Sadness, Anger

Happiness, Pain

The borders seem to fade;

It all dissolves to one.

One I can’t define,

but it defines me.

#poetry

If there is a line

Separating the good from bad,

I am pretty damn sure

It ain’t so straight.

#poetry

Full heads and empty smiles

We're guarded from a terror we already know

You say we ruin everything, but didn't you give us the ideas in the first place?

Say we're silly and idealistic but isn't that what you raised us to be?

Why did you teach us how to play like this?

Why are you asking us to fix your problems?

We can't repay your debt

We can't change who we are

We can't change what we were made to be

We're the picked on, the lied to, the hated, the blamed, the naive

We're the young

But we're dying to be more

We'd die to be more

I am so excited. I have created my first challenge in Prose. It's a bit tough since the entries has to be long. It took me long even to describe the challenge. It is time-consuming. But, I hope it would be alright.

It's actuallly more of a prompt than a challenge. I hope it's a good prompt and that someone gets good ideas out of it. Too excited to read!

He’s a phantom... Danny Phantom...

Danny Phantom was Butch Hartman’s second animated series made for Nickelodeon, and arguably the best of four series he’s made. Unlike The Fairly OddParents and other Nicktoons, Danny Phantom was a superhero action show, released back in 2004. The centered around Danny Fenton, an average fourteen-year-old high school student, whose parents, a couple of professional ghost hunters, built a very strange machince called the Ghost Portal. This device was to open a gateway between Earth and a phantasmal realm known as the Ghost Zone, where all ghosts are said to reside. When the machine would work young Danny took a look inside but also accidentally activated the portal. In doing so the portal rearrange his DNA and mixed it with that of a ghost. Danny realizes that he now has ghost powers such as phasing through walls, invisibility, flight, possession, and firing energy blasts. Knowing that ghosts from the Ghost Zone will use this portal as a means to take over his world, Danny Fenton becomes his hometown’s sole protector as the ghost-busting specter Danny Phantom.

I can definitely attest that this show is Butch’s best work and one of the best animated shows from Nick. It’s a major contrast to his first cartoon The Fairly OddParents. This was more of an episodic, action-orientated series, which was a big first for Nickelodeon at the time. The animation is probably the best that Butch has done. There’s much more attention to shadows and dark colors, and it has a very unique comic book style going for it too.

The characters and voice cast are perfect too. Voice actor David Kaufman voices titular character Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom, and he’s perfect. I honestly can’t think of anyone else who could voice this character. It’s like Kevin Conroy voicing Batman, there’s just no one better.

And what would a superhero be without his supporting cast. We got Danny’s female best friend/love interest Sam Manson (voiced by the ever talented Grey Griffin). Some people have a problem with her character, as being a super-eco friendly, gothic, vegetarian, and there are a couple episodes where she pushes her views into people’s faces. Aside from those, she’s still a great supporting character but I can understand why ones aren’t that fond of her. We also have Danny’s techno-geek other best friend Tucker Foley (voiced by Ricky D’Shon Collins); his older, know-it-all, protective sister Jasmine “Jazz” Fenton (voiced by Collen O’Shaughnessey); Danny’s ghost obsessed parents Jack and Maddie Fenton (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Kath Soucie); and Mr. Lancer, Danny’s stern teacher (voiced by Ron Perlman). I loved this guy, especially when is exclamations were all references to book titles.

“Paradise Lost!”

“Moby Dick!”

“Lord of the Flies!”

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repairs!”

But a hero is only as good as its villain, and like any superhero show, this show has a villain roster that could almost rival Spider-Man and Superman. There’s Technus (also voiced by Rob Paulsen), a ghost that’s able to control electronic devices; Skulker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), a professional hunter ghost that hunts other ghosts; and my personal favorite Ember (voiced by the gorgeous Tara Strong), a rockstar ghost whose power increases when people chant her name. But we can’t forget the most fearsome opponent from Danny Phantom’s rogues gallery, his archnemesis: the Box Ghost!

Box Ghost: “I am the Box Ghost! Beware!”

Nah, I’m just kidding. His greatest enemy is actually Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius (voiced by Martin Mull). This guy was a great villain and all you could as for in an archnemesis. Like Danny, he’s half ghost too after a failed experiment that Danny’s father caused. And like Danny, he gained ghost abilities too but learned how to harness his powers over time and uses them for his own selfish gain.

This show also had some pretty good writing (at least in the first two seasons). Part of that was thanks to co-writer and co-developer Steve Marmel, who had a hand in writing some of the best episodes of the series. There were some good stories and few of them actually explored some major subjects, like one episode where Danny fears his parents might get a divorce. And there was another episode had Sam participate in a beauty pageant but unlike following the simple mind set of conformity like the other girls she stands out, sending a pretty good message about being yourself. Personally, my favorite episode was “My Brother’s Keeper”, where Jazz learns about Danny’s alter ego. It’s the first time in the series we get to explore their relationship together and Jazz proves herself to be a strong supporting character rather than a temperal annoyance.

Arguably the best episode of the whole series is the hour long special “Ultimate Enemy”, where Danny Phantom must battle against an evil version of himself from the future. Long story short after an incident that takes the lives of both Danny’s family and friends, Danny sought out his nemesis Vlad to help take away his pain. This would involve Vlad removing his ghost half from Danny but the ghost half breaks free and molds with Vlad’s ghost half, becoming something entirely new and evil. And for some fun facts, the future Danny Phantom was voiced by Eric Roberts. It was a great episode for its superb story and writing, Danny battling against his future self, and it has a good lesson how doing something a little selfish can have some major consequences in the future. And we have Danny acknowledging that Jazz knows his secret too and accepts her as part of Team Phantom. It was an awesome episode.

But that’s not to say that every episode or the writing for the first two seasons were always good. There of course were a couple duds, like the episode where Danny split himself into two different Dannys so he can stop Technus and spend a weekend with his friends. However in doing so it split them into two different personalities: one that is the heroic Danny Phantom and the other being a lazy bum version of Danny Fenton. I just didn’t get it at the time and it really made no sense when I rewatched it recently. Why would their personalities be split too? There would only be two Dannys of the same mind.

Sadly all good things must come to an end. And by end I mean take a downward spiral ranging from mediorce to bad. What happened? According to Butch Hartman himself, the series was actually cancelled in the middle of their second season. This led the production team having to rush making the third and final season. So basically all the problems with Season 3 could be summed up with Nick once again dicking around one of their popular shows. And and this isn’t the first time Nick has done something like this, a discussion that’s well worth its own post. But there was more to it than that. Season 3 also marked the depature of writer Steve Marmel, who left Danny Phantom for unknown reasons. I tried looking up an explanation for his depature from the series but couldn’t find much. From what little I did find apparently Marmel had his own ideas for Season 3, like having the show go a darker route. I would have freaking loved it that had happened. I’m all about that dark shit in my children’s animation. But a rumor was that Butch was against the idea and had him fired. Again this is only rumor but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case, and their may be some evidence of this. In a reported interview, Marmel did state that he did have some different ideas for Season 3 but studio meddling prevented him from doing so, and then he left. He’s also stated that he wishes to remain silent about his ideas for Season 3 out of respect of all the talented people behind the series.

So what happened next? Well Butch Hartman happened next as he took over for much of the season’s writing and stories, and there lies the overall problem. Kinda like George Lucas, Butch has some good ideas but they aren’t well executed. Not to mention his writing style is very cliched with childish humor and the constant “and then the opposite happens” tropes. The show went from a super-powered teenager balancing his personal and heroic life to being a monster-of-the-week troped show. All the characters in the show then suffered from flanderization, such as taking the complex nature of Vlad Plasmius and turning him into a regular cartoon villain with no real motivations; not to mention all the characters dropping in IQ levels, including Danny himself. And for some odd reason Butch Hartman retconned the ghosts from not being the spectral essence of a living person (which is what the definition of a ghost is) to being monsters from another dimension, despite there already being a few episodes that contradict that claim. I guess the only “ghost” that is acceptable for Butch is the “Holy Spirit”. I will give Season 3 this much credit as it seems everyone in Danny’s town is recognizing and treating him more of a hero. It took almost three seasons for everyone to praise Danny Phantom unlike in Naruto where it took a whole sequel series for everyone in the Leaf Village to start praising Naruto and his numerous good deeds.

But then we got stuck with a really bad finale with the hour long special “Phantom Planet”. What happens in this final episode is that Vlad Plasmius hires an elite team of ghost hunters that beat Danny at his own game every time. Danny gets fed up with being outmatched and decides to give up his ghost powers for good. This is one of the most selfish actions I’ve ever seen any hero do in my life, and the most stupid. You’re being out matched by better ghost hunters? Boo-fucking-hoo. At least Peter Parker had a good reason why he gave up being Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2. It was because he was struggling between balancing his work and social life with this superhero identity, and this personal struggle greatly affected his powers. Danny was like, “Man, these jerks that work for Vlad are better than me. Fuck it, I quit.” What’s worse is that his friends and sister barely make an effort to talk him out of his decision and he still goes through with it.

But things get complicated when a giant asteroid that is sum how resistant to all modern technology and even ghost abilities comes hurtling towards earth. Vlad uses this as an opportunity to take over the world (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7c8QghPxk). He reveals his alter ego to the world and demands to make the global leader along with being paid $500 million dollars for getting rid of the asteroid. Dude, you are super rich and would be conquering the world so you would have all of the money. Why the hell would you demand more money? Any who, Vlad fails to stop the asteroid so it’s all up to Danny. Danny gets his ghost powers back, recruits all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone to aid in making the earth phasable so the asteroid passes through it. Danny’s identity is revealed to the world and his parents but I honestly couldn’t care less about that since the show has already did this song and dance number a few times before. But I guess this is permenant now versus having everyone’s minds wiped by the end. Danny and Sam confess their love for each other and start going out. Oh and Tucker somehow becomes the new mayor of Amity Park. How the fuck did that happened?!?! And that was the end for Danny Phantom, concluding in 2007 and leaving its legacy with three seasons and a total of 53 episodes.

Overall, Danny Phantom wasn’t a perfect series, but it was a great series. It had some flaws but it had a ton of good and memorable moments. Whenever I think of this show I think about the first two seasons and ignore the third. It is a shame that we never got a fourth season and I highly doubt we’ll ever get one any time soon. It does give my creative writing side some ideas about a fourth season but I think I’ll save that for another post. Danny Phantom is a Nicktoon that is well worth your time. Check it out and go ghost!

Positives:

-Very stylized animation

-Great characters

-Great villains

-Talented voice work

-Great writing

-Memorable episodes

-Catchy theme song

Negatives:

-Season 3

-Final episode

Final Grade: A-

Two more Butch Hartman cartoons down, two more to go!

Alright, those are my thoughts of Danny Phantom. Have you seen this show? What were your thoughts? Have a favorite episode? Favorite character? Favorite moment? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom: “I’m going ghost!”

#harrysituationreviews #television #opinion #animation #cartoon #Nickelodeon #Nicktoons #scifi #action #comedy #superhero #ghosts #paranormal #supernatural #ButchHartman #AGrade

Hey everybody!

So I made a decision lately. After ranting about animator-turned-jackass Butch Hartman, I figured that I should review each of his animated shows. So that’s what’s happening this month. I’m going to review all four shows that Butch has created during his time with Nickelodeon. And we’ll see if I’m still weak after this critique.

Let’s kick things off with his first animated series, The Fairly OddParents. Originally the series started off as a series of shorts that Butch made for Nickelodeon’s Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Due to the shorts popularity with young audiences Nick decided to go green and made the shorts into a complete series, making its first debut in spring 2001. I still remember that day too. The pilot episode for this show and the pilot episode for Invader Zim aired on the same night.

The series centered around a 10-year-old boy named Timmy Turner, just an average kid who no one understands. Mom and dad, and his evil babysitter Vicky were giving him commands (BED, TWERP!). Doom and gloom up in his room is broken instantly. But his magic little fish who grant every wish because in reality they are his Fairy Godparents named Cosmo and Wanda.

All paraphrasing that catchy-as-hell theme song aside, this show was the bomb back in the day when I was a kid. It had a simple formula. Timmy Turner is placed in a situation at his disadvangage, he uses Cosmo and Wanda to make a wish, things start to go well for Timmy Turner until he learns about the consequences of his actions, leading him to learn a valuable life lesson.

The series had a great voice cast. You have the voice acting goddess herself, Tara Strong, providing the voice of Timmy Turner. Then there’s Daran Norris and Susanne Blakeslee who provided both the voices for the wishgranting fairies Cosmo and Wanda, but also the voices for Timmy’s dad and mom. And of course, you have the perfect casting of Grey Griffin as the evil Vicky. I swear that was a role that woman was born to play.

There was also a large variety of side characters too that I remember. There was the alien Mark Chang (voiced by Rob Paulsen); Vicky’s little sister Tootie who also has a massive crush on Timmy; there’s Timmy’s best friends AJ and Chester (one of them was actually voiced by Frankie Muniz); there’s my personal favorite Jorgan von Strangle (also voiced by Daran Norris), the muscle-bound leader of the fairies; there’s the Dinklebergs, the Turner family’s neighbors whom Timmy’s dad greatly despises; and Timmy’s superhero icon the Crimson Chin (voiced by none other than Jay Leno himself). But of course I haven’t forgotten the most memorable character from the series: Chip Skylark (voiced by NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick). You all remember him, right? His catchy-ass song “My Shiny Teeth and Me”. The kids in my class sang this all the time. You know how it goes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDxAEY3l9BQ

But of course we can’t forget one of the show’s biggest antagonists, Timmy’s fifth grade teacher, Denzel Crocker (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui), who is obsessed with proving to the world that fairies exist. He was funny. He was insane. And the series developed his character extraordinarly well. Apparently it was revealed that he used to have Cosmo and Wanda as his Fairy Godparents when he was a kid. But then one day he lost them, had his memory erased of their existence, and has been obsessed with catching fairies ever since.

The show’s writing was great—at least in the first few seasons. It had great jokes, great stories, and important lessons. That’s not to say that every episode was golden. One of the most reviled episodes had Timmy wish himself that he was never born and then he sees that everyone’s lives are much better if he didn’t exist. It was an obviously terrible parody of It’s a Wonderful Life. Even Butch himself hated the episode. Regardless it still had a ton of more memorable episodes. The series also had some of the best TV specials I’ve seen as a kid. The ones I most fondly remember were “Abra-Catastrophe”, “Channel Chasers” and the specials where The Fairly OddParents actually crossed over with another of Nickelodeon hit animated shows, Jimmy Neutron. You have characters from both series flipping back and forth from 2D animation and 3D animation, and it was awesome. And they say Avengers: Endgame was the most ampicious crossover of all time.

Man, it was a good show. Key word: was.

As time went on, the series seem to take a downgrade in its writing, its lessons, its character development, its already interesting characters, and eventually its animation quality (more on that in a bit). And it all started in Season 6 with the hour long special “Fairly OddBaby”, which introduced a new character for the series, the fairy baby of Cosmo and Wanda, Poof (also voiced by Tara Strong). So yeah, we now have a baby in the character roster. What I oddly remember from this special was that Cosmo was the one who gave birth to baby Poof. So do fairies have anatomy of sea horses or something? What the hell? I don’t have much to say about Poof. I didn’t really think much of him at the time, and around the time he first appeared I started to grow out of Nickelodeon and started watching more adult shows like Family Guy and Archer.

And then the series was somehow still running with Season 9. That season also introduced a new character, a talking fairy dog named Sparky (voiced by Maddie Taylor before her transition), who acted as Timmy’s new pet. Oh boy. Upon his first appearance, the character of Sparky was not well received. The character was annoying beyond fuck. He caused more problems rather than helped. His voice was like barbed wire through your ear canal. Yeah, I really didn’t like Sparky at all. And worse, he existed when there really was no reason for him to exist at all. But Butch got another season out of his show, which was on life support at this point.

Then the series came into its tenth and final season, which introduced another new character to its damn roster, Chloe Carmichael (voiced by Kari Wahlgren). This season and Chloe was the straw that broke the camal’s back. Chloe was Timmy’s new neighbor who would be sharing Cosmo and Wanda as her Fairy Godparents due to a fairy shortage.

Now hold on! What shortage? When in the series was there a shortage? What caused this shortage? I don’t recall their ever being a shortage in the series before. That would have been something to really explore but I guess that wasn’t on Butch’s priorities.

But yeah, let’s talk about Chloe for a minute. Chloe was really unnecessary. Not long ago I invented the term John/Joan Neric as a way to combat the terms Mary Sue and Gary Stu. The reason being is because I generally don’t like those terms. The term Mary Sue is used to describe a character that is absurdly perfect in every way and can do no wrong. They are described as so flawless that it is ridiculous. Now a lot of folks like to identify Rey from Star Wars as a “Mary Sue”. I disagree but that is my opinion. The problem with the Mary Sue trope is that it can technically be slapped on any character. Tony Stark/Iron Man can be a Mary Sue. Luke Skywalker can be a Mary Sue. It’s a very generic and easy term. That being said, Chloe Carmichael on the other hand does fit the definition of a Mary Sue more than Rey. Everything she does and everything that she is defines absurd perfection. She has great, loving parents. She’s well liked in school. She does a bunch of volunteer projects. She is basically living a happy life. So why the fuck does she need Fairy Godparents? The show’s reason is because Chloe is so nice and helpful it tends to do more harm than good, and she’s apparently friendless.

Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fP-0-dEHhA

I mean, really? Really? She’s liked by her classmates and teachers. She’s loved by her parents. How can she be friendless? How is this child miserable? There are kids with cancer, kids living in war torn countries, kids who have been molested that are far more miserable and deserve to have Fairy Godparents than her, both in the real life and presumably in this show’s universe. Seriously, she’s friendless? How can she possibly be friendless? She’s the hap-hap-happiest person since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny Fucking Kaye.

They even changed the theme song in Season 10 to incorporate Chloe. Why would they do that? The song was already great. Why ruin it?

But it didn’t stop there. Half way through the final season of The Fairly OddParents the animation drastically changed and the episodes were done on Adobe Flash. If you look up the animation from all previous seasons and compare it to the animation in Season 10 you can tell that there is a great dip in quality. Everything just looks too bright. It looks too smoothed out. Not to mention the character movements felt very off. That’s not to diss flash animation in general. A lot of animated shows have done well with in flash. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a prime example. It’s just that the flash animation on Fairly Oddparents looked really bad.

Sadly, as I mentioned, this would mark as the final season for The Fairly Oddparents, Nick’s second longest running show behind SpongeBob SquarePants. Man, what a crappy way to go out too. There’s no grand special with high stakes. No big finale and thank you to all the fans. It just ended and I doubt anyone even noticed or cared. But the creative writer part of my brain does wonder: could there have been a way to save Season 10? Could there be a way to make Chloe more likable? Is there a way to give Fairly OddParents that spectacular finale it so deserved? Here’s what I’ve been thinking: what if they introduced another character alongside Chloe? And who would this character be?... THE DEVIL!!!

Or a demonic being or demon lord that was much like the devil. This character could serve as the season’s main antagonist. Chloe would serve as the adopted daughter of this demon lord and she’s working to befriend Timmy and his godparents in some effort to, I don’t know, gain more souls for the underworld or something. It could be used to explain why there might be a fairy shortage and tie into the old Celtic folklore of how the fairy folk would often make sacrifices to the underworld as some sort of payment. But her friendship with Timmy starts to conflict her and so she must find the strength to stand up to her adopted father.

If that doesn’t work then let’s get bold: make Chloe Nickelodeon’s first trans character. Chloe would have been born a boy but she identifies as a girl. It would also serve as a better reason why she would need Fairy Godparents. She’s miserable of being born in a gender she does not identify as and she is afraid of how everyone would react if they found out the truth. Timmy learns the truth, is a little uncomfortable at first, but understands Chloe’s story and accepts her for who she is. If you don’t think that Nick would have the brass to do something like this keep in mind that while The Fairly OddParents was still airing The Legend of Korra’s finale introduced the network’s first ever lesbian couple (Korra and Asami) and The Loud House introduced the first ever same sex married couple (The McBrides). But the question wouldn’t be if Nick would have went through with it but if Butch Hartman would have went through with it. I don’t know where the guy stands on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage given his holier-than-thou Christian attitude. I’m hoping he’s on the support side but I can’t say with certainty.

Now it does seem like I’ve spent a great amount of time ranting about this show but the truth is I don’t hate it. I can’t possibly hate this show. I do regard this show as being on of Nick’s best animated shows they’ve ever made and much of that credit does go to Butch Hartman. However some of the faults of the show is also because of Butch too. It’s important to both reflect on the good of something as well as the bad. The Fairly OddParents definitely had its fair share of problems and those problems worsened as the show continue to air on its last legs. But regardless of its faults it is really impressive that the show managed to say on air as long as it did. Sixteen years it stayed on television. But if you count the Oh Yeah! Cartoon shorts which first appeared in I believe 1998 or 1999, The Fairly OddParents has been on air for about twenty years. That’s a legacy that’s earned some respect. I’ll still remember the joy The Fairly OddParents gave me as a kid, even if I voice my disgust of Butch Hartman as an adult.

Positives:

-Great animation

-Great characters

-Talented voice cast

-Some funny and clever jokes

-Awesome TV specials

-Catchy theme song

-One of Nick’s best

Negatives:

-Went on far too long

-Additional characters

-Reducing to flash animation

Final Grade: B+

So those are my thoughts on The Fairly OddParents, Butch Hartman’s first cartoon for Nickelodeon. Have you seen this show? What were your thoughts? Have a favorite episode? Favorite character? Favorite moment? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

And stay tuned each week as I review all of Butch Hartman’s cartoons for the whole month because in my next review I’m going ghost.

Best Quote:

Mr. Turner: ”Dinkleburg!”

#harrysituationreviews #television #opinion #animation #cartoon #fantasy #comedy #fairies #kids #Nickelodeon #Nicktoons #ButchHartman

If anyone could become a fallen idol it is Butch Hartman. Butch Hartman is an animator who used to work for Nichelodeon, creating two of the studios best shows, The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom. He’s also made other cartoons for the network like TUFF Puppy and Bunsen is a Beast, which were not well liked as far as I understand. Then in 2018 he left Nickelodeon to pursue new projects. I’ll be honest, I was rooting for the guy back then. I admired the guy for his animation style and the great characters he’s created. He seemed like a person who could do no wrong. But boy was I 100% dead wrong about him.

It’s after his departure from Nick was where things really went sour about the man. In 2018, Butch Hartman pitched an idea for a family friendly streaming service called Oaxis Entertainment. He raised money on this from a Kickstarter campaign and passed his goal two years ago. But then it was revealed at a Christian conference that he intended Oaxis to be a Christian network and that he was going to Trojan horse the teachings of Christ into viewing audiences. Look, it’s not a problem if he wanted to make a network centered around his faith. The real problem was that in the beginning he was super vague about his intentions for Oaxis to his backers. He essentially lied to them. And after two years the project has gone silent. He has yet to present any content for his supposed streaming service. So everyone that backed him was ripped off.

He’s also made some videos stating that anyone that critiques is work are weak and that all introverts are selfish. Maybe people who are introverts are just more comfortable by themselves and have a hard time communicating with others or communicating with others makes them uncomfortable. Ever thought about that, Butch? Or maybe the people that are criticising you that you deem as "weak" are doing so because you've been saying and doing some really shady stuff and you don't own up to any of it.

And then there was these outlandish talks where he stated during a Christian conference that there was no depression when he was a kid, which only prooves that he’s full of himself. Then there was his podcast chat with voice actress goddess Tara Strong where he crudely joked how the previous voice actress committed suicide because of her. For those who don’t know, the character of Timmy Turner wasn’t always voiced by Tara Strong. The character was voiced Mary Kay Bergman, who voiced all the female characters of South Park, back when Butch made Fairly OddParents shorts for Oh Yeah Cartoons!. His "joke" was really in poor taste, especially when Tara Strong was good friends with Mary Kay Bergman. It really makes you ask 'what the hell'.

What’s Butch up to now? Oh boy, here’s where things get interesting. Recently he’s caught fire about promoting the idea that prayer can cure anything, including autism. As an adult on the autism spectrum this kind of bullshit offends me. He’s basically say that autism is a disease that can be cured. Autism isn’t something that can be fixed and it doesn't need a cure of any sort. It’s like being mentally challenged or being gay. It’s just a part of someone that needs to be understood more. Hell many people in the modern day and throughout history are on the autism spectrum, and have contributed greatly and successfully to society. Dan Aykroyd is one. Bill Gates is another. Even Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokemon, has autism. What’s more insulting is that he’s not only stating prayer can cure autism but also cancer. This shit really frustrates me. It is not only offensive to those who have cancer and tricking them into thinking that the only way to truelly cure it is with prayer, but extremely offensive to those that have prayed to be cured of cancer but still died from cancer.

There's also been talks lately how Butch Hartman hasn't paid an artist on YouTube for his services. A YouTube artist named Kuro was originally working with Butch in a series of animation projects, and has, as of yet, paid Kuro for his services. If you'd like to learn more about this subject matter I highly recommend you watch the video Kuro posted on his YouTube channel discussing the situation.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrgv0YN9tSw

He’s also recently made a flash animated show called The Garden. Since he’s been pretty open about his Christianity he’s gone to make a Christian cartoon for sheltered Christian children. It’s about a lion and a lamb (Do you get it? Because Bible) that live and work in some magical place known as the Garden. Huh, I thought Christians were against magic. Oh I guess it’s only okay if the magic came from the Almighty, right? Any who, they go around doing tasks for a myserious voice known as The Boss. Yeah, it’s pretty obvious that it’s meant to be God, but for the sake of poking fun of this concept I’m going to say that The Boss is Satan. Would you like to view his new animation project? Well you can watch all six five minute episodes of this show for the well low price of $130. Yes, I’m serious. The man wants you to pay $130. The big question really is why even put that kind of price at all? Why not put them on YouTube for free? I haven't watch The Garden myself but from what I've seen it doesn't even look like it's worth the price that Butch is peddling.

A YouTuber named MyseriousMrEnter described Butch Hartman as the M. Night Shyamalan of animation, and I think that’s probably the most accurate way to describe him these days. Like Shyamalan he started off with big hits, he was a creative genius in his early years. But then he let his ego go to his head and then his reputation as well as his creativeness went downhill. Also he made a really crappy live-action movie of a popular cartoon. Butch once bragged that he was the creator of my childhood. I’m sorry Butch but you only had a small influence on my childhood. You are not Stan Lee. You are not Steven Spielberg. You are not Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dextor’s Lab and Samurai Jack. You are not Stephen Hillenberg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants. You aren’t even Bruce Timm, the creator behind many DC animated properties such as Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League. To me, nowadays, you are nothing but a wolf in sheeps clothing. A con artist. A snake oil salesman. You are no different than the televangelists that rip off people for their money. It's too bad because I really liked the guy. I liked his animation style. I liked his characters. I liked (half) his shows. It really is a shame to see someone you admire just fall from grace.

As the old saying goes: hate the artist, don't hate the art.

#opinion #essay #ButchHartman #Nickelodeon #animation #controversy

Here are some recommendations of things to watch/read if you are bored out of your mind like me :) Mostly focused on teenagers since I happen to be a teenager so I obviously wouldn’t be very good at recommending adult stuff, but yeah...hope this is helpful in some way.

TV Show/Book/Movie Recommendations

Disclaimer: I am extremely bad at describing books, TV shows, and movies, so I encourage you guys to look them up because my descriptions probably won’t do them justice.

TV Shows

1. The Fosters

This is the story of a lesbian couple and their four adopted kids and one biological son, and all of the drama that comes with their chaotic but extremely loving family.

2. Atypical

Sam is a high schooler who has autism and is on the high functioning end of the spectrum. In his senior year he decides that he wants to get a girlfriend. Of course, this prospect is easier said than done for anybody, and Atypical portrays Sam’s unique but still very relatable high school experience as well as the drama and challenges his family faces because of his autism and because of their hectic lives.

3. On My Block

A coming-of-age show about a group of friends, four street-savvy teens living in South Central Los Angeles. The desperation to rescue a friend from a gang while dealing with the violence that comes with it, along with some inevitable romance and elements of mystery make this show fast paced but not worth missing.

4. Riverdale

The story of a small town rocked by the death of a classmate, Jason Blossom, and facing the realization that his death, and the ones to follow, may not have been tragic accidents after all.

5. Gossip Girl

Word spreads fast in the elite community of the upper east side of New York, especially thanks to the ruthless gossip blog devoted to spilling the secrets of the teens, and they soon discover that nobody has put their past, and the secrets lurking there, behind them, because Gossip Girl is determined to level the playing fields and expose everyone for who they actually are, once and for all.

6. The Good Place

A comedic show, definitely less dark than some of the other ones, tracking Eleanor Shellstrop when she arrives in ‘the Good Place’, a highly selective utopia for people after the die, choosing only those that have led a righteous life.

**************************************************************************************

Movies

1. The Half of It

A shy, introverted, and very intelligent student helps a jock woo a girl that they both secretly have begun to fall for.

2. Queen of Katwe

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda does not make life easy for ten year old Phiona and her family. But when she meets Robert Katende, a missionary who teaches children chess, Phiona becomes fascinated with the game and under his guidance, one of the top players. Her success with chess opens the door to a bright future and opportunity to escape poverty.

3. Selma

Selma is a historical drama film based on the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, initated and directed by James Bevel, and led by Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, and John Lewis.

4. Lifted

Set in Birmingham, Lifted is the story of a boy who enters an American-Idol like singing competition to honor his father, who was deployed again to Afghanistan.

5. The Good Lie

After their village is destroyed in a militia attack, Sudanese orphans Theo, his siblings, and other survivors make the long journey to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Thirteen years later, the group gets the chance to settle in the US and are met in Kansas by Carrie Davis, the woman responsible for finding them jobs. But after she sees how adrift they are in this new setting, she endeavors to help them rebuild their shattered lives.

6. The Help

The film and novel portray the life of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, an aspiring journalist. The story focuses on her relationship with the two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, Jackson, Mississippi.

7. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

This is the story of Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, who’s family moves to a house in the countryside near Auschwitz where Bruno befriends a young Jewish boy inside the concentration camp. The book is also definitely worth reading.

**************************************************************************************

Books

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of what used to be called North America now lies the nation of Panem, the shining Capitol surrounded by 12 districts. Each year, children aged 12-18 are chosen, two from all of the districts, to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised battle to the death.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian world of Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to its particular virtue. When people in the society turn sixteen, they must select a faction to live with for the rest of their life. Beatrice’s choice comes down to staying with her family and being who she is, she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, herself included.

3. Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

When the droughts in California escalate to catastrophic levels, the government is forced to shut down running water, called the Tap-Out. Alyssa’s quiet neighborhood becomes a warzone, everyone fighting for water and when her parents don’t return home, Alyssa is forced to make terrible choices in order to help her and her brother make it through.

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter set in stone upon diagnosis. But when Augustus Waters appears in her life at a cancer support group, suddenly everything changes, and now what she thought was her final chapter is about to be entirely rewritten.

5. A Chance to Live by Pieter Kohnstam

While Anne’s Frank family went into hiding in Amsterdam, the Kohnstams, their neighbors, decided to escape. Helped over and over again by selfless strangers, this is the story about how Pieter Kohnstam and his family managed to make it all the way to Buenos Aires.

6. Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

When a car crash sidelines Micky just before softball season, she has to do what she has to do to save her spot on the team. She’s only every felt comfortable behind the plate, and the painkillers she’s been prescribed can help her get there. But more than that they make her feel good, and with her new group of friends, injured athletes and just people with time to kill, she finds acceptance. As the pressure to be Micky Catalan heightens, her need increases, something that could send her spiraling out of control.

7. Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

It’s the middle of the night when they come for Wren Clemens, taking her all the way to the desert in the middle of Utah to wilderness therapy camp, a place for teens that have gone so far off the rails their parents don’t know what to do. Wren arrives angry and bitter, but that can’t help her put up a tent or start a fire, so much as she hates to admit it, she needs help, and when she realizes that will be the only time she is able to survive.

8. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Samantha McAllister has purely obsessional OCD, constantly plagued by a never ending stream of dark thoughts. When she meets Caroline, a quirky girl who introduces her to Poet Corner, a group of misfits that get together and write poetry, Sam’s life takes a turn for the better, until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and newfound “normal” altogether.

9. People Like Us by Dana Mele

Kay Donovan may have a few secrets, but now she has completely reinvented herself as the star soccer player who’s gorgeous group of friends run their boarding school with effortless popularity. But when a girl is found dead in the lake, suddenly everything shifts, because she has left Kay a computer coded scavenger hunt implicating suspect after suspect, many of whom turn out to be her friends, until she’s in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. Now she has to fight to be seen as innocent, because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make, not what actually happened.