Cartoon Network Shorts Department is the channel's artist development program for animated pilots that are created at Cartoon Network Studios. It was inaugurated and started in 2013 through online uploading of six titles, on May 21 for a short period, which three of them have been greenlit for a TV series at the start of the program.
The shorts program has since been superseded by the Cartoon Cartoons shorts program introduced in 2021. Nevertheless, a couple of shorts produced from 2017 to 2021 were released under the Cartoon Cartoons label.
The short Mushroom and the Forest of the World was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Format Children's Program.
List of pilots United States Title Created by Original premiere(s) Animation by Clarence Skyler Page (Online) (TV) Saerom Animation Lakewood Plaza Turbo / OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Ian Jones-Quartey (Online) Sunmin Image Pictures Mars Safari! GhostshrimpEric Pringle and Nick Bertonazzi Jr. My Science Fiction Project Audie Harrison Rough Draft Korea Paranormal Roommates Benton Connor Saerom Animation Steven Universe: "The Time Thing" Rebecca SugarRough Draft Korea Tome of the Unknown: "Harvest Melody" / Over the Garden Wall Patrick McHale (LA Shorts Fest) (Online) AJ's Infinite Summer Toby Jones (Online) Long Live the Royals Sean Szeles Saerom Animation We Bare Bears Daniel Chong (KLIK! Festival) (TV) Back to Backspace Dominic Bisignano and Amalia Levari (Online) Rough Draft Korea Pillywags MansionOnly puppet show/animated pilot of the program and the entire Cartoon Network Studios filmography. Sam Marin Swazzle Jammers Lizz Hickey (Online)John Berry, Sarah Gencarelli, Sara Pocock, Sarah Ramert and Tom Riffel Ridin' with Burgess Andres Salaff Sunmin Image Pictures Twelve ForeverThis pilot was greenlit as a series by Netflix. Julia Vickerman Apple & Onion George Gendi (Annecy Festival) (Online) (TV) John Berry, Hozen Britto, Sarah Gencarelli, Bishoy Gendi, Sara Pocock, Sarah Ramert and Tom Riffel Welcome to My Life Elizabeth Ito (Annecy Festival) (Online) TeamTO Bottom's Butte Minty Lewis (CTN Expo) (Online) Digital eMation Danger PlanetLabel only; produced as part of The Cartoonstitute. Derek Drymon (Online)Rough Draft Korea Summer Camp Island Julia Pott (SXSW Festival) (CN App) (Online) Victor and Valentino Diego Molano (TV) (Online) Sunmin Image Pictures Infinity Train Owen Dennis (VOD) (Online) (TV) Legendary Place Calvin Wong (GLAS Festival) (Online) Saerom Animation The Fancies: "Fancytown"/"The Beach"/"Run Pam Run"/"Sir Tree" / The FungiesDespite these two pilots have being greenlit by Cartoon Network, their series move to premiering on HBO Max. Stephen P. Neary (ABP Festival) (Online) UnlovableReleased under the Cartoon Cartoons label.Based on the comic strip of the same name. Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd (HollyShorts Festival) (Online) Rough Draft Korea Tiggle Winks / Tig n' Seek Myke Chilian (CN App) (Online) Craig of the Creek Matt Burnett and Ben Levin (CN App) Mushroom and the Forest of the World Madeleine Flores and J. Smith (KLIK! Festival) (Online) MUA Film Sunshine Brownstone Audie Harrison (Online) Iana Kushchenko, Nate Lowe, Sarah Ramert and Adam Scarpitta Pops & BranwellBased off the children's book series of the same name. Pete Toms and Aleks Sennwald (CFF Seattle) (Online) Rough Draft Korea Splitting Time Gleb Sanchez-Lobashov (BAICFF) (Online) Saerom Animation The Wonderful Wingits Leticia Abreu Silva (BAICFF) (Online) MUA Film Outrun Express Jeremy PolgarJune 3, 2019 (Animatic)N/A Cadette in Charge Henrique Jardim (Online) Saerom Animation Trick Moon Geneva Hodgson (Online)Digital eMation Beetle + Bean Nick Edwards (Online) Saerom Animation Genie Hunters Mike Milo (Animatic) Inspidea Wild HelpStop-motion Niki Yang (Online) In Efecto Animation Studio Bird & SquirrelBased off the children's book series of the same name. James Burks (CFF Seattle) (Workprint) (Online) Studio RedfrogSpirit Link André LaMilzaOctober 5, 2023 (Workprint)Takafumi Hori, Tiger Animation and André LaMilza The Nonsense Tales of Alakasam! Kyle Arneson and Aaron Preacher (Workprint) Ancient Order of the Wooden Skull Afternoon Super Ben Crouse and Jacob Sluka (Online) Rough Draft Korea Greetings from SamsonBased on the webcomic Samson at Work. Tiffany Ford (Online) OutRunners Ashe Jacobson and Adam Ganse (Online) Tiger AnimationTurtle RockJeff LiuAugust 3, 2026 (Online) Sunmin Image Pictures The Invincible Fight Girl: Legend of the Swole / Invincible Fight Girl Juston Gordon-MontgomeryTBD
International Since 2016, the program has begun to expand to other countries where Cartoon Network Studios accept to commission (but not produce) those local short pilots, and the only title to be noticed in this process is Lasso & Comet.
Title Created by Country of origin Co-production(s) Original premiere(s) Lasso & Comet Ivan Dixon Greg Sharp and Ivan Dixon Rubber HouseCartoon Network Asia Pacific (Online) Unproduced These are shorts that were either never released to the public or were cancelled during production.
Title Created by Paradise is for the BirdsBrett Varon Badass BabiesComputer animation using motion capture Zach Smith HUE Chroma Warriors Eric Trueheart Kelvin Enus: Rent-a-GeniusJohn McNameeStinkalinaEva Konstantopoulos and Jon BurgermanStudy HallersBen AdamsBest CoastPedro Eboli and Mark Satterthwaite Mikki and the Soca TeensTBDSeed ScoutsTag Team! Legends of the RingThe Kazoodles!
See also Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Program - the Nickelodeon counterpart of the program.
Notes
References
External links CN Minis playlist on YouTube