While he was working on "2 Stupid Dogs" in 1992, McCracken's "Whoopass Girls" short was picked up for a series by Cartoon Network. The name "Whoopass" was dropped for inclusion as part of the "What a Cartoon!" animated shorts showcase. McCracken explained that Cartoon Network executives believed no one would make children's toys with the word "ass" in it. The title changed to "The Powerpuff Girls", the name "Whoopass" was changed to "Powerpuff" by Craig McCracken, and the "can of whoopass" was renamed "Chemical X". McCracken's new short, entitled "The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins", aired as part the network's "World Premiere Toon-In" on February 20, 1995. The short was not as popular as "Dexter's Laboratory", a project McCracken and former classmate Genndy Tartakovsky (who also directed many episodes of "Powerpuff Girls") worked on together; being the most popular of the shorts, "Dexter's Laboratory" was the first to be greenlit by the network. Cartoon Network executive Mike Lazzo (who later served as executive producer for Williams Street in the fifth season of "Samurai Jack") allowed McCracken to produce a new "Powerpuff Girls" short titled "Crime 101", which aired on "What a Cartoon!" in early 1996. Veteran ABC announcer Ernie Anderson, who narrated the pilot episodes and died of cancer in 1997, was replaced by Tom Kenny when it became a series.