“I started in animation in New York City and I knew all the artists here. I told the network I could get the best people in New York to work on the show, because I’d worked with them already on Sheep — I wouldn’t have to wonder if they’d be right for me. To pick me up and throw me down into a soupful of people I don’t really know and production processes I haven’t worked in before wouldn’t be the best creative situation to keep me going. I’d spend more time chasing my show down the street, trying to get storyboard artists into shape and designers doing what I want to do. Maybe if the show wasn’t doing well, they’d say ‘we’re bringing you to California.’

“We’re really our own little island here. There are so many great shows coming out of the Cartoon Network studio; sometimes I wish I were in a place with a lot of different shows going on so I could meet more artists and see what other people are doing. It would be fantastic being able to sit and talk with Craig McKracken or Genndy Tartakovsky, but at the same time it’s also bureaucratic — you have to play by the rules of a big studio where a lot of stuff is going on. There’s a lot of politics and when you’ve got multiple projects going on there’s a lot of jockeying for position: you need an edit room or you need this or that, and certain shows take precedence over others.”

Tom Warburton is happy with Cartoon Network’s support for his Codename: Kids Next Door. © Cartoon Network.

Like Hartman at Nickelodeon, Warburton is also upbeat when discussing his employer. “I wouldn’t say ‘free reign,’ but I’m allowed to make the show my own way. If I get notes from the network it’s only to make the show better. I’ve never felt pressured by Cartoon Network — I feel like an independent. I get to do creative things and not just tell stories. Once a year we do an ‘art show’ in a totally different style from normal. One time we did an episode all in mime; another year it was in five different styles with different parts of it in CGI, comic book, crayon or whatever. Cartoon Network is always up for letting us try new things.

“My philosophy is that someone is always paying for your film — no one is truly independent. I don’t have $5 million to produce a season’s worth of shows, or any way to promote it on my own — I need the studio. Do I want a company of my own? If I worked that way, I’d also have to pay for my failures.

“Ultimately, you’re working for your audience; if you’re only making it for yourself, why bother?”

Danny Antonucci has successfully worked from Canada with Cartoon Network on Ed, Edd n Eddy. © Cartoon Network.

In terms of physical distance from Cartoon Network, Danny Antonucci goes Warburton one better: he produces Ed, Edd n Eddy in another country altogether. “I don’t sit in the land of politics — I’m out here in this small little Mayberry town.” Antonucci is speaking from Vancouver Canada where he and his CARTOON Inc. studio are based. “I guess it’s due to the weather — there’s nothing to do but sit inside and draw cartoons all day.”

Antonucci goes on to enthusiastically second Warburton’s feelings regarding their network patron. “I’m working on something that’s fulfilling and something I came up with; I’m actually making cartoons the way I want to. I’m being allowed that by this behemoth as you put it, although I never looked at Cartoon Network as a behemoth. They’ve been pretty supportive in my vision of the show and in getting it on-air. They’re one of the few networks that really respects the cartoonist and let him try new things.”

When asked if there have been any occasions when he and Cartoon Network have gone head-to-head, Antonucci scratches his. “There might be times when they might not see something I’m doing. I’ll say ‘believe me, trust me, I’ll let you see that it’s working.’ They let me go ahead and give it a shot, which is really brave on their part. There’s never been a conflict. I’ve been doing this for 25 years — they know I’m not going to jerk them around.”