How Cartoon Network Almost Aired Banned Bugs Bunny Cartoons (Lost Media)

Discover a lost special that was so dedicated to animation history it went places never before seen on TV.

[@meh6722]

Still, the best warning about these were made by Warner themselves with a warning on some DVD/Streaming that states: "The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the Warner Bros. view of today's society, these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed." Never forget the past. No matter how painful it might be.

[@lollybowser]

I’ve seen a similar message pop up on oldie Disney films on Disney+. I think it’s great. Rather than erasing the past and pretending it never happened they take responsibility while also offering a sensible justification.

[@thecianinator]

@@lollybowser so when is Disney going to stop pretending Song Of The South doesn't exist

[@lollybowser]

@@thecianinator yeah good point that’s one leap they still haven’t taken xd

[@pkkingcrimsonrequiem1332]

Unfourtunatley this rings hollow when the whole Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Vol 2 debacle happened. Their reluctance to include two cartoons due to their very brief racially insensitive moments goes against the disclaimer and shows a hypocrisy in which other, and debatebly worse racial moments in other cartoons were alright for release, but just not those two.

[@user-qq3hj6pl8o]

this should be the top comment

[@daymonharris8696]

The Concept of Toonheads was so ahead of its time, it looks like something that could be made into a series now.

[@kingnewcomer2029]

Indeed. I really love what they managed to pull off with it!

[@HorrorsofCody]

It could but those cartoons were pivotal for animation even to this day. Now the show would do 1 season and burn miserably cause there's nothing like a Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoon.

[@kingnewcomer2029]

@@HorrorsofCody That is true.

[@user-kw7mr6xt9n]

It reminds me a lot of Toon in With Me, a show that airs on MeTV currently at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays.

[@kingnewcomer2029]

@@user-kw7mr6xt9n Neat.

[@shawn_7413]

I wish everything on a station was saved. Imagine a perfect world where you could select a channel and year then be able to watch everything as it was originally aired on that day. Shows, commercials, all of it.

[@thekernel69]

Actually it is saved even including old commercials. I specifically remember that for MTV's 30th anniversary they aired the first 1 hour of mtv including ads from the time. This started to become common practice in the 80s

[@marshroanoke]

The storage required 😳😳

[@seanlove3906]

That would be amazing!!!

[@tomkrawec]

@@marshroanoke I suspect it would work out as less than KZbin's required storage per minute, even when taking into account every single major cable channel. YT is crammed with content that is simply never watched, and more is uploaded every second.

[@novayarussia]

Hell yeah, Shawn

[@pkkingcrimsonrequiem1332]

It's important to know that there are actually 2 versions of Toonheads out there. The original show ran from 1992 to around 1996. The show was revamped in 1998 with a new announcer and producer. This ran until 2003 and from what I've read, the show was cancelled because of executives changing at the time and this was one of the shows that got the axe in the midst of that. The original version of the show is the hardest to find, and there are many more episodes that aren't documented anywhere aside from commercials I've seen. So the true number of episodes is currently unknown. It also seems that most of the 1996 episodes were specials as I've heard of episodes dedicated to the 1960's Gene Deitch series "Nundnik" and a special for Academy Award winning cartoons, but these episodes have never surfaced.

[@c-id-b340]

Well I have a theory, that there might actually be three variants of ToonHeads. Since, there seems to be an version of the show that aired on UK feed of Cartoon Network, with presumably another announcer from both of the US versions. If we were to assume that the announcer in a 30 second promo made for it, (The link kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaO4p3Z_r8qjecU) is the same one that was in the actual show on the UK airings of it (at least). Though unfortunately there's little information about these airings of the show, and the only thing that I have of it is the previously mentioned promo for the program. I don't know when this specific promo or when the UK variant of CN had aired ToonHeads. Though I assume that the advert for it probably around 1995 to sometime in 1997. 6/2/22 Edit: I would also note that, (as far as I know) there aren't any other international versions of ToonHeads (or at least ones that are confirmed to exist). This mostly speculation and, just my theory anyways. But yeah that certainly is interesting, and would like to see more episodes of the 2 versions of this series that you've brought up. And more content and context from and for the UK dub and/or airings of it as well. I think that ToonHeads probably aired in the UK sometime around or between 1993-2000.

[@lucapeyrefitte6899]

Wow I didn’t know about there being a version before the one that ran in the 2000s. Honestly it felt like a fever dream

[@TheBadfighta]

There was a British show called Stay Tooned which was on in the mid 90's. One show had clips from cartoons that couldn't be shown anymore , due to being Un-PC.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@TheBadfighta I mean just look at current cartoon Network. It's so unrecognizable from any of it's past incarnations it's ridiculous. They now have an entire block dedicated to very small children and the rest of the content is basically for older children and preteens. Adult swim is pretty much now what cartoon Network always wanted to be and never could truly be.

[@bluebaron6858]

Wouldn't you just check newspaper records of airings?

[@KazeThyKage]

This is so nostalgic for me, dude. I remember before adult swim was created watching toonheads when I couldn't sleep at night. I doubt we have the vhs recordings since my grandparents purged all their vhs in the late 2000s. 😔 this show is what inspired me to draw and made me want to be an animator when I grew up.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah the pre adult swim era of Cartoon Network was amazing. Especially when you compare what cartoon Network is these days, yikes. I'm pretty sure all the talent went to the adult swim because Cartoon Network hasn't been the same for years and it's been on a downward spiral for years now. But at least they gave us some inspiration.

[@ratnoodles6981]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu just because it’s not the “good old days” for you doesn’t mean Cartoon Network is horrible. They’re doing okay-ish now

[@michaelthecreative1529]

For those curious, the thumbnail is from an old Bugs Bunny PSA for war bonds. While this cartoon does reference offensive blackface, it was also a reference to the very popular film The Jazz Singer and was just another one of their movie references from back then. So while that reference is obviously not ok today, I can understand how they just saw it as a pop culture reference and didn’t realize the unfortunate racial implications.

[@BlazeHeartPanther]

Not to mention that the guy he was portraying was Al Jolson, whom if I remember was an advocate for the rights of black people back in the day too.

[@Zarugoza5969]

Whoops

[@Quartzer.]

Isn't it also where one of the Sonic memes comes from (I think it's called Derp Sonic)

[@BlazeHeartPanther]

@@Quartzer. Yep, where he has his hands up in the air.

[@TheRealYuckl3s_9000]

Bruh his expression is so goofy ahh

[@panqueque445]

"The Worst Cartoons Ever Made" Bruh I really wanna watch that now lmao

[@ExtremeWreck]

Too bad they didn't have any episode of The Adventures of Paddy The Pelican in the archives. That would've been quite the interesting thing to find in those archives lol. Then again, nobody's really sure if 6 episodes really were all that were produced or if they did get to the 65 episode limit of those times.

[@YujiUedaFan]

I did see something like that in the mid 2000s featuring one of the guys from MST3K.

[@Ender-kk7gg]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5m3d514eZ2SgbM

[@LathropLdST]

Use the YT search. I warn you, it's mostly commentary.

[@mind-of-neo]

Ah, yes, the Brothers "C", Censorship and Copyright, the two greatest obstacles to media preservationists.

[@daktheavking9357]

I absolutely love vintage Cartoon Network. Even better that you talk about cartoon Network lost media a fair bunch on here. Keep up the good work and also like someone else said we appreciate you for not trying to make this stuff unnecessarily creepy. The creepy vibe is more appropriate for the not safe for life lost media

[@jacksonteller3973]

Yeah I remember watching Cartoon Network's 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time special in 1998 while on vacation with my mom and sister, it was one of the best times I ever had as a kid.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@jacksonteller3973 Pre adult swim Cartoon Network was amazing but I feel like the lost a lot of that and now they're pretty much wet garbage. I cannot believe what that channels become in the last two decades, the level of decline is unfathomable.

[@mastermariogameryt]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu I don’t like new CN but I still like adult swim

[@mart5610]

Cartoon Network started to go downhill in the 2010s with their logo change sorry I like Adventure time and all but the network is so kiddy and comedy only now, no good action shows or variety

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@mart5610 Totally agree. Even though we've gotten some good shows like adventure time, regular show and a handful of others. The vast majority of shows sucked and skewed way younger. The first sign of serious decline was when toonami was unceremoniously canceled. And anime in general has completely vanished off the channel all but completely outside of adult swim. And yeah the lean toward entirely comedy-based shows and I should add shows that are non-serialized and can be shown pretty much in any order are all the channel has. Not to mention the shows all look way too similar to each other these days.

[@marianasalazar8154]

Vintage cartoons are everything! I remember watching an odd, vintage short version of the Sleeping Beauty, where the villain was the 4th fairy and she became the villain only because she didn't receive an invitation to Aurora's christening (she did but it flew under the carpet, I think), so she went and cursed the baby. Years later, when Aurora falls into her deep sleep, the villain/4th fairy finds out that she did had an invite so she desperately looks for a prince, which ends up being a really timid, unattractive and funny-looking one. They go to Aurora's room so he can kiss her but can't, as he's waaaay too shy and can't stop blushing. The 4th fairy uses her magic to make him confident and attractive; then he kisses Aurora and when she wakes up, she sees the prince and basically 'falls all over him' and kisses him again, quite passionately, I must say lol I never found that animation again, but I'm pretty sure it was on Cartoon Network, probably is also part of Toonheads collection :)

[@okeus]

lmao wait what this sounds funny af

[@visualspark6308]

Imagine if Cartoon Network aired animation preservation specials today…

[@circleofstone3114]

They should put it on adult swim 🤔

[@TheOldMPClub]

Baby steps. The main part of the channel spent the last 20 years telling any cartoon after so many years it deserved to be thrown in the gutter and replaced. It's gonna have to earn some of that respect back first.

[@Nightman221k]

Toonheads was one of my FAVORITE shows that I'd catch on CN when I was a kid. I don't know if a lot of kids were into it like I was but hearing a little trivia about the classic looney tunes was like hearing a mini-documentary alongside a cartoon. I thought it was cool.

[@jacksonteller3973]

yeah I remember that show fondly, whenever I visited my grandmothers house every week I caught it(she had cable and our family didn't due to us living in a rural area and my parents didn't want to pay for satellite TV).

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@jacksonteller3973 Kind of funny considering rural areas was actually the audience cable was originally MADE FOR back in the late 1940s.

[@jacksonteller3973]

@@ExtremeWreck interesting

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@jacksonteller3973 Yeah that was what Cable was made for. Truly a showcase of how times have changed in your case.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@jacksonteller3973 Yeah I had a similar situation with my grandma where we lived in an area we couldn't even get TV signals because of mountainous terrain. My grandma lived up on a hill and she got everything over the air and cable. When I got the chance I would really enjoy it.

[@ScottPillgram20]

I recall catching Toon Heads once or twice when I was a kid and I remember finding it interesting, but since I was still really young back then, I never got to see much of it. But it always lingered in the back of my mind cause I loved those old cartoons and the presentation of the show. Hope one day we can see the full series put on something like HBO Max.

[@angelinacamacho8575]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXPZlHV6i6lpeZY there are a few episodes around KZbin but it's considered partially lost media

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

That is the place that it should go absolutely. The fact it's not available online somewhere through boomerang or one of their services is remarkable to me. Then again current Cartoon Network is hot garbage and the HBO Max situation is difficult. But considering what a dumpster fire space jam 2 was I don't feel like WB has much respect for the Looney tunes these days or any of their older properties.

[@chumpchangedrawscomics5907]

Watching toon heads was one of the most inspirational and informative moments of my young life. Learning about the lives of animators intrigued me so much, even as a kid. Giving everything proper historical context and presenting it in a way that didn't feel like pandering. This show was ahead of the curb.

[@ZhiroMinoda]

I find it wild how key is the timeframe when you start your search, as information fades in and out of availability. I've seen some lost media videos documenting how hard it was to get any info on toonheads around 2010. When back in 2007-8 I had memories of the purple bird mascot (I even made an ms paint drawing from memory) so I asked in 4Chan /tv and they directed me immediately towards some episodes on KZbin and Google video (90s version).

[@TheOldMPClub]

You also have to take into account for many years these communities have been rife with narrative control and echo chambers. A lot of people i grew up with no longer want anything to do with these communities because it grows tiring when people who weren't even alive then bully you into believing a narrative you know is complete bs. Some have slowly come back to fill in the gaps. And sadly most of the old sites that documented most of the real history are dead. If Toonzone/Anime SuperHero can't get their archive back, i'm afraid we lost the last big one standing.

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

On the "12 hares" most of them were shown on cable TV in the early/mid 80's. TBS (before Turner bought WB, and identified by WTBS as it was still a actual OTA broadcaster) they showed cartoons in blocks in the mornings & afternoons like most other TV stations (though mostly by independent stations). Anyway out of the 12 hares all of them were shown including one of the banned eleven "All This and Rabbit Stew" (though it was shown once as far as I can remember) it also looked like it came from a Public Domain source (bad quality even for the time). Most likely it was shown completely by mistake. The year was 1985 when they showed it, and was the first time I even knew of it's existence the other ones were shown uncensored until Turner made CN. Mississippi Hare was shown as well but rarely (I saw it a few times).

[@tb3411]

I didn't even realize Frigid Hare was a banned Bugs Bunny short since it aired on Boomerang. Toon Heads was a very nostalgic part of my childhood btw

[@Legoland2023]

Fun fact that most of the 12 missing hairs are on the golden collection

[@misterzygarde6431]

I was reminded of the Bob Clampett Show which aired cartoons from said cartoonist having moved to Adult Swim

[@thecianinator]

There was also a Tex Avery Show and a Chuck Jones Show

[@otaking3582]

I remember reading that a cartoon channel in Canada (either TeleToon or YTV during one of their late night anime blocks) aired the first fifteen minutes of Bible Black (as in the hentai series) before being pulled from the airwaves. I have no idea if this is true or not, and I can't find any information about it aside from some anonymous testimonies.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

My question is always how could that even happen?! I mean I don't know exactly how things run or when this might have happened but someone would have definitely had to have been asleep at the wheel as they say to allow something like that to happen. Which is not to say it didn't nor that it did but only that it is possible and I've heard things like that happening but of course finding evidence is nearly impossible. And you know the channel isn't going to admit that it ever happened. And the problem is even if you found somebody who could corroborate that it did happen you'd have to trust that source.

[@otaking3582]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu Likely it was a case of someone thinking that all anime is acceptable for television broadcast.

[@vireo2543]

@@otaking3582 Or it could’ve a tv station hijacking, like the Max Headroom one or something.

[@otaking3582]

@@vireo2543 I think more people would've talked about it if that were the case. If it was the station's fault, then it's easy to believe that they'd want to not talk about their mistakes.

[@catholiccontriversy]

I remember watching Toon Heads on Cartoon Network. It was really great learning history and context for so many cartoons. The one I remember most was the house of the future episode, and the one where they compared Cat's Concerto and Rhapsody Rabbit. The cartoon anthology series I liked the most was The Popeye Show. Popeye is probably my favorite golden age cartoon character, my grandparents had some tapes of it and rented tapes all the time from their local video store, and when I discovered The Popeye Show on Sunday nights, that was my thing.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

The super early black and white Popeye cartoons were some of the best I've ever seen. So much destruction and mayhem it was amazing. There was an episode that literally ended with them somehow completely leveling an entire tenement house.

[@rlinders9972]

FUN FACT: On Boomerang UK in the late-90s/early-00s, those Looney Toons shorts were shown completely uncensored.

[@ThatMatt85]

I used to have a laser disc collection of every Tex Avery cartoon which included I presume banned ones just based on what was in them. I also remember there being a couple of weeks when cartoon network ran banned WB cartoons late night. I remember one that had I believe a WW1 germany ace pilot played by Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny was messing with him. At one point he said he was done with his service and was going to "Go home and make whoopie to the fraulines". I do remember toonheads but I don't remember watching it often, more like seeing the commercials for it a lot. I think at the time I found the cartoons to be boring. I dunno if any of this is useful information at all but it's memories I had while watching this.

[@jacksonteller3973]

@No Voice Shorts Actually it's called Dumb Patrol.

[@ThatMatt85]

@No Voice Shorts Yes that's it. lol Thanks for helping me find that.

[@pkkingcrimsonrequiem1332]

The laserdisc set you had was the "Compleat Tex Avery" by MGM/UA during the time both Jerry Beck and George Feltenstien collaborated on animation laserdisc sets. This release does include some shorts that would not see later circulation.

[@steffaneecaiola613]

I remember when Toonheads was first airing in the late 90s-early 2000s and thinking it was boring (that June Bugs marathon unlocked a core memory in me lmao) but as I've gotten older and more interested in animation history I really wish I could go back and watch the entire series. I also remember watching The Ink & Paint Club really late at night on the Disney Channel but I don't think Disney will ever put that on Disney+ considering I just looked for Silly Symphonies on there and there's only like 3 lol

[@jojobizadTRASH]

It's crazy how that specific scene was the inspiration for the Sonic Ring meme, it's so surreal lol.

[@ARDIZsq]

It's sad that some of these are lost. Yes, they're a product of their time and are VERY problematic, but I think it's important for the history of the company, the characters, cartoons in general, and real life history. I think that it's a great teaching opportunity for the people of today, especially those studying the history of animation. It's important for people to realize the harsh truths of what the world was like at the time and how far we've come since then. Personally, I'm very intrigued by older animation and things like this are very interesting to me. I like being able to see what views were held back then through the lens of something palatable like cartoons. I also bet that if they aren't in a vault somewhere, the original cels for these cartoons are most likely gone, destroyed. It's very fascinating to think about.

[@giselleaguilar2940]

I agree.

[@ligmasack9038]

There is nothing "problematic" about it, because Stereotypes have Roots in truth.

[@kolpkii]

yeah i agree, at that time blackfaces were just the way they saw black people

[@TheOldMPClub]

For the record i don't believe there is anything animation wise that is missing from Warner's vault. There's plenty not released in the vault, but most of the things they are hunting for still, aren't animation. Some originals are gone, but have since been replaced with new copies.

[@hunterfunnyguy]

This sort of censorship of mistakes is so cowardly in my opinion. Instead of giving a demonstration about how prevalent racial caricatures were and owning up to having participated in it, they instead try to sweep it under the rug because of possible backlash. Yes, it's an uncomfortable topic, because it *is* uncomfortable. We shouldn't brush away discussions about unpleasant things just because it feels bad. These are things that need to be discussed or else they will fizzle away in history.

[@gracekim25]

I 100% agree. It’s like how Disney treats song of the south. I have heard the actual story is about white children and black children learning to getting along with help from a former slave who tells them stories but because of the language and the fact that it’s set just after the civil war ended, no one but those wh were around to see it in cinema young and old have laid eyes on it. I personally want to watch it because I HATE being told I can’t watch something because of past depictions, yes we haven’t always had characters drawn delicately but if we don’t acknowledge this stuff, it will be forgotten and possibly REPEATED!😬

[@nostalgiamostalgia0319]

Wow, I needed something like this today!

[@darkstarplays6315]

I never thought that lost media would be something that held my attention but here we are. Thank you

[@Gojiro7]

as a kid, I loved watching Toon Heads and the Popeye show late at night, I'd seen alot of the cartoons they showed when I was even younger, my parents recorded alot of Warner bros and Disney cartoons off of TV for me to watch when I was little, so Toonheads trivia and facts about the cartoons is what drew me in most and was the spark in me to want to seek out knowledge of things I love as I continue to this day increasing my knowledge of old cartoons as a amatures cartoon historian :3 im grateful shows like Jellystone and such still keep these classic characters alive in the public eye so that younger generations might wish to seek out where they came from and be able to see them through our archival efforts ^^ .

[@JustinCoasters]

Fortunately it's now available today, Thanks to Jerry Beck!

[@maddymud]

and George!

[@jeremysteelman2900]

They played some pretty sketchy stuff at 3 in the morning on cartoon network back in the day.

[@J0hnstrains]

"How Cartoon Network Almost Aired Banned Bugs Bunny Cartoons" Where I lived, they actually DID air them at some point, around 2012-2014.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

I LOVED Toon Heads at the time. I was already a big nerd by 1992, and throughout the '90s it was one of my favorite things on Cartoon Network.

[@markfacebook]

I remember growing up watching Toon Heads sparingly. It used to run late nights, usually on the weekends. Funny enough, I remember Toon Heads not from the show itself, but from another compilation series that was usually packaged with it, called "Late Night Black and White". This was a block that ran old pre-WB black and white cartoons. I remember it because it used to air really late at night, like around 12:30-1AM on Saturdays, which wasnt a time I was able to stay up past growing up as a kid. So it was always foreign to me whenever I was up late enuff to see it.

[@zachgamemaster3329]

I loved Toon Heads. I almost never got to see most of an episode becuse of how late it aired. It's really sad that a bunch of them are now lost.

[@jacksonteller3973]

A censored 11 getting marked for KZbin Kids sadly isn't that shocking as i've seen several horror films get marked as "for kids" as well, probably because they didn't have an MPAA rating which confused the algorithm, so I reported them all for misleading text.

[@HolyGoddessMotherAnne]

It really is depressing what happened after the great censorship wave.

[@mr.x2567]

Just shows how incompetent KZbin is too

[@juliezz1]

@@mr.x2567 not to mention many adult stuff i’ve seen also gotten marked as kids for some weird reason

[@gracekim25]

@@juliezz1 KZbin is stupid 😅

[@samwill7259]

This sort of thing sounds like something that might better have been saved for the History or Discovery Channel back in the day rather than being aired during the middle of the summer on CN. Then again, maybe confronting kids with these terrible, racist cartoons would be better for their understanding and empathy in the long run, even if it makes up some very uncomfortable conversations at the time.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

The thing is history is painful but it must be confronted and understood at least in the context of what it was and where we are now. WB trying to hide the shame of what they did in the past only makes it worse. Better to deal with it than hide it. But yeah I'll admit Cartoon Network probably wouldn't have been the best place back then and now, no way, no way, not in any capacity under any circumstances.

[@rocketsfan05]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu Yeah, especially because a kid wouldn't understand the nuance of WHY it's not okay and may try to emulate it. Even looking back of some of the old VHS tapes I watched had pretty awful representation of black and native americans. Fortunately, by the 90s/2000s there was more representation than just cariactures on loony tunes

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@rocketsfan05 Exactly, the only thing that can undo the sins of the past is education and representation. The whole problem with caricatures and racial stereotypes were they were almost always punching down and punching down hard. Once something can be put into context and treated and understood the way it needs to be it takes the power away from it.

[@rocketsfan05]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu Yeah we watched Dr Seuss and Chuck Jones (GOAT) propaganda in high school. I cant imagine like propaganda nowadays that overt.

[@caldw615]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu It's harder to do it for TV because people can tune into a show at any time. So if you put a message at the start of the show acknowledging the context for the cartoon and admitting it is wrong then there's a good chance most people channel hopping will miss it entirely and just be met with the racist depictions and be took aback. It works better for streaming or DVD's since people tend to watch what they selected from begining to end and are more likely to see the message compared to live TV.

[@beargreen1]

So if Cartoon places are supposed to store Cartoons in their vault, how are there so many lost cartoons?

[@TheOldMPClub]

Most of the animation stuff from WB is safe in their vaults. There's plenty of films still missing from the MGM fire though. "Lost" is being used to mean not widely available to the public. Larges chunks of all their libraries aren't that. And some are not equally available across dvd/blu/digital either.

[@Cindy67917]

Um... I remembered seeing both Toonheads and O Canada since childhood, but I don't think I ever recall a short-lived anime block that Cartoon Network aired called "Night of the Vampire Robots" 'cause I was a baby at the time.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Not gonna lie, that honestly would've sounded more fitting for a 50s B-Movie block on Turner Classic Movies.

[@RabbitEarsCh]

I definitely watched Toonheads back in the day, though only once. I still miss it. It hits just the right spot of historical preservation that's part of why I end up watching lost media stuff nowadays. Thanks for digging into it. I've been wondering about these unaired episodes forever, and I really wish the Worst Cartoons Ever made it out. I think they probably scrapped it so as to not get into trouble with the various estates involved...

[@dragonfye1]

I was born in 1991, and i do recall watching ‘Toon Heads’ as a kid. GREAT SHOW from what i remember, the best collection of classic animation since the ‘Boomerang’ kids channel. the only problem is it only played for half hour (unless it was one of the rare hour long specials), an$ in that half hour, depending on the subject, you might see three different versions of ‘goldielocks and the three bears.’ Or such, while other similar shows would give you a FAR better mix in the same allotted time.

[@dantereq]

Inb4 the thumbnail changes

[@ImSquiggs]

The dude that runs this channel is way too racist to care about changing this thumbnail, they are intentionally using the racist imagery for views.

[@jbanks979]

90’s Cartoon Network had a much smaller library to work with, at a time when cable channels didn’t just rerun a single series 24/7. There was the expectation you’d create a full network of content, and this was before Cartoon Network even had their own cartoons (this was pre dexters laboratory). There was this expectation of an audience for these which primarily would have been adults (and sophisticated fans of animation history not just getting a family guy fix) The “banned” bugs there really are maybe 2 that would be genuinely shocking and not just tasteless. Most of the censored 11’s are just not that funny and horrifically racist (but still worth having the option to view with a warning). I’d love to see a remastered coal black if nothing else.

[@TheOldMPClub]

Not really. Even by 1992 Cartoon Network had far more hours of programming available than most cable channels. And it only got bigger once they merged with Time Warner and started making more.

[@coyoteartist]

"Injun Trouble" has historical significance in that it was the last of the original Merrie Melodies and the last cartoon made by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation. It's also the 1,000 cartoon short released by the company.

[@megavolnutt4629]

Awesome! I've been hoping you would eventually get to Toon Heads. I loved this show and would watch it with my parents. It was the only show on CN they would let me change the channel in the living room to watch

[@SuperGoomba6464]

I loved Toonheads, I know the cartoons are on HBO now but the commentary and little trivia really helps in-between the cartoons

[@caldw615]

Learning about the process and research for traditional animation is super interesting.

[@SuperGoomba6464]

@@caldw615 a shame we dont really get presenters and hosts now a days. Shows needs context in order to apperacite it more

[@porcelainboy264]

I just wanna say thank you for speaking so clearly, the auto-generated captions had no problem transcribing what you said. Very refreshing to not have weird captions!

[@Phranx110]

TYSM making these series gives me content to back up on my external atm at 12TB but looking to upgrade i mostly store old cartoons and movies i cant find on streaming services

[@slipknotsink]

wait a second… at 8:33, it lists number 66 as “An Ant’s Life” from 12/26/1999 and that was the name of the same exact mockbuster from 1999, reviewed by Chris Stuckman in the IHE video “The Not Dreamworks Collection” which means that An Ant’s Life actually made it on to television… oh my god.

[@AUGUILERASHOP]

Thanks for looking into my suggestion from the live stream. Excellent video

[@ULuvsTink]

Thank you for covering Toonheads!! My grandpa and I used to watch toonheads back when I was in elementary school and I have very fond memories of it

[@AutisticPhantomOtaku]

I remember Toon Heads. I think there's some episodes on internet archives. I might have to check those out. Also, are you still doing your Super Smash Brothers Ultimate series where you try to find merch for each of the spirits?

[@pamelamays4186]

I loved Toon Heads. It was an education in animation.

[@ianstedman8672]

I loved watching this show before bedtime when I was a kid, I would have never known about a lot of the classics if not for this program

[@LivinMyJeffLife]

I'm 32 & I remember watching this show as a small child. I think this is one of the shows that led me to love animation.

[@SIRTAFFYTUSH]

NGL I thought "Worst Toons Ever" episode fell through due to failure of copyright agreement. By the way, I remember watching "Toon Heads" on night at 3am when I was 6 on Boomerang (It was the Popeye Episode)

[@Grover1234]

I remember watching "Toon Heads" every Sunday on Cartoon Network. It was one of my favorites of the anthology series from back then. Yes I do remember watching it during it's 3rd season I remember watching. We didn't get Cartoon Network till 97. I might have seen some reruns but I mostly remember watching it during it's 3rd seasons. After that I would always tune in. Now there might be some I might have been times I missed an episode cause someone was watching something else at the time or I was spending the night at a friends and didn't realize till after it was already over but it was a main watch during it's original run when I watched it.

[@ZeepTheWocky]

Y'know, I feel like it would be cool if CN could do something like ToonHeads for it's 30th anniversary! It could showcase WB, H-B, MGM, and old CN shows as well as give trivia and history about the shows and the network! Only minus controversial shorts with racism. But now, CN is currently "fumbling the bag" as The Roundtable said, which could or can't be a bad sign. So I doubt they'll do something like this.

[@brub1738]

I'm happy to know that the wireman short was found.

[@nomithe_64th76]

I like how "The Twelve Missing Hares" special would have been episode 69 lol nice

[@catherinesutton7189]

i remember as a kid my grandma had all the banned episodes on a DVD, watched them constantly growing up bc the only DVDs she had were that and days of our lives. kinda cool tbh!

[@GhostOfATotalStranger]

I remember Toon Heads from the 90's on CN. I remember seeing some of the "lost" ones on the show back then. I remember "O Canada " specifically a cartoon on the special that was named "HELP" about a cat who had an injured index finger and was in the hospital trying to get some assistance for his injury and would constantly repeat "HELP" and show his throbbing finger. I remember "O Canada" bring on late at night, and watching it before bed. Both programs were a big part of my youth and a very memorable part of it

[@TheOldMPClub]

That cartoon was Jof. And it was a WHat a Cartoon Short. O Canada's infamous cat cartoon was The Cat that came back.

[@pkkingcrimsonrequiem1332]

Also regarding about the two completed but never aired ones, I very much think it would be in the hands of producer George A Klein himself, as he opened a Vimeo account several years ago and uploaded several clean openings to some Toonheads episodes. The account seems dead now but it seems that George himself has copies of the episodes he was a producer on. Jerry Beck could also have copies, but I doubt this more. He may still have either the script or the other documentation for the episode but who knows. He's very easy to reach out to on his email so there's that avenue.

[@HydraSpectre1138]

HBO Max should release the lost episodes and the entire series of ToonHeads. To me, at least, that would be as big as the Snyder Cut.

[@morbidlyobesewizard2411]

You'd think someone would comment on this but no, they didn't

[@gemigisteve5947]

I remember watching one of the bugs bunny cartoons like 11 years ago the one about bugs talking to a slave(I'm not sure if it was) and bugs holding the dice which I thought was weird at the time when it was aired on boomerang

[@fuckoffhoxo]

The "Which is witch" caption is so beautiful

[@Nube-Gamer]

10:53 is where the video really starts. You’re welcome

[@joshuav875]

I’ve been searching for that Daffy Duck short at 1:41 for years.

[@swarmofmudkipz]

i've been trying to remember for YEARS what this show block was called. THANK YOU1!!

[@ashkitt7719]

This video just unlocked long-forgotten memories of watching Toonheads on Cartoon Network back in the 2000s. It's where I first found out about those infamous WWII propaganda cartoons.

[@slimcognito383]

One of the censored 11 being labeled for kids on KZbin is very ironic

[@stephenholloway6893]

KZbin assumes all cartoons are for kids. Eventhough they're not.

[@sasamichan]

An interesting thing as I have been trying to find "Lost" and "War time" or "Banned" cartoons my self ... and I could use help gathering names of cartoons or even advertisements or news segments or even TV shows to look up .. I have discovered that a good number of cartoons about Nazis and black face and cigarettes and other controversial topics, have been locked as "for children only do not comment do not add to a play list this is kid appropriate" The child protection act has a ton of failings as it not only does not protect children but it also does not allow Adults to enjoy KZbin. Furthermore letting bots not humans police KZbin contributes to unemployment. Also I believe I do have some place a CD of the toon heads war toons special I have since gotten a DVD with a more official collection. I also I have seen banned cartoons air on TV with in my life time and Ive seen there censored versions too

[@Zulf85]

I think the war toons special may have been on a Warner Bros DVD as a special feature at some point? In the UK pressing at least. I thought it was really cool and it's a shame this series hasn't been released as a collection somewhere

[@Its_bloon.yt2011]

Did you see the deleted scene of SpongeBob in random land

[@sasamichan]

@@Its_bloon.yt2011 No

[@peggyfillmore1971]

I absolutely LOVE media history !! ( my name for it) please keep it up !!

[@kingnewcomer2029]

I definitely remembered Toon Heads back in the day! It was one of my favorite anthology programs on Cartoon Network growing up in the 1990's, and early 2000's!

[@TheOldMPClub]

Several were in rotation on the network for years before hand.If you recall back to 2002 and 2003 when the schedule had a lot or erratic changes, i believe a couple snuck back in. When you do your history research, this was the point in time where Samples and Lazzo tug-of-wared with the schedule. Which eventually lead to Lazzo being siloed to only work on the Adult Swim hours. From that point on when most things left Cartoon Network, most to this day have never come back.

[@chickensandwich9977]

I wish I watched more stuff like this as a kid This stuff was and still is right up my alley

[@shangri-la-la-la]

I remember toon heads was on sunday evenings. I saw a few episodes and didn't think much of it as it was more Tom and Jerry or Bugs and Daffy for the most part.

[@NathanSpies]

At least Warner Bros. has the guts to release their controversial material unlike Disney

[@michaelrusso906]

There are 11 racist Warners cartoons that have been banned since the 1960s. So no, it's not just Disney.

[@mightyfilm]

Jesus. It's JUST the one movie, and even then it's not like they didn't find a way to make money off of it somehow. If anything, for a movie they're so afraid of releasing, they sure put it in a lot of Sing-a-Long Song videos, compilation soundtracks, and various other instances since the 80's. It's not like Disney went back and cut out every racially insensitive instance in their old movies. "What Made the Red Man Red" is still in Peter Pan and they didn't erase Paul Winchell's very unfortunate Chinese Siamese cat character from Aristocats. Damn character plays chopsticks with a piano. Hell, I even have a 1990's released Christmas cartoon compilation that kept the black dolly that says "Mammy!!!" in one of the cartoons. It's not that they don't have the guts to release the stuff, so much they don't care unless it's commercially viable.

[@Lev-Wave]

It somewhat of a shame that one of the good Bugs Bunny meme template originated from such a racist cartoon made for ww2

[@WinstonPoptart]

Not a racist cartoon, just ignorant people

[@maskofrestrict]

Agreed

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I mean it's an Al Jolson reference which has aged very very poorly to say the least. It's ironic considering apparently he later became quite the advocate for black actors and entertainers and deeply regretted doing that bit. Unfortunately he's also synonymous with blackface for all time so there's that.

[@gracekim25]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu oh….that’s depressing 😅

[@zkoopa4445]

People weren't really all that welcoming in the 1940s, don't be offended it's just history and how humans used to see other humans

[@meechmushrooms]

The nostalgia of Boomerang and Cartoon Network. They really don't make cartoons like they used to. 🤧

[@yotsubafanfan]

I absolutely LOVED Toonheads as a kid. It, the Ink and Paint Club, Late night black and white and House of Mouse were what launched my love for old cartoons.

[@Maniac4Bricks]

I am proud to say I have 2 tapes of June Bugs marathon from 2002, with the majority, if not all, of the cartoons and commercials during the marathon. I'm still running the tapes again to catalog whats on them (I've already counted for shorts B-H), but I can look into converting the tapes to digital and uploading what I can online, to see if any Twelve Missing Hares are there, or other content during this time in Cartoon Network.

[@RafaelScarpa]

Just some random thoughts on my sleepy mind: Since you're basically the only guy I watch talk about certain stuff like all those anthologies you previously covered and mentioned in the beginning and the lost media forums and by the nature of them being things from a different country and before my time, I noticed I can pretend I'm watching fiction or an ARG. I'm really sleepy so I found that funny.

[@termitesc.aardwolf3644]

You must be pretty young. I vividly remember Toon Heads as a kid back in the 90s.

[@TheOldMPClub]

You'll get a lot of that reaction in this community.

[@nostalgicumbry3279]

Everytime I watch one of your lost medias for Cartoon NEtwork it makes me hate myself more because i remember mindlessly taping cartoon blocks all the time in the 90s, and i wonder how many things i probably had that is now gone x_x

[@himonightbreeze]

I used to watch Toon Heads when I was a kid. I was allowed to stay up late when we'd visit my grandparents, and they had cable. I remember watching the Wartime toons with my grandpa.

[@emobassist]

I remember mw and my dad would watch jbvo back in the day. Its really suprising to me that hardly no footage is left from it as i remember it fondly and even remember watching the dbz episode live

[@theiceking1035]

Your videos always go by so fast (in a good way)

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

I had the great privilege of watching this series during its original run thanks to my parent's subscription to Cablevision in The Bronx, New York. I always felt that since WB essentially planned on releasing THE LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION for DVD release, the existence of TOON HEADS would become redundant entertainment. Thus, its initial cancelation on CN in 2003. And yes, I do recall the BOOMERANG reruns throughout the mid 2000's. Still, the program content eventually became the DVD extras for the GOLDEN COLLECTION DVDS.

[@treflosho]

CN: The people must know about our history. WB: Do they tho???

[@lilye7487]

I loved toon heads omg. Learned so much stuff from that

[@TheUndeadMew]

i loved toon heads so much. im so glad people remember this unique show. i love history and cartoons so a show about both was just what i wanted as a kid

[@Pipkiablo]

Oh my god, I watched Toon Heads as a kid! I barely remember it since it was running from when I was around a year old until I was 12 and then just completely forgot about it and never thought about it again after, but I remember that intro clear as day! I also really liked classic cartoons as a kid, so I would have found such a show appealing. I think it came on really late at night which is why I barely remember it, because once I started school at five years old I wouldn't be up all night to watch it anymore. I also vaguely remember some of those other anthology shows, namely The Moxy Show and JBVO, but not their content, just those intros.

[@420Pikachu]

I 100% remember watching this on Cartoon Network back in thee day. We had a tv box that had the channel numbers on the box. I remember watching a Mel Blanc special specifically. The animation of the box in the hay was always a core memory to me and stuck out in my mind when remembering the episode. This was maybe like 99'-01'?? I've been trying to find some video of the special but maybe it's lost.

[@orangepentagon9730]

The lost episodes were FOUND!

[@PaBa1984]

I grew up in the 80s watching Looney Tunes on ABC Saturday Morning with my dad. It was something we both got to watch in our childhoods and share with each other. Later on, dad was a big fan of Toon Heads, too. I remember downloading episodes on torrents circa 2004 and showing it to others, especially the WWII cartoons. We actually had a tape from K-Mart called I think “Bugs Bunny and Friends” that had the blackface Bugs war bonds ad on it. It wasn’t an official WB release, and actually had a couple of (I believe) UPA toons. I also saw some of those “Worst Toons Ever Made” at a convention in Durham, NC. A couple times actually in the early aughts. It was part of a show put on by a Duke University AV club called “Animation (or Anime) Hell.” Mighty Mr Titan was definitely part of that, each year I saw it. Oh yeah, and that Garbage Pail Kids cartoon is actually good if it’s the one from CBS.

[@AmazinglyAwkward]

So glad I randomly stumbled upon this channel

[@thatsexyganon5648]

Ah, good old Toon Heads. I remember loving this segment as a kid and always getting mad when it finished for the night because Family Guy and all the other adult cartoons would come on after.

[@BillWill1616]

OH MY GOD! I remember some of these cartoons! I have some of the war toons on dvd! And I remember this toon where a narrator talks about how life works and it follows a kid from a baby to old age I think! I’m glad I have some parts of history!

[@grizzlydino]

You should rip your DVD and rip the content on KZbin or vimeo

[@BillWill1616]

@@grizzlydino it’s just a regular looney tunes dvd that they sold in the 2000’s. I’m guessing they added them on accident or it was intentional. Also I will not. Have a nice day!