Talk to the Snail

So last Thursday I asked for guesses as to the most popular kids TV cartoon debuting in the last five years. I pretty much got the answers I expected: Foster’s, Billy and Mandy, Kids Next Door (all hits on Cartoon Network). On the other hand, I didn’t get some picks I thought would crop up (Kim Possible, Justice League). But a couple people also guessed Nick’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, which has consistently grabbed good, if not always great, ratings since its premiere last February. Surprised? I was, a little. What I wasn’t surprised at is that there was so little consensus at to what’s the biggest new hit of the past five years. How long will it be before there’s what TV cartoons really needs: another clear-cut, runaway hit?

Hey! “Handycat” fans! Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman over at Animation World Network has posted a lengthy article on G. Brian Reynolds, Russ Harris, and Perennial Pictures, the cartoon pride of Indiana. There’s a lot of info on the studio’s Random! production, too. Congratulations, guys, and thanks, Dr. Toon.

Seen from the street, Perennial Pictures Film Corp. looks much like an ordinary storefront in a strip mall. If not for a small sign on the door, one might pass it by entirely. If so, one might never discover that this small, but spunky animation studio in Indianapolis has been producing animated specials, pilots and pitches for domestic and international markets since 1979….

Read more.

What do you think is the most-watched kids (made for and watched by 6 to 11-year-olds) TV cartoon to debut in the past five years? I have my guess, but I want to hear yours, first.

Despite a calamitous malfunction rendering the beer dispenser inoperable, tonight’s 3rd (in a series of ten) Random! Cartoons screening for Nickelodeon employees went off without a hitch. Shown were “Mind the Kitty”, “Ivan the Unbearable”, “Tiffany”, and “Two Witch Sisters”. Congratulations to Anne, Andrew, Adam, and Niki on jobs well done.