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This page is an explanatory guide to help users of Nickipedia, the Nickelodeon Wiki. Please ask an administrator if you need further help understanding something! |
One of the most common questions that Nickelodeon fans have is "What qualifies as a Nicktoon?" Nickipedia lists all of the official Nicktoons at this link.
Technically, Nickelodeon only applies the Nicktoon branding to cartoons produced (at least partly) by Nick themselves. All official Nicktoons are copyrighted by ViacomCBS (Nickelodeon's parent company). For example:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender is an official Nicktoon, since it was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and is owned by ViacomCBS.
- ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks is not an official Nicktoon, since it is produced and owned by Bagdasarian Productions.
If a cartoon has aired on a Nickelodeon channel, but Nickelodeon did not produce it at all, it is called an "acquired cartoon" (since Nickelodeon acquired the show from an unrelated studio).
An easy way to tell if a new cartoon is an official Nicktoon is to look at the ending credits. If the copyright byline lists a ViacomCBS company (usually "ViacomCBS International" or "MTV Networks"), it is most likely an official Nicktoon. An exception to this rule is Nick Jr. shows: Nickelodeon does not use the Nicktoon branding for preschool-targeted cartoons that they produce (ex. Dora the Explorer).