Kids' WB!

Kids' WB!
Everybody dubba!
Overview
Type	Defunct programming block
Network(s)	The WB (1995–2006) The CW (2006–2008)
Country of origin	United States
Ownership
Owner	Warner Bros.
History
Launched	September 9, 1995
Closed	May 17, 2008
Replaced by	Toonzai/The CW4Kids

Kids' WB! was Warner Bros.' American children's programming division brand for The WB Television Network and later on The CW Television Network. It was originally broadcast from September 9, 1995, to May 17, 2008, after which The CW's Saturday morning programming slot was sold to 4Kids Entertainment to form The CW4Kids (which was renamed to Vortexx, programmed by Saban, which ran from 2012-2014).

Kids' WB! was re-launched as an online network on April 28, 2008, before it was archived in 2013, and the brand was finally retired for good in May 2015 (just a few months shy of the original block's 20th anniversary) and replaced with the current WB Kids branding.

Animaniacs Productions Aired on Kids' WB!

• Animaniacs (Original Series) (1995-2000)
• Pinky and the Brain (1995-2000)
• Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (1998-1999)
• The Big Cartoonie Show (1999-2000)
• Wakko's Wish (2000)

Other

• Brain Snacks (1998)

Promotional Songs

• "Put A Brain In The White House"
• "The WB's The Place"
• "That's All We Got" (Sign-Off)
• "Everybody Dubba!"
• "Half A Minute Waltz"
• "Captain Planet On Kids' WB!"
• "Kids' WB Christmas Song"
• "Tearing Up The Stage"
• "Bath"
• "Mighty Fresh Jam"
• "Animaniacs Week"

History

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot claim center stage in the print advertisement for Kids' WB!'s first season (1995-96).

Early Days

Animaniacs was the very first show to be broadcast as part of Kids' WB!, and as such, a lot of early hype for the programming block revolved around the fact that the show was moving there from Fox Kids. (Ironically, despite the show now airing on a network owned by the company that co-produced the show in the first place, the gag credits for subsequent episodes suggest that the writers had no love for the show's new home; examples being "Kids WB Is #1 - Ha! Ha! Just Kidding!" and "Be the First Kid on Your Block to Actually Watch The WB!") The WB aired a preview special titled Welcome Home, Animaniacs!, in which previews of each of the shows featured on the programming block were presented by the stars of the network's prime-time shows, alongside newly-produced animation of Yakko, Wakko and Dot leaving the Fox network and driving to the WB studio (presumably animated by Spike Brandt). The show was aired on Kids' WB! on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons from then until September 1999.

Alongside the third season of Animaniacs, the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series also debuted as part of Kids' WB!'s inaugural year, alongside fellow Warner Bros. cartoons The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and Freakazoid! and Universal Studios' Earthworm Jim. In its first season, Pinky and the Brain also aired as part of The WB's Sunday night line-up. By September of 1996, it was dropped from the Sunday night schedule, but remained on the Kids' WB!'s Saturday morning line-up through 1998 and on the weekday afternoon line-up until September of 1999.

Later Developments

In the fall of 1998, following the cancellation of Animaniacs (due to WB's dissatisfaction with it), both shows were taken off of Kids' WB!'s Saturday morning line-up, but remained on weekday afternoons for the following year. It was in that season that Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain debuted on the Saturday morning block before being dropped from the schedule in January 1999. The final episodes of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain were aired together as The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special on November 14, 1998.

On January 16, 1999, Kids' WB! debuted The Cat & Birdy Warneroonie Pinky Brainy Big Cartoonie Show, a 90-minute show which combined segments from Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain along with Looney Tunes shorts and segments from Tiny Toon Adventures and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. However, when Kids' WB! started running Pokémon on Saturday mornings, The Big Cartoonie Show was shortened down to a half-hour show and only showed segments from Animaniacs and Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (several of which had not aired before).

At the start of the 1999-2000 season, the Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain shows themselves were taken off of the weekday afternoon schedule, but remained on Kids' WB! in the form of the second season of The Big Cartoonie Show, now renamed The Cat & Bunny Warneroonie Super Looney Big Cartoonie Show. The compilation show continued to air on Kids' WB!'s Saturday morning and weekday afternoon schedules until August 31, 2000, at which point the shows were taken off of Kids' WB! altogether. There are disputed reports of certain WB affiliates in different markets continuing to air the shows in syndication even after this date.

Trivia

• Tom Ruegger has stated that Kids’ WB! airing Pokémon for free and profiting off it was partly responsible for the downfall of the more expensive Animaniacs.
• Kids' WB! was often made fun of by Animaniacs, especially in the end credits jokes (a practice which somewhat increased later into the show's run).
• The network and its advertising-aesthetics (such as the "Dubba!" slogan) are spoofed in the Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain episode "That's Edutainment!" as "Yucka Yucka Yucka Kids TV!"
• The Animaniacs stayed on the network for 5 years (1995-2000).
• Several clips from the show's original 5-season run can be found on WB Kids, the name that replaced Kids' WB!.

Gallery

General

HQ scan of the print ad's first page

HQ scan of the print ad's second page

Poster variant of the magazine ad.

WB 1995 Network Pinky & The Brain Christmas promo

Brain's not having any of this corporate network synergy

Kids' WB - Song Promo (1996, extended)

Kids WB Music Promo 1996 (Short Version)

Pinky & the Brain host 1996 fall preview

Put A Brain In The White House- Animaniacs-Pinky and the Brain Musical Promo

Kids WB "Falling Anvils" promo

Animaniacs WB Promo- Half A Minute Waltz (1997)

Animaniacs- Captain Planet Song Promo (1997)

1997 The WB Nick Freno- Licensed Teacher & A Pinky and the Brain Christmas promo

Kids WB Christmas promo (with the Warners)

Kids WB Christmas promo (with the Warners) (1997)

Animaniac Attack Marathon Promos- 1998

Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain promos

Animaniacs-Pinky and the Brain "Star Warners" Kids WB promo

The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special Promo (1998)

Superman Meets Pinky and the Brain Kids WB promo

Animaniacs Promo- Animaniacs Week (1999)

Christmas

See Also

• The WB- The main network that aired this block
• "The WB's The Place"- A promotional song for the block