Although Nickelodeon began as a channel in 1979 and became home to beloved shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents, it wasn’t until the early ’90s that the network began producing original animated content. In 1991, Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show premiered, becoming the first branded “Nicktoons.” The success of these shows paved the way for Nickelodeon to expand its reach into feature films.
In 1993, Nickelodeon entered into a two-year contract with 20th Century Fox to develop feature films. Although the first movie to be released was Harriet the Spy in 1996, a live-action comedy, it was widely speculated that the original Nicktoons would eventually leap to the big screen.
In the end, Paramount and Viacom moved forward with developing The Rugrats Movie, and other shows like The Wild Thornberries, Hey Arnold!, SpongeBob SquarePants, and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (after Nickelodeon acquired the property) saw their own movie releases in the 2000s.
However, many ’90s cartoons never got the chance to reach the silver screen. Series like The Angry Beavers, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters were never adapted into movies, leaving fans to imagine what these characters might have been like on the big screen. The below are our picks for Nicktoons the deserve to make the jump to the big screen.
Doug
Doug focuses on middle schooler Doug Funnie and his everyday adventures, imagination, and crush on Patti Mayonnaise. It ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 until 1994. Doug did indeed have a movie, however, it was not produced under Nickelodeon. In 1996, The Walt Disney Company acquired Jumbo Pictures, the production studio behind Doug. This led to the show moving from Nickelodeon to Disney, where it aired as Disney’s Doug on Disney’s One Saturday Morning. In 1999, Disney released Doug’s 1st Movie, which served as the series finale. The movie follows Doug and Skeeter Valentine as they try to protect a creature named Herman Melville, created by the pollution in Lucky Duck Lake caused by Bill Bluff, the father of Skeeter’s love interest, Beebe. Despite their efforts to expose Bluff and save Herman, the movie received widespread critical backlash.
The film was criticized for heavily deviating from the original tone of the series. While typical Doug episodes focus on relatable daily adventures, friendships, and Doug’s vivid imagination, the movie’s extraordinary plot felt disconnected from the relatability of the original show. A movie centered on Doug’s everyday adventures or one exploring his imagined superhero persona, Quailman, potentially could have resonated better with fans and stayed true to the spirit of the series.
CatDog
CatDog follows the everyday adventures of Cat and Dog, conjoined brothers navigating life together. The series ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2005. In Season 4, the three-part premiere CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery takes CatDog on a quest to find their parents. They ultimately learn that their parents are a frog and a sasquatch, who adopted them but were separated due to a cyclone. While the special answers some questions, it leaves many unresolved, such as the identity of CatDog’s birth parents and their origin. A feature film exploring these mysteries, similar to Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, could provide some answers.
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Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, which ran from 1994 to 1997, follows three young monsters—Oblina, Ickis, and Krumm—attending a school beneath a city dump, where they learn the art of scaring humans. The series captures their adventures as they complete scaring assignments, blending gross-out humor with something unique among Nicktoons: elements of horror. As a comedy-horror cartoon, the show’s premise offers a lot of potential for a feature film. A movie could dive deeper into their terrifying treks in the human world, explore the facets of their friendship, and further expand on the lore of the monster world.
The Ren & Stimpy Show
The Ren & Stimpy Show centers on the wacky shenanigans of Ren Höek, a chihuahua with a short fuse, and Stimpy, a sweet but dimwitted Manx cat. The series originally ran on Nickelodeon for five seasons between 1991 and 1995, with its final episode airing on MTV in 1996. A reboot aimed at adult audiences, Ren & Stimpy’s “Adult Party Cartoon,” aired in 2003 on Spike TV. However, only three episodes were released before the series was cancelled. In 2020, Comedy Central announced a second reboot of the series, though it has yet to be released.
A feature film for Ren & Stimpy was initially planned. However, after the 1994 acquisition of Paramount Pictures by Nickelodeon’s parent company, Viacom, it was decided that they would handle movie distribution instead. Creative differences with Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, combined with challenges in marketing the property in a family-friendly manner rather than relying on its signature “cynical and gross humor,” ultimately shelved the project. However, it is this humor that has given the series a cult following. With its memorable segments and musical moments, the show was ripe for a feature film—one that dedicated fans would have loved to see.
Rocket Power
Rocket Power follows Otto and Reggie Rocket, Maurice “Twister” Rodriguez, and Sam “Squid” Dullard, four friends living in the fictional beach town of Ocean Shores, California. They share a passion for extreme sports such as skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, biking, and street hockey, all while navigating the ups and downs of being kids. While Rocket Power had several telefilms, including Race Across New Zealand and Island of the Menehune, the series never had its own dedicated feature film. Given the show’s focus on extreme sports and the family dynamic between the Rocket children and their father, Raymundo, a movie could explore these themes further. Additionally, the backstory of their mother, Danielle Rocket, who tragically passed away in a surfing accident in Hawaii, could also be examined. Exploring Ray and Danielle’s life together would be an interesting storyline, or a potential focus on Raymundo’s new wife, Noelani, who is the cousin of his best friend Tito Makan could offer a fresh dynamic similar to the events following the Rugrats in Paris movie, where characters like Chuckie and his new stepsister Kimi navigated their new family relationships.
The Angry Beavers
The Angry Beavers revolves around the misadventures of selfish and cool Norbert and high-strung, impressionable Daggett Beaver, two beaver brothers who have moved out of their parent’s home to become bachelors in the forest near a fictional town in Oregon. The series originally ran from 1997 until 2003. However, four episodes were not aired during its initial run and instead premiered on Nicktoons in 2006. The world of The Angry Beavers was filled with hilarious and eccentric characters, such as Treeflower, Norbert’s hippie beaver girlfriend, and Barry Bear (based on singer Barry White), their disco-loving grizzly bear best friend, offering plenty of space for storytelling.
KaBlam!
KaBlam! was an animated sketch show on Nickelodeon that aired from 1996 to 2000, featuring a variety of quirky, offbeat segments that could easily be expanded into feature films. One of the most memorable sketches, Action League Now!, followed a group of four superheroes—The Flesh, Thundergirl, Stinky Diver, and Meltman—who, portrayed by custom-made action figures, fought crime in the suburbs. With its unique blend of action, humor, and eccentric world-building, Action League Now! would be the prime candidate for a full-length movie, offering endless possibilities for expanding the team’s dynamic and battles.
Another standout segment, Prometheus and Bob, follows the story of an alien attempting to teach a caveman, Bob, modern life lessons. The relationship between the two could easily translate into a lighthearted adventure film. Life with Loopy focused on the bizarre escapades of a 12-year-old boy, Larry, as he narrated the unpredictable behavior of his younger sister, Loopy. This segment’s whimsical tone and sibling-driven chaos would make for a fun family movie. Lastly, The Off-Beats followed a group of social misfits dealing with rivalry and everyday struggles with another group of children referred to as The Populars. The challenges they faced in navigating their world could form the basis for an interesting coming-of-age movie. All these segments, each with their own distinct characters and worlds, offer the potential for films that could appeal to a wide range of fans.
Oh Yeah! Cartoons – My Neighbor Was a Teenage Robot and Chalk Zone
Oh Yeah! Cartoons was an American animated anthology series that aired from 1998 to 2001, showcasing a variety of animated shorts that eventually grew into a full-fledged series. Among these, Angry Beavers, The Fairly OddParents, and My Neighbor Was a Teenage Robot became fan favorites. My Neighbor Was a Teenage Robot first premiered in 1999 before evolving into its own series in 2003, My Life as a Teenage Robot. The series follows Jenny, a powerful crime-fighting robot girl (No. XJ-9), who struggles with her double life as both a superhero and a normal teenager. A movie could explore Jenny’s adventures alongside her friends, Brad and Tuck, as well as her complicated relationship with her creator and “mother,” Dr. Nora Wakeman.
In 1998, ChalkZone was also featured on Oh Yeah! Cartoons. The series follows Rudy Tabootie, an elementary school student who discovers a magic chalk that opens portals to an alternate dimension, ChalkZone. A movie could dive deeper into this chalky world, exploring more of Rudy’s adventures with his chalk friend, Snap, a superhero, and his best friend and love interest, Penny Sanchez—the only human who knows about ChalkZone. Both My Neighbor Was a Teenage Robot and ChalkZone offer unique and complex worlds and character dynamics that would translate well into feature films.
While many classic ’90s Nicktoons never made it to the big screen, the beloved characters and colorful world-building deserve a cinematic spotlight. A feature film for these series could not only provide long-awaited closure for fans, but also introduce these iconic cartoons to a new generation of viewers who never go to experience the charm and joy of the ’90s Nicktoons era.
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