View source for The Big Cartoon DataBase

{{short description|Website}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox website
| name = The Big Cartoon DataBase
| logo = The Big Cartoon DataBase logo.png
| company_type = [[501(c) organization|501(c)]] [[non-profit corporation]]
| language = English
| author = Dave Koch
| registration = Optional (currently non-functioning)
| current_status = Mostly offline and inoperable
| launched = {{start date and age|1997}}
| url = {{url|https://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/}}
}}
'''The Big Cartoon DataBase''' (or '''BCDB''' for short) is an online [[database]] of information about [[animated cartoons]], [[Feature film|animated feature films]], [[Animated television series|animated television shows]], and cartoon [[Short film|shorts]].
The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of [[List of Disney animated features|Disney animated features]] on creator Dave Koch's local computer.<ref name="ABOUT">{{cite web|url=http://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/page.cgi?p=About|title=About BCDB|last=Koch|first=Dave|publisher=BCDB|access-date=November 12, 2009|archive-date=December 6, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206002042/http://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/page.cgi?p=About|url-status=dead}}</ref> In response to increasing interest in the material, the database went online in 1998 as a searchable resource dedicated to compiling information about [[cartoon]]s, including production details such as voice actors, producers, and directors, as well as plot summaries and user reviews of cartoons.<ref name="RUSQ1">{{cite journal|date=May 1, 2006|title=Best Free Reference Web Sites: Eighth Annual List|journal=Reference & User Services Quarterly|publisher=[[Reference and User Services Association]]|issn=1094-9054|url=http://www.rusq.org/2008/01/05/best-free-reference-web-sites-eighth-annual-list/|access-date=November 12, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110721002733/http://www.rusq.org/2008/01/05/best-free-reference-web-sites-eighth-annual-list/|archive-date=July 21, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2003, BCDB became a [[501(c)]] [[non-profit corporation]].<ref name="ABOUT"/> On June 24, 2009, it was announced by creator Dave Koch on his BCDB forums that the site had 100,000 titles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view&post=104643|title=100K!|publisher=BCDB|access-date=November 12, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102074831/http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view&post=104643|archive-date=January 2, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
Due to system issues that have been unable to be resolved, all cartoon information on the site is non-existent after 2019. Users have ceased to contribute to the site due to the issue. Since the creator is no longer active and the moderators are not in charge of this site, the error still persists as of 2022.
==Features==
One feature of the BCDB is its "Top Rated" page which provides a listing of the top 25 animated films as voted by the registered users of the website.  Ratings are shown based on top score as well as the cartoons that receive the highest number of votes. Users are given the option of rating a movie from "1" (lowest) to "10" (highest).  To safeguard against attempts to skew the data, the DataBase employs data filters and a vote quota in an attempt to give an accurate [[Bayesian probability|Bayesian estimate]]. The BCDB also has a lowest-20 rated cartoons feature which, based on the same data, shows the least liked cartoons in the database.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Ratings/|title=Ratings|publisher=Big Cartoon Database|access-date=November 12, 2009|archive-date=July 19, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719023931/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Ratings/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
BCDB also includes a linked, online forum, where users express their opinions about cartoons, and/or ask questions about them. The forum is available to all registered users, and is actively moderated by a team of moderators and administrators.
Other features include news items related to the animation industry and the image gallery, which allows users to see images of various [[cartoon characters]] taken from popular films.
==Recognition==
In 2002, ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]'' listed BCDB as a "top site" and wrote "with more than 42,000 cartoons, 2,000 series[,] and 1,300 cartoon reviews, this may be one of the Internet's largest searchable databases of cartoons".<ref name="SDUT1">{{cite news
|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/access/262657621.html?dids=262657621:262657621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+09%2C+2002&author=&pub=The+San+Diego+Union+-+Tribune&desc=PERSONAL+TECHNOLOGY+%7C+TOP+SITES&pqatl=google
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131164717/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/access/262657621.html?dids=262657621:262657621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+09,+2002&author=&pub=The+San+Diego+Union+-+Tribune&desc=PERSONAL+TECHNOLOGY+%7C+TOP+SITES&pqatl=google
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=January 31, 2013
|title=PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY – TOP SITES
|date=December 9, 2002
|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]
|access-date=November 12, 2009
}}</ref> In 2005, ''[[Apple Inc.|Apple Hot News]]'' wrote "The Big Cartoon Database is the place to find in depth information about any cartoon ever made".<ref name="AHN1">{{cite news|url=https://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/movie_tv/bigcartoonsearch.html|title=Big Cartoon Search|date=February 6, 2006|publisher=[[Apple Inc.|Apple Hot News]]|access-date=November 12, 2009|archive-date=January 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103091135/http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/movie_tv/bigcartoonsearch.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, it was reported by the [[Reference and User Services Association]], in their Eighth Annual List of Best Free Reference Web Sites, that "The Big Cartoon Database is the definitive Web compendium for anyone interested in the history of animation."<ref name="RUSQ1"/>
The BCDB has been used as a reference by such news sources as ''[[Hartford Courant]]'',<ref name="HC1">{{cite news
|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/238647841.html?dids=238647841:238647841&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+14%2C+2002&author=KEVIN+HUNT%2C+TECH+EDITOR(HUNT%40COURANT.COM)&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=PIXELS&pqatl=google
|title=Hartford Courant
|last=Hunt
|first=Kevin
|date=November 14, 2002
|publisher=[[Hartford Courant]]
|pages=D3
|access-date=November 12, 2009
|archive-date=October 23, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023165333/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/238647841.html?dids=238647841:238647841&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+14,+2002&author=KEVIN+HUNT,+TECH+EDITOR(HUNT@COURANT.COM)&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=PIXELS&pqatl=google
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'',<ref name="SDUT1"/> ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'',<ref name="OT1">{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OKTB&p_theme=oktb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FF53CF3A7E62E38&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=The flicks we wish we'd left on shelf|date=December 8, 2003|publisher=[[Oakland Tribune]]|access-date=November 12, 2009|archive-date=October 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021021851/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=OKTB&p_theme=oktb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FF53CF3A7E62E38&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Pacific Publishing Company|Beacon News]]'',<ref name="BN1">{{cite news
|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BC&p_theme=bc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FEBFCF181091633&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
|title=Go, Mickey! It's your birthday!
|last=Danahey
|first=Mike
|date=September 2, 2003
|publisher=[[Pacific Publishing Company|Beacon News]]
|access-date=November 12, 2009
|archive-date=October 21, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021021859/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BC&p_theme=bc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FEBFCF181091633&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
|url-status=live
}}</ref> ''[[USA Today]]'',<ref name="USAT1">{{cite news
|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-11-15-iron-giant_x.htm?csp=34
|title=Film rescued from scrap heap
|last=Snider
|first=Mike
|date=November 15, 2004
|publisher=[[USA Today]]
|access-date=November 12, 2009
|archive-date=December 12, 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212022823/https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-11-15-iron-giant_x.htm?csp=34
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and the ''[[Animation World Network]]'',<ref name="AWN1">{{cite news
|url=http://www.awn.com/news/passing/ivor-engine-actor-dies
|title=Ivor the Engine Actor Dies
|last=DeMott
|first=Rick
|date=December 18, 2006
|publisher=[[Animation World Network]]
|access-date=November 12, 2009
|archive-date=August 7, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807163620/http://www.awn.com/news/passing/ivor-engine-actor-dies
|url-status=live
}}</ref> among others.  ''Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages'' rates the site as 5 (out of 5) stars.<ref>{{cite book|title=Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages|author=Joe Kraynak|year=2005|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKW6lD4ERUkC&q=%22Big+Cartoon+Database%22&pg=PA187 | isbn=978-0-7897-3408-2 | publisher=Que Publishing}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.bcdb.com/}} (currently not working)
{{Movie databases}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Cartoon Database}}
[[Category:Online film databases|Cartoon DataBase]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1997]]
[[Category:Websites about animation]]
[[Category:American film websites]]
[[Category:Cartooning]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in the United States]]