Fanboy and Chum Chum

NICKELODEON INTRODUCES ITS LATEST INNOVATION IN ANIMATION FOR ITS HIT SATURDAY MORNING LINE-UP WITH NEW CG SERIES FANBOY AND CHUM CHUMPREMIERING NOVEMBER 6

From the PR Firm: Nickelodeon will premiere Fanboy and Chum Chum, a new CG animated comedy spin-off from the Nicktoons Network anthology series Random! Cartoons, on Friday, Nov. 6 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) immediately following the one-hour special, SpongeBob SquarePants’ Truth or Square.

Combining classic squash and stretch animation with CG technology, Fanboy and Chum Chum centers on a fearless, comic book-loving 11-year old named Fanboy and his best friend and trusty sidekick, Chum Chum, whose wide-eyed acceptance of the bizarre is the perfect complement to his friend’s unhinged enthusiasm and imagination. In every episode, Fanboy and Chum Chum, donning their tights and capes, emerge from the “Fanlair” to find comic adventure wherever they go, embarking on a daily quest to turn an average day into a fantastically fun one. Following the premiere, the show will air regularly on Nickelodeon, Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) beginning Nov. 7.

David Hornsby (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Mullets) voices Fanboy with Nika Futterman (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as Chum Chum, joined by a star-studded cast including Jamie Kennedy (Ghost Whisperer, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment) as Fanboy’s untrusting wizard friend Kyle, Josh Duhamel (Transformers, Las Vegas) as Fanboy’s uber-geek mentor Oz, Estelle Harris (Seinfeld) as Oz’s mother and Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show), as Lenny. The series was created by Eric Robles (Ni Hao, Kai-lan, The X’s, Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) and executive produced by Robles, Emmy Award-Winning Steve Tompkins (The Bernie Mac Show, Entourage, The Simpsons) and Fred Seibert (Frederator’s Random! Cartoons).

“Fanboy and Chum Chum delivers a unique one-two punch—jaw-dropping CG animation along with comedic squash and stretch,” said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. “Eric Robles has created fantastic characters in Fanboy and Chum Chum, who are rabid fans of everything pop culture. Their enthusiasm for pure fun is contagious.”

“Fanboy and Chum Chum are the strange kids in class who would wear those crazy Halloween costumes and never take them off,” added Creator and Co-Executive Producer, Eric Robles. “Born to play, their mission is to make every day their best day ever. We love the fact that we can have fun with these characters and hope that the audience will as well.”

In the premiere episode, “Wizboy,” Mr. Mufflin’s class is introduced to a new student, Kyle, who was expelled from the Milkweed Academy for Wizards. Although their classmates aren’t impressed, Fanboy and Chum Chum excitedly welcome Kyle into their circle and do their best to show their new friend a great time by playing “wizards” with him, whether he likes it or not. In the second half of the premiere, “Trading Day,” Yo offers Fanboy to trade Chum Chum for a Mecha-Tech Robot. In a moment of weakness, Fanboy agrees to trade his best pal for the robot, but it’s not long before he realizes it’s no fun when you don’t have your best friend around to share the toy with. Fanboy finds that rescuing his pal from Yo may be tougher than he thought.

In support of the launch, an advance screening of Fanboy and Chum Chum will stream on Nick.com and via Nick on Demand beginning October 13. Additional promotional spots will roll out online as well as via Nick’s wireless partners and the premiere episode will simulcast on Nickelodeon Mobile.

Eric Robles has been living his childhood dream since getting his first animation job in 1995. While studying law enforcement as a teenager, Robles entered the world of animation after an instructor encouraged him to put together an art portfolio. Since then, he has made his creative and imaginative mark on countless projects at nearly all of the major Hollywood studios, including Dreamworks Animation, Walt Disney Animation, Universal Creative, Cartoon Network, MGM Animation and The Jim Henson Company. Steve Tompkins is an Emmy and Humanitas Award-winning television writer whose credits include The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, In Living Color, The Bernie Mac Show and The PJ’s as well as writing and producing the pilot for HBO’s Entourage. A cable television and animation veteran, Fred Seibert was instrumental in the births of MTV, TV Land and Comedy Central and rebirths of Nickelodeon and VH1 and after serving as President of Hanna-Barbera Animation, formed an animation development incubator at Nickelodeon under the banner Frederator Cartoons.

Fanboy and Chum Chum joins Nickelodeon’s successful slate of animated series including its top-rated co-production with DreamWorks Animation, The Penguins of Madagascar, Back at the Barnyard from the creative mind of box-office chief Steve Oedekerk, Emmy Award-nominated The Fairly Oddparents from animation veteran Butch Hartman, The Mighty B! co-created by and starring actress/comedian Amy Poehler and pop culture phenomenon, number one ranked SpongeBob SquarePants. Physical production of Fanboy and Chum Chum is based at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., currently the largest producer of television animation in the U.S.

My take: It was only a few months ago that I capitulated and allowed my kids to start watching SpongeBob SquarePants (translation – I realized good parenting far outweighs any poor behavior they might see on the show). Well, my two kiddos are really hooked on Spongebob, and really, all things Nickelodeon. So when we started seeing commercials for Fanboy and Chum Chum, we all were intrigued. Would it be as entertaining as their favorite shows SpongeBob SquarePants, The Penguins of Madagascar, Back at the Barnyard and The Fairly Oddparents?

You bet it is. Even I liked this show. The characters are adorable, the animation top-notch and the stories entertaining. Fanboy even learns a lesson or two along the way (the importance of friendship for one). See for yourself – you can go here to watch some clips. I can see that Fanboy and Chum Chum is going to be part of our regular line up – be sure to check the show out in it’s entirety at the premiere on Friday, Nov. 6 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) immediately following the one-hour special, SpongeBob SquarePants’ Truth or Square (also a hit with my kiddos – Nickelodeon sent us a copy of that special too).

About Nickelodeon: Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 99 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.%c2%a0/ Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).