Of more interest though is what HBO is doing; a premium cable network noted for its top flight original movies, HBO also expanding into more adult animated fare. Thus, Ralph Bakshi, whose New Adventures of Mighty Mouse spurred the current rage of creator-driven shows (as well as bringing the talent of John Kricfalusi to the fore), will be returning to series television with Spicy City, promises to be in the same raunchy mode as many of his theatrical films.

Hanna-Barbera's Cow and Chicken.

HBO will also air a version of Todd McFarlane's comic book,.Spawn,&nbsp from its new in-house studio, along with more episodes of Hyperion's stylish Fairy Tales for Every Child, which offers multicultural renderings of familiar stories.

The Cartoon Network, despite its international success, still remains unseen on many US cable systems. But this has not stopped it from introducing more and more new shows each season. (They are also broadcast on sister cable channels TNT and TBS, which are more widely seen in the US.).At least one a year is being based on its widely publicized World Premiere Toons, which are essentially series pilots dressed up as old-fashioned cartoons. Nevertheless, it has provided a vehicle for reaching out to both young filmmakers and such veterans as Ralph Bakshi (whose work was considered too risqué to be shown) and Bruno Bozetto. To date, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's LaboratoryJohnny Bravo have gone this route.

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Comedy Central's prime time animated hit show.

Among terrestrial broadcasters, Fox is betting on Mike Judge's King of the Hill,&nbspwhich is being shown right after The Simpsons. Produced concurrently with Beavis and Butt-head Do America, Judge's new show, despite its rather tentative nature of its early episodes, is remarkable for its sympathetic portrayal of a middle American family, which seems a hell of a lot truer to life than most of today's TV sitcoms. Steven Spielberg, whose company, Amblin, enjoyed a productive relationship with Warner Bros. in producing such shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and the delightful Pinky and the Brain (especially in its prime time version). He is now supervising things at DreamWorks TV Animation and is is looking toward the new WB Network to debut his prime time adventure serial, Invasion: America.

In addition, there are such cable standbys as Klasky Csupo's Duckman&nbsp(USA Network) and Dr. Katz Professional Therapist (Comedy Central).

Ralph Bakshi's new HBO series, Spicy City.

Home Video
The home video market has long been one of the animation industry's most lucrative outlets. Until recently, most attention in this arena has been focused on the video versions of such blockbusters as Toy Story and such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. More recently, the direct-to-video market has exploded, what with Disney's two Aladdin sequels setting new sales records for original video productions. Universal Cartoon Studios is enjoying similar success, if on a lesser scale, with its follow ups to The Land Before Time. Both studios have stepped up production in this area, with Disney opening a new Canadian studio, with branches in Toronto and Vancouver, devoted strictly to making home video movies.

However, until the direct-to-video market starts to be more adventuresome, most of the interest will be in this month's long-delayed release of Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler (even if it is in its bastardized version) and in the latest in anime.

Harvey Deneroff is Editor of Animation World Magazine; he also edits and publishes The Animation Report, an industry newsletter.