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Nickelodeon's first original animated program, ''Video Dream Theatre'', was left unaired.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cablecenter.org/k-l-listings/gerry-laybourne-program-hauser-project.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820180719/https://cablecenter.org/k-l-listings/gerry-laybourne-program-hauser-project.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 20, 2014|title=The Cable Center - Gerry Laybourne|date=August 20, 2014}}</ref> It was produced over a half-year period in 1979, when the network hired its future president [[Geraldine Laybourne]] to make two pilots for the show. ''Video Dream Theatre'' used animation to visualize children's dreams in different styles, such as [[xerography|color Xerox]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1988/09/25/the-kids-channel-that-double-dares-to-be-different/dfa00bb6-b2f1-4f1c-ad01-655ed1964cbf/|title=The kids' channel that 'Double Dares' to be different|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|publisher=[[Jeff Bezos#The Washington Post|Nash Holdings LLC]]|last=Brennan|first=Patricia|date=September 25, 1988}}</ref> According to an interview with Laybourne herself, Nickelodeon did not broadcast the show because it was deemed too frightening; she commented, "the trouble with kids' dreams is they're really scary. It's a lot about abandonment, it's a lot about suffocation. They don't make very good stories."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Altschuler|first1=Jane|last2=Laybourne|first2=Geraldine|title=Television Academy Interviews: Geraldine Laybourne, Executive|url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/geraldine-laybourne|website=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation|Television Academy Foundation]] and [[New York Women in Film & Television]]|language=en|date=August 25, 2008|format=Video interview}}</ref>
The network continued to only broadcast externally-produced animation until almost a decade later, when animator [[Ralph Bakshi]] pitched an original animated series called ''Tattertown''. In 1988, a half-hour pilot episode was produced, overseen by Debby Beece (Nickelodeon's senior vice president of programming). Nickelodeon declined to pick up a full series, and the pilot "[[Christmas in Tattertown]]" premiered on December 21, 1988, as a standalone Christmas special. The network's next attempt at an original animation was ''Nick's Thanksgiving Fest'', which was composed of two shorts. According to [[Linda Simensky]], the Thanksgiving shorts "gave Nickelodeon executives the confidence they needed to get the animation department started
During the production of ''Nick's Thanksgiving Fest'' in 1989, Geraldine Laybourne held a meeting at her house to develop a philosophy for the channel's original cartoons. She played tapes of current animated shows, which her colleagues viewed as merchandise-driven and overly commercial. The group decided that Nickelodeon should aim for the opposite of their contemporaries, producing cartoons that would keep their creators in a key creative role rather than prioritizing an efficient "assembly line" process.{{sfn|Hendershot|2004|p=92}}
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|source=—Nickelodeon president [[Geraldine Laybourne]]<ref name=":2"/>
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Geraldine Laybourne laid out a set of rules for the network's cartoons, most importantly wanting to "put the creator back, front and center."{{sfn|Hendershot|2004|p=92}} She approached her fellow executive [[Vanessa Coffey]] to find artists in Los Angeles interested in pitching original cartoons. Coffey had experience working in animation and was the producer for ''Nick's Thanksgiving Fest'' in 1988.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://decider.com/2016/06/14/the-oral-history-of-nicktoons-part-i-how-the-storied-animation-block-came-to-be/|title=The Oral History of 'Nicktoons', Part I: How The Storied Animation Block Came To Be|date=June 14, 2016|work=Decider|access-date=May 29, 2018}}</ref> Laybourne gave Coffey "pretty much free rein to look for properties
Vanessa Coffey rented an apartment in Los Angeles for two weeks and accepted hourly pitches. She mailed animators a call for submissions, which she summarized as "I'm looking for ideas, I'm looking for concepts. The less developed, the better. I want drawings, not a big pitch."<ref name="ew2">{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/08/11/nicktoons-25th-anniversary-oral-history-doug-rugrats-ren-stimpy/|title=Nicktoons 25th anniversary oral history revisits 'Rugrats,' 'Doug,' 'Ren & Stimpy'|website=EW.com}}</ref> As Coffey accepted pitches, she decided that she did not want a "consistent look like Disney
Of the pitches she accepted, Coffey decided to approve eight six-minute pilots at a cost of $100,000 each. Laybourne would eventually select three pilots to expand into full series, meant to fill a programming block of an hour and a half. The first Nicktoon that Coffey approved was [[Jim Jinkins]]' ''Doug'', followed by [[Arlene Klasky]] and [[Gabor Csupo]]'s ''Rugrats''. The final pitch that went to series came from [[John Kricfalusi]], who presented a variety show titled ''Your Gang''<ref name="Neuwirth">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/makintoonsinside0000neuw|url-access=registration|title=Makin' toons: inside the most popular animated TV shows and movies|first=Allan|last=Neuwirth|year=2003|publisher=Allworth Press|isbn=9781581152692}}</ref> with a live-action host presenting different cartoons, each cartoon parodying a different genre. [[Ren and Stimpy]] were pets of one of the children in ''Your Gang''. Coffey was dissatisfied with most of the pitch but did like Ren and Stimpy, singling them out for their own series.<ref name="Neuwirth" /> Both Coffey and Laybourne allowed the three shows to enter development. Between the pilots and series' production, Vanessa Coffey was named Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation.<ref name="unlikely"/>
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In the early 2000s, Nickelodeon briefly continued its strategy of adapting Nicktoon franchises into theatrical features. Executives at the company's movie division decided to reconsider this approach after several films (''[[Hey Arnold!: The Movie]]'' and ''[[Rugrats Go Wild]]'') were met with poor financial and critical reception. According to the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', Nickelodeon believed the ''Hey Arnold!'' movie "didn't just fail but actually tarnished one of the company's best selling points: its trustworthy brand name."<ref name="flop">{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-07-09/features/0307090141_1_nickelodeon-executives-wild-thornberrys-movie-family-films|last=Horn|first=John|agency=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=Nickelodeon flops on big screen|date=July 9, 2003|access-date=October 6, 2011|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|page=3 (Tempo)}}</ref> Aside from ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' films, Nickelodeon Movies stopped producing animated theatrical features based on their shows.<ref name="flop"/>
In February 2005, high ratings from [[Butch Hartman]]'s two Nicktoons (''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'' and ''[[Danny Phantom]]'') convinced the network to sign a multi-year deal with Hartman.<ref name="Hartman">{{Cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/news/fairly-oddparents-butch-hartman-signs-multi-year-deal-nick|title=Fairly OddParents' Butch Hartman Signs Multi-Year Deal With Nick|website=[[Animation World Network]]|date=February 23, 2005|last=DeMott|first=Rick}}</ref> As part of the agreement, Hartman developed original animated and live-action concepts for Nickelodeon and its sister channel, [[Noggin (brand)|Noggin]]. In a statement, Hartman said, "Working with everyone at Nickelodeon over the past several years has been hugely satisfying and I look forward to forging the same kind of terrific creative alliances with the folks at Noggin
In October 2006, [[DreamWorks Animation]] (who was then in a distribution deal with Nickelodeon's corporate sister [[Paramount Pictures]]) announced that it would partner to co-produce animated shows with the channel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/nick-dreamworks-making-tv/|title=Nick, DreamWorks Making TV|first=Ryan|last=Ball|date=October 25, 2006}}</ref> The partnership resulted in three CGI-animated shows based on DreamWorks' character library: ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'', ''[[Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness]]'', and ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens (TV series)|Monsters vs. Aliens]]''.
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=== Expanding beyond cable (2018–present) ===
In 2018, Nickelodeon began to shift from focusing only on cable broadcasting to what it describes as a "studio model" that provides content for third-party companies.<ref name="cartoonbrew">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/streaming/netflix-and-nickelodeon-enter-new-partnership-for-series-and-features-182395.html|title=Netflix and Nickelodeon Enter New Partnership For Series And Features|first=Amid|last=Amidi|date=November 13, 2019|website=Cartoon Brew}}</ref> The decision was made based on the sharp decline of cable viewership due to the rise of [[streaming media|streaming services]].<ref name="cartoonbrew" /> As part of this strategy, Nickelodeon announced that the series ''[[Pinky Malinky]]'' would release on [[Netflix]] as "the first straight-to-Netflix Nicktoon
==List of Nicktoons==
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