Nickelodeon, Shout! Factory Offer More “Spirited” Fun In Danny Phantom Season 2.5

Courtesy: Nickelodeon/Shout! Factory

The end is near for another of Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons.  Nickelodeon and Shout! Factory have officially released Danny Phantom Season Two Part Two, which will henceforth be simply called Season 2.5.  Danny Phantom Season 2.5 completes the penultimate season to this short lived series from Butch Hartman.  While this show would be short lived, Hartman would go on to create what is one of Nickelodeon’s more popular of the new generation of Nicktoons in The Fairly Oddparents.  Audiences see Danny get shrunk thanks to his dad’s bad aim, all while learning the value of physical fitness, believe it or not.  Also, after learning Danny’s secret, his sister Jazz tries to offer her help, but only makes things worse until she goes to visit Vlad Masterson.  And Danny also learns a very valuable lesson in a special Christmas themed episode.   

Danny Fenton (A.K.A. Danny Phantom) has had to face a lot of challenges ever since accidentally gaining his ghost powers.  He has also learned a lot of valuable life lessons along the way.  One of those valuable lessons that he learns is on the importance of physical fitness.  That lesson is contained in the episode, “Micro Management.”  In this episode, Danny has to utilize his “natural abilities” after being accidentally shrunk by his dad while battling Skulker.  Skulker also gets shrunk along with Danny’s classmate, Dash.  Ironically, Danny had been doing everything that he could to avoid the phys. Ed. test for which he was supposed to have been training prior to getting shrunk.  After going through the adventure, he realizes the importance of being physically fit.  This episode was a smart way to discuss the importance of physical fitness without preaching to young audiences.  Hartman and company were very smart to attack the concept in this way.

The importance of physical fitness is just one lesson that Danny learns in the second half of Season Two.  He also learns lessons about the importance of family through a handful of episodes.  One of those episodes was “Secret Weapons.”  Danny has faced some tough challenges before.  But nothing could prepare him for a sister who is trying way too hard to help Danny hunt ghosts.  Danny’s sister, Jazz, means well in her efforts to help him.  But her help seems to keep causing Danny trouble.  So he ends up confronting her about it at school.  This leads Jazz to go to Vlad Masterson’s home, where she discovers one of his secrets.  In learning his secret, Jazz and Danny team up in the end to beat Vlad.  Thanks to their teamwork, Danny learns to appreciate Jazz’s efforts as his sister, and to appreciate her as a sister, too.  Again, it’s a smart way to tackle a subject to which any younger viewer could relate.

Danny also learns to appreciate the rest of his family, as well as others In the Christmas episode, “The Fright Before Christmas.”  In this episode Danny is no fan of the holiday season.  Viewers learn that the reason for that is his parents constantly fight every Christmas.  So one year, Danny’s in such a foul mood that when he goes into the ghost zone, he destroys a Christmas book written by the Ghost Writer (voiced by Arrested Development star, Will Arnett).  The Ghost Writer is so angry that he traps Danny in a holiday story to teach Danny about appreciating Christmas.  The ghosts from the ghost zone are there, too.  They tell Danny that while they may fight him and each other through the year, Christmas is the one time of the year when they all have a truce, kind of like in All Quiet on The Western Front.  Fans will also enjoy the Christmas music in the background helping to set the mood of each scene.  Eventually, Danny learns that no matter how people celebrate (even if it’s by arguing and fighting), he shouldn’t let that spoil his view of Christmas, and in turn ruin others’ holiday season.  It’s a very valuable lesson for parents and kids alike. 

The episodes noted here are just small samplings of what Danny Phantom Season 2.5 has to offer.  Fans will likely have their own favorite episodes after watching this half of Season Two for themselves.  The two-disc DVD set is available now in stores and online.  It can be ordered direct through Shout! Factory at http://www.shoutfactorystore.com. 

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Shout! Factory, Nickelodeon scare up more fun in Danny Phantom Season 2.0

Nicktoons Nostalgics worldwide are rejoicing once again today, as Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon are officially releasing Danny Phantom Season 2 Part 1 (or Season 2.0 for short).  Danny Phantom is the show that put Butch Hartman on the map.  And while it only lasted a total of three seasons, it was still a great show in its own right.  Fans of Hartman’s other shows, The Fairly Oddparents and most recently, T.U.F.F. Puppy will instantly recognize the same animation style, as well as some of the same voice talents in this show as those mentioned.

Danny Phantom’s second season sees Danny face one of his most dangerous enemies yet in the Ghost King in the two part special, “Reign Storm.”  It also boasts its own Christmas episode complete in verse in “The Fright Before Christmas.”  Both episodes have one interesting thing in common.  What they have in common is that in rare moments, the ghosts that Danny had battled and caught over the course of the show’s first season actually band together with Danny to help set things right.  That’s not all that makes these episodes stand out.  “Reign Storm” boasts former Star Trek:  TNG star Michael Dorn (Worf) as the Fright Knight.  And in “The Fright Before Christmas”, star Will Arnett (Arrested Development) voices the Ghsot Writer who traps Danny after Danny destroys his book out of his displeasure for the holiday season.

“Reign Storm” was a key moment in the Danny Phantom series.  What most people may not realize about Danny Phantom is that this series was in reality a serial of sorts.  “Reign Storm” sees Danny reach a crucial point in his own personal development, as well as the development of of his powers.  The episode opens with Danny’s arch nemesis, Vlad Masters (Vlad Plasmius) freeing the Ghost King in what seems to be an attempt to control him.  By controlling him, Vlad can control the ghost zone.  The problem is that his plan backfires.  So he has to hide the Ghost King’s ring while he tries to defeat the king.  He convinces Valerie (Cree Summer) to help him in his plan.  In the process of all that, Amity Park is sucked into the Ghost Zone.  So Danny has to face the Ghost King in order to get it back to the real world.  He learns that he’s been mis-managing his powers, letting himself get out of control.  Once he realizes this, he’s able to use the last of the Fenton Suit’s power to push the Ghost King back into his sarcophagus.  Much to Danny’s surprise, it was Vlad who locked the sarcophagus back as he held it closed.  And thanks to the help of all the ghosts in the ghost zone, Danny’s able to make his way into the Ghost King’s palace to begin with.

“Reign Supreme” wasn’t the only episode from Season Two that had Danny learning lessons.  In the Christmas episode, “The Fright Before Christmas” Danny is no fan of the holiday season.  Viewers learn that the reason for that is his parents constantly fight every Christmas.  So one year, Danny’s in such a foul mood that when he goes into the ghost zone, he destroys a Christmas book written by the Ghost Writer (voiced by Arrested Development star, Will Arnett).  The Ghost Writer is so angry that he traps Danny in a holiday story to teach Danny about appreciating Christmas.  The ghosts from the ghost zone are there, too.  They tell Danny that while they may fight him and each other through the year, Christmas is the one time of the year when they all have a truce, kind of like in All Quiet on The Western Front.  Fans will also enjoy the Christmas music in the background helping to se the mood of each scene.  Eventually, Danny learns that no matter how people celebrate (even if its by arguing and fighting), he shouldn’t let that spoil his view of Christmas, and in turn ruin others’ holiday season.  It’s a very valuable lesson for parents and kids alike. 

Danny Phantom Season 2.0 has lots of episodes that fans of this show will love to watch again and again.  The show only lasted three seasons.  Even as short as the show’s run was, it had its share of great episodes.  This pair of episodes are just a tiny part of a whole that made the show as great as it was.  And now that it’s in stores today, fans can pick up this double disc set and watch these episodes any time they want again and again.  For more information on this show or any of the other Nicktoons, fans can go to http://www.shoutfactory.com to get all the latest updates on the latest.