New 'Regular Show' Series Revealed, 'Foster’s Home’ Preschool Series Gets Title At Annecy Unveiling
New 'Regular Show' Series Revealed, 'Foster’s Home’ Preschool Series Gets Title At Annecy Unveiling
Get ready for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to go on a yokai watch in their new series!
It’s an IP-heavy time for Cartoon Network as the Zas demands, and after much of a lull, a full production slate was on hand for Warner Bros. Animation’s studio focus panel at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The previously reported trio of Adventure Time projects are joined by, among others, the Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends preschool series and a new Regular Show series.
The new Regular Show series brings creator J.G. Quintel back to Cartoon Network Studios after his follow-up Close Enough was most devastated by the Discovery regime’s writeoffs. It is not a straight continuation, though it will feature some characters from the original series.
Foster’s Funtime for Imaginary Friends will see a now-young group of preschool imaginary friends learn from Bloo, who, as in the original, is still immature and unintentionally makes bad judgments and wrong decisions. McCracken has promised the same fast pace but a fun, simpler structure and less cynicism in its humor. Only Bloo and Madame Foster were seen in the clips, with Bloo’s wards making a perfect concoction broccoli, ice cream, cookies, lollipops, other sugary sweets and bananas. Bloo doesn’t get in the way of their “masterpiece,” as they endure the resulting tummy ache he’s spared from.
It turns out that Foster’s Funtime developed far faster than the new PowerPuff Girls series it was announced with nearly two years ago. McCracken clarified on Twitter “There isn't a PPG project currently in "production." I'm still 100% "developing" something PPG related and development is a loooooong process especially in the state of today's animation industry.”
And yes, The Amazing World of Gumball season 7 is still coming. It’s in full production and will finally answer the question of what's in the void. But it’s still got some time, premiering in 2025-2026. The first episode, “The Burger” will see Gumball and Darwin attempt to eat healthy but discover every food store in town is owned by Mr. Bilderburger. Ben Bocqulet has a script for the movie, but with the new series content moving up in front of it, will be completely different from what it was originally announced as. The trinity of 2010s Cartoon Network will return together again!
Also in development is Go-Go Mystery Machine, where Scooby-Doo goes anime, as Stacey Kim, vice president of series at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios said. It’s also a return to kid-aimed animated fare for the franchise following the adult-aimed Velma and the scrapping of the preschool-aimed Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Pups. The gang returns to Japan on what is this time the “ultimate foodie adventure”, though it’s unclear if this is a full gang series or another primarily Shaggy and Scooby series like the ‘80s and Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! The duo unwittingly unleash hundreds of mischievous mythical monsters that are now causing trouble nationwide. Scooby enlists his uncle, Daisuke-Doo, and magical friend Etsuko and tech geek Toshiro to help.
Other clips shown included a scene from an upcoming stop motion Teen Titans Go! episode, a haunted house scene from this fall’s new season of Gremlins: The Wild Batch, and a fight scene from the long-awaited Invincible Fight Girl, and the “brooding and ultra-noir” opening and title sequences of Batman: Caped Crusader, which has its August premiere.
There are three original projects in development. The first is a preschool series based on award-winning author and illustrator Nadia Shireen’s picture book Barbara Throws a Wobbler, about a young cat who most days does what other cats do, until one day she tantrums uncontrollably . Animation supervisor Joris van Hulzen, a 2D animation director on Gumball, is creative lead. Two others are at WBA, starting with Bad Karma, a movie set in a fantasy mythological world. It is billed as an “exciting and epic tale about courage, loyalty and an unlikely friendship.” It stars young demon princess Chandra and the legendary demi-god Hanuman. It comes from Sanjay’s Super Team writer-director Sanjay Patel, Rajesh Devraj, Vikash Shankar and Katie Rice. From Harley Quinn writer Ava Tramer comes Lovey Dovey, in which a romantic wedding dove in search of his one true love gets tangled up with a bunch of streetwise pigeons whose only goal is to mate with a large bird that appears on a popular kids TV show.
Source: Variety, Craig McCracken
Preschool shows these days are pretty smart
McCracken probably had to dumb down the content for the new "Foster's" if it's for preschoolers. At least he's doing it and not someone else.