THE SIMPSONS skipped into the top twenty with a 9.8 rating/15 share. Tying with Sunday's DATELINE in 58th, KING OF THE HILL scored a 6.2 rating/10 share. At #75, FUTURAMA forged a 4.9 rating/8 share. THE PJS tied a rerun of THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW for 101st place, garnering a 1.9 rating/3 share. After being preempted last week, UPN aired GARY & MIKE and CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH twice this past Friday. The special 9 pm GARY ranked 109th with a 1.3 rating/2 share. The 8:30 pm airing of DEATHMATCH sunk in a 1.2 rating/2 share in 112th place.

Making a jump from #39 to #22, THE SIMPSONS scored a 9.7 rating/15 share. On Sunday at 7 pm on ABC, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY aired the animated classic LADY AND THE TRAMP as a promotional boost for the Tuesday, February 27 release of the direct-to-video sequel. The film garnered a sturdy 8.5 rating/13 share. In a four-way tie for 57th, KING OF THE HILL pegged a 6.3 rating/10 share. FUTURAMA landed in 79th, with a 4.8 rating/8 share. This week, UPN's Friday night animation block of GARY & MIKE and CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH was preempted for a repeat airing of SHOCKING POLICE VIDEOS.

At a press conference in New York on Wednesday, Cartoon Network executives unveiled the new TV and online schedule for 2001-2002. The network announced four new series for 2001. Launching in June 2001, TIME SQUAD, created by Dave Wasson (MAX AND HIS SPECIAL PROBLEM), centers on a group of time travelers who must travel into the past to change events, which are disrupting the future. Launching in August 2001, SAMURAI JACK, created by Genndy Tartakovsky (DEXTER'S LABORATORY), tells the story of a great warrior displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku.

Comfortably remaining the top toon, THE SIMPSONS ranked #34, with an 8.8 rating/14 share. In a three-way tie for 63rd place, KING OF THE HILL pegged a 5.8 rating/10 share. Also in a three-way tie, FUTURAMA descended into the 78th slot with a 4.9 rating/9 share. Sinking into the WB basement, THE PJS piled up a 1.5 rating/3 share. However it was UPN's animated Friday line-up that proved the worst in toondom. GARY & MIKE placed 114th with a 1.4 rating/3 share and CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH placed 116th with a 1.3 rating/2 share. These ratings and shares represent primetime TV in the U.S.

After last week's impressive 9.8 rating, THE SIMPSONS slipped this past week, finishing in 41st place with an 8.2 rating/12 share. Its Fox Sunday night animation cohorts, KING OF THE HILL and FUTURAMA, took #73 and #79 respectively. KING garnered a 5.5 rating/9 share and FUTURAMA grabbed a 4.6 rating/8 share. The rest of the primetime animated fare, CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH, GARY & MIKE and THE PJS finished in the cellar all tied for 111th place, with a 1.5 rating/3 share.

The all-new TOM & JERRY short, "The Mansion Cat," which aired on Cartoon Network UK during New Year's, will hit Cartoon Network's Boomerang Network on Sunday, April 8, 2001. Produced and directed by Oscar winning TOM & JERRY creator Joe Barbera, the new toon will be part of Boomerang's TOM & JERRY marathon running from Sunday, April 1, 8 am through Monday, April 9, 8 am. "The Mansion Cat" will air on the hour every hour starting Sunday, April 8 at 8 am.

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TV-Loonland AG and AAC KIDS, Canadian media giant Alliance Atlantis’ kids label, have announced their acquisition of Neptuno Films’ new animated preschool series, CONNIE THE COW. The three firms will partner to transform the property into a global franchise, complete with TV, home video, DVD, merchandising, publishing and Internet projects. Created and directed by Josep Viciana, this series follows restless and curious Connie who lives on a farm with her nurturing mother, who always has now handy advice, and her father, a very strong yet tranquil bull.

A week after the Super Bowl cut its numbers greatly, THE SIMPSONS rebounded with an outstanding 27th place finish, garnering a 9.8 rating/15 share. KING OF THE HILL climbed into 59th place with a 6.4 rating/10 share. At #79, FUTURAMA beamed down a 4.9 rating/8 share. Lifting itself out of WB's ratings basement a little, THE PJS finished in the 106th slot with a 2 rating/3 share. However, UPN's GARY & MIKE sunk further into the cellar with a 1.6 rating/3 share. Its Friday night toon partner, CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH placed 121st, with the worst rating of the week for UPN, a 1.3 rating/2 share.

Audience numbers for top toon THE SIMPSONS were hurt this past week due to the Super Bowl, NFL football's championship game, airing in the same time slot. Bart and the family scored a 4.1 rating/6 share in 81st place. At #91, FUTURAMA and KING OF THE HILL scrapped up a meager 2.5 rating/4 share. UPN's animation Friday block of CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH and GARY & MIKE drummed up a 1.6 rating/3 share tied in 106th place. In a three-way tie for #118, WB's THE PJS scored the lowest numbers of the week for the network – a 1.1 rating/2 share.

Cartoon Network is reuniting the Justice League of America once again! The cable cartoon haven has announced that it has ordered 26-episodes of JUSTICE LEAGUE from Warner Bros. Animation. Emmy Award-winner Bruce Timm (SUPERMAN & BATMAN) will be directing the new series, which will re-team such DC Comics heroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter.

In 44th place, a rerun made THE SIMPSONS' numbers slip, however it remained the top toon for the week with a 7.8 rating/11 share. KING OF THE HILL came in at #74, with a 5.7 rating/9 share. FUTURAMA rocketed in at 79th place, garnering a 4.8 rating/8 share. After high ratings in its debut on UPN, GARY & MIKE sunk to 108th place with a 1.6 rating/3 share. In a three-way tie for 111th, THE PJS scored a 1.5 rating/2 share for the WB. At #114, CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH drummed up the second lowest rating on UPN for the week – a dismal 1.4 and 2 share.

AtomFilms has signed deals with TiVo, In Demand and Cisneros Television Group (CTG) to provide content for the offline networks. TiVo will feature AtomFilms' shorts on the company's digital video recorder channel. Programming will air on TIVO TAKES, TiVo Direct and the "Now Showing" section of TiVo Central. The deal also calls for the two firms to co-produce content under both brand names. In addition, starting in March, AtomFilms will be the exclusive provider of short content for In Demand's 28 million household pay-per-view subscribers.

The long forgotten work by CURIOUS GEORGE-creators Margret Rey and Hans Augusto Rey -- WHITEBLACK THE PENGUIN – is becoming a TV series. Publisher Houghton Mifflin has enlisted Vancouver-based animation house Mainframe Entertainment to create the show. The book centers on Whiteback, who journeys out into the world to discover new stories for his North Pole radio show. The story was originally created in 1937 when the Reys lived in Paris, but was only published for the first time this past year.

The Disney Channel has announced that it will produce its first animated sitcom entitled THE PROUD FAMILY. The series will chronicle the experiences of a 14-year-old African-American girl named Penny and her family. Co-executive producer Bruce Smith (SPACE JAM) created the series. Ralph Farquhar, co-creator of the UPN live-action comedy MOESHA, will serve as the other executive producer. The voice cast will include Kyla Pratt (LOVE & BASKETBALL) as Penny, Paula Jai Parker (THE WAYANS BROS.) as Trudy Proud and Tommy Davidson (IN LIVING COLOR) as Oscar Proud.

Toon Disney, the all-Disney cartoon channel, has announced their first original series, THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. The series will bow on the cable network in fall 2001. In the show, Tarzan (Michael T. Weiss, THE PRETENDER) will be reunited with his animal family and must defend the jungle from the encroachment of man. Other characters in the series will be Jane (Olivia d' Abo, THE WONDER YEARS), Professor Porter (Jeff Glen Bennett, THE WEEKENDERS), the well-meaning ape Terk (April Winchell, RECESS, PEPPER ANN) and Tantor the elephant (Jim Cummings, THE TIGGER MOVIE).

Nickelodeon is set to premiere two new cartoon series, INVADER ZIM and THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, in March. Debuting on Friday, March 30 at 8:30 pm, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS follows the adventures of 10-year-old Timmy Turner (Tara Strong) and his newly arrived fairy godparents -- Cosmo (Daran Norris) and Wanda (Susan Blakeslee), who grant him wishes in an attempt to fix his problems. The series is created by OH YEAH! CARTOONS! veteran Butch Hartman.

DIC Entertainment has signed on to create 26 half-hour episodes of EVOLUTION, based on Ivan Reitman's forthcoming summer live-action feature. This project re-teams DIC's president and CEO Andy Heyward with Reitman, who collaborated on REAL GHOSTBUSTERS and MUMMIES ALIVE. Producing the series along with DIC will be Reitman's The Montecito Picture Co. (TMPC) in conjunction with DreamWorks and Columbia Pictures. Heyward, Reitman and TMPC's co-founder Tom Pollack will executive produce the traditionally animated show.

THE SIMPSONS yet again claimed the primetime TV toon crown scoring an 8.6 rating/13 share in 38th place. KING OF THE HILL notched in a four-way tie for #68, garnering a 5.8 rating/9 share. Not preempted by NFL football, FUTURAMA took the 84th slot with a 4.3 rating/7 share. The premiere of GARY & MIKE placed high for its fledgling network, UPN. With extreme help as a follow-up to WWF SMACKDOWN on Thursday, the new stop-motion cartoon kicked off with a 3.6 rating/5 share in 86th place.

Nickelodeon Latin America and TV Globo have signed a deal that will send Nicktoons to Brazilian airwaves. The two-year deal gives Globo the rights to air Nicktoons on Saturday mornings. Nick has similar deals with Mexico's Televisa and Venezuela's Radio Caracas Television. The cartoons that will air from 7 – 8 am will be dubbed versions of CATDOG, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and THE WILD THORNBERRYS.