TV 8 Kids' Fun Festival aka "Pink Morning Cartoon" (partially found animated TV children's show; 1996-2004)
TV 8 Kids' Fun Fest was an animated children's show that aired on the station WINJ-LP in Columbus, Ohio. The show was animated and edited by station owner Rev. Ella Flowers with help from her daughters. The episodes were produced from 1996 to 2004 and were worked on constantly. Ella Flowers did all of the known voice work for the show.
Only a few clips of the show have been found.
Search for PMC
On April 16th, 2007, YouTuber "Jenkem Chic" uploaded the first video of what became known as "Pink Morning Cartoon," titled "?????". In this video, a low-quality VHS rip of an unidentified cartoon, a woman (commonly mistaken for a man) narrates the story of a grandmother and her two grandchildren trying on hats in an "old hat room."
Two years later, on July 12th, 2009, Jenkem Chic uploaded a video simply titled "Pink Morning Cartoon." This video was an extended cut of "?????" with better graphics and audio. The description reads:
"I did not edit this. It was on an old VHS tape that I had. I would see this come on typically around 5am in the late 1990s early 2000s. If anyone knows what this is or who made it, please message me."
The next installment would be uploaded later that day: "Everything's Coming Up Spring." The video, as inferred by the lyrics and visuals, was a song about spring and various animals. The upload of this video implied that "Pink Morning Cartoon" wasn't story-driven and was more of a variety cartoon.
Jenkem would make a Reddit post in April 2020 under the name "u/rubbedlung" on r/obscuremedia. In reply to u/C89RUO questioning the authenticity of the video, Jenkem stated:
"Welp I can't vouch for its credibility but I can tell you that it was on Columbus, OH public access at like 4:30 AM in the late 90s. Little before creepypasta, I think it was actually a religious based show for children that was made out of someones home and shown on PA. Any creepiness is assumed to be unintentional but is nonetheless completely apparent. I was actually hoping that someone would recognize it but I won't hold my breath."[1]
Additionally, on an LMW forum thread titled "Unsettling Animated TV Bumpers of Completely Unknown Origin", an additional theory was provided about the show "most likely airing on Channel 2 or Channel 53".[2] Another theory was suggested from a YouTube comment on "Everything's Coming Up Spring" by YouTuber "The Inspektor", which stated:
"I'm pretty sure this isn't from public access but from a religious satellite broadcast provider known as Sky Angel. They're defunct now but they had been going since 1996 and I grew up with all these really obscure, low budget Christian shows they aired. This was likely one of them."
After a series of Q&A sessions with Jenkem and a friend, MoriaOrc, were held in a Discord server dedicated to the search, it was confirmed that Jenkem was in possession of additional footage of "Pink Morning Cartoon". The clips originated from a VHS mix-tape that was sent to him by his friend, Moria. From this Q&A, it was suggested that "Pink Morning Cartoon" likely aired a local TV station, likely WGCT/WINJ (Channel 8), WSFJ (Channel 19) or WQMC (Channel 23).
In another Q&A, MoriaOrc claimed that it was part of a religious show hosted primarily by an older woman who also did the voicing in the cartoon. MoriaOrc also said that it aired in the Summer of 2001, and it aired along with Fast Track to Fame. It was concluded that the most possible channel that aired "Pink Morning Cartoon" was WGCT/WINJ, and was likely produced for said station with help from a local woman, Ella Flowers, who owned the station from 1998-2006. Flowers featured in many religious and musical programs on the station, often narrating and producing music for them. Shortly afterward, Jenkem provided the Discord server with a short clip showing the beginning of the credits sequence for "Everything's Coming Up Spring", which seemed to confirm that Ella Flowers was connected to the production of the cartoon.
After further searching, Angela Francis, one of Ella's daughters, confirmed in a series of emails that Ella was in fact responsible for the production of the clips Jenkem had uploaded. She gave the name of the series as TV 8 Kids' Fun Festival or Kids' Fun Festival for short. In addition, Angela confirmed that many episodes were produced for Kids' Fun Festival, the tapes to which went missing sometime after Ella passed away in 2017. As a result, other than the clips uploaded by Jenkem Chic, the series has become completely lost.
Soon after, Ella's granddaughter joined the Discord server and participated in a Q&A. According to her, the original tapes of the show were stolen and possibly destroyed by a cousin, though some production materials may still survive. Additionally, the show was apparently popular in the local community, meaning some recordings may have been made.
Gallery
Footage
Videos
References
- ↑ Jenkem's description of the cartoon on the r/obscuremedia subreddit page. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
- ↑ LMW forum thread that discusses "Pink Morning Cartoon". Retrieved 20 Jun '20