Nicktoons is of extreme importance as the cartoons would help bring back animation big time along side The Simpsons, Disney, and some WB shows. Gone would be shows like The Smurfs and was replaced by shows now deemed towards a general audience (even though they were also grabbing kids attention).
Nickelodeon was just a mere kids channel for cable since the late 70's having to acquire licenses for other shows like Inspector Gadget. Once Looney Tunes went on the air, they knew they had a winner with their ratings and thought that they could create toons of their own because once the Looney Tunes license has ended...that's it (it ran for 11 years by the way).
Each of the 3 shows was different. Ren and Stimpy was based on exaggeration. Doug had more subtlety. Rugrats was more adventurous (albeit baby adventures). Ren and Stimpy lasted a good long while and had a few reboots I think for MTV to get away with more raunchy stuff. Doug ended up being acquired by Disney for a brief time and gave him his own movie. Eventually though, Doug would soon become a Nicktoons character in reruns. Rugrats lasted at least over ten years and was given three movies.
After the first three, the 90's were indeed "All That". Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold, Aaahhh Real Monsters, and Catdog are to name a few. Even the late 90's spawned Rocket Power, Wild Thornberrys, and a little known show called Spongebob Squarepants. The 2000's gave us Fairly Oddparents, Jimmy Neutron, and an attempt to recreate anime with Avatar the Last Airbender. This is when Spongebob became a hit. Sadly, in my opinion, after the cancellation of The Mighty B, Nicktoons and Nickelodeon suffered a downhill spiral. The focus was more on live action shows like iCarly and others related to it. Sure, Spongebob got a successful 2nd movie, but some of the decisions include buying the rights to Teenage Mutaint Ninja Turtles (very creative...NOT) and acquiring shows that became hits once again such as Alvin and the Chipmunks and Miraculous Ladybug.
If Nickelodeon was smart enough, Nicktoons could come back. Now they are rethinking what they've done and wish to reboot their older series. I wish they'd go back to creating new great products for themselves instead of rehashing the old ones, make not so good ones, or not paying attention to the newer ones at all. Especially with cartoons flourishing again, every studio is doing something new and creative except Nick.
Sure not every Nicktoon was a masterpiece (ok...sorry), but most Nicktoons have gained a cult following in the general public. Especially with the millennials who grew up watching these cartoons. So Happy Birthday Nicktoons! You don't look a day over 20. (rimshot)
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