The Big Pick was a 53 hour marathon of original programming that ran during a Cartoon Cartoon Weekends marathon during the summer of 2000 and 2001. Cartoon Network allowed the viewers to vote on which of the summer's ten series pilots will become a half-hour Cartoon Cartoon for Fall 2001 and Fall 2002. The winner of the first Big Pick in 2000 was Grim and Evil and the winner of the second big pick in 2001 was Codename: Kids Next Door. The Big Pick was cancelled in 2002.
1st Big Pick
The pilots shown during the First Big Pick (August 25-27, 2000) were:
- Grim and Evil, created by Maxwell Atoms
- Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?, created by Greg Miller
- Trevor!
- Nikki
- Foe Paws, created by Chris Savino
- Uncle Gus: For The Love Of Monkeys created by Lincoln Peirce
- Lucky Lydia, created by Arthur Filloy and Bob Camp
- Longhair and Doubledome, created by Gavrilo Gnatovich
- Lost Cat
- Prickles
2nd Big Pick
The pilots shown during the Second Big Pick (August 24-26, 2001) were:
- Captain Sturdy, created by Ashley Postlewaite, Darrel Van Citters and William Waldner.
The long-retired Captain Sturdy must return to action when the Union of Super Heroes cancels his pension. Upon returning to duty, he discovers that the organization has lost sight of what it means to be a superhero and has become more concerned with political correctness and marketing deals than saving the world from the evil Moid's clutches.
- Yee Hah & Doo Dah, created by Kenny Duggan.
A cowboy and his horse, Yee Hah and Doo Dah, reside in Manhattan's Central Park. Yee Hah enjoys the city life until he discovers that the city pavement is giving him a dreadful blister. Much to Doo Dah's dismay, he decides to stop walking and ride his horse everywhere, thereby cramping Doo Dah's power-lunching lifestyle. Eventually, Doo Dah finds the real culprit behind Yee Hah's sore feet: the branding iron, tractor, etc. that Yee Hah has been hiding in his boots.
- Imp, Inc., created by Charlie Bean and Chris Recardi.
Travelling in an orbiting meteor, three Imps are up for review and are offered the opportunity to help a poor farm couple by granting them their wish for desperately needed rain to help their crops. They manage to deliver rain, but their hopes for promotion come crashing down when their meteor smashes the couple's crops.
- My Freaky Family, created by John McIntyre
It's Nadine's first day of school, a significant historical event considered by her mother to be one of many "milestone days" which must be documented with a photo. She manages to make it onto the school bus without being photographed, but her "freaky" family grabs the camera and jumps on the family multi-seater bicycle for a mortifying chase to catch up with her.
- Major Flake, created by Chris Kelly and Adam Cohen
Major Flake, a frenetic French cereal mascot, and his grim sidekick, Sparkles must find a way to sell their rather unappealing Major Flake cereal before their boss, Sylvia Soggy, pulls the breakfast treat from store shelves.
- Hotdog Champeen (Utica Cartoon), created by Fran Krause and Will Krause
When Dan Bear and Micah Monkey learn that they can get free hot dogs by beating the current hot dog eating record at their local diner, they are up for the challenge. Dan Bear reigns as hot dog champ by consuming loads of free hot dogs, continually beating his own record. For awhile he enjoys the free franks until beating the record becomes too much even for him.
- Kids Next Door, created by Tom Warburton
The kids next door are five eager, yet bumbling, ten year olds joining forces on a mission to free up the local pool from the tyrannical "Adult Swim," thus saving the neighborhood kids from having to use the dreaded "kiddie pool."
- Swaroop, created by Mike Milo and Atul Rao
Swaroop and his family are trying to assimilate their Indian heritage with modern American culture. The differences become glaringly apparent when their neighbor brings home a cow to throw on the barbeque. Swaroop decides to hide the sacred cow before the neighbors can cook it for dinner.
- Ferret & Parrot, created by Scott Morse
A high-strung, paranoid ferret squares off against his fellow pet parrot when a mistaken love triangle develops between Ferret, Parrot, and "Yolanda the Aardvark," the star of a comic strip that lines the bottom of his cage.
- August 17 - A Kitty Bobo Show, created by Kevin Kaliher
Kitty Bobo wants to prove that he's cool by getting a cell phone. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be receiving many important calls, thereby reducing his cool factor, so he begins to fake incoming calls. It's only a matter of time before everyone catches on to the farce.