Fanboy & Chum Chum

Fanboy & Chum Chum is an American animated 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. Marija Delovska of Screen Rant assessed: "the show is a sort of satire centered around the ridiculousness of superheroes." The series has been described as "loud chaotic" in nature, as well as "fast-paced" and "colorful." Additionally, many episodes of the series contain toilet humor.
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.
The theme song was written by Brad Joseph Breeck and performed by an experimental punk band, The Mae Shi.

WWW nick.com/shows/fanboy-chu...

Premise

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.

Characters

Main

Fanboy is an enthusiastic fan of comic books, fantasy, science fiction and action figures.Chum Chum is Fanboy's best friend and sidekick. Although he is younger than the other main characters, he is still in the same class as them. Show creator Eric Robles explained on the Nickelodeon message board that this is because Fanboy snuck him into his class and the teacher never noticed the age difference. Chum Chum is extremely energetic and high-spirited. He and Fanboy are never seen without their costumes, nor are their parents addressed.

Supporting

Kyle Bloodworth-Thomason is an insecure pre-teen wizard who loathes Fanboy and Chum Chum for their lack of intelligence, but secretly enjoys their friendship. Kyle was expelled from his wizarding school, Milkweed Academy, for turning his teacher Professor Flan into a raspberry flan. Kyle is now reluctantly enrolled in Fanboy and Chum Chum's public school, where he has very few friends other than Fanboy and Chum Chum. As Kyle struggles to be re-admitted to Milkweed, he often suffers painful indignities, often a result of Fanboy and Chum Chum's actions.Ozwald "Oz" Harmounian is the owner of the local comic shop, Oz Comix. Oz is a friend of the boys, who consider him "the most knowledgeable human being ever", though he is a nerdish know-it-all who lives with his elderly mother.Leonard "Lenny" Flynn-Boyle is the accident-prone junior manager of the Frosty Mart. He finds Fanboy and Chum Chum irritating and sometimes gets a "stress twitch" when annoyed by them.Boogregard "Boog" Shlizetti is a short-tempered bully who likes to "bop" people and is obsessed with the video game Chimp Chomp. Boog's voice is a parody of John Travolta's character Vinnie Barbarino from Welcome Back, Kotter. Mr. Hank Mufflin is Fanboy and Chum Chum's grouchy yet often playful teacher.Yo is another of Fanboy and Chum Chum's classmates. She is happy-go-lucky and loves her Yamaguchi digital pets, especially Scampers, a cat Yamaguchi. She has a rather insane crush on Chum Chum, and often wants to play with him like he's a toy. Though she can be overly obsessive, she is normally nice.Lupe is a kind-spirited girl in Fanboy and Chum Chum's class. Lupe appears to be Yo's friend, and the two are often seen together.Dollar-nator is a Jamaican-accented artificial intelligence built by Fanboy in the future and sent back in time to bail the present-day Fanboy and Chum Chum out of a jam. He is a parody of the Terminator.Janitor Russ Poopatine is a janitor at Fanboy and Chum Chum's school. He is a parody of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. He is a pale, skinny, gnarled old man who wears a dark hooded shirt. Poopatine rides around in a sentient cart named Brenda. Brenda solely communicates in robotic noises, which Poopatine is capable of understanding.Man-Arctica is an ice-based superhero who scours the cosmos looking for scofflaws. Man-Arctica balances a mild disdain for humanity against his duty to save them from harm. Man-Arctica was asked to become president, but he declined due to the heavy responsibilities.Agent Johnson is the do-it-all authority figure in Galaxy Hills.Chris Chuggy is a classmate of Fanboy and Chum Chum's who communicates only by saying "Wah".Michael Johnson is a classmate of Fanboy and Chum Chum's. His name and clothing is a parody of Michael Jackson as he is depicted as a good dancer and gets around by moonwalking.Duke is a classmate of Fanboy and Chum Chum's.Cher "Cheer" Leader is a cheerleader in Mr. Mufflin's class. She is a triplet and sometimes appears with her 2 other cheerleader sisters, who look exactly like her. The triplets were voiced by Kari Wahlgren in "Fanboy Stinks", but Cher is voiced by Candi Milo in all other appearances.Nancy Pancy is a girl in Mr. Mufflin's class.Francine is a brown-haired diva in Mr. Mufflin's class. Voiced by Candi Milo.Cheech is a classmate in Mr. Mufflin's classroom. In "The Janitor Strikes Back" he was voiced by Nika Futterman.Fankylechum is a nerdy, good-spirited classmate of the boys.Lunch Lady Cram is the new strict lunch lady who replaced the former strict lunch lady, Mildred. She is known for making glop.Ms. Harmounian is a single mother committed to teaching her adult son, Oz, that the only way to run a successful business is by selling.Scrivener Elf is an elf Kyle creates in "The Janitor Strikes Back" to do his homework and other tasks, but he appears other times in the series as well.Necronomicon is a talking book of spells who is a companion to Kyle, and nags him about the moral implications of his choices.Sigmund The Sorcerer is Kyle's more successful and skillful German wizard rival from Kyle's former school for wizards, Milkweed Academy.Fedora Man is one of the delivery people in Galaxy Hills.Secret Shopper first appeared to evaluate Frosty Mart product quality and customer service in "Secret Shopper".Dirty Bird is a seagull who makes cameos throughout the show.Thorvald the Red is a Viking hero who debuted first in "Norse-ing Around" and in "Norse Code" and in "The Last Strawberry Fun Finger" debuted last in "Normal Day".The Global Warmer is a supervillain and archenemy of Man-Arctica who appears several times in the series.Henry Harmounian is an optimistic, hardworking, cunning and whip-smart father who helps vast knowledge to teaching comic books with his son, Oz and brings wealth to its own.Mitzi is Oz's mom's pet goat. She uses Mitzi to make milk, and in "The Hard Sell", she was to turn Oz's shop into a yogurt shop using yogurt created from Mitzi's milk. He is voiced by David Hornsby in "The Winners".Professor Flan is a professor from Milkweed Academy whose permission Kyle has to grant to re-admit to Milkweed. He is the one who Kyle turned into a raspberry flan.Brizwald Harmounian is Oz's money-loving, scheming cousin.Chimp Chomp is a Donkey Kong parody video game featuring a monkey, Chimp Chomp, who is trying to take an ape's bananas. Boog is addicted to the video game. The game is playable on Nick.com.Precious is Mr. Mufflin's class pig. Precious appears in "Precious Pig" but a look-alike pig that could be Precious appeared in "Eyes on the Prize" and "Fanboy A'Hoy!"Berry is a small pink creature who lives inside the Frosty Freezy Freeze machine at the Frosty Mart.The Ice Monster is a frighteningly large beast created from the combination of Frosty Freezy Freeze and Ice-Monster Bun Bun, in the pilot episode from Random! Cartoons. It reappears in "Brain Freeze" when Blue-Tonium and Radioactive Red Frosty Freezy Freeze combine.Dr. Acula is a vampire plastic surgeon. He inadvertently transforms Fanboy into a vampire and attempts to have him bite Chum Chum to transform him as well, but is destroyed by sunlight.Miss Olive is a preschool teacher.Marsha was a sweet, successful student until Fanboy accidentally ruined her life by sneezing on her placement test, rendering it illegible. As a result, she received a failing grade and had to repeat kindergarten, causing her to swear revenge on Fanboy.Fanbot is a robotic version of Fanboy that appears in "I, Fanbot". Mecha-Tech is a dancing, robot action figure. Mecha-Tech often says, "I await your command!" and can do anything its owner tells it to do.Monster in the Mist is a figment of Boog's imagination.Scampers is Yo's cat Yamaguchi.Yum Yum is a cycloptic bubblegum creature created by Fanboy and Chum Chum in "The Janitor Strikes Back".Fanman is a superhero who appeared in the Random! Cartoons short "Fanboy".Sprinkles is the class bear. Muk Muk is a female, semi-feral cousin of Chum Chum who hails from West Apetown.Crabulus: Destroyer of Worlds is a crab-like action figure. He appears several times in the series and is portrayed as being unpopular with collectors due to his embarrassing exercise DVD.Moppy is a mop that Fanboy assembled as a date for his school dance in "Moppy Dearest".Agent 08 is an octopus cartoon character of whom Fanboy and Chum Chum are big fans. Agent 08 is notorious for being made into a dangerous and explosive collectible toy which Oz owned and hid because it was supposed to be discontinued.The Burgle Brats are three kindergartners with propensities for crime.Stinks is a dirt-based creature who takes over Fanboy's right glove and forces him to commit crimes.Nurse Lady Pam is a school nurse who is in love with Man-Arctica. Fanboy and Chum Chum fight for her attention in "Lice, Lice, Baby".

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.
Fanboy & Chum Chum aired in reruns on Nicktoons from October 23, 2009, to December 25, 2016.
The entire series was added to Paramount+ on December 15, 2020, and streamed for 4 years. It was removed on December 23, 2024 due to licensing agreements expiring.

Home media

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

Main

Fanboy & Chum Chum Fanboy & Chum Chum: Brain Freeze

''Fanboy & Chum Chum: Season 1''

Episodes on other DVDs

SpongeBob SquarePants: Triton's Revenge SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob's Frozen Face-Off
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 might not be the next SpongeBob".
Not all reviews were positive. 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:
In 2025, Comic Book Resources included the networks's greenlighting of the series on its list of "10 Mistakes That Still Haunt Nickelodeon." According to CBR writer Rachel Ulatowski: "Today, some viewers and critics consider it Nickelodeon's worst cartoon. The show is loud, chaotic, overly reliant on toilet humor, and can be very irritating. Considering Nickelodeon allegedly rejected the now acclaimed show Adventure Time in favor of Fanboy and Chum Chum, its mediocrity is even more disappointing."

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

The series won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program at the 38th Daytime Emmy Awards.

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2010	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual in Animation	Steve Lambe	Won
2010	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual in Animation	Caesar Martinez Niki Yang, Dennis Shelby, Chad Woods, Steve Lambe, Michael Franceschi, Erik Kling and Shaun Cashman	Nomitated
2011	Annie Awards	Best Animated Television Production for Children	Fanboy and Chum Chum	Nomitated
2011	Annie Awards	Best Character Design in a Television Production	Steve Lambe	Nomitated
2011	Annie Awards	Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production	Jeff Bennett For "The Necronomicon"	Nomitated
2011	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Special Class Animated Program	Eric Robles, Steve Tompkins, Fred Seibert, Shaun Cashman, Jason Meier, Therese Trujillo, Dean Hoff and MacGregor Middleton	Won
2011	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program	Brian Sheesley, Jim Schumann, Russell Calabrese and Ginny McSwain	Won
2011	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special	Meredith Layne	Nomitated
2012	Annie Awards	Storyboarding in a Television Production	Joshua Nicolas	Nomitated
2012	Annie Awards	Storyboarding in a Television Production	Katie Rice	Nomitated
2012	Annie Awards	Best Animated Television Production - Children	Fanboy and Chum Chum	Nomitated
2012	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Special Class Animated Program	Eric Robles, Steve Tompkins, Fred Seibert, Jason Meier and MacGregor Middleton	Nomitated
2012	Motion Picture Sound Editors	Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in Television	For "A Very Brrr-y Icemas"	Nomitated