# The Cartoonstitute

The Cartoonstitute was a planned Cartoon Network project created by Cartoon Network's executive Rob Sorcher that would have been a showcase for animated shorts created without the interference of network executives and focus testing. It was headed by Craig McCracken (creator of The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder and Kid Cosmic) and Rob Renzetti (creator of My Life as a Teenage Robot). Thirty-nine shorts for the project were in development at Cartoon Network Studios, but only 14 of these were completed. Eventually, balancing 5 upcoming shows and adding another proved difficult and the project was scrapped. Of the shorts that were made, only Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa got greenlit to become animated series. On May 7, 2010, Cartoon Network released nearly all of the shorts to their website. The only shorts not released were Maruined, 3 Dog Band, and Joey to the World.

## History

The series was first announced on April 3, 2008, at Cartoon Network's annual upfront in New York City. The project was to be similar to The Cartoon Cartoon Show (also known as the What a Cartoon! Show), which aired on the network more than a decade earlier and gave birth to some of the channel's first animated series, such as Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls and Cow and Chicken. The Cartoonstitute was to establish a think tank and create an environment in which animators can create characters and stories. A section of Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, was set aside exclusively for the project. The "Cartoonstitute" name was imagined by Lauren Faust, the wife of Craig McCracken. The first short to appear legally online via Vimeo was "3 Dog Band: Get It Together" on July 29, 2009. On September 26, 2009, all 14 completed shorts were posted on YouTube and the account was deleted shortly after posting them.

## List of completed shorts

All shorts of the project were developed and produced in 2009, despite their release in 2010.
| Title | Created by | Synopsis | Voice Cast |
| "3 Dog Band: Get It Together" | Paul Rudish | A trio of dogs (all interested in different genres of music) prepare for a gig at an exclusive nightclub, with some minor difficulty along the way. | Jeff Bennett as Stavros Dee Bradley Baker as Loubie Phil LaMarr as Sylvia John DiMaggio as Mr. Pinkwater |
| "Baloobaloob's Fun Park" | Aaron Springer | Two human teenagers, Andy and Jeff, must help an extraterrestrial named Baloobaloob come up with an extraordinary stage act in an attempt to prevent his amusement park from closing. | Dee Bradley Baker as Andy, Baloobaloob, Narrator Tom Kenny as Jeff, Male Audience Members Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Linster, Male Audience Members |
| "Danger Planet" | Derek Drymon | When a Danger Planet arcade machine and a forklift robot get stranded on an alien planet, they take it upon themselves to protect a human baby, or else a space ranger will make sure that they do not leave the planet on her watch. Note: The short was re-released in 2016 with brighter colors. | Dana Snyder as Danger Planet/DP Tom Kenny as Forklift Dee Bradley Baker (recycled voice clips) as Baby Maria Bamford as Captain Gary Anthony Williams as Alien |
| "Joey to the World" | Craig Kellman | A 35-year-old kangaroo decides to move out of his mother's pouch and into the Alaskan wilderness. Note: This is the only short that is written for an older teen/adult audience. | Mr. Lawrence as Joey, Radio Announcer Estelle Harris as Joey's Mom Tom Kenny as Snow Monster, Arcade Employee |
| "Le Door" | Matt Danner | An inter-dimensional explorer named Le Door takes his young apprentice Frank on a tour through his old academy, only to enter a competition against his old sidekick-turned-rival Zee Window and his apprentice Zee Donut Hole. Note: Le Door's character is a parody of Doraemon. | René Auberjonois as Le Door Jayden Monick as Frank Eric Bauza as Zee Window Matt Danner as Zee Donut Hole |
| "Maruined" | Genndy Tartakovsky | Two siblings, a teen girl and her younger brother, become trapped on a deserted island full of danger with a strange hippopotamus/dog hybrid as their pet and protector. | Grey DeLisle as Girl Maria Bamford as Zack Tom Kenny as Ship servant Frank Welker as Snortafus |
| "Meddlen Meddows" | Chris Reccardi | A bug-like alien has difficulty escaping an alien planet after the power cell of his ship gets stolen by the primitive locals. | Paul Rugg as Bacculas, Stick native Dee Bradley Baker as Round Creature Kevin Michael Richardson as Red Native, Bush Troll |
| "Regular Show" | J. G. Quintel | On their first day working at the park, Mordecai the blue jay and Rigby the raccoon compete against each other over Pops the lollipop's old chair by playing rock-paper-scissors, but it is revealed to be an evil game when they tie 100 times in a row, spawning a portal-absorbing monster intent on eating the sofa. Note: This short serves as the pilot to the show of the same name, Regular Show. The short was later retooled into the season 2 episode "First Day". | J. G. Quintel as Mordecai William Salyers as Rigby Sam Marin as Benson, Pops Mark Hamill as Skips Roger L. Jackson as the portal-absorbing monster |
| "Spleenstab" | Mike Bell | A barbarian attempts to become a kind and gentle person with the help of a forest elf. | Mike Bell as Spleenstab Jeff Bennett as Treewise and Twinkle Tom Kenny as Brownie, Cake Troll |
| "Stockboys of the Apocalypse" | Derek Drymon | A teenage boy falls into a time machine where he must work at a department store with his now-elderly best friend and a mutated pig. | Alexander Polinsky as Stockboy 1 Richard Steven Horvitz as Stockboy 2 Dee Bradley Baker as Normal Woggy, Mutants John DiMaggio as Mutant Woggy |
| "The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan: Lava Ball! The Ashes of Heroes" | Josh Lieberman and Joey Giardina (credited as "Josh and Joey") | A German-accented leprechaun named Khan and a giant platypus named Manny attempt to retrieve a ball, pretending that the patch of grass surrounding it is lava. | Adam Paul as Manny Keith Ferguson as Khan |
| "The Borneos" | Chris Staples | The sole normal child in a family of circus performers must undergo training to prevent the family title of the "Walla Walla Wildman" from being taken. | Dee Bradley Baker as Jo, The Wildman, Walla Walla Weirdo, Squirrel, Teensy Tom Candi Milo as Po Maurice LaMarche as Unkle Pickle, Clown Host Kari Wahlgren as Audience Member |
| "Uncle Grandpa" | Pete Browngardt | A strange man who is the uncle and grandfather of everyone in the world, simply Uncle Grandpa, must do battle with a gang of mutants, after an attempt to gain the appreciation and love of a nerdy teenager named Ham Sandwich goes awry. Note 1: This short later became the pilot to both Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, as well as the show of the same name, Uncle Grandpa. Note 2: This short also had a nomination for the Emmy Awards in 2010. | Pete Browngardt as Uncle Grandpa Steve Blum as Ham Sandwich Grey DeLisle as Judy Jones |
| "YES" | Dave Smith | A merman enlists a family from the country to assist him in an effort to help people realize and fulfill their dreams. | Tom Kenny as Edwin Daran Norris as Bob Grey DeLisle as Alastair, Mom Candi Milo as Gam Gams Dave Smith as Robot Butler |

### Rejected/Unproduced

While there are 25 unfinished shorts that remain unreleased, there are currently 6 known pitches/concepts for The Cartoonstitute that may or may not have had their pilot short produced (making a total of 18 remaining unknown pitches).
| Title | Created by | Synopsis |
| "Dynamite Jones" | Andy Suriano | An aged elderly homage to Luke Cage that tries to get back to fighting crimes with his son. Originally pitched to BET. |
| "When Nature Calls" | Mike Milo | A SpongeBob-alike show but with trees. |
| "Thundermanns" | Stephen DeStefano | Synopsis unknown. |
| "The Sloppy Seconds" | Greg Arya | Synopsis unknown but some storyboards exist. |
| "The Brand New Super Crazies" | Greg Miller | Synopsis unknown. |
| "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" | Daron Nefcy | A 6th grader that doesn't have any friends gets sent far away from the galaxy to Earth to fight the forces of evil. Note: This pitch was not picked up/rejected and later in 2015 became a Disney cartoon of the same name and concept, Star vs. the Forces of Evil. |