Butch Hartman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Butch Hartman
Hartman in 2024
Born	Elmer Earl Hartman IV (1965-01-10) January 10, 1965 (age 60) Highland Park, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater	California Institute of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation	Animator illustrator writer producer director actor
Years active	1984–present
Known for	The Fairly OddParents Danny Phantom T.U.F.F. Puppy Bunsen Is a Beast
Spouse(s)	Julieann Hartman ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2

Elmer Earl "Butch" Hartman IV (born January 10, 1965) is a famous American animator, writer, and producer. He is best known for creating popular animated TV shows for Nickelodeon. These shows include The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and Bunsen Is a Beast.

In 2003, he started his own company, Billionfold Inc., to help make his shows. Butch Hartman was an important part of The Fairly OddParents for all 16 years it was on TV. He left Nickelodeon in 2018 but returned in 2021 to work on The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. This was a live-action sequel that came out on Paramount+. In 2023, his animated show The Garden started airing on the Christian streaming service Pure Flix.

Early life

Butch Hartman was born in Highland Park, Michigan. He got the nickname "Butch" when he was very young and has used it ever since. He grew up in Michigan and went to Anchor Bay High School.

After high school, he went to the California Institute of the Arts in California. He graduated in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts. While he was a student, he even appeared on a game show called The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and won almost $3,000!

Career

Starting out

While still in college, Butch Hartman worked as an "in-between animator" on the movie An American Tail. This job involves drawing the frames between the main drawings to make movement smooth.

After graduating, he worked on different animated shows. He was a character designer and storyboard artist for a My Little Pony series. He also worked on shows like It's Punky Brewster and Dink, the Little Dinosaur. He even helped with the Disney movie Pocahontas.

In the early 1990s, he joined Hanna-Barbera, a famous animation studio. There, he created short cartoons like "Pfish and Chip" and "Gramps" for a show called What a Cartoon!. He also worked as a writer and director for early Cartoon Network shows. These included Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and I Am Weasel.

Later, he moved to Frederator Studios and worked on Oh Yeah! Cartoons for Nickelodeon. This is where he would create his most famous shows.

Working at Nickelodeon

Hartman at a Fairly OddParents panel during Comic-Con 2009

Butch Hartman's biggest success began in December 1997 when he created The Fairly OddParents. This show started as a series of short cartoons on Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Nickelodeon loved them so much that they turned them into a full TV series.

The Fairly OddParents first aired in 2001 and became a huge hit. It was Nickelodeon's second most popular animated show, right after SpongeBob SquarePants. The show ran for many years, with new episodes and specials. It is Nickelodeon's second longest-running animated show ever.

Because The Fairly OddParents was so successful, Nickelodeon asked Hartman to create another show. He came up with Danny Phantom. To make this show, he started his own company, Billionfold Inc., in 2003. Many people consider Danny Phantom to be one of his best shows, and it has a strong fan base. Danny Phantom stopped production in 2007.

Around 2008–2009, Hartman started working on his third show for Nickelodeon, T.U.F.F. Puppy. It premiered in 2010 and ran for three seasons.

His last show for Nickelodeon was Bunsen Is a Beast. It aired from 2017 to 2018. On February 8, 2018, Butch Hartman announced that he had left Nickelodeon after working there for 20 years.

Other works

In 2015, Butch Hartman launched "The Noog Network." This was a kid-safe online network with live shows and cartoons.

In 2017, he started a podcast called Speech Bubble. On this podcast, he talks about pop culture and has had many famous voice actors as guests.

In 2019, Hartman released an animated web series called HobbyKids Adventures. This series was made for the YouTube channel HobbyKidsTV. He also released a book called Mad Hustle, which teaches about how to pitch and sell TV shows in Hollywood.

Butch Hartman also created a Christian animated web series called The Garden in 2019. He made this show with his wife, Julieann. The Garden premiered on Pure Flix in 2023. He also illustrated The Garden Children's Bible, which features characters from the show.

Hartman has also been an executive producer for new The Fairly OddParents shows, including The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder and The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish.

Personal life

As of 2024, Butch Hartman lives in Bell Canyon, California. He lives with his wife, Julieann, and their two daughters, Carly and Sophia. He also has three younger brothers. Butch Hartman is a Christian.

In 2005, Butch Hartman and his wife started a non-profit organization called Hartman House. This organization helps people in developing countries and in poor areas of the United States. By 2017, Hartman House had built homes for families in Guatemala. They also provided Thanksgiving meals for nearly 7,200 families in the U.S. and helped orphanages in Uganda and Haiti. At Hartman House events, Butch Hartman often draws and signs items for children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Internet

Written works

See also

In Spanish: Butch Hartman para niños