TV Flashback: Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Cartoon Fridays

A couple of weeks ago, the “Just for Kids” section of Netflix got a huge addition to its array of cartoons past and present when Cartoon Network’s classic shows, including Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and many others became available on Instant Streaming. Many of these shows were part of the network’s Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, an evening slot that lasted from 1999-2007 and featured the staple original series of the channel. The shows have since been featured prominently throughout Cartoon Network’s 20th anniversary campaign, as well as DVD releases, shorts have aired on the Cartoon Planet revival, and reruns air on the Boomerang network. But for many folks without cable, these revolutionary cartoons are now readily available for binge-watching.

Cartoon Cartoons initially began as shorts on the What a Cartoon! Show in the mid-90s. The popularity, creativeness, and relative cheapness of these cartoons eventually sparked the creation of the channel’s most popular full-blown original series. Up until that point, the young Cartoon Network (which only just began in 1992) hadn’t quite gotten on people’s radars, with mostly reruns of old Hanna Barbara cartoons and Looney Tunes, and scarce original shows like 2 Stupid Dogs or Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, the latter of which was more popular with young adults than the network’s targeted demographic.

In 1996, Dexter’s Laboratory premiered as a full series, though, launching what came to be known as Cartoon Cartoons. Its simple premise of a boy genius with a secret lab opened up a world of possibilities, and has every right to be regarded as the quintessential cartoon network show. Johnny Bravo followed shortly after, which has since had its numerous catchphrases (“Whoooa Mama!”) permeate pop culture. Ultimately, the “big three” of the Cartoon Cartoon era was rounded out by The Powerpuff Girls, which since sported a theatrical film and a couple of revivals/specials. Not to be forgotten, Cow and Chicken and its spin-off I Am Weasel were also around during this point, sporting significantly cruder animation and more potty humor. They were successful at the time, though only Cow and Chicken made it through this wave of the Netflix influx.

While popular Nickelodeon cartoons at the time like Doug, Hey Arnold! and the like tended to craft creative spins on everyday childhood/preteen life, Cartoon Network’s Hanna Barbara-produced cartoons attempted to emulate a very old-fashioned kind of humor. These weren’t musings on the trials of growing up or suburbia, they were ridiculous, pop culture-ridden sketches akin to Looney Tunes. Ironically, the Looney Tunes characters had already made a comeback in the 90s thanks to references in Tiny Toons and Animaniacs (and even Space Jam if you want to count that), but the reruns of the classic cartoons are what started Cartoon Network in the first place. So it’s fitting that—strange as it is to say—Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Cartoons were more of a natural, almost purer continuation of that kind of humor than the actual WB-produced shows. No one can discredit the genius and influence of the competing shows at the time, because all the aforementioned mentioned are high-quality across the board, but the Cartoon Cartoons were something different.

The designs were purposefully simple, and in a lot of cases downright ugly, but always with obvious intent. Simplicity was always key for these shows; with simplistic designs and concepts, it was possible to go absolutely anywhere. Johnny Bravo met the cast of Scooby Doo, Dexter’s Laboratory animated an episode written and narrated by a real-life six-year-old fan, and The Powerpuff Girls had nearly an entire episode written with solely The Beatles song lyrics. The humor could be subversive when it needed to be, but was also legitimately funny when it came to simple, obvious physical humor. There was also a clear lack of censorship; plenty of adult humor flew under the radar, and the level of nudity was higher than what we see on Family Guy these days. The creators stated on a feature of Johnny Bravo’s the first season DVD that people “weren’t really watching the network at the time”—not closely or seriously, anyway—so the creators had enough leeway to pretty much do what they wanted. And, while that meant things got weird at times, it also meant no one was holding back, and the all-or-nothing approach resulted in material we simply don’t see much nowadays. These were shows that could be silly while still assuming kids would be smart enough to get more complex humor, too.

There was a sense of cohesiveness in these shows, at least the early classics, and the Friday lineup resulted in a sense of community competitors like Nickelodeon didn’t quite capture, despite their successes. It’s probably no coincidence that Van Partible (Johnny Bravo), Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls) and Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory) all roomed together in college at one point, artists and writers like John McIntyre cycled on the staffs of all these shows, and the likes of Butch Hartman (Nickelodeon’s The Fairly Oddparents) and even Seth MacFarlane were involved in their creations. Big names touched each and every one of these cartoons, and it showed.

As the era progressed, the ridiculousness reached some stranger—but more imaginative—levels, as the Cartoon Cartoons experimented more with high-concept or creator-specific traits. Courage the Cowardly Dog, for example, was downright weird and disturbing at times, but its dark humor and demented tone continues to be paradoxically appealing. Ed, Edd n Eddy wasn’t as high-concept, but the mix of squiggle animation, jazz-score and its strict refusal to have characters appear outside of its main cast makes it a show like no other. These shows are a rarity, in that their quality arguably increased with each season; Ed, Edd n Eddy even had a cancellation, slight retooling and revival (which all but killed Dexter’s Laboratory when it went through that) but still had some of its best episodes then.

The latter years of the era had more mixed success; shows like Mike, Lu and Og or Whatever Happened to…Robot Jones? had notably short runs before disappearing completely. Codename: Kids Next Door had decent success, though featured a markedly different style of humor than its predecessors, likely a reason it apparently wasn’t quite “classic” enough to make it to Netflix on the first wave. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy finished off the Cartoon Cartoon era, though, and reached a level of success not seen since Ed, Edd n Eddy—which is clear since it is currently available for streaming. Though oddly enough, the show it shared a continuity and timeslot with, Evil con Carne, is nowhere to be seen.

Admittedly, Netflix doesn’t have a complete collection of Cartoon Cartoons by a long shot. In addition to some aforementioned shows, Sheep in the Big City and Time Squad are also unavailable—which is sad, as they’re mostly forgotten little gems and personal favorites of mine. And it’s a bit frustrating that these still aren’t the complete series for most; the best episodes of Dexter’s Laboratory have been captured, but other shows like Johnny Bravo and Ed, Edd n Eddy arguably got better in their mid-to-later years, which are unavailable.

Also worth noting, even though they weren’t part of the Cartoon Cartoons era, are the absolutely awesome DCAU shows Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, now available in their entirety on Netflix. The first season of the fantastic Samurai Jack, created by Tartakovsky, is also available, though the fact that we only have season one of such an amazing series is disappointing. Episodes of renowned modern cartoons like Adventure Time, the Ben 10 franchise, and Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (which doesn’t get enough credit for being awesome, which it is) are also available.

If you weren’t a Cartoon Network kid, then it’s time to jump on the bandwagon—as much nostalgic fun as these show’s provide, there’s also an insane amount of smarter adult humor and references to keep even the most mature of us entertained and laughing. They’re the epitome of pure, unadulterated fun for all ages.