A Danny Phantom website can never call itself complete without filling in a biography page or at least some general information on its creator. For DP, it’s Butch Hartman, previously already swimming in his roll of cash upon his successful The Fairly Oddparents series. So who is this enigmatic man?
Born in Highland Park, Michigan in 1965 and raised in Roseville (also Michigan) Elmer Earl Hartman never expected to pursue a career in artwork despite possessing "god-given skills to put line on paper". A lover of superheroes and Star Wars (things he later paid trubute on his cartoons), Elmer—Butch is a nickname he uses professionally—stated in his younger years that he’d be a TV repairmen since he, like my sister (whom also can seem to fix other electronic device neither of our family can), can fix that idiot box more successfully then any of his family members. As he got older (by his teens, he moved to New Baltimore, still Michigan), he realized he ain’t as all that with repairing as he thought he was.
With no natural talent elsewhere but doodling (I have the same problem, not unless you wanna count my ability to hold my attention span for more then three seconds a talent), Hartman continued his wayward path of art. He eventually went to study under the California Institute of Arts in Valencia, California. Awwww, you thought I was gonna say Michigan, weren’t you? I didn’t, but have a cookie anyways.
During his time in college, he worked as an intern for Don Bluth’s film An American Tail, then later storyboarded for My Little Pony shortly after graduation. He got fired pretty damn quick cuz' he couldn't draw (his words, not mine's) those sugar-coated bastards. He took a number of jobs (including a short stint as an actor), but it was a starving artist feel as he ran through a number of jobs based on the limited, but very toyetic animations that dominated the '80's.
But thankfully, just like the recovery from the great video game crash of '83, animation kicked its feet and Hartman ended up working behind several Hanna-Barbera classics such as Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and Cow and Chicken. He worked alongside Family Guy creator and friend Seth MacFarlane to create the short Zoomates (apparently Dr. Hartman of Family Guy was named after him) as well as Dan Danger with future Danny Phantom writer, Steve Marmel, both having appeared in Nickelodeon’s Oh Yeah! Cartoons, created by Fred Seibert (he’d constantly call Hartman’s agents to know if he was free to work for his show) whom Hartman knew in Cartoon Network.
That same cartoon program also hosted several episodes of Fairly Oddparents before becoming its own series. It gained notorious popularity, second only to Spongebob Squarepants. Eventually, Danny Phantom was created after the popularity of his first show, but I already have a section that details how that particular show was created. DP has ended production last year, but FOP has been revived from the dead for more episodes. Oh, and he had some involvement on the American dub of Doogal (The Magic Roundabout in it's native country) where he wanted to add new scenes to an already completed film. In short, he wanted to pull a George Lucas. It didn't happen, by the way.
He is currently working on his new animated series T.U.F.F Puppy. No word on that supposed live action he was also proposing.
He is currently married with two daughters, living in Bell Canyon, California and not Michigan. And no, he is not related to the late Phil Hartman.
Back to Main Origins Page*Credit for all these information goes to Animation magazine, December 2007 edition, Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons coffee table book, and Wikipedia. Credit for pictures goes to Animation magazine, Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons coffee table book, and google. If any of these information are false or you have something related to this article you wish to contribute, give me an e-mail.
Article Written revised in: Aug. 21, 2009
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