Cartoon Network Shared Universe

Thoughout its history, Cartoon Network has made content mashing up their cartoons with each other. Such as the CN City bumpers, numerous crossover specials, and perhaps most notably, the MMORPG FusionFall.

Since I've already brainstormed ideas like these in the main CN thread, I figured I'd might as well make an entire topic dedicated to an entire shared universe here. This covers all CN shows from the 90's to today. (Not counting ones they acquired)

From what crossover material should this universe be based on? What should the society be like? How should the characters from each show play off of each other?

are the characters actors? like, is Bubbles playing a character also named Bubbles, or is she literally a citizen of Townsville, USA? because if the characters are actors playing characters on their respective shows, that allows us to very easily imagine a world in which Samurai Jack and live next door to Johnny Bravo.

Edited by nekomoon14 on Sep 24th 2021 at 11:23:22 AM

Kind of like the "Who framed Roger Rabbit"-verse?

that's what i was thinking.

Sorry for the late reply, but I'm thinking of something akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which there's a mix between goofy comedies and epic dramas.

You're still not answering the question, are the CN characters real people or actor Toons?

Oops, sorry. They're real people for sure.

That actually creates an interesting option.

One including "The actors are live-action real people when not on the set but turn into toon-forms when on the job."

How they get used to it is up for debate.

I guess it could be used for a more satirical work.

Going with the "real people" option, how do you think this world should be structured? How should the characters from different shows interlace with each other? (I'm thinking of a villain community for example)

How would you decide which characters from which shows to use?

I'd stick with characters from CN originals. Though characters from Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera could make cameos.

So what about different versions of the same characters like with Teen Titans or The Powerpuff Girls?

If I write a similar concept, I'm curious for ideas on how to handle that notion.

Do you remember the old bumpers from around 1999 until about 2004 where the various characters (both CN originals and from HB) were shown working at Cartoon Network studios? There were skits like Fred Flintstone, Thundarr the Barbarian and Chicken trying to find a parking spot or the caveman from Dino Boy sharing an elevator with Double D. I think the general logic was that airing cartoons were actors while the non-airing cartoons were mostly staff. So, I guess by that logic, the original Teen Titans would be staff while Teen Titans Go would be actors. I’m guessing this whole idea developed out of how they reconciled the existence of Space Ghost Coast to Coast with the original Space Ghost. Like, how SG was both a space superhero in the past but a talk show host who knows he’s a cartoon in the present.

Anyways, I’ve always thought that depicting a CN crossover as a workplace comedy was more interesting than just, y’know, shoving the different shows together and giving them a villain to fight. Especially since most CN cartoons were more about episodic hijinks or overcoming daily problems than exploring settings or fighting villains.

Edited by WSM on Jun 3rd 2022 at 11:12:09 AM

A Roger Rabbit-style workplace comedy set at Cartoon Network sounds wonderful. I'd love to read it.