Michigan J Frog Now Actually Dead

It's the end of an era, toon fans. Newsarama via Variety reports that the 13-year old Kids WB Cartoon Block is no more. With it goes the last trace of the WB network itself, leaving only the CW, that dead-inside cypher of a station. Granted, it's been a long time since the glory days of Animaniacs and Freakazoid. The modern-era WB toonage has consisted mostly of dubbed anime, mediocre DC action shows, and truly unspeakable hackwork.

But while those with cable can bask in the warm glow of top-rate cartoons 24/7, I feel sorry for the kids and nerds across the nation who are stuck with what network TV dishes out. Because while Kids WB is not the trendsetting powerhouse it once was, a few of their shows still maintain that rare spark of wit; Johnny Test has it's moments, and that annoying new Scooby Doo show redeems it's grotesque concept (Scooby and Shaggy are rich!) with a comically non-threatening villian voiced by the great Jeff Bennet. And even their weaker action shows like The Batman and Legion of Superheroes look pretty good compared to the the crap they show on FOX that's produced by 4Kids, the same company that will incidentally now be creating cartoon programming for the CW.

With two 4Kids cartoon blocks on Saturday mornings, cable-less kids can expect a lot more dubbed anime (which admittedly can be a lot of fun in it's own mind-numbing way) and more travesties like TMNT: Flash Forward. It's the Ninja Turtles...but they're IN THE FUTURE!



Compare and contrast with Limozeen: But They're In Space.