Tales of Westerdale High

Tales of Westerdale High (Also known as Maliaka McCain's Tales of WesterDale High School on opening titles) is an American animated teen drama series created by Maliaka McCain. The show's series premiere first aired on TNT and the series second episode onward airing on Cartoon Network. The series is produced by MGM Television, McCain-Freeman Productions in cooperation with Saban Entertainment.

McCain pitched the series to Fred Seibert's first animated shorts showcase What a Cartoon! at Hanna-Barbera, basing it on a short film McCain's husband Frederick Donahue produced at the California Institute of the Arts. Three pilots aired on Cartoon Network and TNT from 1995 to 1996, also airing on the Bear Bones Lineup in 1999. Viewer approval ratings led to a half-hour series, which consisted of four seasons totaling 78 episodes, airing from September 18, 1996, to June 15, 1998. On September 22, 1999, a television film titled Westerdale High: Summer Vacation aired as the intended series finale, due to McCain wanting the 78 episodes acceptable for the syndication package

In October 2000, the series was renewed for two seasons containing 26 total episodes, which began airing on November 21, 2001, and ended on May 20, 2003. The new seasons featured McCain and Donahue as showrunners along with a new production team at Cartoon Network Studios with changes made to the visual art style and character designs.

Premise
Tales of Westerdale High centers around a group of high schoolers (4 boys, 4 girls), and their faculty adviser at the fictional and lavish Westerdale High School in the neighborhood of Baldwin Vista, California, focusing on the students' everyday lives, and their freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years at the school.

The group includes the intelligent, underachieving, trouble-making, wise-cracking, and resourceful leader Calvin Taylor, who is constantly scheming to gain the upperclassmen's respect. He is often is aided by the nerdy and eccentric Sebastian "Sonny" Delmas, who is Calvin's best friend and right-hand man. The boisterious jock and ladies man Lucas Villamor is his frenemy in almost everything. The cool music-loving D'Angelo Freeman is the school's resident DJ. The group's female members consist of Katheryne "Kat" Stutzman, the intelligent, capable, peace-keeping, earthy liberal with feminist views. She is the school's student council president. The spoiled, vain, fashionable, rich glamor girl Shantelle Hodges, who wears fashionable, glamorous, and expensive designer clothing. The cheerful, talented, confident cheerleader Margaret van Hellsing is the school's homecoming queen and most popular girl. The athletic, tomboyish, and romantic Shawna Thorpe is the school's resident dancer and soccer captain.

The kids are sometimes accompianied by Mr. Walton Dayle, their faculty adviser and teacher, who is the nemesis of Calvin Taylor. Mr. Dayle is known for is distasteful dad jokes, and he is often the object of Calvin's and Sonny's pranks.

The first season takes place during the end of the kids' middle school years and their freshmen year in high school. The four episodes of the second season takes place during the end of their summer vacation, and episodes five onward take place during their sophomore year. The third season takes place during the beginning of their junior year and traveling around the world. The fourth season takes place after their junior year and into their senior year. The fifth season takes place during their senior year and graduation. The sixth season is more a spin-off focusing on the gang's college years and adventure into young adulthood.

Cast

 * Cam Clarke as Calvin Taylor
 * Charlie Adler as Sebastian "Sonny" Delmas
 * Rob Paulsen as Lucas Villamor
 * Bumper Robinson as D'Angelo Freeman
 * Cree Summer as Katheryne "Kat" Stutzman
 * Danielle Nicolet as Shantelle Hodges
 * Pamela Adlon as Margaret van Hellsing
 * Cherie Johnson as Shawna Thrope
 * Wallace Shawn as Mr. Walton Dayle
 * Neil Ross as Zach Dawson
 * Jennifer Hale as Mrs. Laura Wilkins
 * Nancy Cartwright as Melissa "Sissi" Thorndyke
 * Darius McCrary as Antonio Thrope
 * Essence Attkins as Tasha Dixon
 * Sean Astin as Clifford Greene
 * Lark Voorhies as Tianné Scott
 * Soleil Moon Frye as Josie Miller
 * Lara Jill Miller as Nellie Bitsworth
 * Jess Harnell as Spencer Thompson

Additional Voices

 * Olivia Hack
 * Kaley Cuoco
 * Krysta Donahue
 * Christine Cavanaugh (1996-1999)
 * Kellie Shangyne Williams
 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Tara Charendoff
 * Richard Steven Horvitz
 * Jim Cummings

Production
Maliaka McCain created Tales of Westerdale High, Marmalade, Chromatic, and Teen Angel in 1981, 1984, 1986, and 1989 for McCain-Freeman Entertainment's comic division, with Westerdale High, and Marmalade still running to this day.

In 1990, while going to school to at the California Institute of the Arts, McCain's husband Frederick Donahue created a short film titled "Welcome to Westerdale High" about eight 14-year-olds from different cliques becoming friends and living the normal teenage life. 4 years later McCain pitched the series to Fred Seibert's first animated shorts showcase What a Cartoon! at Hanna-Barbera, and 3 pilots named "No Séances in the School", "Picture Imperfect", and, "The Good, The Bad, and the Credit Card" aired respectively on November 12, 1995, June 8, 1996, and August 16, 1996 on Cartoon Network and TNT, and on the Bear Bones Lineup in 1999.

According to the book "World of World Premiere Toons", McCain stated that production for the first season was a bit difficult and the staff members often got into arguments that would become physical.

Following the success of Chromatic, the show was revived for two more seasons.

Home media releases
The animated series was released in complete seasons by MGM Home Entertainment as apart of their MGM DVD label from 2000 until 2004, and then later in a complete series box set, by MGM Home Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox Entertainment in 2006. In international versions of the seasons releases, episodes of Chromatic are featured as a bonus feature. The series was later re-released in 2017 by MGM Home Entertainment, being distributed by Warner Home Video. As of 2021, Tales of Westerdale High is available to stream on Hulu, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video, with the latter being added back in 2019.