Wish Granted? The Fairly OddParents Return in a New Series

Few animated children's shows last for more than a few seasons. Even fewer spawn a franchise of follow-ups and spin-offs that lasts for decades. The Fairly OddParents is one of those exceptional shows that managed to do just that. 

The series originated from shorts created by animator Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. Due to their popularity, the shorts were green-lit to become a half-hour series, which premiered on March 30, 2001. The Fairly OddParents received critical acclaim and quickly became the second-highest-rated children's program on both network and cable television behind another Nickelodeon property, SpongeBob SquarePants. Key to the show's success was an intriguing premise - a lonely and bullied boy named Timmy Turner is given a pair of fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda to help make him happier by granting him wishes, slick animation, and a bevy of jokes and pop culture references that appealed to children and their parents in equal measure.

Originally scheduled to end on November 25, 2006 after five seasons and 80 episodes, the series was revived in 2008 for an additional five seasons. New characters were added to the main cast to generate fresh interest, including a baby fairy named Poof in season six, a fairy dog named Sparky in season nine, and a girl named Chloe with whom Timmy must share his fairies in the tenth and final season. Amidst all that, three live action television films based on the series were made. These films featured a now adult Timmy Turner played by actor Drake Bell. Production of The Fairly OddParents ceased permanently after Hartman left Nickelodeon in February 2018. It remains Nickelodeon's second longest running animated show, once again behind SpongeBob SquarePants.

It's impossible to talk about The Fairly OddParents without bringing up a certain yellow sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. The fact of the matter is that SpongeBob SquarePants, released all the way back in 1999, set a Mt. Everest-high bar that every animated Nickelodeon series has been measured against ever since. Out of everything produced over the last quarter of a century, The Fairly OddParents is the only show that has come close to matching SpongeBob's critical and commercial success.

L-R: Wanda, Timmy Turner, and Cosmo from the original series.

That is why Nickelodeon has tried constantly to keep the property alive. The first attempt to revitalize the franchise came in May 2022 with the release of the hybrid live action / animated series The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. Picking up years after the original series, the new series followed Timmy's cousin, Vivian "Viv" Turner, and her stepbrother, Roy, as they navigate life with the help of Cosmo and Wanda, who are gifted to them by a now older Timmy. Fairly Odder debuted on the streaming service Paramount+ with thirteen episodes over a single season. Reviews were fairly lackluster, with criticism aimed at the acting, cheap production, and creative limitations imposed by the live action setting. In January 2023, the series was removed from Paramount+ and Nickelodeon's official website.

Now in 2024, Nick is trying again, this time going back to full animation, albeit 3D computer generated animation, with The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish. Cosmo and Wanda are now responsible for granting the wishes of a ten-year-old girl named Hazel, who is feeling lonely and unsure of herself after moving to a new city and being without her older brother who left to start college. A trailer shown ahead of the series premiere seems to capture the manic spirit of the original in a way that Fairly Odder simply could never replicate.

It can be argued that the Fairly OddParents franchise has run its course and effort should be made on producing something new and unique instead of retreading old ground. Unfortunately, the greater good rarely outweighs studio executives' self interests and they tend to stick with what works. The Fairly OddParents, together with SpongeBob and Rugrats, make up Nickelodeon's crown jewels. Networks generally aim to strike a balance between airing reruns of popular shows to generate consistent revenue and investing in new shows to attract additional viewers and advertisers. Sometimes the easiest way to do both is to reboot existing franchises so that audiences get something new with characters and themes they recognize from their past.

The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish will premiere on May 20, 2024 at 4:30 PM EST on Nickelodeon.

Pixar's Lightyear Can Change the Toy Story Universe as We Know It

Pixar’s latest creation promises to build upon its flagship franchise in new and exciting ways, but it also raises intriguing questions about the reality of the universe the animation studio has worked to establish for more than 25 years.

Lightyear is being pitched as the story of the man who was deemed iconic enough to have a toy made in his image. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Buzz Lightyear was a normal astronaut, but he’s not. He’s a Space Ranger, part of an intergalactic police group that…umm…, why don’t I just let Buzz explain what he does.

“I am stationed in the Gamma Quadrant of sector 4. As a member of the elite Universe Protection Unit of the Space Ranger Corps, I protect the galaxy from the threat of invasion from the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance.” -Buzz introduces himself to Andy's toys, Toy Story (1995)

Thanks, Buzz. So, the first teaser trailer for Lightyear, which debuted last month, appears to show Buzz Lightyear, the man, during his early years as a Space Ranger.

This isn’t the first time that Pixar has tried to expand Buzz’s fictional world. There was an animated cartoon called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command which followed the exploits of the “real” Buzz Lightyear and his team of Space Rangers across the galaxy, protecting civilization, as Buzz said, from the machinations of Emperor Zurg. 

However, that cartoon was set in the far-flung future and had no connecting tissue to the rest of the Toy Story universe. It’s the sort of show I can imagine Andy’s toys watching when they’re home alone and they aren’t playing Buzz Lightyear video games.

It’s unclear where or when Lightyear takes place. But if we follow the movie’s logic that Buzz Lightyear was a real person, it would stand to reason that there is a real Space Ranger Corps. And if there is a real Space Ranger Corps, there must also be a real Emperor Zurg somewhere causing trouble. At one point during the trailer, we see Buzz getting attacked by a large, tentacled creature, so at the very least, there are some life forms in this universe besides regular humans.

Despite being populated by toys that come to life when no humans are around, the Toy Story universe follows the same exact rules as the real world. I don’t think the original team at Pixar meant for Buzz Lightyear, the toy, to be based on a real, in-universe person. True, his name was inspired by famous Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, but his backstory appeared to be a spoof on Star Wars. Both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 make multiple Star Wars allusions when going into detail about Buzz’s missions and his history with Zurg.

I can’t help but wonder if the people of Earth in the Toy Story universe know that they are not alone in the galaxy. Hopefully, there will be a scene very early or near the end of Lightyear establishing how it fits in with the other Toy Story films.

Until then, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to look at Andy’s “I want you to join Space Rangers” poster the same way again. Military conscription propaganda for little kids? Kind of dark, don’t you think?