About Danny Phantom

Premiere date: April 3, 2004 Networks: Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Air times: Subject to change; check forums Run time: 22 minutes TV Rating: Y-7-FV (fantasy violence) Executive Producer: Butch Hartman Tagline: “Not Seeing is Believing!”

Show premise:

Danny Phantom is an action-adventure animated series by Butch Hartman (of The Fairly Oddparents fame) that follows the exploits of Danny Fenton: half-human, half-ghost, all super-hero, trying to protect his hometown from ghost attacks, while balancing his two identities and still be a normal teenager.

Show Backstory:

Danny’s parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, are brilliant but nutty inventors with a passion for hunting ghosts. Thanks to a mishap with the Fenton Ghost Portal, a gateway built by Jack and Maddie to bridge the human and ghost worlds, Danny was infused with spectral energy, granting him ghostly superpowers. Now, together with his best friends Tucker Foley (socially clumsy techno-geek) and Samantha “Sam” Manson (free-thinking Goth gal), Danny must prevent evil spirits from the Ghost Zone from coming through the portal and terrorizing their hometown of Amity Park. Ghost-fighting is a piece of cake, however, compared to the daily social hurdles Danny must overcome as a 14-year old high school freshman.

Finer Points:

Danny has only had his ghost powers for a few months, and still has a hard time controlling them. This is an especially big problem when he is nervous, agitated, or tired, and has been known to phase through solid objects without meaning to. Unlike his older sister Jasmine “Jazz”, Danny is a shy, unpopular kid at school and is often the victim of attacks by the resident school bully, jock, and football team quarterback, Dash Baxter. Danny also has a huge crush on Paulina, the most popular girl in school, something which Sam (who is NOT Danny’s girlfriend, but his best friend, as she will tell you herself) is not too thrilled about. Mr. Lancer, the vice principal of Danny’s school, Casper High, and also Danny’s English and Biology teacher, is always on Danny’s case to improve his lackluster grades, not knowing that Danny has to spend more time fighting ghosts than studying.

Analysis:

Danny Phantom has a very unique twist on the standard superhero theme, as Danny is not too keen about this whole superhero business. Being his town’s only protector against ghosts is not something he likes to think about. Neither is using powers he often doesn’t like (and frequently can’t control), while trying to defend people who do not like him — the town fears him as just another evil ghost, which adds additional problems to his already complicated life. Neither of his parents know of his unique existence as a “halfa” or half-ghost, and have been known to try to trap him, along with any other ghost they happen across. His older sister Jazz knows his secret, although he does not know this. She tries her best to help him out, feeling that Danny will tell her when he is ready. But even Jazz cannot protect him all the time, and Danny is left to fight against tremendous odds, both as Phantom and Fenton. Thank goodness he has the help of his two best friends, Sam and Tucker.

Animation:

Danny Phantom has both a stylized and realistic animation quality. Characters have five fingers (not four), yet are still exaggerated in their design and have heavily inked outlines. The backgrounds range from realistic, muted colors to bold or neon, a shift to the more outlandish color schemes usually signaling an appearance by a ghost. The animation itself is normally quite good, although there are a few instances in certain episodes that have shown poorly executed, rather choppy sequences. The show is presented in a very “comic book” like fashion, which is rather unique in animation today. Episodes frequently use still-shots to accentuate dramatic or strong-action moments, and “starbursts,” moving/ blurred backgrounds, or other visual effects to emphasize certain scenes. This all provides a lot of eye candy for the viewer, another aspect that can really draw in the audience.

Voice Acting:

The voice acting for this show is absolutely top notch, with David Kaufman excelling in the role of Danny Fenton/ Danny Phantom. Rob Paulsen, another voice-acting legend, plays Jack, Danny’s father. The all-star cast is rounded out with the supremely talented Grey Delisle as Sam, Rickey D’Shon Collins as Tucker, Kathie Soucie as Maddie, Colleen O’Shaughnessy as Jazz, and Ron Perlman as Mr. Lancer. Of Danny’s “human” enemies, S. Scott Bullock plays Dash and Maria Canals voices Paulina. Guest appearances include Patricia Heaton as the Lunch Lady, Matthew St. Patrick as the ghost bounty hunter Skulker and Martin Mull as Danny’s arch rival, Vlad Masters/ Vlad Plasmius, the only other “halfa” in existence. The show is recorded at Nickelodeon Studios in Burbank, California.

Educational Value and Overall Meaningfulness
(if that is a word):

The storylines of Danny Phantom range from the mundane (Danny has to take care of a flour sack “baby” as part of his Health Class in school) to very wild and elaborate (the Ghost Zone’s Sheriff looses an entire army of ghosts on Danny’s hometown in an attempt to ruin his already shaky reputation), and usually come with a strong moral of fighting for what is right, no matter the difficulty to one’s self. The show portrays many positive values, such as the power of friendship and strength of family; the importance of truth, dedication, and loyalty; sympathy for those less fortunate than you; and owning up to one’s responsibilities. There is occasional “potty humor” here, however, which diminishes the series in some ways, but thankfully it is not seen in every episode, and may appeal to younger kids as “funny” (although parents may cringe). Comedy is generally very fresh, often subtle, and well-placed, and kids and parents alike will find humor equally appealing in different places. The show is foremost an action-adventure series, however, and some of the fighting scenes may be frightening to very young children. But, images of blood are generally not shown (or kept to an extreme minimum), and even the more extreme fighting scenarios are done in non-graphic ways. Other inappropriate or imitatable acts are also absent from this series, which is refreshing, and makes this show suitable for almost all ages. This show is rated TV-Y7-FV for fantasy violence.