Remember Tickle U?

[CastletonSnob]

You might remember Cartoon Network's "Tickle U", which was a preschooler block meant to compete with Playhouse Disney (This was before it became Disney Jr) and Nick Jr. You might not remember it, and that's because I think it only lasted about a month.

My question is, why did it fail?

 

[jaylop97]

Well it was basically like CN real, it really cant be something that is bound to do good, plus CN barely had an audience due to competition of Nick.Jr, and Playhouse Disney.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

Between Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr, and PBS, the preschool market was pretty much covered. Besides I remember when I was a kid, I liked the fact that CN didn't play preschool shows during the day so I had something to watch when I was sick or school wasn't in session.

 

[NewYorkEagle]

Well, I guess only a few people watched it back then. I know I may be one of the few people who remember watching Tickle U, but it wasn't a masterpiece. Also, Nick Jr and PBS Kids were better at the time.

 

[Lord Hater]

Cartoon Network is known for different types of cartoons, but preschool shows just isn't one of them. However, it could work as Cartoonito on Boomerang which targets younger kids.

 

[superkeegan9100]

My question is, why did it fail?

Two words:
LOW RATINGS.

 

[Ace]

On top of those things the block pretty much relied on acquisitions and not original content unlike the other two and then CN was already known to be a bit more mature than the other two. The shows CN aired in general were more mature and so their audience was probably more mature as well. CN likely didn't have that audience to pull from.

 

[Destiny of Awe]

I remember Tickle U. I was young enough to be somewhat entertained by it but old enough to wonder why CN was trying to copy Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney. I liked Peppa Pig for some bizarre reason but that was about it.

 

[ChildHood90s]

I watched some of Tickle U, back when I watched Cartoon Network regularly. The shows were mostly alright, but nothing earth shattering. Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs was cute. I vaguely remember Gerald McBoing Boing. I... think it was trash? Can't remember watching it. haha

It's funny how Peppa Pig found life on Nick after Tickle U. It was just a commercial break show!

 

[MilkTheCouch]

You might remember Cartoon Network's "Tickle U", which was a preschooler block meant to compete with Playhouse Disney (This was before it became Disney Jr) and Nick Jr. You might not remember it, and that's because I think it only lasted about a month.

My question is, why did it fail?

I remember it, because I often saw ads for it when watching Cartoon Network with my cousins. I believe I saw it at the pediatrician once a long time ago. Also, Tickle U actually lasted for a year and a half before it was replaced by a nameless block featuring Baby Looney Tunes, The Land Before Time TV show and a British show called Ellen's Acres, but that lasted for only a month before it got replaced by more reruns of Foster's Home
As for why it got cancelled, I read that a group of soccermoms called Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (which protests anything about commercialism) and said that the block was misleading and wasn't actually educational despite what the ads said. They petitioned for the block to be pulled, and it was a success. This soccermom group is also responsible for the ban of Bratz books from school book fairs and the close of the Pokemon Learning League website.
Another reason it failed was because Cartoon Network's previous preschool blocks suffered from poor timeslots. Their 90's block with Small World and Big Bag aired in many time zones at times when its' target audience would be in bed (and as early as 12:00AM!), for example.

 

[D-nice is the man.]

Well, Tickle U did introduce Americans to Peppa Pig, I used to watch it in the summer of 2005 when i was about seven. not exactly my favorite part of the city era. Cartoon Network isn't exactly a preschool friendly network.

 

[CartoonNetworld]

Found some videos from YouTube of what Tickle U looks like.
The characters looks cute but the jokes were not good enough.




Pipoca is Voice by Ariel Winter (Sofia the First Modern Family)
And Henderson is voiced by... Well you know.

 

[Light Lucario]

I don't think that I ever watched any of the shows on Tickle U, but I remember seeing ads for it. There were already multiple channels and blocks dedicated to the preschool demographic, so that would make it hard for any new block to stand out. Plus, none of the shows seemed too memorable and most parents/kids would be more interested in the already established preschool blocks/channels like Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney.

 

[Zanneck]

It's best we forget about this block, in my opinion - especially if you remember Ellen's Acres, for example. You'd want to forget anything after that..... Although I admit I have somewhat of a soft spot for that Gerald McBoing Boing cartoon - thank God I've seen better cartoons than that come out on this channel as of late; CN really was going through some bad times even before CN Real became a thing.

 

[superkeegan9100]

Proof that this block aired on Boomerang. Noticed how it took up 12 hours of the network's time.

 

[Lord Hater]

Proof that this awful block aired on Boomerang. Noticed how it took up 12 hours of the network's time.
View attachment 72061

Thank god that it was removed quickly.

I just hope that if Cartoonito comes to the US, it won't overtake Boomerang and turn it into another Toon Disney.

 

[Zanneck]

If there's a real reason it failed... It's because kids don't like being completely talked down to (although with some things, it's still an issue, just not as bad with this noise.).

 

[GlassCake]

Remmber CN's failed attempt to bring pre-school programming on their channel, Tickle U? That show was annoying. But was so addictive. I was 8 or 9 around the time and got very addicted to the channel for some reason. On days where I get to stay home from school, I watched Tickle U at easy with pleasure. The girl mascot, Pipoca, scared me a little while Henderson, the dogish one, gave me an interest in his design. Never occured to me that Modern Family's Ariel Winter is Pipoca and SpongeBob's Tom Kenny was Henderson.

My favorites: Gerald McBoing Boing (I like the bouncy animation and some of the characters like Greta von Grabby), Yoko Jakamoko Toto (the characters are annoying as *censor* but I liked the dancing/singing creatures episode and the episode that featured a wolf)

Shows I hated: Peppa Pig (I found the characters annoying as *censor*)

Meh shows (shows I don't hate but don't care): Little Robots, Firehouse Tails, Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, Gordon the Garden Gnome (I liked all of the theme songs for some reason. There catchy).

The block was the greatest for me at the time, even though time passed by and I got older. It was a shame that the block was gone but I still liked the shows.

Also, I couldn't believe that almost all of the shows were dubbed in the US for American viewers. I never got used to Peppa Pig's original English cast. What kind of voice actors did they use for the redubs? American NY-based cast, LA-based anime cast, Singapore/Asian-based cast, London-based cast, Canadian cast, France-based cast?! Cuz seriously. The American dubs for these shows are super scarce and are unable to be found. What a shame! Oh well.

Anybody else remember the block?

 

[SleepyBat]

Oh, people remember it, but some memories are not worth keeping.

 

[jaylop97]

Yeah I remembered seeing it when I wasn't at school, but when it surprised me the day when it stopped airing.