Toon News (partially found Toon Disney CGI animated interstitial series; 2004/2005)

Title card.

Status: Partially Found

In 2004/2005, for the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Disney created a CGI series of promotional interstitial shorts called Toon News that would be aired on Toon Disney. It starred a cowboy-robot-newsreader called Smokey Silvers (who wears boxer shorts and cowboy boots) ably piloting the Toon News blimp that patrolled the skies over Toontown and giving news to the audience following a short, comical, introductory segment. They’d put in clips of airing Toon Disney shows and try to make some kind of “news story” out of it (such as with Hercules: The Animated Series’ maze episode). Also, some way through the series, Smokey’s nephew Spike would come to join him, which he would at first be quite disquieted and scared about (with there being a shock chord as the episode ended) only to later confess in the next episode that he had actually warmed up to the idea, before receiving him through air mail in the introductory segment of another episode. There may have also been a scene with the two hopping through a TV screen only to have Smokey get trapped. It ran for 26 5 minute long episodes (two series) and was screened around the world minus the Pacific. It also appeared as a section of Toon Disney UK’s website.

It was nominated for a BAFTA and helped Cathy McDonald win both the Best (and Creative, unless that was the same award) Newcomer Award at Promax Europe 2005 and Young Creative in Europe Award at Promax Athens (again, unless that was the same award). She initially researched for it before becoming the director, going on to write and direct all 26 episodes. She also co-created the two characters, to which she created Spike and developed the character of Smokey. Animators who worked on it include Jonny Grew (animation and prop modeling), Nathan Laud and Han Park (at LIME during his 2005-2007 span there, who refers to it as just “Smokey Silvers”). Mark Harrison was the producer, and Stewart Pearson was the executive producer. Smokey was voiced by Lewis Macleod.

Footage from this series online is existent but scarce and in no way completing all 26 five minute episodes. The opening segment of Smokey Silvers receiving Spike through air mail was uploaded by MacDonald and Harrison as an excerpt from the series. A number of small clips can be seen in a 2004 showreel of Grew’s, while MacDonald’s 2014 showreel contains an opening segment with Smokey and Spike receiving jetpack items. And a Portuguese clip promoting Cars has also been uploaded.

When asked about uploading any footage of it, Han Park said to possibly contact the two people who ran LIME (“James” and “Nick”) about it. He then said he possibly couldn't go about doing that himself because it's been such a while.

Findings

Writer/Director of Toon News, Cathy Macdonald, uploaded the first 3 episodes of Toon News to YouTube and plans to upload more episodes in the future. Soon after, another channel named Cathy Macdonald (possibly the same person with a second channel or an entirely different person posing as the show's director) uploaded three more episodes being the fourth and fifth episode of Season One and the seventh episode of Season 2. This means that, with six complete episodes available at the moment (8/7/18), we still need to find 20 episodes.

Gallery

A showreel containing various short clips from the show.

A showreel containing a segment from the show.

A Portuguese clip promoting Cars.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

An excerpt from the show.

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Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 20 (Episode 7 of Season 2)

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See Also

Disney Channel

• 101 Dalmatians: The Series (partially found unaired pilot episode of Disney animated TV series; 1996)
• Amazing Animals (found Disney Channel animated educational series; 1996-1999)
• Arwin! (partially found pilot of cancelled "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" spin-off TV series; 2007)
• Disney Channel Interactive (lost Dish Network game channel; late 2000s)
• Disney's Coyote Tales (found Disney Channel extended version of "The Coyote's Lament" animated short; 1991)
• Disney's Doug (found episodes of animated TV series; 1996-1999)
• Dreamfinders (unproduced Disney Channel series based on "Journey Into Imagination" Epcot ride; 1983)
• Dumbo's Circus (partially found Disney Channel live action puppet series; 1985-1986)
• Fish Hooks (partially found unreleased pilot of Disney Channel animated series; 2009)
• Going Wild with Jeff Corwin (partially found Disney documentary TV series; 1997-1999)
• Gravity Falls (found pitch pilot of Disney animated TV series; 2010)
• Katbot (partially found unreleased Disney animated TV series; 2005)
• Lizzie McGuire "Season 3" (lost production material of unfinished season of Disney Channel comedy series; 2020)
• Minnie Takes Care of Pluto (found original English audio of Mickey Mouse Works animated short; 2000)
• Mousercise (partially found Disney Channel exercise series; 1983-1996)
• Mouseterpiece Theater (partially found Disney Channel cartoon compilation TV series; 1983-1990)
• Pepper Ann (partially found pilot episode of Disney animated series; 1996)
• Phineas and Ferb (lost script of cancelled theatrical film based on animated series; 2010s)
• Phineas and Ferb: Spot the Diff (found Disney Channel animated special; 2008)
• Recess "The Break In" (partially found pilot of Disney animated TV series; 1996)
• Star and the Forces of Evil (partially found unaired pitch pilot of Disney Channel animated series; 2011)
• Talespin - Phil Harris performance (lost audio recordings from Disney animated TV series; 1990)
• Teen Angel (partially found Disney Channel serial drama; 1989)
• The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (partially found Disney Channel original series; 1989-1994)
• The Jersey (partially lost Disney Channel sports themed comedy series; 1999-2004)
• The Owl House (partially found unaired pilot of Disney Channel animated series; 2017)
• The Proud Family (partially lost unaired Nickelodeon pilot of Disney Channel animated sitcom; 1999)
• Welcome to Pooh Corner (partially found Disney Channel live-action puppet series; 1983-1986)
• What's Stevie Thinking? (lost unaired pilot of cancelled "Lizzie McGuire" spin-off TV series; 2003)

Playhouse Disney

• Adventures in Nutrition with Captain Carlos (partially found Playhouse Disney animated short series; 2004-2007)
• Bear in the Big Blue House "Water, Water Everywhere" (lost unaired pilot of Disney Channel puppet series; 1997)
• Bear in the Big Blue House (partially lost original English audio of Playhouse Disney puppet series; 1997-2006)
• Breakfast with Bear (partially found episodes of Playhouse Disney spin-off series; 2005-2006)
• Handy Manny (partially found unaired pilot of Disney children's animated TV series; 2005)
• Little Einsteins (lost second pitch pilot of Playhouse Disney animated series; existence unconfirmed; 2004)
• Out of the Box (partially lost Playhouse Disney children's series; 1998-2004)
• PB&J Otter (partially found original credits sequences of Playhouse Disney animated series; 1998-2000)
• Playhouse Disney UK (partially lost interstitial material of children's TV channel; 1999-2006)
• Stanley (found unaired pilot episode of Playhouse Disney animated series; 1999)
• The Book of Pooh (found Playhouse Disney puppet series; 2001-2004)

Disney Junior

• Jungle Junction (lost pilots of Disney Junior CGI animated series; 2003; 2005; 2008)

Disney XD

• Billion Dollar Freshmen (lost unaired pilot episode of "Lab Rats" Disney XD live-action comedy TV series; 2010)
• DXP (partially found Disney XD video game block; 2017)

Other

• Robodz (lost Disney Toei animated TV series; 2008)
• The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show (found episodes of Disney animated TV series; 1995)
• Herbie the Lovebug (lost animated pilot; late 1990s-2000s)
• Power Rangers Animated Series (lost Disney XD pilot; existence unconfirmed; 2007-2009)
• Green Monkeys (lost Disney pilot; 1999)
• Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers (found English dub of anime series; 2015)
• X-Heart (partially found unreleased English dub of "X-Coração" Brazilian animated TV series; 2014)