Follow TV Tropes

Following

Creator / Nicktoons

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicktoons_2023_outline.png

"We stand here today, poised at the dawn of a new episode in Nicktoons history. The commencement of a new, 24-hour Nicktoons Network! There are new battles to be won, new animation to be drawn. We will climb the highest mountain, and cross the widest sea. We are the Nicktoons! And as sure as I am absorbent, yellow, and porous, we will be victorious! We are committed to take on all competition, and if you think you can rattle us with your rehashed cartoons of yesteryear, I say to you...BRING IT ON!"

Nicktoons is Nickelodeon's official term for their original animated programs (but that is not the subject of this page, for more on that, see here).

Nicktoons (previously known as Nicktoons Network and Nicktoons TV) is also a sister network of Nickelodeon launched in 2002 (as part of MTV Networks' expansion into digital cable). Serving as Nickelodeon's 95% animation channel, it was mainly meant to compete with Cartoon Network and Toon Disney and started as a vault channel for Nickelodeon's huge animation library. In addition to running the animation that was first-run on Nick at the time, it also served as a home for the animated shows that they didn't air anymore, like The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, Doug, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. They also aired various foreign cartoons not seen on Nickelodeon, such as Corneil and Bernie.

In 2006, Nicktoons premiered their first original show: Kappa Mikey. It was followed by other co-productions in the later part of the 2000 decade, such as Sky Land, Edgar & Ellen, Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy, Wayside, and Three Delivery. A rarity for a Nicktoons original, Making Fiends was made entirely in-house.

At around 2009, fewer and fewer original Nicktoons were shown in favor of more action-oriented animated programs, presumably to compete with boy-focused Disney XD and Cartoon Network. Two live-action programs, The Troop (with a few animated special effects) and Big Time Rush (totally live-action) also aired on Nicktoons. All of the aforementioned 90's toons were either playing in the graveyard slots or scrapped (even SpongeBob only aired during watershed hours, except for early Saturday mornings), and they were investing in strictly superhero adaptations of Marvel Universe characters. Those went away with Disney's purchase of Marvel Comics.

2010 brought Dragon Ball Z Kai, Nicktoons' first anime and Nickelodeon's return to showing anime; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise's first showing on a Nickelodeon network since Nickelodeon acquired the license; and reruns of Power Rangers, after Saban reclaimed the franchise from Disney. In September 2011, the last few non-SpongeBob 90's Nicktoons left on the network note  were dropped from the schedule for good, but they would all find new life on The 90's Are All That, TeenNick's late night nostalgia block.

Today, Nicktoons seems to exist as a rerun farm for Nick's lower-tier animated and live action series, along with plenty of SpongeBob marathonsnote , just like the main network. It's also used as a backstop to burn off the rights to international series that the main network had no serious plans to give them a chancenote . There also used to be a block of "sports" programming known as NickSports, which aired sports-related cartoons and league Infomercials from the NFL and NASCAR for kids. Over the past two decades, several cancelled cartoons originally produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio for broadcast on the main network have burned off their remaining episodes on Nicktoons.

If you're looking for the franchise of original Nickelodeon animated series, see here. If you are looking for Nicktoons games, try Nicktoons Unite! and Nicktoons MLB.


Nicktons original programming/co-productions and exclusive acquisitions:

Programs on or previously on Nicktoons include:


Tropes associated with the network


Alternative Title(s): Nicktoons TV, Nicktoons Network

Top