Tot TV Watch

Two new Cartoon Network Shows are premiering tomorrow June 5, 2008. The first is The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, which premieres at 8:30pm Eastern Time. The second is Total Drama Island, which premieres at 9pm Eastern Time.

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an all new animated show for Cartoon Network. The show is about a boy named Flapjack that was raised by a talking whale. His life begins peacefully, but he begins going on misadventures after they rescue a pirate named Captain K’nuckles. These misadventures are their failed attempts to find Candied Island to earn the title of Adventurer. It sounds like an unique concept and may turn out to be an interesting show, however, I have yet to be impressed by Cartoon Network’s animated shows, which tend to turn out to be stupidity filled shows. We will see how this one turns out.

Total Drama Island is not an all new show, as it first aired last year on a Canadian television station. It is, however, an all new show for Cartoon Network and the United States. It is basically an animated Survivor inspired show. It does not sound as stupid as most Cartoon Network shows, however, not being a reality television show fan I doubt I will think this is a good show due to that bias. Anyways, I do know a lot of kids that like the real Survivor and Discovery Kid’s Endurance and they may very well find this a good show and I certainly am not expecting it to be quite as stupidity filled as other Cartoon Network animated shows.

The Land Before Time: Adventuring in the Mysterious Beyond is one of three DVDs already out (another one is coming out in May 2008) with episodes of the Land Before Time television cartoon series. This cartoon series features kid dinosaurs of different species that are all friends. The show is based on the series of Land Before Time movies, which still has sequels being released almost every year with number 14 coming out later this year. This DVD contains four episodes of the show and has a run time of about an hour and a half.

The first episode is called “The Great Egg Adventure.” In this episode the group of friends team up with one of their enemies to get the sharp tooth eggs out of the Great Valley and keep their home a safe place. he second episode is called “Escape From the Mysterious Beyond.” In this episode two of the dinosaur friends including the friendly sharp tooth, Chomper, get stuck on a ledge with a mean sharp tooth who wants to eat them. The third episode is called “The Lonely Journey.” In this episode Chomper feels left out as his vegetarian friends prepare for the Thanksgiving like holiday and the adult plant eaters make general remarks against sharp tooths. The fourth episode is called “The Hermit of Black Rock.” In this episode the flying friend of the group, Petri, and a glider get lost and befriend a blind flying dinosaur and work together to get back to the Great Valley.

This show is a great entertaining show about dinosaurs that work together and display how the bonds of friendship should be. The shows are still played often on Cartoon Network, so it really is not a must get for the shows, however, I do recommend this DVD because it has some good special features. The main special feature is a pattern game that challenges kids to pick the next egg that goes in the pattern. It really does a great job of being challenging on the harder version and I bet even some adults will need to take some time to figure a few of the patterns out. Also, if you put the DVD in a DVD-ROM you can get access to coloring pages and connect-the-dot pages to print out.

The new show Chop Socky Chooks premieres tonight at 9pm Eastern and Pacific Time on Cartoon Network. This show is features three chickens as the main characters. These three chickens are named Chick P., KO Joe, and Chuckie Chan. They use their martial arts skills and super spy technology to protect the citizens of Wasabi World, which is the fictional city/mall this animated show is set in. Their enemy is Dr. Wasabi the evil person running Wasabi World.

Looking through the Cartoon Network site for this show I found a listing of the episodes. It gives episode descriptions for episodes 1 through 26. Interestingly enough it premieres tonight with episode 5 and then next week it is showing episode 4, so kind of illogical order. Anyways tonight’s episode is called Game Over Chooks and is about Dr. Wasabi kidnapping Chuckie Chan’s students. He tries to use their skills in a video game that causes Chooks in the real world to be destroyed.

Main Character Bios:

Chuckie Chan: One of the three main Kung Fu heroes of the show. He is the Kung Fu master and follows its true path in pursuit of enlightenment. His Kung Fu mastery includes mystic abilities.

KO Joe: Another one of the three main heroes of the show. This is the character with an afro. He has a generous spirit and selfless in his sense of justice.

Chick P: This is the girl hero in the show’s trio of heroes. She works undercover at the mall and is the team’s engineer turning any object into a fighting tool.

Dr. Wasabi: He is the villian of the show carrying out his evil plans from his fishbowl headquarters at the Wasabi World Mall.

Bubba: He is a giant gorilla that helps Dr. Wasabi. He is portrayed as a dumb sidekick.

Ninja Chimps: These are Dr. Wasabi’s main minions that try to keep his plans from being thwarted.

If you haven’t yet introduced your kids to the Flintstones, this week just may be the right time. Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s classic animation sister network, is airing a massive Flintstones marathon beginning July 4th. The marathon will kick off at 6:00 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday, July 4th, and will finish up Saturday, July 7th at 5:00 p.m. During that time span, Boomerang will air all 166 episodes of The Flintstones in sequence, with no commercial interruption. So go on, meet the Flintstones and have a “Yabba dabba doo time!”

Flintstones, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, marathon, YouTube

Get ready Fantastic Four fans, because Cartoon Network is bringing you a new action-packed series featuring the foursome beginning June 9, 2007. Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes, will air as a weekly series during Cartoon Network’s Toonami block.

The new series will combine 2D and 3D animation and will be based on classic storylines. It will follow Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing, as they battle their rival Dr. Doom and various other villains.

Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes, Cartoon Network, Toonami, Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, The Thing, Dr. Doom

Sunday night is the Super Bowl and most of the TVs in America will be tuned in to the big game. So, what do you do when your toddler starts screaming for some cartoons? Jennifer at Parenting Toddlers has some great ideas on how to include the kids in the game time festivities. Or, if your child couldn’t care less about those guys throwing a ball around on TV, I have a couple of other Super Bowl alternatives you might want to try. Of course they do require access to a second TV and possibly a DVD player or VCR.

The animated movie Open Season was released on DVD Tuesday and might be a fun treat for your kids while you enjoy the game. Boog and Elliot’s adventures are sure to keep little ones entertained. Plus, if any of the adults get tired of watching the big game they might enjoy a bit of the movie too.

Cartoon Network is running a Scooby Doo marathon through the afternoon and evening on Super Bowl Sunday (check local listings for times). Among the episodes airing will be “Aloha, Scooby Doo”, “Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase”, “Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Vampire”, “Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders”, “Scooby Doo in Where’s My Mummy?”, and “Scooby Doo: Pirates Ahoy”. If your kids love Scooby and his pals this might just help keep them calm while the adults go crazy in the other room.

If neither of those alternatives fit your child’s taste, you can always run up to your local video store and rent some Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, or a myriad of other cartoons on DVD or VHS for your child to enjoy while you enjoy the game. Just be sure to make it a special time for them too. If they have something special to watch, you’ll have a better chance of actually watching the game.

Super Bowl, Super Bowl Alternatives, Scooby Doo, Open Season