Games Animation

Credits

Descriptions by
Logoboy95

Captures by
Logoboy95

Editions by
CuriousGeorge60 and DisneyInternationalFan

Background

Shortly after the firing of John Kricfalusi in September 1992, Nickelodeon formed an in-house animation studio called "Games Animation, Inc." (first known as "Games Productions" for a short time) in Studio City, California and took over the production of The Ren & Stimpy Show with Bob Camp as the director. Since then, the company finished the Season 2 episodes which Spümcø was working on and fully took over since Season 3. After that, the company started producing two in-house cartoons, Rocko's Modern Life and Hey Arnold!. In 1998, it moved to Burbank and was renamed to "Nickelodeon Animation Studios".

1st Logo (The Ren and Stimpy Show variant) (November 7, 1992-October 20, 1996)

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Visuals: On a light khaki background with a sun and a few clouds, there is Stimpy dressed in milkman garb with his tongue sticking out standing on the ground, and a box of milk next to him. The words "GAMES ANIMATIONS" ("GAMES PRODUCTIONS" on early S2 episodes) is below him in the same font as the show's ending credits (named Impress), but in white with a black shadow behind it.

Trivia: The drawing of Stimpy in the milkman's outfit, attributed to layout artist Michael Kim, was Games' response to John Kricfalusi's comment about how giving his unfinished episodes to his former colleagues was like giving "an unedited cartoon to the milkman and have him finish it for ya". The drawing also had Stimpy holding a bloodstained knife (a reference to "Stabco", a derogatory nickname for Games used by Spümcø loyalists), something that had to be edited out of the final logo.

Technique: A still, hand-drawn image, with the text added via chyron.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: It was seen on The Ren & Stimpy Show since the second season on TeenNick's NickRewind block starting with the episode "Svën Höek" until September 13, 2021. It can also be found on VHS releases of said show as well. The "Games Productions" variant was found on a few season 2 episodes when aired on TeenNick such as "The Great Outdoors/The Cat That Laid the Golden Hairball". On DVD releases, the logo, along with the Nickelodeon logo, is removed on "The Complete First and Second Seasons", but is preserved on "Seasons Three and a Half-ish" and "Seasons Five and Some More of Four".

2nd Logo (Rocko's Modern Life variant) (September 18, 1993-November 24, 1996)

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Visuals: On a shady orange background with yellow dots, there are the words "GAMeS ANiMATiON" (in a disjointed, abstract style) and the word "INC." in a scarlet font below them.

Technique: A still, hand-drawn image.

Audio: The end theme of the show (a jazzy, woodwind-driven climax that ends with a soft finale involving a glockenspiel and light guitar strums in seasons 2-4, composed by The B-52's).

Availability: This served as a custom logo for Rocko's Modern Life, and thus only appeared on said series.

3rd Logo (Hey Arnold! first variant) (July 10, 1996)

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Visuals: Over a slate gray background, the big dodger blue stacked words "GAMES ANIMATION INC." are shown. Around the screen, there are the following characters (starting from the top right, going counterclockwise): Gerald (who is waving), Harold (with a slightly worried look on his face), Arnold (looking bored), and Helga (cross-armed with a scowl), all in their earlier designs as seen in the Hey Arnold! pilot.

Trivia: If you look closely on the bottom right of Arnold's head, you can see Craig Bartlett's initials.

Technique: A still, hand-painted image.

Audio: The end theme of the pilot, along with the sound of Iggy and Joey hitting each other, taking turns yelling "Ow!", which was also from the end of the pilot.

Availability: It was only seen on the pilot episode of Hey Arnold!. This pilot was originally debuted in theaters before Harriet the Spy, the first Nickelodeon Movies release, but that version uses an in-credit notice.

4th Logo (Hey Arnold! second variant) (October 7, 1996-November 30, 1998)

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Visuals: There is a red brick building with two green windows, the 3D beau blue text "GAMES ANIMATION INC", and Arnold standing on the right side and holding a piece of chalk as if he draws the company name. There seems to be a spotlight shining on Arnold and the beau blue text.

Trivia: If you look closely, various Easter eggs can be spotted faintly on the bricks; for example, Craig Bartlett's name is below "INC".

Technique: A still, hand-painted image.

Audio: The end theme of the show.

Audio Variant: On The 90's Are All That airings of Hey Arnold! with the split-screen credits, the tail beginning of the 2009 Nickelodeon Productions logo's music can be heard along with the end theme of the show.

Availability: It was last seen on all episodes of Hey Arnold! on TeenNick's NickRewind block with split-screen credits along with the Snee-Oosh and the 2017 Nickelodeon Productions logo on January 17, 2022 before the block's end. However, it can be found on DVD sets and, along with the Snee-Oosh, Nickelodeon and Paramount logos, on VHS releases of the said show. Season box sets of Hey Arnold! were released on DVD through Amazon.com, and the logo is intact on the season 1 DVD set.

Games Animation

Nickelodeon Animation Studio ►