That '90s Nicktoons Revival May Result In One Big Crossover Film

Now that you've had a few days to regain composure following last week's news that Nickelodeon is planning to reboot a swathe of its staple '90s Nicktoons, prepare to fly off the handle — with excitement or rage — once more, as the veteran cable kids' channel is reportedly tipped to be eyeing off an "Avengers-esque" crossover flick between its revived titles.

In case you missed it, that's a cabal that includes the likes of Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Angry Beavers, Rocko's Modern Life and Ren & Stimpy, among others, with the report that Nickelodeon is working with Paramount Pictures on some kind of unholy mega-toon first appearing on Hollywood "insider" site The Tracking Board before spreading like wildfire all across the web.

As the original report explains, Paramount and Nick are apparently looking at Mary Parent (The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water) and her collaborator Cale Boyter to produce the film through their company Disruption Entertainment. The (currently hypothetical) flick is being billed as a likely live-action/animated hybrid, for some reason, with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Space Jam apparently being cited as influences, alongside the fully animated LEGO Movie and Wreck-it Ralph.

Interestingly, this wouldn't be the first time Nickelodeon had attempted crossing over its popular titles; there was, of course, the semi-crossover ep between Rugrats and Aaahh! Real Monsters (Ghost Story, Rugrats season six), but there was also the disaster that was 2003's Rugrats Go Wild, and those were two cartoons whose universes actually worked together — never mind the narrative and philosophical clusterfuck sure to emerge when confronted with a singular universe in which the Pickles family dog, Spike, is still a normal canine, but one that is forced to coexist with intelligent, talking wallabies/cows/beavers/sentient pets that possess the ability to rent and/or own property. It's the Goofy/Pluto problem all over again.

And that's not even beginning to consider the dangers of extending the cadre of shows covered outside the immediately announced lot — how to explain the turquoise and fluoro-pink skin of Doug's world next to the real-world tones of Rugrats? How do Arnold's football-shaped head and desire to free captive turtles fly with the world of Rocko's Modern Life, where turtles aren't hanging out in aquariums but are instead your neurotic, man-sized next-door neighbour? And, maybe most importantly and not dependent on any other universes, why has nobody put CatDog out of its misery yet?