Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory[lower-alpha 3] is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network as the first Cartoon Cartoon. The series takes place in the fictional city of Genius Grove, California, and follows Dexter, an enthusiastic boy-genius with a hidden science laboratory in his room full of inventions, which he keeps secret from his clueless parents, who are only referred to as "Mom" and "Dad". Dexter is at constant odds with his older and more extroverted sister Dee Dee, who always gains access to the lab and inadvertently foils his experiments. Dexter has a bitter rivalry with his neighbor and classmate Mandark, a nefarious boy-genius who attempts to undermine Dexter at every opportunity. Prominently featured in the first and second seasons are other segments focusing on superhero-based characters Monkey, Dexter's pet lab-monkey/superhero, and the Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes who share an apartment.

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Dexter's Laboratory
Genre	Comic science fiction Science fantasy Comedy
Created by	Genndy Tartakovsky
Directed by	Genndy Tartakovsky Craig McCracken Rob Renzetti John McIntyre Chris Savino Robert Alvarez Don Judge
Voices of	Christine Cavanaugh Candi Milo Allison Moore Kat Cressida Kath Soucie Jeff Bennett Eddie Deezen Rob Paulsen Tom Kenny Frank Welker
Theme music composer	Thomas Chase Steve Rucker Gary Lionelli
Opening theme	"Dexter's Laboratory (Main Title)"
Ending theme	"Dexter's Laboratory (End Title)"[lower-alpha 1]
Composers	Thomas Chase Steve Rucker Gary Lionelli
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	78 (254 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Genndy Tartakovsky Sherry Gunther Larry Huber Buzz Potamkin Fred Seibert
Producers	Genndy Tartakovsky Davis Doi Brian A. Miller Chris Savino
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Cartoon Network Studios[lower-alpha 2]
Release
Original network	Cartoon Network
Original release	April 27, 1996 (1996-04-27) – November 20, 2003 (2003-11-20)
Related
What a Cartoon!

Tartakovsky pitched the series to Fred Seibert's first animated shorts showcase What a Cartoon! at Hanna-Barbera, basing it on student films he produced at the California Institute of the Arts. Four pilots aired on Cartoon Network and TNT from 1995 to 1996. Viewer approval ratings led to a half-hour series, which consisted of four seasons totaling 52 episodes, 13 episodes each, airing from April 27, 1996, to June 15, 1998. On December 10, 1999, a television film titled Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip aired as the intended series finale, and Tartakovsky left to begin working on Samurai Jack.

In November 2000, the series was renewed for two seasons containing 26 total episodes, which began airing on November 18, 2001, and concluded on November 20, 2003. Due to Tartakovsky's departure, the last two seasons featured Chris Savino as showrunner along with a new production team at Cartoon Network Studios with changes made to the visual art style and character designs.

Dexter's Laboratory won three Annie Awards, with nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Reel Awards, and nine other Annie Awards. The series is notable for helping launch the careers of animators Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Paul Rudish, and Rob Renzetti. Spin-off media include children's books, comic books, DVD and VHS releases, music albums, toys, and video games.