Young Justice Poster
UPDATED with actual art!

Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports on Cartoon Network’s upfronts and there is much for Our Kind, a Young Justice cartoon, and a MAD magazine animated sketch comedy — why did it only take 60 yers for them to figure THAT one out? Sam Register will produce. Chowder’s Pete Browngardt brings us another monster ‘toon Secret Mountain Fort Awesome; and Mark Rivers brings us KROG, a live action show about…monsters. Okay, guess kids like monsters.

YOUNG JUSTICE — which has been leaked about a million times — will star Robin, Aqualad, Superboy, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Artemis and be produced by Register and vet Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, W.I.T.C.H.).

Also, big news, Looney Tunes will be back in new cartoons, with Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone producing. The duo’s previous efforts include Duck Dodgers, Back at the Barnyard and Space Jam so…it will probably be better than than unholy LOONATICS UNLEASHED, which about on the order of saying something is better than bubonic plague.

Details on the MAD show via PR:

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and using the iconic MAD magazine, published by DC Comics, as inspiration, MAD is an animated sketch-comedy series utilizing a chaotic mix of animation styles and twisted humor to pull back the curtain and expose the truth behind movies, TV shows, games, pop culture and, of course, curtains! Classic MAD magazine characters and features such as Alfred E. Neuman and Spy vs. Spy pop up, and no subject matter or individual will be safe from MAD’s barrage of parodies and sketches.  In the end, viewers won’t get even, they’ll just get MAD!  Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer.  Kevin Shinick (Robot Chicken) and Mark Marek (KaBlam! The Andy Milonakis Show) are the producers.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Sort of surprised Warner is ready to gear up for another spin on what is essentially a Titans toon, so soon after the previous one wrapped.

    Re. the new Looney Tunes, I sort of have a bad feeling about this. Has anyone seen those new Peanuts shorts produced in the 2000s? Atrocious.

  2. Sounds promising … just hope this cartoon remembers its origins. The old sketch comedy MadTV on FOX network seemed to forget all connection with the magazine after a few seasons.

  3. Yes… Warner is notorious for their knockoffs… The Batman, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, JLU, Tiny Toons, Tazmania… when will they learn?

    There was an early attempt to animate MAD… I suspect Bill Gaines did not like the results and kiboshed the idea. Now with flash animation being commonplace (and winning a Pulitzer Prize!) and cheaper and faster to produce, something like an animated MAD Magazine is feasible.

    Will Young Justice (aka JL-Youth) feature cameos of other heroes?

    If Warners wishes to duplicate the magic of Looney Tunes, then they should:
    * Create director driven teams, just like Termite Terrace and the New Adventures of Mighty Mouse
    * Relaunch Merrie Melodies for one-shots. Use this as a backdoor pilot for new character development. Release the MM shorts in theaters first (easier with digital projection) so they qualify for Oscar consideration.
    * Hire one suit who acts as the bottleneck gatekeeper between corporate and creative. Any and all notes shall be considered targets for ridicule and sarcasm, preferably on screen.
    * Hire directors with different temperments.
    * Create a viral animation site for new talent. Hire John K. to shepherd and mentor this talent into Warner Animation.
    * Any cartoons not suitable for all ages gets shown on an Adult Swim show created especially for this purpose. No LT characters used, except maybe Coal Black.
    * Hire a studio orchestra and sound effects department to replicate and update the “sound” of LT.

  4. Torsten, I nominate you as executive producer. Brilliant ideas. We know what the chances of them happening are, but would almost certainly add up to a creatively successful show.

  5. Warner knows exactly what they’re doing. Children’s animated series are not meant to be truly ongoing. As soon as they have enough episodes in the can for a package they can sell for syndication, they cancel it. If ratings are good enough, they start a new series, which gets a boost from being fresher, and getting a “new #1”, as it were. The parade of Batman series and Justice League series is simply Warner keeping the properties in use in spite of an economic model that calls for limited series. So with the Teen Titanime series finished, launching an older-audience version of the concept makes perfect sense.

  6. The fact that there’s not a fevered debate raging about the Aqualad’s race (as is happening elsewhere) says a lot about this blog and its readers.

    Then again, I noticed there were 60+ posts about the new gay character in Riverdale, which I haven’t yet perused. So maybe I’m speaking too soon.

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