Danny Phantom (TV series)

Danny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. It was distributed by Nelvana, a Canadian animation company.The show is about a 14-year-old named Danny Fenton who, after an accident with an unpredictable portal between the human world and the supernatural "Ghost Zone", becomes half-ghost and frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret from everyone, except his best friends Tucker Foley and Samantha (Sam) Manson.The series premiered on April 3, 2004 and ended on August 24, 2007; it ran for a total of three seasons and fifty-three episodes.

Contents
[hide] *1 Premise
 * 2 Characters
 * 3 Marketing
 * 3.1 DVDs
 * 3.2 Video games
 * 4 Production
 * 4.1 Main cast
 * 4.2 Additional cast
 * 4.3 Cancellation
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

Premise[edit]
Main article: List of Danny Phantom episodesDanny Phantom centers on the life and adventures of 14-year-old Danny Fenton, an unpopular but good-natured boy attending Casper High School in the small town of Amity Park. He lives with his eccentric ghost-hunting parents, Maddie and Jack, and an overbearing 16-year-old sister, Jazz (short for Jasmine). Upon pressure from one of his best friends, Sam, he decides to explore the Ghost Portal that his parents had created in a failed attempt to bridge the real world and the Ghost Zone (the ghostly parallel universe of Earth). Once inside, Danny accidentally presses the "On" button (which his naïve parents failed to do), activating the portal, which infuses his DNA with ectoplasm, transforming him into a half-ghost boy.[1]

Danny, who calls himself 'Danny Phantom' in ghost form, quickly develops the ability to fly and become invisible or intangible. Over time he develops much stronger abilities; such as his ghost ray, ghostly wail, telekinesis, and cryokinesis. Danny initially is frightened by his new abilities and has little control over them, but he soon learns to use them to protect his town from malevolent ghosts. After the defeat of a Lunch Lady Ghost in the first episode, Danny turns to the life of a superhero, using his powers to rid his hometown from the various ghosts that plague it.[2] Danny's best friends, technophile meat-loving Tucker Foley and goth-minded ultra-recyclo vegetarian Samantha (Sam) Manson, as well as his overbearing yet loving sister Jasmine (Jazz) Fenton, support Danny and help him with his ghost fighting.

Danny's ghost self is a polarization of who he was when he entered the ghost portal. When he goes ghost, his black hair turns white, his blue eyes turn green and the white jumpsuit he was wearing during the accident is now black. If Sam had not removed the Jack Fenton logo on Danny's jumpsuit before the accident, it would be a permanent part of Danny's ghost form. In the second season, a ghost grants Sam's inadvertent wish that she and Danny had never met, and in consequence Danny loses his ghost powers. In the end Sam persuades Danny (now fully human) to regain his powers by reenacting the accident, this time wearing the jumpsuit with her newly designed "D" logo on the chest, so that it appears when he goes ghost from then on.

Danny faces threats of many kinds, including vengeful ghost hunter Valerie Gray, who for a short period of time becomes his love interest,[3] a rival half-ghost Vlad Masters/Plasmius, an old friend of his father's and considered to be his true arch-rival,[4] and even his own parents who, being ghost hunters, 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.[5]

Characters[edit]
Main article: List of Danny Phantom characters*Daniel "Danny" Fenton/"Danny Phantom" (voiced by David Kaufman) The titular character of the show. Danny and his friends are the "unpopular" kids, having "jock" bullies and quaint teachers. A freshman in high school along with his friends, Danny is a clumsy 14-year-old boy who gained ghost powers from a lab accident when he stepped into his parents' ghost portal. 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.[2] An ongoing arc is his constant struggle to use his powers for the benefit of others rather than abuse it for his own selfishness. Danny can be benevolent and decisive. Since he is half-ghost, Danny's struggles, hardships faced by teenagers in his world, are unusually topped with deadly villains from the ghost zone; but in the end, with the help of his friends, he determinedly acts on the right decision. His love interests include Valerie Gray, Paulina, and Samantha Manson, who eventually becomes his girlfriend.[5] [6] [7]
 * Samantha "Sam" Manson (voiced by Grey DeLisle): Danny's female best friend, and eventually girlfriend at the end of the series, who is also responsible for the accident that gave Danny his powers. 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"[2] (often generalized as "not eating anything that had a face"), a frequent protester for such things as animal rights,[6] and a self-proclaimed goth. She has a crush on Danny.[5] [8] [9]
 * Tucker Foley (voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins): A lighthearted teenager obsessed with technology, getting a girlfriend, and meat, he has been Danny's best friend "since forever". When not obsessing over gadgets, he obsesses over girls.[10] Like Sam, he shares in Danny's secret and often helps battle ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. He generally provides comic relief.[11] Tucker's inventions sometimes seem redundant, but ironically, they will work well in the Ghost Zone, or against ghosts. Tucker and Sam frequently handle the pros and cons of aiding Danny, especially when he's "going ghost."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12">[12]
 * Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey): Danny's somewhat overprotective and perhaps overly helpful older sister; a smart and highly sociable overachiever who also thinks of herself as an adult. Jazz considers her parents' obsession with ghosts a sign of needing psychological help.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mystery_Meat_2-3">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-One_of_a_Kind_13-0">[13] She eventually learns about Danny's powers,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-My_Brother.27s_Keeper_14-0">[14] but chooses not to reveal her knowledge until he is ready to talk about them with her.
 * Jack Fenton (voiced by Rob Paulsen): Danny and Jazz's father and Maddie's husband. Jack expresses an obsession with destroying ghosts, blindly going by the belief that all ghosts are evil and must be destroyed, including Danny Phantom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Million_Dollar_Ghost_15-0">[15] He is generally incompetent in nature, but can be an effective fighter when provoked.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Million_Dollar_Ghost_15-1">[15] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maternal_Instincts_16-0">[16] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Girls.27_Night_Out_17-0">[17] Jack cares about his family but does not know about Danny's powers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mystery_Meat_2-4">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-One_of_a_Kind_13-1">[13] He is almost never seen without his orange jumpsuit.
 * Maddie Fenton (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Danny and Jazz's mother, and Jack's wife. She is a gifted genius and dedicated hunter of ghosts, though she usually aims to dissect and study them rather than destroy them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-One_of_a_Kind_13-2">[13] She is an excellent, competent fighter, from whom Danny probably inherited his own talent for combat.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maternal_Instincts_16-1">[16] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Public_Enemies_18-0">[18] Like her husband, she is rarely seen without her blue jumpsuit.

DVDs[edit]
Danny Phantom first appeared on DVD in the Nick Picks DVD sets, appearing in all five volumes<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[19] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[20] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[21] and the Christmas special.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[22] Nickelodeon and Amazon.com later struck a deal to produce DVDs of various Nickelodeon shows. Amazon made the discs, cover art and disc art, and released Danny Phantom Season One and Two on Sept 16.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[23]

Despite its claim, each set only contained thirteen episodes each—the first set including the first thirteen episodes; the second set carrying on with the next thirteen. The third Danny Phantom DVD was released on June 9.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[24] This set contains the entirety of Season Three, rather than the previous thirteen episode sets, skipping over the rest of Season Two. Later editions of the first two seasons contained the entire first and second seasons of Danny Phantom and was released in Nov. 2009. Those, and all the other episodes, can be found on iTunes.

Amazon has now discontinued the Create Space DVD releases with the announcement of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout!_Factory Shout! Factory ] releasing their own DVD sets.

On March 22, 2011, it was announced that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout!_Factory Shout! Factory ] had secured the home video rights to the series from Nickelodeon.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[25] They released Season 1 in a 4 disc set on September 13, 2011.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[26] Season 2: Part 1 was released in a 2 disc set on April 3, 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[27] Season 2: Part 2 was released on August 28, 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[28]

Video games[edit]
There have been two video games released for the series. Danny Phantom: The Ultimate Enemy (for the Game Boy Advance) was made to promote the then upcoming special "The Ultimate Enemy" with the main gameplay consisting of events from the TV movie. It is a 2D platformer and was released in Sept. 8, 2005.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[30] Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle for both the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS was to promote the Danny Phantom episode "Urban Jungle". It is loosely based on the episode and is strictly a shooter game. It was released Sept. 19, 2006.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[31]

Danny and other characters have also been featured in other Nickelodeon video games: Nicktoons MLB, Nicktoons: Summer Camp, Nicktoons Basketball for the PC, and Nicktoons Movin' Eyetoy for the (PlayStation 2). He is a playable character in the kart racer Nicktoons Winners Cup Racing (PC) and the latter Nicktoons Nitro developed by Raw Thrills for the arcade.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[32] Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy for the (Game Boy Advance), and Nicktoons: Android Invasion (Leapfrog). Danny plays a key role as one of the main heroes in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicktoons_Unite! Nicktoons Unite! ] series, appearing in all four games and their subsequent handheld counterparts. Danny Phantom has appeared in two mobile games, Nicktoons Mini Golf (USA, www.nick.com) and Danny Phantom: El secuestro de Jazz, available only in Chile. Danny also appeared in the game Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island for the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2. He was one of the 7 playable characters along with Tucker and Sam.

Production[edit]
Danny Fenton aka Danny Phantom in his ghost form on the title card of the eponymous show.===Main cast[edit]===
 * David Kaufman as Daniel "Danny" Fenton/"Danny Phantom"
 * Grey DeLisle as Samantha "Sam" Manson, Star (1st voice), Valerie Gray (1st voice)
 * Rickey D'Shon Collins as Tucker Foley
 * Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton
 * 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
 * Martin Mull as Vladimir "Vlad" Masters/Vlad Plasmius

Additional cast[edit]

 * Will Arnett as the Ghost Writer
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Wulf, Observant#1, Prince Aragon, Mikey, Gregor
 * William Baldwin as Johnny 13
 * María Canals Barrera as Paulina
 * Susanne Blakeslee as Dora Mattingly (Dorethea the Dragon Ghost)
 * Dave Boat as Vortex
 * S. Scott Bullock as Dash Baxter, Klemper, Mr. Jeremy Manson, Hotep Ra
 * David Carradine as Clockwork
 * Brian Cox as Pariah Dark
 * Jon Cryer as Freakshow
 * Michael Dorn as Fright Knight
 * Peri Gilpin as Desiree
 * Mark Hamill as Undergrowth
 * Patricia Heaton as The Lunch Lady Ghost (in "Mystery Meat")
 * Bob Joles as Frostbite
 * Taylor Lautner as Youngblood
 * Peter MacNicol as Sidney Poindexter
 * Danny Mann as Amorpho
 * Phil Morris as Damon Gray, Observant#2
 * Laraine Newman as Mrs. Tetslaff, Mrs. Pamela Manson
 * Daran Norris as Bullet
 * Ron Perlman as Mr. Lancer
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as The Dragon Ghost, Skulker (2nd voice)
 * AnnaSophia Robb as Dani Phantom (in "Kindred Spirits")
 * Eric Roberts as Dark Danny
 * James Sie as Kwan (2nd voice)
 * April Stewart as Pandora
 * 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