Episode Title Card / Western Animation

• Some other franchises give separate intertitles for each of various characters:
  • Classic Disney Shorts and Mickey Mouse Works (the latter has a separate one for episodes where Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are featured together)
  • Classic Looney Tunes cartoons
  • Tiny Toon Adventures (principal cast)
  • The end of Slappy Squirrel's theme song
• The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius had stylized title cards against a teal-tinted animated image of Jimmy's trademark atom symbol.
• Adventure Time has gorgeous title cards.
• Almost Naked Animals pairs this with Art Shift, using a highly-detailed art style to depict a random moment from the episode.
• Every Amphibia title card is a wooden carving. The only episodes that don't use these title cards are the specials "All In" and "The Hardest Thing."
• Arthur has been known for creative title cards featuring not only the titles of the stories but also the writer and storyboard artist, as well as a clever bit of animation. These have included D.W. interrupting Arthur in his bath and Arthur's dog, Pal, finding the title card circle empty and howling. Starting in the HD seasons (14 or 16 depending on where you live), there's now a short clip from the episode that plays inside the center circle. The episode titles are narrated by one of the characters, usually Francine or Binky.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks features the titular 3. Ruby Spears seasons features the 3 looking up at it and the Doc version has Alvin standing on Simon who is standing on Theodore holding the paper with the title written on it on a chalkboard.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender, and its Sequel Series The Legend of Korra, uses a title card consisting of a white background with text reading the season number and name, followed by the episode number and name (e.g. Book One: Water (水), Chapter 12: The Storm).
• Batman: The Animated Series had gorgeously painted ones for the first 85 episodes, often paired with the episode's villain's Leitmotif - though a few fan favorites like "The Laughing Fish" had to make do with just the text being laid over an Establishing Shot. Sadly, after the Retool into The New Batman Adventures the latter became the norm.
• The New Batman Adventures and other DC Animated Universe shows displayed a brief plain-text overlay of the title just after the opening credits.
• Courage the Cowardly Dog
• The Beatles cartoons used three sets of opening title cards. The cartoons made in London had each of the letters in "Beatles" expand and retract with the opening seven notes of the King Features Television signature theme (not always in order) then do it with the notes in the rest of the title card music with the last seven notes following the letters in order and the episode title fading in. The Australian cartoons followed the first seven notes, then the expanding letters only in single tempo to the music. The Canadian cartoons had the second half of the music abbreviated, thus rendering the expanding letters out of sync.
• Big City Greens has a unique example, having the title card appear in-scene somewhere on the scenery.
• Blue's Clues didn't have title cards in the first four seasons. By the time Joe became the host, title cards appeared at the end of the theme song on a pennant held by Mr. Salt.
  • Its reboot, Blue's Clues & You!, does feature title cards, which are superimposed over the lower third of the screen when Josh first opens the door after the opening theme.
• Bluey uses a simple blue card with the title of the episode and an object relevant to the episode. A character (usually Bluey or Bingo) says offscreen "This episode of Bluey is called “__”. The one exception is "Rain" which has no voiceover due to the episode being mostly silent. "Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound" plays with this, too, where its title card is presented in-universe as the title of the video Bandit and Bluey made for Bingo while she's at the hospital.
• ChalkZone is notably one of the only Nicktoons that changed the format of its' title cards in the middle of the series. During the original Oh Yeah! Cartoons shorts, the first two seasons and the first five episodes of season three, the title cards were (fittingly) the episode title written on a chalkboard, with a drawing next to the title that had to do with the episode (during the first season and the original shorts, the drawing may or may not disappear when the credits appear on the card). Starting with "Let's Twister Again", the title cards were done in the typical format for animated shows (a picture relating to the plot of the episode), similarly to fellow Oh Yeah! spin-off The Fairly OddParents!.
• Clarence has title cards made from real-life objects. For example, "Fun Dungeon Face Off" has the title written in ketchup and surrounded by French fries.
• Codename: Kids Next Door has its title cards being typed on a black screen, simulating a computer. It first shows a screen with the "Now Loading Kids Next Door Mission- Operation:(Insert Episode's Acronym)being typed, then it shows a second screen expanding the episode's acronym, and a final screen crediting the writers and storyboard artists for the episode (beign referred to as "Writing Operatives" and "Storyboard Operatives", repsectively).
• Dan Vs. has this (paired with Episode Finishes the Title) after The Teaser, instead of a Title Sequence.
• Kid Cosmic has its title cards (ith the episodes always being named "Kid Cosmic and the (x)" or some variation of it) appear as a freeze frame with the art style briefly changing to that of an old-fashioned comic book at some point in the episode. Most of the time, this happens a minute or two in, but sometimes it doesn't happen until much later or even at the very end.
• The Koala Brothers uses a type of title card that shows a picture of the friend Frank and Buster are helping for the episode, with the episode title displayed along the top.
• While Dora the Explorer doesn't have title cards, the episode titles themselves show up in the end credits.
  • Its spinoffs Go, Diego, Go! and Dora and Friends: Into the City! do the same thing.
  • As does Hero Elementary.
• Filmation had a number of series with title cards, including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983), She-Ra: Princess of Power, Bravestarr, Filmation's Ghostbusters, and Blackstar. These title cards were invariably accompanied by a particular musical snippet plucked from the in-series soundtrack.
  • Similarly, Ruby-Spears used title cards in practically all of its series.
• Ed, Edd n Eddy used extremely... distinctive title cards, drawn in a very Salvador Dalí-esque style where everything seemed to be rubbery and/or melting. Essentially, squash-and-stretch frozen into still-life.
• Family Guy uses title cards for the "Road to..." episodes. The episode titles are shown over an illustration related to the location, while the title credits are shown over illustrations of Brian and Stewie getting into hijinks. The Viewer Mail episodes also used title cards for each segment.
• Hanna-Barbera didn't use title cards for The Flintstones and The Jetsons when they aired in primetime, but when new episodes of The Jetsons were made for syndication in The '80s, cards were added to the original episodes as part of the syndication package. The Flintstones remains card-free, even after decades of syndicated repeats, although the subsequent Saturday morning and syndicated spin-offs have had title cards.
  • Most, if not all, Hanna-Barbera series since the early 1950s especially the Funny Animal and Superhero ones.
• Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, of note, featured the gang running in place beneath the episode title (except for the first two episodes, which had custom title cards).
  • Its knockoffs also have title cards.
  • The New Scooby-Doo Movies had episode titles but they were never shown on a title card in the original hour-slot versions. The title cards had Shaggy and Scooby shining a flashlight on a cartoon image of the episode's guest star.
    • When the show was split into two-parters in syndication, however, the individual episode titles were finally shown at the end of the first half of the episode.
• Fudêncio e Seus Amigos had two types of title cards.
  • In Season 1-3, they were paper backgrounds that featured childish drawings of Fudêncio and Conrado (mostly based on the title than the plot itself), with the titles being on several fonts, usually in blue or, rarely, red. After that, the page would flip and the credits would be shown, with several "X"'s appearing in front of each name, and then, the word "ZERO" would be written. Meanwhile, there was also a Couch Gag; after the narrator said the title, he would say "Brazilian version: X" and "Distribution: Y", due to those phrases showing up in actual dubbings to credit the dub studio and distributor.
  • From season 4 onwards, the titles were presented on a chalkboard instead. After the title narration, a paper would be pulled from above and the credits were presented like a slideshow. In the end, Fudêncio's silhouette showed up with the creators' name written on it. They also had minor differences in each season; in season 4, there was a big title, in several different fonts, with no drawing. In season 5, there were drawings, with several fonts, just like seasons 1-3. In Season 6, there were no drawings and all titles were in the same generic chalkboard font (which had already shown up in the show itself as early as episode five).
• Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show use title cards that depict illustrations related to the upcoming episode.
• The Ghost and Molly McGee uses different colored title cards which depict Molly and Scratch in an Animesque Chibi form along with some sort of trinket relating to the theme of the episode, with their clothes and poses changing to fit the theme.
• Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi features Season 1 title cards with two colored silhouettes (one is dark pink that represents Ami, the other one is blue that represents Yumi).
  • Starting from Seasons 2 and 3, the episode's title would appear on a board that is shown in a live-action segment.
• The first season of I Am Weasel featured title cards where an animated Weasel read the title and commented on the forthcoming plot. Starting with the second season, the series used still cards in the vein of its sister show Cow and Chicken.
• I ♡ Arlo featured title cards engraved into the staircase at Bertie's door, with Arlo and the gang adding their handprints around it along with an artifact relating to the theme of the episode.
• While the original Inspector Gadget series lacked title cards, the 2015 reboot series makes use of them, complete with a little animation.
• The Jellies is a rare example of an adult cartoon with title cards at the beginning of each episode.
• Krypto the Superdog has an unusual one where Krypto announces not only the title of each episode, but also the writing and directing credits that follow with their own title card!
• Little Einsteins uses title cards in the form of cardboard signs that hang over the stage, and are announced by Quincy or Annie.
• The Lion Guard has a rather unusual one where Mufasa says the show's name and Kion says the episode's name as it appears under the logo at the end of the theme song. In the third and final season, they are omitted but are still heard and Mufasa reads them instead of Kion.
• The Looney Tunes Show uses these for its Merrie Melodies and Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote segments, but the show's full episodes avert this trope.
• The Loud House:
  • The Loud House uses title cards in the style of a comic book/strip, with Lincoln always appearing somewhere in the top panel where the title is displayed, either in full or as the distinctive silhouette of his head (even in episodes where he is not the focus or is absent). The rest of the credits are shown in the lower three panels as speech and thought balloons. Beginning in Season 5, the background of the lower panels change to reflect the plot of the episode.
  • The Casagrandes does the same, instead using papel picado sheets in place of the comic panels (these were also used in the Casagrandes story arc in Season 4 of The Loud House), and with the addition of Aztec patterns in the upper corners. Like Lincoln, one of the Casagrandes, usually Ronnie Anne or Bobby, always appears somewhere in the top picture.
• Molly of Denali has minimalistic, beautifully-drawn title cards read aloud by Molly.
• Muppet Babies (2018) uses title cards over a solid background and the Muppet who's the main focus appearing and saying its name. Starting in Season 2, these were dropped completely.
• While the popular Hub series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Littlest Pet Shop (2012) don't have title cards in their main shows, the Littlest Pet Shop shorts and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks theatrical shorts on one of Hasbro Studios' YouTube channels do use them.
  • The series themselves use a variation, placing the title as part of the on-screen credits after the theme song, usually stating the writer underneath.
• All Nicktoons use this: The Ren & Stimpy Show, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Spongebob Squarepants, Catscratch, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, CatDog, etc.
  • In fact, KaBlam!! has its title cards shown at the END of an episode (minus episode 8 and 29).
  • Special mention goes to Danny Phantom, perhaps the only Western cartoon that could match Batman: The Animated Series in sheer extravagance; true to Butch Hartman's geek roots, every episode has a title card drawn like a gorgeously detailed comic-book Splash Page, usually accompanied by a cheesy B-Movie Tag Line ("Technology and Terror Collide!"). Hartman also used elaborate title cards for his other shows, The Fairly OddParents! and T.U.F.F. Puppy, but neither are as extravagant.
• 101 Dalmatians: The Series used ones with the title on a spotted background. Most episodes alternated between blue and red spotted backgrounds, as well as lighter variants that included white spots as well. The Christmas Episode had an animated title card which was white with black spots.
• Title cards for The Octonauts and Octonauts: Above & Beyond have Barnacles reading the episode title over a little doodle of an event related to the episode (done in the style of the original books).
• The Patrick Star Show: Stylized text with the title of the episode shows up within the first few seconds. However, a handful of episodes^list "X Marks the Pot", "Patrick's Alley", "The Patterfly Effect", "The Prehistoric Patrick Star Show", "The Starry Awards", "Get Off My Lawnie", "Now Museum, Now You Don't", "10 & 1 Toilets", "The Wrath of Shmandor", "Movie Stars", "Chum Bucket List" are exceptions, having full-screen title cards in the style of SpongeBob SquarePants.
• Rosie's Rules: Every episode has a title card accompanied by a small piece of animation, along with Rosie saying its name.
• PAW Patrol: A coloured background with the title and writing credit in the middle, and images relating to the episode on the sides. Originally, it would just be the pup pertaining to the mission, but later seasons added other characters and objects.
• Pink Panther and Sons features the titular cast together.
• The Powerpuff Girls:
  • The original series has a half-second image of the girls' color-coded silhouettes zipping by, followed by the episode's title and the writer and director credits.
  • The 2016 reboot has the episode's title with a graphic denoting an element present in the story, followed by writer and director credits. The color of the background also reflects who is the primary focus of the episode: if the background is pink, it's Blossom who's the focus; blue indicates Bubbles, and green for Buttercup. Backgrounds that are tricolor focus on all three girls together. Purple backgrounds indicate an episode focusing on Mojo Jojo.
• Santiago of the Seas uses title cards done in treasure map illustrations with Kiko acting out the theme of the episode, as Santiago reads the title in English and Spanish.
• Each episode of Sheriff Callie's Wild West starts with the title read on a wooden sign in a desert landscape and strangely, it was sung by the prairie dogs.
• The Simpsons did this only nine times; the most notable of these instances was "Bart Gets Hit By A Car", and a second after the title dissolved, Bart got... hit by a car (the writers also claimed that they included it in the hope viewers would wonder if they had always had onscreen titles and they just hadn't noticed them before). Others are "The Telltale Head", "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" (celebrating six years), "22 Short Films About Springfield", "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", "Behind the Laughter", "The Book Job", "Homerland", and "A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas."
  • The "Treehouse of Horror" specials as well (however, until "Treehouse Of Horror XIII", the titles were shown as "The Simpsons Halloween Special [insert Roman numeral]"). Each special's constituent shorts (barring "Treehouse Of Horror II", due to the framing device of the stories being the Simpsons' nightmares) also have its own title card as well.
    • The Movie also does this.
• The Smurfs (1981) varies with 2 different smurfs with a yellow background. Jokey and Brainy usually.
• The Snorks has Allstar, Casey, and Occy appear in the title cards.
• Star Trek: Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek: Lower Decks feature episode names; the latter even uses the exact same font from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Steven Universe title cards usually display one of the Gem Temple's hands in the foreground, holding a washing machine and a clothesline with some of Steven's clothing on it. Various details, such as the weather and time of day, are changed to reflect how it would look at the start of the episode. Different title cards are used whenever there's a different setting. For example, "Jail Break" instead shows outer space because the Crystal Gems begin the episode as prisoners in a spaceship.
• The Tamagotchi Video Adventures videotape has a title card for its main feature, "Now Museum, Now You Don't", despite not needing one (there was only one episode ever made, assuming they even planned to make more than one episode anyway).
• Teacher's Pet uses title cards every episode. Among them has a little animation in a few of them ("Muttamorphosis", "Pet Project", "Movin' On Pup", "Escaping Dog Trick" and "Mr Jolly: Man... or Mouser?")
• Teamo Supremo has a title card along with the titular team for each episodes.
• Tiny Toon Adventures uses title cards every episode. In the case of the Three Shorts episodes, they only apply to the shorts themselves — the episode as a whole has its own title that doesn't appear (such as "Henny Youngman Day", "You Asked For It, Part 2", and "Life in the 90's"), the one exception being "Best O' Plucky Duck Day".
• The Venture Bros. has a title card show up at the end of the episode, right before the closing credits.
• Wacky Races episodes start with a good minute of the race of the episode before the scene freezes and the episode's title is shown.
• Wander over Yonder uniquely has the episode title appear about a minute in during an appropriate scene and freeze-framing for a few seconds, thus forming the title card in-series. Turned into a Running Gag in "The Matchmaker", where a new title card shows up every time Sylvia tries to distract Wander from his self-imposed mission to deliver a love letter from Lord Hater to Lord Dominator.
• Winx Club has a title card shown at the start of every episode, following the Previously on… segment. Only the 4Kids dub averts this. Since Season 7, they are also read by the narrator.
• Work It Out Wombats! uses different colored title cards along with a piece of animation from the episode.
• Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! has a rather unusual example of this trope: Wubbzy says the show's name and the episode's name as the title card is shown.

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