On April 3, 2004, Danny Phantom premiered on Nickelodeon. Created by Butch Hartman, the show was about a half-boy/half-ghost superhero whose story resonated with viewers around the world and became one of Nick's most popular series. It ran for three seasons before ending in 2007.
Even years after its series finale, Danny Phantom remains a cherished childhood memory that older fans continue to revisit every now and then. In honor of the show's sixteenth anniversary and while continuing to hope for a belated follow-up of some kind, here are sixteen facts about the famous show that even Danny's most hardcore fans didn't know.
16 Technus' Vocal Inspiration
Nicolai Technus, an electrical ghost who was capable of manipulating technology, was one of Danny Phantom's big baddies.
Rob Paulsen (who also voiced Jack Fenton, the Box Ghost, and others) voiced Technus and based his voice after comedian Gilbert Gottfried (Iago from Aladdin). Interestingly, Paulsen would go on to guest star on Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.
15 No Vampires? No Problem!
A former colleague/friend of Danny's parents, Vlad Plasmius was arguably Danny's most dangerous adversary. He one of the few villains who knew his secret identity. While Plasmius was being developed they considered making him a vampire.
However, Nickelodeon thought vampires were too evil and the crew decided to have him be half-ghost instead. Needless to say, Plasmius was as evil as they come.
14 Sam's Jewish Heritage
Danny's best friend/girlfriend Sam Manson was Nickelodeon's first Jewish teen. She joined a line of other Nickelodeon Jewish characters, namely: Tommy/Dil/Didi Pickles, Harold Berman (and his family), Eugene Horowitz and Oscar Kokoshka.
This was revealed in the Christmas episode, 'The Fright Before Christmas.' Sam's faith was referenced again when she and Tucker were partners for a school project where they had to care for a flour sack (in place of a child) she named Lilith. In Jewish mythology, Lilith's a demon.
13 A Fairly Odd Cast Reunion
It's not uncommon for creators to rehire actors they worked with before. Case in point, when they cast for Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman saw many of the cast members of Fairly Odd Parents crossover into his ghostly superhero show. What's notable is that Fairly Odd Parents was Hartman's first show before he moved on to Danny Phantom.
Some of the returning cast members included: Grey Griffin-Delisle (Sam Manson), Tara Strong (Ember Mclain, Penelope Spectra), Kevin Michael Richardson (Skulker) and Rob Paulsen (Technus, Box Ghost, etc.). Now that's loyalty for you!
12 Butch Wrote The Theme Song
A creator has many hands involved in their creation and Hartman's no exception. Besides writing, directing, storyboarding and character designing for Danny Phantom. To add to that, Hartman also wrote the theme song.
Hartman said he wanted the audience to know who Danny was, and the song did exactly that. This would also be Nickelodeon's first cartoon to have an opening rap song.
11 The Theme Song Originally Wasn't A Rap
Danny Phantom's theme remains to be one of the most memorable, animated opening songs ever conceived. However, it wasn't initially envisioned as a rap number.
Hartman explained he wrote the song like a poem. While collaborating with the show's composer Guy Moon, they were inspired by the baseline and felt it gave a hip-hop kind of vibe. This resulted in them deciding to make it a rap song which, arguably, was the best idea possible.
10 A Tale Of Two Valeries
A common occurrence in cartoons is to have two actors portray one character. This usually stems from many possibilities such as the main actor being replaced, being unavailable or being part of a storyline. This is the case with Valerie Gray, Danny's former foe, past love interest, and Vlad's previous partner.
In her debut episode, she was voiced by Grey Griffin-Delisle, but for the majority of the series, she was played by Cree Summer. There's no explanation as to why they changed actresses, though it's highly likely that her initial appearance was pretty minor so they hadn't settled on a voice yet. Griffin-Delisle would portray Gray one more time in 'My Brother's Keeper.'
9 The Origins Of Tucker Foley's Name
Writers often derive character names from real-life people or other characters. Tucker Foley is a case of both, as he was named after actor Chris Tucker and Axel Foley from the Beverly Hills Cop film series.
Composer Guy Moon referenced this in the episode 'Masters of All Time' where he did a riff of Axel Foley's theme.
8 Ember's Singing Voice
While Ember's actress - Tara Strong - is a gifted singer, she didn't provide Ember's singing voice. Instead, Robbyn Kirmsse sang as Ember. Kirmsse was strangely uncredited in Mclain's debut episode 'Fanning the Flames.'
The singer returned one more time in 'Girls Night Out.' Kirmsse also provided Penny Sanchez's singing voice on another Nickelodeon show ChalkZone.
7 Ember's Song Was Cut Short
Ember's title song 'Remember' was first performed in 'Fanning the Flames.' However, what aired was only a snippet of the full song.
Ten years following the show's premiere, Guy Moon released an HD version of the entire song. It can also be heard on Youtube. Needless to say, it was worth the wait.
6 Ember's Backstory
Mclain's history was alluded to in 'Remember,' however, specific details about how she died weren't addressed. Thankfully, one of the show's directors has finally clarified the ambiguity.
Mclain was an unpopular high schooler and aspiring musician. A guy asked her out but after waiting all night for him, she realized he stood her up. Crushed, she went home and fell into a deep sleep, unaware that her house caught fire. Sadly, Mclain perished in the flames and later returned as the guitar-shredding ghost fans know and love.
5 David Kaufman's Favorite Episodes
Danny Phantom ran for an impressive 53 episodes. Among those episodes, two were actor David Kaufman (Danny Phantom)'s favorites to record: 'The Fright Before Christmas' and 'Urban Jungle.'
He specifically noted 'Urban Jungle' as he got to work with Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker and the voice of the Joker from Batman the Animated Series. Could you imagine? Two legends in the same recording booth!
4 Mr. Lancer's Connection With Huck Finn
Educator and Vice-Principal Mr. Lancer was somewhat of an antagonist in the earlier episodes. He was a strict disciplinarian who regularly picked on Danny and his friends.
However, as the series progressed, he became softer and goofier. One of his quirks was spouting book titles instead of cussing. In the episode 'Public Enemies, Lancer yelled, The Adventures of Huck Finn!" Lancer's actor Ron Perlman portrayed Pap Finn in Disney's adaptation of the same novel and title.
3 Danny's Original Name
Danny significantly evolved during early development, with one of the many changes made being his name. Hartman was inspired by Johnny Quest's name and wanted something as equally hip.
He initially chose Jackie after actor and martial arts expert Jackie Chan. However, the name Danny was what he settled on while driving back with his mother from Las Vegas. Granted, Jackie Phantom sounds kind of cool, but it's no Danny Phantom.
2 The Inspiration Behind Jack Fenton
Danny's father Jack was bigger than life and had a mouth on him; much like classic cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Hartman partially based Jack after Fred who shared his frame, black hair, volume, and colored-attire and the influence shows.
Flintstone is actually one of Hartman's favorite characters and was from the Hanna-Barbera show The Flintstones. Funnily enough, Hartman worked for Hanna-Barbera during the '90s and collaborated on shows like Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Laboratory.
1 Comic Book Influences
Hartman took notes from comic books while creating Danny Phantom. He designed Danny as a comic book hero with his abilities and suit.
Further comic allusions appeared in the show such as: Danny's former bully Dash Baxter was modeled after Flash Thompson, Peter Parker's bully. His relationship with classmate Paulina Sanchez resembled Lois Lane and Superman's as both were more infatuated with the superhero side than their regular identities.