When we hear the name “Butch Hartman,” the first thing that comes to our mind is the theme song of the Nickelodeon show The Fairly OddParents. It rings a bell, doesn’t it? And a nostalgic one if you ask me! I do not think that there is anybody here who had not watched this show on Nickelodeon when they were just mere children. Seeing that, this is one of the highest grossing shows, and it is ranked second best series after Spongebob SquarePants. So, more or less, it is safe to assume that the ones who are not aware of this show and have never watched it (which is a rare case) are probably living under a rock. However, this magnificent series was not Hartman’s only work. As he is also the creator of famous shows like Danny Phantom, Bunsen Is A Beast and T. U.F.F. Puppy on Nicktoons. The popularity that he received from these shows subsequently allowed the said man in question to be ranked one of the best creative animators of Hollywood. Even though he made his name on the basis of his creative abilities, it is a fact that he is also involved in lots of controversies. That, sometimes, made us question his creative powers, thinking whether he was worth the potential. Do you know about the Butch Hartman controversy?
We are back with the latest update about all the details that you might want to know about the said animator!
Who is Butch Hartman?
Before we delve into the serious stuff, here is a little insight into the creator’s personal and professional background.
Personal Background:
- Butch Hartman’s real name is Elmer Earl Hartman IV.
- He was born on January 10, 1965, in Highland Park, Michigan, United States.
- He has three brothers with whom he grew up. Namely: Keith, Mike and Timothy Hartman.
- “Butch” was actually a nickname that he had growing up.
- Later on, he decided to use the said nickname as his professional name.
- He studied at Anchor Bay High School, located in New Baltimore and completed his basic education from there.
- He graduated from high school in 1983 and afterwards attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.
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Professional Background:
Early Work:
- At the said institute, he also interned as an animator in Don Bluth’s 1986 film, An American Tail.
- Right after his graduation, he landed his first job as an artist and character designer for the film: My Little Pony.
- However, due to a lack of experience as a screenwriter, he could not carry out his duties.
- Moreover, he joined Ruby-Spears after that and there became a part of the production team for animated series like Dink, the Little Dinosaur, and It’s Punky Brewster.
- Besides that, he also worked as a member of the video reference team for the production of Pocahontas.
- He also worked with Hanna-Barbera animation studio in the early ’90s.
- As a result, he successfully created Chip, Pfish, and Gramps for their animated film What a Comic.
- Furthermore, he also wrote as well as directed other Cartoon Network shows. Such as I Am Weasel, Johnny Bravo, Dexter’s Laboratory etc.
- After leaving the animation company, he joined Nickelodeon and crafted another series called Oh Yes! Cartoons.
Career Breakthrough:
- Butch is not only a famous American animator but he is also a director, producer, writer, and voice actor.
- He has an estimated net worth of $50 Million USD dollars.
- His celebrated work includes the Nickelodeon series: The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and Bunsen Is a Beast.
- He was also an executive producer on The Fairly OddParents for the whole of its 16-year run on Nickelodeon. Also, the said series was the biggest break in his career.
- Moreover, Hartman also owns a production company named Billionfold Inc.
- He, more or less, uses his production company to produce his own shows.
- Besides that, she has also acted as a voice actor in the animated series “Family Guy” and “Generations.”
- In 2017, he also organized a podcast, Bulle, that he runs on YouTube – where he discusses movies, cartoons and pop culture stuff etc.
Butch Hartman Controversy: Everything You Need to Know!
Even so, there is no doubt that Hartman is indeed a talented creator and has recorded huge success over the years. We, however, can not deny the main fact that Butch Hartman was involved in a number of controversies in those years as well.
Butch Hartman Controversy – Oaxis Streaming Service Scandal:
After working with Nickelodeon for two decades, Butch decided to leave the channel to pursue his own dreams (that, however, also resulted in an early end for the show “Bunson is a Best” on Nickelodeon). The said dream was to start his own streaming service for family-focused entertainment, titled: The Oaxis Network. Which, at first, does seem like a very good initiative. I mean, everyone has the right to do whatever they want with their life. Right?
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But, to be honest with you, this scenario was quite different. Considering the fact that this is where the whole mess actually began. Seeing that, Butch made a stupid move and thought it would be great to use his name to raise money for his streaming service. Which he clearly did. He raised a total of $268,000 to fund Oaxis – surpassing his initial goal of $250,000.
After the fundraising campaign’s massive success, he also shared his (religiously-tinted) ideas regarding how he wanted his channel to be:
“We’re going to save families and speak to them in parables. My stuff has to be hip to reach the secular people”.
Unfortunately enough, the donors did not like his ideas. Seeing that the majority of them were secular people and thought that he was fooling him. Moreover, the Oaxis Network kept delaying its launching even after claiming countless times that they are “almost ready” for launch. Subsequently, insinuating that the whole scheme was a fraud.
Hence, all of these factors more or less gave birth to the Oaxis controversy that still has not died down.
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Butch Hartman Controversy – Plagiarism Allegations:
One of his recent scandals is plagiarism. Yes! Butch Hartman was involved in yet another controversy in February, 2021. Hartmer was commissioned to draw Mikasa Ackerman from the animated series “Attack on Titan,” however, it apparently turns out that he copied fanart from a Japanese artist known as @028ton on Twitter, with over 35,000 followers. The account has been active since 2016. Fans’ informed the original creator about this theft and told how Butch used his work as his own. To which he responded through a tweet the very next day that they:
Checked the tweets and found many similarities to my work
They further added that Hartman has no permission to use the art.
At this rate, it won’t be a surprise if we hear the such type of news about him again!
