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This page is for Danny Phantom (series), the series. For other uses, see Danny Phantom (disambiguation).

Danny Phantom is an American animated television show created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. It originally ran from April 3, 2004 to August 24, 2007. The show is about Danny Fenton, a teenage boy who gained ghost powers through an accident in his parents' lab, who takes on the alter ego of Danny Phantom to save his town and the world from ghost attacks, all while struggling through school and his teenage life.

Plot[]

Render- Danny Phantom crouched

Danny Phantom centers on the life and adventures of 14-year-old Danny Fenton, an unpopular 9th-grade boy attending Casper High. He lives with his eccentric ghost-hunting parents, Jack and Maddie, and his overbearing older sister, Jazz. One day, he wanders inside his parents' ghost portal and accidentally triggers its activation, infusing his DNA with ectoplasm. This transforms him into a half-ghost, half-human hybrid, and gives him an array of ghostly powers such as the ability to walk through walls, turn invisible, and fly. Danny struggles to learn to control his new powers, but when ghosts start coming out of the newly-activated ghost portal, he realizes that he must use his powers to protect his town from the evil ghosts coming out of the portal. Danny's best friends, technophile Tucker Foley and Goth-minded Sam Manson, support Danny and help him in his adventures. 

Throughout his adventures, Danny faces a variety of ghostly enemies from the Ghost Zone. He also faces enemies from Earth, such as vengeful ghost hunter Valerie Gray, rival half-ghost Vlad Masters, and even his own ghost-hunting parents. Throughout it all, Danny slowly realizes his own potential and his purpose, while both worlds, the Ghost Zone and Earth, begin to accept him as their defender. Over time, Danny becomes more confident both as a superhero and as a teenager.

Production[]

In February 2001, Butch Hartman found out that Nickelodeon was looking for a boys' animated action show, and make the concept for Danny Phantom. His original idea for the show was called Danny Phantom and the Specter Detectors, which was about a teenage boy and his friends who would use gadgets to hunt ghosts. However, Hartman later thought it would be cooler if the boy was a ghost with powers, and shortened his concept's name to Danny Phantom.

For the character designs, Hartman had help from veteran character designer Stephen Silver. Most of the stories were written by Steve Marmel, with input from Mark Banker, Butch Hartman, Marty Isenberg, and Sib Ventress. As with Hartman's other popular show, The Fairly OddParents!, the music for Danny Phantom was written by Guy Moon.

Nickelodeon originally purchased 40 episodes (two seasons), and later purchased another 13, for a total of 53 episodes, including four double-length made-for-TV movies. On January 24, 2006, Nickelodeon announced that it had ended support for new episodes of the series. Fans of the show expressed outrage at the cancellation, citing Hartman's admission on his forums that he wished to create more episodes. Hartman has stated on his personal forum that he would be willing to make more episodes if the show were to be picked up again.

Cast[]

Main article: List of Danny Phantom characters

Protagonists[]

Actor Role
David Kaufman Danny Phantom
Grey DeLisle Sam Manson
Ricky D'Shon Collins Tucker Foley
Colleen O'Shaughnessey Jazz Fenton
Rob Paulsen Jack Fenton
Kath Soucie Maddie Fenton

Recurring Characters[]

Actor Role
Cree Summer Valerie Gray
Ron Perlman Mr. Lancer
S. Scott Bullock Dash Baxter
Maria Canals Barrera Paulina
James Sie Kwan
AnnaSophia Robb/Krista Swan Dani Phantom
Tara Strong Star

Villains[]

Actor Role
Martin Mull Vlad Plasmius
Eric Roberts Dark Danny
Kevin Michael Richardson Skulker
Rob Paulsen Box Ghost, Technus
Tara Strong Ember McLain
Kath Soucie Lunch Lady Ghost
Taylor Lautner Youngblood
Tara Strong Spectra
William Baldwin Johnny 13
Chynna Phillips Kitty
Dee Bradley Baker Prince Aragon
Peri Gilpin Desiree
Jon Cryer Freakshow
Michael Dorn Fright Knight
S. Scott Bullock Hotep RA
James Garret Nocturn
Brian Cox Pariah Dark
David Boat Vortex
James Arnold Taylor Walker
Mark Hamill Undergrowth
Danny Mann Amorpho

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Danny Phantom episodes

Theme song[]

Main article: Danny Phantom Opening

The Danny Phantom theme song introduces Danny and explains how he got his ghost powers and his role as a superhero. The lyrics were written by Guy Moon, who also did the vocals. Hartman did the background vocals.

Two versions of the Danny Phantom theme song were recorded, with the second version being the version used for the TV series. The original theme song did not include Danny's backstory because it was originally planned for there to be an episode showing Danny's origin story.[citation needed] Hartman and Moon later decided against it, and instead changed the theme song to include Danny's origin story. The original theme song can be found on Hartman's website.

Hartman mentioned in an interview that the theme song was inspired by Queen's 1989 song "The Invisible Man."

Video games[]

Two Danny Phantom video games have been published:

Danny Phantom characters have also made appearances in other Nickelodeon video games:

Broadcast[]

Country Network
United States Nickelodeon (localized)
Canada YTV, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation[1], Radio-Canada (French dubbed), VRAK (French dubbed)
Ireland RTÉ2, The Den
United Kingdom Nickelodeon (localized)
France Teletoon+, M6, Nickelodeon (localized)
Spain Nickelodeon (localized)
Australia
New Zealand
South Korea
Brazil
Netherlands
Germany
Poland
Finland
Czechia
Denmark
Philippines Nickelodeon (localized)
Indonesia GTV
Mexico Canal 5
United Arab Emirates MBC 3
Bulgaria Super7
Ukraine QTV

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Danny Phantom was well-received by both television critics and audiences. The series gathered a cult following. Many audiences described the series as one of Butch Hartman's best shows, with Hartman acknowledging so as well.

Sean Aitchison of Comic Book Resources stated in 2017 that "Danny Phantom might have a few elements that firmly place it in the 2000s, but the storytelling and design still feel fresh and fun in modern day. The show was full of action and humor, and the characters felt real and layered. If you're looking for an old Nickelodeon cartoon to rewatch, Danny Phantom should be on your list."[2] Eris McInnis wrote for Study Breaks Magazine that "[the] show offered fun comedy, memorable characters, and fantastic character designs for the enemies Danny had to fight in each episode."[3]

Joly Herman of Common Sense Media criticized the series for its violence, stating that the show "can be funny, and the characters are unique. But, as is the case with so many contemporary cartoons, the rush to violence overshadows the good aspects of the series. Death threats, torture, knives, and violence against women are commonplace. There's no opportunity to work things out. Danny is either a coward or a hero -- there's no in between. He either fights or perishes, which is a heavy choice for a sensitive guy."[4]

Awards and nominations[]

Award Category Nominee Result Source
2004 BMI Film/TV Awards BMI Cable Award Butch Hartman
Guy Moon
Won [5]
33rd Annual Annie Awards Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "Identity Crisis" Ben Balistreri Nominated [6]
34th Annual Annie Awards Character Design in an Animated Television Production for "King Tuck" Ben Balistreri Nominated [7]
Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "Urban Jungle" Ben Balistreri Nominated [7]
Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "Reality Trip" Shaunt Nigoghossian Nominated [7]
35th Annual Annie Awards Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "Torrent of Terror" Ben Balistreri Nominated [8]

Trivia[]

Cancellation protest

Fans protesting the show's cancellation in New York

  • Some Danny Phantom characters and themes have cameoed in The Fairly OddParents. In addition, the The Fairly OddParents characters Crash Nebula, the Crimson Chin, and Francis have made cameos in Danny Phantom
    • In turn, some Danny Phantom characters have appeared in The Fairly OddParents
      • Dash Baxter appears in the episode titled Fly Boy.
      • Danny Phantom appears on a monitor in the episode titled Poltergeeks.
      • There is a puppet of him.
  • When Nickelodeon announced the show's cancellation, Danny Phantom fans in New York City protested to save the show.
  • Danny Phantom is the only show of Butch Hartman's not to move to Nicktoons for new episodes. Instead, new episodes aired only on Nickelodeon.
  • On February 21st, 2017, Nickelodeon released a three-minute short called "The Fairly Odd Phantom," which featured Danny Phantom, TUFF Puppy, The Fairly Odd Parents, and Bunsen Is a Beast. This marked the first new Danny Phantom animation released by Nickelodeon in nearly ten years. David Kaufman, Ricky D'Shon Collins, Grey Griffin, and Colleen Villard reprised their respective roles as Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz.
  • The complete series is available on the Paramount+ streaming service.

Gallery[]

Click here to view the gallery for Danny Phantom (series).
Click here to view the gallery.


External Links[]

References

 

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