This is a brief post in regards to Damon’s “Considering Cartoon Planet” article. In particular, I’d like to respond to one poster on Toon Zone’s suggestions for the CP block. Same deal as before. The original poster’s words will be typed in italic.

I gotta say Cartoon Planet returning this year is a dream come true for me! (Well, not entirely, since it is not exactly Cartoon CARTOON Fridays from 1999-2007, but this is good enough) At least it really reminds of the format of The Cartoon Cartoon Show. Now if they could just add: What-A-Cartoon!, Mike, Lu, and Og, Sheep, (if they can ever find a way to fit that in there.) Time Squad, Robot Jones, Foster’s’s 22-min. episodes, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, (If I remember correctly, that series had gone back to the original Cartoon Cartoons’ 3 segment format.) Juniper Lee, (Again, just like Sheep) Squirrel Boy, Class of 3000 (and to a lesser extent, Out of Jimmy’s Head (it wasn’t that bad) (AGAIN, like Sheep and Juniper Lee). Forgive me for being so choosy, but I just love these shows (and the ones currently airing on the block) so much and would just love to see them air again. (Maybe with the Cartoon Cartoon theme!)

Allow me to address each of these point individually. In regards to What-A-Cartoon, while it’s true that Cartoon Network Studios still owns several of the WAC shorts, the network isn’t likely to air them on Cartoon Planet, nor is there any reason for them to, since it’s at this point it’s very unlikely that any of them are going to be made into series.

Hi-Hi Puffy Ami Yumi* and Class of 3000 – No. Both shows feature caricatures of living performers (on PAY, while the real life Ami & Yumi didn’t provide the voices of their cartoon counterparts, they did make appearances at the beginning and end of every episode, while on Co3K, Sunny Bridges was a caricature of Andre Benjamin, who provided the character’s voice) and so CN would have to pay those performers a royalty for their likenesses to be used. Also, each episode of Class was 22 minutes long, which would take up half the show. Same deal with Sheep in the Big City and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee.

*On the subject of which, there’s something that I’d like to address: Hi-Hi Puffy Ami Yumi is NEVER coming back to Cartoon Network. Ever. I’m tired of reading comments from would be conspiracy theorists about why the show got canceled and that the show was so smegging huge when it was running and how CN is dropping hints that PAY might come back to CN. Puffy‘s cancellation had nothing to do with politics or with CN’s attitude towards races and cultures; PAY was canceled because the show wasn’t very good and it didn’t get the desired ratings. Where was all this fan loyalty for PAY when it was on the air? If the shows’ ratings were really so freaking huge, then CN wouldn’t have canceled the show so suddenly. It’s done. Puffy Ami Yumi are just another J-Pop band who had their 15 minutes of fame here the States by performing the theme song for Teen Titans: TAS. But neither TT or PAY are relevant anymore. CN initially hoped (or intended) for PAY to be the network’s next “Girl Power” series after The Powerpuff Girls, but that didn’t happen, and CN’s hasn’t cared about PAY ever since. The fact that Ami & Yumi were among the characters pictured in CN’s 20th Anniversary photo is proof of nothing. CN doesn’t care about that show anymore and it’s never going to air on CN ever again.

There, I said it. I feel better. Moving on…

Out of Jimmy’s Head (it wasn’t that bad)

Yes, it was, but that’s just my opinion, which doesn’t carry the weight of sunlight. Allow me to now give several reasons why Out of Jimmy’s Head will NEVER air on Cartoon Planet:

1. Each episode of Out of Jimmy’s Head was 22 minutes long, and a half hour episode would take up half the show.
2. OOJH wasn’t a cartoon; it was a live action kidcom lightly sprinkled with some animation. A live action series would have no business airing as part of a block titled CARTOON Planet. There’s no reason for CN to devote half of Cartoon Planet to 22 minutes almost completely devoid of animation.
3.  OOJH wasn’t a Cartoon-Cartoon. See above.
4. OOJH sucked duck butter. The series was a critical and commercial failure. The show bombed so hard that CN is still picking up the shrapnel 7 years later. The show was such a failure that CN hasn’t attempted a scripted comedy since (unless one counts Incredible Crew, which is a sketch comedy). The OOJH episodes were removed from iTunes after 3 weeks because nobody was buying them. You can’t even see any episodes of OOJH for free on YouTube, fer cryin’ out loud! What reason would CN possible have to want to re-air that stinker of a show? Except maybe as a prank for April Fool’s Day?

Let’s face it, folks, Out of Jimmy’s Head will never air on CN proper ever again. Maybe, maybe the reruns of OOJH will come to Boomerang someday, but seeing as how shows like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Sheep in the Big City, Time Squad, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey and Squirrel Boy still have yet to air on Boomerang, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen either.