Butch Hartman

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Butch Hartman created *The Fairly OddParents* as a seven-minute short film for *Oh Yeah! Cartoons*, making nine seven-minute short films total that aired on Nickelodeon from September 4, 1998, to March 23, 2001. Due to their popularity, the shorts were greenlit to become a half-hour series, which premiered on March 30, 2001. The show's original run continued through season 8 in 2009, and it was later revived for seasons 9 and 10, which aired from 2013 to September 16, 2016, with production quietly ending that same year. Remaining episodes aired on Nicktoons from January 18, 2017 through July 26, 2017. Hartman left Nickelodeon seven months later in February 2018. The show totals 172 episodes across ten seasons. While in early development, the series was titled *The Fairy GodParents* and then briefly changed to *Oh My GodParents*. Bill Burnett came up with the title *The Fairly OddParents*, which they stuck with. Hartman originally named the main character Mike after his brother Mike Hartman, but after a fight that day, he renamed him Timmy.

In Their Own Story

The source does not provide a narrative story about Butch Hartman within the show's universe or a fictionalized account of his creative process. It only covers his real-world development and production history.

Reader's Guide

Butch Hartman's journey began at Cartoon Network on *Dexter's Laboratory* and *Johnny Bravo*. In December 1997, Fred Seibert contacted him to pitch ideas for *Oh Yeah! Cartoons* for Nickelodeon. Hartman initially declined, but after completing the first season of *Johnny Bravo*, he decided to create his own series. He drew a picture of a little boy who would become Timmy Turner, originally naming him Mike after his brother, but after a fight that day, he named him after his other brother Timmy Hartman. Hartman wanted Timmy to be able to go anywhere and originally considered giving him science powers, but decided against it due to *Dexter's Laboratory*. Instead, he gave Timmy a magic friend, drawing Venus (later renamed Wanda) first, then Cosmo. After coming up with the premise in about fifteen minutes, he pitched it to Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network, both of which turned it down. He then went back to Seibert at Nickelodeon and successfully pitched it for *Oh Yeah! Cartoons*. The series was originally titled *The Fairy GodParents*, then briefly *Oh My GodParents*, before Bill Burnett came up with the final title *The Fairly OddParents*. Hartman made ten seven-minute short films for *Oh Yeah! Cartoons*, which aired from September 4, 1998, to March 23, 2001. Due to their success, Nickelodeon picked up the series alongside *ChalkZone* and *My Life as a Teenage Robot*. In January 2000, Nickelodeon ordered seven 23-minute episodes. Hartman left Nickelodeon in February 2018.

Did You Know?

• Butch Hartman originally named the main character Mike after his brother Mike Hartman, but after a fight that day, he renamed him Timmy.
• Hartman came up with the entire premise for *The Fairly OddParents* in about fifteen minutes.
• The series was originally titled *The Fairy GodParents* and then briefly changed to *Oh My GodParents* before Bill Burnett came up with the final title.
• Hartman made nine seven-minute short films of *The Fairly OddParents* for *Oh Yeah! Cartoons*, which aired from September 4, 1998, to March 23, 2001.
• Hartman left Nickelodeon in February 2018, seven months after the show's remaining episodes finished airing on Nicktoons in July 2017.