Cartoon Network, as an entity, has long been held by many (from fans to cable channels to critics) as a gold standard in what they set out to do. But what was that? It is an understatement to say that how one views what made Cartoon Network a hit heavily colors how one perceives its Network Decay. Let's look at several different perspectives on this.
Afterwards we will look at several other debates that have long come up within the Cartoon Network fandom, which currently includes the importance of Boomerang, where live-action belongs on the network, and where the line between adult animation and kids animation is.
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Animation Library Perspective
- The first perspective ties into the "animation library" aspect of the channel. When Cartoon Network first launched, it was home to an enormous library of animation that was owned by Ted Turner, including the classic Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers cartoons in addition to a few others. For its first few years, the channel had a hard time convincing cable companies to pick it up, so the idea began to give the network itself a serious identity. The network dubbed itself "The Cartoon Network" and built two slogans: "The best place for cartoons" and "a place where everybody gets their toons". In this period, year after year, the network aired cartoons, animations, and animated movies from at least nine different decades and multiple countries.
For some fans who were around in the Cohen era of 1992-2001, this was what made Cartoon Network the success it was: a network that provided them with what may have been their first chance to see cartoons that were new to them and were new to their parents or grandparents. This process paved the way for imports such as anime which helped fuel the anime boom at the turn of the century (thanks to Toonami and [adult swim]). The earliest forms of Adult Swim itself came from the late-night corners of this era being allowed to experiment with stranger concepts welcomed into the lineup. By the beginning of the new millennium, the channel consisted of its original programming, a waning but still prominent selection of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, thousands of shorts from the The Golden Age of Animation, dozens of reruns (and in rare cases new episodes) of shows from Fox Kids and Kids' WB!, the aforementioned anime series, and an anthology series of animated shorts produced for the National Film Board of Canada.
For these fans, many place Cartoon Network's Network Decay heavily on the Executive Meddling of Jamie Kellner when he was made head of Turner. The in-fighting between Kellner and CN president Cohen and WBA president MacCurdy lead to both leaving their positions. While Mike Lazzo tried to continue some of Cohen's vision, it was clear Cartoon Network was moving into a direction that put its in-house content above showcasing as wide a variety of animation. Once Kellner was gone and Samples had Lazzo Kicked Upstairs to only running Adult Swim, many found the old Cartoon Network was no longer the aim.
From a business metric, there's a lot to bolster this perspective. While many know the story that the Network struggled in its early years to attract an audience, many are unaware the first time Cartoon Network scored a day as being the most-watched channel on cable was back in 1993, during the first-ever June Bugs marathon. This event proved to be a major help in convincing more cable providers to pick up the channel. The network didn't really pick up full steam until 1995 and was considered an overwhelming success from 1995-2001. Cartoon Network became a regular player to be top of cable in total viewers by 2000. It would lose that reputation somewhere along the controversies of 2002. While all of this is true, there was always some criticism that this strategy was far more risk-taking than a lot of channels usually are run. It is also notable that during this period, there was no one show that really soared above the others. On any given month, any new show or high-ranked older show might very well be the most watched.
The Legacy of the Cohen era under the "animation library" version set the stage for everything that came after it, but it still remains the period that managed to beat many live-action channels for total viewers.
Original Content Perspective
- The second perspective argues that the in-house content was the real driving force for the channel's success. During the earlier days, when they were still trying to sell the network to cable companies, Cohen and the then-president of Hanna-Barbera Fred Seibert crafted the concept that became the What A Cartoon! Show, as a way to supplement the back catalog with a series of new shorts that could Spin-Off into a new series. The program proved to be a success, and both the shorts and spinoff series was a part of the animated library concept. The fans of this perspective argue these rose to be what made the channel the success.
At the time of Jaime Kellner's ascent to being head of Turner, the decision had been made to stop the merger of Hanna Barbera and Warner Bros Animation and have two animation houses under different corporate silos. Warner Bros. Animation was an animation studio with the WB, HB, and MGM libraries under the Warner Bros. silo, and Cartoon Network Studios was an animation studio with the CN originals under the Turner silo. Kellner had imported his own philosophies from the WB into the culture of considering target demographics far more important than total household numbers. From then on, with Jim Samples as president, the channel took far more priority with building up their original content and having them dominate more of the schedule that used to be given to older back catalog shows. For these fans, they tend to view the earlier stage before the Cartoon Cartoons rise as when the channel was mostly just a rerun farm, without the identity, the original content, and Powerhouse era branding would provide it with.
These fans typically place the Network Decay on the Viral Marketing for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie leading to Jim Samples stepping down from being head of Cartoon Network, as they saw him as the person who helped the network grow out from its original status. They tend to view Stuart Snyder as taking the network too far away from the brand Samples had built up.
From the business perspective, Samples' era could not maintain the total household numbers his predecessor was capable of. It did, however, manage to earn records in certain demographics and create a sense of brand loyalty of its own that steered more towards the original content, rather than the wider range of the Cohen's era. Another criticism of this era is that while Kellner's strategy was always a workable one, Samples wasn't the best executor of it. As most of the time, Cartoon Network was ranked the third "kids channel" against Disney and Nick, which was seen as a far cry from competing for the top of cable.
The legacy of the Samples era is one that is very clear to see on the internet but clearly was not without its share of controversy. Many dedicated fans consider it the network's high point for them.
Best For Investor perspective
- The third perspective is one that veers mostly to the side of investors and executives and primarily focuses on the man who replaced Jim Samples: Stuart Snyder. Snyder, like Samples before him, was a man linked to Jamie Kellner, who shared a lot of his ideals. On the internet, a lot of people tend to paint Snyder as a devilish figure that wrecked what Samples gave the world. Ironically in business circles, some people consider Snyder to be what Samples wanted to be but never could.
As recapped above, the Samples era took the network on a different path than Cohen had, but some criticized it for not being as successful as it could have been. Snyder's approach was to try to find the biggest success he could and make the most money off it. Snyder had a habit of launching many new shows aimed at specific demographics, and if they didn't earn enough, he would pull the rug out from under it. Examples such as Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series still remain heated memories. He did so at a far faster speed than Samples did, which heavily damaged the brand loyalty of the Samples era fans, but was seen as not much of a change to the Cohen era fans. One of Snyder's biggest sins to many, though, was the CN Real block that brought live-action shows with no animation component into the regular schedule, which they felt was a betrayal of the channel's roots. (See below for an analysis of that).
While this was true from a business perspective though, Cartoon Network was in much better shape than it had been for years. As Stuart Snyder is proud to brag about on his Linkedin resume, this era made executives like him and investors a very good return on investment. This is the reason why some consider him a better successor to Jamie Kellner, who before had left many employees and fans mad at the WB network, but he did a great job at making himself money. The flip side, however, always pointed out such a strategy was very bad for long-term survival. Snyder's practices did nothing to resolve the problems held by the Cohen era fans and speed up the problems of the Samples era while burning bridges with the brand loyalty Samples had built up.
But we would be remiss to mention that like the generations that came before, many cartoons were introduced to people during this tenure as well. For as much flack as Stuart Snyder receives on the internet, shows he introduced to the world get plenty of praise.
Creator first perspective
- The above-written paragraphs cover a lot of opinions on Cartoon Network from their historical and business stories. But for some people, that's not what made Cartoon Network great. For some, it's just about whether the shows CN helps produce are worth it. From this perspective, some would argue CN may have changed with the years but this is one goal it never strayed from, as each era featured young animators getting the chance to make a show they wanted to share with the world.
The Boomerang Debate
- Beyond the general eras of Cartoon Network, the decision to launch Boomerang is one that, in itself, is often accused or defended based on who you are talking to. As covered above, Cartoon Network greatly grew the number of shows they were airing by making new ones and licensing imports. In 2000, it was clear many of the older programs that used to air a lot more frequently had to fight for less space. Betty Cohen originally intended the spinoff Boomerang network to be an addition to the bigger network. It was only programmed for eight hours a day which repeated three times during the day. Cohen intended the roster of shows that would air on CN or Boomerang to rotate with each month so that certain shows would, in theory, come and go to both every year. This, however, struggled at first due to the reluctance to take any of the highest-viewed archive programs only to Boomerang or to sell the Boomerang network with only a roster of b-players at best.
The major elephant in the room that no one really considered in 2000 was the TV on DVD boom. VHS releases had been around, yes, but people really hadn't considered easily owning full seasons of television shows at affordable prices on disc before. Before this, the concept of if you wanted to see something not on the main channel, a side channel seemed like a smart option. But for every release that came to disc, Boomerang essentially lost episodes that could attract people. As a result, Boomerang always felt like it got kneecapped before it ever picked up steam. Once Cohen was out, Kellner and Samples clearly started to treat the network like a retirement home for everything too old for the main channel. Cohen's idea that shows would go to Boomerang and come back to the main channel was not desired by later presidents.
All in all, Boomerang, still to this day is one of the least carried channels in cable packages, and many would argue one that has so much less value, with so many things not on Cartoon Network being legally and illegally available in much more convenient places. However, some argue Boomerang itself was unneeded as early as the TV on DVD boom. As instead of a separate channel, making Boomerang a block that also promoted the DVD releases and tested which shows deserved more consistent reruns would have been far more successful strategies.
The Live Action Debate
- Let's analyze something else about Cartoon Network that stirs up a lot of controversy to this day. Where does "live-action" fit into Cartoon Network? Some would say never. Others would say where do we draw the line?
In truth, of course, some live-action content had been featured on the network since the very beginning. Multiple theatrical shorts featured live-action gags. Shows like Mister T and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos featured live-action people giving their thoughts before and after the episode. On The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, the cartoon characters watched live-action people on television. The newly created Space Ghost Coast to Coast had its whole gimmick built around live-action interviews. Many commercials for the network featured cartoons interacting with live actors or live-action settings. One should note all of these still featured animation but the live-action content was still a part of it.
We must also address the puppet in the room here as well. Puppetry has long remained an intersection of live-action and animation. Some consider it live-action because the object is being filmed moving in real life and is not a cartoon. Others consider it animation because we are animating a nonmoving object into appearing like it is moving. The various types of puppetry, Traditional (string, hand, rod), Stop motion and suitmation have all also been represented on Cartoon Network either in shows, movies, or ads all along the way. Shows such as The Banana Splits, Gumby and even the attempt to make live-action Puppet Pals segments from Dexter's Laboratory serve as examples.
Then there's the question of CGI. As many live-action movies today heavily rely on CGI-made effects to create their films, is it accurate to consider them at least in part animation or not? Or for that matter, is a CGI creation just a puppet on a computer?
While all the above will allow one to question where the line between animation and live action should be pressed, one bit of history isn't as up for debate. Exactly when did Cartoon Network first air live-action that had no relation to cartoons, puppetry, or CGI? Some believe it was during CN Real but in truth, it happened during the Samples era when a couple of live-action movies aired on the network for the first time. Another ironically forgotten stunt is the April Fools Day marathon in which the 2 Stupid Dogs hosted a marathon of the Danger Island segments from the Banana Splits. Even in the early 1990s, Cartoon Network was not afraid to play around with this.
What is often overlooked as well is, during [adult swim], they have had no issue green-lighting shows that do similar things to many of the shows named above, even airing outright live-action too.
The Adult vs Kiddie Debate
- if there was another issue that divided the network, it was always the issue of adult vs kids animation. Being a product of the 1990s and having an executive from MTV, the early Cartoon Network was very relativist in terms of animation exposure. But like most cable channels, they had to contend with their own in-house Bureau of Standards and Practices. What was remarkable was that many people in the network openly wanted to challenge these notions as they continued to expand their library. It didn't pass over their heads that there was ripe hypocrisy in how censorship tried to sneak its way into the roster. Episodes of Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken had gotten them in trouble before. Other demands to censor and limit several older shorts such as Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry had also caused dissatisfaction. One specific character that Ted Turner himself wanted to be removed was Speedy Gonzales, but even then the programmers still didn't kick him off the air completely (at least not until Jim Samples came on board). When Turner merged with Warner Bros, the staff at Warner Bros Animation who had greatly feuded with Jamie Kellner at the WB Network on what was appropriate for kids, was a serious boost to this effort.
In What Could Have Been history it was clear, 2001 was the year Cartoon Network had intended to greatly push back to fight the BS&P for all they could get. One of the major pushes for this is what we now know as [adult swim]. Most of the first Adult Swim shows had already been green-lighted the year before, as Cartoon Network knew they could expand the audience that was already enjoying Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Cartoon Network also slowly tried airing anime with fewer edits than they did in the daytime segments during the late night, with Mobile Suit Gundam Wing being the only one to actually just air in its uncut format in the later hours the year before. People at the network desperately wanted Cowboy Bebop on the network, but they were concerned that airing it on Toonami would still result in too much censoring, thus Bebop became the first anime on the Adult Swim lineup. Meanwhile, Toon Heads launched a longer-form documentary on wartime cartoons in prime time. But while those experiments succeeded, there were plans that didn't. They intended the June Bugs marathon to air one of the Censored Eleven (probably late at night) and were looking into gathering shorts to start a silent cartoon compilation show. But as mentioned above, all this greatly changed when Jamie Kellner came along.
As covered above, Kellner believed in strictly demographic terms. There were kids' cartoons that if adults watched, didn't matter. There were adult cartoons that if kids watched, didn't matter. Before this, Cartoon Network usually formatted its blocks to try and boost certain demographics in their total household numbers (Toonami was aimed at younger boys, Boomerang at older viewers, etc). However, if you watched the advertising on any such blocks, the network clearly still sold advertising to products for multiple demos. It was common to see board game commercials next to dish soap commercials. It was apparent, though, that the branding of Adult Swim was a major alteration to this by trying to tell off younger viewers. Even disclaimers on the Toonheads "wartime Cartoons" hadn't directly discouraged younger viewers, only suggesting a warning of the content. Cohen clearly supported attempting to increase animation as a medium for any subject and any audience. Kellner, on the other hand, did not. This was one of the major issues that helped Cohen leave the network.
Since then, it's fair to say only the Adult Swim blocks have greatly increased what they are allowed to air but because those standards pretty much had no effect on the network as a whole or animation in general. As was later openly admitted on the Adult Swim podcast, the decision to split the network into two for ratings purposes was primarily to get around certain laws that prohibit channels with so many kid views from selling ad space for certain products. As people working on Adult Swim always knew, plenty of kids were still watching during the so-called adults-only hours. Despite this, online forums erupted into endless debates on what was or wasn't "adult". Some declared that there is no way shows like Family Guy or Inuyasha can be considered worthy of an adult watching, while others lambasted the decision to air Popeye on Adult Swim as being nothing but a kids' show. People wanting to push animation for all subjects and all ages haven't really been welcome in many forums for a long time. note
Regular Cartoon Network, on the other hand, was rather slow to really open itself up to what it could show.note On CN, many of the usual stereotypes about what is or isn't appropriate for kids' shows were kept in strict order. One stigma that they only recently really opened themselves up to under Miller's leadership, is whether LGBT characters are even allowed to exist in them, which is probably one of the best progressive examples, but from a relativist perspective, Cartoon Network is still less diverse than the Adult Swim part of the day. As a whole, Cartoon Network is still less diverse than it used to be in its early years, as for every step forward, something else got kicked under the rug.
There is also an argument that the network's strict lens of action vs comedy, the dramatic side of animation is sadly very hard to actually get onto the network, since most western and eastern shows that this applies to don't really fit either the "kids animation" or "adult animation" stereotypes that the network tends to take on.
