Toon time

Girls' Life, Feb, 2001 by Jennifer Lawrence

Cartoons aren't just for Saturday mornings anymore.

CARTOON NETWORK

www.cartoonnetwork.com

Cartoon Network, home of Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Laboratory, has a Web site that brings even more fab 'toons. Download interactive movies, starring PowerPuff Girls or Scooby Doo, and you create the plot! And in the Web Premiere Toon Shorts section, watch cartoons with great characters you won't find on TV, like Starr the Soda Pop Genie, Jim Fu, DJ Groove Monkee and more. And hey, no commercials!

FOX KIDS

www.foxkids.com

This site has flashing animation and jammin' tunes on almost every page. Cruise by the Toons section to play interactive cartoon shots featuring characters from shows like Digimon. Or visit Games to dive into animated action, play online versions of your fave sports or activate your gray matter with a brain teaser or two.

ESCAPE FROM MONKEY ISLAND

LucasArts for PC, $39.95

Ahoy, matey! Piratey escapades await you in this challenging 3D-animated adventure game. You are Guybrush Threepwood, one-time aspiring pirate, who has just married the governor of Melee Island, Elaine Marley. Upon return from a honeymoon, Elaine is declared dead and a mysterious developer is buying up all the land. To solve the mystery, you arm-wrestle and plank-dive your way to exotic locations, like Knuttin Atoll. But be warned--navigating through this adventure may take longer than a sail across the Bermuda Triangle!

DARIA'S INFERNO

Simon and Schuster Interactive for PC and Mac, $29.95

The queen of animated angst reaches new heights (or depths) of teenage tribulation. To save Lawndale High from the wrath of Principal Li, Daria traverses through five circles of a nightmarish netherworld to retrieve items stolen from the principal's office. If you like the show, you'll definitely dig the game because playing is almost like being sucked into an episode.

JET GRIND RADIO

Sega Dreamcast, $49.95

In-line skate punks unite in this stylish but complicated game. Skate and spray your way through Tokyo as a member of the GG's, a gang of kids bent on defending their turf. Our favorite character is Gum, a graffiti fashionista on wheels with some serious taste in tunes.

SAMBA DE AMIGO

Sega Dreamcast, $39.99; maracas, $79.99

This hilarious game features great Latin songs like "Cup of Life" and "La Bamba." The goal is to keep rhythm with your maracas and match the poses that flash on screen. If you have a Valentine, play in Couples mode, where staying in synch determines your "Love Rating." You can play with controllers, but it's so much more fun with the maracas--too bad they're so darn expensive!

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

You want to send Valentines to your buds--and that special crush? But that pack of Power Rangers cards doesn't fit the occasion. Send an interactive cartoon card instead from www.learn2mail.com. At Learn2Mail choose the animated character and background for your card. If you have a mic hooked to your computer, your character will speak any message you record. How could any Valentine resist that?