Cartoon Network’s Disappointingly Brief Miniseries Renaissance

[@NICKtendoReviews]

This was supposed to be the "October/November video", as a few of these miniseries originally released during that period (Over The Garden Wall, Stakes, Long Live The Royals) but the past two months were generally pretty stressful and demotivating for me personally, so I'm glad I got this one out relatively on time (it's still Fall!) Looking ahead, I'm starting to figure out the schedule for next year. I have lots of ideas and interest in doing more hour-ish long videos, including ones that cover a variety of shows or topics like this one. I'd love to balance them with shorter, less time-consuming projects, but let me know what you'd like to see me cover in 2025. Somehow, it will mark the 10th anniversary of this channel, so I wanna make it memorable. See you next time in a very special end-of-the-year video for 2024!

[@getuponthemike6341]

@@NICKtendoReviews that's okay man I'll still add this to both the Halloween playlist and my Thanksgiving playlist

[@Channel-Change-Official]

Another one of those DVD videos talking about other cool dvds that you like or hate would be nice, can’t wait for the end of year video!

[@psycane8462]

Infinity Train's cancellation and subsequent removal from all streaming services forever hurts me

[@Pickoffarwim]

Had no idea it was removed from all streaming services, that's pretty fucking lame. These companies really do their own promotion for piracy.

[@Wolfiyeethegranddukecerberus17]

I'm over the cancelation of Infinity Train, I've accepted it, but the removal of it and several of my favourite cartoons from every single streaming website is crazy work.

[@boredreindeer5602]

Apparently there was a planned Infinity Train VR game that got shelved too

[@utopiaa_1775]

sky in the UK added it right before the writeoff and it’s still on there in its entirety

[@ZeepAtomic]

I still can't get over how Zaslav straight up NUKED Cartoon Network Dr. Strangelove style first thing he took over WB. That was the ultimate tragedy for cartoon fans everywhere. When people ask me about the WBD merger, I brace myself to tell the intense horror story like a WW2 veteran.

[@PaintraSeaPea]

I cant believe you talked about the Clarence miniseries without mentioning it was originally going to end with the reveal that Uncle Grandpa was the hurricane the whole time and did it to teach Aberdale a lesson about togetherness

[@NICKtendoReviews]

Noooo I hate that I partially knew about this but didn’t remember it while writing

[@SinDoesStuff]

Hang on WHAT

[@chrisrockett5897]

Bro, that would've been SICK.

[@TheDanTheManShow]

It’s very funny to hear you talk about Apple and Onion as a feel-good miniseries given the context of Season 2

[@heyspellicup]

Over the Garden Wall was making its initial rounds on CN right when my mom was taking a week long trip out of state for personal reasons. My dad looked after little kid me and fed me my meals while she was away, but he also still had to work the night shift at his job. Once he made sure I was situated (fed, bathed, homework done, etc), he'd leave late at night for work, and leave me home by myself. Every night, I would watch the newest Garden Wall episode with him while enjoying his special "homemade recipe" of beef flavored ramen noodles with black pepper, garlic salt, a bit of lemon juice, and some extra soy sauce. This was the first time my mother was separated from me for an extended period of time; and I had extremely bad separation anxiety growing up. But the tasty dinners combined with enjoying this weird new show alongside my dad who I'd seldom see in-person made that bitterly cold November week of my mom being away feel less terrifying. In a way, I braved into my own deep dark scary "unknown" (of an empty house in the middle of the night) during that time, and seeing that Wirt made it through helped 11-year-old-me cope.

[@NICKtendoReviews]

thank you for posting this touching childhood story on a video that I started with a Weezer joke

[@heyspellicup]

@NICKtendoReviews Introspective reminiscing can show up in the weirdest of places

[@cyborgcuttlefish6326]

dude that’s so sweet and beautiful. that made me feel emotional. it’s crazy to think about the immense impact media can have on us. when you’ve got such strong memories with something, it’s almost like you’re in that moment again when you’re rewatching something. it’s like a warm blanket. thanks for sharing

[@Wolfiyeethegranddukecerberus17]

[26:23] This ending part pretty much sums up all my gripes with current management. They gave all Cartoon Network's projects to Adult Swim, but refuse to replace them with originals because "original projects are a risk". WB management is full of hypocrites because every week I see a BRAND NEW project going to Adult Swim, and it makes me want to give up as a CN fan. Great video Nick, you never disappoint (except for your opinion on the new Animaniacs).

[@NotArmani31]

LEBRON JAMES SCREAM IF YOU LOVE OVER THE GARDEN WALL

[@cleverusername1997]

There will never be anything like Over the Garden Wall. What a beautiful anomaly in the typically restrained world of Western animation.

[@dziankolack9331]

Check out night in the woods. Not to say it’s the SAME. Nothing could be the same. But it’s got a similar Spooky-Fall vibe

[@TMBGFa]

It’s genuinely fascinating to me just how many of these CN cranked out through the 2010s, honestly sort of wish the trend lasted longer, cause I found the miniseries pretty solid.

[@NICKtendoReviews]

there was more than I expected! Also, I'm just curious, did you by chance find me through my TMBG Coraline video? Just a hunch based your pfp and username.

[@TMBGFa]

@@NICKtendoReviewsYeah, It popped up in my recommendations.

[@TheCartoonGamer8000]

Might’ve taken 10 years, but I finally watched Over the Garden Wall, and I’m glad to say I really liked it! Beatrice’s faces always make me laugh.

[@boredreindeer5602]

@@TheCartoonGamer8000 I'm planning on watching it when I get the chance

[@toon4thought]

The fact Summer Camp Island's own miniseries (which similar to AT, also answered many series long questions and - albeit only in S3 - had special intros) don't count as CN and therefore are not covered in this video gives me another reason to be upset at the show being Max exclusive at the time.

[@TheCreativiTeamposts]

That poor show was tossed around between CN and Max so many times, it was ridiculous.

[@getuponthemike6341]

Nicktendo got on that Phillip J Fry drip

[@lyleabner2475]

A majority of kids probably didn't get to see over the garden wall cause at the time dish and time Warner were having some kinda dispute that kept cartoon network off their service for like a week so basically as long as over the garden wall was on

[@c.l.m.c.3328]

Infinity Train's latam premiere was hype, they aired it subtitled and very late. after episode 1 they had to move the "NEXT" banner to the upper half of the screen because it'd get in the way of the subtitles.

[@orangeblaster500]

I remember showing my dad Infinity Train and to this day, he still hasn't gotten over Tuba. Unlike me who is complete fine 🙃.

[@Kittenfox_55]

I always thought Nickelodeon and Disney channel would try making their own mini series to rival the success of Over the garden wall.

[@AJ-xc4qe]

They did. Nick had a couple which were Lost In The West and Middle School Moguls, neither of which I’ve watched and no one talks about. Disney Channel had Fast Layne…which wasn’t that good.

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

​@@AJ-xc4qei mean did disney channel really need there own over the garden wall? They had gravity falls

[@freakcircus6109]

Long Live the Royals is the quintessential 'yeah I remember binging this in 2015 and haven't heard anything about it since' show for me.

[@jorgerosado2087]

I really hope you fully tackle Apple and Onion eventually. It's such a comfortable watch. Especially the last couple episodes where they get so depressed, the entire show changes. From the intro to the songs. Everything. It's.. honestly kinda weird. And i love that.

[@chrisrockett5897]

Wait, they HUH

[@ShabyUwU]

Ohh they get development?

[@brickhead9111]

Over the Garden Wall is truly a fascinating product and it’s great that it got the time to be exactly what it needed to be in order to achieve what the crew wanted it to be. I’m also glad that you briefly talked about Nick Cross, easily one of the most talented artists of this current generation, his KZbin channel’s shorts are absolutely fantastic.

[@Randomlad.0737]

The background artist drew of OTGW, also worked on Smiling Friends.

[@punkjacksupremacy]

im never going to escape weezer

[@DodaDox]

Putting the first promos of OTGW got me ngl. Great vid as always!

[@c.l.m.c.3328]

after the first, advertised airings, the CN over here usually aired Over The Garden Wall edited together as a movie, skipping the episode about the mansion. they also made a film out of Stakes and probably the other AT miniseries too.

[@chrisrockett5897]

I remember the times when Nick edited ATLA's last 4 episodes into a movie.

[@samuelmelendez7566]

OTHW is a fall tradition for me and my siblings who grew up with this show

[@Hey-Its-Jola]

What a great video review. I only watched AT’s mini series as everything else came out during my very busy high school years alongside CN’s quality inconsistency making me uninterested. Pretty much everything you mentioned at the end. I’d love to hear you review the AT comics, I really enjoy how far removed it gets from the source and does crazy stuff with the world. I actually contemplated making a review of it, but concluded it would be hard work. Awesome vid

[@taejasper1343]

This era was awesome for CN! I really do miss it, man! Thanks for covering it, Nick! And also, Happy Holidays to you and yours out there! Stay warm, my friend!

[@MatthewPrower]

truly they did... break bad.

[@AJ-xc4qe]

I’m only in the middle of Adventure Time season 6, I’ve only watched Infinity♾️Train🚞 Book 1 and planning on buying the rest of the show on Amazon Prime Video and I never watched Clarence, but I checked out Stormy Sleepover for the hell of it and I surprisingly enjoyed it!

[@gyraflight]

heads up, i hear season 3 of infinity train isn't on prime video

[@chrisrockett5897]

Clarence is great, check the rest out.

[@azy9234]

OMG THE CALIFORNIA JOKE it all makes sense now, it was in the back of my mind since i watched that episode because of the jingle? song? thing

[@lastflunky]

Sadly most of these didn't air on CN UK because of their short format. I was lucky enough to be in America for the first season of Infinity. That was fun.

[@kaylemathewcomendador6964]

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the ones I saw. But I have fun memories with those mini series’s. Haven’t heard of some of the ones here like “Clarence’s Story Sleepover” & “Long Live The Royals”. Maybe I should give them a try… It’s weird how most cartoons lately have been feeling like mini-series’s lately, with them usually getting around 10 episodes or less & all. It’s a shame as there are some like “My Adventures with Superman” could really benefit from having more episodes per season. I’m curious to see you tackle the Adventure Time comics someday, as it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone talk about the comics. I have quite the nostalgia reading Marcy & Simon & Season 11 as they were my firsts and were a fun read (even with M&S’s ending being pretty rushed & S11 getting tragically cut short).

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

Mergers ruin everything. Especially when your company is just fine without them.

[@ZeepAtomic]

I couldn't say it better myself. To quote Owen Dennis, mergers help hundreds and hurt thousands.

[@chrisrockett5897]

This shit here.

[@ready2starttheshow766]

kids come to the living room....nicktendo uploaded baby.....

[@neilhannan5112]

Happy December, everyone ❤❤❤ 25 Days till Christmas

[@ringra1578]

The problem I have with Over The Garden Wall that keeps it from being perfect to me is the 11 minute format for the episodes. If they were 22 minutes long it would have been so much better. Someone tried to argue by saying "It's a Miniseries. So that's why the episodes are short.", but that's not what a miniseries is. Miniseries' mean a short amount of episodes, that doesn't mean or apply to the runtime length of an episode.

[@chrisrockett5897]

Exactly. All of Chernobyl's episodes are a little over an hour. Granted, it's based on a real event but still.

[@Elvusmiw]

Nicktendo always a bro bringing da dough of comedy and intresting facts

[@stereo-k4x]

We got a true fall classic

[@Blaksora777]

I hate that I remember every single Cartoon Network bumper so vividly.

[@Radi_vvanker]

Yo Siivagunner rip used 🔥🔥

[@PeterGriffin11]

Infinity Train was the only miniseries I actually watched it’s a shame it was cancelled.

[@Gen_-6012]

Me and my friend were obsessed with infinity train when it first came out. I remember we watched it on FaceTime together lol

[@SpongeyTheEditor]

Pretty sure Craig of the Creek had one.

[@toon4thought]

Capture the Flag, and the Heart of the Forest could also count depending on who you talk to. Curse whoever dictated the Wikipedia list.

[@SpongeyTheEditor]

@toon4thought Yeah HatsOffMedia did a video for one and that's why I remembered it lol

[@randomreviews4278]

6:08 this was on Cartoon Network? I never seen this ever

[@breawycker]

I don't care what anyone says. I still love you book four

[@aertnadle2466]

You forgot the Island Adventures miniseries and Night Begins to Shine miniseries from Teen Titans Go

[@ShabyUwU]

I miss Infinity Train with all my heart and I hope they get to finish it someday! 😭

[@mathieuleader8601]

the King from Long Live The Royals looks like King Bekkori of the Sorbet Kingdom from the Egghead Island Arc from One Piece.

[@ambition5851]

its hard because this mini series format gave us by far the best storytelling the network has seen every, but that is not what normally thrives in children-centric networks, that why stuff like teen titans go thrives so much

[@Elvusmiw]

You know i completely agree about the adventure time mini series where some are better than others.

[@TryTheRoachBurger]

bro why wasnt i notified of this video rip

[@RegularSammykid2]

Please talk more about Infinity Train. I’m still sad 😢

[@FruitNeptuneNewAcc21]

l Remember when I first watched this channel I was looking for the Nicktendo with SML animation videos

[@acolmeiafelizDT]

27:16 the question that won’t shut: what is this music?

[@devinsauls3568]

22:31 Not Like Us! 😂

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

You had me at “Mr. Beast”

[@therealdatenshi]

No way nobody ever talks about Apple and Onion ever

[@tylerferguson3193]

Hope you're having a good day

[@jaimedanielhernandezrios5398]

I don't know where companies are with mini series right now. they previously loved them so they can have more variety with only producing one season of tv butseems they went back to long format serialization

[@DavidDumbedDown]

This video was uploaded at 16:00

[@DavidDumbedDown]

17:00

[@muke6473]

As a kid I never watched Over the Garden Wall because my kid mind thought it looked boring

[@jordanwright2072]

how so?

[@muke6473]

@jordanwright2072 I don't know why but my kid mind just thought it looked boring and never watched it

[@jordanwright2072]

@@muke6473 what about Long Live the Royals?

[@flurpprulf1824]

You gotta watch the rest of apple & onion it crashes and burns so hard

[@shikabaneconga]

will you make a video about Mystery Cuddlers? 🤩

[@spreaknessi]

would very much like a vid on the adventure time comics pls

[@Wolfiyeethegranddukecerberus17]

Hi Mr Nicktendo, sir, please link all the merch that you showed in the video. I'm in the mood to make some unwise purchases :)

[@NICKtendoReviews]

You can find the IF DVDs on Amazon, the plushes are from TheMysteryShack website, and the OTGW figures are from Titan & on the Hot Topic site. The Beatrice piece is from a rare con exclusive figure set, also by Titan. The AT Stakes comic, the 2015 spooktacular, is out of print but seems to be pretty cheap. Hope that helps!

[@mostlyharmless1957]

Revisit S6 of AT? I'd be very curious to see why you'd want to do that. Do you like it better now?

[@NICKtendoReviews]

It’s been 6 years since I last talked about it and I feel like I’ve softened on it in hindsight.

[@mostlyharmless1957]

@ That’s cool!As a certified season 6 enjoyer, I’d be very interested to see that video

[@Hamantha]

12:48 Nah they made him your bog-standard conservative comedian lmao XD

[@DigiRangerScott]

Depressos!

[@171QA]

Oh boy...

[@buzinessdog]

love ya

[@ScradeCottontail]

I’m really sad you didn't cover season 2 of Apple and Onion and how it got really sad and cynical for some reason

[@NICKtendoReviews]

It wasn’t a miniseries by that point!

[@darthfox45]

The Adventure Time "Miniseries" aren't miniseries! They're arcs!

[@NICKtendoReviews]

Literally everyone online calls them miniseries but ok

[@rileyanthony]

It's December

[@AJ-xc4qe]

This era for children’s media has been crap since 2019 when Andi Mack got cancelled, Cameron Boyce died tragically and the live action Lion King became the highest grossing “animated” movie of all time made by a filmmaker who doesn’t even call it animated! At least Inside Out 2 outgrossed them this year! Personally, the market of the industry that’s suffering the most compared to any other market are family friendly media. From KZbin disabling comment sections of even the oldest videos that just so happen to have no sex, violence or cuss words, some may even be old enough that adults would only know about them. Or Victor Zsasz or whatever his name is influencing companies into purging talented people’s hard work from availability just to save money, many of which being animated and/or kid-friendly. Or tv networks, cable or streaming, making no effort advertising or even preserving their content including content meant for families or at least the better ones and replacing them with either content that does the bare minimum or doesn’t even try to improve that gets rewarded for multiple renewals (Young Dylan) or revivals/reboots/sequels of their parent’s’ favorite shows. Or at the most, older sibling’s’ favorite shows (The Really Loud House, Teen Titans Go). I don't care how excited I was for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place or Phineas & Ferb or Alice in the Palace or The Fairly OddParents A New Wish or other revivals including from Cartoon Network. The originals matter just as much. I’m in my late 20s and I feel terrible for kids right now because adult executives blatantly hate anything they can write off as kids stuff like animation, even if it’s for adults. And I'm expecting it to get worse for a long time before it'll get better.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

Family Entertainment hasn’t been suffering a lot since 2019. In an era where Streaming’s the norm, and anti-woke slop has become the standard for KZbin, it’s more like we’re the ones who’ve been suffering through the past 5 years, then the current state of Family Entertainment. Every decade had people complain about what’s going on with the then current shows that are airing at the time, and compare them to how shows we grew up with were better. For the 2010s decade, it was usually people who grew up with Nickelodeon in the 2000s who hated a lot of the 2010s shows. The 2000s probably had a bunch of people complaining about how shows in the 2000s weren’t as good as the 90s shows, and a lot of moms hated how 90s shows were so gross compared to the shows they used to watch. I’m about to turn 20 next year, and Im starting to realize that the shows this decade, isn’t as good as the shows as the decade I grew up with. And that’s something I have to accept. I’m getting old, and I don’t think complaining about the current television isn’t going to help anyway. Its just a pointless complaint, and you shouldn’t waste your time on it. So all I have to do is, live my life.

[@slumberyclub]

Weezer??????

[@zanepowers9036]

First!

[@agentnacho2029]

California 🤮

[@NICKtendoReviews]

counterpoint: it’s so cool in California