Poland, what have you done with this land… Ooo?!

Cartoon Network in Poland had difficulties adapting almost from the beginning. In a society accustomed to safe fairy tales for children in the style of Reksio or Bolek and Lolek , the shock in the society was caused by animations that had to offer something other than just morals and messages.

Cartoon Network debuted on June 1, 1998. Earlier, from 1993, an English-language version was available for the so-called EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). In the first months, viewers already had the opportunity to get to know the productions of their own brand. Dexter’s laboratory , Johnny Bravo or Cow and Chicken debuted with us in the year of the station’s premiere and immediately there were controversies.

And the fact that Cow and Chicken is disgusting, and that Johnny Bravo is full of erotic overtones and how can you play such things to children – parents complained. It should be mentioned here that for the United States, where the station comes from, such series were not something new or surprising. Cow and Chicken was nothing short of Nickelodeon’s answer to Ren and  Stimpy . Disney will also try this type of cartoon, but it will burn quickly, even though this cartoon will come out late compared to the above-mentioned competition. Animation of The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Showdid not particularly entertain Disney Afternoon audiences in the US and only ran to 13 episodes without ever seeing Poland. By the way, Ren and Stimpy themselves have never been dubbed in Poland. Probably learned from the experience of CN, Nickelodeon, when it entered Poland late (only in 2008), never dared to make such a “bad” cartoon. Especially since the launch marketing campaign was radically aimed at children. That’s why minimax shows like Hey Arnold! , Rugrats and Wild Family , but Ren and Stimpy were let go.

The following years passed for Cartoon Network quite calmly. Surprisingly from today’s perspective, Courage – the Cowardly Dog not only found its way to Poland (today even CN USA would never produce it, let alone issue or export it), but also found its way uncensored. Without any censorship. Including marathons or your own “sixty” (double emission). Courage had a surreal animation, more than once guts on top, not to mention regular insults or violence. Courage’s parents complained about Courage, too, but it also happened on the issue of The Powerpuff Girls , so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

A breakthrough came in 2002. Cartoon Network in the United States offered the series The Dark and the Evil . After some time, two titles “grown” out of it: Zło w Potrawka and The Dark Adventures of Billy and Mandy . While the former quickly fell off the production line, Billy & Mandy turned out to be a hit. Frequent airing, custom cutscenes, lots of bumpers throughout the CN City era. However, this is only in the US.

Największy jednak przełom nastąpił w 2014 roku i dotyczył – tak, ukochanej przez miliony na całym świecie – Pory na przygodę! (ang. Adventure Time). Kreskówka od początku miała w Polsce pewną dawkę cenzury. Wystarczy przypomnieć wycięcie z odcinka The Lich sceny, w której Królewna Balonowa obcina nożyczkami nogi jednemu ze swoich poddanych, a następnie przyczepia innemu. Było to jednak tylko przedsmak. Na początku 2014 roku miało miejsce mocne przetasowanie ramówki. Zarówno Finn i Jake, jak i Mordechaj i Rigby ze Zwyczajnego serialu (ang. Regular Show) musieli pożegnać się z normalnymi porami emisji. Oba seriale wyrzucono na podwójne emisje po 21:00. Z racji, że od jakiegoś czasu nie było już TCM, początkowo nie wzbudzało to żadnych podejrzeń.