Nickelodeon Animation Studio, also known in Burbank as Nickelodeon Studios
Burbank, is an American animation studio. The studio is owned and operated
by television network Nickelodeon, and the studio produces many of the
network's most popular animated series, including SpongeBob SquarePants, The
Fairly OddParents, The Penguins of Madagascar and T.U.F.F. Puppy. It also
produces programs for Nicktoons as well. The Nickelodeon animation division
foundations begin with the creation of three original animated programs in
1991, Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show. After a falling-out with Ren &
Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi in 1992, Nickelodeon founded Games Animation to
produce future animated endeavors, including their first fully in-house
series Rocko's Modern Life. Games produced much of the mid-1990s output of
the network, in partnership with notable companies such as Frederator Studios. In
1998, the studio moved from Studio City, California to Burbank in celebration of
a new facility, and was renamed Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
Aside from Nickelodeon, the studio has also produced cartoon series for Nick
Jr., Nicktoons Network and other Viacom-owned networks such as Spike.
History = 1991–1998: Games Animation=
The Nickelodeon Animation Studio's earliest beginnings lie in the roots of
the channel's Nicktoons endeavor. In 1990, Nickelodeon appointed Vanessa
Coffey as Executive Producer of Animation, charging her with the quest
of seeking out new characters and stories that would allow the channel a
grand entrance into the animation business. The high cost of high-quality
animation discouraged the network from developing weekly animated programming.
Although most television networks at the time tended to go to large animation
houses with proven track records to develop Saturday-morning series, often
generally pre-sold characters from movies, toys or comics, Nickelodeon
desired differently. Inspired by the early days of animation and the work of
Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, Nickelodeon set out to find frustrated
cartoonists swallowed up by the studio system. Nickelodeon president Geraldine
Laybourne commissioned eight six-minute pilots at a cost of $100,000 each before
selecting three. Seeking the most innovative talents in the field, the
products of this artists' union – Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show –
represented twelve years of budget-building toward that end.
However, despite the best efforts, relations became strained with Ren &
Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi. In fall 1992, Nickelodeon and Vanessa Coffey
fired Kricfalusi. Nickelodeon asserted that the termination was due to
production delays, whereas Kricfalusi suspected the real reason was that the
network was uncomfortable with more crude humor. Nickelodeon objected to
most of his proposed plotlines and new characters—including George Liquor, an
Archie Bunker-ish "All-American Male." 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. The creative tug of war was closely watched by both
animators and the television industry and covered in the national press.
In response, Nickelodeon formed its own animation studio, Games Animation. The
series was moved to Games and put under the creative supervision of Bob Camp,
one of Kricfalusi's former writer-director partners. Nick's plan
was to hire bright, young animators and let them do almost anything they want.
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 that was a near-shambles after Kricfalusi was fired.
In 1992, animator Joe Murray was approached by Nickelodeon with
intentions of developing a new animated series for Games Animation. Murray's Joe
Murray Productions and Games Animation rented office space on Ventura Boulevard
in the Studio City neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley region of Los
Angeles, California. The production moved to a different office building on
Vineland Avenue in Studio City. Executives did not share space with the
creative team. Games Animation's first in-house production, Rocko's Modern
Life, premiered on the network in 1993. The initial duty was to continue
producing The Ren & Stimpy Show as Nickelodeon dropped Spümcø and its
creator John Kricfalusi from their duties on the show. At the time, Games
was located in an office building in Studio City, California. Apart from The
Ren & Stimpy Show, Nickelodeon's other Nicktoons were done out-of-house at
Jumbo Pictures in New York City and Klasky-Csupo.
Games Animation never had an official logo. Instead, every show the studio
worked on had its own customized Games Animation logo. In 1993, Nickelodeon
greenlit its first fully original in-house series, Rocko's Modern Life,
produced by Games Animation with partnership of Joe Murray Studio. Games
worked on the show for three years and employed over 70 people during the
course of its run. The show was cancelled in 1996 by Nickelodeon due to
its creator Joe Murray wanting to spend more time with his family. Following the
cancellation, Games Animation produced the pilot of Hey Arnold!, along with its
first 2 seasons. = 1998–2016: Nickelodeon Animation
Studio= In 1996, Albie Hecht, then-president of
Film and TV Entertainment for Nickelodeon, met with Nickelodeon
artists for a brainstorming session on the elements of their ideal studio, and,
with their feedback, created "a playful, inspirational and cutting edge lab which
will hopefully give birth to the next generation of cartoon classics." He
added, "For me this building is the physical manifestation of a personal
dream, which is that when people think of cartoons, they'll say Nicktoons."
Nickelodeon and parent company Viacom threw a bash to celebrate the opening of
the new Nicktoons animation studio on March 4, 1998. During the launch party,
a gathering of union labor supporters formed a picket line to protest
Nickelodeon's independent hiring practices outside the studio's iron
gates. Located at 231 West Olive Avenue in
Burbank, California, the 72,000-square-foot facility, designed by
Los Angeles architecture firm AREA, houses 200–300 employees and up to five
simultaneous productions. It also contains a miniature golf course, an
indoor basketball course/screening room, an artists' gallery, a studio store, and
a fountain that shoots green water into the air. The Nicktoons studio houses
five, project driven production units. Each has its own color and design
environment and includes a living room, writer's lounge and storyboard
conference room. The studio also has a Foley stage, a post-production area,
sound editing and mixing rooms and an upstairs loft area with skylights for
colorists. In September 1999, Nickelodeon opened a
major new digital animation studio at 1633 Broadway in Manhattan. The New York
studio primarily took over production of Nick Jr. animated properties. At the
same time, the Los Angeles facility animated the intro for The Amanda Show.
It was reported in 2005 that the studio was up for sale; this was later
corrected, as the owner of the building was selling it.
= 2016 and beyond: Nickelodeon Studios= In 2016, Nickelodeon's animation
facilities will move into a five-story glass structure that will be part of a
larger new studio complex, which will be located elsewhere in Burbank. Because it
will house both animated and live-action productions, the studio will be renamed
to simply Nickelodeon Studios. List of Nickelodeon Animation Studio
productions = TV series=
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon
Nicktoons Network Nick Jr. Network
= Digital series= = Short pilots=
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon
Produced for other Viacom-owned networks = TV specials=
= Theatrical films= See also
Cartoon Network Studios, the animation division of Cartoon Network
Disney Television Animation, the animation division of Disney Channel
Warner Bros. Animation References
External links Nickelodeon Animation Studio official
site Nickelodeon Animation Studio at the
Internet Movie Database