The Grim Adventures Of Billy

''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network. It follows Billy, a dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, and Mandy, a cynical, remorseless girl, who, after winning a limbo game to save Billy's pet hamster, gains Grim, the mighty Grim Reaper, as their "best friend forever". Grim, who is reluctant to serve the two children, has access to supernatural items, spells, and other abilities that often lead Billy and Mandy to interact with otherworldly environments, characters, or situations.

''Billy & Mandy'' began as a segment on '' Grim & Evil'', from which it was a spin-off, along with sister series '' Evil Con Carne'', on August 24, 2001. Although the 2003–2004 episodes were produced for ''Grim & Evil'', the series aired (as a separate series) from June 13, 2003, to October 12, 2008, on Cartoon Network. In 2007, the series produced two made-for-TV movies, respectively titled Billy & Mandy Save Christmas and '' Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure''. Two crossover specials with fellow Cartoon Network series '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', entitled "The Grim Adventures of the KND", aired on November 11, 2007, and its sister series '' Evil Con Carne'', entitled "Company Halt", aired on March 16, 2007. The series finale, a made-for-TV movie titled '' Underfist: Halloween Bash'' (intended to serve as a pilot for a new spin-off series), aired on October 12, 2008.

During its run, the series won two Emmy Awards and one Annie Award, with nominations for one Daytime Emmy Award, three Golden Reel Awards, and two other Annie Awards. ''Billy & Mandy'' has also been made into a video game as well as various licensed merchandise.

Premise

The series is centered around the exploits of Billy ( Richard Steven Horvitz), an idiotic and happy-go-lucky boy; Mandy ( Grey DeLisle), a deadpan, cynical and cold-hearted girl; and Grim ( Greg Eagles), a Jamaican-accented Reaper. After Billy and Mandy cheated at a limbo match against Grim (in retaliation for putting the limbo rod too low for them to go under), he is enslaved in an unwanted permanent friendship with the children. Grim is miserable in the first days of his servitude and even fantasizes about killing them multiple times. However, as the time passes, he gradually adapts to the new life and even grows to care for Billy and Mandy, if only somewhat. Despite this, he retains a love–hate relationship with the duo and desires to eventually break free from his servitude.

Billy and Mandy use Grim's supernatural abilities and powers to venture into supernatural locations or environments, such as the Underworld, or the Netherworld, inhabited by an assortment of grotesque monstrous beasts. The duo also use Grim's enormously strong supernatural abilities or ties with a number of beastly characters to achieve goals or desires for themselves, often with twisted results. Famed fictional monsters including Dracula, the Wolfman and the bogeyman are also comically depicted in the series.

Supporting characters include Irwin ( Vanessa Marshall), Billy's nerdy best friend who has a crush on Mandy; Harold ( Richard Steven Horvitz), Billy's father who shares his son's stupidity; Gladys ( Jennifer Hale), Billy's loving yet mentally unstable mother; Mindy ( Rachael MacFarlane), the snobby, stuck-up, and spoiled queen bee of Billy and Mandy's school; Sperg ( Greg Eagles), the local bully who has a sensitive side; Hoss Delgado ( Diedrich Bader), an overly-intense "spectral exterminator" who hunts supernatural creatures; Nergal ( David Warner/ Martin Jarvis), a friendship-seeking demon who later marries Billy's aunt and bears a son, Nergal Jr. ( Debi Derryberry); General Skarr ( Armin Shimerman), Billy's ill-tempered next door neighbor who originated in the '' Evil Con Carne'' animated series; and Jeff (Maxwell Atoms), a giant spider constantly trying to win the approval of the arachnophobic Billy, whom he sees as his father.

The series lacks continuity for the most part, as many episodes end with characters killed, exiled or stuck in a situation. Characters sometimes display an awareness of some events from previous episodes, but there are no clear character arcs or coherent plot lines tying the show together.

Voice cast

Main cast

* Richard Steven Horvitz as William / Billy, Harold (Billy's father), Saliva (Mandy's pet dog)
* Grey DeLisle as Amanda / Mandy, Aunt Sis (Billy's aunt), Milkshakes (Billy's pet cat), Major Dr. Ghastly
* Greg Eagles as Grim, Sperg

Recurring cast

* Vanessa Marshall as Irwin, Claire (Mandy's mother)
* Jennifer Hale as Gladys (Billy's mother)
* Jane Carr as Pud'n
* Rachael MacFarlane as Mindy, Eris
* Phil LaMarr as Dracula; Grandmama; Judge Roy Spleen; Hector Con Carne
* Dee Bradley Baker as Phillip (Mandy's father)
* Armin Shimerman as General Skarr, Hector's Stomach
* Diedrich Bader as Hoss Delgado
* Maxwell Atoms as Jeff the Spider
* David Warner as Nergal (2001–2002)
* Martin Jarvis as Nergal (2003–2008)
* Debi Derryberry as Nergal Jr.
* Chris Cox as Principal Goodvibes
* Renee Raudman as Ms. Butterbean
* Fred Willard as Boogeyman
* C. H. Greenblatt as Fred Fredburger

Episodes

Production history

The series had its genesis in 1995, when Maxwell Atoms, while he was a junior at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, made a two-minute short film for his thesis project. Titled ''Billy and Mandy in: The Trepanation of the Skull and You'', it centers around Billy and Mandy (prototype versions) discussing trepanning with each other. In the end, Mandy drills Billy's head, causing him to pass out after too much blood loss even though he says he feels great. The short had never been shown publicly until April 30, 2016, during the first annual TromAnimation Film Festival. After the screening, Atoms uploaded the film to his YouTube channel, albeit in a deteriorating state after years of storage.

While working on the first season of '' Cow and Chicken'', Atoms was approached by Hanna-Barbera executives for ideas for new short films. Among the ideas he presented to Hanna-Barbera was "Milkman", centering on an anthropomorphic, superhero milk carton who saves the missing children depicted on his back. Though the idea was rejected, executives were interested in Billy and Mandy, two characters that were to be featured in the project. Atoms was prompted to devise a series centering on the two children. Feeling that the characters Billy and Mandy would not be enough to carry a show, he began devising a third character to round out the main cast. He was always fascinated by the idea of a little girl befriending the Devil or the Grim Reaper, but eventually settled on the latter, as Cartoon Network did not approve of depictions of the devil after ''Cow and Chicken''. Atoms pitched the ''Billy & Mandy'' concept to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, to which Cartoon Network approved the production of a short film 6 months later (which would become the short/pilot ''Meet the Reaper'').

The show was put into full production after the result of a viewer poll event by way of telephone and the Internet called '' Cartoon Network's Big Pick'' which was held from June 16 to August 25, 2000. The three final choices were ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'', '' Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?'', and ''Longhair and Doubledome''. Out of the three, ''Billy & Mandy'' attained the most votes with 57%; ''Robot Jones'' came in second place at 23% while ''Longhair and Doubledome'' received 20% of the vote.

Originally part of '' Grim & Evil'', ''Billy & Mandy'' served as the main show. In each episode, an '' Evil Con Carne'' short was put between two ''Grim'' shorts. An original ''Evil Con Carne'' short was produced in 2000 after ''Meet the Reaper'', but Cartoon Network wanted to combine the series, to have a "B cartoon" as a middle segment. The series premiered on August 24, 2001, during the ''Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Big Pick Weekend''.

Another 13 half-hour episode order was produced for ''Grim & Evil''. On June 13, 2003, the network separated the two segments and gave each their own half-hour program. The split came as a result of Cartoon Network wanting to move away from three 7-minute segments and focus on two 11-minute segments instead. After both series aired their respective new seasons, the network gave Atoms a decision to continue one series and drop the other from production. Atoms opted to continue ''Billy & Mandy'' and accepted the network's decision, as he considered running both shows stressful.

''Evil Con Carne'' characters occasionally appear on ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy''. General Skarr was introduced as a recurring character in season 2, where he became Billy's new next-door neighbor. Another episode shows Ghastly, Hector, Boskov, and Stomach restarting their evil organization and convincing Skarr to rejoin them.

In 2021, Atoms, who had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in adulthood, stated that the series' three main characters are on the autism spectrum. He likened Mandy to "the cold, rational way elearned to view the world in order to survive", Billy to "the fun and joyous inner-world where toms likesto spend istime" and Grim to "the moral mediator between the two".

On March 20, 2022, Craig McCracken revealed that years ago Cartoon Network had plans for a spinoff series titled ''Cheeseburger'' featuring Fred Fredburger and Cheese from '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', but the idea never gained traction.

''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' aired in reruns on Checkered Past from 2023 to 2024.

Grim, Billy, and Mandy appeared in the '' Jellystone!'' special ''Crisis on Infinite Mirths'', with Greg Eagles confirming his reprisal as Grim.

Reception

Common Sense Media gave the show a 3/5 star rating and stated that it has "goofy punchlines and obscure cultural references" and recommends the viewer age be at least 8 years old. ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' number nine on its list of "10 Best Cartoon Network Shows" in 2012.

Awards and nominations

The series has won one Annie Award and two Emmy Awards and has been nominated nine times for various awards.

Media

TV movies

Two television films were produced:
* '' Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure'' (2007) sees Grim stripped of his powers by the underworld, and Billy, Mandy, Grim, and Irwin must race the Boogey Man and his crew of monster pirates to capture a powerful artefact capable of making whoever wields it into the scariest being alive.
* '' Underfist: Halloween Bash'' (2008) focuses on Irwin, Jeff, Hoss, Skarr, and Fred inadvertently coming together to defeat an invasion of chocolate bar monsters, led by an evil marshmallow bunny, on Halloween night.

Music

The score composers for the series are Gregory Hinde, Drew Neumann, and Guy Moon. In addition, two songs were made for the show by Aurelio Voltaire, the episode "Little Rock of Horrors", which parodies the musical '' Little Shop of Horrors'', features a song titled " Brains!" and, in '' Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure'', the song "Land of the Dead" is played in the opening credits. Both songs are a part of the album ''Spooky Songs For Creepy Kids''. The season two episode "Battle of the Bands" also featured the song "Darkness" by gothic industrial rock band SPF-1000. The end credits music of "Billy & Mandy Save Christmas" is the song " Round and Round" by glam metal band Ratt.

Video games

Midway Games published two video games based on the series in 2006, each featuring the same plot but different gameplay. The first, a 3D fighting game, was developed by High Voltage Studios and released in North America on September 25, 2006, for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube, and on November 19, 2006, for the Wii as a launch title. The second, a sidescrolling beat 'em up, was developed by Full Fat and released on October 31, 2006, for the Game Boy Advance. Characters from the series have also appeared in Cartoon Network crossover video games, such as '' FusionFall'' and '' Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion''.

Home media

The first season was first released on DVD by Warner Home Video on September 18, 2007. ''Collection 2'' released February 11, 2010, in Australia and New Zealand and contains the next 13 episodes in the series.

The entire series is available on iTunes and Amazon Prime in six volumes, with the exceptions of ''Billy & Mandy Save Christmas'', ''Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure'', and ''Underfist: Halloween Bash''.

On January 1, 2021, ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' was added to HBO Max in United States.

Notes

References

External links

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Archived
from the original on September 1, 2016.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy

2000s American animated comedy television series
2000s American black comedy television series
2000s American children's comedy television series
2000s American horror comedy television series
2000s American supernatural television series
2001 American animated television series debuts
2007 American television series endings
American animated television spinoffs
American children's animated comedy television series
American children's animated supernatural television series
Animated television series about children
Cartoon Cartoons
Cartoon Network original programming
Television series by Cartoon Network Studios
Elementary school television series
American English-language television shows
Gothic television shows
Television series about personifications of death
Television series created by Maxwell Atoms
Animated television series set in the United States
Animated television series set in California
Animated metafictional television series