Nicktoons

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Various Nicktoon characters, as shown in 2013 artwork for the Nickelodeon Animation Studio. From left to right: Leonardo, SpongeBob SquarePants, Craig, Cosmo, Wanda and Bloom. Nicktoons-on-Nickelodeon-Animation-Studio-logo.png
Various Nicktoon characters, as shown in 2013 artwork for the Nickelodeon Animation Studio. From left to right: Leonardo, SpongeBob SquarePants, Craig, Cosmo, Wanda and Bloom.

Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines.

Contents

Evolution of Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon 2023 logo (outline).svg
1977 Pinwheel broadcasts on Qube
1979 Nickelodeon is launched by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment
1984Nickelodeon introduces its Balloon font logo
1985 Nick at Nite is launched
1986 Double Dare premieres; Viacom gains full ownership of the network
1987 The Big Ballot (later known as the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ) premieres
1988The programming block Nick Jr. is launched
1991Nickelodeon debuted their "Nicktoons" brand with Doug , Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy premiering
1992The programming block SNICK was launched
1994Nickelodeon launches The Big Help
1996Nickelodeon released its first feature-length film in theaters, Harriet the Spy
1996 Blue's Clues premieres on Nick Jr.
1999 Noggin, a joint venture with Sesame Workshop, is launched
1999 SpongeBob SquarePants premieres
2000 Dora the Explorer premieres on Nick Jr.
2001 TEENick is launched
2002 The N is launched on Noggin and the Nicktoons channel is launched
2005Nickelodeon premieres Avatar: The Last Airbender
2009Nickelodeon goes through a major rebrand: TEENick and The N merged to form TeenNick, Noggin was replaced by the Nick Jr. Channel, and Nicktoons Network became Nicktoons
2009Nickelodeon acquired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise
2010Nickelodeon began co-producing the Winx Club franchise
2012 Viacom and DirecTV have a contract dispute, causing Nickelodeon to be taken off the service for several days while an agreement was reached.
2015Nickelodeon revived Noggin as a streaming service
2019Nickelodeon acquires Paws, Inc. & the rights to Garfield (except for the first three shows and the movies.)
2023Nickelodeon introduced a new take on their classic splat branding
2024Noggin shut down

Since its launch in the late 1970s, Nickelodeon's schedule incorporated animation produced by other companies. The channel did not invest in its own original cartoon series until 1989 when producer Vanessa Coffey visited Los Angeles to accept pitches from local animators. Geraldine Laybourne, the channel's then-president, greenlit three pitches for full series: Doug , Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show . On August 11, 1991, the three cartoons premiered as part of a 90-minute block, becoming the first branded Nicktoons. In contrast to the merchandise-based cartoons that dominated the 1980s animation industry, Vanessa Coffey and Geraldine Laybourne agreed that the Nicktoons should be creator-driven: based on original characters designed by animators.

The first Nicktoons debuted to financial success, convincing Viacom to invest in original animated shows for its other network MTV. Until 1998, Nickelodeon's animation division operated out of a rented office complex in Studio City, California. Production moved to an individual building in nearby Burbank on March 4, 1998. Among the first shows produced at this new facility was SpongeBob SquarePants , which by 2004 had become the most profitable program in Nickelodeon history. In 2002, a cable channel also called Nicktoons was launched, followed by multiple international versions. Several original shows have premiered new episodes on the Nicktoons network.

In the early 2010s, Nickelodeon debuted the first two Nicktoons based on preexisting TV franchises, as opposed to new characters: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club . These two revamped shows were developed at Nickelodeon Animation Studio following Viacom's purchases of both properties. In 2019, Nick Animation debuted its first streaming-exclusive Nicktoon, Pinky Malinky , which was released on Netflix rather than television. Several months later, the studio announced a multi-year deal to produce animated content for Netflix, including new properties and spin-offs of previous Nicktoons.

History

Early efforts (1979–1988)

Nickelodeon's first original animated program, Video Dream Theatre, was left unaired. [1] It was produced over a half-year period in 1979, when the network hired its future president Geraldine Laybourne to make two pilots for the show. Video Dream Theatre used animation to visualize children's dreams in different styles, such as color Xerox. [2] According to an interview with Laybourne herself, Nickelodeon did not broadcast the show because it was deemed too frightening; she commented, "the trouble with kids' dreams is they're really scary. It's a lot about abandonment, it's a lot about suffocation. They don't make very good stories." [3]

The network continued to only broadcast externally-produced animation until almost a decade later, when animator Ralph Bakshi pitched an original animated series called Tattertown. In 1988, a half-hour pilot episode was produced, overseen by Debby Beece (Nickelodeon's senior vice president of programming). Nickelodeon declined to pick up a full series, and the pilot "Christmas in Tattertown" premiered on December 21, 1988, as a standalone Christmas special. The network's next attempt at an original animation was Nick's Thanksgiving Fest, which was composed of two shorts. According to Linda Simensky, the Thanksgiving shorts "gave Nickelodeon executives the confidence they needed to get the animation department started". [4]

During the production of Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1989, Geraldine Laybourne held a meeting at her house to develop a philosophy for the channel's original cartoons. She played tapes of current animated shows, which her colleagues viewed as merchandise-driven and overly commercial. The group decided that Nickelodeon should aim for the opposite of their contemporaries, producing cartoons that would keep their creators in a key creative role rather than prioritizing an efficient "assembly line" process. [5]

Later investments and success (1988–2000)

1988–1996

Everybody else was doing toy-driven stuff and it was garbage. It's hard to create a character out of a toy for a lot of reasons. You have limited time to produce because you have to get the thing out when the product hits the market. How about, instead, we do this radical thing of looking around the country for animators who have great characters living inside them?

—Nickelodeon president Geraldine Laybourne [6]

Geraldine Laybourne laid out a set of rules for the network's cartoons, most importantly wanting to "put the creator back, front and center." [5] She approached her fellow executive Vanessa Coffey to find artists in Los Angeles interested in pitching original cartoons. Coffey had experience working in animation and was the producer for Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1988. [6] Laybourne gave Coffey "pretty much free rein to look for properties". [7]

Vanessa Coffey rented an apartment in Los Angeles for two weeks and accepted hourly pitches. She mailed animators a call for submissions, which she summarized as "I'm looking for ideas, I'm looking for concepts. The less developed, the better. I want drawings, not a big pitch." [8] As Coffey accepted pitches, she decided that she did not want a "consistent look like Disney", [8] specifically searching for projects that had completely different styles from each other.

Of the pitches she accepted, Coffey decided to approve eight six-minute pilots at a cost of $100,000 each. Laybourne would eventually select three pilots to expand into full series, meant to fill a programming block of an hour and a half. The first Nicktoon that Coffey approved was Jim Jinkins' Doug, followed by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo's Rugrats. The final pitch that went to series came from John Kricfalusi, who presented a variety show titled Your Gang [9] with a live-action host presenting different cartoons, each cartoon parodying a different genre. Ren and Stimpy were pets of one of the children in Your Gang. Coffey was dissatisfied with most of the pitch but did like Ren and Stimpy, singling them out for their own series. [9] Both Coffey and Laybourne allowed the three shows to enter development. Between the pilots and series' production, Vanessa Coffey was named Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation. [7]

In fall 1992, Nickelodeon fired John Kricfalusi. Coffey and Laybourne asserted that Kricfalusi was in breach of contract for not delivering on time, creating inappropriate content, and going over budget. [10] Kricfalusi suspected the real reason was that the network was uncomfortable with more crude humor. [11] After Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon missed several promised new-episode delivery and air dates, the network—which had purchased the rights to the Ren & Stimpy characters from Kricfalusi—negotiated a settlement with him. [11] Production on Ren & Stimpy moved to Nickelodeon's animation department, Games Animation, and the show was put under the creative supervision of Bob Camp. [12] Coffey soon stepped down as animation vice president for Nickelodeon to pursue her own projects. She was replaced by Mary Harrington, a Nickelodeon producer who moved out from New York to help run the Nicktoons division after Kricfalusi was fired. [12]

At the time, the Nicktoons were produced primarily out-of-house at Jumbo Pictures (Doug) and Klasky-Csupo (Rugrats), with Nickelodeon's executives overseeing development. Hoping to concentrate production under one roof, Nickelodeon greenlit its first fully-in-house series, Rocko's Modern Life , in 1992. A budget freeze in 1995 at Viacom (parent company of Nickelodeon) resulted in Ren & Stimpy being canceled that same year and the network passing on the final 13 episodes of their option for Doug. Jinkins sold Jumbo Pictures to Disney in 1996, moving Doug over to ABC and Toon Disney as a result. Nickelodeon retained the rights to the 52 episodes produced between 1991 and 1994 as a part of the agreement. [13]

1996–2000

In 1996, Albie Hecht, then-president of Film and TV Entertainment for Nickelodeon, met with Nickelodeon artists to brainstorm an idea for a new Nicktoons studio. Nickelodeon's new facility, named Nickelodeon Animation Studio, would eventually open on March 4, 1998; Hecht said, "For me, this building is the physical manifestation of a personal dream, which is that when people think of cartoons, they'll say Nicktoons." [14]

In June 1997, Nickelodeon began a five-year, $350 million investment into original animation. [15] As part of this effort, the company doubled its animation staff and produced many new pilots, including one for SpongeBob SquarePants. Before commissioning SpongeBob SquarePants as a full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless the main character was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character. The show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school." [16] Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character. He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love." [16]

According to Nickelodeon writer Micah Wright, the series pickups for both SpongeBob and CatDog were announced on the same day in 1997. Nickelodeon's senior vice president, Kevin Kay, confirmed to the animation studio's creative team that it had greenlit 100 episodes (200 individual segments) of CatDog and six episodes (twelve segments) of SpongeBob. [17] Nickelodeon believed CatDog had the potential to be its next breakout hit, and their order represented an investment of $50 million into the series alone. [17] Stephen Hillenburg was doubtful that his show would last, and he stated in 2009: "I was thinking if we could make a pilot, then we'd have one episode and have accomplished that. Then I thought if it did go to a full season that we'd get twelve chances to write stories and that might be it... that we'd make twelve shows and get canceled." [18]

In 1998, Nickelodeon premiered Oh Yeah! Cartoons , which was intended as a "character laboratory" to test out cartoon characters. [19] Creator Fred Seibert described the show as an experiment into a seven-minute format that Nickelodeon generally avoided; he said, "they were very willing to try an experiment to see how it would work." [20] The series eventually yielded three half-hour spin-offs based on segments from the show: The Fairly OddParents , ChalkZone , and My Life as a Teenage Robot . 1998 also marked the release of the first feature film based on a Nicktoon: The Rugrats Movie , which became the first non-Disney animated film to gross over $100 million at the North American box office. [21] On December 8, Nickelodeon's movie division greenlit theatrical adaptations of Hey Arnold! and The Wild Thornberrys , less than a month after Rugrats opened in theaters. [22]

Building new brands (2000–2009)

At the turn of the millennium, Nickelodeon noticed that a new competitor, Cartoon Network, was attracting some of its 11–15 year old demographic. Desiring a cartoon suited for older viewers, [23] Nickelodeon producer Mary Harrington contacted Jhonen Vasquez for a series pitch after reading his Squee! comic books. Vasquez pitched Invader Zim , which satisfied Nickelodeon's requests for "something 'edgy'." [24]

Nickelodeon also sought out a new action-adventure cartoon after commissioning several anime-inspired pilots that "didn't go anywhere", according to a New York Times article. [25] By 2002, Nickelodeon had rejected multiple Japanese series, considering them derivative or too mature for the channel's target audience. [25] In response, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino pitched Avatar: The Last Airbender , and Nickelodeon ordered six episodes of the show. Avatar premiered in February 2005 to high ratings, after which Nickelodeon increased its order to 13 episodes and again to 20. [25]

In the early 2000s, Nickelodeon briefly continued its strategy of adapting Nicktoon franchises into theatrical features. Executives at the company's movie division decided to reconsider this approach after several films ( Hey Arnold!: The Movie and Rugrats Go Wild ) were met with poor financial and critical reception. According to the Chicago Tribune , Nickelodeon believed the Hey Arnold! movie "didn't just fail but actually tarnished one of the company's best selling points: its trustworthy brand name." [26] Aside from SpongeBob SquarePants films, Nickelodeon Movies stopped producing animated theatrical features based on their shows. [26]

In February 2005, high ratings from Butch Hartman's two Nicktoons ( The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom ) convinced the network to sign a multi-year deal with Hartman. [27] As part of the agreement, Hartman developed original animated and live-action concepts for Nickelodeon and its sister channel, Noggin. In a statement, Hartman said, "Working with everyone at Nickelodeon over the past several years has been hugely satisfying and I look forward to forging the same kind of terrific creative alliances with the folks at Noggin". [27]

In October 2006, DreamWorks Animation (who was then in a distribution deal with Nickelodeon's corporate sister Paramount Pictures) announced that it would partner to co-produce animated shows with the channel. [28] The partnership resulted in three CGI-animated shows based on DreamWorks' character library: The Penguins of Madagascar , Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness , and Monsters vs. Aliens .

Rebranding (2009–2017)

Logo introduced for the Nicktoons channel's 2009 rebranding. Nicktoons Network logo 2009.svg
Logo introduced for the Nicktoons channel's 2009 rebranding.

In October 2009 and September 2010, respectively, Viacom brought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club into the Nickelodeon family by purchasing both franchises. Nickelodeon Animation Studio produced a new CGI-animated Turtles series [29] and new seasons of Winx Club with CGI sequences. [30] TMNT and Winx were both inducted into the Nicktoons franchise after Nickelodeon launched them. [31] The two productions comprised Nickelodeon's strategy to reboot two established brands for new viewers: TMNT was intended to reach an audience of boys aged 6 to 11, and Winx was aimed at the same age group of girls. In February 2011, Viacom bought out a third of Rainbow SpA, [32] the Italian animation studio that introduced Winx Club. The purchase was valued at 62 million euros (US$83 million) [33] and led to new shows being co-developed by Rainbow and Nickelodeon, including Club 57 [34] and a pilot for the Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Program called "Crazy Block". [35]

In the early 2010s, Nickelodeon executives searched for independent animations on the Internet, looking for original ideas. Chris Viscardi, who would later become Nickelodeon Animation's senior vice president, stated that the studio desired to "[get] back to more creator-driven things." [36] Nickelodeon eventually came across two animations they enjoyed: The Forest City Rockers (a short series by Jay Howell and Jim Dirschberger) and Breadwinners (a stand-alone short by Gary DiRaffaele and Steve Borst). Howell and Dirschberger were recruited to develop Sanjay and Craig while DiRaffaele and Borst were asked to expand their Breadwinners short into a full series. [37] Sanjay and Craig premiered first, on May 25, 2013. After its debut, Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd optimistically compared the show to the Nicktoons of the 1990s, writing that "the goofy and delightful series ... represents a positive step back for the network to where it once belonged." [36]

In the late 2010s, Nickelodeon revived three existing Nicktoons IP as one-off movies, including Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie , Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling , and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus . The first aired on the Nickelodeon channel in November 2017, while the latter two premiered in August 2019 on Netflix. [38] Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim, stated in 2019 that the studio's support for the revival films waned due to a shift in management: "We had an immense amount of support throughout most of the production. Things just turn on a dime, people get axed, new people come in." [39]

Expanding beyond cable (2018–present)

In 2018, Nickelodeon began to shift from focusing only on cable broadcasting to what it describes as a "studio model" that provides content for third-party companies. [40] The decision was made based on the sharp decline of cable viewership due to the rise of streaming services. [40] As part of this strategy, Nickelodeon announced that the series Pinky Malinky would release on Netflix as "the first straight-to-Netflix Nicktoon". [41] The series premiered on the platform on January 1, 2019. On November 13, 2019, Nickelodeon expanded their relationship with Netflix with the announcement of a multi-year output deal, under which Nickelodeon Animation Studio will produce "original animated feature films and TV series based on both new and existing IP". [42] On February 21, 2020, Nickelodeon's Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix, becoming the second Nicktoon to receive a digital only release. [43]

List of Nicktoons

Note: Animated series made for Nickelodeon's other brands (namely Nick Jr. and Nick at Nite) are not included in this list.

Precursors

TitlePremiere date
Video Dream TheatreProduced from 1979 to 1980; unaired
Christmas in Tattertown December 21, 1988
Nick's Thanksgiving FestNovember 22, 1989

Full series

#TitleSeasonsEpisodesPremiere dateFinale date
1 Doug [note 1] 4 [note 1] 52August 11, 1991January 2, 1994
2 Rugrats 9172August 1, 2004
3 The Ren & Stimpy Show [note 2] 552October 20, 1996
4 Rocko's Modern Life 452September 18, 1993November 24, 1996
5 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters 452October 29, 1994December 6, 1997
6 Hey Arnold! 5100October 7, 1996June 8, 2004
7 KaBlam! 448October 11, 1996May 27, 2000
8 The Angry Beavers 462April 19, 1997May 26, 2001
9 CatDog 468April 4, 1998June 15, 2005
10 Oh Yeah! Cartoons 334July 18, 1998August 30, 2002
11 The Wild Thornberrys 591September 1, 1998June 11, 2004
12 SpongeBob SquarePants 15308May 1, 1999present
13 Rocket Power 471August 16, 1999July 30, 2004
14 As Told by Ginger 360October 25, 2000November 14, 2006
15 The Fairly OddParents 10172March 30, 2001July 26, 2017
16 Invader Zim 227August 19, 2006
17 Action League Now! 112November 18, 2001February 10, 2002
18 ChalkZone 440March 22, 2002August 23, 2008
19 The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius 364July 20, 2002November 25, 2006
20 All Grown Up! 555April 12, 2003August 17, 2008
21 My Life as a Teenage Robot 340August 1, 2003May 2, 2009
22 Danny Phantom 353April 3, 2004August 24, 2007
23 Avatar: The Last Airbender 361February 21, 2005July 19, 2008
24 Catscratch 120July 9, 2005February 10, 2007
25 The X's 120November 25, 2005November 25, 2006
26 El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera 126February 19, 2007September 13, 2008
27 Tak and the Power of Juju 126August 31, 2007January 24, 2009
28 Back at the Barnyard 252September 29, 2007December 11, 2011
29 The Mighty B! 240April 26, 2008June 18, 2011
30 The Penguins of Madagascar [note 3] 380November 28, 2008December 19, 2015
31 Random! Cartoons [note 4] 113December 6, 2008December 20, 2009
32 Fanboy & Chum Chum 252October 12, 2009July 12, 2014
33 Planet Sheen 126October 2, 2010February 15, 2013
34 T.U.F.F. Puppy 360April 4, 2015
35 Winx Club [note 5] 3 [note 5] 78June 27, 2011April 10, 2016
36 Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness [note 3] 380September 19, 2011June 29, 2016
37 The Legend of Korra 452April 14, 2012December 19, 2014
38 Robot and Monster 126August 4, 2012March 4, 2015
39 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [note 6] 5124September 28, 2012November 12, 2017
40 Monsters vs. Aliens [note 3] 126March 23, 2013February 8, 2014
41 Sanjay and Craig 360May 25, 2013July 29, 2016
42 Breadwinners 240February 17, 2014September 12, 2016
43 Harvey Beaks 252March 28, 2015December 29, 2017
44 Pig Goat Banana Cricket 240July 16, 2015August 11, 2018
45 The Loud House 8284May 2, 2016present
46 Bunsen Is a Beast 126January 16, 2017February 10, 2018
47 Welcome to the Wayne 230July 24, 2017May 31, 2019
48 The Adventures of Kid Danger 110January 15, 2018June 14, 2018
49 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [note 6] 239July 20, 2018August 7, 2020
50 Pinky Malinky [note 7] 360January 1, 2019July 17, 2019
51 The Casagrandes 360October 14, 2019September 30, 2022
52 It's Pony 240January 18, 2020May 26, 2022
53 Glitch Techs [note 8] 219February 21, 2020August 17, 2020
54 Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years [note 9] 239March 4, 2021July 10, 2024
55 Rugrats [note 10] 246May 27, 2021March 22, 2024
56 The Patrick Star Show 389July 9, 2021present
57 Middlemost Post 233October 21, 2022
58 Star Trek: Prodigy [note 11] 240October 28, 20212024
59 Big Nate [note 11] 236February 17, 2022March 22, 2024
60 Monster High 250October 6, 2022October 24, 2024
61 Transformers: EarthSpark [note 11] 344November 11, 2022present
62 Rock Paper Scissors 127February 11, 2024
63 The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish [46] [47] 120May 17, 2024
64 Max & the Midknights [48] [49] [50] 17October 30, 2024

Mini series

#TitleEpisodesPremiere dateFinale date
1 Making Fiends [note 4] 6October 4, 2008November 1, 2008
2 Rugrats Pre-School Daze 4November 16, 2008December 7, 2008
3 Middle School Moguls 4September 2, 2019September 29, 2019

Upcoming

TitlePremiere dateSources

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Nickelodeon produced seasons 1–4. In 1996, Disney acquired the series and produced three additional seasons.
  2. ↑ This list does not include the Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" spin-off, as it was not produced under the Nickelodeon brand. In August 2020, the Paramount-owned network Comedy Central green-lit a reboot of the series, which is also not included on this list.
  3. 1 2 3 Co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and DreamWorks Animation. [44] DreamWorks owns the characters and other elements in the show while Paramount retains half of the show's copyright.
  4. 1 2 Premiered exclusively on Nicktoons Network.
  5. 1 2 Nickelodeon Animation Studio produced the Winx Club revival series, made up of seasons 5–7, in co-development with Rainbow. Paramount owns the copyright to these seasons [45] and, until 2023, co-owned the Rainbow studio itself. [32]
  6. 1 2 Viacom acquired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in 2009. [29] Viacom owns the copyright to both the 2012 series and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along the 4Kids-produced 2003 series. The 1987 series and The Next Mutation are owned by other external parties.
  7. ↑ Premiered exclusively on Netflix. Each episode is separated into 11-minute segments on the streaming platform and count as individual episodes.
  8. ↑ Premiered exclusively on Netflix.
  9. ↑ Premiered first on Paramount+ in March 2021 before airing on Nickelodeon the following month.
  10. ↑ CGI reboot of the original 1991 series. Premiered on Paramount+ before airing on Nickelodeon for the first time on August 20, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 Premiered on Paramount+ before airing on Nickelodeon.

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Robert Frank Camp is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for his work for developing and serving as a showrunner for The Ren & Stimpy Show. He has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on The Ren & Stimpy Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Waller</span> American animator (born 1960)

Vincent Paul Waller is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, and technical director. He has worked on several animated television shows and movies, the most notable of which being The Ren & Stimpy Show and SpongeBob SquarePants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ren and Stimpy (characters)</span> Animated cartoon characters

Marland T. "Ren" Höek and Stimpson J. "Stimpy" Cat, better known as simply Ren and Stimpy, created by John Kricfalusi, are the title characters in the Nickelodeon animated series The Ren & Stimpy Show, and its 2003 spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". Kricfalusi created the characters during his stay at Sheridan College and they first appeared on film in the pilot episode "Big House Blues". Ren is a scrawny, emotionally unstable, and psychotic "Asthma Hound" Chihuahua, and his best friend Stimpy is a dim-witted, good-natured Manx cat. The show portrays their wacky, bizarre, and often surreal misadventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Nickelodeon</span> Historical timeline

Nickelodeon is an American basic cable and satellite television network that is part of the Nickelodeon Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, which focuses on programs for children and teenagers ages 2 to 17 years old.

Lynne Rae Naylor is a Canadian animator, artist, designer, director, and producer for television. She is best known for co-creating DreamWorks' The Mighty Ones, co-founding the animation studio Spümcø with John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, and Jim Smith, and co-developing The Ren & Stimpy Show for Nickelodeon. She also worked on Batman: The Animated Series, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, My Life as a Teenage Robot, and Wander Over Yonder.

Vanessa Coffey is an American television producer and co-founder of the Nickelodeon Animation Studio best known for her work on Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Doug and Rocko's Modern Life. Coffey has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and a CableACE Award.

Big House Blues (<i>The Ren & Stimpy Show</i>) Episode of The Ren & Stimpy Show

Big House Blues is a 1990 American animated comedy film produced by Spümcø. Originally screened at a film festival with a censored version later airing on Nickelodeon, it was succeeded by The Ren & Stimpy Show on the network, to which it serves as a pilot episode.

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Bibliography

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