PVoA: Cartoon Network Rant #1

I'm sorry to say that I don't know how to start this. Cartoon Network has been a very important part of my life. The channel introduced me to all kinds of animation: old and new. Sure, it has (and is currently doing) a few live-action projects, but it has never bothered me. That was because I never believed it would have a major impact on the animated side of the network. Heck, Rob Sorcher, the person that is currently the Chief Content Officer of Cartoon Network said that it will not effect the channel's animation output. And I believed that, since when the Stuart Synder regime came to the network, things were looking up. We saw the premiere of several successful animated series, the greenlight for a What A Cartoon!-esque short program (The Cartoonstitute), and the pickup of a new Genndy Tartakovsky series (Sym-Bionic Titan). They even canceled Out of Jimmy's Head. These people seemed to be genuine animation fans who knew what to do with the network and how to make it succeed.

But of course, things change. Someone at the network went ahead and decided that they should produce reality programming, and everybody went ahead with it. And on June 17th and June 20th, CN Real will premiere. Four reality shows, with two more coming by the end of the year. "Great!," is what I though at the time. I thought this would be a good thing to gain ratings for the channel and to finance the animated series. But then Cartoon Network started focusing all their energy into promoting them. Advertisements for new Batman: The Brave and the Bold and The Secret Saturdays are clumped together into a single ad for the entire block. Same for Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. But, being the optimist I am, I didn't really see this so much as a bad thing. Then, the creator of Chowder (C.H. Greenblatt) started getting worried (and later came to the conclusion) that his show will get cancelled. But I refused to believe this. But then Greenblatt said that Flapjack could also be in danger of cancellation, of which Thurop Van Orman has said nothing about. I refused to believe this either, since Flapjack didn't even premiere its second season yet, so the network had to see how it did in Season 2 before making the final decision. But then Jay Stephens (creator of TSS) came to Toon Zone with some troubling news: Cartoon Network Studios has closed its doors to comedy.

Yes, you read that right. Cartoon Network Studios, whose most popular animated series WERE comedies, have closed their doors to anymore animated comedy pitches and any comedy series in development (not production, so Adventure Time with Finn and Jake is safe). For the foreseeable future, Cartoon Network is now going to focus solely on action/adventure series. Sure, Jay has told us that the entertainment world changes all the time: that the doors for hilarity will likely be opened again in the future. That made my anger subdue, until I learned that Cartoonstitute was affected by this also. Of the planned 150 animated shorts to be made, only 14 were successfully completed. It was at the point when I realized that there was no real bright side to this other than 2 or 3 of these shorts becoming full-length series (if that's still happening). I completely and utterly hated what Cartoon Network has done. What the hell happened!!??

EDIT - Craig McCracken confirmed that only 39 shorts were to be made, which (in retrospect) makes more sense than 150 shorts. There is no way a studio could complete 150 shorts in 20 months without the help of several other studios. The only reason the project was canned was because of the horrible economy, so it was either the shorts program or something else.

Cartoon Network Upfront 2009: Animated

It's been two months since I've made a post on this blog. In that time I've been working on raising my grades in high school before the end of the term, convincing my parents to pay money for animation classes in Fall, and (most importantly) keeping a close eye on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network held it's annual upfront on Wednesday, showcasing all the new stuff coming up in the next year...animation and live-action. Sure, there is a lot of animated goodness that has announced, but there is also as many live-action projects. Today, I will be reviewing and looking over the animated treats of the upfront.

*All images used in this blog post are completely and utterly owned by both Cartoon Network and Toon Zone

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Upcoming Animated Series (Four Originals and Three Acquisitions)

• Adventure Time with Finn and Jake - Finn, the human boy with the awesome hat, and Jake, the wise dog, are close friends and partners in strange adventures in the land of Ooo. Adventure Time started out as a short at Nickelodeon, and later on picked up by Cartoon Network. If you've seen the short on Youtube, you'd know that it has some wacky & random humor, rubbery animation, and pleasing colors. Having seen a complete storyboard for one of the episodes, I'm highly anticipating the premiere of this little gem.


• Stoked - Six teenaged groms (young surfers) come together for 12 weeks over summer to work and surf at the world renowned Surfer’s Paradise Resort on the legendary Sunset Island, home of the most epic surf break in the country. From the creators of Total Drama Island and 6teen, Stoked is basically what I would call "6teen on a beach". The characters and animation seem very similar. However, this show could surprise me. Only time will tell whether or not I'll become a fan.


• Total Drama Island - Showcasing all the elements of favorite reality TV shows—romances and friendships; scheming and sabotage; death-defying stunts and stomach curdling challenges within larger-than-life elimination competition—Total Drama Action succeeds Total Drama Island. Fourteen contestants face thrilling challenges on an abandoned film studio back-lot, all inspired by the movies. After reviewing Total Drama Island, I became a fan of the series. So of course I'm hoping Total Drama Action will be as good, if not better than the first season. Though hindered by Flash animation, the show had good writing and fabulous characters. And it successfully mocks reality television...


• Ben 10: Evolutions - An all-new animated series follows 16-year-old Ben Tennyson as his secret identity has been revealed to the world and he’s now an international mega-star super hero, loved by kids the world over but distrusted by many adults. Armed with a mysterious new Omnitrix, Ben will see action in places he’s never been. Before any confusion sets in, I'd like to say that this series takes place after the upcoming third season of Alien Force. I'd also like to say that I actually enjoy the Ben 10 franchise, and I'll happily accept another series.


• Sym-Bionic Titan - From creator Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack) comes an exciting hybrid of high school drama and giant robot battles. Sym-Bionic Titan follows the adventures of three beings from the planet Galaluna who crash-land on Earth while attempting to escape their war-torn world. This series had me at Genndy Tartakovsky...wonder how he'll juggle this and the Samurai Jack movie though.


• Generator Rex - Infected by microscopic molecular-altering nanites, 15-year-old Rex has the ability to grow incredible machines out of his body. Recruited by an organization called Providence, Rex travels the world investigating a host of biological mutations that were created by the same nanites that give Rex his powers. Created by Man of Action, the same group that gave us Ben 10, Generator Rex seems like an interesting concept. I'll be sure to check it out, if only for that badass-looking monkey with the cigar.


• Scooby-Doo: Mystery Inc. - A sleepy little village, Crystal Cove, boasts a long history of ghost sightings, poltergeists, demon possession, phantoms and other paranormal occurrences. The renowned sleuthing team of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo arrive to prove all of this simply isn’t real—but they don’t realize the locals don’t welcome their help. If you ask me, the plot for this series sounds more like a 26-episode story arc (or a DTV film) than an actually series. Nevertheless, I'm glad that we're getting more Scooby-Doo. Aren't you?

Animated Films

• Firebreather - Cartoon Network’s first original all-CG animation adventure presents Duncan Rosenblatt, a rather typical, awkward high school kid, except that his dad is a fire-breathing dragon and he is destined to protect the earth. Based upon a comic book series, Firebreather seems like an awesome concept. The main character doesn't hide his true self: he shows it to the world at all times. This already puts it near the top of my must-watch list.

Strangly enough, that was the only animated film mentioned at the upfront, despite having several more behind closed doors.

PVoA #3 - The Cartoons That Weren't

Welcome to my PVoA, my Personal Views of Animation. Unlike the past two PVoA's, this one reads more like a Cartoon Review, since I'll be reviewing the two pilots I'm about to talk about. The first pilot is called "The Wizzard of Krudd", and was created by both Greg Miller (creator of the Cartoon Network series "Whatever Happened to Robot Jones") and Mike Stern for Nickelodeon. The second one I'm to show you is called "Zoot Rumpus", and was created by Kaz (of Spongebob Squarepants and Camp Lazlo fame) for Cartoon Network. So I don't have to spend time making a bunch of screenshots, I'll just post the videos.

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Name: The Wizzard of Krudd

Creator(s): Greg Miller and Mike Stern

Running Time: 7 minutes and 32 seconds (the 2 minutes after that are a quick, soundless summary of the pilot)

Network: Nickelodeon

Rating: B+

Status: Stored in a Viacom warehouse, never to see the light of day...except for the occasional "Shorts in a Bunch" airing. 

The Wizzard of Krudd is basically about a young rocker Gordo McMullett who is enslaved by the evil wizard Butterbeard and his two idiotic goblin side-kicks in the strange land of Krudd. However, from the pilot, you can see that Gordo doesn't even realize he's a prisoner. If you have watched Whatever Happened to Robot Jones, then you will realize the 70s-80s feel Greg gives the cartoon. In fact, it wouldn't be hard to believe if both shows did take place in that time.

It feels like it could have made a good, retro styled cartoon if it was truly given the chance. However, it wasn't and it ended up not getting picked up for a series. It has a quirky humor and style to it that I really like. It would have made a good show, and I would have watched it. And the thing is...it truly fits the Nickelodeon name.

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Name: Zoot Rumpus

Creator(s): Kazimieras G. Prapuolenis (aka 'Kaz')

Running Time: 6 minutes and 34 seconds (this is just the first half of the pilot. Once the second part is put up on Youtube, I'll edit this post with it)

Network: Cartoon Network

Rating: B

Status: Still a chance for the short to be greenlighted.

Zoot Rumpus is about a junkyard dog named Zoot and his attempts to prove that he could run the junkyard one day. It's a pretty zany cartoon that really feels like an old-school Nickelodeon show (like Rocko's Modern Life and The Angry Beavers). At first glances, it feels and looks like a Nick show, but after a while you can see that it has the markings of a Cartoon Network cartoon. In terms of humor, it's somewhere between Camp Lazlo and Rocko's Modern Life (both which were created by Joe Murray). The artwork is pretty appealing to my eyes, and the animation is decent.

Zoot is a good cartoon, but could it still get picked up for a series. It may depend. If Cartoon Network airs it as part of Cartoonstitute, then positive viewer response might make CN execs decide to greenlight it. After all, they do need some more shows going on. However, if it was up to themselves, Zoot could get the boot. We just need to wait and see...

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Thousands of cartoon pilots and ideas get submitted year, but only a small handful end up getting greenlighted. The two I just showed you are but two of the many pilots out there. If you were in the position to choose, would you have accepted these shorts or toss them out to the cold? If it were up to me, I would have accepted these for at least one season, to see how they would do. After all, I liked them a lot. But that's all I can really say for now. Both these pilots were good comedies, even though they didn't make me laugh (Zoot Rumpus came close though). Anyway, come by next week for my next PVoA on Toon Disney. Racattack Force, over and out...

What's Coming Up...

All these blog posts will most likely happen in the order listed. Also, Tednut has been put on hiatus for the time being, I'll explain it next month. As you can see below, I plan to do four more blog posts this month, and a whopping nine posts next month.



Later This August...

• A PVoA on animated pilots not picked up for series: First one made for Nickelodeon called "Wizzard of Krudd" created by Greg Miller (maker of the shortlived Cartoon Network series, "Whatever Happened To Robot Jones"). Then one made for Cartoon Network called "Zoot Rumpus" (which still may have a chance to be picked up for a series) created by underground cartoonist Kaz.


• A late Cartoon Review of Phineas and Ferb.


• A PVoA on the ten-year history of Toon Disney, and it's demise due to Disney wanting a network for boys. And get this, it ain't called Jetix.


• A Cartoon Review of The Secret Saturdays...if it premieres this month.

This September...

• A PVoA on Nickelodeon, and most importantly, it's animation.


• A Cartoon Followup Review of "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack".


• A PVoA on Disney XD, and it's possible future effects on current Toon Disney animation.


• A Cartoon Followup Review of "Total Drama Island".


• A PVoA on Williams Street, the company that made Cartoon Network's Toonami and Adult Swim blocks.


• A Cartoon Followup Review of "Chowder".


• Where's Tednut!?: Why the webtoon is on "hiatus"...


• A Cartoon Review on The Secret Saturdays, if not done the previous month.


• The start of my "History of Animation" series, in which I will write (for over a year) about animation history: in the United States and all over the world.

PVoA #2 - Cartoon Network

Welcome to my PVoA, my Personal Views of Animation. This is the second part of my writings on Time Warner's animation library. For this part, I'm going to be focusing on Cartoon Network, and what the channel could do to improve itself. Sure, it's going up in the ratings now, but it still has some work to do. Basically, I'm going to be discussing programming and schedule. Oh, and that WALL-E review...I may never get to completing it. If it isn't up by the end of the week, then don't expect anything. And just so you know, I saw the movie on July 1st.

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Cartoon Network...ah yes, the ESPN of animation. The channel is doing fairly well in the ratings. Each month, the channel continues to get more an more viewers with it's "Har Har Tharsdays" block. Tweens 9-14 (my age group) went up 69% in just weeks. If that happened because of shows like Total Drama Island (which I've grown to love) and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (which is now tied for #1 series on the network), then just imagine what will happen when The Secret Saturdays, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, & Batman: The Brave and The Bold premiere in the next two months. The channel will go from a distant third to a closer third. And just add Cartoonstitute, the original movies (based on comics) they are developing, and anymore future projects to the mix. Cartoon Network could be heading towards it's former glory. But, that doesn't mean there isn't anymore room for improvement. No, far from it. There's some things the channel must do before it becomes truly great...




Programming







First off, Cartoon Network can keep the live action if it wants. As long as it continues to make up less than 5% of the weekly schedule (it currently makes up 1% to 2%). And I'm okay with them making The Vanishers comic a live-action instead of animated TV movie. In fact, the creator wants that, since he said he wanted it to be portrayed as realistically as possible. As long as animation continues to more than dominate the network, it's okay by me.


Second off, Cartoon Network should consider airing more classical programming. They air close to two hours of Tom and Jerry every day, so the least they could do is air some of The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Maybe some Smurfs and Snorks would do. And I don't care when they air the stuff. They could air in in the early mornings or in the middle of the afternoon, just air the stuff.



Third off, in addition of airing classic programming, they should air some of their old Cartoon Cartoons. Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls just have to air on the channel again. In the early mornings or late at night, I don't care, I just want to wake up and see them. Same for the 90s Warner Bros. cartoons. Which brings me to my own example schedule idea...





Schedule

Cartoon Network Schedule (Spring 2009)

This is an example schedule I made for Cartoon Network. It features classical cartoons, the Warner Bros. cartoons of the 90s, the old Cartoon Cartoons, current CN programming, and future CN programming. The red is for the "Dynamite Action Squad" block, if it still exists at that point. The green is for an after school block, the light purple for "Har Har Tharsdays", and dark red/brown for "Fried Dynamite" (it has started to get some real ratings, so it's gotta stay). Oh yeah, the black is for "Toonami", and the blue for the "Flicks" movie premiere block.

With this schedule, HHT is now three hours, and both "Fried Dynamite" & "Toonami" are four hours. Monday mornings feature action cartoons, Tuesday mornings show comedy, Wednesdays have Cartoon Cartoons, Thursdays are the classics, and Fridays are the 90s Warner Bros. cartoons. Saturday and Sunday mornings are just simply random. Like now, movies are on at 10 am every day except Saturday. And there is also a marathon every Sunday afternoon. Saturday afternoons show encores of premiere episodes that aired earlier in the week. In case you don't know, Cartoonstitute is a shorts project Cartoon Network is currently working on. It's similar to the What A Cartoon! Show that aired years before. Ironically, Cartoon Network seemed to have trademarked the phrase. Maybe as a new slogan for the network...who knows?

Of course, in the summer, Cartoon Network is free to do what every other kids network does: air their most popular shows 50 times a day. But for fall, winter, and spring, they have to mix it up a bit a give us some variety. And that's it for today. Next week, I'll talk a bit about some cartoon pilots that never got picked up for series, one or two from Nick, and one or two from Cartoon Network. Whatever pilots I can actually show you...

PVoA #1 - Time Warner's Animation Library (Vol. 1)

Welcome to my first ever PVoA, which is short for "Personal Views on Animation". Each week, I talk something in the animation industry that really catches my attention. This week, I'd like to address something every important about a huge conglomerate. A huge conglomerate with a huge animation library that is incredibly unused. It's animation library is the biggest in the world. It holds many pre-1986 MGM animation, Warner Bros. animation, Hanna-Barbera, and others. And if it just believed in synergy, then maybe at least 90% of it could be put to good use. What is this company? Well, it's none other than...

Time Warner, the world's second largest conglomerate, made up of AOL, Time Inc., Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, and a few other subsidiaries. Of course, it didn't gain its huge animation library until Turner merged with Time Warner back in 1996. Ever since then, Time Warner has had a huge library of animation, which features many classic cartoons that could be shown on Boomerang. Which brings me to my first topic...

BOOMERANG

Boomerang was originally a block that Cartoon Network had back when it didn't even need it. Cartoon Network was originally made for Ted Turner to show off his huge library of animation. So it basically showed a whole mountain of classic cartoons and Boomerang was a block on the channel during that era. The channel didn't need the block because many of the shows on that block aired elsewhere on the channel. Anyway, what you need to know is that Boomerang was spin-off from Cartoon Network into it's own channel on April 1st, 2000. And has been showing pretty much the same few shows for the past 2 or so years. It doesn't show Looney Tunes at all because Warner Bros. won't let them air the post-1948 shorts (Turner owns the pre-48 ones) unless Turner pays them a hefty sum of money. The channel has recently added a few Cartoon Cartoons and recent Warner Bros. shows (such as The Batman), which kinda defeated the purpose of the channel. Also, the schedule never changes. It's always the same shows at the same time, every single month, with the exception of some shows being taken off and others being put on for short periods of time. So it's pretty much like the channel is running on auto-pilot.

Now, a week or so ago, I made a three-point plan on how Time Warner could actually improve the channel, use a great deal of their animation library, and also make a great deal of money from it. I will explain it in detail below:

1. Warner Bros. should buy around 35-45% of the Boomerang channel, making it co-own the channel with Turner Broadcasting. Now, Boomerang now has the full ability to air the entire Time Warner library and air the Looney Toons shorts, among other Warner Bros. properties.
2. Turner Broadcasting decides to take full advantage of it's huge animation library, and divides up the week into different decades of animation to make it easier to program the schedule. Sundays could be the 30s and 40s, Mondays the 50s, Tuesdays the 60s, Wednesdays the 70s, Thursdays the 80s, Fridays could possibly be the 90s, and Saturday a mix of animation from all those eras.
3. Warner Bros. and/or Turner Broadcasting decides to make some more "in-between" shorts and (maybe) one or two original programs. They also decide to relaunch the network and give it a huge makeover, with a new logo and bumpers. They also put on commercials, eventually allowing them to move the channel to basic cable, allowing a wider audience to see it. Ratings will get higher, and Time Warner will be able to make more money off the channel.

Okay, with the first part of the plan, I think it would be a good idea for Warner Bros. to own some percentage of the channel, with Turner Broadcasting still owning a good amount of it. After all, they created the channel, so they still should have major control. This way, Boomerang would be able to broadcast several Warner Bros. cartoons in addition to the post-48 Looney Tunes shorts. With Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. working together with the channel, the once-divided animation library will combine, and Time Warner would be able to make full use of it.

With the second part of the plan, they decide to divide up the schedule, deciding to air different decades of animation on different days. This should make it easier to program, since they won't have to struggle with trying to figure out which shows should stay and which should go, and won't have to leave out a bunch of programs. They can air all or most of their 60s animation on Tuesday, a good chuck of their 90s animation on Fridays, etc. I'll later post up an example schedule to show you how this can work exactly. But for now, I think you understand this part.

With the third, but possibly not final part, Boomerang gets a major redesign. Like the Cartoon Network relaunch of 2004, Boomerang will be relaunched with a new logo, brand new bumpers (it has been using those toy bumps since day one), new shorts to air in between programs, and maybe some original programming to air on Saturdays. However, this original programming will make up little of the channel if done. However, it would be preferred if they don't choose to add original programming, so they can still use "Classic Cartoons. 24/7." as a tagline or motto. But I just put it up there as a possibility. Anyway, then they must air commercials. Eventually, they could make enough money from these commercials and go from being a digital tier channel to a basic cable channel. More people will be able to see it and they will slowly (but surely) get fantastic ratings.

If they put this into action, Time Warner will finally use a good chuck of it's animation programming, and nothing would get wasted. Everyone will get to see a bunch of the old cartoons they once loved, Time Warner makes money, and everyone wins. And hey, who knows? Maybe Time Warner could try and get the rights to air shows from Cookie Jar Entertainment, Filmation, and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises if (and when) the channel gets successful enough...

NEXT WEEK: Time Warner's Animation Library (Vol. 2)*

*Also known as "Save Some For Cartoon Network Bub!"

I Ain't Dead, I'm I Mummy?

Okay, so I've realized that I haven't been posting anything on this blog in a while. Well, at least anything of real importance. The only thing I've posted in a while was a somewhat badly animated music video that had a song that I liked. And someone posted a bunch of curse words in the comments for that video here...Anyway, I've been really busy with finishing up my school work. I still have one test left, then there's graduation, then the last day of school. Now let me show you what I would have done if I had the time:

Animation News: I would have just been copying and pasting news from Toon Zone over to here. Plain and simple. However, I'll be also adding comments on the news from Toon Zone I post, and be adding some news of my own. And that starts on Friday.

Reviews: I actually planned on doing a review of a new show that premiered on Toon Disney/Jetix a while ago, but I never actually got around to watching an episode. I plan on doing that review this weekend, along with a review of a new Nicktoons Network series that premieres on Friday. As for the Kung Fu Panda review...that may not be happening any time soon. I'm just going to try and do Wall*E. Face it, do you really think I would pick Dreamworks over Pixar? Get real.

Others: I don't feel like telling you guys, but I was going to talk about Flash animation, Time Warner's animation library (biggest in the world), and John K. Okay, that's it. TTFN (that "Ta-Ta For Now").

~ Racattack Force

Time to Get Down to Business!

I rarely post on this blog, so I've been thinking of ways for me to try and made way more posts, then I figured it out! I have a few ideas on how exactly I can break at least 80 posts by the end of the year. So this is what you'll expect for the rest of the year (mind you, I won't really be doing this every week, just when possible).

Saturdays/Sundays/Mondays: Cartoon Reviews (movies, television shows, etc.) -- As you know, I usually wait until a series has aired at least two or three episodes, then I review it. But I'm going to start changing that...at least with Cartoon Network. On Saturday,  you'll be getting a review of "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" which has had many sneak peeks and a bunch of wedgies shown in the weeks before it even premiered! On Sunday, I'll be reviewing "Total Drama Island", which makes it's US premiere on Thursday on Cartoon Network. On Monday, I'll try to do that "Speed Racer: The Next Generation" that I promised for Lionsgate that I kept putting off.

Tuesday: Personal Views on Animation (PVoA) -- On Tuesday, I'll be making some posts, big and small, on what I think about certain things in Animation. This starts next week with me talking about Flash Animation.

Wednesday/Thursday: Random Drawing Craze -- Each week on Wednesday, I'll be posting a drawing that I see fit on this blog. Some will be recent, some from when I was much younger, etc. This starts tomorrow.

Friday: Animation Week -- I'll basically be posting news that I got from Toon Zone and other animation sites from over the week. This also starts this week.

Creative Restrictions in Animation: The Good

I haven't been posting here for over a month, and it's about due time I get to posting something interesting. So here I am to tell you how a network's guidelines can do to a cartoon. You see, the way these restrictions can effect a cartoon depends on both who is the executive producer (or creator) and the crew behind the show...I've found some good things can happen due to network interference. 

For a prime example, let's look at John Kricfalusi. For those who have no idea who he is, he is the creator of a popular 90's cartoon called "Ren and Stimpy". Now, if it wasn't for Nick's rules on cartoons, I pretty much doubt that "Ren and Stimpy" would have been as good. Sure, the animation would be amazing, but the writing would undoubtedly be pretty weak. It's because of Nickelodeon's restrictions that John K. and the Spumco crew were putting so much work into such creative stories. With those restrictions, "Ren and Stimpy" would have been like "Adult Party Cartoon" or "The Goddamn George Liquor Program" (both by John K.). On both of those shows, John had more control, and was able to do the weird and gross stuff he loved. Unfortunately, they both were 'ugly'. In case you don't know what I mean, look at the first George Liquor cartoon: http://www.coldhardflash.com/video/g...r-Episode1.swf. If Nick gave John more control on the original "Ren and Stimpy", we would have gotten something like that...

Another example is Jhonen Vasquez's Invader Zim. Invader Zim was a decent cartoon that was to appeal to an older age group. However, if Jhonen had more control, than it would have become more like his comics. Surreal and dark beyond belief. With Nick's restrictions, Jhonen had to focus more on humor, to make up for what he couldn't do.