what do you think "What a Cartoon!" was originally?

[RKillian]

I thought it was some sort of contest to see what up and coming amateur would create the next hit cartoon series...

[raykremer]

Wasn't that how all the original Cartoon Cartoons got started? Then it was probably an outlet for show pilots. Let 'em make one or a handful of shorts, and if the audience likes 'em, they get a series. If the audience hates 'em, they go away.

[Bubblegum Girl]

I'm guessing a project where different animators were able to make thier own cartoons and the best one would become a series.

[DianaGohan]

I think the history is that at the time, Cartoon Network couldn't spring for the creation of any new shows. In fact, the only cartoon they made themselves was one based off an old one taken in a whole new direction with new voice actors, ideas, and animation. It mixed live action and animation in a form never seen before: Talk Show. Yes, that was Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In fact, it was SGC2C that was the reason for the What A Cartoon Show in the first place. For it's second season premiere, SG had a special half hour "Toon In" episode that was also broadcasted on other networks. This "Toon In" featured shorts from various cartoonists that would later all be a part of WACS. In fact, 3 of them even became they're own series (Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory and the Powerpuff Girls) while the rest produced more shorts that can still be seen on the renamed Cartoon Cartoon Show (aka the new version of the What A Cartoon Show). After the toon in, WACS started and was a ground for showing pilots for various cartoons. Some of these picked up pilots included Cow and Chicken and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Nowadays, WACS only gets about 10 new cartoon shorts a year, all shown first on the Summer CCF marathon block. And one of these shorts becomes it's own series, either chosen by the viewers or the network itself. And even if you're short dosen't become a show itself, that dosen't mean its gone forever. Hell, sometimes these shorts respawn themselves entirley in new ways even though the same creators in charge (Case in point: The Larry and Steve short, made by Seth McFarland, was sort of a starting point for "Family Guy"). And that's the information you need to know about WACS.

[Wanted]

DianaGohan, you always take the fun out of responding to topics like this.:(:mad:

[Eric B]

Way back when Turner was first planning his new Cartoon Network, he had envisioned "World Premiere Toons" (what they were originally called). This was to be a throwback to the golden age of theatrical cartoons when animators had the creative freedom to produce shorts one at a time, instead of a whole package of episodes for preconceived series'. I think it has worked, as we have a bunch of new "classics" now.