Nickelodeon has ordered two new animated series, THE XS, a stylish series about a crime-fighting family who must thwart the forces of evil while still functioning as an average suburban family, and CATSCRATCH, featuring three fumbling felines who carry on in a world of humans. In addition, hit Nicktoon DANNY PHANTOM has been picked up for a second season of 20 episodes, bringing the total episode order to 40 and tween favorite MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT has been picked up for an additional 14 episodes, bringing its total number of episodes picked up to 40.
We are excited about our two new animated series because of how fresh and different they feel, said Marjorie Cohn, evp, development and original programming, Nickelodeon. THE XS provides a twist on family comedy with pure comic adrenaline and bold animation by creator Carlos Ramos while CATSCRATCH is classic comedy at its best, set apart by creator Doug TenNapels unusual sensibility and crisp, beautiful design. Cohn continues, As for DANNY PHANTOM and MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, their success with kids has proven that they are loved by our audience who keeps tuning in to enjoy each shows energy, humor and action.
Carlos Ramos, an Annie award-winning designer and creator for the OH YEAH! CARTOONS, created THE XS and cartoons shorts, A DOG AND HIS BOY and TWINS CRIMSON AND THOSE AMAZING ROBOTS. Ramos has worked on several Nickelodeon cartoons and received a 1998 Annie Award for his work as a designer on CHALKZONE. The show stars Wendie Malick (JUST SHOOT ME) as the voice of Mrs. X. and Patrick Warburton (SEINFELD, THE TICK) as Mr. X. After years of training as secret agents, the Xs have been unleashed to protect the world as an undercover family of super spies. Now, living incognito in suburbia, the Xs must fight the forces of evil without upsetting the neighbors. Thirteen episodes of The Xs will premiere in 2005.
Three cat stooges star in is created and executive produced by veteran animator, Doug TenNapel, creator of EARTHWORM JIM, PROJECT GEEKER and the CD-ROM game Neverhood. Mr. Blik, voiced by Wayne Night (SEINFELD, JURASSIC PARK), Gordon Quid voiced by Rob Paulsen (THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS) and Waffle voiced by Kevin McDonald (THE KIDS IN THE HALL), were raised like children in a large mansion by Mrs. Edna Cramdilly. The fun starts when she leaves them her house and every penny she had. Her wish is that they always try to make the world a better place, but they live a life of freedom, which leads them into continual loveable misadventure and irresponsible mayhem for 13 episodes. TenNapel also created a series of childrens books, STRANGE KID CHRONICLES, for Scholastic Books and is the author and illustrator of Gear, the popular comicbook series on which CATSCRATCH is based.
DANNY PHANTOM, which airs Fridays at 8:00 pm, follows the funny, fantastic action-packed adventures of Danny Fenton (voiced by David Kaufman), who straddles two worlds as a shy freshman at Casper High and a heroic phantom-fighter with ghostly superpowers. With his best friends, techno-geek Tucker (Rickey Collins) and free-thinking Goth girl Sam (Grey Delisle), he thwarts the misdeeds of menacing ghosts as he also stumbles through daily social hurdles. The series premiered in April 2004 and has since proven to be a hit with both kids 2-11 and tweens 9-14.
Series creator Butch Hartman (creator of hit Nickelodeon series, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS) began his animation career working as an assistant animator for Don Bluth on AN AMERICAN TAIL during his junior year at Cal Arts. Upon graduation, he worked as a character designer and storyboard artist for Marvel Productions, and later, Ruby Spears Productions. He joined Hanna-Barbera in 1991, where he did storyboard work, directed cartoons and created his own shorts for WHAT A CARTOON! He also wrote and directed episodes of DEXTERS LABORATORY, COW & CHICKEN and JOHNNY BRAVO. Hartman joined Nickelodeon in 1998, creating and producing several cartoon shorts for the OH YEAH! CARTOONS.
MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, which airs Fridays at 8:30 pm is about a girl that just wants to have fun, but protecting planet earth must come first to six-foot, super-powered robot XJ-9. Jenny (voiced by Janice Kawaye) is metal on the outside and a sensitive teenager on the inside. Despite her metal exterior with a limitless set of futuristic tools, Jenny prefers to mingle with non-metallic kids like her pals next door, easy-going Brad (Chad Doreck) and his frenetic tag-along brother Tuck (Audrey Wasilewski). The series premiered in August 2003 and has proven to be a fan favorite.
Spun off from Nickelodeons hit OH YEAH! CARTOONS, MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT was created by Rob Renzetti (DEXTERS LABORATORY, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS). Renzetti moved from his home on the outskirts of Chicago to Los Angeles in 1990 to study animation at CalArts. After a brief stint animating in Spain, he returned to Hollywood to join Hanna-Barbera Studios as a storyboard artist and director. There, Renzetti created the original short Mina and the Count and helped develop, write and direct DEXTERS LABORATORY. After joining Nickelodeon in 1997, he created several more of his own original shorts including A COP AND HIS DONUT, THE F-TALES and MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, which aired as part of Nickelodeons OH YEAH! CARTOONS series.
THE XS, CATSCRATCH and DANNY PHANTOM are Nicktoons Productions and are produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California while MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT is Frederator Studios first in-house production.
Nickelodeon (www.nick.com), which is celebrating its landmark 25th anniversary this year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeons U.S. television network is seen in more than 88 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than eight consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
