Nickelodeon Animation Podcast

The music for Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are two of the most daringly brilliant TV soundtracks ever. Composer Jeremy Zuckerman and series co-creator Bryan Konietzko visit the studio to discuss their decade-long musical collaboration. Hector guides the duo song by song through a selection of inspired and memorable tracks, discovering how and why they created musical magic worthy of the epic Avatar universe.

Buckle up, because the podcast gets “white and nerdy” when Weird Al Yankovic visits the studio. Everyone knows that the Almighty Weird One is a legendary songwriter and pop culture satirist, but did you know that he’s an animation geek who has done voices on The Simpsons, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Adventure Time, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Teen Titans Go!, Gravity Falls, Wallykazam!, and Milo Murphy's Law? Weird Al talks with Hector about his craft, his upcoming projects, and getting the white-glove thumbs up from none other than Michael Jackson.

MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT creator Rob Renzetti has worked with some of the most legendary names in animation: Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken, Samurai Jack, Harvey Birdman, the Powerpuff Girls, and some guy named Dexter who had a laboratory. Rob tells Hector that he's lucky to have come up during a new renaissance in TV animation, but with the resume of Rob Renzetti, it's clear that he's a massive talent of his own who never stopped working his cartoon butt off.

Let's kick off the insanely unpredictable world of 2017 with the most insanely unpredictable cartoon cast of all time! Yes, INVADER ZIM! Richard Horvitz (Zim), Rikki Simons (Gir), and Melissa Fahn (Gaz) reminisce, talk shop, and break into musical numbers while discussing the iconic series. What was it like working for the legendary Jhonen Vasquez? What is Zim's favorite episode? And, why was there bacon in the soap, Gir?! SILENCE! Zim's empire of podcast doom begins NOW!

To call Fred Seibert "a producer" is like calling Steve Hillenburg "a guy who drew a sponge." A visionary force in the early days of Nickelodeon, the former president of Hanna-Barbera, and the current big cheese behind Frederator, Fred has produced cartoon classics such as The FairlyOddparents, Adventure Time, Fanboy and Chum Chum, and Bee And Puppy Cat, to name a few. To us, he's a legendary animation entrepreneur, even though Fred calls himself a professional fan.

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.

The SNL star tells Hector what it was like playing a runty Christmas tree with big dreams in Albert, an animated holiday movie coming to Nickelodeon this month. Bobby also shares his journey from humble pizza-maker at Pizzeria Uno to the comedy heights of SNL, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and We Bare Bears.

Rocko's Modern Life remains one of the most iconic and influential cartoons in Nickelodeon history. Creator Joe Murray joins Hector and a live audience at the EW Popfest and shares why he was initially reluctant to bring our favorite anxiety-prone wallaby back to television and why flying under the radar was the best thing that could have happened to the inhabitants of O-Town.

Nickelodeon's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES wouldn't be a smash hit without its cartoon mastermind Ciro Nieli. The veteran of TEEN TITANS, FAMILY GUY and SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO! talks about his love of Creature Double Features, the Melvins, and his early days in LA surviving on one burrito a day. Join Hector for a deep-dish dive into the life and times of the cartoon super genius behind Kevin Eastman's favorite version of TMNT.

Tara Strong’s voice is everywhere and we’ve got her in the studio to kick off season 2 of the podcast! The voice of Timmy Turner, Twilight Sparkle, Harley Quinn, Dil Pickles, Ben 10, Raven and many more characters talks to Hector about voicing Hello Kitty as a kiddie, her origins at Second City, love of the fans (that means you, Bronies!) and why “getting paid to be silly” is the best job in the world.

We're getting LOUD on the final podcast of season one! Hector is joined by the seven actresses who play the ten sisters on the new hit cartoon THE LOUD HOUSE: Grey Griffin, Lara Jill Miller, Jessica DiCicco, Cristina Pucelli, Nika Futterman, Liliana Mumy, and Catherine Taber. It's a LOUD lovefest as Hector finds out what it's like to be one of Lincoln's sisters, who went to law school, who was on Family Feud in high school, who's a champion poker player, and so much more.

Yo Gabba Gabba! was the first punk rock preschool show ever. When their radical series idea was rejected at every pitch, creators Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs did a very punk rock thing and made the pilot themselves! Soon, kids and families worldwide were busting out their Dancey Dance moves! Scott and Christian talk with Hector about their DIY journey, their love of weird midnight movies, The Aquabats! Super Show!, and that damn arcade game at 7-Eleven that took all their quarters.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic creator Lauren Faust hated the My Little Pony TV show as a kid. Why can't girl cartoons be badass too? After honing her storytelling skills on Iron Giant, Powerpuff Girls, and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Lauren got her chance to make My Little Pony the way she always wanted. You're welcome all you girls and Bronies!

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius creator John Davis claims that even though he was once a boy, he was never a genius. Fans of Jimmy, Planet Sheen and the movie Ant Bully will certainly disagree. Hector talks tech with the computer whiz, animation master, and astrophotographer (whatever that is!) and learns how technical challenges can be your best inspiration as we roam Spaceship Earth.

It was the mighty Popeye who taught EL TIGRE: THE ADVENTURES OF MANNY RIVERA creator, Jorge R. Gutierrez that "If you fight people bigger than you, for something greater than you, you can win the girl of your dreams!" Jorge's fight for his artistic vision has been a heroic journey too. From his work on MAD to THE BOOK OF LIFE Jorge discusses why staying true to yourself, your culture and heading the advice of a "good Mexican woman" are the keys to success!

When a young Jennifer Yuh Nelson (director of KUNG-FU PANDA 2 and 3) watched her mother draw it was like watching magic! She saw her future in that talent and has risen to the top of the animation world.. On this week’s episode Hector speaks with the most successful female animation director in history about all things Kung-Fu, her love of cartoon blood and gore, and why she'll never draw another horse.

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.

The podcast has a backstage pass at this year’s San Diego Comic Con where Nickelodeon celebrates 90’s Nick shows plus 25 amazing years of animation. Hector’s fanboy frenzy includes interviews with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Executive Producer Ciro Nieli and voice actors Sean Astin, Rob Paulsen, Greg Cipes, Mae Whitman and others, plus SpongeBob SquarePants’ very own Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass and more. Hector also gets a Comic Con exclusive on the upcoming Legends of the Hidden Temple movie from superstar animation actor Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of Olmec!

Craig Bartlett's legendary career in cartoons includes three of the most iconic kid shows ever: Pee Wee's Playhouse, Rugrats, and his very own, universally adored Hey Arnold! As he embarks on a new TV-movie adventure with Arnold and friends, Craig stops by the podcast to discuss his illustrious past, and the future of his beloved football-headed hero.

You know Andy Richter as Conan O'Brien's sidekick, but to us, he's one of the top dog's when it comes to giving voice to hilarious cartoon characters like Mort in the Madagascar films and TV spinoffs, Benjamin Higgenbottom in The Mighty B!, and hilarious roles on Bob's Burgers, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken, and King of The Hill. Hector talks cartoons, comedy, Studio Ghibli films and more with the comic actor who will never be a second banana to fans of cartoons.