# Cartoonito (American programming block)

Cartoonito (also known as Cartoonito on Cartoon Network) is a weekday morning programming block on Cartoon Network and a content hub within the Max streaming service that launched on September 13, 2021. It airs series aimed at children aged 2 through 6, and is the first dedicated preschool block to air on Cartoon Network in over fifteen years.

## History
### Background

In 1996, Cartoon Network created a Sunday morning block of preschool programs, consisting of Big Bag (a live-action/puppet television program by the Children's Television Workshop), Small World (an anthology of foreign children's shows), and Cave Kids. However, Big Bag ran until 1998, while Small World ran until 2002. Once Big Bag left the lineup in 2001, its space was filled by Baby Looney Tunes, Pecola, Sitting Ducks, and Hamtaro in 2003. The block moved to weekday mornings thereafter.
On August 22, 2005, Cartoon Network debuted Tickle-U, the network's first official attempt at weekday-morning preschool programming block. The block aired from 9 to 11 a.m. and featured a mix of domestic and foreign-imported series, with interstitial segments hosted by two CGI characters: a red butterfly-like creature named Pipoca (voiced by Ariel Winter) and a yellow rabbit-like creature named Henderson (voiced by Tom Kenny).
Programs on Tickle-U included Warner Bros. Animation's Firehouse Tales (its sole original series), Canadian co-productions Gerald McBoing-Boing and Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs (with Teletoon and Treehouse TV), and British series Gordon the Garden Gnome, Little Robots, Peppa Pig and Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!, some of which were re-dubbed for American audiences. The block was criticized by the CCFC, for its marketing strategies. Tickle-U ended on January 13, 2006; some of its programs still aired on Cartoon Network until 2007 and in the United Kingdom on the native Cartoonito channel.

### Launch

On June 14, 2021, new idents of the block appeared on videos (which includes Esme & Roy, Mush-Mush & the Mushables, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, and Love Monster) on Cartoonito's YouTube channel, and a newsletter was announced, with a new banner and avatar on the Cartoonito YouTube Channel in July. A trailer for the block was released on July 29, 2021.
On August 16, 2021, the launch date was announced for September 13, 2021; Baby Looney Tunes would be the first show to air on the block. The television block initially ran for 8 hours (6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET/PT) on weekdays and 2 hours (6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. ET/PT) on weekends.
On November 16, 2021, the weekday schedule decreased to 7 hours (ending at 1:00 p.m. ET/PT). It later lost another hour (ending at 12:00 p.m. ET/PT) on December 20, 2021. On January 29, 2022, the weekend schedule has been retired, while the weekday schedule lost yet another hour (ending at 11:00 a.m. ET/PT), reducing Cartoonito to a total of 5 hours as of January 31, 2022.
On June 6, 2022, the schedule lost another hour (ending at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT) but reverted on September 5. However, October 3 marked the first time the start-up changed. Instead of the usual 6 a.m. time slot, Cartoonito would begin at 7 a.m. after a regular Cartoon Network program, retaining its 4 hours.
On March 13, 2023, the schedule was reduced from a 4-hour block to a 90-minute block (starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT).
On February 19, 2024, the schedule was once again reduced from a 90-minute block to a 60-minute block (starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 8:30 a.m. ET/PT).

## Programming

Cartoonito features co-productions and acquired programming, in addition to original series exclusive to the program block on Cartoon Network. Currently, Cartoonito's lineup includes Bugs Bunny Builders, Batwheels, and Jessica's Big Little World; with Sesame Street exclusive to Max.

## Related services

| Service | Description |
| Cartoonito on Demand | A video-on-demand service, which launched concurrently in 2021, and is available to most subscription-based providers. The service offers select episodes of Cartoonito programming seen on Cartoon Network. |
| Cartoonito App | An online mobile app based on the Cartoonito website. |
| Max | A subscription video-on-demand hub that launched on Max. |

## International

Since its inception, Cartoonito has rolled out across European territories through various nations and regional feeds. Following its global reintroduction in 2021, the brand has expanded to regions such as Latin America, Africa, and several Asia-Pacific countries.