A.K.A. Cartoon

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum



Background

A.K.A. Cartoon Inc. is the production company of Canadian animator Danny Antonucci, who formerly worked at International Rocketship. It was founded on April 1, 1994 and was located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company's first project, MTV's The Brothers Grunt, was a critical and ratings failure, but the company later gained success with the creation of Ed, Edd n Eddy. The show was Cartoon Network's longest-running original program under its Cartoon Cartoons brand. The company became dormant since the release of Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show in November 2009, which served as the show's finale. In early 2015, the company came out of dormancy, and in 2017, released a short pilot titled Snotrocket, which has not been picked up by networks. In 2020, A.K.A. announced that they were working on a TV series based on Antonucci's character Lupo the Butcher, set to be released on Netflix, but was later cancelled due to creative differences between the two companies.

1st Logo (August 15, 1994-April 9, 1995)

Visuals: On a background that looks like wrinkled skin (or a vague face tile from the top-right to the bottom-left, or fingers over skin), there is a B&W drawing of a naked guy with slightly visible genitalia and anus enclosed in a violet circle, that is impaled by a pencil which went through his head with 3 drops of blood flying out; his whole body is wrapped around it with his tongue, so he's in excruciating pain (his eyes have crosses and his face looks painful). On the bottom is the caption "An a.k.a.CARTOON inc. Production For MTV Networks" in white with a drop shadow. A copyright for MTV Networks appears below.

Trivia: The logo is designed by the studio's owner, Danny Antonucci. The "guy" in the logo is presumably a drawing of Danny himself.

Variants:

  • On Danny Antonucci's director's reel, the text reads "a.k.a.CARTOON inc." with text saying "danny antonucci director's reel" below.
  • At the end of said reel, the studio's contact information is seen below the logo.
  • There is a variant that only has "a.k.a.CARTOON inc." below the guy.

Technique: Digitized graphics, with the drawing done on pencil transferred digitally.

Audio:

  • The Brothers Grunt has the end theme of the show.
  • The director's reel opening variant and the variant with only "a.k.a. CARTOON inc." have a trumpet "scream" composed by Patric Caird (composer of the background music for Ed, Edd n Eddy and The Brothers Grunt) against a jazzy drum riff followed by a descending strum, a crash-like sound and a honk, ending with a saxophone riff and what sounds like an electric guitar string plinking.
  • The director's reel ending variant is silent.

Availability: Seen on The Brothers Grunt, which hasn't been seen in years, but will probably be intact if ever reran again.

  • It can also be spotted on Danny Antonucci's director's reel from circa 1995, which can be seen on YouTube.
  • The variant that only has "a.k.a. CARTOON inc." can be seen on a print of Lupo the Butcher that was included in a YouTube video that contains almost all of the company's pre-Ed, Edd n Eddy projects.

2nd Logo (January 4, 1999-November 8, 2009)

Visuals: On a white background, there is a dark blue drawing of the same guy from the previous logo (though close up and redrawn slightly for it to make an attempt to be friendlier for audiences, including removing the genitalia and anus, and without one of the 3 drops of blood) contained inside a yellow box, with parts of a drawing outside the box being black. Also, the black text "Produced at" (with the latter word being located below the former one) is seen above in Helvetica, and underneath the picture is the black text "a.k.a. CARTOON" in the same font as before, but with "a.k.a." being located above "CARTOON" on the left. This was generally for Season 1 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy.

Variants: There are different variations of the logo (all listed variants have black backgrounds, an "inc." symbol, the "Produced At" text being in one line and the whole logo being slightly smaller):

  • "Purple Box": The a.k.a. Cartoon logo appears inside a purple box with a white/yellow guy in it, with all of the texts being white. Plus, "inc." is added next to "CARTOON". This variant appears on Season 2 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy.
  • "Green Box": There is a drawing of a black/white guy on a green box and "Made by" replaces "Produced at" in a sketchy font. The text reading "A.K.A. CARTOON INC." in a more grungy font this time. This variant appears on Season 3 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy.
  • "Gray Box": The drawing is white on a gray box. Below is the text reading "a.k.a cartoon inc." in a 50's cartoon font and is situated to the right a bit. Plus, "Made by" is replaced by, once again, "PRODUCED AT" in a Copperplate Gothic font. This variant appears on Season 4 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy as well as "Out With the Old... in with the Ed" in Season 5.
  • "Leopard Print": The words "Made at", in a more plain font, are seen above the logo in place of "Produced at" and below the same picture of a white guy reads "A.K.A. CARTOON INC.", this time in a Chinese Rocks font. The box is like a leopard print. This variant appears on seasons 5-6 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy and its special, "The Eds are Coming, the Eds are Coming".
  • "Christmas Stripes": The box has red and green stripes and the guy in the box is black. Plus, the text is in the same style as the "Green Box" variant. This variant appears on the Christmas special Ed, Edd n Eddy's Jingle Jingle Jangle.
  • "Black Heart": There is a black heart inside a red box, with a white/black/red drawing of the guy. Plus, the text is once again, in the same style as the "Green Box" variant. This variant appears on on the Valentine's Day special Ed, Edd n Eddy's Hanky Panky Hullabaloo.
  • "Bloody Box": There is a red blood splatter on the logo and the box is red. Also, for the third time, the text is in the same style as the "Green Box" variant. This variant appears on the Halloween special Ed, Edd n Eddy's Boo Haw Haw.
  • "Watermelon": The box has a picture of a watermelon texture in it, a reference to the Ed, Edd n Eddy character Jonny 2x4 and his superhero and supervillain alter-egos Captain Melonhead and the Gourd. "Made at" is seen above and below the picture of the white guy with its drop shadow, in which it appears is "A.K.A. CARTOON INC." in the same style as the "Leopard Print" variant, albeit in white. This variant appears on the Big Picture Show, the finale to the Ed, Edd n Eddy show.

Technique: Digital ink and paint, with Leopard Print and Watermelon variants including live-action photographs.

Audio: Same as the previous logo's music, but shortened and the saxophone riff is removed.

Audio Variants:

  • On Ed, Edd n Eddy's Jingle Jingle Jangle and Ed, Edd n Eddy's Hanky Panky Hullabaloo, an "Uh" sound (presumably from the end of the Ed, Edd n Eddy theme -- "B-b-b-b-bl yeah!") is heard at the beginning.
  • On the Ed, Edd n Eddy episode "Is There an Ed in the House / An Ed is Born", the logo is silent (because of the end credits of that episode having a different song, which stops before the logo shows up).

Availability: Seen on Ed, Edd n Eddy. The series is available on Max (formerly HBO Max) and iTunes, respectively, and can also be found on the complete series DVD release of the show.

Legacy: A well-known logo amongst those who watched Ed, Edd n Eddy for the gruesome drawing and the trumpet scream. The "Bloody Box" variant is infamous for making the logo more disturbing than it already is.

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