Cartoon Network Studios

Background

Cartoon Network Studios is a production studio located in Cartoon Network's West Coast headquarters of Burbank, California, which serves as the network's first animation studio division to provide original programs for the network since 1994. On October 11, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that as part of a cost-cutting restructuring, CNS would merge into Warner Bros. Animation, with the CNS name and output continuing to be in use in future productions.

Contents

1st Logo (April 28, 1996-November 28, 1997)	2nd Logo (2000-July 20, 2001, June 3, 2006)	3rd Logo (June 8, 2001-March 31, 2012)	4th Logo (September 6, 2010-November 27, 2015)	5th Logo (May 21, 2013-)	6th Logo (January 1, 2022-)

1st Logo (April 28, 1996-November 28, 1997)

Dexter's Laboratory variant

Visuals: Over a white background, the logo starts with the 1992-2004 Cartoon Network logo on a white screen, with the text "S T U D I O S" below it in small spaced-out letters. A byline reading "a division of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc." appears underneath, alongside a Turner byline (with "Turner" represented as its standard logo).

Trivia: This logo is not for the Cartoon Network Studios that the rest of the page covers but rather merely a label for CN original content produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., but was scrapped a little over a year later and reverted back to Hanna-Barbera branding until the studio shuttered on March 12, 2001.

Variants:

Some episodes of What-a-Cartoon! have a blue, red, or yellow background instead. Copyright information appears below.
On later Season 1 episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, the logo looks completely different, featuring the Cartoon Network logo with an extra checkered row reading "STUDIOS" and the same copyright info as the colored background variants.
Dee Dee dances by the logo causing the O's to flip around briefly before Dexter bursts out of the logo in his robot, looking back and forth afterward. This may have been a signifying of more episode-specific variants had the logo not been retired immediately after.

Technique: A graphic made with traditional ink and paint. Cel animation in the "Dexter" variant.

Audio: It depends on the variant.

The standard logo was silent on Dexter's Laboratory, while on Season 2 of What-a-Cartoon!, the audio from the 1994-1997 H-B All-Stars "Comedy" logo plays (likely as an attempt to plaster over the logo).
- The colored background variants use the audio from the 1997-2002 H-B All-Stars logo with the weird laugh at the end (which ironically was first heard on another episode called "Zoonatiks").
- The Dexter's Laboratory custom variant has flipping sounds and a simple flute sounder when Dee Dee flips the O's, then a crashing sound when Dexter destroys the logo, alongside two swooshing sounds when Dexter moves his eyes.

Availability:

The standard version appears on earlier season 1 episodes of Dexter's Laboratory (with the Dial M for Monkey segment) as well as the second season (1996-1997) of What a Cartoon!.
- As for the colored background variants, they appear on a few What a Cartoon! shorts although they tended to be used to plaster the Hanna-Barbera logo. The blue variant appears on Strange Things, The Zoonatiks in Home Sweet Home and Babe! He... Calls Me. The red variant appears on Malcom and Melvin, and the yellow variant appears on Snoot's New Squat and Tales of Worm Paranoia.
The "Dexter" variant appears on later season 1 episodes of Dexter's Laboratory (with The Justice Friends segment), starting with the seventh episode.

2nd Logo (2000-July 20, 2001, June 3, 2006)

Visuals: There are two variations for this logo:

2000-2001: On a red background, there is a illustration of the Cartoon Network Studios building. Under it is the 1992 Cartoon Network logo with "STUDIOS" (set in URW DIN Black) inside of the black rectangular shape.
2006: Same as the 2000-2001 variant, but the CN logo and "STUDIOS" is removed, simply replaced by "CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS" written in a white Impact font.

Trivia: The logo was designed by Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky.

Variant: On IMP, Inc. and My Freaky Family, the 2000-2001 variant had an AOL Time Warner byline appear below.

Technique: A still graphic made with digital ink and paint.

Audio: None or the closing theme.

Audio Variants:

On My Freaky Family, a sound bite from a character ("Is that your family?") is heard, segueing into the pilot's background music (composed by Gary Lionelli).
On The Kids Next Door in No P in the OOL (a Codename: Kids Next Door pilot), it appears to be a punch and a grunt.

Availability:

The earliest logo first appeared on the Evil Con Carne pilot, and later appeared on The Kids Next Door in No P in the OOL.
The byline variant was seen on pilots for IMP, Inc. and My Freaky Family.
The Impact font variant appeared on the failed Korgoth of Barbaria pilot on Adult Swim.

Legacy: This logo was the first official CN Studios logo, utilized in 2000 when the studio opened the same year. The logo resembles the Williams Street logo as well, which also may explain its surprise reappearance on Korgoth of Barbaria, although it hasn't appeared on any other Adult Swim programming produced by CN Studios.

3rd Logo (June 8, 2001-March 31, 2012)

Visuals: There are two variations for this logo:

June 8, 2001-March 31, 2012 (custom variant): Over a white background, there is a grungy 1992 Cartoon Network logo with the text "STUDIOS" in the same grunge style, in the centre of the screen (with most of the letters shaking, most visibly the "W"). The logo splits in two, with walls on each side of it, causing the letters to stop shaking. Then, one of the custom animations plays in the box (see "Logo Variations"), and the logo then closes itself. Sometimes, this variant would have a black background instead of the usual white one.
August 3, 2001-March 22, 2011 (standard variant): Over a white background, a green laser goes to the right, revealing the same grungy 1992 Cartoon Network logo via a wipe effect, causing it to stop blinking. The laser then goes to the left, and reveals the same "STUDIOS" text. Then, the laser disappears.

Variants: See this page for variants.

Bylines:

2001-2004: The custom logos for the shows during the early years featured the byline "An AOL Time Warner company."
2003-2005, 2008-2009: The Powerpuff Girls and Star Wars: Clone Wars variants feature the byline "A TimeWarner Company" (or stylized as "A Time Warner Company" for the black background versions).

Trivia:

This logo appeared on the end credits for the 2005 Billy & Mandy episode "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?" (as a sticker on the dumpster, but the "STUDIOS" text is absent; in which Hoss Delgado wakes up when he turn into a puppet and look at the studio's location filled with puppets) and the title card for the 2014 Clarence episode "Pilot Expansion".
This logo briefly appeared on the Chowder episode "The Bruised Bluenana".

Technique: Hand-drawn animation in the custom variants, and 2D digital animation in the standard variant.

Audio: The sound effects in the variation. In the standard one, it's either a laser sound or the sound of a photocopier.

Audio Variants:

On CN shows that premiered up to 2005 and had the alternate version of this logo, there are slideshow projector clicking noises (the same noises used in Bill Nye the Science Guy) for the opening and closing of the logo, as well as the sound of an old film projector when the logo is open.
On some shows that premiered after 2005 with this logo, there are no clicking/projector noises.
Chowder has the sounds of a cash register opening and closing as the logo opens and closes.
On Ferret and Parrot and the Megas XLR pilot "LowBrow", a strange banjo note composed by Greg Miller and Mike Stern is heard, followed by a deep voice says "Hot dawg!". This one was actually the background music from the former.
The first 2001 episode of Dexter's Laboratory (when former show artist Chris Savino took over production) had the custom Dexter logo, but with the audio from the 1997 Hanna-Barbera logo with the weird laugh at the end playing over it (most likely due to a plastering error).
Some shows or pilots feature a one-liner from the episode or short. For example: On the Evil Con Carne episode "Evil on Trial / Smell of Vengeance", Hector says "Scrub harder, you fuzzy doofus!" Another example: On an episode of The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Tibo says "Lemur! You're a lemur!" And to top all that off, on the pilot Enter Mode 5, the Kid says "Skip bip-a-dipadoo!", then Bushnell Cat yells "SHUT YOUR FLAT BANANA HOLE!!!".
In most cases, it uses the ending theme of the show.
On the Star Wars: Clone Wars miniseries, a Hanna-Barbera sound effect is heard.
On The Flintstones: On the Rocks and the Johnny Bravo episode "Traffic Troubles/My Funny Looking Friend", the logo is silent.
On seasons 1-2 and 7 early season 3 episodes of Ben 10, the sounds of the Omnitrix are heard throughout the logo.
On season 1 episodes of Adventure Time, when the logo opens, a creaky door open sound is heard. When it closes, a slam is heard, though cut off by the 1999 Cartoon Network Productions logo.

Availability:

It was first seen on the premiere of Time Squad and last used on the Ben 10: Ultimate Alien episode "The Ultimate Enemy" (the show's final episode).
The standard version was first seen on Ferret and Parrot and appears on Transformers: Animated (now Discovery Family airings cut this out, though), Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?, early episodes of The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Ben 10, season 1 of Evil Con Carne, and A Johnny Bravo Christmas. However, the standard version also appeared on the first airing and 2011 Blu-ray Disc of Firebreather (the future airings of said movie have the next logo below).
Some of the variations during the Cartoon Cartoons-mid 2000s era were rare and hard to find because the shows that they were on are hardly reran nowadays, until the debut of HBO Max. The variants from the final two seasons (and the movie) of The Powerpuff Girls, the last season of Johnny Bravo, the final two seasons of Dexter's Laboratory, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo, the first four seasons of Samurai Jack, and Ben 10 are seen on Boomerang when they are reran.
The still version appears on The Flintstones: On the Rocks, episodes 5-9 of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and Star Wars: Clone Wars.
However, it only remained on Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, while other shows like Adventure Time and Generator Rex started using the next logo starting in their second seasons.
Amusingly, this logo is also retained on Star Wars: Clone Wars on Disney+.

Legacy: Well-known among fans of Cartoon Network series.

4th Logo (September 6, 2010-November 27, 2015)

Visuals: Against a black background with a grid of barely visible lines, there are three squares drop down forming a diagonal line (the blue square dropping to the bottom, turning white and bounces once. The pink square sliding in from the left and turning white. And the yellow-orange square zooming in and turning white). Then a fourth square opens showing a different clip of the show's characters (depending on each show). As the grid fades out, the words "CARTOON NETWORK" (set in Proxima Nova) wipes in and "STUDIOS" (set in Proxima Nova Extrabold) slides in from the right and pushes the text causing it to shake briefly forming the words, "CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS". Then the clip in the fourth square turns white.

Trivia:

This logo was made by Brand New School to fit with the 2010 "CHECK it 1.0" rebrand.
It also appeared on the 2014 Uncle Grandpa episode "Viewer Special", in the scene where Uncle Grandpa holds a model sheet to restore his normal self.
The logo was still used as a welcome mat at the entrance of the company's former Burbank headquarters until September 2023.

Variants: See this page for variants. On the live-action shows, the fourth square is not shown.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A four note double bass theme based on the CHECK it jingle used on Cartoon Network since the 2010 rebrand.

Audio Variants:

On some shows, there is a deep synthesized version of the four note theme with a futuristic-like echoing sound.
On Sym-Bionic Titan, there is a techno robotic version of the four note theme with a clang.
On The Problem Solverz, it's the short version of the show's ending theme.
On Level Up (excluding the pilot film) and Incredible Crew, it's the finishing theme of the episode.

Availability:

It debuted on Regular Show and was used during its first four seasons and the S5 episodes, "Laundry Woes" and "Terror Tales of the Park III".
It was also used on seasons 2-5 of Adventure Time, seasons 2-3 of Generator Rex, The Problem Solverz, Sym-Bionic Titan, Tower Prep, Secret Mountain Fort Awesome and seasons 1-4 of Ben 10: Omniverse (until "Max's Monster"). This is plastered over with the Cartoon Network Productions ripple on some episodes of Regular Show and Sym-Bionic Titan on iTunes and CN Video.
It also appeared on the TV movie, Firebreather (except for the first airing and 2011 Blu-ray Disc which have the standard version of the previous logo). However, it might be intact on the Blu-ray and DVD releases of said movie. DVD releases of Adventure Time and Regular Show also have the logo intact.
It also makes a surprise appearance on The Powerpuff Girls special "Dance Pantsed".
Its last appearance was on the Over the Garden Wall pilot "Tome of the Unknown" which released on Cartoon Network's website on May 19, 2015 and later uploaded on YouTube channel of the network on November 27th.
It is also seen on shows produced by Alive and Kicking, Inc. (which were Level Up and Incredible Crew, respectively), Cartoon Network Studios' live-action production company, as they do not use their own logo.
However, this does not appear on Robotomy.

5th Logo (May 21, 2013-)

Visuals: On a white background, there is a reworked version of the 2001 Cartoon Network Studios logo, which features the 2010 version of the Cartoon Network "Checkerboard" logo (which uses the current Cartoon Network font). Also, the word, "STUDIOS" (set in Eagle Bold) is smaller and is spaced-out.

Trivia:

Like the previous logo, this logo was made by Brand New School to fit with the 2013 "CHECK it 3.0" rebrand.
This logo (taken from the 2013 short Lakewood Plaza Turbo) briefly appeared on the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Let's Watch the Pilot".

Variants: See this page for variants, however on Mixels, a copyright stamp appears below.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Usually none or the tail-end or the closing theme of the show. Some shows use a whoosh when the logo opens and closes.

Audio Variants:

On Adventure Time, Uncle Grandpa and the Adventure Time: Distant Lands episode "Together Again", the previous logo's theme is used.
On 2014 episodes of Ben 10: Omniverse, there are different sounds that are heard whenever Ben hits the Omnitrix.
On Regular Show: The Movie and late 2014/15 and newer Regular Show episodes, the logo does not have the tail end of the closing theme.
On the first two episodes of the Long Live the Royals miniseries, the closing theme is in place of the usual sounds and FX.
Some shows may have their sounds and FX combined with the closing theme.
On the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "OK A.U.! Alternate Universe", the H-B sound effects are reversed.
On the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Thank You for Watching the Show" (the show's final episode), the H-B sound effects are quieter. Plus, the sounds at the Cartoon Network Studios office are also heard.

Availability: .

It was first seen on four shorts as part of the company's shorts development program: the Clarence pilot, Lakewood Plaza Turbo (a OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes pilot), My Science Fiction Project and Paranormal Roommates, which were first released on iTunes and Cartoon Network's website.
It also appears on Regular Show (along with its in-credit variant starting with "The Postcard") and Adventure Time since season 5 (the former starting with "Silver Dude" and the latter starting with "Love Games"), Steven Universe, Mixels (shorts outside the U.S. and on the specials), Ben 10: Omniverse (starting with "Something Zombozo This Way Comes"), Clarence, the second and final season of Black Dynamite, Over the Garden Wall, We Bare Bears, Mighty Magiswords (the TV series), The Powerpuff Girls (2016 reboot), Ben 10 (2016 reboot), the final season of Samurai Jack, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, among others. It also appeared at the end of Regular Show: The Movie.
With the new logo being introduced in January 1, 2022 upon the premiere of We Baby Bears, this logo's days could be numbered, though it still appears on the fourth and fifth seasons of Craig of the Creek and the sixth season of Summer Camp Island.

6th Logo (January 1, 2022-)

Visuals: On a background from the preceding show, there is a new version of the Cartoon Network "Checkerboard" logo with inverted colors, more rectangular squares, and weirdly spaced letters in a black box with "STUDIOS" below it, all set in an excessively bold version of Eagle Black. The logo flips to reveal an animation (varies by show) that plays before flipping back to the logo. During this, the background flips to show more backgrounds from the preceding show before ending on a cream background.

Variants: See this page for variants.

Technique: 2D and 3D animation.

Audio: An ominous synthesized theme accompanied by two drum rolls and two cymbal rolls.

Audio Variant: On Close Enough, there is the audio variant of the previous logo.

Availability:

It was first spotted in print on a post on Cartoon Network's Instagram account on December 14, 2021, and officially made its onscreen debut with We Baby Bears.
It was also later seen on the final season of Close Enough, as well as Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Jessica's Big Little World and Craig Before the Creek.
However, the new checkerboard was apparently created exclusively for this logo, and won't replace the 2010 checkerboard anytime soon.