'Oh Yeah!' Brand new cartoons coming to Nickelodeon

July 17, 1998


'Oh Yeah!' Brand new cartoons coming to Nickelodeon
By Jefferson Graham, USA Today

Abstract:
While president of the Hanna-Barbera studio, Fred Seibert hatched the idea to produce 48 original shorts for the Cartoon Network.
His goals were to revive classic, Looney Tunes-type animation and to find new characters that could be spun off into their own series. That's how Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo came to life.

Nickelodeon executives aren't bothered by comparisons between The Cartoon Network's What a Cartoon Show! and Oh Yeah! "Fred's a Nick person first. The Cartoon Network enlisted him to bring some of that same sensibility to them,"says Nickelodeon entertainment chief Albie Hecht.

Full Text:

Once is not enough for cartoon king Fred Seibert.

While president of the Hanna-Barbera studio, he hatched the idea to produce 48 original shorts for the Cartoon Network.

His goals were to revive classic, Looney Tunes-type animation and to find new characters that could be spun off into their own series. That's how Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo came to life.

In October 1996, Seibert returned to Nickelodeon, where he had worked earlier, and the network asked him to perform his animation magic again.

The result is Oh Yeah! Cartoons!, premiering Sunday at noon ET/PT. The half-hour show will introduce three new cartoon characters a week.

"The Cartoon Network started doing original cartoons because of the competition from Nickelodeon with series like Rugrats and Doug," he says. "We were reacting to them, so this is just coming back full circle."

Nickelodeon executives aren't bothered by comparisons between The Cartoon Network's What a Cartoon Show! and Oh Yeah! "Fred's a Nick person first. The Cartoon Network enlisted him to bring some of that same sensibility to them,"says Nickelodeon entertainment chief Albie Hecht.

And there are no hard feelings at the Cartoon Network. "Cartoons began as shorts," says Linda Simensky, a former Nick exec who now serves as vice president of original animation for the Cartoon Network. "No one can say they stole it from anyone -- except (pioneering animator) Windsor McKay."

At Nickelodeon, 17 young animators have come up with 36 original characters for Oh Yeah! -- characters they hope will be as wild, wacky and popular as Bugs, Porky and Daffy were in their heyday.

"The difference between Looney Tunes and everything else is that they tried things out before they went to series," says Seibert. "Bugs Bunny evolved for years until he became the character we love."

Oh Yeah!'s premiere episode features these shorts:

Chalkzone, about a boy who discovers a magic stick of chalk that allows him to enter a world where all erased chalk drawings come to life.

What Is Funny?, with Slap T. Pooch, who investigates the mystery of humor.

Jelly's Day, with a girl who hangs out with her monster cousin from Entransylvania.