movies/tv Did anyone remember Discovery Kids' "Real Toons"?

[TheMisterManGuy 344]

Now that The Hub is now Discovery Family, I think its time to discuss the channels roots.... before Hasbro came into the picture. Discovery Kids once had a brand for its original animated shows called Real Toons. Hoping to compete with Nickelodeon's Nicktoons and Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons. Real Toons was a line of original animated series produced by and for Discovery Kids. Mixing the style and humor from the cartoons on its competitors, with Discovery's trademark educational angle. Most of these weren't ratings blockbusters though, and were cancelled after only a few seasons. But I think we should discuss them anyway.

 

Kenny the Shark: The premise here is that a girl named Kat is looking for a pet, and stumbles accross a friendly fun-loving shark named Kenny. The two become best friends and get into zany situations. Because of her knowledge of sharks, Kat is the only one who can communicate with Kenny. The premise I'm not going to lie, sounds stupid. But I find a certain charm to this show, particularly with Kenny and Kat's chemistry. The show is like Sanjay and Craig, but replacing the annoying dude-bro farting humor with educational facts about sharks, sea life, and other animals. It's work a look if you like buddy comedies.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTrSkH3Aoc4

 

Tutenstien: Here we have a show based on historical events. The premise is kind of similar to Kenny, but has a more surreal take. The plot is that a girl named cleo and her cat awaken a kid version of King Tut, they then go on mystical adventures together based on ancient egyptian history. I remember the show being fun for its fantasy elements, but I never really learned anything from it. This is a common problem with a lot of these Real Toons, the educational aspect seems to kind of get lost in the humor and plot, thus, not making them truly educational. I haven't seen an actual episode in a while, but I remember it being alright.

 

 

Time Warp Trio: Another show based on History. The premise is that 3 guys get a magic book that warps them to different time periods. Early in the series, the book sort of forces them into these time periods, but later in the series they learn to control it. I'm not gonna lie, the animation in this show is awful. Everything is too stillted and jittery, and TBH, the show gets kind of repetitive after a while. That's another problem with Real Toons. Some of them weren't really memorable enough for me to give a full opinion on.

 

 

Growing up Creepie: Now we're on to bugs. It seems like Discovery is running out of things to teach kids. This show revolves around a girl named Creepie, a Jr. high goth kid who was raised entirely by insects, a secret that only her best friend seems to know. It's basically your typical animated tweencom with bug facts tacked on. But one thing that interested me was the show's title character. Think of her as Raven from Teen Titans mixed with Daria. That sort of cynical, deadpan snarker, who isn't mean, but isn't necessarily nice either. Her alone makes the show at least worth a look.

 

 

There are other shows like Grossology and Class of the Titans (the channel's attempts at action cartoons) but I haven't seen enough of them to give a full opinion on. As you can see, these shows weren't anything terrible, and were pretty decent. So why did Real Toons die? I think it's for several reasons. 

 

1. They weren't popular enough to lay a finger on the Nicktoons. Granted, this was due to Nickelodeon being on basic cable as opposed to being a digital tier service like DK was.

 

2. Though the shows were not bad, they weren't anything spectacular either. DK didn't have anything that was amazing, revolutionary, or influential like Nick or CN.

 

3. Discovery Kids was dying in 2009, around time Hasbro approached them for The Hub. By the end of the network's life, most of its original series, including Real Toons were cancelled, and looped.

 

4. DK wasn't in that many countries, thus, limiting international exposure.

 

I appriciate Discovery Kids for trying to be a Nickelodeon with an educational slant, but I don't think they did that good of a job on it. We'll see what Discovery does with kidvid with DiscFam now that they have majority control over the channel again.

Edited January 10, 2015 by TheMisterManGuy

[King Sejong 858]

   I remember Discovery Kids, if only vaguely, I mainly watched Qubo at this time, in a way Qubo was a proto Hub, it had some new show as well as nostalgic programs, so that was what drew me into Qubo, then the Hub was formed and I was a regular viewer. Discovery Kids did have a limited channel line up, in addition to a limited availability, combined by competition with other channels, so if Discovery wanted to resuscitate this channel, it had to join forces with another company, enter Hasbro. If you look back, the similarities with Qubo, are stunning, it had some old syndicated programs, to draw in an older audience, and some new programs for the younger audience, Boomerang pioneered this model, and someday I hope there is a new channel, that does the same, or have an online site that has programs old and new, like Hulu or Netflix, nevertheless, I have a few memories of Discovery Kids, yet I will always cherish the tender memories the Hub gave me, only time will tell if Discovery Family could match the Hub, I am just grateful that such a channel existed. 

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

I remember watching these shows a little back when I was younger.

[TheMisterManGuy 344]

   I remember Discovery Kids, if only vaguely, I mainly watched Qubo at this time, in a way Qubo was a proto Hub, it had some new show as well as nostalgic programs, so that was what drew me into Qubo, then the Hub was formed and I was a regular viewer. Discovery Kids did have a limited channel line up, in addition to a limited availability, combined by competition with other channels, so if Discovery wanted to resuscitate this channel, it had to join forces with another company, enter Hasbro. If you look back, the similarities with Qubo, are stunning, it had some old syndicated programs, to draw in an older audience, and some new programs for the younger audience, Boomerang pioneered this model, and someday I hope there is a new channel, that does the same, or have an online site that has programs old and new, like Hulu or Netflix, nevertheless, I have a few memories of Discovery Kids, yet I will always cherish the tender memories the Hub gave me, only time will tell if Discovery Family could match the Hub, I am just grateful that such a channel existed. 

Which is why I'm actually excited for Boomerang's relaunch. It feels like Boom is going to try to pick up where The Hub left off with a mix of classic and contemporary shows for kids and families. The Hub certainly was a unique channel, but I felt the lack of proper promotion and distribution on Discovery's part is what killed it.

I remember watching these shows a little back when I was younger.

As do I, but even as a kid, I prefered the stuff on Nick and CN.

[Vertigo_95 572]

Oh my I was just thinking about those shows a few days ago, and my little sister mentioned Kenny the Shark a few days before that.I especially loved Time Warp Trio because I had liked the books they were based on.

[Spikey-Wikey 378]

Who else has noticed that Discovery Kids' logo looks/looked like The Incredible World of Dic's logo?

[cmarston1 5,951]

I actually do remember the Time Warp Trio cartoon and Growing Up Creepie.

But besides that not much other than that.

[SquipyCheetah 448]

Discovery Kids was my childhood, I loved it and watched everything on it even when I was a kid and had no idea what in the hell was even going on. I was saddened when it was gone but had learned to move past it. Good times, back then.

[linkxmidna57 1]

Man, I remember this including the games they used to have on TV. I remember the Kenny the Shark one where you have to go on a dune buggy at the beach, another where you're a rabbit on a jeep in the sewer and one was a side scrolling game where I think it's called Mystery Kids. You explore a haunted mansion and avoid bats, trap doors and enchanted knights.

[PinkiePie97 913]

One show I haven't seen mentioned is The Future is Wild. I haven't seen it since Discovery Kids was still a channel in the U.S., so I don't really have any comment on it. Just thought I'd mention it. Anyway, I do remember Real Toons. I watched them all when I was a kid except apparently for Class of the Titans, which I'm honestly not even sure I remember seeing on the lineup (though the name does sound familiar). I think my favorite was Time Warp Trio. I agree the animation wasn't exactly good, but I thought the premise was pretty interesting and I enjoyed seeing what they did with it. Don't know how I'd feel about these shows now since it's been years since I've seen most of them except for a time in 2015 when Discovery Family had Kenny the Shark On Demand.

Edited March 21, 2017 by PinkiePie97

[BlueStreak98 828]

I remember stumbling across some shows back when it first appeared on our satellite (about 2001 or so), but I don't remember a thing about them; I was a little old for most of its programming at that point. It did have a lot of cross-programming with TLC's ReadySetLearn block, which I loved and watched regularly in the late 90s. Shows like Pappyland, Skinnamarink TV, Bingo and Molly, David the Gnome, and Swamp Critters of the Lost Lagoon were all favorites of mine.

[Megas 27,064]

Never saw any of these. Before Discovery Kids became The Hub, the only toon I ever watched was reruns of the Magic School Bus

[ZiggWheelsManning 7,367]

Stuff back in the day before MLP G4 came out.  

[Shadowmoth2011 146]

I'VE ARRIVED.

Anyway, most of these I admittedly haven't watched, though I'd love to try out Growing Up Creepie in particular, BUT. GROSSOLOGY.

I love that damn show to absolute pieces. It's such a unique take on the gross-out humor you see in many cartoons, has such an adorable pair of siblings as its main characters, the villains are genuinely compelling and entertaining, the animation is stark raving GORGEOUS...it feels like Hamster and Gretel BEFORE Hamster and Gretel. Honestly, the best word for Grossology is "delightful". I can't recommend it to EVERYONE, considering...well its focus, but if you can handle the gross-out, you absolutely MUST seek it out.

[Sasoriman 128]

DF actually brought back Kenny the Shark about a year ago.