Smosh, the banner by which BFFs Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla have been entertaining online video audiences and Pokemon enthusiasts since YouTube’s inception, has amassed over 1.3 billion views and over 4.5 million subscribers on the world’s largest video sharing site in the past six years. That’s one heck of a fan base. Hecox, Padilla, Smosh-owner Alloy Digital, Smosh President and Alloy Digital EVP Barry Blumberg, and the world’s largest video sharing site believe that fan base wants to watch cartoons in addition to the familiar erratic comedy and user-driven reality stylings of two talented young twentysomethings.
Shut Up! Cartoons is Smosh’s soon-to-debut animated YouTube channel, which is one of the 96-or-so that make up the first round of the YouTube Originals Initiative. It was conceived of by Blumberg, who, before joining the Smosh team back in 2006, was responsible for the development and production of notable Disney animated television series like Kim Possible and Recess.
The programing for slate Shut Up! Cartoons is, therefore, peppered with creators with which the animators in the audience will most likely familiar. The original cartooned original web series targeted towards Alloy’s sweet spot of a 12 to 34-year-old demo and the individuals behind those series include, but will not be limited to:
Subscribe to get the latest creator news
- Do’s and Don’ts: A Children’s Guide to Social Survival (Ryan Naumann): Horrible lessons for youngsters in trying situations.
- Pubertina (Emily Brundige): Life is hard when you’re an eleven year old going through that awkward stage.
- Zombies vs. Ninjas (Michael Granberry): Stop motion series filled with over the top zombie vs. ninjas battles.
- Krogzilla Gets a Job (Cory Edwards): Japanese monster shrinks down to human size and is forced to seek a variety of jobs.
- Snowjacked (Kelsy Abbott, John Olsen): An action comedy that follows the search for our protagonist’s snowjacked family.
- Nature Break (Mike Hollingsworth): Nature vignettes with horrible outcomes
- Weasel Town (Nathan Hamill, Eric Filipkowski): Traditional buddy comedy from superstar creators
- Oishi High School Battle (Daniel Dominguez, Joe Gressis): Hanna Montana meets Sailor Moon. What would happen if an Anime character is forced to attend regular High School?
- Teleporting Fat Guy (Anthony Pandilla, Ian Hecox): A time traveler with an appetitie visits our present day. Kinda like this, but animated.
- Sub 3 (Prudence Fenton): A unique take on the premise “The pizza must be delivered in three minutes!”
- Really Freaking Embarrassing (Peter Hannan): Animated audio answers to very embarrassing questions.
And here’s a look:
18 short-form series in total will debut in the first year of Shut Up! Cartoons, making for a total of no less than 180 aggregate episodes. The three to premiere first will be Do’s and Don’ts: A Children’s Guide to Social Survival debuting on Monday April 30, Pubertina on Wednesday May 2 and Zombies Vs. Ninjas on Friday, May 4.
Stay tuned to YouTube.com/ShutUpCartoons to check out the programs or just visit any of the websites across the Alloy Digital Network. The youth-targeting media company is going to devote a significant amount of media promotion to Shut Up! Cartoons across its network of Alloy-owned-and-operated sites, which reaches over 70 million consumers every month.
