The Retro Nicktoons Talent Show Chapter 4

Later that day, the Nicktoons characters went to an abandoned theater in Broadway to practice their acts. Rhonda W Lloyd, from Hey Arnold, was talking to Tommy of who to include and who not to include in the talent show.
“Let’s limit the show to 7 acts.” She told him. “You said that yellow piece of cheese was hogging the spotlight for so long?”
“Yes, that’s what I said to myself the other day.” Replied Tommy.
“Alright.” She Said, pulling out a cellphone and creating a list. “Who not to invite: Let’s see, no SpongeBob because he stole our fame, no Fairly OddParents because their show declined in quality and messed up its continuity, no Loud House for the same reason as SpongeBob, and definitely no preschool Nicktoons! Want to know why the Nick Hotel was partially a failure?”
“Why?” Asked Tommy.
“Three words: Nick Junior Characters.” She replied. “Seeing the likes of Dora and Diego, the Backyardigans, the Bubble Guppies, and the PAW Patrol will drive away tweens and teens. Not to mention that preschool characters aren’t allowed in any Toontown.”
“Is that all we’re going to exclude?” Asked Tommy.
“That’s just scratching the surface!” Said Rhonda. “Ninja Turtles? Acquired by Nick, but not created by them. Ren and Stimpy? Their creator did something horrible, and you don’t want to know! Trust me. The Penguins of Madagascar? No, because they’re now owned by Universal. Doug? He’s been owned by Disney for the past 20 years! The Xs or Aaahhh! Real Monsters? Tempting, but we don’t want to be sued by Pixar.”
“Pixar?” Asked Tommy.
“‘Real Monsters’ sounds too similar to Monsters Inc, despite being created first, and The Xs is too much like The Incredibles.” Answered Rhonda.
“Then who can we include?” Asked Tommy.
“Let’s see,” Said Rhonda, looking at a different list on her phone. “Rugrats, that’s you, Rocko’s Modern Life, Hey Arnold, that’s me, Angry Beavers, CatDog, The Wild Thornberrys, As Told By Ginger, Invader ZIM, Jimmy Neutron, ChalkZone, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, and El Tigre.”
“May I see your ‘Who not to include’ list, please?” Asked Tommy.

“As you wish.” Said Rhonda, handing the phone to Tommy. “But if you get it dirty or break it, Helga will make you pay.” After reading it, Tommy started brainstorming.

“Why don’t we let some of the ‘banned’ Nicktoons participate in a dunk tank?” He proposed. “Audience members could pay to throw stuff at them.”

“That actually sounds not lame!” Said Rhonda. “We’ll set up four dunk tanks, one for a different show each, and I already know which ones: The Mighty B, FanBoy and Chum-Chum, Sanjay and Craig, and Breadwinners.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to say no to FanBoy.” Said Tommy. “CGI characters are banned from all five Toontowns across the country unless they’re Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, or Blue Sky.”

“What about Jimmy Neutron?” Asked Rhonda.

“He's an exception.” Replied Tommy. “Besides, I’m sure we can figure something out...”

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Back at Sunset Arms, Arnold, Eliza, and Darwin made it to Arnold’s room. Abner, Arnold’s pet pig, was waiting in there, and he happily ran towards Arnold when he entered the room.

“Is this Abner?” Asked Eliza.

“Yes.” Said Arnold. “My parents rescued him from a luau back from before I was born, or at least, that’s how the episode went.”

“Interesting.” Said Eliza. “Let’s see if Abner can actually talk.” She then started snorting like a pig, and Arnold was confused by it. However, Abner understood it and started talking, but only Eliza could hear.

“How can you understand me?” He asked. “Are you gonna eat me?” Abner was oinking, but his lips were synching to human speech.

“Of course, not!” Said Eliza. “I’m a vegetarian. I’m able to talk to you because I can talk to animals, but only those that normally don’t talk. Anyway, one of my friends is holding a talent show showcasing 90s and 2000s Nicktoons. Would you like to be part of my act?”

“Okay.” Replied Abner. “As long as it doesn’t involve meat-eaters.”

——————————

After a lengthy conversation with Rhonda, Tommy has decided to include seven acts in the show. He walked to the stage where the Nicktoons characters were practicing, and he made an announcement.

“Attention, everybody!” Said Tommy. “I have chosen seven acts to include in the show. Cat and Dog will perform Cat Diggity Dog, Helga will recite one of her poems, Eliza Thornberry will talk to animal characters from three different franchises, Jimmy Neutron will show off some of his inventions, Kimi, when she gets back, will sing a song of her choice, six unloved Nicktoons will volunteer for a dunk tank, and Sokka, if we can get him, will tell some jokes. However, we still need a crew to put on the show, so we still require some of you. Jimmy! You will be in charge of boom mikes, effects, cinematography, and lighting. Randolph Grant! You and Rhonda will be in charge of costume design.” Rhonda looked at the cat in disgust. “Cat! You will be our production designer. Squidward Tentacles, if we can get him, will be our art director.”

“I thought we agreed no SpongeBob!” Said Rhonda.

“I know,” Said Tommy. “But he’s the only Nicktoons character with enough artistic talent to help us.”

“What about me?!” Said Rudy Tabootie. “I have artistic talent, too! I drew an entire world with chalk!”

“You’ll be in charge of creating posters, Rudy.” Answered Tommy. “Heffer, you’re in charge of props. Jenny! You and your ‘sisters’ will be in charge of renovations. Dil, you and Tucker are in charge of social media promotion. Gerald Johansson! You will be our host.”

“But we still don’t have the money!” He said.

“That’s why we have Rocko and Filburt taking a plane to Toontown California.” Said Tommy. “They’ll probably be there by 4.” Heffer then raised his hand.

“How come you cut my act out?” Asked Heffer.

“There simply wouldn’t be enough time for everyone’s acts.” Responded Tommy. “Also, cow burps are a contributing factor to global warming.”

“I’m a steer!” Said Heffer. “But I will do the other job you asked me to do, as long as I get Chokey Chicken!”
Author's Notes: In Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie, rich kid Rhonda Lloyd actually had a 2010s cell phone, despite the show most likely taking place in the 90s.

I imagine that, being able to talk to animals, Eliza would become a vegetarian.
I know that Abner (Arnold's pet pig on Hey Arnold) shouldn't be able to talk, but if Eliza can talk to Spike, Tommy's pet dog, in Rugrats Go Wild, why not Abner?

Randolph Grant was another CatDog character. He was a wealthy and trend-setting cat who would try anything once, as long as it was exciting and attention-getting. His catchphrase was 'And I love it!'

Randolph will appear again in Chapter 6.
Rhonda's list of who to invite and who not to invite is based on Violet's guest list in It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Rhonda saying that Nick Jr. characters deterred away older kids from the Nick Hotel is inspired by something that happened to me when I was in 6th grade: When a classmate brought in Nickelodeon's Scene It, I decided to bring in my copy of Trivial Pursuit: Nick Edition. However, I was ridiculed and made fun of by the other students because the game featured preschool characters such as Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, and Little Bill.

Sorry. Avatar: The Last Airbender didn't premiere yet.