The Fairly OddParents is a series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 through 2017. The show follows the life of a 10-year-old boy named Timmy Turner who is a pretty average young boy with one major difference: the fact that he actually has fairy godparents. Okay, so he’s really not all that normal at all because he can make wishes and has access to their magic and, sometimes, their magic can really mess things up in his life. Other than that, totally normal, right? As normal as a 10-year-old’s life can be when he has a fairy godmother and a fairy godfather living in a fishbowl in his bedroom, using their magic to help him with his everyday problems while he tries to hide the fact that they exist.
Anyone who has watched The Fairly OddParents, or any other Nickelodeon show for that matter, will know that it can be pretty strange sometimes. Nickelodeon shows are known for their wacky humor and this series is totally no different. There are some things in the show that only the biggest fan of The Fairly OddParents will really know about.
From the secrets of Poof, Cosmo, and Wanda’s baby, to the fact that the series almost didn’t even air on Nickelodeon, these are 25 of the most ridiculous things about The Fairly OddParents that only the biggest fans of the show know. Want to learn more about your favorite Dimmsdale resident and his fairy godparents? Keep reading, and have fun!
25 Nearly On Another Network?
Before writing The Fairly OddParents, creator Butch Hartman actually worked on another TV network on several other classic shows we all grew up with. He was a writer and artist on Cartoon Network shows like Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and Cow and Chicken.
Can you imagine The Fairly OddParents being anywhere but Nickelodeon?
It almost was! Hartman originally pitched the show to Cartoon Network but production on the show didn’t actually start until he started working on a series for Nickelodeon. That was a close one!
24 Cosmo And Wanda Came From Where?!
Throughout the series, Cosmo and Wanda had a lot of different disguises. They couldn’t exactly just fly around Timmy all the time and let people see that fairies really exist, could they? No way! That would be way too big of a risk. One of the most common disguises they used was being in the fishbowl where they lived and acting like his pet fish.
But not many people know where these two originally came from. No, they hadn’t always lived in the fishbowl. Actually, they came from a Magic 8 Ball!
23 The Creator Wishes He’d Changed That
Didn’t know that Cosmo and Wanda came from inside of an iconic toy?
Even the creator wishes he could go back and change their origin story!
Because so many fans of The Fairly OddParents recognize Cosmo and Wanda for their fish bowl home, Butch Hartman actually wishes that he could go back in time and make them come from the pet store and have lived in their fish bowl all along. Honestly, that would probably make more sense since it’s where they lived in Timmy’s room.
22 Over 63 Disguises!
Throughout the years that the series has been on, Cosmo and Wanda have disguised themselves in some really clever and hilarious ways. Since the show had 161 episodes, the writers and animators of the show really needed to get creative with those disguises to keep the show fun and interesting.
Cosmo and Wanda were disguised in some way during most episodes and, throughout the series, it totaled up to over 63 different disguises! It must have taken some serious creativity to make up all of those new character designs for each disguise.
21 Dinkleberg A One-Time Joke?!
Has any line from a cartoon launched quite as many memes as Dinkleberg? Even people who aren’t fans of The Fairly OddParents are probably familiar with this mysterious Dinkleberg figure who seems to mess up just about everything in the life of Mr. Turner.
Despite being so popular now, he was actually only supposed to be a one-time joke!
We can’t believe it either but Butch Hartman said that it was just too funny to stop including in the episodes. The show just wouldn’t be the same without Dinkleberg.
20 Timmy’s Parents Were Nearly Faceless!
Who else remembers Cow and Chicken, the Cartoon Network series that Butch Hartman happened to have worked on prior to joining Nickelodeon to give us The Fairly OddParents? Anyone who grew up watching that animated classic will probably remember that their parents didn’t have faces, they were just a pair of legs and voices.
Timmy Turner’s parents were nearly like that too! The series was supposed to be focused on Timmy, so he wanted to avoid too much parental inclusion. Apparently that includes their faces!
19 And They’re Still Nameless…
Even though Timmy’s parents ended up getting full bodies and faces on the show, they’re still missing something. Fans of the show will probably remember that most characters got a first name, a last name, and often some hobbies and a backstory.
But fans probably also noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Turner are missing something very important.
First names! Is this just because it focuses on the kids who would only refer to them as “mom and dad” or “Mr. and Mrs. Turner” anyway? Probably, but it’s still odd.
18 Wanda Almost Looked Super Different
Watching the early episodes of any cartoon can be pretty interesting because of the fact that you can really see the artist’s style develop and even hear how different the characters might have sounded or acted. But Wanda was really different even before the show started!
Originally, Butch Hartman said that her name was going to be Venus and, instead of her iconic fuchsia locks, she was going to have blue hair! It’s hard to imagine Wanda being any different than she is on the show, but it’s still cool to see.
17 And Her Character Design Is Familiar
Artists for animated series draw their inspiration from a ton of places. How many fans of the Fairly OddParents have wondered where the inspiration for Wanda came from? She might look pretty familiar to people who are really into different cartoons. Ever wondered why?
Wanda’s hair probably looks familiar because it was inspired by Wilma Flintstone.
Butch Hartman said that he drew inspiration for the unforgettable curl on the front of her hair from this prehistoric wife. That totally explains why she looks so familiar!
16 Chip Skylark Is A Pop Star In Real Life Too!
Chip Skylark is a singing sensation around Dimmsdale. He’s one of the most famous pop stars around and has everyone who likes pop music, including Mr. Turner, totally obsessed with his catchy songs and amazing voice.
Who knew that he’s actually voiced by a real-life pop star?
That’s right, Chris Kirkpatrick who you might know as being one of the members of the boy band NSYNC is actually the voice behind Chip Skylark! With a famous voice like that, it’s no wonder Chip is so much fun to listen to.
15 The Crimson Chin’s Surprising Voice
No, the Crimson Chin isn’t actually voiced by some kind of real-life superhero. Wouldn’t that be pretty amazing if he was, though? Unfortunately superheroes aren’t exactly a thing in the real world, but this cartoon hero is voiced by someone super famous.
Comedian Jay Leno is the voice behind not just the Crimson Chin but also his dark twin from an alternate universe, Nega Chin! Along with playing these two heroic characters, Leno has guest starred as himself in an episode of The Fairly OddParents.
14 Timmy’s Pink Hat? Almost Not Pink!
There are some pieces to a cartoon character’s design that make them truly memorable that we would never change. Things like the color of each of the fairies and the color of Timmy’s hat are just things that can’t be messed with.
Can you imagine what it would be like if Timmy’s iconic pink hat wasn’t pink?
This totally sounds ridiculous to fans of The Fairly OddParents, but it was almost a reality! Butch Hartman said that Timmy’s hat was supposed to be blue but his blue marker ran dry.
13 Cosmo Had The Baby
Fairies just don’t work the same way as humans do. There are a lot of differences between us regular people and fairies, we all know that. But some of these differences are just plain strange.
In a later episode of The Fairly OddParents, Cosmo and Wanda found out that they were expecting a little bundle of joy! If the two of them were humans, Wanda would be the one carrying the baby but, since they’re fairies, things were a little different. Instead, Cosmo was the one who carried the baby.
12 Poof Was Nearly Named What?!
Designing a new character is never easy. They have to draw them, pick out the clothing that they’re going to be wearing all the time, and pick the perfect color for the character. Butch Hartman revealed that Poof, Cosmo and Wanda’s baby, was actually one of the most difficult characters to create!
And did you know he was almost not named Poof? Instead, he was nearly given the name Dusty! While Dusty is a cute name, we really just can’t imagine Poof any other way.
11 Almost More Viewers Than The Super Bowl?
Although Cosmo being the one to be pregnant with little baby Poof was quite a strange choice, we have to admit that it really brought the viewers in for Nickelodeon.
Fairly OddBaby had nearly as many kid viewers as the Super Bowl!
Along with having almost as many young kids watching Poof’s birth as the Super Bowl had that year, the episode Fairly OddBaby was number one among cable shows that week. And the re-airing of the episode was still in the top ten for highest total viewers.
10 The Most Powerful Fairy?
What is Cosmo known for? For most of the series, he’s known for not exactly being the brightest in the bunch. Although we can’t deny that Cosmo totally always has his heart in the right place, his spells often don’t exactly work out.
Depsite not being the smartest fairy, Cosmo is known for being one of the most powerful fairies.
The show lists a lot of his magical accomplishments, most of which were not things to be proud of, like wishing away Wanda’s wand and causing Mt. Vesuvius to erupt.
9 The Live-Action Movie We All Forgot
When most people think of The Fairly OddParents, they probably think of the animated series, right? Not many people remember the fact that there was actually a movie that went along with it! This movie wasn’t an animated one either, it was a live action movie with CGI effects added in for Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof.
Not many people remember this movie because the plot was strange and, let’s be honest, the CGI fairies were kind of spooky looking. Sorry, but we prefer Timmy and his friends to be animated!
8 Too Old For School?
If the creepy CGI fairies aren’t enough to turn you off of the live-action movie, the plot might be. For one thing, Nickelodeon alum Drake Bell was cast as Timmy Turner.
No matter the casting, writing Timmy into the show as an adult who is still going to elementary school is just weird.
In the movie, Timmy learned that he needed to keep acting like a kid to keep Cosmo and Wanda around. Considering the fact that he was 23, we think it was time for him to move on.
7 Almost An Adult
The Fairly OddParents first premiered in 2001 and aired its final episode in 2017. That means that by the time the show aired its final episode and we all said goodbye to Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda for the last time, the show was 16 years old! That makes the show the second longest-running show Nickelodeon has ever had, following behind SpongeBob SquarePants.
It’s pretty fitting that the series had a total of 10 seasons considering Timmy Turner, the main character, was 10 years old throughout the series.
6 What’s In A Name?
Coming up with a character design and a name for a character can’t be easy. Artists want to make sure that they look super identifiable and different so that fans will remember them even after the episode ends.
Ever wonder how they came up with the super interesting name for Tootie?
Even though Tootie was a little weird, her name came from a super cute place! Butch Hartman said it was a nickname for his daughter. That’s cute but Tootie isn’t the type of character we’d want named after us!
