Cartoon Network: Invasion of the Thing is an American action-adventure sci-fi comedy video game based on various Cartoon Network franchises. It is developed by Traveller's Tales and Cartoon Network Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, being released for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on January 8th, 2019.
Synopsis[]
A mysterious being called "The Thing" has entered the Cartoon Network universe from its dimension and brainwashed several people that way it and its henchman can take over and eradicate everyone. When the heroes find out about this, they decide to join together and fight them off.
Characters[]
Playable[]
Base[]
- Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup Utonium (voiced by Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and Elizabeth Daily, respectively) - three little girls who were accidentally created by Professor Utomium.
- Dexter (voiced by Candi Milo) - a little boy with a high IQ that has his very own laboratory in his house.
- Samurai Jack (voiced by Phil LaMarr) - a samurai that was sent to the future by his arch nemesis, Aku.
- The Grim Reaper (voiced by Greg Eagles) - a living skeleton that is a personification of death, but was forced to be best friends with Billy and Mandy.
- Billy (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) - a dumb little boy who is friends with Mandy.
- Mandy (voiced by Grey Griffin) - a sinister little girl who is friends with Billy.
- Finn "the Human" Mertens (voiced by Jeremy Shada) - a human teen who usually heads out for an adventure.
- Jake the Dog (voiced by John DiMaggio) - a shape-shifting dog who is best friends with Finn.
- Mordecai (voiced by J.G. Quintel) - a blue jay who works at Pops' Park, but usually slacks off.
- Rigby (voiced by William Salyers) - a raccoon that is Mordecai's best friend who also works at Pops' park, and just like him, he usually slacks off.
- Bigfoot (voiced by Seth Green) - a sasquatch and is the leader of his gang, he also has a love interest for Nessie.
- Alien (voiced by Keith Ferguson) - an alien species called a Sodiumina who is Bigfoot's best friend, but is the dumbest of his group.
- Nessie the Loch Ness Monster (voiced by Wanda Sykes) - a plesiosaur and is the biggest of the group. She has a love interest for Bigfoot.
- Mothman (voiced by Drake Bell) - a moth-like creature and is the smartest of the group.
- Chupacabra (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - a hairless canine and is the smallest of the group.
- Eric McEdderson (also voiced by Seth Green) - a human teen who usually deals with the supernatural.
- Claire the Ghost (also voiced by Grey Griffin) - a little ghost girl who is best friends with Eric.
DLC[]
- Johnny Bravo (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - a muscular and narcissistic blonde who attempts to get a girlfriend, but always fails.
- Ed (voiced by Matt Hill) - a kid who is the strongest and stupidest of the Eds.
- Edd (voiced by Samuel Vincent) - another kid who is the weakest and smartest of the Eds.
- Eddy (voiced by Brian Drummond) - yet another kid who is the leader of the Eds.
- Cow and Chicken (both voiced by Charlie Adler) - a dumb cow and a short-tempered chicken who are, for some odd reason, siblings.
- Benjamin "Ben" Tennyson (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) - a boy who can turn into various aliens with a watch-like device called the Omnitrix.
- Gumball and Darwin Watterson (voiced by Nicolas Cantu and Christian J. Simon, respectively) - a blue cat and a fish with legs who are (adoptive) brothers.
- Steven Universe (voiced by Zach Callison) - a human-gem hybrid who is the only member of the Crystal Gems that is part human.
- Frank Woodson (voiced by Greg Cipes) - a teenager who is shy and was the one who discovered various mysteries of Mystery Manor.
- Emma Woodson (voiced by Ashley Johnson) - a teenager who is Frank's older brother, is intelligent, and cares deeply about animals.
Unplayable[]
Base[]
- The Mayor of Townsville (voiced by Tom Kenny) - the mayor of the City of Townsville.
- Ms. Sara Bellum (voiced by Jennifer Martin) - a woman with a hidden face who is the top aid of the Mayor of Townsville.
- Ms. Keane (voiced by Jennifer Hale) - a woman who teaches at the Powerpuff Girls' school.
- Robin Snyder (also voiced by Grey Griffin) - a little girl who is the Powerpuff Girls' close friend and next door neighbor.
- Dexter's Mom and Dad (voiced by Kath Soucie and also by Jeff Bennett, respectively) - Apparently, Dexter and Dee Dee's mother and father.
- Monkey (vocal effects by Frank Welker) - Dexter's lab monkey who secretly has superpowers.
- The Scotsman's Daughters (all also voiced by Grey Griffin) - a big group of women who are daughters of The Scotsman and his wife.
- Irwin (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) - a little boy who is Billy's best friend and has a crush on Mandy.
- Jeff the Spider (voiced by Maxwell Atoms) - a big spider who is Billy's "son".
- Hoss Delgado (voiced by Diedrich Bader) - a cyborg who is a spectral exterminator that hunts down monsters.
- Princess Bonnibel "Bonnie" Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch) - a humanoid made out of bubblegum who is the ruler of Candy Kingdom.
- Lady Rainicorn (voiced by Niki Yang) - a rainicorn who is Princess Bubblegum's royal steed, best friend and companion. She is also Jake's girlfriend.
- Marceline Abadeer (voiced by Olivia Olson) - a vampire/human/demon hybrid.
- Lumpy Space Princess (voiced by Pendleton Ward) - a lumpy space person who is from Lumpy Space.
- Benson Dunwoody (voiced by Sam Marin) - a gumball machine who is the manager of The Park.
- Pops Maellard (also voiced by Sam Marin) - a lollipop-shaped man who is the owner of The Park.
- Skips (voiced by Mark Hamill) - an immortal yeti who is the groundskeeper of The Park.
- Hi-Five Ghost (also voiced by J.G. Quintel) - a ghost with an arm and hand sticking out of his head that is Muscle Man's best friend.
- Slob (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) - a blob made out of grey matter that is friends with his owner, Alien.
- Flatwoods Monster (also voiced by Tara Strong) - a moody robot that came from space who is Bigfoot's Gang's ally and has a crush on Mothman.
- Arica Monster (voiced by Karen Strassman) - a yellow velociraptor who is Kasai Rex's best friend and is also an ally to Bigfoot's Gang.
- Kasai Rex (also voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - a red Tyrannosaurus Rex who is Arica Monster's best friend and is yet another ally to Bigfoot's Gang.
- Brandon and Brittney Hemperger (also voiced by Mark Hamill and by Jessica DiCicco, respectively) - a 15-year old overweight teenager who is one of Eric's nest friends and a 16-year old teenager who is Brandon's short-tempered sister.
- Coco the Pug (vocal effects by Dee Bradley Baker) - a pug who is the Hempergers' family pet.
- Michael Stedee (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - a 15-year old teenage boy who is a big fan of science and is also one of Eric's friends.
- Melissa (also voiced by Hynden Walch) - a 15-year old teenage girl who is Eric's love interest.
DLC[]
- Little Suzy (voiced by Mae Whitman) - a little girl who is Johnny's neighbor and friend.
- Carl Chryniszzswics (also voiced by Tom Kenny) - TBD
- Kevin (voiced by Kathleen Barr) - a tween who often bullies the Eds.
- Nazz (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) - TBD
- Jimmy (voiced by Keenan Christensen) - TBD
- Jonny 2x4 (voiced by David Paul Grove) - TBD
- Rolf (voiced by Peter Kelamis) - TBD
- Flem and Earl (voiced by Maurice LaMarche and Dan Castellaneta, respectively) - two humans who are Chicken's friends.
- Kevin Levin (also voiced by Greg Cipes) - a Osmosian who was once Ben's arch enemy.
- Maxwell "Max" Tennyson (voiced by Paul Eiding) - TBD
- Anais, Nicole and Richard Watterson (voiced by Kyla Rae Kowalewski, Teresa Gallagher and Dan Russell, respectively) - Gumball and Darwin's sister, mother, and father.
- Lucy Simian (voiced by Hugo Harold-Harrison) - an old baboon who is Gumball and Darwin's teacher.
- Tobias Wilson (also voiced by Hugo Harold-Harrison) - TBD
- Banana Joe (voiced by Mic Graves) - TBD
- Carrie Krueger (voiced by Jessica McDonald) - TBD
- Garnet (voiced by Estelle) - a gem who is actually a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire.
- Pearl (voiced by Deedee Magno-Hall) - TBD
- Tyler the Cat (also voiced by Charlie Adler) - The Woodsons' pet talking cat.
- Professor Woodson (voiced by Liam O'Brien) - a man who is Frank and Emma's uncle.
Enemies[]
Base[]
- The Thing's Servants - creatures that are servants of the thing. They come in various forms and when possessing someone, they change how the person looks and acts, which the main characters call, "Thing Forms." They are the most common enemy and they appear in all stages.
- Insectoids - insect-like creatures created by Professor Utonium in his "Thing form." They only appear in the City of Townsville stage.
- Reptilians - reptile-like creaturese created by Professor Utonium in his "Thing form." Just like Insectoids, they only appear in the City of Townsville stage.
- Transparent Animals - comes in three forms: canines, big cats and snakes. They are spawned by Dee Dee's figure shield and are very aggressive. They only appear in the Genius Grove stage.
- Sand Worms - worms made of sandstone that come out of The Scotsman. They only appear in the Future stage.
- Zrims - evil clones of Grim. They only appear in the Endsville stage.
- 8-Bit Creatures - comes in various forms: men, zombies, flying saucers and giant spiders. They are spawned by BMO and they only appear in the Land of Ooo stage.
- Thing Fleas - flea-like creatures that leave Muscle Man's fur after he scratches it. They only appear in the City stage.
- Evil Wildcats - flaming wildcats who are spawned by Jersey Devil. They only appear in the Forest stage.
- Demon Princesses - aggressive demons dressed as princesses that are spawned by Emily. They only appear in the Strangon stage.
- Demon Horses - slightly less aggressive than Demon Princesses and just like them, they are spawned by Emily and only appear in the Strangon stage.
- Exo-Servants - are similar to regular servants except more powerful. They only appear in the Thing's Dimension stage.
- Giant Axomoneagles - axolotl-mongoose-eagle hybrids that are really aggressive. They only appear in the Thing's Dimension stage.
- Thing Guards - TBD.
DLC[]
- Snake Men - snake-like monsters that are immune to acid and are summoned by Bunny.
- Tiny Devils - tiny versions of the Red Guy that were summoned by the Red Guy himself.
- Sarah Monsters - tiny monsters that look like Sarah except their monstrous appearance.
- TBD - TBD
- Rabid Velociraptors - TBD
- Gem Monsters - TBD
- TBD - TBD
Bosses[]
Base[]
- Professor Utonium (voiced by Tom Kane) - a professor who accidentally created the Powerpuff Girls. His "Thing Form" is a demon-like creature with head and skin texture of an insect and body and tail of a lizard.
- Dee Dee (voiced by Kat Cressida) - Dexter's dumb older sister who usually messes around in his lab. Her "Thing Form" isn't really a physical change besides her black eyes and yellow pupils, but instead, a giant, yellow, transparent female figure forms as her shield and Dee Dee is in her heart and she controls her movements.
- The Scotsman (also voiced by John DiMaggio) - a man from a Scotland-like region who is an ally to Samurai Jack. His "Thing Form" is a giant, orange, hairy worm with arms, green eyes and sharp teeth. He also gained the ability to vomit sand worms.
- Fred Fredburger (voiced by C.H. Greenblatt) - a baku with a very childish and random behavior. His "Thing Form" is himself, except he is larger, has tusks, grew 5 extra eyes and runs with 4 legs like a bull. He is also somehow to spit out evil versions of Grim called "Zrims".
- BMO (also voiced by Niki Yang) - a living video game console that belongs to Finn and Jake. Their "Thing Form" is an oversized, grey video game console with metal claws and a black screen with red eyes and mouth and an ability to spawn 8-bit creatures.
- Mitchell "Mitch/Muscle Man" Sorenstein (also voiced by Sam Marin) - a green human who is Mordecai and Rigby's workmate. His "Thing Form" is a large, furry, green, obese monkey who has an ability to leap through various buildings. His fur is also covered in "Thing Parasites" that get off of it when he scratches it.
- Jersey Devil (also voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) - a winged horse-like creature that was cursed back in the 1700s who usually hangs out with Bigfoot's gang, especially Alien. His "Thing Form" is a stronger, muscular version of himself with antlers instead of horns and two lower fangs.
- Emily McEdderson (also voiced by Grey Griffin) - a little girl who is Eric's brother. Her "Thing Form" is herself with red skin, cat eyes and longer limbs. She has also been given abilities to float, climb walls, turn her head all the way around, vomit matter that burns like boiling water and spawn demon princesses and horses.
- The Thing (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) - the main antagonist of the game. Serves as the semi-final boss in its normal form, but after you defeat it, it turns into its mega form, which soon makes it the final boss.
DLC[]
- Bunny Bravo (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro) - Johnny's mother. Her "Thing Form" is a snake-like monster who has six arms and pukes out acid.
- The Red Guy (also voiced by Charlie Adler) - a red demon-like character. His "Thing Form" is a stronger version of himself with giant horns, muscles, completely yellow eyes and is larger.
- Sarah (voiced by Janyse Jaud) - Ed's spoiled younger sister. Her thing form is TBD.
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson (also voiced by Ashley Johnson) - Ben's older cousin who has mastered magic.
- Tina Rex (voiced by Stefan Ashton Frank) - a T-rex who is one of Gumball's schoolmates. Her "Thing Form" is a Godzilla-like monster.
- Amethyst (voiced by Michaela Dietz) - TBD
- Tiffany (also voiced by Kath Soucie) - Professor Woodson's maid. Her thing form is TBD.
- Aku (voiced by Greg Baldwin) - a shape-shifting demon who is Jack's arch nemesis.
Gameplay[]
Development[]
Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment first talked about making it since October 1, 2017.
(More coming soon...)
Stages[]
Base[]
- The City of Townsville
- Genius Grove
- The Future
- Endsville
- The Land of Ooo
- The City
- The Forest
- Strangon, Ohio
- The Thing's Dimension
DLC[]
- Aron City
- The Cul-de-Sac
- The Underworld
- Bellwood
- Elmore, California
- Beach City
- Mystery Manor
Attacks[]
Base[]
- Punch - available for all characters.
- Kick - available for all characters.
- Spit - available for Nessie and Alien.
- Snarl - available for Nessie.
- Roar - available for Bigfoot.
- Bite - available for Nessie and Chupacabra.
- Booger Gun - available for Billy.
- Fart - available for Billy and Alien.
- Laser Vision - available for Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
- Chemical Splash - available for Dexter.
- Sword Slash - available for Samurai Jack and Finn the Human.
- Soul Reap - available for the Grim Reaper.
- Ghost Shriek - available for Claire the Ghost.
- Water Balloon Launcher - available for Mordecai.
- Woopie Cushion Gun - available for Rigby.
- Boiling Water Gun - available for Eric.
- Doggy Punch - available for Jake the Dog.
- Human Scare - available for Mandy.
- Flight Tornado - available for Mothman.
DLC[]
- The Smolder - available for Johnny.
- TBD - available for Cow and Chicken.
- TBD - available for Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
- TBD - available for Ben Tennyson.
- TBD - available for Gumball and Darwin.
- TBD - available for Steven.
- TBD - available for Frank and Emma.
Combo Attacks[]
- Double Kaboom! - available for all characters.
- Supernatural Force - available for the Grim Reaper and Claire the Ghost.
- Canine Power - available for Jake the Dog and Chupacabra.
- AI Beat-I - available for Dexter and Mothman
- Chemical Reaction - available for Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup and Dexter.
- Cold Heart - available for Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup and Mandy.
- Grim Dash - available for Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup and the Grim Reaper.
- Haunted Laser - available for Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup and Claire the Ghost.
- Swifting Sword - available for Samurai Jack and Mordecai.
- Double Slashing Sword - available for Samurai Jack and Finn the Human.
- Atomic Snot - available for Dexter and Billy.
- Mega Fart - available for Billy and Alien.
- Boy Samurai - available for Samurai Jack and Eric.
- Ghostly Sword - available for Samurai Jack and Claire.
- Swordnado - available for Samurai Jack and Mothman.
- Nasty Heart - available for Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup and Billy
DLC[]
There are several DLC levels, characters, even two more stories added within the DLC. More Rescues!? has released on April 19, 2019 while Revenge of Aku has released on June 21, 2019.
- More Rescues?! - This takes 2 days after the events of the original game, Johnny and the other CN characters noticed that their friends are captured and one of them even became possessed in his or her "Thing form," so they team up with the heroes, who soon realized that they forgot to save other places from the servants that still roamed the areas, to save their friends.
- Revenge of Aku - Aku has returned and fused with the Thing's energy after it died, causing him to turn some of the heroes into their Thing forms. So, some of the heroes have to stop them.
Sequel[]
See Cartoon Network: The Robot War.
On April 6, 2019, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has expressed interest in making a sequel, or perhaps, making a franchise out of it. Later, on April 20, 2019, just a day after the first DLC has been released, a Twitter post came up, saying that the sequel will have some big changes, which includes being able to not only play as Dexter, but Dee Dee too, the Eds and possibly Gumball and Darwin being original characters instead of DLC characters, and most importantly, a new villain. On June 11, 2019, a teaser trailer has been released, revealing the title, which is Cartoon Network: The Robot War.
Rumors say that it will include Time Squad, Codename: Kids Next Door, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, The Face Paint'nimal Gang, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes as newcomers.
If it's true, then that would mean the sequel will have a lot more playable characters than in this game.
Trivia[]
- Most of the voice recording for the video game was set in Los Angeles, save for the Ed, Edd 'n Eddy and The Amazing World of Gumball characters (set in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and London, England, United Kingdom, respectively).
- Running Gag: In cutscenes, after the corrupted characters are defeated, Billy ends up saying "Fudgebutter!" only for a random building to collapse and injure Billy while the rest of the heroes run away before they get injured too.
- Another Running Gag: When the Thing usually gets mentioned, everyone gets confused on what they are talking about.
- In the main story's stages except The Thing's Dimension, there are various easter eggs hidden in them which have to do with shows that don't make an appearance in the main story and the DLC stories, for example...
- In The City of Townsville, a broken radio can be seen playing a distorted theme song of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.
- In Genius Grove, there is graffiti on one of the damaged houses. One part of the graffiti resembles Robot Jones from Whatever Happened To... Robot Jones?
- In The Desert, a damaged poster is seen near the desert which features Ciller the Centipede and Midder the Millipede from The Arachnid Friends, along with text that says, "WANTED: Two Creepy Crawlies."
- In Endsville, the Sector V Treehouse from Codename: Kids Next Door could be seen. It could also be a reference to the crossover episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Codename: Kids Next Door, The Grim Adventurea of the KND.
- In the Land of Ooo, an action figure of Chowder from Chowder is hidden somewhere in Candy Kingdom.
- In the Park, somewhere inside Pops' house, is a small painting of Captain K'nuckles from The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
- In The Forest, one of the trees had a writing that says, "Ice Bear Was Here".
- In Strangon, when you enter a damaged TV store, one of the TVs is showing Courage the Cowardly Dog screaming at the viewer.
- It is theorized that the Thing is a pre-existing Cartoon Network character. However, it has later been debunked by Cartoon Network, claiming that it is an original character.
- Before it was debunked, some fans claim the Thing is actually Alfe from The Problem Solverz, while others say it's Golly Gopher from Out of Jimmy's Head, yet others even say it's Dick Grayson/Robin from Teen Titans Go!.
- One user jokingly claimed that it was a Nickelodeon character (notably someone like SpongeBob SquarePants, Timmy Turner, Ren and Stimpy, Lincoln Loud, etc.) who was trying to ruin Cartoon Network and make Nickelodeon a better kids' network than Cartoon Network.
- Surprisingly, there was no claims of being one of the 2016 counterparts to the Powerpuff Girls, though it could be mainly due to them appearing in the game as their 1998 counterparts.
- The same thing with the 2017 counterpart of Ben Tennyson, mainly due to him appearing as his 2005 counterpart in his Alien Force/Ultimate Alien age in the DLC.
- Some fans thought the Thing was a demonic Cartoon Network villain such as Aku, Him, Nergal, etc in a different form.
- This was eventually debunked after Aku being revealed as a DLC main antagonist.
- Before it was debunked, some fans claim the Thing is actually Alfe from The Problem Solverz, while others say it's Golly Gopher from Out of Jimmy's Head, yet others even say it's Dick Grayson/Robin from Teen Titans Go!.