Cartoons, also known as Cartoons DK, are a Danish Eurodance band, best known for their song "DooDah" and their cover of the 1958 novelty song "Witch Doctor", both hits released in 1998.
The group wears outlandish plastic costumes and wigs in live performances as caricatures of 1950s Americanrock and roll stars.
History
Cartoons started out as the Scooters in the late 1980s, playing rockabilly music from the 50s and 60s. In 1994, the Scooters released the album Live at Woodstock, and in 1997, they changed their name to Cartoons. Their musical style switched from rockabilly to "technobilly", their own expression of rock and roll mixed with Eurodance; many of their songs are remakes of old rockabilly hits that they covered as the Scooters. The group was first signed to FLEX Records, moving later to EMI Denmark.
The group's second album, Toontastic, did not match the success of its predecessor, but several notable hits were released from it, including "Diddley-Dee", "Little Red Ridinghood", "Big Coconuts", Lally Stott's "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and a reworked cover of Les Humphries Singers' "Mama Loo".[2] The group was one of several artists to contribute to the soundtrack of the 2000 animated film Help! I'm a Fish, with the track "Wobble-Di-Bubble-Di-Doo".[3]
In 2001, Cartoons disbanded for unknown reasons. Toonie and Sponge later revealed on a Danish TV interview that they were due to tour in the US, but these plans were put to rest at the advent of the September 11th attacks. In 2005, the group made a brief comeback to promote their Greatest Toons release. It includes a new single, "Day Oh", both released by CMC Entertainment. They performed a number of shows throughout Europe, including at Bonbonland and the Jelling Musikfestival.
In July 2016, Karina Jensen died of cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2012. She was survived by her husband and two children.[4] In 2018, the group returned once again to perform at the "We Love the 90s" festival in Aalborg, Denmark. The following year, another compilation album, De Bedste, was released by Warner Music Group and X5 Music Group; it included a remix of their cover version of the Police's "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" by Sponge. In April 2019, Erling Jensen died of lymphoma; he was 50 years old.[5]
In 2020, the group returned to the studio with original producer Kenneth Bager to record a new single, "Shots", which was released in 2023. Later that year, they collaborated with Marnage to produce a faster version of "DooDah", titled "DooDah 2K23". As of 2024, Jesper Dukholt is the sole original member.
Members
True to their name, the personnel of Cartoons has cartoon-inspired nicknames. The line-up is:
Toonie – lead vocals and backing vocals
Sponge – saxophone, keyboards and bass vocals
Shooter – lead guitar and backing vocals
Buzz – double bass
Puddy – backing vocals
Boop – backing vocals
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
^"Listen - Danmarks Officielle Hitliste - Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark - Uge 52". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. 27 December 1998.
For "The X-Mas Single": "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research)". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media. 18 December 1999. p. 71. ISSN0006-2510.
