View source for Cartoon Planet

{{short description|Programming block on Cartoon Network}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}}

{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}

{{Infobox programming block
| name = Cartoon Planet
| image = Cartoonplanet 2012 logo.svg
| premiered = {{Start date|1995|07|05}} (initial run)<br>{{Start date|2012|03|30}} (revival)
| closed = {{End date|1998}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/cartoon-planet-1995 | title=Cartoon Planet (1995-1998) | date=1995 }}</ref> (initial run)<br>{{End date|2014|02|08}} (revival)
| channel = [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] (1995-1996)<br>[[Cartoon Network]]
| country = United States
| headquarters = [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| format = Animation
| runtime = 1 hour<br> 30 minutes (1997-1998)
| parent = [[The Cartoon Network, Inc.]]<br>([[Warner Bros. Discovery]])
| voices = {{Plainlist|
* [[George Lowe]] {{small|(1995–98)}}
* [[C. Martin Croker]]
* [[Andy Merrill]]}}
| language = English
| caption = Logo of 2012 revival
}}
'''''Cartoon Planet''''' is an American television [[Block programming|programming block]] that originally ran from 1995 to 1998 on [[Cartoon Network]]. Produced by Cartoon Network Productions and later [[Ghost Planet Industries]], it serves as a child-friendly spin-off of ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]''. It centered on [[Space Ghost]] recruiting his imprisoned evil nemesis [[Zorak]] and his loud and dimwitted archenemy [[Brak (character)|Brak]] to assist him in hosting a variety show. A revival without the involvement of Williams Street ran from 2012 to 2014 on the network.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cudmore |first=Libby |date=April 30, 2019 |title=How Space Ghost Coast to Coast Changed Cartoon Network Forever |work=Consequence of Sound |url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/04/space-ghost-coast-to-coast-anniversary/ |url-status=dead |access-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518024145/https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/04/space-ghost-coast-to-coast-anniversary/ |archive-date=18 May 2020}}</ref>

''Cartoon Planet'' began as an hour-long block of cartoons hosted by Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak. They would introduce full cartoons from the [[Turner Entertainment]] library, such as old theatrical shorts and [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoons, including the original 1960s ''[[Space Ghost (TV series)|Space Ghost]]'' episodes (sometimes with an edited laugh-track). The host segments often included original songs, as well as skits with [[Non sequitur (literary device)|non-sequiturs]] and [[surreal humor]] similar in tone to ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast''. New material ceased being made in 1997, and most of the songs and skits were re-packaged into 22 half-hour episodes without classic cartoon clips.

== Original series ==
Each episode included segments such as "Brak's School Daze," "Zorak's Horror Scopes," "Poets' Corner," "Brak's Monday Ratings Report," "The Top 5 Cartoon Countdown" (discontinued in 1997 after the show's Saturday-morning slot was shortened to a half-hour), "Vacation Spots Around the Universe" (pieced together from clips of ''[[Ultra 7|Ultraseven]]'' episodes; at the time Turner owned the distribution rights to a dub created in 1985), "Messages from Outer Space" (also from ''Ultraseven'', featuring the Hot Dog Men), "Mailbag Day", readings from "The Cartoon Planet Storybook," messages from [[Count Floyd]] ([[Joe Flaherty]]'s local [[public-access television]] [[cable TV]] horror movie host from ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]''; the segments were originally shown on Hanna-Barbera's ''[[The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley]]''), "Learning to Talk Italian," "Nuggets of Joy from Zorak," "Zorak's Helpful Hints," and "Cooking with Brak."

The show also had short live-action segments featuring producer [[Andy Merrill]] wearing an ill-fitting Space Ghost costume doing various things like visiting a petting zoo, getting a haircut (although he kept his mask on), playing tennis, or visiting a gift shop. Intros of the show during the early years featured Merrill in the costume performing an amateur dance to the mambo-style theme music, or sitting in a chair reading a newspaper, falling asleep to lullaby music.

For the first season of the show, the opening and closing theme songs were instrumental excerpts from "No One Knows My Plan" and "The End of the Tour" by [[They Might Be Giants]].

Clips of numerous cartoons from the [[Turner Entertainment|Turner]] library would often pop up spontaneously during segments of the show, especially during the music videos. These included ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'', ''[[Popeye the Sailor (animated cartoons)|Popeye]]'', [[Tex Avery]] cartoons, pre-August 1948 ''[[Looney Tunes]]''/''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' shorts, ''[[2 Stupid Dogs]]'', ''[[The Flintstones]]'', ''[[The Jetsons]]'', and other classic [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoons. Clips from other Turner-owned properties were used as stock footage as well.

At the time, head writer/producer Pete Smith described ''Cartoon Planet'' "as a cross between ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]]'', ''[[The Electric Company]]'', and recess at the Richard M. Nixon School for Wayward Boys. ...''Cartoon Planet'' skillfully steers clear of any semblance of sophisticated humor. Forced by network muckity-mucks to air his dirty spandex in front of millions of impressionable young minds, Space Ghost dragged a reluctant Zorak and a confused Brak into the treacherous waters of sketch comedy."

''Cartoon Planet'' resulted in three soundtrack CDs: ''Modern Music for Swinging Superheroes'' in 1996 (a non-commercial promotional album), ''Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que'' in 1997, and ''Space Ghost's Surf & Turf'', the latter two published by [[Rhino Entertainment]]) in 1998. The albums consisted of songs and dialogue skits with different background music not used in the show.

== Revival series ==
The revival of the series premiered on March 30, 2012, and ended on February 8, 2014, featuring a different format from the original series. Due to budget restrictions, Space Ghost did not appear in the revival, thus leaving Brak and Zorak to host the show as "roommates together in their own, stupid little apartment"<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 15, 2019 |title=How 'Space Ghost Coast to Coast' Changed Television for the Weirder |url=https://decider.com/2019/04/15/space-ghost-coast-to-coast-25-year-anniversary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914032020/https://decider.com/2019/04/15/space-ghost-coast-to-coast-25-year-anniversary/ |archive-date=September 14, 2019 |access-date=October 24, 2019 |website=[[Decider (website)|Decider]]}}</ref> (despite this, Brak made a mini clone of Space Ghost in one episode). Instead of classic 1960s-era cartoons being showcased, the revival featured [[Cartoon Network|Cartoon Network's]] original programming, mostly [[Cartoon Cartoons]], from the mid-1990s to late 2000s. Also, Zorak is not trapped behind a console, instead usually playing video games. Sometimes Zorak will get interrupted by Brak, causing him to lose the game.

Airing in a format based on ''The Cartoon Cartoon Show'', the revival aired a variety of classic Cartoon Network shows in 7 or 11-minute segments per-cartoon. This allowed for four or five different cartoons to be aired in the blocks one hour timeslot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2012 |title=Cartoon Network Brings Back The Classics With Cartoon Planet |url=http://www.webpronews.com/cartoon-network-brings-back-the-classics-with-cartoon-planet-2012-03/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000100/http://www.webpronews.com/cartoon-network-brings-back-the-classics-with-cartoon-planet-2012-03/ |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=1 February 2017 |website=WebproNews |publisher=iEntryNetwork}}</ref>

In October 2012, ''Cartoon Planet'' celebrated Cartoon Network's 20th birthday to which it released a special two-minute song sung by Brak. The song paid tribute to the shows throughout the network's history.

There have also been holiday-themed episodes, featuring several of the Cartoon Network programming presented in a holiday-themed episode, including Halloween and Christmas.

Starting on January 11, 2013, several ''Cartoon Network'' shows that have been short-lived, permanent hiatus, canceled, or officially ended joined up to Cartoon Planet's programming block starting with ''[[Robotomy]]'', ''[[Secret Mountain Fort Awesome]]'', and ''[[The Problem Solverz]]'', all of which have since been removed in the transition back to the Cartoon Cartoon format. Other short-lived series including '' [[Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones]]'', ''[[Sheep in the Big City]]'', ''[[Mike, Lu & Og]]'', ''[[Time Squad]]'', and ''[[Squirrel Boy]]'' did not air on the block.

Starting on April 12, 2013, the block began airing [[YTV (Canadian TV channel)|YTV]], [[Teletoon]], and [[Warner Bros. Animation]] programming in which the first were ''[[Scaredy Squirrel (TV series)|Scaredy Squirrel]]'', ''[[Almost Naked Animals]]'', and ''[[Tom and Jerry Tales]]'', breaking the show's tradition of only airing Cartoon Network original programming. They were subsequently removed. From June 27 to August 9, 2013, the block aired on Thursdays at 1:30&nbsp;pm ET. On August 30, 2013, the block ran on a Friday night for the last time before it was replaced by ''Pizza Night with Pizza Steve''. It aired on Saturdays at 11:30&nbsp;am ET and Sundays at 11:00&nbsp;am ET since September 7, 2013. Also, on November 4, 2013, the block started airing on weekdays at 2:00&nbsp;pm ET.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The revival was animated in [[Adobe Flash|Flash]], rather than [[cel animation]], like the original ''[[Space Ghost]]'' series (several cels, mainly Brak's, were duplicated in Flash). It features [[stop motion]] scenes, such as the "Make You Go Splat!" music video.

=== Skits ===
The following are some of the skits that appear in the 2012 revival:
* Advertisements&nbsp;– Fake advertisements for made-up products which the show indicates as "Not Real". On rare occasions, two advertisements are shown. The first advertisement aired is for "Bushido Potatoes".
* Music Video&nbsp;– Brak and Zorak sing original songs. The first song is "Pizza Song". Zorak also sings in his first music video "Make You Go Splat!" which received internet fame as well.
* Zorak's Poetry Beat&nbsp;– Zorak recites poetry involving ridiculous items and nonsensical lyrics. In one episode, Brak recites the poetry segment because Zorak does not feel like it. The first poem is "Ode to a Diseased Chimpanzee".
* Brak's Comedy Jokes&nbsp;– Brak tells jokes to the audience. In one episode, Zorak replaces Brak in the segment now renamed "Zorak's Comedy Jokes" telling jokes which are [[black comedy]] jokes involving the misfortunes of the people that the joke is centered on.
* Dating Tips with Brak&nbsp;– Brak gives out (poor) dating advice to the audience. At the end of each skit, he says, "And that's a tip from me...".
* What's in my Mouth?&nbsp;– Brak slightly opens his mouth while saying "Aaaah", and Zorak has to guess what is in it. Usually, the objects are gross (such as a piece of dental cotton from five weeks ago).
* Make Stuff Happen on the T.V.&nbsp;– Brak and Zorak watch television and interact with the programs by poking the characters on the screen, commenting to each other, voicing them, and even giving them root beer (Brak).
* Zorak Video Game Chats&nbsp;– Zorak reviews a video game on his ''Zbox'', which indicates that the games are not real. One example of a reviewed game is ''Pasta Grandma''.
* Clones&nbsp;– A one-off skit reminiscent of the skits done on the original show. In one skit, Brak clones himself, Zorak, and Space Ghost. The clones are smaller, and their voices are provided by Andy Merrill's daughter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.adultswim.com/podcast/adult-swim-podcast/35 | title=Adult Swim Podcast: Episode 35 - Andy Merrill | access-date=April 24, 2022 | archive-date=April 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424170613/https://www.adultswim.com/podcast/adult-swim-podcast/35 | url-status=live }}</ref> The skit continues with the little Braks singing the opening theme for the modern show.

==Programming==
===Programming from Cartoon Network===
====Cartoon Network Studios====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Title
!Premiere date
!End date
!Source(s)
|-
|''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]''
|rowspan=5|March 30, 2012
|January 25, 2014
|{{efn|name="cp"|Program transitioned to the [[Checkered Past (TV programming block)|Checkered Past]] block.}}
|-
|''[[Johnny Bravo]]''
|January 18, 2014
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[I Am Weasel]]''
|March 29, 2013
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''
|February 8, 2014
|
|-
|''[[Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends]]''
|November 24, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Ed, Edd n Eddy]]''
|rowspan=4|April 6, 2012
|December 23, 2013
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy]]''
|December 22, 2013
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[Camp Lazlo]]''
|January 18, 2014
|
|-
|''[[Chowder (TV series)|Chowder]]''
|December 19, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''
|rowspan=3|April 13, 2012
|January 18, 2014
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[Evil Con Carne]]''
|March 29, 2013
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]''
|February 8, 2014
|
|-
|''[[Cow and Chicken]]''
|rowspan=2|April 20, 2012
|April 26, 2013
|{{efn|name="cp"}}
|-
|''[[The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack]]''
|January 5, 2014
|
|-
|''[[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]]''
|April 27, 2012
|August 16, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Robotomy]]''
|January 11, 2013
|February 22, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Secret Mountain Fort Awesome]]''
|January 18, 2013
|March 1, 2013
|
|-
|''[[The Problem Solverz]]''
|January 25, 2013
|September 8, 2013
|
|}

====Warner Bros. Animation====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Title
!Premiere date
!End date
!Source(s)
|-
|''[[Tom and Jerry Tales]]''
|April 26, 2013
|July 19, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Mad (TV series)|MAD]]''
|June 14, 2013
|rowspan=2|February 8, 2014
|
|-
|''[[Johnny Test]]''
|November 5, 2013
|
|}

====Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Title
!Premiere date
!End date
!Source(s)
|-
|''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]]''
|September 29, 2013
|January 25, 2014
|
|}

===Acquired programming===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Title
!Premiere date
!End date
!Source(s)
|-
|''[[Scaredy Squirrel (TV series)|Scaredy Squirrel]]''
|April 12, 2013
|May 24, 2013
|
|-
|''[[Almost Naked Animals]]''
|April 19, 2013
|July 12, 2013
|
|-
|''[[The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange]]''
|July 25, 2013
|January 5, 2014
|
|-
|''[[The Garfield Show]]''
|December 16, 2013
|December 19, 2013
|
|}

== Episode list ==
{{main|List of Cartoon Planet episodes}}
{{:List of Cartoon Planet episodes}}

== Broadcast history ==
The show's first run was from 1995 to 1998, premiering on [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] in 1995 and then moving to Cartoon Network later that year. New material stopped being made around 1997 and the show was repackaged into 22 half hour episodes, consisting entirely of songs and skits.

From September 24 to October 28, 2005, Cartoon Network briefly aired reruns on its [[Adult Swim]] block (for which Williams Street contributes programming to), where it ran at 5:30 am Eastern time. The series ran again on Adult Swim from July 8 to October 29, 2006, on Sundays at 5:30 am Eastern time. The reason for the show's disappearance from 2001 to 2004 was due to Cartoon Network temporarily losing the rights of all the music videos to [[Rhino Records]], who produced the soundtracks. Often, ''Cartoon Planet'' skits would be played after an 11-minute ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' episode in 2000 and 2001 as a time filler.

Though no plans for a DVD release have been announced, ''Cartoon Planet'' segments are included on the ''Volume One'' DVD release of ''[[The Brak Show]]''.

The ''Cartoon Planet'' skits aired again on September 24, 2021, as part of Adult Swim's Pete Smith Day marathon. On September 16, 2024, Adult Swim's [[Checkered Past (TV programming block)|Checkered Past]] block began airing episodes of the series, with 2 episodes airing every week. New interstitials with Merrill performing a Brak puppet were created for this run.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}

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