Editing Dexter's Laboratory (section)

=== Development ===
{{Quote box |align=right |width=24em |style=max-width:40%
|quote="It actually started with Dee Dee. I wanted to animate a girl dancing. So, I drew this skinny, big-headed girl dancing. When I had finished her, I thought, what would be the opposite of her? So, I drew a block. That's Dexter. Then I thought if she's into arts, he's into science."
|author=Tartakovsky
|source=''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''<ref name="Davenport" />
}}

Unhappy with his position on ''The Critic'', Tartakovsky accepted Huber's proposal,{{sfn|Manley|2008|p=138}} and the resulting project, "Changes", was produced as part of Cartoon Network's animation showcase series, ''[[What a Cartoon!|World Premiere Toons]]'', debuting on February 26, 1995.{{sfn|Neuwirth|2007}}{{sfn|Manley|2008|p=138}}<ref name="Moore">{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Scott |date=February 26, 1995 |title=Creative World Premiere Toons' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1995/02/26/creative-world-premiere-toons/d5f8f962-ea0b-4840-a9dc-e12b163886ae/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723135706/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1995/02/26/creative-world-premiere-toons/d5f8f962-ea0b-4840-a9dc-e12b163886ae/ |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Viewers worldwide voted through phone lines, websites, focus groups, and consumer promotions for their favorite short cartoons; ''Dexter's Laboratory'' was the first of 16 to earn that vote of approval.<ref name="Turner1995" /> [[Mike Lazzo]], then-head of programming for Cartoon Network, said in 1996 that it was his favorite of the 48 shorts that had been produced by that point, commenting that he and colleagues "loved the humor in the brother-versus-sister relationship".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mifflin |first=Lawrie |date=April 24, 1996 |title=TV Notes; A Cartoon Winner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/24/arts/tv-notes-a-cartoon-winner.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103131538/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/24/arts/tv-notes-a-cartoon-winner.html |archive-date=November 3, 2018 |access-date=May 31, 2011 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=18}}</ref>

Even after "Changes" premiered, Tartakovsky had no expectations that it would lead to an entire series.{{sfn|Neuwirth|2007}} In 2018, he noted that his generation was the first in which people could become [[showrunner]]s at a young age, saying, "Everybody before us were in their forties, at least, and so [our generation's experience] was a very different way to do something where we had no clue what we were doing and we were just trying to make each other laugh."<ref name="Sokol">{{Cite web |last=Sokol |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Sokol |date=June 29, 2018 |title=Hotel Transylvania Director Genndy Tartakovsky Tells Tales Outside the Lab |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/hotel-transylvania-3-summer-vacation/274603/hotel-transylvania-director-genndy-tartakovsky-tells-tales-outside-the-lab |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130030428/https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/hotel-transylvania-3-summer-vacation/274603/hotel-transylvania-director-genndy-tartakovsky-tells-tales-outside-the-lab |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |access-date=November 29, 2018 |website=[[Den of Geek]]}}</ref> When ''Dexter's Laboratory'' received a series [[greenlight]], Tartakovsky became, at age twenty-seven, one of the youngest [[animation director]]s of that era.{{sfn|Lenburg|2006}} Speaking with the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' in 2002, Tartakovsky remarked about the network, "With Cartoon Network, they were looking for more undiscovered talent, people that may have had a hard time getting in.[...]It became a great opportunity to do something. And as I got into it, I realized that they were also offering the creative freedom. They were letting the creators make the shows."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Littlejohn |first=Janice Rhoshalle |date=December 2, 2002 |title=Niche Networks Break the Mold |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-02-et-littlejohn2-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001005316/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-02-et-littlejohn2-story.html |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |access-date=2021-09-30 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

In August 1995, Turner ordered six half-hour episodes of ''Dexter's Laboratory'', which included two cartoons of one spin-off segment titled ''Dial M for Monkey''.<ref name="Turner1995" /> In addition to Tartakovsky, McCracken, Renzetti, and Rudish,{{sfn|Neuwirth|2007}} directors and writers on ''Dexter's Laboratory'' included [[Seth MacFarlane]],<ref name="seth">{{Cite web |last=Bartlett |first=James |date=March 12, 2007 |title=Seth MacFarlane&nbsp;– He's the "Family Guy" |url=https://greatreporter.com/2007/03/12/seth-macfarlane-he-s-family-guy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522134407/https://greatreporter.com/2007/03/12/seth-macfarlane-he-s-family-guy/ |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |access-date=May 31, 2011 |website=GreatReporter.com}}</ref> [[Butch Hartman]],<ref name="butch">{{Cite web |last=Basile |first=Nancy |year=2007 |title=Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! An Interview with Butch Hartman |url=http://animatedtv.about.com/od/spongebobsquarepants/a/nicktoonsbook.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312065254/http://animatedtv.about.com/od/spongebobsquarepants/a/nicktoonsbook.htm |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |access-date=May 31, 2011 |website=[[About.com]]}}</ref> [[John McIntyre (cartoonist)|John McIntyre]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Dexter's Laboratory |asin=B00004L8LF |asin-tld=ca |mode=cs1}}</ref> [[Robert Alvarez]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Drosu |first=Alexandra |date=January 17, 2018 |title=Striking Gold |url=https://keyframemagazine.org/2018/01/17/striking-gold/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003210046/https://keyframemagazine.org/2018/01/17/striking-gold/ |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=KeyframeMagazine.org}}</ref> and [[Chris Savino]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roffman |first=Marisa |date=July 11, 2010 |title=Comic-Con 2010: Sunday's Schedule Released |url=https://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2010/07/11/comic-con-2010-sundays-schedule-released/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713205801/https://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2010/07/11/comic-con-2010-sundays-schedule-released/ |archive-date=July 13, 2010 |access-date=May 31, 2011 |website=GiveMeMyRemote.com}}</ref> McCracken served as an [[art director]] on the series. Perlmutter described McCracken's role on ''Dexter's Laboratory'' as that of Tartakovsky's "effective second-in-command".{{sfn|Perlmutter|2014|p=269}}