Toon Disney is a 24-hour cable channel owned by The Walt Disney Company in the United States. Toon Disney airs mostly children's animated television series. Toon Disney is a sister channel of Disney Channel, Toon Disney airs animated children's programming 24 hours a day; its format has similarities to those of Boomerang and the later Nicktoons. Toon Disney's target audience is children ages 2–11. A Spanish language audio track is available on Toon Disney through the SAP option; some cable and satellite systems also offered the Spanish language feed as a separate channel.
History[]
1998-2008: Launch of the channel[]
Original logo (1998-2009; 2018-2024)
Toon Disney launched on April 18, 1998 (coinciding with the Disney Channel's 15th anniversary), with its very first program being The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment from Fantasia. Originally, the channel's programming consisted primarily of older Disney animated television series, including those from The Disney Afternoon. Toon Disney also aired some other animated series that Disney owned the rights to (mainly shows produced by DIC Entertainment (now WildBrain), which was owned by Disney at the time the network was launched). For the first year of the channel's existence, a block of the programs seen on Toon Disney would air on Sunday evenings on the Disney Channel as a "sneak preview" of the channel for interested subscribers.
In the 2000s, Toon Disney added a variety of new programming expanding the vast library of Disney animation. Many programs from Disney's One Saturday Morning and ABC Kids joined the lineup, mostly without the expense of other programs. However, in 2004, with the addition of Jetix and reruns of animated programs from the main Disney Channel, many of the older programs on Toon Disney gradually removed.
Like most other Disney-owned cable channels, starting in 2008, Toon Disney began airing in HD (the only ones which did not were ESPN Classic and SOAPnet). Toon Disney, at launch, was commercial-free until September 2000. This was when the network reached two years of "critical mass" in subscribers of over 15 million.
2008-2009: Replaced with Disney XD[]
On August 6, 2008, Disney-ABC Television Group announced they would rebrand Toon Disney in early 2009 as Disney XD, which would be aimed at kids from ages 6 and up. Toon Disney ceased broadcast on February 13, 2009 (two months and five days shy of eleven years since it first started broadcasting), and was rebranded as Disney XD. Toon Disney/Jetix ran a preview night starting at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 12, 2009, the day before the network launched, the preview night included more promos about the new Disney XD shows. The final program on the channel was The Incredible Hulk, as part of Jetix. The first program to air on Disney XD was Phineas and Ferb on February 13, 2009 at midnight.
2018: relaunch[]
On March 16, 2017, Disney had announced that the Toon Disney channel would relaunch next year, and the relaunch took effect on September 17, 2018. Toon Disney now airs most of older Disney's older animated children's content, as well as some recent Disney content and acquired shows. Disney XD is still active as a secondary channel airing Disney's animated shows. Toon Disney's 2004 branding was also kept for the channel, and more obscure content began to be added to the channel's regular schedule.
Toon Disney is the only Disney-owned network to still be broadcast in standard definition format as of 2021. The channel relaunched an HD resolution on August 28, 2023, though the dedicated standard definition feed is still on the air.
On August 31, 2023, Toon Disney, along with other Disney-owned networks, was blacked out on Charter Spectrum due to a carraige dispute involving Charter resquesting Disney provide free access to Disney+ for all Spectrum TV subscribers. The dispute was resolved on September 11, resulting in Spectrum subcribers getting access to higher-priority channels back in their packages. However, eight Disney networks, including Toon Disney, were not restored to Spectrum under Disney and Charter's new deal.
Since 2024, modern Disney animated programming currently still airing on sister networks Disney Channel and Disney XD had made their premiers on Toon Disney for the very first time. On January 15, 2024, Hamster & Gretel had premiered on Toon Disney, being the very first modern Disney animated program to premiere on the network. On February 12, 2024, Big City Greens, The Ghost And Molly McGee and Gravity Falls had all premiered on Toon Disney.
Shows broadcast on Toon Disney (1998-2009)[]
See list of programs broadcast by Toon Disney since 2018
Disney animated and live-action shows[]
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Jetix Animation Concepts[]
- Get Ed (2005-2009)
- Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (2004-2009)
- Yin Yang Yo! (2006-2009)
Jetix Europe[]
- W.I.T.C.H. (2004-2008)
- A.T.O.M. - Alpha Teens on Machines (2006-2009)
- Ōban Star-Racers (2006-2009)
- Pucca (2006-2009)
- Monster Buster Club (2008-2009)
Other Disney-owned Shows[]
- The Avengers: United They Stand (2008-2009)
- Bump in the Night (1998-2001) *
- Bureau of Alien Detectors (2006-2007)
- Digimon: Digital Monsters (2004-2009) *
- Dungeons & Dragons (2006-2008)
- Fantastic Four (2008-2009)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008-2009)
- Iron Man (2008-2009)
- Mon Colle Knights (2006-2007) **
- NASCAR Racers (2006-2008)
- Power Rangers (2004-2009) *
- Spider-Man (1994) (2004-2009)
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (2004-2009)
- Spider-Man Unlimited (2008-2009)
- Shinzo (2005-2009) **
- The Tick (2005-2008)
- X-Men (2004-2005; 2008-2009)
- Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa (1998-2001) *
* means the show was owned or licensed by Disney at the time, but no longer is.
** means the show wasn't owned by Disney, but was distributed by them through BVS Entertainment.
DIC Entertainment shows[]
As Disney at the time owned DIC Entertainment (now WildBrain), many of DIC's programs had regular timeslots on the channel.
- Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1998-2002)
- Gadget Boy (1998-2002)
- The Littles (1998-2002)
- Madeline (1998-2003)
- Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! (2002-2004)
- The New Archies (1998-2002)
- Sabrina: The Animated Series (2002-2004)
- Sabrina's Secret Life (2004-2005)
- Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire (1998-2002)
- Wish Kid (1998-2002)
- What-a-Mess (1998-2002)
- The Wizard of Oz (1998-2002)
Non-Disney shows[]
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Movies broadcast on Toon Disney (1998-2009)[]
See list of movies broadcast by Toon Disney since 2018
Disney animated and live-action movies[]
Other non-Disney movies[]
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Programming[]
Live-action programming[]
Although the majority of the network's programming was animation, live-action programming had become a part of Toon Disney during the later half of its life. Live children were featured in bumpers aired from 1998 to 2002, and fan-made animations done in live-action were aired in these bumpers. The Jetix block aired the show Power Rangers. Toon Disney also began airing Muppet movies in 2004, including Muppets from Space (one of the few Muppet productions that was not included in Disney's acquisition of the franchise).
During the network's existence, Toon Disney aired the Disney Channel Original Movies Jett Jackson: The Movie and Up, Up, and Away, and the theatrical films Max Keeble's Big Move, Snow Dogs, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Toon Disney contained more than 10 short segments includes video/slideshow format. The short series Check This Kid Out aired randomly during the commercial breaks between July 7, 2008 and February 13, 2009. On September 7, 2008, one of Disney's few live-action short films, Frankenweenie, aired on Toon Disney. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody aired on the network in late 2008, as well as the original movie Minutemen in 2009, but this was likely part of the transition to Disney XD as the announcement had already been made.
Programming blocks[]
Toon Disney frequently aired groups of series in blocks; over the course of Toon Disney's broadcast history, it had several programming blocks that featured at least two of their shows.
- 12 Days of Christmas (1998–2008) - A block that aired around Christmas between 1998 and 2008, and showed Christmas themed episodes and movies.
- 2oon Disney (2002–2004) - Aired on weekend mornings, this block showed two episodes each of the shows like Teacher's Pet, Bonkers, Recess, TaleSpin, House of Mouse, Pepper Ann, Timon & Pumbaa, The Weekenders, Madeline, Disney's Doug, Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!, Toad Patrol, Teamo Supremo and Lloyd in Space. It was replaced by 2x Toons Weekend.
- 2x Toons Weekend (2004–2005) - Aired on weekend mornings, this block showed two episodes each of the shows like House of Mouse, Lloyd in Space, Sabrina's Secret Life, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Hercules, Teacher's Pet, Timon & Pumbaa, Teamo Supremo, Kim Possible, The Proud Family, Recess and The Legend of Tarzan. It came back in the summer of 2005 under a slightly different name (2x The Toons).
- @Toon (2001–2004) - A spinoff of Toons in the House. Before each first commercial break for most of the shows, it featured viewer submissions and game high scores from the official website from the April 2002 onward. The segments were "Game-On Challenge" (focusing games), "It's Ummmm...?" (a guessing game hosted by Darkwing Duck and later Chip and Dale, which showed a close-up image of a cartoon character that the viewer had to guess), "I Wanna Watch" (a Thursday request show where viewers voted on which cartoon they want to see), "Mail-a-Toon" (where viewers could send e-mails to Lloyd Nebulon, Rope Girl, Timon and Pumbaa, and Tino Tonitini), "Goofy Giggles" (joking with Goofy), "Shout-Out" (a chat game hosted by Timon and Pumbaa), "Super Secret Word" (a "secret word" game where the secret word would appear by the screen bug during each Teamo Supremo episode), "Whatcha Think?" (a thinking game hosted by Scott Leadready II), and "Website Check-In" (a "check-in" segment hosted by Max Goof, which showed to viewing at the Toon Disney website).
- After Class Laughs (2006) - A two-hour block of "The Most Funny Shows", consisting of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, American Dragon: Jake Long, The Emperor's New School, Recess, and Kim Possible. This block was shown on weekdays from 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central to 5:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Central. It came back in late 2006 under a slightly different name (After Class Laugh Attack!). It was replaced by Mega Jam.
- After School (2004-2006) - An afternoon block shown after school hours which included The Weekenders, Recess, Lloyd in Space, Dave the Barbarian, Fillmore!, The Proud Family and Kim Possible. This block was shown on weekdays from 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central to 5:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Central. It was replaced by After Class Laughs.
- Big Movie Show (2005–2009) - A daily showing of films, usually animated Disney films, but the film shown may be produced by another studio or occasionally live-action. The Big Movie Show was often the subject of theme weeks, which usually heralded the initial Toon Disney broadcast of a given film.
- Big Movie Weekend (2007–2009) - A spin-off of the Big Movie Show.
- Big Time Morning Show (2005) - A two-hour weekday morning block that aired from 7:00am to 9:00am. Like the @Toon block, this block had more answers and questions, weekly polls, and shout-outs at the official website.
- Chillin' with the Villains (2000–2004) - A weekly two-hour marathon of a certain show presented on Sunday afternoons. These particular marathons would consist entirely of episodes focusing on a certain villain from whichever series was being featured.
- Double Feature Movie Show (2001–2005) - It featured back-to-back movies airing every Friday from 5:00pm to 9:00pm and repeating Saturday from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Formerly known as Double Feature Fridays (or Double Feature Saturdays).
- Friday Night Movie (1998-2001) - A feature film presentation on the Magical World of Toons every Friday night starting at 7:00pm. It featured films made by the Walt Disney company, as well as non-Disney films such as The Land Before Time series.
- Hangin' with the Heroes (2002–2004) - Originally aired on weekends, but then aired on weekdays, too. It featured Aladdin, Gargoyles, and Hercules.
- Jetix (2004–2009) - A fourteen-hour block on weekdays and a seventeen hour block on weekends. It featured action shows that some of which were originally on Fox before Disney bought its children's shows and this block was what Fox Kids eventually became in February 14, 2004 at Midnight (Technically launch on February 13, 2004 on Eastern), during its first two years on ABC Family had no proper name and was known simply as ABC Family Action Block. Originally the network's nightly block, it eventually took up more than half of the network's schedule and close in February 13, 2009 at Midnight EST before Disney XD appears at midnight. It was later revived as a block on XYZ, a nighttime adult-oriented block on Disney XD, on September 4, 2021, now airing anime with material too mature to be shown in the daytime in contrast to the original Jetix.
- Magical World of Toons (1998–2003) - A four-hour nightly block that aired from 7:00pm to 11:00pm Sunday to Thursday until 2003, when its slot was replaced by the Power Pack. During the week, shorts and series showcasing Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Timon and Pumbaa, Hercules, Aladdin, Doug and Pepper Ann. The block's weekend consisted of animated features, mostly of those created for the home video market, like The Return of Jafar and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, as well as some theatrical releases including A Goofy Movie, Alice in Wonderland and The Brave Little Toaster.
- Play it Again Jam! (2006–2007) - Replaced the Bonus Stacks. This format had three episodes of a given show in a row instead of four. Its name is a pun to the phrase, "Play it again, Sam!" from Casablanca. It was replaced by Mega Jam, then Treasure Cove.
- Power Pack (2003) - Replacing the Magical World of Toons in March 2003, this block consisted of airing three-hour marathons of a specific show every weeknight, except for Friday, when the Double Feature Movie Show ran. These marathons featured House of Mouse on Monday, Teamo Supremo on Tuesday, Lloyd in Space on Wednesday, Gargoyles on Thursday, The Weekenders on Saturday, and Timon & Pumbaa on Sunday. Although it was replaced by a standard prime-time block in June, it formed the basis for the later Weekday Stacks.
- Princess Party Palace (2000–2007) - A one-hour block featuring episodes of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. The block aired only in the afternoons on weekends. Formerly known as Princess Power Hour. It was replaced by The Great Toon Weekend Getaway.
- Pumbaa Bowl (1999-2009) - An annual marathon of Timon & Pumbaa that aired on Super Bowl Sunday every year.
- Screaming Meanies (1998–2003) - A block that aired around Halloween between 1998 and 2003, and showed Halloween-themed episodes of shows.
- Super Stacked Weekdays (2007–2009) - A mini-marathon each weekday. On Fridays a random show would air sometimes a show that wasn't aired often. It began as Mega Movie Jam, but changed its name afterwards to Mega Jam. Starting October 1, 2007, it was renamed Toon Disney Treasure Cove. After this, it was changed to Super Stacked Weekdays to coincide with the Super Stacks, at this time known as Super Stacked Weekends.
- Super Stacked Weekends (2007–2009) - A three-hour weekend marathon of two random programs, one Saturday, and one Sunday. It was known as Super Stacks before its concision with Super Stacked Weekdays.
- The Brother Hood (2008–2009) - A one-hour block, which aired two times a day. It showed The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Phineas and Ferb. This block continued to appear on Disney XD, but without the name.
- The Great Toon Weekend Getaway (2007–2008) - A five-hour weekend block featuring shows based on Disney movies: Aladdin, Timon & Pumbaa, Hercules, The Emperor's New School, The Little Mermaid, The Legend of Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
- The New For You Show! (2003–2004) - A half-hour slot that featured previously unaired episodes of Lloyd in Space, House of Mouse, The Weekenders, Teamo Supremo, and Fillmore! every Friday and Saturday night at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central.
- Toons in the House (2000–2001) - A four-hour weekday-afternoon block similar in spirit to The Disney Afternoon. It was replaced by @Toon.
- Weekday Bonus Stacks (2004–2006) - Basically three 2-hour marathons of three different shows that aired from 11:00 am Eastern/10:00 am Central to 5:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Central. Everyday were three shows different from the previous day. Though many kids have enjoyed these shows, many of these programs were already airing in good time slots, so it decreased the variety of shows on the network. In September 2005, this block was renamed the Superstar Bonus Stacks and its starting time changed to 10 am, but this time airing 7 different shows for an hour each and on a more regular schedule. However, this did not last long. In October 2005, Toon Disney went back to the regular Bonus Stacks. It was replaced by Play it Again, Jam!
- Toon Disney Wild Card Stack (2007–2009) - It showed classic Disney cartoon series multiple times with Shnookums and Meat, Disney's Doug, DuckTales, Quack Pack, Bonkers, Pepper Ann, TaleSpin, Goof Troop, Darkwing Duck, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and 101 Dalmatians: The Series.
International versions[]
1998 - 2009[]
Toon Disney had first launched internationally in the United Kingdom in the Fall of 2000. Toon Disney's international expansion grew as Toon Disney launched in Spain on November 16, 2001. A German Toon Disney had then launched on November 10, 2004 along with a +1 time shift service, then in Italy on December 24, 2004. Walt Disney Television International India also launched Toon Disney in India a week earlier with three audio tracks (English, Tamil and Telugu). On August 1, 2005, A Toon Disney channel launched in Scandinavia, as well as in Japan four months later. A Hinidi audio track had launched on Toon Disney India on September 1, 2005.
In 2009, following the closure of the channel, as it was replaced by Disney XD, the other Toon Disney channels and blocks were relaunched as Disney Cinemagic, Disney Channel and/or Disney XD. The Italians channels were the last to close on October 1, 2011.
2018 - present[]
Main article: Disney Branded Television
When Toon Disney was relaunched in the United States in September 2018, Disney Television had announced that the channel would not relaunch internationally, as the company's international counterparts had been proposing closures of some international versions of Toon Disney's sister networks due to the international launch of Disney+. However, in 2023, it was announced that Toon Disney would undergo a global re-introduction after all. Toon Disney was first launched as a block on Disney XD in the Netherlands on January 15, 2024. On the same day, Disney Junior had ceased operations in France and had been replaced by a local version of Toon Disney.
On January 1, 2025, a Canadian version of Toon Disney will launch, operated by Corus Entertainment.
Announcers[]
- Joe Alaskey (2001-2004)
- Jason Marsden (2004-2007)
- Mikey Kelley (2007-2009)
Network slogans[]
- Home for all your favorite Disney characters (1998–2001)
- Built from the best toons (2001–2009)
Gallery[]
See also[]
da:Toon Disney es:Toon Disney pl:Toon Disney