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'''Danny Phantom''' is an American children's animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. It is distributed outside the United States by the Canadian animation company Nelvana, the same as ''The Fairly OddParents'' (also created by Hartman).^[1]

Contents

Production

Plot summary

Brief character descriptions

Protagonists

Key antagonists

Episodes

Home video releases

Video games

Voice cast

Additional cast

Notes

External links

References

Production

When Butch Hartman first developed the idea for a new show, it was originally titled "''Danny Phantom and the Specter 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.^[2] However, Hartman later determined it would be cooler 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 Samantha. He reunited with Tara Strong, Rob Paulsen, Grey Delisle, Jim Ward, Daran Norris, Dee Bradley Baker, and Susan Blakeslee, along with Guy Moon and Bob Boyle, who did most of the voices on his other show.
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.^[3] It has also been stated that the theme song was inspired by Queen's 1989 song "The Invisible Man".^[4]
Only 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, 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 though he is willing to make more episodes if the show is picked up again, he is respecting Nickelodeon's wishes and has great respect for the network. The show premiered on Nicktoons Network on June 1, 2007.

Plot summary

''Danny Phantom'' centers on the life and adventure of curious, shy, naive 14-year-old 'Danny Fenton', an unpopular kid attending Casper High, living with eccentric ghost hunting parents, and dealing with an overbearing sister; clearly unsure about his life. Upon pressure of his best friends, Sam and Tucker, he wandered inside his parent's Ghost Portal, accidentally pressing a button that zapped his entire body, coating his DNA with ectoplasm, transforming him into a half ghost boy.
Panicked over his powers at first, after the defeat of a bipolar Lunch Lady Ghost, Danny now turned to a life of superhero-ism, using his powers to rid his hometown of Amity Park from the various ghosts (either entities/monsters or spirits from the deceased from another dimension)^[5] that plague it, teamed with his best friends, technophile 'Tucker Foley' and gothic-minded 'Samantha (Sam) Manson'. Aside from a variety of ghosts, he faces other threats of many caliber, including vengeful ghost hunter 'Valerie Gray', other half ghost/rival 'Vlad Masters/Plasmius', and {at a point) even his own parents--being ghost hunter extremists, they view Danny Phantom (and any ghosts) as a menace to society. Throughout it all, Danny slowly realizes his own potential and what his purpose is while his worlds - both the Ghost Zone and Earth - slowly begin to accept him as their defender.
On August 24, 2007, the series concluded with Phantom Planet. In the episode, Vlad Masters outcasted himself by revealing his powers to the world in a failed attempt to seize control of the Earth. Danny soon exposes himself as well but is greeted warmly by the citizens of the world he had just saved. Danny and Sam reveal their feelings for each other and become a couple and Tucker becomes the youngest mayor of Amity Park. The series concludes with Danny as a world-renowned hero.

Brief character descriptions

Protagonists

Main articles: List of Danny Phantom characters


★ 'Daniel "''Danny''" Fenton/Danny Phantom' ''(voiced by David Kaufman)'': The titular character of the show. Danny is a 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. Aside from ghosts, he deals with ghost hunter Valerie Gray who likes Danny Fenton, but hates his ghostly counterpart, Danny Phantom, whom she is trying to eliminate.

★ 'Tucker Foley' ''(voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins)'': A lighthearted African-American teenager obsessed with technology and one of Danny's best friends along with Sam. When not obsessing over gadgets, he obsesses over girls. Like Sam, he shares in Danny's secret and often helps battle ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. He generally provides comic relief.

★ 'Samantha "''Sam''" Manson' ''(voiced by Grey DeLisle)'': Danny's other best friend. Though wealthy, (her great grandfather Izzy made the machine that twirls cellophane around Deli toothpicks) 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, Manson is a practitioner of an overly dramatized fictional form of vegetarianism called ''Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarianism'', a frequent protester for such things as animal rights, and a self-proclaimed Goth who prefers heavy metal music and favors an all-black, Gothic-influenced fashion. She displays frequent crushes towards Danny.

★ '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. Jazz considers her parents' obsession with ghosts as a sign of needing psychological help. She discovers that Danny has ghost powers in the episode "''My Brother's Keeper''", but she does not reveal her knowledge of it until "''The Ultimate Enemy''", in favor of waiting until he is ready to talk about it with her.

★ 'Jack Fenton' ''(voiced by Rob Paulsen)'': Danny's father. Jack has an obsession with destroying ghosts and expresses hate for them. He is generally incompetent in nature, but when provoked, can be an effective fighter. Jack cares about his family but is oblivious to Danny's powers. He also spends his time inventing gadgets that do not always work and is almost never seen without his orange jumpsuit.

★ 'Madeline "''Maddie''" Fenton' ''(voiced by Kath Soucie)'': Danny's mother. Also a professional ghost hunter, Maddie is more interested in studying ghosts than simply destroying them. She is much more competent both as a parent and a ghost hunter than Jack.

Key antagonists

Main articles: List of Danny Phantom villains and ghosts


★ '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 one other known human-ghost hybrid like Danny. 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. Unlike Danny, his ghost powers are considerably more developed, and he has used them for personal gain, though he has yet to acquire the Packers, his favorite football team.

★ 'Valerie Gray' ''(voiced by Grey DeLisle and Cree Summer when she became a regular addition)'': A once popular kid whose life was accidentally turned upside-down by Danny's ghostly alter ego, Danny Phantom, and a ghost dog. She bears a grudge against him (although has a bit of a crush on Danny Fenton) and has vowed to hunt him down, mostly using equipment given to her by a mysterious benefactor (who turns out to be Vlad Plasmius) before donning a different gear later on.

Episodes

Main articles: List of Danny Phantom episodes

Home video releases

★ ''Nick Picks'' Vol. 1–7 & Nick Picks Holiday.

★ ''Danny Phantom el Peor de los enemigos (In Mexico)

Video games

There have been two video games released thus far for the show.

★ '' (Game Boy Advance)

★ '' (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS)
Characters from the show (mainly Danny) have also been featured in other Nickelodeon video games. The characters appear in the following Nick games:

★ '' (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Playstation 2)

★ '' (Game Boy Advance)

★ ''Nicktoons Movin Eyetoy'' (Playstation 2)

★ ''Nicktoons Unite!'' (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Playstation 2)

★ ''Nicktoons Basketball'' (PC)

★ ''Nicktoons Winners Cup Racing'' (PC)

★ ''(Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS)

★ '' (TV games)

Voice 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 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

★ Susan Blakeslee as Dora Mattingly (Dorethea the Dragon Ghost)

★ 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

★ 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

★ Matthew 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 Smith 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

★ Danny Mann as Amorpho

Notes

1. Notice the similarity between Danny Fenton, Cosmo, Chip Skylark and Timmy Turner's hair style.
2. DPOFPA, "Interview with Butch Hartman", March 30, 2006. [1]
3. Moon wrote two versions of the theme song; the original was scrapped, but it can be heard here at Hartman's website.
4. DPOFPA, "Interview with Butch Hartman", March 30 2006. [2]
5. DPOFPA, "Interview with Butch Hartman", March 30, 2006. [3]

External links

★ Official website

★ Butch Hartman's official website

★ Danny Phantom 2007 NYC Rally Official Website

★ (Danny Phantom) IMDB.com

References

★ ''