Warner Bros. Online and Warner Bros. Animation are soliciting animation fans to watch and vote for their favorite original cartoons online in Cartoon Monsoon, a new area of the Warner Bros.' Website. Up-and-coming creators that have made it past a selection jury are now competing for most popular cartoon. New works are presented every two weeks until the final run-off in May 2003. Visitors to the site may complete a scorecard and discuss the shorts. While one cartoon will win with the most votes, they all have the potential to be winners said David Gilcrest, director of communications for WB Online. The point of the contest is "to use the Internet as a research tool," according to Gilcrest, to net new projects to develop further for Website content and ultimately as creative programming for WB Animation to air on network and/or cable. Over the past year, Warner Bros. has been soliciting entries via the Net and hung flyers up at schools to encourage up-and-coming creators to submit three-to-five-minute shorts. WB Online chose five and WB Animation chose five to then put before viewers and get their reaction. The feedback will gauge how much further these go, but the WB people may develop all of them if the response warrants it. WB Online may do another competition, depending upon how this one goes. This first star search consists of 10 cartoons, including a special feature from WBA writer/producer Paul Dini called ZATANNA, which is not in competition with the other entries. The first round is underway with OH, SHOOT! (Jeff Nodelman), SLIM CHANCE: INTERGALACTIC ZOOLIST (David Fain, Steve Belfer, Jennifer Branch, Evin Dooley, James Jacob and Carlos Palzio), GO! GO! MOBA BOY (Matt Danner and Eric Pringle) and UNDERCOVER DOG (Adam Lane). Check out the Webisodes and rate them at www.cartoonmonsoon.com.
