Country of origin United States Official website Official website | Running time 3 hours First episode date 2002 | |
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Launched February 14, 2002 (2002-02-14) Similar UPN Kids, CBS Kidshow, Disney's One Too | ||
Toonturama is an American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish language television network UniMás, which debuted on February 14, 2002. The three-hour block – which airs Saturday mornings from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Pacific Time – features live action and animated series aimed at children between the ages of 2 to 14.
Contents
Programs featured on the block consist of a mix of series originally produced in Spanish and dubbed versions of series that were originally produced and broadcast in English. All shows featured on "Toonturama" are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) via the Children's Television Act.
History
On February 14, 2002, one month after the network's launch, TeleFutura debuted three children's program blocks aimed at different youth audiences. Two of these aired on weekend mornings, "Toonturama", a three-hour lineup that mainly consisted of dubbed versions of American and European animated series natively produced in English (including Bob the Builder, Tales from the Cryptkeeper, The Dumb Bunnies, Flight Squad and Problem Child) as well as anime series (Lost Universe, Tenchi Universe and Red Baron; Toad Patrol was an exception to the dubbing as it needed to use an English dub to fix translation issues) and a two-hour companion block that preceded it on Saturday and Sunday mornings, "Toonturama Junior", featuring programs aimed at preschoolers that fulfilled educational programming requirements defined by the Children's Television Act (the third block, "Mi Tele" ("My TV"), was a two-hour animation block on weekday mornings featuring a mix of imported Spanish-language cartoons (such as Fantaghiro and El Nuevo Mundo de los Gnomos ("The New World of the Gnomes")).
Among the programs featured on "Toonturama Junior" was Plaza Sésamo ("City Square Sesame"), Televisa and Sesame Workshop's Spanish-language adaptation of Sesame Street that features a mix of original segments featuring characters based on its U.S.-based parent series and dubbed interstitials from the aforementioned originating program; the program had moved to TeleFutura after a seven-year run on Univision.