Robots, monster hunters, alien shape-shifters and dragon slayers abound in Cartoon Network’s new Saturday Morning lineup, starting on Jan. 14. Sophomore hit The Life and Times of Juniper Lee is back, along with the new original series Ben 10 and fresh acquisitions Robotboy, Zixx and Dragon Hunters.
The lineup will kick off at 9 a.m. with Alphanim’s Robotboy, produced by Cartoon Network Europe and France 3, with animation duties divided among LuxAnimation in Luxemburg, Emation in Korea and Monigotes in Spain. Tapping into the classic Pinocchio mythology, the show centers on a powerful battle robot who dreams of becoming a real boy. To keep his destructive powers from falling into the hands of evil genius Dr Kamikazi, Robotboy’s creator sends him far away to live with his number one fan, Tommy Turnbull. Now it’s up to Tommy and pals Gus and Lola to protect the world’s most powerful fighting machine from the clutches of Dr Kamikazi and his mutant clone armies.
Back for season two, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee follows at 9:30 a.m. with the continuing adventures of a regular pre-teen with the unusual responsibilities of keeping the delicate balance between the real world and the realm of magic. The series is created by former Real World cast member Judd Winick and produced by Cartoon Network’s Burbank studio. The bulk of the animation service work is handled by Rough Draft in Korea.
The 10 a.m. slot will be filled by Ben 10, a new half-hour sci-fi action/adventure series that follows the adventures of a 10-year-old boy who can transform into any one of 10 alien beings with fantastic superpowers thanks to his out-of-this-world wristwatch. Created by Man of Action (the collective name for Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steve Seagle), the 26-episode show is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
There’s more alien action loaded up for 10:30 as the network premieres Zixx from Thunderbird Films Inc. and CG animation studio Mainframe. Aimed at kids 8-12, the sci-fi show chronicles the adventures of an unlikely team of heroes who join forces in a quest to save the universe from evil. Led by fearless alien operative Zixx Phunkee Zee, a contingent of human boys and girls contribute their strategy game smarts to the battle in ‘The Keep”a third dimension labyrinth which operates like a video game. The show was developed by Alex Raff’ of Savi Media and Debbie Nightingale of The Nightingale Co., in association with YTV.
Roundng out the Saturday morning lineup at 11 a.m. is Dragon Hunters. Produced by French animation house Futurikon and managed by BRB Internacional, the series follows the misadventures of Lian Chi and Gwizdo, two warriors who have to take on more than 50 dragons in a fantasy medieval world set in the future. Having pulled strong numbers with its debut on French TV, the show has attracted major licensees in the video games, comics, trading cards and collectibles sectors.
Leave a Reply