Fairly OddParents Creator Releases THE GREATEST THING EVER

If you spent any time glued to Nickelodeon in the 2000s, chances are you grew up with Butch Hartman. Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom — yeah, that was him. And if you’ve ever heard Butch talk about it, he’ll tell you with a grin that he “created your childhood.” He’s not wrong.

But this summer, Butch is stepping into something even bigger: The Greatest Thing Ever. And no, that’s not just my opinion — it’s the actual name of his brand-new movie.

When I caught up with my good friend Butch, he jumped on with his usual energy. “I really took a chance naming something The Greatest Thing Ever. In Hollywood, it’s like saying this is the greatest movie ever. But you know what? It was just a title that came to me because our characters, Lenny and Lucy, have to find the greatest thing ever. What could it be? Is it jelly beans? Is it an iPhone? Is it a pickleball? They have no idea.”

For Butch this is the next chapter from the world of the The Garden — his original Christian animated series that’s already winning over families looking for quality faith-based content for kids. As Butch told me, “After working in Hollywood for about 40 years… I really was on my heart to go into the Christian marketplace. I saw a real gap there for high quality entertainment for kids.”

 

That gap turned into The Garden, which turned into The Greatest Thing Ever: A Garden Cartoon Movie. And now, kids everywhere get to join Lenny and Lucy on their biggest adventure yet.

If you’re wondering what makes The Greatest Thing Ever different from other Christian kids content — or really any kids content — it’s all in the details.

“I thought, man, let’s just make a really cool series that teaches kids the Bible but has a great time doing it and, you know, has great songs in it and just has Bible lessons and stories coupled with fun, adventure and great characters the kids can fall in love with. And, you know, while we’re at it, let’s make a movie on top of it.”

It’s that classic Butch Hartman style — colorful characters, quick humor, clever plots — but with Bible truth baked in.

I know Butch and his wife Julianne well. Their hustle is unmatched. If you follow him on social media, you know exactly what I mean: one moment he’s drawing his famous characters for an unsuspecting waitress at a diner, the next he’s church event or kids’ camp flanked by giant mascot versions of Lenny and Lucy.

“I couldn’t do any of this without [Julianne],” he told me. “And I’ve got an amazing team. We got a great team here at Butch Hartman Studios, and we are so grateful that we’re out there.”

Butch does it all under his own banner now. “When you work for a big company like Nickelodeon or Disney or Paramount, you go in and they’ve already got, you know, the water cooler set up. But when you start your own company and want to do your own thing, you’re the one that’s got not only get all the equipment and the employees, but you’ve got a distributor and you’ve got to get the animation team set up and all that,” he explained.

For Butch, The Greatest Thing Ever is a trust pact with parents. “You know, the reason a lot of families don’t watch typical stuff anymore is because of some of the questionable things… We’re trying to build this trust with this show and the other shows we have coming up,” he said.

It’s personal for him. “When I was a kid, I didn’t know a thing about Jesus. But if I had a cartoon like this to teach me, maybe I would have not made some of the dumb mistakes I made in my life,” he shared. “So, my job is to reach kids and help families reach kids with the gospel and make it easier for families.”

You can find The Greatest Thing Ever streaming everywhere now. Gather the kids, press play, and let Lenny and Lucy take them on an adventure toward the greatest story of all.