The ninth episode of Random! Cartoons.
Super John Doe Jr.[]
Created by Lincoln Peirce
Directed by Brian Hogan
Synopsis[]
Super John Doe Junior has no powers, and is sick of being in his father's shadow. When his dad (Super John Doe!) misses a distress call from the chief, Junior takes matters into his own hands to fight the Evil Butthead.
Voice Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Jim Connor | Super John Doe |
| John Zee | Mayor |
| Marc Graue | Anchorman |
| Betsy Foldes | Mom |
| Kimberley Brooks | Super John Doe, Jr. |
| David Shaughnessey | Blimey |
| Sandy Fox | Robin |
| Andy Morris | Evil Butthead |
Production notes / Changes[]
Super John Doe Jr. was a short created by cartoonist Lincoln Peirce, known for his "Big Nate" comic strip. He was approached by Melissa Wolfe in Maine to pitch an idea to Frederator, so he flew to LA and pitched them Super John Doe. Since he is a cartoonist and not an experienced/professional storyboard artist, his pitch bible/beatboard for the short was a 17-page comic book which was green-lit. Lincoln Peirce handed the storyboard job to Fred Gonzalez and the animation direction to Brian Hogan.
Trivia[]
- According to Lincoln Peirce, Blimey was modeled after a stereotypical British butler.
- This "Random! Cartoons" short has the largest amount of voice-actors participating in the project: which is eight.
- Talking about Big Nate, a show was greenlit to Nickelodeon and premiered 13 years after this short aired, and it was streaming on Paramount+
Six Monsters[]
- → Main article: Six Monsters
Created by Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman
Directed by Rob Renzetti, Floyd Bishop, Dan Meth and Pendleton Ward
Synopsis[]
A comedy sketch short about six monsters in high school shown in different styles of animation per segment: worry wart cat Buck, sly and cleavar scallion ghost Gaillard, loveable oaf monster Roy, shy and timid pumpkin girl Cathy, spoiled and pretty devil Lulu and the school's skeletal custodian, Grandpa.
Voice Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Jeff Bennett | Grandpa, Gaillard |
| Chuck McCann | Buck |
| John DiMaggio | Roy |
| Nika Futterman | Cathy |
| Teresa Gazel | Lulu |
Production notes / Changes[]
Six Monsters was co-created, developed and made by Frederator Studios' CEO and founder Fred Seibert with his long-time friend and former partner Alan Goodman. Fred and Alan wanted to do a sketch comedy short showcased in several different styles of animation per skit. Alan Goodman was previously involved with Bronk and Bongo with Manny Galan, who is also involved with the project. Unlike most Random! shorts, this short was given the green-light right away because he owns Frederator Studios, however he still had to take notes and approval from Nickelodeon's programming developer Claudia Spinelli since Nickelodeon is financing the short. The character designs of the monsters were created by Alex Kirwin. Rob Renzetti of My Life as a Teenage Robot directed the animation of all the segments. The segments were storyboarded by Stephen deStefano, Don Dougherty, J Chad Erekson, Pendleton Ward, Alex Kirwin, Manny Galan and Dan Meth. Most of the same artists were also the character designers, prop designers, background designers, color stylists, animators and layout artists for each of their own (and maybe others) respective segments.
The segments were animated in 3-animation styles: traditional, CG and Flash:
- The segments that were animated traditionally in oversea animation studios were the Cahty and Gaillard segment (storyboarded by Stephen deSteffano and Manny Galan animated at Yeson Entertainment, Inc.), the recurring Buck and Roy in the hallway segment (storyboarded by Don Dougherty animated at Wang Film Productions Co. LTD) and the science class Buck and Roy segment (storyboarded by Dan Meth animated at SaeRom Animation, Inc.)
- The Buck & Gaillard scene was animated at Bishop Animation in CG by Floyd Bishop and his crew-workers, with storyboards by Floyd and J Chad Erekson.
- The segments of Grandpa & Lulu and Roy & Cathy were freelance animated by Dan Meth and Pendleton Ward. Dan animated the Roy & Cathy scene in Flash and Pen animated Grandpa & Lulu traditionally by hand in his own studio.
Dan Meth also did the Flash animation interstitial of the school bell ringing. Originally, Alan Goodman wanted a stop-motion animated skit in a style of the Rankin Bass holiday specials but due to time constraits, it was scrapped. It took almost eight pitches and months before the short was finished, especially with Fred being ill in New York. The short was finally finished and screened with other shorts and it received positive reviews.
Trivia[]
- The school in the short is named after monster movie TV host and actor John Zacherley, fitting the setting.
Ratzafratz![]
Created by Jim Wyatt and Karl Toerge
Directed by Gary Conrad
Synopsis[]
Three Rat Roommates, Cyrus, Urban and Squawk, go out to the food court for dinner and a cookie. The mall security guard, Crank, spies them and the chase is on!
Voice Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Jess Harnell | Crank, Man at Cookie Nook |
| June Foray | Mall Walker, Old Man #1, Man at Garbage Can |
| Debi Derryberry | Pop Singer, Teen at Cookie Nook |
| Jim Wyatt | Cyrus |
| Scott Fresina | Urban |
| Don Cameron | Squawk, Old Man#2 |
Production notes / Changes[]
Ratzafratz was the creative idea between Jim Wyatt and Karl Toerge who pitched the idea to Frederator and it was green-lit. Jim wrote the script and co-produced while Karl designed the characters, storyboarded, art directed, voice directed and laid out each scene. Jim also provided the voice of Cyrus in the short. Gary Conrad directed the animation for the series. It was animated in Flash animation at Six Point Harness so it was literally "Made in Hollywood".
Trivia[]
- The animation style is a homage to Jay Ward cartoons, even with June Foray (who was a regular on several Jay Ward projects) providing voices for it.
- Even though Gladys (the old woman mall walker), Miranda (teenage girl working at Cookie Nook) and Shakaza (pop singer) have names, they were credited as "Mall Walker", "Teen at Cookie Nook" and "Pop Singer".
- Shakaza the Pop Singer is based on singer Shakira.