Stephen Hillenburg To Return To Work On "SpongeBob SquarePants" In January 2015

The animation news website Cartoon Brew is reporting the exciting news in the following article that veteran "SpongeBob SquarePants" crew member Paul Tibbit, the director of Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures' highly anticipated "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" movie, has announced in a Tweet on his official Twitter profile page, @PaulTibbitt, that "SpongeBob SquarePants" creator Stephen Hillenburg will be returning to work on Nickelodeon's beloved animated series (Nicktoon) "SpongeBob SquarePants" in January 2015 after a multi-year absence from the show!:

'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Returning to His Show

Paul Tibbit, a veteran of SpongeBob SquarePants not to mention director of the highly anticipated Sponge Out of Water feature, made an intriguing announcement on his Twitter account a few days ago:

Ok everybody. One last time. Steve Hillenburg is coming back to the show in January, Your collective dreams are coming true.

So what does Hillenburg's return mean and how will it change the show? That remains to be seen. But as far as I know, Hillenburg hasn't had hands-on involvement in the series for many years, leaving the task to his experienced and capable crew who run the show like clockwork. However, he didn't completely wash his hands clean of the characters and has quietly been involved with SpongeBob Comics, which have been published since 2011 by Bongo Comics.

Fifteen years after its debut, SpongeBob remains Nickelodeon's top ratings-earner, and it's safe to say that it won't be leaving the air anytime soon. At this point in the show's history, Hillenburg's return to a creative position can certainly be viewed as a positive development.

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Christmas Day 2014 On Nickelodeon UK, NickToons, Nick Jr. And Nick Jr. Too

IT'S NIICCKKKKMMMMAASS!!!!

To celebrate Christmas Day (Thursday 25th December 2014), Nickelodeon UK, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. have unveiled their Christmas Day schedule highlights! With everyone's favourite shows, marathons and movies, Nickelodeon has your Christmas telly all wrapped up!

Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK will be celebrating Christmas Day with special festive episodes of the popular Nickelodeon shows "Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures" ("Epic Christmas"), "Big Time Rush" ("Big Time Christmas" Parts 1 & 2), "Victorious" ("A Christmas Tori"), "SpongeBob SquarePants" ("The Snowball Effect", "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!", "Christmas Who?"), "Life with Boys" ("Chrisbus with Boys", "Naughty and Nice with Boys"), "iCarly" ("iChristmas"), "How to Rock" ("How to Rock Christmas"), and "Kenan & Kel", who will show us the latest mobile phone technology, the Tuba-Phone - it's a Tuba and a Phone - in "Merry Christmas, Kenan", and Miles gives Taylor a very special gift, a ghost Dog, in "The Haunted Hathaways" episode "Haunted Dog"! There's more Christmas fun in the holiday movies "A Fairly Odd Christmas", "Santa Hunters", and "Merry Christmas Drake and Josh", plus catch Nickelodeon favourites "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn", "See Dad Run", "iCarly", "The Haunted Hathaways", "Sam & Cat", "The Thundermans", "Drake and Josh" and "Peppa Pig"!

NickToons UK and Ireland will wishing viewers A Cracking Christmas by showing festive specials of the hit NickToon shows "SpongeBob SquarePants" ("It's a SpongeBob Christmas!", "The Snowball Effect", "Christmas Who?", "Frozen Face Off", "Survival of the Idiots"), "Robot & Monster" ("Baconmas"), "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness" ("Present Tense"), "The Fairly OddParents" ("Christmas Every Day", "Merry Wish-Mas!"), "Rocket Monkeys" ("The Peel Who Stole Christmas", "Ships, Trips, and Worm Holes"), "T.U.F.F. Puppy" (A Doomed Christmas), "The Penguins of Madagascar" ("The All Nighter Before Christmas"), and "Rabbids: Invasion" ("O Come All Ye Rabbids")! Plus, catch episodes of NickToon favourites "SpongeBob SquarePants", "The Fairly Odd Parents", "Sanjay and Craig", "Rabbids: Invasion", "Breadwinners", "Oggy and the Cockroaches", "Gormiti" and "The Matt Hatter Chronicles" throughout the day, including the SBSP episodes "The Best Day Ever", "The Gift of Gum", and "The Sponge Who Could Fly" (AKA The Lost Episode)!

Nickelodeon UK's preschool channels, Nick Jr. Xmas and Nick Jr. 2, will also be celebrating Christmas Day by showing festive episodes of the popular Nick Junior UK shows "Peppa Pig" ("Peppa's Christmas", "Santa's Grotto", "Santa's Visit", "Ice Skating"), "Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom" ("Christmas Episode", "The Elf Factory"), "PAW Patrol" ("Pups Save Christmas"), "Dinosaur Train" ("Don's Winter Wish", "Festival of Lights"), "Wonder Pets" ("Save the Reindeer!", "Save the Nutcracker"), "Dora the Explorer" ("A Present For Santa"), "Olive the Ostrich" ("Olive and the Poorly Reindeer"), "Max and Ruby" ("Max and Ruby's Christmas Tree", "Max's Christmas", "Grandma's Present"), "Tickety Toc" ("Christmas Present Time"), "Guess How Much I Love You" ("Snowflake"), "Rugrats" ("The Santa Experience"), "Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps" ("Angelina and the Front Row Ticket"), "Dora the Explorer" ("Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure", "A Present For Santa"), "Go, Diego, Go!" ("Diego Saves Christmas") and "Bubble Guppies" ("Merry Christmas, Mr Grumpfish"), and a stocking full of hit shows, including "Peppa Pig", "Zack and Quack", "Ben and Holly", "Lily's Driftwood Bay", "Pajanimals", "Guess How Much I Love You", "Rugrats", "Wonder Pets", "Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps", "Ni Hao Kai-Lan", "Thomas and Friends", "Bubble Guppies" and "Humf", "Dinosaur Train", "Go Diego Go!", "Blue's Clues", "Dora the Explorer", "Tickety Toc", "Lalaloopsy", "The Magic Roundabout", "Fifi and the Flowertots", "Pocoyo", "Louie", "Olive the Ostrich", "Team Umizoomi", and "Poppy Cat", plus the special "Barbie" movies "Barbie: A Perfect Christmas", "Barbie in A Christmas Carol" and "Barbie in the Nutcracker", all day! Duncan James from Blue also stops by to join Arnie and Barnie to read Christmas Day's "A Bedtime Story", 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.

Source: Digiguide.

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NickToons USA To Premiere Final Four Episodes Of "The Legend of Korra" On 12/19

It all leads up to this... The television news website The Futon Critic is reporting the bittersweet "Legend of Korra" news that Nickelodeon USA will premiere and show the final four episodes of "The Legend of Korra" Book Four, the fourth and final season of Nickelodeon's epic original animated series (Nicktoon), titled "Balance", on the networks animation and action channel, NickToons USA, on Friday 19th December 2014, the same day Nick debuts the series finale episode of "The Legend of Korra", "The Last Stand", on nick.com and on the Nick App! Below is NickToons' episode schedule for the premiere of the final four episodes for "The Legend of Korra":

9:00pm: Operation: Beifong (#223)
9:30pm: Kuvira's Gambit (#224)
10:00pm: Day of the Colossus (#225)
10:30pm: The Last Stand (#226)

* Please note that the premiere date and times have yet to be confirmed by Nickelodeon, and are subject to last minute schedule changes.

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Nickelodeon USA Launches "Short & Funny"

Following the launch of "Short Toons", Nickelodeon USA has unveiled a brand-new section on their official website dedicated to developing the next generation of kid sketch comedy called "Short & Funny", which is bringing visitors free non-stop hilarious videos!

"Short & Funny" videos are side-splitting sketches that you can ONLY find on Nick.com. The shows might be fake, but the laughs are for real! Each week Nickelodeon is bringing you new clips, new characters and new laughs to keep you chuckling till the cows come home! Watch your favorite Nick stars in bogus commercials, music videos, shows, and so much more.

To celebrate the launch of "Short and Funny", nick.com/short-and-funny currently features five hilarious shorts:

Pizza Bear Delivery Challenge: When you order a pizza, 90% of the time you'll get a pizza, but there's also a 10% chance that you'll have to battle a fully grown GRIZZLY BEAR!

We Make That Lemonade: It's never too early to think about that summer job! The stars of "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn" show us how they are getting paid-paid-paid with that lemonade in their hilarious new music video!

Chuck Dart: Say Gouda: Enthusiastic talk show host Chuck Dart gives some insight on how to keep your school pictures as weird as you are in "Keepin It Weird With Chuck Dart". "Chuck Dart" is developed and produced by Hyperactive with writer Sarah Jenkins, and is directed by Chandler Kauffman.

Brick & Buttah: One's a kid cop, the other's an adult. They don't get along, but together they're going to bring the bad guys down! Stars Benjamin “Lil P-Nut” Flores Jr. from "The Haunted Hathaways".

Baby King: He's a baby, and he's the king. You can try to impress him, but you might get thrown in THE PIT!

Jingle Hit Factory: Two fun girls constantly sing jingles about boring, everyday objects. Stars Sydney Park from "Instant Mom" and Kira Kosarin from "The Thundermans".

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Nickelodeon UK Opens Its Doors To First Ever Digital Series "Welcome to the Wayne"

Nickelodeon UK, the number one commercial kids TV network in the UK, has announced the exciting news in the following press release, from VIMN's official Nickelodeon UK & Ireland Press Centre, that Nickelodeon UK will launch "Welcome to the Wayne", Nickelodeon's first-ever animated series developed and produced exclusively for digital platforms, on the Nick App, nick.co.uk and nicktoons.co.uk on Monday 22nd December 2014! Following the shows debut, Nick UK will continue to premiere new episodes exclusively on the networks digital platforms weekly.

"Welcome to the Wayne" follows the secret adventures of two 10-year-old boys, Olly Timbers and Ansi Molina, as they battle through out-of-the-ordinary adventures and close encounters with the Spy from apartment 8-I whilst discovering their way around their curiously quirky apartment building. Each episode sees Olly and Ansi's budding friendship develop, all the while they discover the bizarre world of The Wayne and it's rather unique tenants.

From left to right: Ansi Molina, Olly Timbers, Saraline Timbers, Leif Bornewell III in Nickelodeon's Welcome to the Wayne on the Nick.co.uk, NickToons.co.uk and the Nick App.

The new short-form series is comprised of six 5-to-7 minute episodes created by Emmy Award-winning writer and composer Billy Lopez ("Phineas and Ferb").

Since its launch the Nick App has been downloaded over 220,000 times in the UK. The free app gives Nickheads the chance to explore Nickelodeon shows, view exclusive content, photos and play brand-new games. The Nick App has no in-app purchases and is available on iOS and android.

Original Nickelodeon UK Press Release:

NICKELODEON OPENS ITS DOORS TO FIRST EVER DIGITAL SERIES: WELCOME TO THE WAYNE

Expect quirky, crazy and hilarious adventures at the tip of your finger with Welcome to the Wayne available on the Nick App, nick.co.uk and nicktoons.co.uk from Monday 22nd December 2014

London, Friday 12th November 2014 – Nickelodeon UK is to launch its first animated series developed and produced exclusively for digital platforms. Welcome to the Wayne will be available on the Nick App, nick.co.uk and nicktoons.co.uk from Monday 22nd December 2014. The show follows the secret adventures of two 10-year-old boys, Olly Timbers and Ansi Molina, as they discover their way around their curiously quirky apartment building.

Welcome to the Wayne sees Olly and Ansi’s budding friendship develop, all the while they discover the bizarre world of The Wayne and it’s rather unique tenants. The series follows the boys as they battle through out-of-the-ordinary adventures and close encounters with the Spy from apartment 8-I.

The new short-form series is comprised of six 5-to-7 minute episodes created by Emmy Award-winning writer and composer Billy Lopez (Phineas and Ferb). Each week a new episode will premiere exclusively on nick.co.uk, nicktoons.co.uk and the Nick App.

Since its launch the Nick App has been downloaded over 220,000 times in the UK. The free app gives Nick fans the chance to explore Nickelodeon shows, view exclusive content, photos and play brand new games. The Nick App has no in-app purchases and is available on iOS and android.

Nickelodeon Network

The Nickelodeon UK Network is available in 14 million cable and satellite homes and now reaches more than 10 million viewers a month. Launched in 1993, the top-performing Nickelodeon network comprises seven dedicated entertainment channels for kids aged 4-15 and their families: Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, Nickelodeon +1, Nicktoons, Nick Jr., Nick Jr. +1 and Nick Jr. Too. The entertainment company has built a diverse multi-platform business by putting kids first in everything it does – Kids Rule! Content is at the core of the business with critically-acclaimed and hugely-popular television programming from the UK and around the world merging with bespoke content online and a dedicated Nick app, as well as consumer product and recreation opportunities such as the UK’s first-ever Nick theme park, Nickelodeon Land.

-Ends-

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