When it came to building up Nickelodeon to become one of the biggest cable networks of all time, the NickToons had a heavy hand in doing so. First starting with the likes of Rugrats, Doug, Ren & Stimpy, and more, the line of animated properties has continued to be a part of the platform, with SpongeBob SquarePants, for example, still running to this day. At a recent event, a major animator responsible for a beloved NickToon surprised fans by revealing that not only is he in active talks with Paramount to resurrect his character, but said creator is also working to bring back several other NickToons under this new revival.
At this year’s MomoCon, an anime convention based in Atlanta, Georgia, El Tigre creator Jorge R. Gutierrez revealed that he was actively pitching Paramount for a revival of his beloved series. In a shocking twist, Gutierrez also confirmed that he is looking to add Invader Zim and My Life as a Teenage Robot into the mix. Both these Nickelodeon properties are wildly different from the story of the young mask-wearing protagonist, though Jorge went one step further in confirming how serious he was about the crossover. “I’m friends with Jhonen Vasquez and Rob Renzetti, creators of Zim and Teenage Robot, so I’ve already got their blessing on using them both.” While Paramount hasn’t given the project a green light, it seems as though the stars are aligning.
El Tigre’s Return
For those who might not be familiar with El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, the NickToon follows the titular character as he discovers that not only is his father a superhero, but his grandfather is a supervillain. Throughout the series, as Gutierrez noted during his Momocon panel, Manny was constantly struggling between being good and evil, never quite landing on a side when it came to joining either his father or his grandfather. While Gutierrez played a big role at Nickelodeon, the animator has quite a few future projects in the works for other companies.
During the recent panel, the animator confirmed that not only is he pitching this NickToons revival at Paramount, Jorge is also working on a new original movie for Netflix, two animated series for Disney, and still working on a Speedy Gonazalez movie for Warner Bros. While many details surrounding Speedy’s comeback have yet to be revealed at this point, the Looney Tunes has seen a major revival in recent years, making for the perfect time for the speedy mouse to make his return. Tubi, for example, has seen major success thanks to housing the Looney Tunes library, and this summer will see the theatrical release of Coyote Vs. Acme, the film that Warner Bros. originally shelved, has been brought back from the grave. Even if this El Tigre resurrection doesn’t become a reality, Jorge’s plate is full.
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