Cartoonito

Cartoonito was Warner Bros. Discovery's American preschool entertainment brand, operating primarily as a weekday-morning programming block on Cartoon Network and as a related content hub on HBO Max. The American service launched on September 13, 2021, presenting animated and children's programs intended mainly for viewers aged two through six. It was positioned as Cartoon Network's first dedicated preschool block in more than fifteen years, following earlier experiments with preschool scheduling and the short-lived Tickle-U block. The brand combined Warner Bros. Animation productions, co-productions, acquired international series, and programming connected with wider Warner Bros. Discovery children's properties. Its lineup included Baby Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny Builders, Batwheels, Jessica's Big Little World, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, Esme & Roy, Mush-Mush & the Mushables, Love Monster, and other preschool-oriented series. Sesame Street was associated with the HBO Max content offering rather than the Cartoon Network linear schedule. The existing brand concept therefore extended beyond a television timeslot: Cartoonito also served as a recognizable organizing label for preschool content on Warner Bros. Discovery's digital platform. At launch, the Cartoon Network block was scheduled for eight hours on weekday mornings and two hours on weekends. The schedule was subsequently reduced in response to audience and ratings feedback. Weekend programming was removed in January 2022, and further weekday hours were returned to general Cartoon Network programming during 2021 and 2022. Additional reductions followed in 2023 and 2024, leaving only a one-hour weekday slot by February 2024. The American programming block ceased operations on May 23, 2025. Cartoonito should be distinguished from the broader international Cartoonito television brand. In several European markets, regional Boomerang feeds were rebranded as Cartoonito, and the identity was later introduced in Latin America, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Those international services are related to the same Warner Bros. Discovery preschool strategy but are not identical to the American Cartoon Network block described by the canonical Wikipedia subject. The American iteration was a programming and content brand rather than a separately incorporated company, publicly traded entity, or independent production studio.

Cartoonito's American history developed from Cartoon Network's earlier attempts to serve preschool viewers. In 1996, the network introduced a Sunday-morning preschool block featuring Big Bag, a live-action and puppet program associated with the Children's Television Workshop, and Small World, an anthology of international children's programs. Both programs briefly moved to weekday mornings in 1998 before returning to the Sunday schedule. Big Bag left the lineup in 2001, while Small World departed in 2002. During the 2002–03 television season, Cartoon Network carried an unbranded weekday-morning preschool lineup that included Baby Looney Tunes, Pecola, Sitting Ducks, and Hamtaro. Cartoon Network made a more formal attempt with Tickle-U, which premiered on August 22, 2005. The block occupied the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. period and mixed domestic productions with imported programs. Its original series included Firehouse Tales from Warner Bros. Animation, while its broader lineup included Gerald McBoing-Boing, Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, Gordon the Garden Gnome, Little Robots, Peppa Pig, and Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!. Interstitial material was hosted by the computer-generated characters Pipoca and Henderson. Tickle-U attracted criticism from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood over aspects of its marketing approach and ended on January 13, 2006. Several of its programs continued to air on Cartoon Network for a time, and some were also shown in the United Kingdom through the separate Cartoonito service. The Cartoonito name returned to the United States in 2021 as part of WarnerMedia's broader preschool strategy, later operating under Warner Bros. Discovery after the WarnerMedia–Discovery transaction. Promotional development became visible online in June 2021, when Cartoonito's YouTube presence began publishing material associated with the planned identity and upcoming programs. A trailer followed on July 29, 2021. The American brand launched on September 13, 2021, as a weekday-morning Cartoon Network block and an HBO Max content hub. The initial linear schedule ran from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends. The initial schedule was not maintained. The 1 p.m. hour returned to Cartoon Network's general schedule in November 2021, followed by the noon hour in December. Weekend programming ended in January 2022, and the late-morning portion was reduced shortly afterward. The block's end time moved earlier during 2022, while the 6 a.m. hour was removed in October of that year. In March 2023, the schedule was shortened to end at 9 a.m.; in February 2024, another half-hour was removed, leaving a one-hour slot from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The American block ultimately closed on May 23, 2025. The American Cartoonito operation existed within a broader international brand architecture. Warner Bros. Discovery had already used Cartoonito as a preschool-oriented identity in international markets, including territories where Boomerang channels were rebranded. After the 2021 American relaunch, the brand continued to be associated with services in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Those international channels and feeds should not be conflated with the specific American programming block covered here.

• 2025

  American block closes

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  Cartoonito ceases operations as an American Cartoon Network programming block on May 23.

• 2024

  Schedule reaches one hour

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  After successive reductions, the weekday block operates for approximately one hour beginning February 19.

• 2022

  Weekend programming is discontinued

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  The American block's weekend schedule is retired on January 29, followed by further weekday reductions.

• 2021

  American Cartoonito brand launches

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  Cartoonito premieres on Cartoon Network and appears as a related preschool content hub on HBO Max on September 13.

• 2006

  Tickle-U ends

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  The Tickle-U block concludes its run on January 13.

• 2005

  Tickle-U premieres

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  Cartoon Network launches Tickle-U, its first officially branded weekday-morning preschool block.

• 1996

  Cartoon Network begins an early preschool experiment

  [1]Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org

  A Sunday-morning preschool block featuring Big Bag and Small World marks an early Cartoon Network effort to organize programming for younger children.

A preschool-focused entertainment destination for children approximately two to six years old, combining familiar Warner Bros. characters with original, co-produced, and acquired animated programming.

• Television programming block · 2021

  Cartoonito on Cartoon Network

  The principal American Cartoonito service was a preschool-oriented block on Cartoon Network. It initially occupied extensive weekday-morning hours and a shorter weekend window, carrying animated and children's programs for viewers roughly two through six years old. Its schedule was progressively reduced before the block ended in May 2025.

• Streaming content hub · 2021

  Cartoonito on HBO Max

  HBO Max used Cartoonito as a branded destination for preschool programming associated with the American relaunch. The hub extended the identity beyond a linear television schedule and provided a home for selected children's series, including content not necessarily presented in the same way on Cartoon Network.

• Animated television series

  Bugs Bunny Builders

  A preschool-oriented Warner Bros. animated series featuring the Looney Tunes characters in construction-themed stories. It was among the recognizable programs associated with the American Cartoonito lineup.

• Animated television series

  Jessica's Big Little World

  A preschool series associated with the Cartoonito lineup, centered on everyday experiences and age-appropriate problem solving through the perspective of its young protagonist.

• Animated television series

  Baby Looney Tunes

  A younger-skewing Looney Tunes series that served as the premiere program when the American Cartoonito block launched in September 2021.

• 2021

  Launch a dedicated American Cartoonito blockProduct launch

  Background

  Cartoon Network had previously tried several preschool programming arrangements, including the discontinued Tickle-U block, while Warner Bros. Discovery maintained a broader international Cartoonito identity.

  Action taken

  The company introduced Cartoonito on Cartoon Network and created a related HBO Max content hub, targeting children approximately two through six years old.

  Aftermath

  The block premiered with a large weekday schedule but later lost programming hours and ultimately closed in 2025.

  Source

• 2021

  Reduce the initial linear scheduleStrategy

  Background

  The launch schedule occupied eight weekday hours and two weekend hours.

  Action taken

  Cartoon Network returned successive hours to its general programming schedule, beginning with the 1 p.m. hour in November and the noon hour in December.

  Aftermath

  The reductions continued through 2022–2024, leaving the block with only a one-hour weekday slot before closure.

  Source

1. 1Cartoonito (American programming block)en.wikipedia.org