I love this cartoon. When I first watched Danny Phantom, I was actually part of the age demographic to whom it was advertised. The result was that I had since forgotten everything about it and decided to rewatch the series now 14 years later. Does it hold up? Most definitely.
When it comes to Nickelodeon cartoons my favourites are The Fairly OddParents and Avatar. Now DP is much more comedic than Avatar and as such not a good point of comparison. And I would consider the trials and travails of Timmy Turner to be more entertaining than DP (except for The Fairly OddParents later seasons).
Now that that’s set up. I like how Danny Fenton isn’t a generic superhero. He’s a social pariah who loathes his outcast status. He has a temper. He is susceptible to temptation. And he craves normalcy. And all in all, he’s a likeable character. And I love how he goes from being absolutely terrified of the Ghosts to being able to handle them as well as he does. And the show could hardly have made it easier to sympathize with him in Prisoners of Love when he fears Jack and Maddie getting a divorce.
I like how Jazz is established as being an extremely competent character and a Secret Secret-Keeper before she joins the team and found how incompetent a team member she was at first absolutely hilarious.
And I would be remiss not to mention the antiheroaction girl Valerie, since she was a formidable antagonist.
And I was impressed when Reality Trip had Freakshow become almost omnipotent through a macguffin clearly meant as a shoutout to a (then unfilmed) movie I didn’t like based on a comic I haven’t read. But I liked it on Phantom.
And to address the elephant in the room. I liked Season 3. I liked how it begins with a continuity nod to reality trip when it turns out DP tipped off the Guys in White about Vlad. I like how the Box Ghost proves himself a Not-So-Harmless Villain. I like how the Guys in White become genuinely dangerous. I like how Valerie learns Vlad’s secret identity. I like how the entire season works on Danny and Sam’s relationship and (despite a few nitpicks) I liked the series finale written by Butch Hartman.
Is this a perfect series? No. Is it a good and dare I say it, great one? Definitely
He’s here to Fight for Me and You
I love this cartoon. When I first watched Danny Phantom, I was actually part of the age demographic to whom it was advertised. The result was that I had since forgotten everything about it and decided to rewatch the series now 14 years later. Does it hold up? Most definitely.
When it comes to Nickelodeon cartoons my favourites are The Fairly OddParents and Avatar. Now DP is much more comedic than Avatar and as such not a good point of comparison. And I would consider the trials and travails of Timmy Turner to be more entertaining than DP (except for The Fairly OddParents later seasons).
Now that that’s set up. I like how Danny Fenton isn’t a generic superhero. He’s a social pariah who loathes his outcast status. He has a temper. He is susceptible to temptation. And he craves normalcy. And all in all, he’s a likeable character. And I love how he goes from being absolutely terrified of the Ghosts to being able to handle them as well as he does. And the show could hardly have made it easier to sympathize with him in Prisoners of Love when he fears Jack and Maddie getting a divorce.
I like how Jazz is established as being an extremely competent character and a Secret Secret-Keeper before she joins the team and found how incompetent a team member she was at first absolutely hilarious.
I like his sidekicks Sam and Tucker.
I love the villains from the hilariously incompetent Box Ghost to Danny Phantom’s Evil Counterpart Vlad Plasmius, a veritable magnificent bastard from whom he is not so different. Though when it comes to magnificent bastards, Walker gives Vlad a good run for his money especially after Public Enemies.
And I would be remiss not to mention the antihero action girl Valerie, since she was a formidable antagonist.
And I was impressed when Reality Trip had Freakshow become almost omnipotent through a macguffin clearly meant as a shoutout to a (then unfilmed) movie I didn’t like based on a comic I haven’t read. But I liked it on Phantom.
And to address the elephant in the room. I liked Season 3. I liked how it begins with a continuity nod to reality trip when it turns out DP tipped off the Guys in White about Vlad. I like how the Box Ghost proves himself a Not-So-Harmless Villain. I like how the Guys in White become genuinely dangerous. I like how Valerie learns Vlad’s secret identity. I like how the entire season works on Danny and Sam’s relationship and (despite a few nitpicks) I liked the series finale written by Butch Hartman.
Is this a perfect series? No. Is it a good and dare I say it, great one? Definitely