Nickelodeon Animation Podcast

Few cartoons in the history of kid's animation are as joyously dark and comically cruel as Invader Zim. Legendary creator, artist and writer Jhonen Vasquez discusses his journey from a disgruntled video store clerk, to his breakthrough gig as a comic book artist, to the fateful day that Invader Zim became his “hideously immortal baby” on TV. Jhonen also tells Hector about his lifelong fandom of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and discusses the original animated Turtles short that he wrote, produced and premiered at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con.

Blues Clues creators Angela Santomero and Traci Paige Johnson forever changed the way that kids interact with television. Combining their backgrounds in child development, love of Mister Rogers and the paper cut-out aesthetic of Monty Python, they created an animated/live-action phenomenon. Skidoo into the studio with Hector, Angela, Traci and Blue to discover that you really can "do anything that you want to do" with a clear animation vision and a commitment to getting every detail right.

Pinky Malinky creators Chris Garbutt and Rikke Asbjoern are the proud parents of the first social media savvy cartoon character on Nickelodeon - who also happens to be a hotdog! Pinky Malinky is an infectiously-positive wiener who lives in the human world, goes to school, sings, dances, inflates like a balloon, and makes hilarious social content with his best buds Babs and JJ. The ingenious creators join Hector and share the inspirations for the series design, music, diversity, and humor.

Heeeyyy Arnold fans! You've waited almost 20 years for The Jungle Movie and it's almost here! This week on the podcast, Hector shares the mic with Hey Arnold mastermind Craig Bartlett, voice stars, and the team's creative visionaries to discuss the legacy and highly-anticipated movie starring our football-headed hero, friends and family. It's the deepest of dives into everything you want to know about The Jungle Movie which premieres Thanksgiving weekend!

Earth. Fire. Air. Water. And a whole lot of elements of awesomeness in this episode with The Legend of Korra cast! Janet Varney (Korra), Seychelle Gabriel (Asami), David Faustino (Mako) and P.J. Byrne (Bolin) join Hector on a deep dive into their auditions, favorite memories and what it was like to star in one of the most inspiring toons of all time.