animators who cut their teeth on Disney, Warner, and CN productions.
Adult Swim, the late night channel which shares the air with CN, is not faring so well when it comes to timing. Black History Month finds them in the midst of controversy surrounding two un-aired episodes of Aaron McGruder's Boondocks. Advertising Age reports that a spokesperson for CN denies being contacted by BET or its executives, who were mocked on the shows.
A year after a guerilla marketing stunt for Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force brought Boston to a standstill, pranksters placed a similar LED device at Fenway Park (The Boston Channel) and all over the city (MAKE: blog). It's another bizarre layer to an incident which has public safety officials defending their actions (Boston Herald) and even overshadows an MIT student's court case over her wearable LED causing a bomb scare (AP).
Musicans Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, and baseball player-turned-analyst John Kruk didn't seem to have a problem lending their free speech on a recent episode of ATHF.
General sources: Animation Insider, Cartoon Network Pressroom, World Screen News