Bunsen Is a Beast | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Butch Hartman |
Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer |
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Opening theme | "Bunsen Is a Beast" (by Guy Moon) |
Ending theme | "Bunsen Is a Beast" (instrumental) |
Composer | Guy Moon |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 (47 segments) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Butch Hartman |
Producers |
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Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | Billionfold Inc. |
Original release | |
Network | Nickelodeon |
Release | January 16 – October 14, 2017 |
Network | Nicktoons |
Release | December 18, 2017 – February 10, 2018 |
Bunsen Is a Beast is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It revolves around a small eccentric blue monster named Bunsen who begins attending a middle school that previously only admitted humans. In spite of prejudice against beasts, Bunsen befriends a human boy named Mikey Munroe and his homeschooled companion, Darcy. Together, Bunsen and his friends attempt to navigate through school life while outsmarting a student named Amanda who wants to rid society of Bunsen's kind.
The show is based on a drawing of a monster and a boy that Hartman created in 2009. [1] He originally considered writing a picture book featuring the characters, but decided against going forward with the idea until an executive from Nickelodeon saw the drawing and encouraged him to develop the concept into a television program. Prominent themes highlighted in the series include the positive aspects of social integration and the celebration of different cultures. Bunsen Is a Beast was Hartman's fourth and final animated series produced for Nickelodeon before his departure with the network, after The Fairly OddParents (2001–2017), Danny Phantom (2004–2007), and T.U.F.F. Puppy (2010–2015). It is also his only Nicktoon not to feature Grey Griffin and Rob Paulsen.
The first and only season, consisting of twenty-six episodes, was ordered by Nickelodeon in December 2015. [2] The series had two runs on two different networks; Nickelodeon from January 16 to October 14, 2017, then Nicktoons from December 18, 2017, to February 10, 2018. [3]
Bunsen Is a Beast centers around a blue monster named Bunsen, the first beast to attend Muckledunk Middle School. Mikey Munroe, his human friend, helps him navigate through school, as he feels the pressure to prove that monsters can coexist peacefully without eating and harming others. Episodes typically focus on Bunsen learning how to complete human tasks and discovering a human tradition. Mikey also learns more about the monster world, meeting new creatures whenever he visits Bunsen's home. However, a girl named Amanda Killman believes Bunsen is dangerous and wants to destroy him so that his kind will suffer from extinction. Bunsen and Mikey must outwit Amanda whenever she comes up with a new scheme, occasionally with the help of their friend, Darcy.
The idea for Bunsen Is a Beast originated in a drawing of a monster facing a boy that Hartman drew in 2009. According to an article published in Variety , he kept the drawing in his office at Nickelodeon until a network executive noticed it and asked him to pitch the concept as a television show. [1] The message that "no matter who you are, you can always find a place to fit in" inspired the show's underlying theme of embracing integration. [4] When asked in an interview with Heidi MacDonald's Comics Beat if the show could be interpreted as a metaphor for "accepting and befriending refugees," Hartman mentioned that the social commentary was "a little bit" intentional. [4] Guy Moon, who previous worked with Hartman on his previous shows, composed the show's music and theme song. Animation began about a year before the show premiered. [4]
Butch Hartman announced the show's cancellation after a single season in a 2018 YouTube video in which he announced he had left Nickelodeon. [5] The show is Hartman's shortest running series.
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 26 | January 16, 2017 | February 10, 2018 |
No. | Title [6] | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date [6] | Prod. code [7] | U.S. viewers (millions) | ||||||
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Nickelodeon | ||||||||||||
1a | "Bunsen Is a Beast!" | Butch Hartman, Ray DeLaurentis, Will Schifrin and Becky Wiangberg | Butch Hartman and Steve Daye | February 20, 2017 | 101 | 1.58 [8] | ||||||
Bunsen attends his first day at Muckledunk Middle School, but things get trouble when Amanda puts beets in his drink and he turns into a monster that eats people. | ||||||||||||
1b | "Body and the Beast" | Ray DeLaurentis, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Steve Remen | February 20, 2017 | 101 | 1.58 [8] | ||||||
Mikey and Darcy help Bunsen find his body in time for picture day before it grows a new head and destroys the world. | ||||||||||||
2a | "Hide and Go Freak" | Ray DeLaurentis, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | January 16, 2017 | 102 | 1.40 [9] | ||||||
Amanda disguises herself as a beast to expose Bunsen, but they play "Hide and Go Freak" together and Amanda learns that Bunsen's house doesn't take kindly to bad people. | ||||||||||||
2b | "Bunsen Screams for Ice Cream" | Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | January 16, 2017 | 102 | 1.40 [9] | ||||||
Amanda tries to get Bunsen expelled by using an ice cream truck to lure him out of school. Special Guest Star: Jerry Trainor as Commander Cone | ||||||||||||
3a | "Bearly Acceptable Behavior" | Grant Levy and Dominik Rothbrad | Katie Shanahan | February 21, 2017 | 103 | 1.38 [10] | ||||||
Bunsen brings a bear to class and Amanda tries to get the bear to attack her in front of people. | ||||||||||||
3b | "Beast Busters" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Steve Remen | February 21, 2017 | 103 | 1.38 [10] | ||||||
Bunsen and Mikey save Amanda from sneeze beasts that come from Bunsen's nose, but they end up going to a taco truck, a lemonade stand and the beach. | ||||||||||||
4a | "Spelling Beast" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Steve Daye | February 22, 2017 | 104 | 1.42 [11] | ||||||
After Bunsen gets stinged to prove that bees are experts on the spelling bee, he turns into a bee. | ||||||||||||
4b | "Mikey Is a Beast" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | February 22, 2017 | 104 | 1.42 [11] | ||||||
Bunsen becomes a mascot for Mikey's biggest hero, Jerry the Beast, a parody of Randy Savage. But after a while, he ends up not letting Mikey come. Special Guest Star: Kevin Michael Richardson as Jerry the Beast | ||||||||||||
5a | "Fright at the Museum" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | February 23, 2017 | 105 | 1.27 [12] | ||||||
Bunsen and Mikey discover Bunsen's uncle at a museum, and they try to sneak him out for dinner and shoe shopping with Bunsen's aunt he was supposed to go a decade ago. Special Guest Star: Chris Hardwick as Officer Steve Stevenson | ||||||||||||
5b | "Handsome Beast" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | February 23, 2017 | 105 | 1.27 [12] | ||||||
Bunsen transforms into a human hunk when he eats a fancy body spray, and Amanda falls for him. | ||||||||||||
6 | "Tooth or Consequences" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer and Brian Coughlan | February 25, 2017 | 107 | 1.74 [13] | ||||||
Mikey explains that Bunsen will be richer than Amanda after the tooth fairy leaves him money for all the teeth he loses during teeth losing season, so Amanda vows to catch the tooth fairy. | ||||||||||||
7a | "Thunder and Frightening" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | March 11, 2017 | 108 | 1.59 [14] | ||||||
Amanda wants to use Bunsen's fear of thunder to scare him out of Muckledunk. | ||||||||||||
7b | "Eyes on the Pies" | Lissa Kapstrom and Will Schifrin | Chad Hicks | March 11, 2017 | 108 | 1.59 [14] | ||||||
Bunsen begins to lose his memory after getting hiccups. | ||||||||||||
8a | "Happy Beastgiving" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Craig Valde | March 18, 2017 | 109 | 1.52 [15] | ||||||
It is the beast holiday, Beastgiving, so Mikey helps Bunsen deliver dream gifts to the citizens of Muckledunk. | ||||||||||||
8b | "Beastern Standard Time" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | March 18, 2017 | 109 | 1.52 [15] | ||||||
Bunsen's internal clock gets thrown off during daylight saving time. | ||||||||||||
9 | "Beast of Friends" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Chad Hicks and Steve Remen | March 4, 2017 | 106 | 1.73 [16] | ||||||
Bunsen is excited to take Mikey to Dimmsdale to meet Cosmo on Friend-iversary, but trouble arises when Amanda secretly follows them and teams up with Mr. Crocker. Note: This is a crossover episode with The Fairly OddParents . | ||||||||||||
10a | "Unhappy Campers" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | March 25, 2017 | 110 | 1.37 [17] | ||||||
Bunsen and Darcy try to help Mikey overcome his fear of the woods during an overnight camping trip. | ||||||||||||
10b | "Hall of Justice" | Butch Hartman | Katie Shanahan | March 25, 2017 | 110 | 1.37 [17] | ||||||
Amanda tries to sabotage Mikey and Bunsen after they are appointed as the new hall monitors. | ||||||||||||
11 | "Astro-Nots" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Chad Hicks and Craig Valde | April 14, 2017 | 111 | 1.23 [18] | ||||||
While on a field trip to MASA, Commander Cone gives Mikey and Bunsen a tour of MASA (even though he's an ice cream guy) and they accidentally get launched into space. Special Guest Star: Jerry Trainor as Commander Cone | ||||||||||||
12a | "Cookie Monster" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | June 3, 2017 | 113 | 1.23 [19] | ||||||
Amanda turns into a ferocious beast monster and causes panic at school after eating Bunsen's beast cookies. | ||||||||||||
12b | "Braces for Disaster" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Chad Hicks | June 3, 2017 | 113 | 1.23 [19] | ||||||
While Mikey, Bunsen and Amanda work on a project, they decide to study minks when Amanda's braces causes minks to come every time she says "beast". | ||||||||||||
13a | "Hug It Out-ch!" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | June 10, 2017 | 112 | 1.09 [20] | ||||||
Amanda gets trapped in Bunsen's hugging chair and can only be released once she is happy. | ||||||||||||
13b | "Guinea Some Lovin'" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | June 10, 2017 | 112 | 1.09 [20] | ||||||
Bunsen falls in love with a guinea pig and tries to woo her, while Amanda tries to sabotage the love affair. | ||||||||||||
14a | "Mikey-plication" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | June 17, 2017 | 114 | 1.14 [21] | ||||||
To make time for their band, Mucklefunk, Bunsen clones Mikey so his clones can run all of his after school clubs. | ||||||||||||
14b | "The Case of the Cold Case" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Craig Valde | June 17, 2017 | 114 | 1.14 [21] | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen go into detective mode after Commander Cone is framed for stealing Amanda's phone case. Special Guest Star: Jerry Trainor as Commander Cone | ||||||||||||
15a | "Bunsen's Beast Ball" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | June 24, 2017 | 115 | 1.35 [22] | ||||||
Bunsen's beast ball tells him and Mikey to do fun things, until Amanda swaps out the ball for one of her own. | ||||||||||||
15b | "Bromeo and Juliet" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | June 24, 2017 | 115 | 1.35 [22] | ||||||
Mikey wants the lead role in a play so he can get a kiss from Sophie Sanders, but Amanda plans to sabotage that. | ||||||||||||
16 | "Beast Halloween Ever" | Eilen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Bryan Huff and Brian Coughlan | October 14, 2017 | 121 | 1.42 [23] | ||||||
Mikey is excited to show Bunsen how to collect candy on his first Halloween, but Amanda plans to steal everyone's candy for herself. Special Guest Stars: Kevin Michael Richardson as Wolfie and Carly Kaplin as Little Girl | ||||||||||||
Nicktoons | ||||||||||||
17 | "Bunsen Saves Christmas" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Riccardo Durante and Bryan Huff | December 18, 2017 [a] | 125 | 0.10 [24] | ||||||
Bunsen becomes excited about celebrating his first Christmas; when Amanda finds out she's on the naughty list, she stuffs Santa in a gift box and hijacks all the toys. | ||||||||||||
18a | "Beastie Besties" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Chad Hicks | December 19, 2017 | 118 | 0.12 [25] | ||||||
Amanda becomes Mikey and Bunsen's best friend after they perform the Best Friends Forever beast ceremony. | ||||||||||||
18b | "By Hook or By Schnook" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | December 19, 2017 | 118 | 0.12 [25] | ||||||
Amanda sends Mikey and Bunsen on a bogus treasure hunt by giving them a fake map to Captain Schnook's Booty. | ||||||||||||
19a | "Boodle Loo" | Max Beaudry | Brian Coughlan | December 20, 2017 | 120 | 0.12 [26] | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen have to find Boodles, Bunsen's invisible dog, after Amanda lures him away from home. | ||||||||||||
19b | "The Boy Who Cried Wolfie" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Katie Shanahan | December 20, 2017 | 120 | 0.12 [26] | ||||||
Bunsen's best beast friend, Wolfie, comes to visit Muckledunk and has his eyes and stomach set on Mikey. Special Guest Star: Kevin Michael Richardson as Wolfie | ||||||||||||
20a | "Adventures in Beastysitting" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer | December 21, 2017 | 117 | 0.08 [27] | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen have to deliver a beast baby after accidentally switching packages at the monstork factory. | ||||||||||||
20b | "Wilda Beast" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | December 21, 2017 | 117 | 0.08 [27] | ||||||
Bunsen's cousin Wilda (Rachel Dratch) comes to town and develops a crush on Mikey, which terrifies him and makes Amanda jealous. | ||||||||||||
21a | "Bad Chair Day" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ted Collyer and Sarah Johnson | December 22, 2017 | 119 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen are forced apart after Miss Flap changes the seating chart to mix things up. | ||||||||||||
21b | "Stupor Bowl" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Bryan Huff and Rachel Peters | December 22, 2017 | 119 | N/A | ||||||
When Bunsen is hypnotized by swirling toilet water, Amanda tries to convince him to return to Beast World. | ||||||||||||
22a | "Remote Outta Control" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Gerry Duchemin | December 26, 2017 | 122 | 0.19 [28] | ||||||
When Bunsen eats Amanda's universal remote, he and Mikey have to rescue her from her malfunctioning smart house. | ||||||||||||
22b | "Network Newbs" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Luc Latulippe | December 26, 2017 | 122 | 0.19 [28] | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen compete against Amanda for the chance to have their own segment on the local news channel. | ||||||||||||
23a | "Amanda Gets Schooled" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Chad Hicks | December 27, 2017 | 116 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen help Amanda pass the Preparatory Overview Of Pupils test so she can avoid summer school. | ||||||||||||
23b | "Beast in Show" | Butch Hartman | Bryan Huff and Rachel Peters | December 27, 2017 | 116 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey enters Bunsen into the Muckledunk Mutt Show, but Amanda tries to sabotage them and win with her robot dog. | ||||||||||||
24a | "Snooze Alarm" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Brian Coughlan | December 28, 2017 | 124 | 0.24 [29] | ||||||
Mikey attempts to keep Bunsen up past his appointed hibernation time. | ||||||||||||
24b | "Split Decision" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Gerry Duchemin | December 28, 2017 | 124 | 0.24 [29] | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen go on a shopping spree adventure at the "I've So Gotta Have It" store. | ||||||||||||
25a | "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" | Ellen Byron, Bob Colleary, Ray DeLaurentis, Lissa Kapstrom, Will Schifrin and Becky Wangberg | Ralph Zondag | December 29, 2017 | 123 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen use Boodles' fur to turn invisible and sneak into a scary movie they are too young to see. | ||||||||||||
25b | "Ice Dream [30] " | Butch Hartman | Bryan Huff | December 29, 2017 | 123 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen try to help local ice cream delivery guy Commander Cone find his dream job. Special Guest Stars: Jerry Trainor as Commander Cone and Memory Commander Cone and Carly Kaplin as Helen and Boy | ||||||||||||
26a | "Friend or Phony" | Ray DeLaurentis and Will Schifrin | Brian Coughlan | February 10, 2018 | 126 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey and Bunsen are on a game show. | ||||||||||||
26b | "Beauty or the Beast" | Ray DeLaurentis and Will Schifrin | Gerry Duchemin | February 10, 2018 | 126 | N/A | ||||||
Mikey must choose between Bunsen and his dream girl, Sophie Sanders. |
A sneak peek of Bunsen Is a Beast was first shown at Comic-Con in 2016. [31] The series has aired on YTV in Canada on June 3, 2017. [32] The series premiered on Israel on June 4, 2017, Nickelodeon in Australia and New Zealand on June 5, 2017. The series premiered on Greece on July 15, 2017, and Nicktoons in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2017.
In France, the series first aired on Nickelodeon from 25 September 2017 to 30 November 2018, and had reruns on the free-to-air channel Gulli starting from 22 December 2018.
The show received positive reviews from critics. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised Bunsen Is a Beast in his review, likening it to "an early Hanna-Barbera cartoon with the engine of Tex Avery at his eye-popping extreme" and commending its message about embracing outsiders as "particularly timely." [33]
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars; saying that, "This series has an admirable premise that's illustrated by a surprising friendship, but the show's more irritating elements can overshadow its better points." But added that, "kids will like the show's over-the-top situations and Bunsen's bizarre reactions to them." [34]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 45th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Jeremy Rowley as "Bunsen" | Nominated | [35] |
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