Cartoon Network/Trendmasters

## Cartoon Network

From left to right, clockwise: keychains of Cow & Chicken, the Red Guy, Johnny Bravo, and a Yogi Bear plush doll along with collectible figurines of him and his friends

## Collectible Information

### Status

Lost (a majority of the unproduced stuff)Found (some of the prototypes)

Existence Unconfirmed (Snagglepuss)

### Location

At least a majority of the unproduced items are in the collection of Jonathan Shyman

## Product Information

### Franchise

The Powerpuff GirlsDexter's Laboratory

Cow & Chicken

Johnny Bravo

Yogi Bear

Snagglepuss

### Year(s)

2000

In July 1999, Trendmasters acquired the master license to produce toys for some of their most popular shows like *The Powerpuff Girls*, *Dexter’s Laboratory*, *Cow & Chicken*, *Johnny Bravo*, and even a few classic Hanna Barbera characters like Yogi Bear and Snagglepuss. These include action figures, play sets, plush dolls, keyrings, walkie talkies, purses & bags, hairpieces, sunglasses, and makeup with carrying cases. Only two of those shows would receive full-fledged toylines and the rest were cancelled, so let's go over each series one by one

## **The Powerpuff Girls**

*The Powerpuff Girls* (originally named *Whoopass Stew!* in the *What a Cartoon!* pilot) is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network. The show centers on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers. The girls all live in the fictional city of Townsville with their father and creator, a scientist named Professor Utonium, and are frequently called upon by the city's mayor to help fight nearby criminals and other enemies using their powers.

From 1999 to 2002, Trendmasters made Powerpuff Girls dolls and action figures. The franchise made nearly $1 billion in retail sales by 2002 according to Cartoon Network. Among the items they sold include plush and talking dolls, action and electronic figures, collectible figurines, keychains, and more. In the 2000 New York Toy Fair, at least several prototypes were put on display at the Trendmasters booth for more *Powerpuff Girls* items that could potentially be released further down the line. Many of them included more dolls of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup that were dressed in their pajamas, beach attire, and get-up costumes like glasses, a straw hat, BL as a dinosaur, a bucket on BC's head, and some sort of bug/alien for BB. There were also some plushies modelled after Bubbles' doll Octi and their arch nemesises, Fuzzy Lumpkins and Mojo Jojo; the latter of whom would've also had a striped polo swimsuit. More action figures were displayed including the girls in a rock band (BC on the drums, BL with a guitar, BB with what appear to be maracas) and some of the giant monsters they would fight in certain episodes; including Mojo Jojo in a giant robot and miniature figurines of the PPGs. Also on display were some keychains modelled after the show's supporting characters like MJ, the Mayor of Townsville, and Professor Utonium. Even though the line ended in 2002 before/after Trendmaster's bankruptcy, neither of these products were mass released. An unreleased prototype from *The Powerpuff Girls* line that would've tried a new concept include the Street Fighting Playset, which featured a miniature diorama of a sports store that came with a giant robot behind, the Octi doll, some dogs, and the leader of the Broccoli Aliens from the fifth episode of Season 2 - "Beat Your Greens." One of the more peculiar mock-ups are some resin puzzle pieces of the show's villains including Jojo, Lumpkins, and the only known figure they produced for the show's more frightening antagonist - HIM.

## **Dexter's Laboratory**

*Dexter's Laboratory* (commonly abbreviated as *Dexter's Lab*) is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. It follows Dexter, a boy-genius and inventor with a hidden laboratory in his room, which he keeps secret from his parents. He is at constant odds with his older sister Dee Dee, who always gains access to Dexter's lab and inadvertently foils his experiments. Dexter has a bitter rivalry with Mandark, a fellow boy-genius who is his neighbor and classmate. The segments featured superhero-based characters—Monkey, Dexter's pet lab-monkey/superhero, and the Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes who share an apartment—and are prominently featured only in the first two seasons. Originally pitched to Fred Seibert's *What a Cartoon!* block, the original two seasons of *Dexter's Lab* aired from April 27th 1996 to June 15th 1998 and despite a television film titled *Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip* being intended as the series finale, which aired on December 10th 1999, a renewed season of the show aired from November 18th 2001 to November 20th 2003; now spearheaded by Chris Savino.

A majority of the merchandise that *Dexter's Laboratory* received were all fast-food and sugar snack tie-ins, though Trendmasters would receive a full-fledged toyline in 2001 that included action figures of Dexter in many vehicles that he used in the show (Bird Ship, Rocket Ship, Super Robot), keychains of him and Dee Dee, PVC figurines of them and Mandark,  and four playsets in total (Alien Autopsy, Drink Lab, Laboratory Playset, and Walking Robot). The products were first revealed at 2000 New York Toy Fair, though a few items shown at the convention that were never produced were some prototype plush dolls including a Talking Dee Dee, another plushie of her in some sort of princess costume, a doll of Dexter wearing his lab goggles, and Double D's imaginary friend Koosalagoopagoop along with small animal critters.

## **Cow & Chicken**

*Cow and Chicken* is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network, and the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The original pilot appeared in the *What a Cartoon!* showcase and its popularity encouraged Hanna-Barbera to give it the greenlight for a full series. Premiering on July 15th 1997 and ending on July 24th 1999, *Cow & Chicken* follows the surreal adventures of the two titular animals that were born as siblings to a human farmer and his wife named Dad and Mama. They are often antagonized by the Red Guy, a cartoon version of the Devil who poses as various characters to scam them. Originally, it was attached to a segment called *I Am Weasel*, which was also created by David Feiss, and eventually sun off into its own series.

At the 2000 New York Toy Fair, at least several products based on *Cow and Chicken* were shown as part of Trendmaster's Cartoon Network booth. They included talking keychains (some would've also been bendable, though only the Chicken talked) and plush dolls of the titular characters that came in various sizes. Some of the more unique designs include Chicken carrying some sort of food box, Super Cow, and the Red Guy. These products were only shown for one time and were never released before/after the company went bankrupt. Had they been released, the cards they came in would've come with a 3D plastic header on the top; similar to what Trendmasters did with their *Iron Giant* figure.

## **Johnny Bravo**

*Johnny Bravo* is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired from March 26th 1995 to August 27th 2004. The series centers on the title character: a sunglasses-wearing, muscular young man who lives with his mother and attempts to get women to date him, though he is usually unsuccessful. He ends up in bizarre situations and predicaments, often accompanied by celebrity guest characters such as Donny Osmond or Adam West. Throughout its run, the show was known for its adult humor and pop culture references. Partible pitched the series for HB's *What a Cartoon!* and based it on a senior thesis project he produced during his time at Loyola Marymount University. Titled "Mess O' Blues," the Elvis Presley influences on Bravo would've been more prevalent as his character was split into not one or two, but three King impersonators; the pilot has been missing for a long time, mainly due to the creator not being too proud of it.

A couple products based off the show and its main character were unveiled by Trendmasters in the 2000 Toy Fair and included keychains, plush dolls in small and jumbo sizes, and collectible figurines of both him and Bunny Bravo, Jungle Boy, and Little Suzy. Just like the show mentioned above, neither of the *Johnny Bravo* merchandise was finalized and released.

## **Yogi Bear**

Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character, created by Hanna-Barbera, who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films since his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in *The Huckleberry Hound Show*. He was later given his own show in 1961 that was sponsored by Kellogg's and included the segments *Snagglepuss* and *Yakky Doodle* (*Hokey Wolf* would replace his Yogi's airtime on THHS), and was given a musical animated feature film in 1964 named *Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!*; the first feature-length animated film based on a television program. Yogi was the first breakout character in television history and was one of several HB characters to have a collar; intentionally designed to keep his body relatively static, redrawing his head in each frame when he spoke - just one of several cut costs the studio did to reduce the number of drawings for a 7-minute cartoon from 14,000 to 2,000.

During NYTF 2000, as part of their Cartoon Network booth, Trendmasters unveiled several prototypes of collectible figurines and plush dolls based on *Yogi Bear* along with those of other characters in the series including his sidekick Boo Boo, his love interest Cindy Bear, and his arch-nemesis Ranger Smith. As you would've guessed by now, neither of these sets were released.

## **Snagglepuss**

Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character debuted in prototype form in 1959 and established as a studio regular by 1962. A pink anthropomorphic cougar sporting an upturned collar, shirt cuffs, and bow tie, Snagglepuss enjoys the fine things in life and shows particular affinity for the theatre. His stories routinely break the fourth wall as the character addresses the audience in self-narration, soliloquy, and asides. As originally voiced by Daws Butler, Snagglepuss seeks quasi-Shakespearean turns of phrase with words that are synonymous and get extremely verbose by each verse. Some of his campy verbal mannerisms became catchphrases: "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", "Exit, stage left!", and a fondness for closing sentences with the emphatic "even."

According to a backup of a news article made when Trendmasters first got the Cartoon Network license, Snagglepuss was among the roster of animated series/characters they got the rights to make toys of.  However, not a single prototype was shown amongst the other Cartoon Network mock-ups that were shown off at the 2000 New York Toy Fair or any other convention before 2002.

## **Final Verdict**

At least a good majority of the Cartoon Network Classics stuff that Trendmasters planned to release have not been seen since the 2000's, though the remaining half of it has been archived and salvaged into the private collection of a man named Jonathan Shyman, who owns a majority of prototypes for released and unreleased Trendmaster figures since he used to work for the company. He owns/owned at least the following assets:

* The keychains of Mojo Jojo, the Mayor of Townsville, and Professor Utonium
* The PPG Street Fighting Playset and the miniature figurines it would've came with
* The prototypes for the Dexter doll
* The talking keychains of Cow, Chicken (bendable version included) and the Red Guy; along with the original sculpture for the 3D Header logo that would've went above the cards
* Unpainted molds for figurines of Johhny Bravo, Bunny Bravo, Little Suzy, Cow, Super Cow, and Red Guy
* The Johnny Bravo plush dolls (a YouTuber named Cartoon Express Plush Videos managed to snag one that got sold)
* A talking Johnny Bravo keychain
* A Yogi Bear doll
* Collectible figurines of Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Cindy Bear, and Ranger Smith
* Hardcopy prototype heads of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo mini dolls

While it's unknown if the seller was indeed Mr. Shyman, the prototype of a Trendmasters Boo Boo doll was offered for sale on eBay and has been archived on a Worthpoint page.  As of today, while there's still a lot more to uncover and the rest of the prototypes never being found, the cancelled Trendmasters Cartoon Network case will remain: **PARTIALLY FOUND**. However, due to no known prototypes existing beyond July 1999 when the license was said to be acquired, the Trendmasters Snagglepuss line wiil be classified as: **EXISTENCE UNCONFIRMED**.

## **Gallery**

The entrance to the Trendmasters booth at New York Toy Fair 2000An assortment of unreleased Powerpuff Girl dolls that were shown at NYTFEven more unreleased Powerpuff Girl "costume" dollsMore cancelled plushies based on the Powerpuff Girls, Octi, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and Mojo JojoUnreleased "beachwear" dolls of the Powerpuff Girls, sans Bubbles; and Mojo JojoEven more unreleased Powerpuff Girls merchandise from TrendmastersThe prototype keychains for Mojo Jojo, Professor Utonium, and Mayor of TownsvilleResin prototype puzzle pieces of HIM, whose left eye looks rather sloppy; Mojo Jojo, and Fuzzy Lumpkins, who for some reason only has pink in the chest area around his neckPrototypes for unreleased Powerpuff Girls action figure that were shown at NYTFThe prototype for a Powerpuff Girls playset that would've included the Broccoli Alien leaderPrototypes for action figures based on Mojo Jojo's robot and other giant monsters that have been fought in the showPlush dolls of Dexter and Princess Dee Dee that were shown at NYTFThe prototype for a talking Dee Dee plushie that was shown at NYTFEven more unreleased Dexter's Lab dolls that were shown at NYTF which include different versions of Dex, Double D, and KoosalagoopagoopThe prototype Cow and Chicken minifigures along with the sculpture of a plastic logo that would've gone above the cards they were sold inPlush dolls of Cow, Chicken, and Super Cow when they were shown at NYTFThe prototypes for the Talking Cow and Super Cow keychains that were shown at NYTFThe prototypes for the Talking Cow and Super Cow keychains that were shown at NYTFThe prototypes for the Johnny Bravo plush dollsThe painted collectible figurines for Bunny Bravo, Johnny Bravo, Jungle Boy, and Little Suzy when shown at NYTFTwo other Johnny Bravo keychains that were unveiled at NYTFThe prototypes for plush dolls of Yogi Bear and Boo BooTalking figures of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo that appeared on the Trendmasters website
## **External Link**

* Szadkowski, J. (2000, April 1). Toy Fair 2000: Keep Those Toons Comin'!. *Animation World Network*. Online article.

* *Raving Toy Maniac* (Posted February 2000). Johnny Bravo/Powerpuff Girls. Cartoon Network Products. Online post.

* Jonathan Shyman/Flickr

## **References**

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Powerpuff\_Girls
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter%27s\_Laboratory
3. ↑ http://figure-archive.net/toyline.aspx?toylineID=1954
4. ↑ https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/dexters-laboratory-collectible-1903109976
5. ↑ http://www.toymania.com/toyfair2000/trendmasters/cartoon/cartoon.shtml
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow\_and\_Chicken
7. ↑ http://www.toymania.com/toyfair2000/trendmasters/cartoon/cartoon1.shtml
8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny\_Bravo
9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi\_Bear
10. ↑ http://www.toymania.com/toyfair2000/trendmasters/cartoon/cartoon3.shtml
11. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snagglepuss
12. ↑ http://figure-archive.net/doc.aspx?docID=10959
13. ↑ https://boards.4channel.org/co/thread/126995099/so-a-dude-i-follow-on-instagram-who-collects-a
14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irYVjl7feXo
15. ↑ https://www.collectors.com/action-item/trendmasters-unproduced-cartoon-network-hardcopy-prototypes/4525185416770333813
16. ↑ https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/boo-boo-bear-hanna-barbera-unproduced-421108645