In the world of animation, many different studios attempted to deliver top-tier content for kids across the globe to watch. There were several great contenders, but, in terms of the longevity of their sustained success, Nickelodeon is certainly at the top.
Their shows have strong staying power and really stick with their fans, so much so that fans that grew up with them continue to re-watch them and hope that they come back in some way. With the recent relaunch of Rugrats on Paramount+, there is some hope for several other famous Nicktoons to get the same treatment and give fans new stories with some of their favorite characters.
Danny Phantom
Butch Hartman created one of the most successful Nicktoons ever in The Fairly OddParents, so his next show on the network was going to come in with high expectations. Danny Phantom had a ton of great episodes, though it may not have been able to meet those lofty expectations.
Danny was one of Nickelodeon's most marketable characters, being the super-powered human that used his ghost powers to thwart evil. He appeared in several of Nickelodeon's video games, and, with the boom of superheroes that has taken place over the last decade-plus, Danny could easily return to the network become even more popular than he already was.
The Angry Beavers
The late nineties saw several popular Nicktoons make their debut, so, with that much quality content coming out so quickly, one of the shows was bound to slip through the cracks. Despite its four-season run, The Angry Beavers was the least talked about Nicktoon of its era.
The beaver brothers, Daggett and Norbit, were like a typical sitcom pairing, having distinct differences that played off of each other extremely well. Many of their episodes had a focus on the woods and their environment, and shows bearing environmentally conscious messages would be a good fit for the modern era.
As Told By Ginger
Most Nicktoons try to steer away from more serious themes, as the shows are geared to children and are primarily meant to be light and fun. As Told by Ginger made it a point to buck that trend, instead tackling the ups and downs that come with kids growing up and the tough times life can sometimes present.
This show was unique in the sense that the characters grew up and advanced through their school years as the show continued, including Ginger and her friends eventually getting to high school. A continuation of the characters' lives, showcasing more scenarios that happen to kids as they grow up and even leading to college years, has immense potential.
CatDog
What would happen if a cat and a dog, natural enemies in the animal world, were conjoined brothers? In a surprise to many, CatDog was a huge success, and the series ran on the network for several years.
CatDog was a great showcase that, no matter how different two personalities could be, one could always rely on the other when no one else was around to help them. Cat and Dog are still two of the more popular characters in Nick's library, so picking up right where they left off to tell new stories would get fans to tune right back in.
Aaahhh!!! Real Monsters
For whatever reason, kids tend to gravitate to shows that involve outrageous, gross, and sometimes even a bit monstrous or scary. That is exactly what fans get when they watch the adventures of three of their favorite monsters, Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm in Aaahhh!!! Real Monsters.
All of the monsters in the show have unique ways to accomplish their scares, using things available in the human world at times to pull off the perfect scare. A revival of the show could bring about an interesting take based on the advancements in technology the world has seen since the show aired in the early nineties, showcasing new and innovative ways for the monster crew to scare.
Invader Zim
Of all the Nicktoons to appear on the network, Invader Zim had one of the shortest runs, only airing twenty-seven total episodes that were spread among five years. Nickelodeon didn't seem to push the show all that much, which would normally lead to it becoming forgotten However, even in his short time, Zim was able to garner a large fanbase.
The show's popularity only grew after its final episode aired, and more fans joined the cause over time to get the show back on the air. Their efforts were rewarded when Netflix released the movie Enter the Florpus, but the success of that film just proves that the network was too quick to give up on Zim.
Rocket Power
One of the things the nineties was known for was the massive growth in popularity in extreme sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing. There were many factors in this popularity, but Nickelodeon played a part in it with the success of Rocket Power.
Even at their young ages, Otto, Reggie, Sam, and Twister were pulling off incredible tricks and traveling the world for competitions to show off their skills. An opportunity is sitting there to bring the show back, but with the twist of aging the kids up a few years. They were already talented, but seeing how much more these four have improved over the years is something all fans of the show have thought about.
The Wild Thornberrys
The Wild Thornberrys was one of the most unique shows Nickelodeon ever put out. The series was wildly popular and one of Nickelodeon's flagship properties, having two theatrical releases on top of almost one hundred episodes of the show.
Eliza is the main character of the show already, considering her love of animals and unique ability to talk to them, but the show works best as an ensemble involving the whole family. Seeing how Eliza's power comes to use as she gets older, maybe even to the age where she becomes a focal point of the documentaries, could be a fun avenue fans would enjoy being explored.
The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
While most of the Nicktoons got their start by premiering on Nickelodeon, Jimmy Neutron has the distinction of his official arrival with a feature film, one that would go on to gross over one hundred million dollars and be nominated at The Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. The success of the film also led to the series that fans loved in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.
Jimmy, at one time, was one of the most recognizable faces in all of animation, having crossovers with The Fairly OddParents and even getting a theme park ride based on him. His shows abrupt end shocked fans, and, ever since, a revival has been pushed to continue the adventures of the Boy Genius and his friends.
Hey Arnold!
Arnold and his friends were probably the most relatable of the group of characters for kids watching Nickelodeon, as many of the storylines were meant as parables of things viewers may experience in real life. That notion resonated with fans, and Hey Arnold! is one of the few Nicktoons to cross the one hundred episode mark and have a theatrical film release.
The show had a run most would be jealous of, but, even at its conclusion, the over-arching question of what happened to Arnold's parents never got answered. Fans would have to wait a while, but the answer finally came years later after the long-awaited release of Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, bringing Arnold's parents home. This was a huge moment in the show's history, and a continuation of Arnold's story with his family finally back together seems like an obvious idea.