i wanna thank past me for archiving some of this art since i later went and blasted most of my deviantart and the original sheezyart is long gone so....whoops
Early production deep-dive - Part 5: The first theme opening
Some of the newer phans might not know this yet, but the theme opening used on the show was actually the second version written and produced!
The first theme opening had Guy Moon’s vocals, who was the composer of the show, and had to be scrapped and rewritten because the channel wanted to include more of Danny’s story in the intro. The song that inspired the style of this first version was called, believe it or not, ‘The Invisible Man’ by Queen.
“Butch Hartman: Bob Boyle and I were in Korea in July of 2000.
[...]
Well, I thought I'd heard every Queen song there was up to that point (I'm a huge fan) but on comes this song called "The Invisible Man". It's a great song and it's all about, yes, a man who is invisible. The lyrics were cool, but the coolest part of the song was the awesome bass line right at the top. I wish I could sing it for you now, but, hey, computers aren't THAT great yet. Long story short, I listened to the song over and over, just really digging on the bass line. And the more I listened the more I thought, "Man, I'd love to use this song as a theme song for a show someday'. Seriously, that's what I thought. Anyway, about 18 months goes by, I pitch "Phantom", it gets going and now we need a theme. I wrote a bunch of lyrics and gave them to Guy Moon then I played him that awesome bass line. I said" I don't care what music you use, just give me a bass line like this". So he did. It's definitely not an exact replica of course, but it's most definitely the same flavor. And my lyrics? Well as many of you know there was another theme for Danny that was written before the current one. This one was a lot more vague about who Danny was and didn't really explain his origin. I thought it was awesome, but the Network wanted me to explain Danny's origin in the title so I had to go and rewrite. And that's how we ended up with the current theme.”
(Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20080102092951/http://hometown.aol.com/zcat6/IntBH2006p8.html)
This version of the theme song was shared with the public in late July of 2003, during a Nickelodeon panel at the 2003 San Diego Comic Con. The schedule section for the 2003 Con shows which of the crew members went there along with Butch.
“July 20, 2003
K 1:30–3:00 Nickelodeon Presents: Teenage Robot and Fairly Oddparents— Find out what’s coming down the Nicktoons pipeline in a panel discussion with members of the Nickelodeon creative teams. First, get a sneak peak at episodes of Nick’s new show Teenage Robot, about a super-powered robot with a super-sensitive teenage heart, who was built to protect the planet but just wants to be a normal teenager, premiering on August 1st. Panelists include Alex Kirwan (art director) and Rob Renzetti (creator). Then join the Fairly OddParents gang and catch a clip from their first TV movie Abra Catastrophe, plus a sneak peak at two new shows coming from FOP creator Butch Hartman, Danny Phantom and Crash Nebula. Panelists include Butch Hartman (creator/executive producer of FOP, Danny Phantom and Crash Nebula), Steve Marmel (producer/story editor for FOP/Danny Phantom, creator/co-executive producer for Crash Nebula) and Bob Boyle (producer/art director for FOP and Danny Phantom). Each screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Room 6B”
(Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20040603152428/http://www.comic-con.org/Pages/CCI03-SunProg.html)
As was customary in forums, the details on these events were shared by people who attended, like this LiveJournal user who mentioned the theme opening being played at the panel.
“Final News Update from ComicCon (Sunday)
Ok, this is the last bit from ComicCon so enjoy it:
[...]
*Teenage Robot/Fairly Oddparents
- 2 episodes of My Life as a Teenage Robot screened
- Danny Phantom theme opening and Crash Nebula trailer screened
- Crash Nebula is only a pilot for now, but uses a lot of celshading
- another Fairly Oddparents TV movie is in the works where Timmy travels through television
*2 PPG episode titles: Nuthin' Special, and Neighbor Hood
Later”
(Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20230821183005/https://adultswimfans.livejournal.com/7531.html)
Here’s the audio for the first theme opening of the show:
[Video Description - Screenshot of the site, the words ‘Butch Hartman’ are displayed in white on the top left, with seven circles with different images underneath, that each lead to a new section of the site. There’s a drawing of himself on the top right corner and the background of the whole site is a light green. The current section’s title ‘Danny Phantom’ is displayed in white colors, with the text ‘Coming Soon!‘ underneath. There’s an illustration of Danny on the left. The first Danny Phantom theme opening plays in the background. /end ID]
-Lyrics:
(He’s a phantom)
(Danny Phantom)
(Danny Phantom)
A key to his life has changed
Molecules rearranged
Ghosts are so deranged
(He’s gonna catch them all ‘cause he is Danny Phantom)
Spirits don’t stand a chance
Senses all enhanced
Powers so advanced
(He’s a Phantom)
(He’s gonna catch them all ‘cause he is Danny Phantom)
Unleashing all the freaks
Onto his hometown streets
Now everyone he beats
(He’s a Phantom)
(He’s a Phantom)
Gonna fly through the wall
You can’t see him at all
If they are big or small or tall
He’s gonna catch them all ‘cause he is Danny Phantom
Gonna catch them all ‘cause he is Danny Phantom
Gonna catch them all ‘cause he is Danny Phantom
On another note, we wish all the phans who will participate in it a very chaotic Dannypocalypse tomorrow!
We will also be posting a very rare and special content here later on that day, so be sure to come check it out amidst all the Dannos! 👻💚👻