User Reviews

Growing up in the 50's and 60's exposed me to some of the masters of animation and the ever consistent ten minute gag. Back then an animator was lucky if they could create a few dozen cartoons in their entire career. They put love and creativity on cellulose, and kept us entertained no matter how many times we saw the same old cartoon. We heard classical music for the first time, laughed at corny jokes we may not have completely understood due to our age and inexperience, and generally had a great time. In that vein, ChalkZone is an intelligent, creative, and well thought out adventure with some very subtle commentary deeply embedded into a topsy turvy land located just beyond that 2D surface that anyone schooled before the "white board" knows as the chalk board. Students from my era knew just how dusty the tool of learning could be. We were all burdened at one time or other with cleaning the erasers. We all got called forward to write on that surface. Bad little boys would intentionally scratch their dirty fingernails across its dull green surface sending involuntary goosebumps up everyone's spine. Some of our teachers could draw an entire world on that board, and those images taught us things by graphic representation that followed us the rest of our lives. Here is a cartoon that mirrors an experience common to everyone of my era. We all suspected there might be a huge, strange world just on the other side of its flat reality. And, most of us drew those imaginary images in chalk when the teacher wasn't looking.

ChalkZone uses a simplified line image and characters to convey a fun experience on the other side of the chalk board reality. It was probably never meant for students whose primary education came from film, television, and pretty pictures in a book. Here you must imagine, define, and draw the solution to a problem. Here the animators were probably having far too much fun discovering what they could do with the lines. And, if you look closely, you'll see that every line drawn behind the board has a consistent chalk look. Look closely, listen carefully, and you'll see a gem of a production with a very wry wit and commentary on the world of adults through the unbiased eyes of children. It's all here; love, loyalty, insanity, order and chaos. If anything, the production may be a bit too cerebral in its own innuendos to please the Beavis and Butthead crowd. Here are cleaver story lines with much less absurdity than Spongebob Squarepants. This one fact may explain the incredible number of flatly stated negatives in the reviews listed here.

Finally, besides the subtle intelligence of clever animation, producer Bill Burnett has crafted a fine grouping of short songs as an aside to each adventure. Burnett is one of those rare song writers that delight in composing music that is serious, funny, absurdist and/or thought provoking. He doesn't mind composing in simple form while concentrating on the tune, not the orchestrated gimmick. Two of my favorites composed for ChalkTales are "Puttin on the Dog," a countrified, corny salute to the music of the hills, and a haunting, beautiful, yet sweetly short piece called, "Dream a Little Dream" that evokes some of the wonderful experiences to had in the land of nod. I was so taken by those songs, I went and visited Burnett's website at www.billburnettsongmine.com . You can also hear some of those ChalkZone songs on YouTube.

I highly recommend these toons to anyone who would enjoy visiting another less defined reality that depends on the creativity of children for its entire content.

I have no idea of why so many people hates this show, but honestly is not that bad. In fact, I would dare to say that is pretty enjoyable to watch.

The animation is simple, but pleasant and the songs are okay. In many ways, this feel like a predecessor of many cartoon trends from the next decade.

Perhaps this show was way too ahead of its time.

ChalkZone was a great show from my childhood...or so I thought. With the 2010s convenience of watching cartoons online, I can watch ChalkZone episodes any time I like since November 22, 2015. The more I watch the episodes, the more I realize they were not as great as I remember, especially when Nickelodeon reruns the show a lot less often than Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the second episode, FutureZone, Penny thinks the reason ChalkZone's "future" inventions are all bad ideas because only bad ideas get erased. Not only is it dumb to assume that good ideas drawn with chalk stay unerased forever, but it is also ChalkZone's writers insulting themselves for saying that their world only has bad ideas in it. Does this mean Snap was a bad idea just because Rudy draws him as a superhero-type but never gave him any superpowers?

Another problem with ChalkZone is that it doesn't usually make us laugh the way Rugrats, SpongeBob and Fairly OddParents do, which is not the worst problem for a show to have because it is more important, and easier to check that you have a coherent story with no plot holes than making sure each of your jokes work. I like the characters of Rudy, Snap and Penny, and they are almost always endearing to watch. In a way, Rudy and Snap also feel like a better version of Mac and Bloo from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends to me. Snap is Rudy's creation, and Bloo is Mac's creation. It is hard to make the concept of magic chalk work when Rudy can solve any problem with his magic chalk unless he loses it, but that on its own doesn't make episodes boring. Usually, the interesting part of the episode is the journey of the situation itself and not how long Rudy takes to solve it when he starts trying. So ChalkZone at least knows how to fill in the plot hole of Da Boom Crew's premise, where the kids are too stupid to know how to complete any level in 3 minutes for a game they designed themselves, and keep together a coherent plot that doesn't rely on everybody being stupid or amnesiac, but ChalkZone still does not know how to make itself interesting.

I guess the real problem is - ChalkZone focuses too much on what the characters do and not enough on who their characters are. ChalkZone doesn't have anything on stuff like - the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode Good Will Hunting, the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Band Geeks, the Friendship is Magic episodes Suited for Success and Sonic Rainboom, or the Steven Universe episodes Tiger Millionaire and Lars and the Cool Kids. However, that doesn't really sum up the heart that was missing from ChalkZone, which is very hard to deduce. All it is was just 4 short seasons of 40 half-hour episodes stretched from 2002 to 2008 and I was lucky enough to catch wind of it in 2008 when Nickelodeon was still airing reruns of it during its original run of new episodes. I think they stopped airing reruns after 2009. How do I explain this? Johnny Test and Clarence have minimal plots of the kids in the title doing ridiculous things and going on their own silly adventures, and more or less focus on the same title characters nearly all the time, but they still have more entertainment value and are easier to remember than ChalkZone. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends has the aforementioned Mac and Bloo. Codename: Kids Next Door also has endearing kid characters going on adventures together (I always had a soft spot for Numbuh 3), but it still has more entertainment value than ChalkZone. Star vs. the Forces of Evil has two kids who fight monsters and travel through different dimensions like ChalkZone. Twelve Forever has another trio of kid characters who regularly travel to a secret fantasy world for young people and back home, but it is more interesting than ChalkZone because of episodes that focus on an individual character. Reggie has Birthday Forever, Dustin Forever and Fancy Forever, and Todd has Guy Pleasant Forever, Dance Forever and Audition Forever. Even some of the characters on Endless get their chance to shine. Mack and Beefhouse Forever focuses on Mack and Beefhouse, and Not Twelve Forever focuses on Big Deal. OK KO: Let's Be Heroes has a trio of kid superheroes who fight all sorts of bad guys of different species and robots, and-you know the rest. I guess the only memorable thing about ChalkZone is that I have seen so many animated shows have come after ChalkZone that share common elements with it and execute them much better.

In conclusion, I am not really sure what was so unmemorable about ChalkZone. I do not know why it did not have the spark I saw in other modern American animated shows like it. What was in Clarence, Codename: Kids Next Door, Fosters' Home for Imaginary Friends, Johnny Test, OK KO, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Twelve Forever that was not in ChalkZone? My best guess is that whatever ChalkZone doesn't have, it is because the creator Bill Burnett, and his writing team, put all of their effort into the musical numbers at the end of most episodes. Not that there is a problem with that; Bill Burnett is an excellent singer and he sang the theme song for this show. It is not a bad show by any means; ChalkZone is one of those "just OK" programs that does all the right things to appeal without having any flavor of appeal. It is what I taste when I eat Swiss Cheese, but not because of the holes. Friendship is Magic and Star vs. the Forces of Evil feel like eating Asiago cheese. They actually have a flavor that I remember, and I love to watch over and over again because they kick in my mouth, and the hits land. I only have the slightest idea why Bill Burnett couldn't make the hits land for ChalkZone.

I was especially disappointed when I learned from Nerdstalgic that ChalkZone could have gotten a Season 5 arc where Rudy and Penny go to college and start dating, and Snap has to come to terms with the fact that Rudy will outgrow doing ChalkZone things with him, much like Woody during Toy Story 2 and 3. He also would have a kid who was stuck in ChalkZone too long and then get banned team up with Skrawl. I was extra disappointed when I learned that ChalkZone never got to show us what happens to kids who were stuck in ChalkZone longer than 24 hours, because it implies that there are other kids who have White Lightning Chalk and it reminds me that Twelve Forever luckily didn't wait too long to make Spring Break Forever and A Stranger Forever, which are both about what happens to ordinary people who spend too much time in Endless. While I feel very bad for Bill Burnett not getting to do those cool stories in Season 5, I also do not blame Nickelodeon for under-airing ChalkZone when the execution of most of its ideas lacked the wide appeal it could have had. I know that is how I feel because I watched all 40 episodes. If Nickelodeon allowed me to reboot ChalkZone, I would do that if I wanted to make it a much more memorable show, but I would also bring Bill Burnett back as a consultant so he can help me stay true to his creative vision, and I can show him how to make new ChalkZone a better show in execution than the original ChalkZone.

ChalkZone first was a cartoon short series on Oh Yeah! Cartoons, which then became a NickToon. This show follows an elementary school boy artist named Rudy who has a special talent: he can draw a portal on a chalkboard and enter the world dubbed appropriately "ChalkZone". Once in ChalkZone, Rudy has the ability to interact with drawing that were once on chalkboards and have been erased. This show has a lot to do with the childhood theory of where drawings go after they are erased as well as teamwork to stop even the weirdest scenario.

This show was one of the more funnier ones than anything that any network could try and produce and that's no lie!

00s Teletoon had some of the best products. At the same time hit the ceiling and never recovered afterwards. A show about a boy who can draw anything with chalk and goes on misadventure meeting creatures and people along the way. The concept is unique without being too smart or dumb. The in show soundtrack is pleasant to listen to. I liked the lead character he was such a cool unique character. What can be learned? Use your imagination and draw. Verdict: No erasers needed.

ChalkZone, in my opinion, registers in my mind as a fun, humorous, and pretty creative show. The art style is interesting, creating clear distinctions of what is real and what is chalk, and I enjoyed seeing all the random stuff can draw. I mean, what little kid wouldn't draw a smiling sun? I've done so on my fair share of chalkboard drawing.

The continuity of the series is pretty good as well as the writing. I admit, some of the episodes are kind of out there, but they're pretty amusing. Some of the songs are just plain annoying, I admit it, but the slower ones have a lot of depth to them if you listen.

However, there are some aspects of the show I don't like. I feel like they could have explored the use of different camera angles, like in Invader Zim, and a bit more detail on the different aspects of ChalkZone. It's a worldwide dimension and the farthest they travelled to was ChalkSpain...they could have done more.

All in all, the show has an even amount of pros and cons, hence why I gave it a 5 out of 10. Definitely not the worst cartoon, but obviously not Avatar: The Last Airbender quality.

I looked up ChalkZone because I wanted to check out who was singing on one of the songs, and geez, I couldn't believe the people who were ripping it up! I don't know/can't tell the ages so, I'm sure that makes a difference (I'm 44 and yes, I actually like Nick, even if I didn't have a 6 year old) Speaking of my 6 year old, he LOVES this show. We've decided that the theme song is the best one of all the Nick Toons, and we actually LIKE the "music videos". I think it's cute and different.

I love this show! It's great to be able to watch this show with my daughter. All the episodes of course were new when I was a kid. It's nice to see that she loves it as much as I did and do.

I love animated shows, and I like Nickelodean in general. But I can't stand ChalkZone, for my taste it is too cheesy and annoying. That said, it is an acquired taste, so I am not bashing anyone who likes it, but for me this is not only the worst Nickelodean show but one of the worst animated shows ever along with Shaggy and Scooby Doo:Get a Clue!

I liked the concept, and the show meant well. However, the animation is pretty much terrible, with diluted colours and badly drawn characters. The songs are enough to make me want to rip my ear-drums out, and the music videos are even worse. The writing is cheesy and the plot-lines are predictable, and nowhere near as original as the concept made them out to be. And even worse, the voice acting is really not good at all, there are some truly talented voice actors here, but they are either wasted by bad jokes and puns and annoying voices/accents.

All in all, an annoying show and for me it is close to unwatchable. 1/10 Bethany Cox

I liked this show a little growing up, but I liked Rugrats better. At that time, I thought that this cartoon might be set in the '50s because Rudy and Penny looked and acted like '50s kids. Now, I'm 13 and I still think that. I love this cartoon more than I did growing up and without a doubt, this is my favorite cartoon of all time. This cartoon has the greatest animation I have ever seen! They also couldn't have picked better voice actors! Rudy is voiced by E.G. Daily, who also voices Tommy from Rugrats and Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls. Penny is voiced by Hynden Walch, who would later voice Starfire from Teen Titans and Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time. This Nickelodeon cartoon, along with CatDog and Danny Phantom, has a very catchy theme song! This is a very short lived series that had 40 episodes over 4 seasons and ran from 2002 until 2008. I hope that Nickelodeon can produce new episodes with the original creators, writers, and cast. Bill Burnett and Larry Huber are the greatest cartoonists of all time and E.G. Daily and Hynden Walch are the greatest voice actors of all time!

This show was massively screwed over and did not air it's final episodes until 2 more years! Plus, it didn't gain a cult following until all the episodes aired in the US. That's the idea how bad the show is! Nick did not care and are embarrassed by it. This is along with CatDog, Sidekick, Free Birds (Which I totally hate and it's the worst Cn movie ever) Scaredy Squirrel, The Mighty B, Megamind, Cloudy w/ A Chance of Meatballs: The Series, Crossing Swords, Igor AND The Emoji Movie are bad for kids! Avoid this junk at ALL costs!

I missed this show when it first came out. Found it a few weeks ago on YouTube. Anyways, I noticed it got a lot of hate back in the day and now people seem to be very nostalgic about it. Maybe people just didn't have any imagination back in the early 2000's because this show is about as creative as they come. I watched at as an aspiring cartoonist myself. The world it creates is unlike any other. Many cartoons that came after it seem to be influenced by it. Very underrated in my opinion.

I grew up watching this and I have to say I f you haven't seen this show I highly recommend you check it out. It's cool to watch. The characters are likable (even the selfish Snap at times), the animation's cool and creative and the stories are pretty interesting. It's really cool seeing how Rudy (E.G. Daily) gets out of tight spots using his magic chalk. Bottom line, ChalkZone is a fun and creative show. Kids and even adults will like it for its unique style and format.

I have been watching nickelodeon ever since 1995 i think the best gameshow was legends of the hidden temple but sadly it was cancelled but it was definatlly not because of poor ratings. now chalkzone on a scale from 1 to 10 i give it a 8 because good actors, good jokes, great music, good background, and many more. now anyone who says the fairy oddparents is a stupid show odviosley has never watched nickelodeon before either that or their brain is in another place besides there head! about that show it is very funny and i can compare that show to the simpsons because just as much laughter. as for spongebob one word excellent! nickelodeon keep up the good work and don't cancel any of the good shows!

One of the greatest cartoons ever made, Remeber watching it as a kid but nick sabotaged it because it was unique and different like kablam. Rewatched it on paramount plus after 15 years and everything from the writing to animation is above anything scene on western animation in the last decade. No contest. Its ashame it got cancelled but this is a show i wouldnt want to be brought back because it was be horrible with how bad western animation is today. Dont know whats up with the trolls reviews giving it a low rating but this imdb where logic does not matter when rating something,just like meta critic or rotten tomatoes.

I like Reggie Bullnerd; he's funny. Everything he says sounds funny b/c it's his voice. The songs are catchy and the humour is clean. The characters are believable and the plot is great. And by the way, "Fairly Odd Parents" is NOT hellish!

i have watched every single episode of chalkzone and i liked everyone of them i also like hey arnold,the fairy oddparents,spongebob,and catdog, but my favorite gameshow on nickelodeon is legends of the hidden temple but sadly it only lasted from 1993-1995 but i sure hope none of the other shows get cancelled anytime soon! p.s. keep up the good work nickelodeon!

My summary lied. Don't do Drugs. Now that the public service announcement is out of the way, now I can say how bad this show is.

This show TRIES to be cool, but they stank. I bet even Satan hates Chalkzone. The animation is bad, the music is bad (Oh GOD the music is bad.)

The Voice acting is terribly cheesy, as are the jokes.

Now heres the worst part. In every episode they have a music video. The music is so bad, it's insulting to every insturment in the universe. NOW here is an example of Chalkzone music lyrics

"WE LIKE TO BOOGY! WE LIKE TO BOOGY! WERE IN A ZONE!"

Now Sing that ten times, and there is your song. Every little child I know despises this show, including everyone ELSE I know.

I give this show a -5 out of 10