TV.com sez...

By: Firefury Amahira

So there's this rumor going around lately that allegedly has its roots over on TV.com. These rumors claim that the reason DP got cancelled is, GASP and SHOCK, Butch Hartman's own fault. And we can trust these rumors, oh yes, because according to catlove390 of the Toon Zone forums:

"THIS is PRECISELY why Danny got Cancelled, and also why there was little to no airtime for Danny lately, yes this is trustworthy because this is from the mouth of someone from TV.com (black-panther4) who is related to Marty Isenberg and sometimes Marty gives him studio spoilers..."

Among other things, this rumor claims that Butch overspent the budget, hired voice talent without consent, changed to a different and more expensive animation, and that TUE was a marketing failure. Ye gads, terrible crimes that killed the show!

Okay, can we get back to reality, people? I've seen folks put entirely too much faith in this rumor, some taking it for the gospel truth. Look at the bloody source, people! It amounts to "my friend knows a friend who's relative works there." Posted to TV.com, a site in which anyone with an account can edit information and make utterly baseless claims without any verification. Reading these accusations makes me want to do one thing: Slam my computer desk, point a Finger of Accusation at this black-panther4, and shout:

Phoenix Wright gag aside, seriously. Where is the evidence to back up these claims? Where has a Nickelodeon executive stated on the record anything that remotely supports this? There hasn't been a whisper of anything supporting this from the Butch Hartman Forums, which are often considered the only reliable source of information regarding the man and his work. I see nothing in the show's animation to really support the "more expensive animation style" rumor. I see a gradual progression of the art over time, but nothing to inply anything as drastic as a change in animation style or cost.

It's a possible explanation, to be fair. It makes some possible sense. Maybe Butch did go way over his budget. Maybe he did do stuff that got the studio all in a tizzy. But that's all it is: a possible explanation. It's not the only explanation out there, and other possibilities have slightly more credible sources.

So really folks, can we stop believing any old rumor we hear on the Intarwebz?

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