Cartoonito is a programming block that airs on weekday mornings. It premiered on September 13, 2021, on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

, and a dedicated section on the

streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

HBO Max. Cartoonito targets a preschool audience around two to six years old. Cartoonito marks the first dedicated preschool block on Cartoon Network in over fifteen years.

History

Background

In 1996,

created a Sunday morning block of preschool programs. It featured series such as ''Big Bag'', a live-action/puppet television program by the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

, ''Small World'', and ''Cave Kids''. However, ''Big Bag'' ran until 1998, while ''Small World'' ran until 2002. Once ''Big Bag'' left Cartoon Network's lineup in 2001, ''Baby Looney Tunes'', along with '' Pecola, Sitting Ducks'', and '' Hamtaro'', filled that space in 2003. The block moved to weekday mornings afterward. On August 22, 2005, Cartoon Network USA debuted Tickle-U, the network's first official attempt at weekday-morning preschool programming block. The block aired 2 hours from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. It featured domestic and foreign-imported series targeted at preschool-age children like its competitors Nick Jr. (on Nickelodeon) and Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

). The hosts were two animated CGI characters: a red butterfly-like creature named Pipoca and a yellow

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

-like creature named Henderson. Programs on the lineup included '' Firehouse Tales'' (the only original series), ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'', '' Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs'' (both from Teletoon/ Treehouse TV), and British series such as ''

Gordon the Garden Gnome ''Gordon the Garden Gnome'' is an animated children's television series aimed at getting children interested in gardening. Gordon is a happy garden gnome, whose voice is provided by TV gardening presenter Alan Titchmarsh. The series began in 2005 ...

'', ''

Little Robots ''Little Robots'' is a British stop-motion animated children's television series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV & Film and broadcast on CBeebies (the BBC's children's channel). The series was based on the eponymous book by ...

'', '' Peppa Pig'' and ''Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!'', some of which were re-dubbed for American audiences. The block came under criticized by the CCFC, for its marketing strategies. Tickle-U closed on January 6, 2006, some of its programmings still aired on Cartoon Network until 2007 and as part of the schedule of the British variation of Cartoonito.

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 seven hours (ending at 1:00 p.m. ET/PT). It later dropped another hour (ending at 12:00 p.m. ET/PT) on December 20, 2021. The block ceased airing on weekends on January 29, 2022, while the weekday schedule dropped yet another hour (ending at 11:00 a.m. ET/PT), reducing Cartoonito to a total of five hours as of January 31, 2022. In June 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 four hours.

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 '' Sesame Street: Mecha Builders,'' '' Bugs Bunny Builders'', ''

Batwheels ''Batwheels'' is an American computer-animated superhero children's television series that premiered on September 17, 2022, on HBO Max, and on October 17, 2022, on Cartoon Network's preschool block, Cartoonito. Plot The Bat-Family's vehicles ar ...

'', '' Cocomelon'', and '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go''; with '' Sesame Street'' exclusive to HBO Max.

Related services

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.

References

External links

* {{KidsTVBlocksUS Cartoonito 2021 establishments in the United States Cartoon Network programming blocks Preschool education television networks Television programming blocks in the United States Television networks in the United States Cartoon Network Warner Bros. Discovery networks Companies based in Atlanta