Boomerang Across The Globe

 This month, we've spent plenty of time looking at Boomerang in the States, but what about elsewhere? After all, Boomerang is a network that spans the entire globe. Over a dozen regions have (or had) a version of the channel, and some of these variants stray shockingly far from the original vision. Today, we'll be looking at some of these channels and how they differ from the American version.

The first one we'll look at is Thailand's Boomerang. This channel launched in 2004 and has had quite a history. In its early years, the channel was pretty close to the American edition. It even had some of the same blocks, and a few new ones. "Tiny TV", for instance, was a block focused on "kid" versions of classic cartoon characters (The Flintstones Kids, Baby Looney Tunes, and so on). 

Over time, the channel started to air more modern cartoons, much like it did over here in America. The Flintstones and Tom and Jerry were replaced by titles like Postman Pat and Mr. Bean. But the strangest part about this version of Boomerang is that it went under... only to come roaring back. It was shut down in favor of a Toonami channel in 2012, only to come back in 2015 due to Boomerang's relaunch. As I said earlier, many international Boomerang channels are defunct these days, but this is the only one I'm aware of that straight-up cheated death.

One of the weirder Boomerangs is the version seen in Canada. This channel wasn't originally Boomerang at all, but rather, their own Cartoon Network. It was launched in 2012 and only became Boomerang in 2023, making it the newest version of the channel out there. Despite using the Boomerang name, the channel's programming so far is more in line with what you'd expect from CN. Shows like Adventure Time, Total Drama Island, and Rescue Heroes populate the schedule. While franchises such as Looney Tunes do appear, they are usually the more recent iterations. Very weird, and it makes you wonder why they even bothered using Boomerang's name.

Out of all these channels, however, it has to be the Latin American Boomerang that has the strangest history. In its early years, it had a similar trajectory to the American channel. The focus was on classic cartoons, changed to more modern fare, you know the story. Then, in 2008, after only seven years on air, the channel decided to jump into programming aimed at teens. Gone was Tom and Jerry, and in was The Secret Life of an American Teenager. The channel would eventually revert to its early formatting, but it wouldn't last. In 2021, the network was replaced with Cartoonito. This would be a fate shared by many international Boomerang channels, and I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen to more in the coming years.

And that's my short look at some of the more fascinating Boomerangs out there. Now, I would love to hear from some of my international readers. Did any of you watch these channels back in the day, and if so, what were your thoughts on them? I don't see much in the way of discussion about these stations, so I'd love to hear about them if anyone here viewed them.