Cartoons have writers?!

Maybe, that should read, 'Today's cartoons...'

So, there was this cartoon airing this morning, "Viva Pinata" about...well, talking pinatas. It was airing on Fox, clearly a long way from the days when that channel was worth watching on Saturday mornings. Then again, it's part of the 4Kids TV block, and they're not exactly bastions of quality (or pickiness, apparently). I noticed that one of the producers of this tax write-off is Bardel Entertainment, which also produces the hugely entertaining "Edgar and Ellen" shorts that air on Nicktoons TV. So, "Edgar and Ellen" are only allowed on two minutes at a time, but this tripe gets a full season commitment. How's that for justice?

A show like "Viva Pinata" reminds me of the musings of cartoon writer Andrew Nicholls. In his (all-too-few) postings at Toonzone and in an interview, the man practically rips down the curtain, revealing the frail old man of cartoon creating.

Along with his partner, Darrell Vickers, they are responsible for some of the (to me, anyway) most entertaining cartoons of the last ten years ("Ned's Newt", "Pelswick", "W.I.T.C.H."). Other notable credits from this dynamic duo include episodes of "Jimmy Neutron" and "The Fairly Oddparents". It was their work on the latter that puzzled me. It wasn't bad, but it was scarcely recognizable as what they had done elsewhere. (Funnily enough, I had also wondered this about the episodes by Spencer Green, who did some uproarious work on "AAAAAH! Real Monsters" and "Duckman".)

The answer, in a sense, was delivered at the writers' corner of the web. This morning, I read the first draft for "Class Clown", then known as "The Joke's on Timmy".

While it's still not a great episode (I mean, it's no "Engine Blocked" or "TransParents"), it just...feels more like something that the head writers of "Pelswick" would concoct.

There are a lot more (direct) adult references and cutaways, almost like an episode of "Family Guy". Compared to most of the flavorless swill that had been churned out in that fourth season, this is significantly more worthwhile. I admit that the whole 'exhaust fumes' bit is pushing it, but it sure as hell read good. And how is it that this gets cut, but no one blinks an eye at the incest joke in "Love at First Height"? It's just not right.

Also, the idea of Cosmo tricking Wanda into marrying him is infinitely funnier than his constant insults in later episodes. (Seriously, for him to alienate the one woman who would have him despite his flaws is just self-destructive.) And their skill at gag writing (having written for "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson") really comes to the fore here.

In addition to the note-happy execs, the blame for this blanding has to fall on story editor Steve Marmel and (I'm loath to finish this sentence, as it has become vogue to point fingers at this person for what FOP turned into) script supervisor Cynthia True.

It's always nice to find this stuff out, I think.