In 1990, Jinkins started Jumbo Pictures with his business partner, David Campbell. The studio's first project was Doug, which premiered in 1991 as one of Nickelodeon's first Nicktoons. After Jinkins sold his company to Disney in 1996, Doug hopped to ABC's One Saturday Morning and was retooled as Brand Spanking New Doug. The show ran until 1999 and spawned a theatrical film titled Doug's 1st Movie. Jinkins also created Allegra's Window for Nick Jr., Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender for ESPNnote , 101 Dalmatians: The Series for One Saturday Morning, and PB&J Otter for Playhouse Disney, as well as the Direct to Video series The Beginners' Bible.
In 2000, Jinkins created a new production company called Cartoon Pizza. The new company mostly specialized in preschool shows, including Stanley, JoJo's Circus (both for Playhouse Disney), and Pinky Dinky Doo (an International Coproduction for Noggin, Kids' CBC, CBeebies, and Discovery Kids Latin America). The studio animated the "Global Thingy" cartoons for Sesame Street. Jinkins also co-created a Direct to Video religious cartoon series called Hoop Dogz. Cartoon Pizza's final project was Musical Mornings with Coo, a programming block on PBS Kids Sprout.
Jim Jinkins's cartoons had a distinctive style. Most characters were depicted with Black Bead Eyes. Music was provided by Fred Newman, who also performed the voice of at least one character.
Shows and segments produced by Jumbo Pictures (including those that predated the company):
- Square One TV (animated segments)
- Sesame Street (animated segments)
- Doug
- Richard Scarry Presents The Best Series Ever! (beginning with Richard Scarry's Best Busy People Video Ever! in 1993, taking over from Jerry Leiberman Productions)
- Allegra's Window
- The Beginners' Bible
- Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series
- PB&J Otter
- Sabrina: The Animated Series (Pre-production services only)
Shows and segments produced by Cartoon Pizza:
- Stanley
- Sesame Street ("Global Thingy" segments)
- JoJo's Circus
- Hoop Dogz
- Pinky Dinky Doo
- Monster Monster Trucks
- Musical Mornings with Coo
His work provides examples of:
- Author Avatar: Pinky's father in Pinky Dinky Doo is voiced by Jinkins, and he works as a cartoonist.
- Author Catchphrase: A number of characters in his works are named "Dink"note or "Dinky", such as the Dinks from Doug, Dinky Pachyderm from JoJo's Circus, and the title character of Pinky Dinky Doo.
- Black Bead Eyes: Almost all of his characters have black dots for eyes. 101 Dalmatians: The Series is an exception.
- Creator Cameo: He appeared in the 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "Dalmatian Vacation" as the leader of a Heaven's Gate-esque cult. The character's appearance was a caricature of Jinkins dressed as Doug Funnie.
- Creator's Oddball: Allegra's Window used puppetry, and JoJo's Circus used stop-motion animation. Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender and 101 Dalmatians: The Series didn't use Jinkins's art style. Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender is also the only adult work Jinkins has done.
- Creator Provincialism: Jinkins grew up in Richmond, Virginia; Doug and PB&J Otter were both set in the South.
- Edutainment Show: Most of his output is aimed at the preschool crowd, with some curriculum attached. Allegra's Window and PB&J Otter have life lessons, while Stanley teaches about animals, JoJo's Circus teaches exercise, and Pinky Dinky Doo teaches vocabulary. Doug isn't aimed at preschoolers and doesn't really teach anything, but it did air on Noggin once
for some reason. - Good Parents: All of his shows have loving parents to guide their child protagonists.
- Real Men Love Jesus: Jinkins is a devout Christian. In Doug, the Funnies are seen in their Sunday best in episodes that take place on Sunday; the show otherwise did not have explicit religious themes. Jinkins's faith led him to work on the Animated Adaptation of The Beginners' Bible and create Hoop Dogz.
- Tuckerization: In Pinky Dinky Doo, Daffinee's butler is named Jinkins.
