Nickelodeon Creator Re-Imagines NickToons as Anime Characters

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The anime industry is booming, but Western animation still offers unique and engaging franchises. Nickelodeon’s NickToons, a collection of original animated series that began in the 1990s, was particularly influential, giving us shows like Rugrats, Invader Zim, and SpongeBob SquarePants – and many more! Though most of these series haven’t been adapted into anime, a well-known animator from Nickelodeon has recently started changing that by reimagining some of the most popular NickToons characters.

Butch Hartman, who created the popular show The Fairly OddParents, has moved on to creating content for YouTube. He’s gained nearly a million subscribers by regularly posting videos where he reimagines classic Nickelodeon cartoons. He often wonders what characters like Timmy Turner would be like as adults or creates stories about crossovers that never happened. Recently, Hartman shared artwork showing what Timmy Turner and Jimmy Neutron might look like if they had been created in Japan instead of for Nickelodeon.

Timmy Turner’s Unsure Future

When The Fairly OddParents returned on Netflix with The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, Timmy Turner wasn’t part of the story. Instead, the show followed a new main character, Hazel Wells, and featured a new computer-generated animation style. The latest season was released last year, but Netflix hasn’t announced whether the show will be renewed for more episodes. While the showrunner, Lindsay Katai, has mentioned that many of the creators have moved on to other projects, Netflix hasn’t officially confirmed the show’s future.

Earlier this year, animator Butch Hartman shared some interesting news about his popular cartoon, The Fairly OddParents. He revealed he once proposed a crossover episode that would have brought the characters to SpongeBob SquarePants’ Bikini Bottom. He also hinted at who Timmy Turner would eventually marry, suggesting Tootie is the likely choice. Fans will be surprised to hear Timmy is returning this year – not in a new TV show, but as a playable character in the video game Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis: Next!. This game features a lot of classic NickToon characters and is a fun way to revisit these beloved figures from Paramount’s animation history.

Via Butch Hartman

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2026-05-12 18:11