In the News: Nicktoons Assemble!

On Friday, we linked to a story about how Nickelodeon was looking to reboot some of their popular television shows from the 90’s (like Doug, Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life). “We are looking at our library to bring back ideas, shows that were loved, in a fresh new way,” stated Russell Hicks, the president of content and development at Nickelodeon. While time will tell if Hicks’ vision comes to fruition, it seems that nostalgic Nineties-lovers now have something to look forward to in the meantime: Paramount is developing a live-action/animation hybrid based on the classic cartoons (as first reported by Tracking Board).

Like Marvel’s superhero team-up The Avengers, this new film will mash-up and unite a diverse roster of Nicktoons from yesterday. Although few specifics can be provided at this early stage of development, five specific shows were cited for inclusion: Angry Beavers, Hey Arnold!, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life and Rugrats.

The project will be produced by Cale Boyter and Mary Parent, whose production company Disruption Entertainment is responsible for animated films like The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and the upcoming Monster Trucks.

Although a writer has yet to be hired, Paramount is said to be actively looking for a scribe capable of balancing this assortment of properties.

For those who grew up loving these shows and might be anxious about the resulting amalgam ahead, try not to worry. As per Tracking Board’s exclusive report: “our sources say that the creators have no intentions to bastardize or update the characters unfavorably, only to create a fun adventure reuniting audiences with the treasured cartoons in an exciting new approach, pleasing old fans and creating new ones.”

In the News: Nicktoons Assemble!