In the ever-evolving landscape of children’s entertainment, Butch Hartman, a prominent figure known for his creation of the Nickelodeon animated series “Danny Phantom” and “The Fairly Odd Parents,” is embarking on a new journey. His latest endeavor? Faith-based programming for children. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Mr. Hartman and his wife shared their vision for their latest creation, “The Garden,” and discussed the significance of infusing mainstream media with wholesome, faith-centered content.
“It’s a cartoon that I created that involves Lenny the Lion and Lucy The Lamb. They both live and work in a miraculous garden where God comes down and talks to them as a rainbow every single day and He gives them a task or assignment,” Mr. Hartman explained, his passion evident in his voice. “And normally they will do their best but they do find themselves needing help so they turn to God for the answer. Through a scripture or a song, an original song that they end up learning about all the cool things that every kid should learn about in life.”
The genesis of “The Garden” stems from Mr. Hartman’s observation of a gap in the Christian marketplace for high-quality kids’ entertainment. “We are very, very excited about it because we saw a gap in the Christian marketplace for really high-quality kids entertainment and we thought hey let’s add to that marketplace so this is our first attempt at it,” Mr. Hartman shared.
His wife, Julieann Hartman, echoed his sentiments, emphasizing their commitment to providing wholesome content for both Christian and secular audiences. “There’s not a lot out there. Obviously, Butch has a gift. Not everybody can do what he does. And so we wanted to be able to provide that for the Christian audience as well, not just the secular audience,” Mrs. Hartman emphasized.
Reflecting on the current landscape for faith-based series, Mrs. Hartman raised the question, “Have you looked at the landscape for faith-based series?” With a pause, she continued: “There’s not a lot out there. And so since we are Christian, we wanted to provide the body of Christ with a lot of the creativities. Obviously Butch has a gift. Not everybody can do what he does. And so we wanted to be able to provide that for the Christian audience as well, not just the secular audience.”
Acknowledging the prevalence of Christian films, Mr. Hartman added: “We do agree that most Christian people who want to make some entertainment make a movie. There are all these Christian films out there, and that’s great. Very few Christian series, especially animated ones, exist. We thought this would be a really good chance to put an animated Christian series out there, very high quality that families could respond to.”
Transitioning from mainstream programming to faith-based content might seem like a daunting task for some, but for Mr. Hartman, it was a natural progression. “It wasn’t really hard for me. It might be hard for the fans, but it’s not hard for me,” he shared. “For me, I’ve been in the secular animation industry for 35 years. It is a wonderful industry. I had a great time. But when it was time to move on and do this, most bigger studios won’t do a Christian series and I get it. So I said ‘Hey let’s take this out into the world.’”
Mrs. Hartman noted the positive reaction from fans about the couple’s foray into more wholesome programming. “We were just at a Comic-Con in Orlando and people were saying ‘Hey, I’ve seen The Garden and it’s so cute, it’s so good.’”
Inspired by classic children’s shows like “School House Rock,” Mr. Hartman envisions “The Garden” as a platform for children to learn scripture in a fun and engaging way. “I really wanted this to be a straight-up show where you learn the Bible, you learn scripture in a fun way,” he explained. “I really wanted to pattern it after School House Rock, where growing up with songs like ‘A noun is a person place or thing’ or ‘I’m just a Bill.’ I wanted to have those kinds of songs in my show.”
“The Garden” represents a shift toward more moral family programming, focusing on timeless values like giving, sharing, and love. However, the Hartmans said they want to avoid political themes, aiming to create a timeless show focused on universal human values. “We’re not going to get into anything political. We want this to be a show that kids can watch over and over again 20, 30 years from now and the same human issues will be involved—giving, sharing, love, you know loving your neighbor as yourself,” Mr. Hartman affirmed.
Reflecting on the impact of shows such as the iconic “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the Hartmans are committed to creating a show that reflects Fred Roger’s values of love, kindness, and acceptance. “Who doesn’t love Mr. Rogers? We love what he did but there’s a place for that. This show is about really just about everyday struggles that we all go through,” Mrs. Hartman remarked.
In today’s digital age, the Hartmans are expanding beyond traditional television, creating an entire world around “The Garden” with apps, books, toys, and clothing merchandise. “When I grew up we had television, we could watch it. But you could never touch the television. I couldn’t have Lenny and Lucy do what I wanted them to do but now in today’s age we have tablets, we have phones, there’s games of all kinds,” Mr. Hartman reflected. “I knew that I wanted The Garden to have its own app because no matter what platform it’s on maybe you might not be able to find it on this platform or your parents won’t let you watch a platform or whatever it is, it’s on the app and the app is a really safe place. You can have the show on there, games on there, curriculum and activities on there.”
Amidst a chaotic world, the Hartmans want “The Garden” to serve as a beacon of peace and kindness. “In this day and age where everything is so crazy, you can’t even turn on the TV anymore but if we can learn how to be peaceful in a chaotic world, then that would be a goal,” Mrs. Hartman reflected.
As the Hartmans embark on this new chapter, they believe that faith-based content is making a comeback, and they are proud to be part of the conversation. “We can only see so many crazy things until our mind starts craving the truth,” Mr. Hartman concluded.
As Mr. Hartman and his team continue to cultivate this garden of inspiration, they invite audiences of all ages to join them on this journey of faith and discovery.
