See Also: Fanboy and Chum Chum (disambiguation)
Fanboy and Chum Chum is an American CGI animated television series produced by Frederator Studios.
It is based on an episode of Frederator's Random! Cartoons called Fanboy. The series was created by Eric Robles and was directed by Brian Sheesley, Jim Schumann, and Russell Calabrese in Season One and Eddie Trigueros, Brandon Kruse, Tom King, and Ken Mitchroney in Season Two. It premiered on November 6, 2009, on Nickelodeon after the TV movie SpongeBob's Truth or Square. A sneak peek of the show was shown on October 12, 2009.
Unfortunately, no third season was announced at Nickelodeon's upfront for the 2013-2014 season. Reruns aired on Nicktoons until January 23, 2017. The show was added onto Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access) on December 15, 2020.
Plot[]
The series centers around Fanboy and Chum Chum, a pair of hyperactive, odd, energetic, and slow-witted best friends enthusiastically obsessed with superhero comics, particularly those featuring their favorite superhero Man-Arctica, who also apparently seems to double as a holiday figurehead parodying Santa Claus within the series. Many episodes are based around comical parodies of famous films or contain countless references to popular culture, chronicling Fanboy and Chum Chum's exaggerated, surreal daily experiences and misadventures relating to dilemmas in which they have entangled themselves or the surrounding characters' utter infuriation with their irritating antics.
Nickelodeon's website description[]
"They're fearless! They're adventurous! They wear underwear on the outside of their costumes! They're...Fanboy & Chum Chum! Fanboy and his wide-eyed sidekick Chum Chum are endlessly energetic "super fans" of all-things sci-fi and fantasy. These truly original kids have super imaginations and superhero costumes the likes you've never seen before. Their world is full of comic adventure (and misadventures) from an accidental case of Fanboy's teacher turning into a zombie to an ice monster running the Frosty Freezy Freeze machine. So, squeeze into your tights-and your tighty whiteys-and get ready for brain freezes and FANBOY & CHUM CHUM!"
Characters[]
For subject on every character in the show, see List of Fanboy & Chum Chum characters.
Episodes[]
For subject on all episodes in the show, see List of Fanboy & Chum Chum episodes.
Running Gags[]
Refer to the full list here.
- Usually, whenever Janitor Poopatine's name is said, Chum Chum shouts out: "Poop!" Sometimes, another character says this.
- The first time Fanboy and Chum Chum see Kyle each day, Fanboy greets him by saying "Hi, Kyle!" He is the usual character to say it, but sometimes, another person says it or the line is altered.
- Fanboy sometimes says "Fear not" when willing to do something.
- Yo is always planning to get Chum Chum alone with her but fails.
- Kyle is trying to get back to Milkweed Academy, despite being expelled. Usually, when an attempt fails, Professor Flan denies the admission by saying a strong deny sentence. (ex. "Re-admission denied") He also has a unique routine of denying.
- Most of Kyle's spells have a weird incantation to them. Sometimes, Kyle can't finish the spell.
- Kyle is always calling Fanboy and Chum Chum strange names if he gets angry by them. Most of those names mean "a stupid or crazy person".
- Whenever Kyle ends a sentence with emphasis, he makes a shooting motion with his finger and says "Zing!"
Animated short[]
- Main article: Fanboy (episode)
The animated short Fanboy aired as part of Frederator Studios' Random! Cartoons, and led to the creation of the animated series. It is about a boy and his friend who see an advert of Frosty Freezy Freeze and decide to try it, but ends up having a misadventure with Berry the Ice Monster.
Character design notes[]
Reflections are used in characters' eyes on the show.
- Most characters have noticeable light reflections in their eyes. There are usually 5 or 6 reflections in a bendy cube pattern, but the pattern varies and other reflections can be visible, too.
- Occasionally, characters are drawn with their eyebrows floating above their eyes, partially detached from their head or floating over their hair. Examples:
- Kyle's eyebrows going over his shag hairdo. It usually switches to under frequently.
- Chum Chum, Oz, Yo and others.
- Characters' ears stick out at the sides, instead of pushing up against the character's head.
- Most of the characters' clothes and hair have detail, such as Kyle's shirt and pants with fabric and denim respectively, and Boog's hair having dark highlights.
- Characters' eyes are colored black, rather than having a visible eye color. However, Janitor Poopatine is an exception, with yellow-green irises.
- Characters only have 4 fingers.
- In most of the episodes in season 1, the colors appear to be dull-ish, and textures in the CGI animation not as detailed, however in later episodes, especially season 2, the colors and details are more vibrant. One example is Fanboy's unitard being a more vivid green rather than the usual dull green color, and another is Kyle's hair appearing to be more maroon and ruby colored.
Animation Errors[]
The show sometimes shows mistakes in numerous areas. These mistakes vary widely, being associated with actual facts, the laws of physics, animation, continuity, or legitimacy.
Recurring errors:
- The characters constantly change their standing positions between shots, indicating a jump cut.
- Kyle's eyebrows switch from over to under his bangs and vice versa. This is a recurring hair effect on him.
- Sometimes, any of the character's eyebrows passes through their eyelids.
- Yo's frog backpack repeatedly vanishes and reappears in some scenes.
- Chum Chum constantly changes size from the height he was in the pilot short to the height he is now.
- Kyle loses his cape in some scenes but gets it back in the next.
- The Chimp Chomp game is to the right of the Invaders game, but in others it's to the left of the Invaders game.
- The stripes on Kyle's shirt are sometimes larger or smaller than usual.
Galleries[]
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| The image gallery for Fanboy & Chum Chum may be viewed here. |
Title Cards[]
To see all galleries of title cards, see Fanboy & Chum Chum/Title Cards.
Videos[]
Promos[]
Broadcast[]
- Nickelodeon (original run October 12, 2009-November 2, 2012; reruns (November 3, 2012-March 22, 2013)
- Nicktoons (November 7, 2009-March 31, 2016; December 25, 2016 (A Very Brrr-y Icemas))
Reception[]
Fanboy and Chum Chum has received somewhat mixed reviews from critics. Aaron H. Bynum of Animation Insider called Fanboy and Chum Chum "a fun show that deserves a good look. The quality animation helps counterbalance the immense amount of dialogue from the series' chatty characters, and the sheer comedy of marginally competent comic-loving kids helps outweigh what might otherwise be a binge of geeky annoyance. But overall, Fanboy and Chum Chum is a lot of fun."[1] Variety praised the series' "bright, energetic look and even an appealing premise in theory". David Hinckley of NY Daily News 'gave the series three stars out of five, and said that "it's good [but] might not be the next SpongeBob".
A negative review came from KJ Dell'Antonia of Slate, who found the main characters irritating, and thought the whole concept was unoriginal, with "many tired jokes and not enough of that kind of mild satire to make this play in our house".[2]
Ratings[]
The series premiered on November 6, 2009, after the Spongebob SquarePants film Truth or Square. The broadcast ranked number three of cable programs that week and number two of the night. The premiere was watched by a total of 5.8 million viewers. The second episode was broadcast on November 7, 2009 and garnered 5.4 million viewers, ranking fifth of all cable broadcasts that week.
The third episode was broadcast a week later, on November 14, 2009, with 3.8 million viewers. A broadcast on November 28, 2009 was viewed by 3.9 million viewers. In February 2010, the episode "Moppy Dearest" was viewed by 4.27 million viewers, an improvement over the last few episodes.
See also[]
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