Cartoon Network Monday unveiled a new multimillion-dollar "Cartoon Cartoon
Shorts" program that will commission an initial 20 shorts from aspiring
animators.
The program is modeled after the "World Premiere Toons" project, an
initiative that led to the creation of hits such as The Powerpuff Girls
and Dexter’s Laboratory.
The project also aims to produce a series of fully animated "pilots" over the
next two years that will be a source of new characters and creative situations
suitable for full-series development.
Linda Simensky, Cartoon’s senior vice president of original animation, will
serve as executive producer for the project under the supervision of Bob
Higgins, the network’s senior VP of programming and development.
Cartoon’s original animation team and Simensky will start accepting concept
admissions Oct. 1. Production of Cartoon Cartoon Shorts will be supervised and
resourced through Cartoon Network Studios, the network’s 45,000-square-foot
facility in Burbank, Calif.
"Cartoon Network’s powerful original-programming franchise was initially
built on successful shorts produced through the ground-breaking 1994 World
Premiere Toons’ project," general manager Jim Samples said in a prepared
statement.
