Danny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. The show is about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret. It is distributed outside the United States by the Canadian animation company, Nelvana, the same as The Fairly OddParents (also created by Hartman). It is often rated 'TV-Y7-FV' in the United States.
Production
When Butch Hartman first developed the idea for a new show, it was originally titled Danny Phantom and the Spectre Detectors, and it was supposed to be a show about a young (human) ghost fighter and a team of others who hunted and fought ghosts. However, Hartman later determined it would be cooler and better if the teen was a ghost, thus changing it just to Danny Phantom. Among the other ideas that were considered before being rejected was the existence of a telepathic connection between the characters Danny and Sam.
The designs were helped by veteran character designer Stephen Silver, helping Hartman adding his own touches. All Danny Phantom characters have necks and five digits on each hand. The majority of the stories are usually written by Steve Marmel with input from Mark Banker, Butch Hartman, Marty Isenberg, and Sib Ventress. As with Hartman's show The Fairly OddParents, the music for Danny Phantom was written by Guy Moon.[1] It has also been stated that the theme song was inspired by Queen's 1989 song "The Invisible Man".[2]
53 episodes have been purchased by Nickelodeon. On January 24, 2006, Nickelodeon announced that it has ended support for new episodes of the series. Butch Hartman has said that although no new episodes would be made, the show would still continue to be broadcast "for years to come". Fans of the show expressed outrage at the cancellation,[citation needed] citing Butch Hartman's admission on his forums that he wished to create more episodes, however his initial public statement on his personal forum that he is willing to make more episodes if the show is picked up again. The series ended with the episode "Phantom Planet." The series premiered on Nicktoons Network on June 1, 2007.
Plot
Danny Phantom centers on the life and adventures of 14-year-old Danny Fenton, an unpopular boy attending Casper High. He lives with eccentric ghost hunting parents and an overbearing older sister, Jazz. Upon pressure from his best friends, Sam and Tucker, he wanders inside his parent's Ghost Portal. He accidentally presses a button that zaps his entire body, infusing his DNA with ectoplasm, transforming him into a half ghost boy. Danny, who calls himself 'Danny Phantom' in ghost form, develops the ability to fly, become invisible, and turn his body intangible. Over time Danny becomes more powerful and develops other powers which he has to learn to control.
Danny panics over his ghost powers at first, but he soon realizes that he can use his powers to protect his town from ill-meaning ghosts. After the defeat of a Lunch Lady Ghost, Danny turns to the life of a superhero, using his powers to rid his hometown of Amity Park from the various ghosts (either entities/monsters or spirits of the deceased from another dimension)[2] that plague it. Danny's best friends, technophile Tucker Foley and goth-minded ultra-recyclo vegetarian Samantha (Sam) Manson support Danny and help him with his ghost fighting. Aside from a variety of ghosts, Danny faces threats of many calibers, including vengeful ghost hunter Valerie Gray, other half ghost/rival Vlad Masters/Plasmius, and even his own parents—being ghost hunters, they view Danny Phantom (and any ghosts) as a menace to society. In addition, Danny tries to keep his secret safe from his classmates, teachers, and family. Throughout it all, Danny slowly realizes his own potential and his purpose, while his worlds - both the Ghost Zone and Earth - slowly begin to accept him as their defender.
Characters
- Daniel "Danny" Fenton a.k.a. "Danny Phantom" (voiced by David Kaufman) The titular character of the show. Assumed to be a freshman in high school along with his friends, Danny is a shy, clumsy 14-year-old boy who gained ghost powers from a lab accident. He later chooses to use these powers to fight against malevolent ghosts, which have begun to regularly escape the mysterious Ghost Zone and plague his hometown of Amity Park.[3] An ongoing arc is his constant struggle to use his powers for the benefit of others then abuse it for his own selfishness.[4][5][6]
- Tucker Foley (voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins): A lighthearted teenager obsessed with technology and meat, he has been Danny's best friend "since forever".[7] When not obsessing over gadgets, he obsesses over girls.[8] Like Sam, he shares in Danny's secret and often helps battle ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. He generally provides comic relief.[9]
- Samantha "Sam" Manson (voiced by Grey DeLisle): Danny's other best friend. Though wealthy, she chooses to hide her family's monetary success (for quite some time), in favor of being liked for who she is. A strident individualist, Sam is a practitioner of an overly dramatized fictional form of vegetarianism called "Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarianism"[3], a frequent protester for such things as animal rights[4], and a self-proclaimed goth. She has a secret crush on Danny.[10][5][11]
- Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey): Danny's know-it-all (and somewhat overprotective and perhaps overly helpful) older sister; a smart and highly sociable overachiever who also thinks herself as an adult. Jazz considers her parents' obsession with ghosts as a sign of needing psychological help.[3][12] She discovers that Danny has ghost powers in the episode later on,[13] but she does not reveal her knowledge until later, in favor of waiting until he is ready to talk about it with her.[6]
- Jack Fenton (voiced by Rob Paulsen): Jazz and Danny's father. Maddie's husband. Jack has an obsession with destroying ghosts and expresses hate for them. He blindly goes by the belief that all ghosts are evil and not worth living, even Danny Phantom.[14] He is generally incompetent in nature, but when provoked, can be an effective fighter.[15][14][16] Jack cares about his family but is oblivious to Danny's powers.[3][12] He is almost never seen without his orange jumpsuit.
- Maddie Fenton (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Jazz and Danny's mother. Like her husband, she is a gifted genius and dedicator of destroying ghosts, though she usually aims to dissect and study them.[12] She is an excellent, competent fighter.[17][15] Like her husband, she is rarely seen without her blue jumpsuit.
Key antagonists
- Vladimir "Vlad" Masters/Vlad Plasmius (voiced by Martin Mull): Danny's arch-enemy and a multi-billionaire. An old acquaintance of Jack and Maddie Fenton and the other known human-ghost hybrid. Vlad's ghost powers were thrust upon him by an accident with a Ghost Zone Portal prototype, which hospitalized him for many years with ecto-acne. He blames Jack and is resentful that his old "friend" married the love of his life, Maddie.[18][19] Unlike Danny, his ghost powers are considerably more developed, and he has used them for personal gain to obtain his rich status.[20]
Episodes
DVD releases
- Nick Picks Vol. 1–7 and Nick Picks - Holiday.
- Danny Phantom: Season 1 & 2: Nickelodeon and Amazon.com have struck a deal to produce DVDs of new and old Nickelodeon shows. Amazon made the discs, cover art, and disc art themselves. It is currently only available in Amazon.com, released on Sept 16th.[21] Each set contains thirteen episodes each—the first set includes the first thirteen episodes; the second set includes the next thirteen.
- The third Danny Phantom DVD was released on June. 9th. [22] This set has the actual third season, rather than the previous thirteen episode sets, skipping over the rest of Season 2. Those, and all the other episodes, can be found on iTunes.
Video games
There have been two video games released thus far for the show.
Characters from the show (mainly Danny) have also been featured in other Nickelodeon video games. The characters appear in the following Nick games:
- Nicktoons: Summer Camp (TV games)
- Nicktoons Basketball (PC)
- Nicktoons Movin' Eyetoy (Playstation 2)
- Nicktoons Winners Cup Racing (PC)
- Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy (Game Boy Advance)
- Nicktoons Unite! (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance)
- Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance)
- Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS)
- Nicktoons: Globs of Doom (Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS)
In arcade:
In mobile phone:
- Nicktoons Mini Golf (USA, www.nick.com)
- Danny Phantom: El secuestro de Jazz (Chile)
Main cast
- David Kaufman as Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom
- Rob Paulsen as Jack Fenton, Nicolai Technus, The Box Ghost
- Kath Soucie as Maddie Fenton, The Lunch Lady Ghost (2nd voice), Box Lunch, Grandma Ida Manson
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Jazz Fenton
- Rickey D'Shon Collins as Tucker Foley
- Grey DeLisle as Samantha "Sam" Manson, Star (1st voice), Valerie Gray (1st voice)
- Ron Perlman as Mr. Lancer
- Maria Canals Barrera as Paulina
- S. Scott Bullock as Dash Baxter, Klemper, Mr. Jeremy Manson, Hotep Ra
- Dat Phan as Kwan (1st voice)
- James Sie as Kwan (2nd voice)
Additional cast
- June Angela as Principal Ishiyama
- Will Arnett as the Ghost Writer
- William Baldwin as Johnny 13
- Dee Bradley Baker as Wulf, Observant #1, Prince Aragon, Mikey, Gregor
- Susanne Blakeslee as Dora Mattingly (Dorethea the Dragon Ghost)
- Dave Boat as Vortex
- David Carradine as Clockwork
- Brian Cox as Pariah Dark
- Jon Cryer as Freakshow
- Michael Dorn as Fright Knight
- James Garrett as Nocturne
- Peri Gilpin as Desiree
- Mark Hamill as Undergrowth
- Patricia Heaton as The Lunch Lady Ghost (1st voice)
- Bob Joles as Frostbite
- Taylor Lautner as Youngblood
- Eric Roberts as Dark Danny
- Peter MacNicol as Sidney Poindexter
- Danny Mann as Amorpho
- Phil Morris as Damon Gray, Observant #2
- Martin Mull as Vladimir "Vlad Masters"/Vlad Plasmius
- Laraine Newman as Mrs. Tetslaff, Mrs. Pamela Manson
- Daran Norris as Bullet
- Mathew St. Patrick as Skulker (1st voice)
- Kevin Michael Richardson as The Dragon Ghost, Skulker (2nd voice)
- Chynna Phillips as Kitty
- AnnaSophia Robb as Danielle "Dani" Phantom (1st voice)
- Krista Swan as Danielle "Dani" Phantom (2nd voice)
- Tara Strong as Ember, Penelope Spectra, Tiffany Snow, Star (2nd voice)
- Cree Summer as Valerie Gray (2nd voice)
- James Arnold Taylor as Walker
- Jim Ward as Bertrand
References
- ^ Moon wrote two versions of the theme song; the original was scrapped, but it can be heard here at Hartman's website.
- ^ a b DPOFPA, "Interview with Butch Hartman"[dead link], March 30, 2006.
- ^ a b c d "Mystery Meat. Director: Butch Hartman; Writer: Butch Hartman, Mark Banner, Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-03. No. 01, season 1.
- ^ a b "Splitting Images. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Richard Bowman; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-24. No. 05, season 1.
- ^ a b "Reign Storm. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-07-29. No. 24/25, season 2.
- ^ a b "The Ultimate Enemy. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Marty Isenberg, Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-09-16. No. 28/29, season 2.
- ^ "What You Want. Director: Butch Hartman, Rick Bowman, Wincat Alcala; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-05-01. No. 06, season 1.
- ^ "Parental Bonding. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Sean Dempsey; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-10. No. 02, season 1.
- ^ "Torrent of Terror. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Butch Hartman, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-11. No. 44, season 3.
- ^ "Lucky in Love. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Ken Bruce; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-11. No. 17, season 1.
- ^ "Flirting with Disaster. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-01-13. No. 32, season 2.
- ^ a b c "One of a Kind. Director: Butch Hartman; Writer: Butch Hartman, Mark Banner, Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-10. No. 03, season 1.
- ^ "My Brother's Keeper. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-06-25. No. 09, season 1.
- ^ a b "The Million Dollar Ghost. Director: Butch Hartman, Ken Bruce, Gary Conrad; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-06-03. No. 19, season 1.
- ^ a b "Maternal Instincts. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-18. No. 16, season 1.
- ^ "Girls' Night Out. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Kevin Sullivan.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-10. No. 43, season 3.
- ^ "Public Enemies. Ghost Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguch; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-04. No. 14, season 1.
- ^ "Bitter Reunions. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-05-08. No. 07, season 1.
- ^ "Masters of All Time. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-03-23. No. 36, season 2.
- ^ "Kindred Spirits. Director: Butch Hartman, Daniel De La Vega, Gary Conrad; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-04-07. No. 40, season 2.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
