Elmer Earl "Butch" Hartman IV (born January 10, 1965) is an American animator, illustrator, writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known for creating the animated television series The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and Bunsen Is a Beast for Nickelodeon. He founded the company, Billionfold Inc. in 2003, to produce the shows. Hartman was an executive producer on The Fairly OddParents for the entirety of its 16-year run.
In February 2018, Hartman announced his departure from Nickelodeon after almost 20 years;[1] this resulted in the end of production on Bunsen Is a Beast after one season.[2] In 2021, he returned to the studio to produce The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder, a live-action Fairly OddParents reboot which premiered on Paramount+ the following year and aired for one season. In 2023, his first non-secular animated program, The Garden, premiered on the Christian streaming service Pure Flix.
In the early 1990s, he was hired as an artist in the model department at Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually contacted by studio president Fred Seibert to create the shorts Pfish and Chip and Gramps for his animated incubator series What a Cartoon!. Eventually, he became a writer, director and storyboard artist for several of the early Cartoon Network shows, including Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and I Am Weasel. After his contract with Hanna-Barbera expired, he went to work with Seibert at his newfound Frederator studio, on his successor incubator series, Oh Yeah! Cartoons for Nickelodeon.[9]
During his time working at Hanna-Barbera, he became acquainted with future Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. The two would later go on to make the short Zoomates together for Oh Yeah! Cartoons. The character Dr. Elmer Hartman in Family Guy was named after Hartman. He also voiced various characters in the show's first seasons.[10]
Working at Nickelodeon
Hartman at a Fairly OddParents panel during Comic-Con 2009
His biggest success came in December 1997, when he created The Fairly OddParents. The series originally started out as a series of shorts on the anthology show Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Eventually, Nickelodeon decided to pick the shorts up as a full series. Premiering in 2001, the adapted series ended up becoming a huge hit, second only in the ratings to SpongeBob SquarePants (and it briefly even passed SpongeBob's ratings).[11][12] Following the third The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius crossover The Jimmy-Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators, the series ceased production in 2006, but it was announced on Hartman's forum on February 2, 2007, that 20 more episodes would be produced; the 6th season of Fairly OddParents aired on February 18, 2008, starting with the one-hour special Fairly OddBaby. From May 1, 2009, to May 3, 2009, the three-part special Wishology aired;[13] although that too was originally intended as a series finale[citation needed], the series was renewed for another season. A tenth season was eventually ordered in 2015.[14]The Fairly OddParents is Nickelodeon's second longest-running animated show behind SpongeBob.[15]
Due to the success of The Fairly OddParents, Hartman was asked to create another show for Nickelodeon; Hartman says the President of Nickelodeon asked him if he had an idea, and before he could say the title he was given the greenlight. The show would later become Danny Phantom.[16] To produce the show, Hartman founded his own production company Billionfold Inc. in 2003, which he also used to produce his other projects. Danny Phantom received his furthest critical acclaim throughout his career, with Hartman himself acknowledging it as perhaps the best of his programs while acknowledging its cult following. Danny Phantom ended production in early 2007.[17]
Around 2008–2009, Hartman began production his third show for Nickelodeon, T.U.F.F. Puppy, which premiered in 2010 alongside the Jimmy Neutron spin-off Planet Sheen.[18] The series received mixed to positive reviews and ran for three seasons before being cancelled.
His final show, Bunsen Is a Beast, aired on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons from January 16, 2017, to February 10, 2018. On February 8, 2018, Hartman announced on his Twitter and YouTube accounts that he had left Nickelodeon as of February 2 after a 20-year run.[1][2]
Other works
In 2015, Hartman launched a "kid-safe [online] network of live shows and cartoons" called The Noog Network.[19][20]
In October 2017, Hartman launched the podcast Speech Bubble, on which he talks about pop culture. Several voice actors have appeared on the podcast, including Rob Paulsen, Tara Strong, Jerry Trainor, Grey Griffin, and Vic Mignogna. After initially posting excerpts on his primary YouTube channel, the podcast videos were later moved to its own dedicated YouTube channel, now including full episodes.[21][22]
In June 2018, Hartman started a Kickstarter campaign for OAXIS Entertainment, a "family-friendly" streaming service. After the fundraising goal had been reached, it was revealed that OAXIS was planned to be a Christian-themed network, which was not disclosed during the fundraiser.[23] However, Hartman later claimed that, while faith would continue to be a part of his personal life, OAXIS would not be a faith-based service.[24] As of 2024, Hartman has yet to give any updates on OAXIS.
On June 22, 2019, Hartman released the animated web series HobbyKids Adventures. This series, produced by PocketWatch Inc., was created for YouTube channel HobbyKidsTV.[25] On 13 July, Hartman released a book, Mad Hustle, which details the ins and outs of pitching and selling a show in Hollywood.[26]
In 2019, Hartman created the Christian animated web series The Garden, which he co-produced with his wife Julieann. Hartman has planned at least two seasons of the series and plan to launch a subscription-based app for The Garden in late 2022. Hartman's further plans for the property include creating a VBS curriculum for churches and illustrating a children's Bible published by Thomas Nelson, titled The Garden Children's Bible, which stars the characters from The Garden and is scheduled to release in 2023.[27][28][29] The series premiered on Pure Flix on January 1, 2023.[30]
In February 2021, Hartman was accused of plagiarism when he published his commissioned artwork of Attack on Titan character Mikasa Ackerman, in which similarities were noted to a 2018 artwork of a Japanese artist. The artist confirmed Hartman did not receive permission.[23]
In 2005, Hartman, along with his wife, co-founded Hartman House, a non-profit organization which supports those in developing nations, as well as poverty stricken areas in the United States.[38] By 2017, Hartman House has built two homes for families in Guatemala, fed nearly 7,200 families with Thanksgiving meals in the U.S., and funded aid projects for orphanages in Uganda and Haiti.[39][40] At Hartman House events, Hartman usually draws and autographs items related to his work for children.[41]
^ abHartman, Butch (February 9, 2018). "Why I Left Nickelodeon". Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2018 – via SoundCloud.
^ abHartman, Butch (February 8, 2018). "Why I Left Nickelodeon". Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via YouTube.
^Walker, Alana (May 16, 2013). "Animation Domination". Hour Detroit Magazine. Hour Media. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
^Hartman, Julieann; Hartman, Butch (March 28, 2011). "Where is God". YouTube. thehart2heart. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
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