Vanessa Coffey is an American television producer and co-founder of the Nickelodeon Animation Studio best known for her work on Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Doug and Rocko's Modern Life. Coffey has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and a CableACE Award.[1]
Vanessa Coffey | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Known for | |
| Awards | 2 Daytime Emmy Awards * 1 CableACE Award |
Career
editMarvel Animation
editCoffey's film career began at Marvel Animation working on television shows including Transformers, G.I. Joe, Muppet Babies and Defenders of the Earth.[2] Coffey later moved to Murakami-Wolf-Swenson where she worked on the development of the television show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[2]
Nickelodeon and Nicktoons
editCoffey says that after leaving Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, she did not want to do animation anymore[3] because everything was either modeled after pre-existing comic strips or a vessel for selling related products.[2] Coffey decided that she wanted to bring back original animation[2] and called Debbie Beece at Nickelodeon.[3] Coffey was told that Nickelodeon could not afford animation at the time, but she could produce a special for them. She produced Nick's Thanksgiving Fest in 1988 as an independent contractor.[3] It was only the second time that the studio had done animation.[2] After the success of the special, Nickelodeon contracted with Coffey to develop Nicktoons[4] with original, creator-driven ideas.[2]
Coffey developed three ideas to fill the 90-minute time slot allocated to Nicktoons – Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show and Doug.[2] All three shows were successful and are credited with beginning Nickelodeon's "golden age of cartoons".[2] Coffey calls the variety of the three shows "a balanced meal" for kids.[2] Between the pilots and series' production, Coffey was hired as Nickelodeon's Vice President of Animation.[4]
Of being able to create original programming for Nicktoons, Coffey says, "I was in the right place at the right time."[5] Arlene Klasky, co-creator of Rugrats, and Jim Jinkins, creator of Doug, credit Coffey for enabling them to get their shows off the ground and into the homes of millions around the world.[5]
Awards and nominations
editFilmography
edit| Year | Work | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Production manager | TV series |
| 1989 | Nick's Thanksgiving Fest | Producer | TV special |
| 1990 | Big House Blues | Executive producer | Film short |
| 1991–1994 | Doug | Executive producer | TV series |
| 1991–1995 | Rugrats | Executive producer | TV series |
| 1991–1996 | The Ren & Stimpy Show | Executive producer | TV series |
| 1993–1995 | Rocko's Modern Life | Executive producer | TV series |
| 1999 | Rayman: The Animated Series | Executive producer | TV series |
| 2024 | Ren & Stimpy | Executive producer | TV series |
References
edit- ^ "Vanessa Coffey". IMDb. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Duca, Lauren (December 18, 2014). "One Woman Is Responsible For Starting Nickelodeon's Golden Age of Cartoons". HuffPost. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b c "The Oral History of 'Nicktoons', Part I: How The Storied Animation Block Came To Be". Decider. June 14, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Owen, Rob (May 5, 2016). "Nickelodeon Animation Studio: Pop-Culture Powerhouse Got an Unlikely Start". Variety. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b "Cal State Fullerton Exhibit Celebrates 25 Years of NickToons". Animation Magazine. April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ Year in which awards ceremony was held.