Cartoon Network marked its 25th anniversary on the weekend with a funky and nostalgic celebratory bumper that collected all of its best series past and present.
Bumpers have been a long time tradition and first started appearing on the network between series and during commercials in 2004. Since then, the bumpers have become more elaborate. Cartoon Network’s sister site, Adult Swim, also uses bumpers in between episodes. The bumpers tend to be created by those working at the network on its creative team or through outside animation houses. The bumpers gained notoriety during Cartoon Network’s CN City period, which also began in 2004 and is considered the network’s third era.
The newest bumper, which can be seen above, features all of Cartoon Network’s heavyweights, including characters from classics like Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Ed Edd n Eddy, The Powerpuff Girls and new beloved series like Adventure Time, Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball. The bumper is a minute-and-a-half long, making it one of the longest that the network has ever aired.
On Twitter and Tumblr, people were congratulating the network on its momentous occasion, with many offering their thanks to the various creators over the years who helped shape their childhood growing up.
Cartoon Network offered a similar celebratory video for its 20th anniversary, which starred even more cartoon characters from both licensed series and original shows. The network confirmed via Twitter that it would have celebratory bumpers all week. Polygon has reached out to the network to see if there are plans for any special programming.