Vanessa Coffey | |
---|---|
Occupation | Film producer |
Years active | 1979–present |
Known for | |
Awards | 2 Daytime Emmy Awards * 1 CableACE Award |
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. [1]
Coffey's film career began at Marvel Animation working on television shows including Transformers , G.I. Joe, Muppet Babies and Defenders of the Earth. [2] Coffey later moved to Murakami-Wolf-Swenson where she worked on the development of the television show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. [2]
Coffey says that after leaving Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, she did not want to do animation anymore [3] because everything was either modeled after pre-existing comic strips or a vessel for selling related products. [2] Coffey decided that she wanted to bring back original animation [2] and called Debbie Beece at Nickelodeon. [3] Coffey was told that Nickelodeon could not afford animation at the time, but she could produce a special for them. She produced Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1988 as an independent contractor. [3] It was only the second time that the studio had done animation. [2] After the success of the special, Nickelodeon contracted with Coffey to develop Nicktoons [4] with original, creator-driven ideas. [2]
Coffey developed three ideas to fill the 90-minute time slot allocated to Nicktoons – Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show and Doug. [2] All three shows were successful and are credited with beginning Nickelodeon's "golden age of cartoons". [2] Coffey calls the variety of the three shows "a balanced meal" for kids. [2] Between the pilots and series' production, Coffey was hired as Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation. [4]
Of being able to create original programming for Nicktoons, Coffey says, "I was in the right place at the right time." [5] Arlene Klasky, co-creator of Rugrats, and Jim Jinkins, creator of Doug, credit Coffey for enabling them to get their shows off the ground and into the homes of millions around the world. [5]
Year | Work | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987–1988 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Production manager | TV series |
1989 | Nick's Thanksgiving Fest | Producer | TV special |
1990 | Big House Blues | Executive producer | Film short |
1991–1994 | Doug | Executive producer | TV series |
1991–1995 | Rugrats | Executive producer | TV series |
1991–1996 | The Ren & Stimpy Show | Executive producer | TV series |
1993–1995 | Rocko's Modern Life | Executive producer | TV series |
1999 | Rayman: The Animated Series | Executive producer | TV series |
2024 | Ren & Stimpy | Executive producer | TV series |
The Ren & Stimpy Show, commonly referred to as simply Ren & Stimpy, is an American comedy animated television series created by John Kricfalusi and developed by Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, Jim Smith and Lynne Naylor for Nickelodeon. Originally produced by Spümcø, the series aired on Nickelodeon from August 11, 1991, to December 16, 1995, with its last episode airing on MTV on October 20, 1996, spanning for a total of five seasons and 52 episodes. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotionally unstable and psychotic chihuahua dog; and Stimpy, a good-natured and dimwitted Manx cat. It is the third to be aired of the original three Nickelodeon animated series known as "Nicktoons", alongside Doug and Rugrats, and is considered to be one of the progenitor series of the brand.
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving life experiences that become much greater adventures in the imaginations of the main characters.
2 Stupid Dogs is an American animated television series created and designed by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It originally ran from September 5, 1993, to February 13, 1995, on TBS as a part of their Sunday Morning in Front of the TV block and in syndication. The show's main segments feature two unnamed dogs, called the "Little Dog" and the "Big Dog" in the credits. The show entirely used digital ink and paint in every episode.
Spümcø, Inc. was an American animation studio that was active from 1989 to 2005 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio was best known for working on the first two seasons of The Ren & Stimpy Show for Nickelodeon and for various commercials. The studio won several awards, including an Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject for the music video of the song "I Miss You" by Björk.
Rocko's Modern Life is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an anthropomorphic Australian immigrant wallaby named Rocko and his friends: the eccentric steer Heffer Wolfe, the neurotic turtle Filburt, and Rocko's faithful dog Spunky. It is set in the fictional town of O-Town. Throughout its run to present day, the series has been controversial for its adult humor, including double entendre, innuendo, and satirical social commentary, and gained a cult following, similar to The Ren & Stimpy Show.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. It is the fifth Nicktoon after Doug, Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Rocko's Modern Life. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to frighten humans. Many of the episodes revolve around their zany hijinks after making it to the surface in order to perform "scares" as class assignments. The series premiered on October 29, 1994 and aired until November 16, 1997.
Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and produced by Jumbo Pictures. It originally aired from August 11, 1991 to January 2, 1994 on Nickelodeon and September 7, 1996 to June 26, 1999 on ABC. The show focuses on the early adolescent life and zany hijinks of its title character, Douglas "Doug" Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending school in his new hometown of Bluffington. Doug narrates each story in his journal, and the show incorporates many imagination sequences. The series addresses numerous topics, including trying to fit in, platonic and romantic relationships, self-esteem, bullying, and rumors. Many episodes center on Doug's attempts to impress his classmate and crush, Patti Mayonnaise.
Michael John Kricfalusi, known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show, which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, he was heavily involved with the first two seasons of the show in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters. In 2009, he won the Inkpot Award.
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 in their copyright bylines.
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created by John Kricfalusi for TNN / Spike TV. The series was developed as a more "extreme" revamp and spin-off of Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show, which Spümcø produced the first two seasons. The series premiered on June 26, 2003, and was removed from the network on July 24, after airing only three episodes; the remaining episodes were released on DVD. During its run, Adult Party Cartoon was heavily panned by critics, audiences and fans of the original series. It has been referred to as one of the worst animated series of all time.
Arlene Phyllis Klasky is an American animator, graphic designer, producer and co-founder of Klasky Csupo with Gábor Csupó. In 1999, she was named one of the "Top 25 Women in Animation" by Animation Magazine. She is most known for her work with Nickelodeon in the 1990s and 2000s. She, along with her ex-husband Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain, co-created the animated series Rocket Power and the series Rugrats as well as the 2021 revival series of the same name.
Nickelodeon Animation Studio, is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has created many original animated television programs for Nickelodeon, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Loud House, among various others. Since the 2010s, the studio has also produced its own series based on preexisting IP purchased by Paramount Global, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club. In November 2019, Nickelodeon Animation Studio signed a multiple-year output deal for Netflix, which will include producing content, in both new and preexisting IP, for the streaming platform.
Nickelodeon Rewind is a spin-off brand of Nickelodeon consisting of DVDs, digital downloads, television blocks, T-shirts, and other merchandise having to do with programs formerly aired on the channel. Beginning in June 2010, Nickelodeon Rewind was featured as a part of Comcast On Demand programming, with a lineup that features Nicktoons that aired in the 1990s and 2000s. Select episodes of The Angry Beavers, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, The Fairly OddParents and Doug, are available.
Marland T. "Ren" Höek and Stimpson J. "Stimpy" Cat, 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.
CatDog is an American animated television series created by Peter Hannan for Nickelodeon. The series follows the zany hijinks of orange-furred conjoined brothers of different species, with one half of the resultant animal being a cat and the other a dog. Nickelodeon produced the series from Burbank, California. The first episode aired on April 4, 1998, following the 1998 Kids' Choice Awards, before the show officially premiered on October 5, 1998. Similarly, the Season 2 episode "Fetch" was shown in theaters in 1998 before airing on television.
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.
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.
Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story is an American documentary film, directed and produced by Ron Cicero and Kimo Easterwood. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020 and was released on April 16, 2022 on True Story.