Cartoons (band)
| Company type | Group or band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Predecessor | The Scooters |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Headquarters | Denmark |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Cartoons, sometimes referred to as Cartoons DK, is a Danish Eurodance group primarily recognized for their 1998 singles "DooDah" and their rendition of the novelty track "Witch Doctor". The band is notable for their unique plastic costumes and wigs, designed to mimic exaggerated caricatures of 1950s American rock and roll icons.
History
Initially known as the Scooters during the late 1980s, the band embraced a rockabilly sound and released the album Live at Woodstock in 1994. By 1997, they reinvented themselves as Cartoons, adopting a "technobilly" style—a blend of rock and roll with Eurodance elements—and secured recording contracts first with FLEX Records and subsequently with EMI Denmark.
Their cover of Ross Bagdasarian's "Witch Doctor" became their highest-charting single, peaking at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. This success was followed by the UK Top 10 hit "DooDah," an adaptation of the traditional American folk tune "Camptown Races." Additional hits included "Aisy Waisy" and their debut album Toonage, which was later reissued as More Toonage featuring extra tracks.
The band's sophomore album, Toontastic, featured notable songs such as "Diddley-Dee," "Little Red Ridinghood," along with covers like "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and "Mama Loo." However, it did not achieve the commercial success of their first release. Cartoons also contributed to the soundtrack of the 2000 animated movie Help! I'm a Fish with the track "Wobble-Di-Bubble-Di-Doo".
The group disbanded in 2001, with subsequent interviews citing canceled US tour plans due to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks as a contributing factor. They briefly reunited in 2005 to promote the compilation Greatest Toons, which included new songs such as the single "Day Oh," and performed throughout Europe.
In July 2016, former member Karina Jensen succumbed to cancer. The band made a comeback in 2018 by participating in Aalborg's "We Love the 90s" festival. In April 2019, Erling Jensen passed away from lymphoma at age 50. Later that year, Warner Music Group and X5 Music Group issued a compilation titled De Bedste, which featured a remix of their cover version of The Police's "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da."
In 2020, Cartoons reunited with original producer Kenneth Bager to create new material, culminating in the release of the single "Shots" in 2023. They also collaborated with Marnage on an updated rendition of "DooDah," named "DooDah 2K23."
The year 2025 saw the release of their single "Gettin Saxy," alongside a Danish-language adaptation of "DooDah," called "DUDA," made in partnership with Tobias Bjerre and Morten Münster. Jesper Dukholt remains the only original member actively involved, while Martin Østengaard continues his role as composer.
Members
The members of Cartoons adopt stage names inspired by cartoon characters:
- Toonie – lead vocals and backing vocals
- Sponge – saxophone, keyboards, backing bass vocals
- Shooter – lead guitar and backing vocals
- Buzz – double bass with occasional backing vocals
- Puddy – backing vocals
- Boop – backing vocals
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart rankings | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL | DEN | NLD | NOR | SPA | SWE | POR | ITA | UK | |||||
| Toonage |
|
25 | 2 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 17 |
| ||
| Toontastic |
|
— | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" signifies no release or chart entry in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Compilation Albums
| Title | Album Information | Highest Chart Positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN | |||||||||||||
| Greatest Toons |
|
20 | |||||||||||
| De Bedste |
|
— | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes absence of release or charting in the specified country. | |||||||||||||
As Lead Artist
| Year | Title | AUS | BEL | DEN | FRA | IRE | ITA | NLD | NZ | SWE | SPA | GER | UK | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "DooDah" | 31 | 5 | 3 | — | 21 | 9 | 56 | 31 | 10 | 19 | — | 7 | Toonage | ||
| 1998 | "Witch Doctor" | — | 9 | — | 22 | 2 | — | 12 | 31 | 13 | — | 68 | 2 |
|
Toonage | |
| 1998 | "Yoko" | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 51 | — | — | — | |||
| 1999 | "Aisy Waisy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | 16 |
More Toonage | ||
| 1999 | "The X-Mas Single" | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | — |
More Toonage | ||
| 2000 | "Diddley-Dee" | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | 46 | — | — | — |
Toontastic | ||
| 2001 | "Big Coconuts" | — |
Toontastic | |||||||||||||
| 2005 | "Day Oh" | — |
Greatest Toons | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | "Shots" | — |
Non-album single | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | "Gettin Saxy" | — |
Non-album single | |||||||||||||
| "—" signifies no release or chart placement in that region. | ||||||||||||||||
As Featured Artist
| Year | Title | Peak Chart Positions | Album | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | "Selv en dråbe" (charity single supporting Kosovo) |
1 |
Grænseløs Greatest |
- |
2023 | "DooDah 2K23" (collaboration with Marnage) |
— | Non-album singles |
- |
2025 | "DUDA" (collaboration with Tobias Bjerre and Morten Münster) |
— |
- |
"—" indicates no release or charting in the respective country. | ||||||||||||||||