Just Wild

Just Wild is an animated series. Created by Jan Hokkanen, it focuses on Michael (Zachary Betts), Alissa (Dionne Des Pres) and Aaron as they pursue various activities around their hometown of,.

The series premiered on July 6, 2002 on in the United States, becoming the first Nicktoon to not be produced at the  in. Nickelodeon cancelled the series after just two seasons in 2004 due to low ratings, with one unaired episode airing on in 2005 finishing the show's original run. Favorable DVD sales, fan campaigning and high ratings from Nicktoons reruns led Nickelodeon to renew the show for a third season, which premiered on March 29, 2007 after the.

Since its premiere, Just Wild has received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise going to its humor, writing, animation, and the way it helped to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable on children's television; although more recent seasons have been accused of showing a decline in quality.

The series was renewed for 10th and 11th seasons in 2021. In addition, a feature film was released in theaters on August 1, 2022.

Premise
The series revolves around the adventures of Michael Newtsen (Zachary Betts), Alissa Wellington (Dionne Des Pres) and Aaron Ressel, as they go on various misadventures in their hometown of ,.

Characters

 * Zachary Betts as Michael Newtsen
 * Dionne Des Pres as Alissa Wellington
 * as Aaron Ressel

Conception and development
Although cartoonist Jan Hokkanen began his career working on children's animation for, his own company Spiral Animation largely dealt with the production of animation for commercials and TV network idents.

While working on an anti-smoking PSA, he drew three characters that he felt could make for "great cartoon leads." He named them Michael, Alissa and Aaron. He then spent the next few months developing a series around it, which he titled Just Wild. In 1999, he and his writing partner Mark C. Betts faxed a one-page concept sheet and pitched the series to, who rejected the series for being "too cynical for children." They then pitched the series via fax to, who refused to give Spiral creative control and wanted the show to be produced at the studio in  rather than at Spiral's Hamilton studio, which led Hokkanen to reject their offer. Finally, they pitched the series, again via fax, to. Nickelodeon agreed to give Hokkanen and his crew creative control, and discussions continued.

Nickelodeon president developed an interest in the series, and requested a, which Hokkanen and Betts faxed in page-by-page over the next few weeks. After a start-up meeting in, a deal was made for Just Wild to be the first Nicktoon to be written, voiced and animated outside of the United States and the first not to be produced at , with much of the production to take place at Spiral Animation's studio in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Casting
Zachary Betts, Mark C. Betts' younger brother, initially auditioned for a minor role, but ended up getting the role of lead character Michael Newtsen. Voice director Martin Berger has said he felt Betts "made Michael sound naturally dorky yet likeable."

Early history and cancellation
The series premiered on July 6, 2002 on Nickelodeon.

Cult success and revival
Nickelodeon moved reruns of the series to its sibling networks, (via its  block) and, while Nickelodeon executives "debated heavily" on whether or not to sell DVDs of the series. Eventually, bought the DVD rights to the show "basically for free", according to Hokkanen. Anchor Bay released Volumes 1 and 2 in June 2005, and Volumes 3 and 4 in August 2005. The DVD releases became hugely successful, with Volumes 1 and 2 selling 300,000 copies each in one month. Volume 1 became the second-best-selling children's TV DVD of 2005. The N's reruns of the series made the show the programming block's highest-rated show on weeknights, while Nicktoons' reruns of the series also drew similar ratings success. The show's popularity boost from DVD sales and reruns led Nickelodeon to order 25 new episodes of the series in May 2006, making it the second Nicktoon to be revived after an initial run, after , and the first to be revived thanks to DVD sales.

Episodes

 * Season 1: 2002-03 (20 episodes)
 * Season 2: 2003-04 (20 episodes)
 * Season 3: 2007-09 (25 episodes)
 * Season 4: 2010-13 (25 episodes)
 * Season 5: 2013-14 (20 episodes)
 * Season 6: 2016-19 (25 episodes)
 * Season 7: 2019-21 (20 episodes)
 * Season 8: 2021-22 (20 episodes)
 * Season 9: 2022-23 (20 episodes)
 * Season 10: 2023-24 (20 episodes)