Fanboy & Chum Chum is an American animated comedy television series created by Eric Robles for Nickelodeon. It is based on Fanboy, an animated short created by Robles for Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Frederator Studios, that was broadcast on Random! Cartoons. The series was first broadcast on October 12, 2009, on Nickelodeon as a preview, then officially premiered on November 6, 2009, after SpongeBob's Truth or Square. In the show, two slow-witted would-be superheroes attempt to rid their town of Galaxy Hills of evil, while annoying everyone around them. The series premiere drew 5.8 million viewers. The second episode was watched by 5.4 million viewers. The series won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program at the 38th Daytime Emmy Awards. The series' initial release on Nickelodeon finished on November 2, 2012. One episode, "Brain Freeze", was released on DVD in 2011 instead of being broadcast on television. It finally aired on July 12, 2014. Fanboy & Chum Chum aired in reruns on Nicktoons from October 23, 2009, to December 25, 2016. The theme song was written by Brad Joseph Breeck and performed by an experimental punk band, The Mae Shi.

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.

Episodes

Characters

Main

Supporting

Broadcast

A sneak preview of Fanboy & Chum Chum was aired in the United States on October 12, 2009. The official US debut of the series was November 6, 2009. In Canada, the series premiered on YTV on November 1, 2009, and on Nickelodeon on November 2, 2009. In the UK and Ireland, the series premiered on Nickelodeon April 2, 2010. The series debuted on Nickelodeon (Australia and New Zealand) April 19, 2010.. Nickelodeon in Sub-Saharan Africa began airing the series June 2010.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment is the DVD distributor for the series. These DVDs were released under the Nickelodeon label.

Main

Episodes on other DVDs

NOTE: The episode "A Very Brrr-y Icemas" along with Christmas episodes of The Fairly OddParents and T.U.F.F. Puppy were supposed to be on the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! DVD, but they were dropped from the actual release. However, the Target exclusive of It's A SpongeBob Christmas! included the Christmas episodes of those shows on a bonus disc.

Reception and achievements

Reviews

Aaron H. Bynum of Animation Insider called Fanboy & 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 & Chum Chum is a lot of fun." 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". KJ Dell'Antonia of Slate 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". Joly Herman of Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars; saying that: "If you're looking for deep content and lasting lessons, then this show isn’t for you – or for your kids. Precious little of it can be applied to reality, especially when it comes to Fanboy and Chum Chum’s experiences at school, where they enjoy nearly free rein to goof off and hardly put effort into their work. Even the nature of their friendship may be troubling to some parents, since Fanboy’s control over his pal’s actions sometimes verges on bullying. But there's no doubt that it's entertaining. So if your young tweens can check their sense of reality at the door, this silly show offers a fun depiction of the wild imagination that they probably share with the main characters. For younger kids, though, the blurry line between fiction and realistic lifestyles may be a little confusing."

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. A second season was announced on Nickelodeon's upfront of 2010–2011.

Awards