Nick Jr. IDs

Fish Eating Seaweed (1989-1994)

Logo: On a white background, we see 2 black dots pop up in the center. Then, the dots "morph" into 2 drawings of fish. Below is some seaweed. When the fish eat it, the left fills with orange and the right with blue, resulting in the Nick Jr. logo of the time (which is basically the same thing as the 1994 version, but with a "tighter"look to the shapes). The fish hug each other.

FX/SFX: 2D animation produced by Artichoke in New York.

Music/Sounds: Two synthesized pogo stick sounds, then a dramatic synthesized harp sounder, 2 more pogo stick sounds and a peaceful synth-harp riff.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Dancing Stars (1989-1994)

Logo: On a sky background with skinny red-violet clouds, we see the the Nick Jr. logo, as two stars wearing nightcaps (one big orange with NICK on it and a small blue with JR. on it) ballet-jumping across the screen three times. In between, wee see silhouettes of a tree and a girl with a jump rope walking by. After the third jump, a silhouette of a cat walks by, stops and lets out a weird "MEOW!" and runs away. Then, the Nick Jr. stars "slide" out from the left and pause in a straight position.

FX/SFX: The stars jumping and later sliding, the silhouettes walking and running by. This was produced by Artichoke in New York.

Music/Sounds: A beautiful pizzicato piece with strings, mixed with the weird "MEOW!" from the cat, and a cartoon-style car-parking noise when the Nick Jr. logo slides into place.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: None.

Marching Ants (1989-1994)

Logo: TBA

FX/SFX: The ants carrying the blue and orange food.

Music/Sounds: A horn fanfare, and then a violin tune.

Availability: Same as above

Editor's Note: None.

Scary Night (1989-1994)

Logo: In a dark bedroom, we see a boy in bed looking scared as he scooches under his covers. Then, we see the shadow of a cat arching its back and then a shadow of a bird flying pass his window. Then, we zoom in under his bed and find the Nick Jr. logo as two cats (an orange cat with NICK on it and a blue kitten with JR. on it). The boy stares at them from over the side of his bed in puzzlement.

FX/SFX: The finger-painted 2-D effects.This was produced by Artichoke in New York.

Music/Sounds: Suspenseful music with a very loud cat meow and a loud bird cry, climaxing into a nice-sounding 7-note flute piece with cats meowing.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: This logo might be too much for those scared of the dark, and the music, cat screeching and crow cawing can be very unsettling for some. The ending provides relief, though.

Boy Toys (1989-1994)

Logo: In a bedroom, we see a boy (not the same one in "Scary Night"), winding up a toy, which leads to a creative set-up of toys such as toy soldiers and balls, that make a small gumball machine let out a gumball. The boy chews it and blows up a big pink bubble that has two circles on it (a big orange one with NICK and a smaller blue one with JR. on it).

FX/SFX: All 2D animation. This was produced by Artichoke in New York, and directed by Jack Zander.

Music: A whimsical cartoon-sounding piece with a clarinet, bassoon, violin and percussion.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: TBA.

Clouds (1990-1994)

Logo: On a blurry blue sky background, we see two big CGI clouds (one orange and a smaller blue one) and the letters in "NICK JR." rotating near the camera hanging on strings (like a collage you see above a baby crib). After a few seconds, all nine objects meet each other in the center and form the familiar logo.

FX/SFX: All 3D animation.

Music: A lovely music box and wind chime sounder that sounds a tad creepy.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: The music box and wind sounds may get a few.

Elephants Drinking (1989-1994)

Logo: On a white background, 2 black scanimated elephants (one large on the left and one small on the right) walk up to a pool. As we zoom out, we see a few palm trees. The elephants both drink from the pool and fill in with orange and blue and have the NICK and JR. logos on them (think Fish Eating Seaweed).

FX/SFX: Combination of 2D and scanimate-like effects. Also using the exact same action plot and technique as "Fish Eating Seaweed".

Music/Sounds: Some tuba music overlapped with jungle sounds.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: None.

Diver (Mid-1989-1992)

Logo: On a sky blue background, we see a teenage boy in swim trunks climbing up a diving board ladder and getting ready to dive into a gigantic fish bowl. In the fish bowl, 2 fish (one orange and one dark blue) and the boy staring at the camera. Unlike in Fish Eating Seaweed, the fish have eyes and mouths. The swim near each other to reveal the NICK JR. logo.

FX/SFX: All 2D animation, typical of a Nickelodeon bumper.

Music/Sounds: A slightly Latin-style piano, rock bass and marimba jingle with tambourines beating in the background along with scuba-diving sounds.

Availability: Same as above.

Editor's Note: None.

Final Note: In either January or September 1994, Face, the first host of Nick Jr, debuted, officially retiring the old bumpers and IDs, and launching new ones including, but not limited to...

Dizzy (1994-2003)

Logo: On a white background, we see an orange father named NICK standing on the left. Then, a blue boy named JR. comes spinning out from the back left twirling crazily. As NICK watches him, JR. then stops dizzily and poses with NICK.

FX/SFX: All CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A whimsical, playful synth-flute/trombone piece with the wind blowing as JR. is twirling.

Availability: Was believed to be extinct, but it has appeared on the VHS release of Wide Awake at Eureeka's Castle (Paramount re-issue).

Editor's Note: None.

Piano (1994-2003)

Logo: We see an orange father named "Nick" and a blue boy named "Jr.", who are on a piano. Nick and Jr. each take turns jumping on the piano keys, then they jump onto the piano's rim.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music: A piano playing along with a child laughing.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on the Sing Along With Eureeka's Castle and Sing Along with Gullah Gullah Island VHS tapes.

Editor's Note:It's a cute logo.

Candy Land (1994-2003)

Logo: We see the orange father named "Nick" and the blue boy named "Jr.", except they are in CGI animation. Nick and Jr. are running along a game board. Then, Nick and Jr. spin at one of the spaces and get into their normal position.

Trivia: The game board that Nick and Jr are running on is similar to the Candy Land board game. (Which is why the bumper is called Candy Land.)

FX/SFX: CGI animation produced by Data-Motion-Arts in New York..

Music/Sounds: Carousel sounds, followed by a spinning noise.

Availability: Extremely rare but it can be seen on the Allegra's Window: Play Along with Allegra & Friends VHS.

Editor's Note: None.

Rock and Roll (1994-2003)

Logo: We see the orange father named "Nick" and the blue boy named "Jr.", who are dancing to rock and roll music.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Rock and roll music.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Hula Dancers (1994-2003)

Logo: We see the orange father named "Nick" and the blue boy named "Jr.", who are doing a hula dance on an island.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A short piece of Hawaiian music.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Elephants (1996-2003)

Logo: Too much I’ll probably leave out, but I’m going to go for it anyway: On a mostly black background, we see a big orange elephant named NICK, and a smaller blue elephant named JR (not the same ones as the "Elephants Drinking Logo) standing downward to each other. Suddenly, the background changes into what looks like a circus, with Broadway lights, and red-orange yellow curtains on the top of the screen. The elephants start to dance, as NICK swings JR up with his trunk. Then, JR runs around Nick, as lots of complicated things happen in the background. Finally, the background turns into a peaceful, purple color, with corny "stars" that move, and NICK and JR get into their position.

FX/SFX: The elephants look like 2-D animation, but the background may be a mix of that and claymation.

Music/Sounds: A drum roll, followed by some circus music, fading into a peaceful xylophone-like tune.

Availability: Extremely rare; your best bets are looking for Nick Jr. VHS tapes and DVDs from 1997-1999, such as Blues Clues: Blues' Birthday.

Editor's Note:The entire logo looks weird and complicated, especially the background. Also, if you look around our screen at the end, you'll see a white outline around the entire logo, as ifit came out of a book.

Penguins (1996-1999, 2001-2003)

Logo: In what looks like Antarctica with a claymation sun in the sky, we see two penguins, a big orange one named NICK, and a little blue one named JR, skating on ice. JR runs to NICK and bumps NICK. NICK runs to JR and does the same thing, before swinging JR up. Then, they hug, as the sky turns from morning to night, and get into their position.

FX/SFX: Like the elephants bumper, the penguins are 2D, and the background looks like claymation.

Music/Sounds: A spacey-like theme, with sounds of the penguins running, and hugging.

Availability: Very rare. Like with the snow globe logo, it appeared from November to March of every year it aired. However, you can find it on Little Bear: Goodnight Little Bear, Little Bear: Winter Tales, and other tapes and DVDs.

Editor's Note: The claymation sun doesn't fit well with the 2D animation, but it shouldn't scare you too much.

Fish (1996-2003)

Logo: We are in a ocean, as many different colors of fish swim in different directions. Then, a big orange fish that goes by NICK, followed by a small blue fish that goes by JR swim in from the left. As another fish swims by from the left, the two fish called NICK and JR swim and play with each other. As the last fish swims off from the left, NICK and JR get into their position, blowing bubbles.

FX/SFX: Pretty good, calming 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A harp sound, and a bass tune, then those instruments together, including what sounds like a piano and a xylophone, playing a tune that includes the Nick Jr theme at the end. Finally, the xylophone does the last three notes of the Nick Jr. theme by itself. Sound effects are the fish swimming, and blowing bubbles.

Availability: On TV, it's extinct. But it also appeared on VHS tapes and DVDs of its time, notably including Blues Clues: Blues' Big Pajama Party.

Editor's Note:It's a very soothing logo.

Cats (1996-2003)

Logo: In a bedroom on the floor to the left of a bed, we see a big orange cat with NICK on it playing with a ball of lime green yarn. Then, the yarn magically poofs into a blue kitten with JR. on it. They rub on each other lovingly and snuggle up together.

FX/SFX: All 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A peaceful celesta/Rhodes piano tune overlapped with a reverberated synth-bass "pin drop" sound effect, a high-octave xylophone tingle and the kitten meowing and purring.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on the Blue's Clues: Story Time VHS, and Little Bear: Summertime Tales.

Editor's Note: None.

Lions (1996-2003)

Logo: In the jungle, we see two lions roaming. One is big and orange, and is named NICK, and the other is small and blue, and is named JR. JR lets out a small roar, looks at NICK, then roars again, louder. Then they stop, and NICK roars loud. Then JR roars loud enough so the plants behind them shake. They continue to roam.

FX/SFX: Claymation everything.

Music/Sounds: A panpie-like sound, along with the lions roaring.

Availability: Ultra rare. It's no longer on TV, like most of these bumpers. It appears on Blues Clues: Blue's Big Treasure Hunt.

Editor's Note: None.

Pigs (1996-2003)

Logo: In what looks like a farm, we see two pigs, one is big and orange, the other is small and blue. You know their names by now. Anyway, they are playing in a puddle of mud. NICK splashes in the mud, and JR copies. The mud is covering up NICK's name, so he shakes it off. JR copies. Then, the two pigs walk to each other, and snuggle, getting into position once again.

FX/SFX: 2D Animation.

Music/Sounds: A farm theme, with the pigs splashing in the mud, shaking the mud off, and snorting as they get into position.

Availability: Surprisingly, this logo was common in its time, but not anymore. You can find it on old VHS tapes, or DVDs. One of those is Blues Clues: Rhythm and Blue.

Editor's Note: The environment that the pigs are in doesn't seem quite like a farm. Although there is a brick wall on the right side of the screen, if you look closely in the very back, you can see what looks like an ocean behind them.

Monkeys (1996-2003)

Logo: In a jungle, we see a big orange monkey with NICK on it and a small blue monkey with JR. on it both swinging around on some vines above. JR. stops temporarily and watches NICK doing it as a banana falls out from behind him. Then they swing together and stop to pose as the NICK, JR. logo.

FX/SFX: All 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A funky panpie and bongo drum tune with the monkey sounds and jungle SFX in the background.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Snow Globe (1994-1999, 2001-2003)

Logo: In a snow globe, we see the NICK JR. people logo. Then the snow globe is shaken, and we zoom out to see that the same logo, but animated, is outside on a white background with NICK holding the snow globe. They look at it and then look at the view and JR. waves.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: The snow globe's synthesized sound effect, followed by a calm harp/flute riff.

Availability: Ultra rare. Appears on the Nick Jr. Holiday sampler DVD (After the 2002 Paramount Pictures 90th Anniversary logo).

Editor's Note: None.

Toaster (1994-2003)

Logo: We see a toaster, then the orange father named "Nick" and the blue boy named "Jr." bounce out of it, Then, a salt shaker stares at Nick and Jr. flying out of the toaster. Nick and Jr. crash into the ground and get into their normal position.

FX/SFX: CGI animation produced by Data-Motion-Arts in New York..

Music/Sounds: A trumpet combined with a brief boogie-woogie riff.

Availability: Extremely rare; currently, it can be only found on the Allegra's Window: Small is Beautiful VHS.

Editor's Note: None.

Cow Jumps Over A Moon (1994-2003)

Logo:We see an aurora in a black forest. Then, an orange moon saying "NICK" appears. A cow then shows up. He jumps over the moon while a blue comet saying "JR." appears.

FX/SFX: 2D animation. This was designed by Chris Harvey (a.k.a V. Owen Bush).

Music/Sounds: A quiet, keyboard tune along with a cow mooing.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Parade Floats (1994-2003)

Logo: From below in a computer-generated city, we see two gigantic parade floats, one orange and one blue, resembling the NICK JR. logo. As they pull towards the screen on strings, in numerous red, orange, pink and magenta confetti speeds around them.

FX/SFX: All CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Synthesized band music overlapped with synthesized voices laughing and chanting "HURRAY!", followed by a synthesized pogo-stick sound.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on the Gullah Gullah Island: Binyah Binyah's Surprise VHS.

Editor's Note: None.

Duck Blocks (1996-2003)

Logo: We some blocks moving around on a floor, to reveal an orange duck (who has "NICK" written on its wings) and a blue egg. The egg then morphs into a blue duck (who has "JR." on its wings). The ducks get together and blink.

FX/SFX: Stop-motion animation.

Music/Sounds: A short tune played on a toy piano, along with children talking and a blinking sound at the end. Some post-1999 airings of this ID muted out "Hi Duckie!" and "It's a baby duck!"

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Rabbits (1996-2003)

Logo: On a black background we see two scribbles, one orange and one blue. They grow in size and "NICK" and "JR." appear on them. The scribbles turn into two bunnies, who hop to the center to the screen and dance.

FX/SFX: 2D animation produced by Lester Films.

Music/Sounds: Children talking, along with some generic music.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Trampoline (1994-2003)

Logo: We pan up to a sky background. We see the orange father NICK and blue boy JR. one at a time jumping and summer-salting in the air from an off-camera trampoline (hence the nickname). Then we pan down as the two hold hands together as they descend.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A banjo skiffle withe kids giggling.

Availability: Uncommon. It still appears on Nick Jr. releases from the period. Appeared on some Little Bear tapes and on various 2002-2003 Nick Jr. DVDs, such as Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Band, among others.

Editor's Note: None.

Rooster (1995-2003)

Logo: In a barn, we see a nest and zoom out from it. As a big orange rooster named NICK watches, one of the eggs hatch and runs around with its legs sticking out before it completely hatches to reveal a blue chick named JR. Jr. comes up to NICK and snuggles up to it.

FX/SFX: Cel-shaded animation.

Music/Sounds: Country/bluegrass music.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Sea Lions (1994-2003)

Logo: Underwater, we see two sea lions, one orange NICK and small blue JR. swimming pass some underwater structures, a random non-moving scuba diver, and decorations and some seahorses. They meet each other and snuggle together.

FX/SFX: Cel-shaded animation, which reminds you of the rooster logo.

Music/Sounds: A glorious synth-flute/kettledrum tune.

Availability: Extinct on TV.

Editor's Note: None.

Hippos (1996-2003)

Logo: Outside in a field, we see 2 hippos, a large orange named NICK and smaller blue named JR. eating. Then a fly flies around them and over to a flower. They both go to investigate. Then JR. eats the fly and snuggles up to NICK.

FX/SFX: Claymation.

Music/Sounds: Some Rhodes piano, drum and bass clarinet music overlapped with the sound of the fly buzzing.

Availability: The long version is possibly extinct, but the short version is uncommon and can be seen on the Nick Jr. opening (Just For Me) from 2000-2003.

Editor's Note: None.

Frogs (1996-2003)

Logo: Above a pond with lily pads, we see two frogs, a big orange named NICK and smaller blue named JR., hopping around. Then JR. dives into the pond, and NICK croaks. Then JR. comes out and they snuggle together.

FX/SFX: All 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A jazzy vibraphone/bass fiddle tune with bouncing and frog sound effects.

Availability: Rare. Found on the Blue's Clues ABCs and 123s and Blue's Clues Arts and Crafts VHS tapes.

Editor's Note: None.

Monsters (1997-2003)

Logo: On a table, we see a piece of paper filled with a large orange scribble and NICK marked on it, surrounded by crayons. As a blue scribble named JR. comes up, a pair of yellow scissors cuts out the orange scribble into a large, bizarre-looking shape, meant to resemble a "monster." The background darkens as the two scribbles pose together.

FX/SFX: The set and props are all real-life, but there were complicated computer/2D effects used.

Music/Sounds: A beautiful, dramatic synthesized piano stinger.

Music/Sounds Variation: A more commonly used version has the sound of children talking instead of music, along with cartoony sound effects, and a high-pitched giggle at the very end.

Availability: The one with music may be extinct. The children version is extremely rare, and appears on the VHS release of Little Bear: Little Goblin Bear.

Editor's Note: None.

Just For Me! (January 11, 2000-January 27, 2004)

Logo: A lot to describe here, but here we go: We fade in to a moving cloud sky (a la Gaumont-Buena Vista International) with an orange crescent-shaped object with the Nickelodeon text, peeling from one end (a la a banana). From a transition, we cut to a child's room with two plush monkeys, one orange and one blue, with the Nick and Jr. text, respectively. The camera pans to the right to two little girls (both in fantasy-like attire) playing on musical instruments (albeit sounding very off-key), laughing after they stop playing. We then cut to a clip of Little Bill, and from there it's a montage of clips of children doing specific activities (two children on a swing set, a boy and his mom baking cookies, a girl hugging a dog, and two boys in swimwear playing in the backyard) and clips from animated shows produced at the time (Little Bear baking cookies with Mama Bear, Blue jumping towards the screen). Steve (Blue's Clues) then asks, "Are you ready?", followed by the children replying, "Ready!". Little Bear: "Are you sure?" Children: "Yeah!" Boy: "When are we gonna start?" Little Bill "Right now!" After this is a short montage of the children running into the house (accompanied by clips from said shows) and into a living room, where a 90s-era TV turns on, revealing the middle of the "Hippos" ID playing. We cut to the kids laughing at the TV, and cut to the last few seconds of the ID, with the vocals "Nick Jr. is just for me!" spoken just as the ID ends, fading to black.

Closer: After the program, we essentially go into a reverse version of the opener: A clip of Face (Nick. Jr's mascot), saying "See you later, on Nick Jr.!" as we pan out to the TV. After Face chuckles, the TV turns off, and we cut to the kids from earlier saying "Bye!", accompanied by clips from Nick Jr. shows as they leave the house. After the last farewell, we zoom in to the same Nick Jr. monkeys from the opener on a wagon, with a girl pulling it towards a tent (with a moon on it) with two children, accompanied by the sounds of giggling, and the vocals "Just for me!", before fading to black.

Variant: Later releases had the Little Bear clips replaced with ones from Dora The Explorer.

FX/SFX: Everything.

Music/Sounds: The children, the clips, and various sound effects accompanied by a soft, country-style jingle.

Availability: Common. Debuted on "Blue's Safari" and "A Kiss For Little Bear". It was used on all Nick Jr. VHS releases from this period, following the Paramount Home Entertainment logo. Amongst the shows that used this were Blue's Clues, Little Bear, Little Bill, Dora The Explorer, and Oswald. The original was retired around 2003. The later version debuted on its only DVD appearance of Blue's Big Musical Movie and became the default version in 2002 with "Blue's Clues: Meet Joe!". It was last used on "On-The-Go Oswald!”

Editor's Note: It's very memorable and is a favorite of many.

Final Note: On August 29, 2003, Face, the original host of Nick Jr, was last seen with his original look, before he was redesigned on September 1st. With that, all of the original Nick Jr. logos were retired along with him, and Nick Jr. as a whole was re branded almost entirely.

Frogs 2 (2003-2007)

Nick Jr. (2003-2007)

Logo: On a swamp background, we see three lily pads, one of them has an orange frog and a small blue frog. (the two lily pads in the back have flowers on them) The orange frog croaks three times before stopping for a short period. Then the blue frog croaks loudly with its mouth wide open while the orange frog has a scared look on its face. The two frogs smile at each other as the word NICK fades in on the orange frog and JR. on the blue frog. The logo shrinks into the bottom right corner.

Variant: An extended version exists where at the beginning the two frogs hop on the lily pads in the back before they stop hopping on their usual spots. Then the logo plays as normal until the two frogs smile at each other, in which the logo doesn't shrink into the bottom right corner. The frogs are slightly bigger in this variant. This was used as a station ID.

FX/SFX: The frogs opening their mouths as they're croaking, the fade in of NICK & JR. on the two frogs, the logo shrinking to the bottom right corner. Simple animation. For the Station ID Variant, the frogs hopping until they get to their usual spots.

Music/Sounds: Some nature sounds along with the frogs croaking. Then a synthesized rise when the two frogs smile at each other.

Music/Sounds Variant: For the extended variant, bouncing sounds as the frogs are hopping on the lily pads. Then when the frogs are hopping we hear a male announcer say, "There's more Nick Jr. hopping your way right after this!". The orange frog's croak is slightly deep and different from the DVD version while the blue frog's croak is the same. Then the synthesized rise sound plays when they both smile at each other.

Availability: Common for the short version. Can be seen at the very beginning (once the DVD is fully loaded) of Nick Jr. DVDs such as Blue's Room: Meet Blue's Baby Brother 2006 DVD, All Nick Jr. Favorites Volumes, LazyTown: Surprise Santa 2005 DVD, and all Nick Jr. DVD releases from 2003 until 2007. VHS tapes would also use this ID after the Paramount Home Entertainment logo. After 2007, the Nickelodeon "Fish" ID was used until Nickelodeon changed its logo in September 2009. The extended version is extinct.

Editor's Note: The "shrinking effect" is rather amateurish, and on DVDs, this may jarringly cut to a black background, a trailer, or the Paramount DVD logo the shrinking animation. Also, the shrinking animation was meant to show the digital on-screen bug of the Nick Jr. on one's TV screen (usually on the bottom right corner; CBS was the first to do this in 1990) to identify the source of programming. Said bug would usually be transparent so it wouldn't block your show. On DVDs, this is unnecessary since there would be no bug on the screen, and one who never saw the extended variant would wonder why the effect was there in the first place. Also, the fading text of "Nick" and "Jr." is lazy since the frogs are still moving when this occurs, to the point where it overlaps both of the frogs' mouths, so it ruins the formation of the logo. Even more, when the blue frog croaks, you can see that the open mouth is just another layer because behind it was the same frog before it croaked; you can even see some of the mouth on the sides. To top it all off, the blue frog suddenly becomes bigger when it stops croaking. Nonetheless, this is a cute logo, and a favorite of many.