Why You Should Be Excited About NICKELODEON’s New Animated Shows!

“Do it yourself”- Jay Howell

Nickelodeon has always prided itself in kid-centered television, a voice of our generation. Remember Rocko’s Modern Life? Rugrats? Ren & Stimpy? Or were you more of a Pete & Pete fan? Maybe you’ve fallen for the recent The Fairly Odd Parents and Spongebob. Either way, we all remember growing up with these characters.

Now, what if you got to create them. Be involved in the production process? This year at Nick’s Animation Press Release, all the new shows and shorts were created by viewers like you. Yes. You. The First Generation Nicktoon-ers. Through hard work and creating self-made content, each team was called out by Nickelodeon to collaborate on talent centered content.

The Animation Press Preview was hosted by Jenna Boyd Senior Vice President of Animation Development, Nickelodeon Group, Rich Magallanes Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Animation, Current Series and Russell Hicks President, Content Development and Production for Nickelodeon Group.) The preview focused on updates on the tried and true toons, including The Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob SquarePants, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Dora the Explorer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Legend of Korra. Then transitioned into how Nick has transformed their new line up to be artistically grounded and fresh.

The newest talent-centered Nicktoon included one of Nickelodeon’s Animated Shorts Program’s finalists, Pam and Sid’s Port-A-Party, which features ” two hyperactive meerkats that turn an ordinary port-a-potty into their very own port-a-party”. I was happy to hear this show was not only created, but written, and voiced by two women. I thought it was cute and it reminded me of when I was a kid. I enjoyed the change of pace as I wish to commend the women making waves in the animation industry. You can find out more about this show on the new Nick App.

Then came BreadWinners. A show about two friends, with a big-brother/little-brother relationship, who own a bread delivery service and encounter many misadventures. I got to speak with the creators and I was interested their Nick Kid influences. They spoke of watching Nick in the 90s and being influenced by video games and The famous Super Mario Bros. As the show releases later this season, you will get to see gaming humor and level up moments throughout the show. Particularly with pants.

Last but not least, I am personally excited about the newest show Sanjay and Craig, a misadventure show about a boy named Sanjay (Maulik Pancholy, 30 Rock) and his snake named Craig (Chris Hardwick, Nerdist, Back at the Barnyard). Created and co-produced by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf, these gentlemen were all first generation Nicktooners themselves. Inspired by shows like Double Dare and Ren & Stimpy, it’s a messy Best Friend show with close-ups of awesomely gross stuff. In other words ‘ “The comedic and outrageous adventures of Sanjay and Craig deliver the perfect yet distinctive mix of weird, wonderful and random humor that is both unconventional and modern, which this post-millennial world has a strong affinity for,” said Hicks.

I had the opportunity to have a one on one interview with Jay Howell and he was one of my favorite people to interview. I always enjoy those who are able to joke and stay on topic. For all you fellow artists out there, I inquired about the work and instruments it takes to create a network show. As the Art Director, Jay oversees about 10 people each day, checking on stories, assisting in edits, and his favorite: creating characters and scenes. Some of the hardest days at work are when he has to translate what the writers want into reality. Because sometimes they want him to draw a snake using a flamethrower falling down The Grand Canyon. He works with several mediums including Painting, Scanning, Textured Paper and a WACOM Tablet, which is basically an instant scan machine. While drawing, it simultaneously scans it into the computer, where it can be uploaded on to a network folder and each member of the art department can draw, edit, and finalize in one central location. I had a personal tech geek- out here, did you?

Question. Is anyone as excited as I am that one of the main characters is ethnic? When I asked Jay what was the reasoning behind this, the question came as a bit of a surprise. He noted that they had not put much emphasis on his race. Sanjay simply happens to be half- Indian and American and He’s just like every other boy with a best friend, except his best friend is a snake, which is obviously more awesome.

The idea came from an older story he helped create, about an Indian street performer and his snake companion who would play jokes on those around them. When Nickelodeon contacted him (That’s right, Nick contacted THEM), they said they liked their humor, but the show was too adult. Three years later, with a kid friendly touch, Sanjay and Craig will be released unto the world Sunday, May 25th at 10:30am!

If you would like to see more of Jay’s work outside of Nickelodeon, you can find his work at JayHowellArt.Blogspot.com.

Jay and all the fellow artists I spoke with all got to where they were by creating on their own, and working at 110% once they got the call. After seeing Nickelodeon’s dedication to talent and focusing on their humor and work, Its plain to see there is not only Hope, but Encouragement from the industry for you to be yourself and create freely. So, GO! Create! You never know. Cause one day, you could get the call.

If you are interested in sharing your talents with Nickelodeon and like SpongeBob Squarepants, there is still time to enter Nickelodeon’s First-Ever SpongeBob SquarePants Global Competition, SpongeBob SquareShorts: Originial Fan Tribute contest.

Call for entries run through June 28th

Good Luck!