Fanboy and Chum Chum

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Zany adventures are low on depth but high on imagination.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there’s little depth to this over-the-top show about two friends who fancy themselves superheroes, but their thrill-seeking adventures will appeal to young tweens with vivid imaginations of their own. Exaggerated, comic-style violence (mostly explosions, dramatic falls, and collisions) is a common result of the ridiculous scenarios the guys get themselves into, but none of it leads to lasting injury. Fanboy and Chum Chum are hardly strong role models for kids, as they spend most of their time -- even in school -- goofing off, and Chum Chum eagerly does Fanboy’s bidding without question. But for kids who can suspend their sense of reality, it’s a fun extension of the preteen set's wild imaginations.

  • This show's intent is to entertain rather than to educate.
  • The kids’ sole goal is to enjoy life to the max. When problems arise, they devise outlandish plans (switching brains with a robot in order to pass a test, for example) rather than dealing with them in a realistic manner.
  • The main characters often goof off in school. Chum Chum always follows Fanboy’s lead without question, even when his crazy ideas get them into a troubling situation. Adults are usually hard to come by, and those who are around aren’t particularly impressive models for the kids. A teacher is incapable of keeping order in his classroom, and the janitor is evil and vindictive toward the kids. All of this is played for humor, of course.
  • The duo’s over-the-top adventures result in plenty of comic-style collisions and tumbles -- and occasionally laser guns or sabers are used -- but no one is ever hurt.

What's the story?

FANBOY AND CHUM CHUM follows the over-the-top adventures of best friends -- and self-described superheroes -- Fanboy (voiced by David Hornsby) and his trusty sidekick, Chum Chum (Nika Futterman). Although their green-and-purple supersuits belie any real powers, this comic book-loving, thrill-seeking duo sees each day as an opportunity to experience life to the maximum, whether that means swapping noses for school picture day or trying to teach the class pig the finer points of martial arts. When they’re not hanging out at the local comics shop or cooking up their latest off-the-wall scheme, the guys can often be found at the Frosty Mart, chugging Frosty Freezies to induce the world’s worst brain freeze. 


Is it any good?

 

If you're looking for deep content and lasting lessons, then this show isn’t for you -- or for your kids. Precious little of it can be applied to reality, especially when it comes to Fanboy and Chum Chum’s experiences at school, where they enjoy nearly free rein to goof off and hardly put effort into their work. Even the nature of their friendship may be troubling to some parents, since Fanboy’s control over his pal’s actions sometimes verges on bullying.

But there's no doubt that it's entertaining. So if your young tweens can check their sense of reality at the door, this silly show offers a fun depiction of the wild imagination that they probably share with the main characters. For younger kids, though, the blurry line between fiction and realistic lifestyles may be a little confusing.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about bullying. Why is bullying a problem? Do you think the way Fanboy treats Chum Chum could be seen as bullying? Why or why not?

  • Do you think violence on TV is a problem? How does the type of violence -- fantasy vs. realistic -- affect its impact on viewers?

  • Who are some of your own heroes? Why do you look up to them? Do you admire any celebrities (actors, sports figures, etc.)? If so, who, and why?


This review was written by Emily Ashby
Teen, 18 years old
January 3, 2011
 
What happens when you give Jar Jar Binks his own TV show?
This is stupidity at its best. I know you've all heard this from other users, but just to recap, the characters are annoying, ugly, absurd, and really, really bad role models. CommonSense is really off on their review. This has no imagination at all. Tired, stale, fart jokes and a ridiculous plot in each episode. The first three seconds of the theme song, I think I'm going to have a seizure! Disappointing. Don't watch this piece of junk. If you want real, Nickelodeon entertainment at its best, watch the older shows (1990-2005). They're definitely more worth it.

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Teen, 17 years old
August 21, 2010
 
Worst Nickelodeon Show Since Mr. Meaty!!!
Fanboy and Chum Chum? Yuck. I'm sorry but this show is total garbage. No one of any age should watch. It is obviously geared towards the fat American ADHD kid, and is even encouraging that stereotype! I would rather gouge out my eyeballs than watch Nickelodeon’s latest blunder! That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but this show is the epitome of brainlessness. I felt as if my IQ had dropped significantly after watching just one episode. The bright swirling colors and crappy CGI are almost hypnotic. The theme song is gag-worthy. All the characters are ugly and misshapen (you know, box shaped heads, bug eyes, huge teeth and all that cr@p.) And, the main characters are disgusting idiots. Fanboy and Chum Chum set a terrible example for younger kids. They are constantly causing mischief at school, and encouraging disgusting behaviors such as nose picking and sticking gum under desks. All the intelligent people or adults in the show are either evil or stupid. In the one episode that I watched, the janitor was made evil just because he wanted to clean gum off the bottoms of the desks. When he tries to clean up the gum, the “heroes” of the show basically torture him until he lets them have their gum. Does anyone else find this totally wrong? This show makes fun of intelligence, moral decency, and cleanliness while celebrating mischief and mindless stupidity! A lot of parents and parenting experts are complaining about violence in cartoons, but in my opinion, mindlessness in any form, including mindless violence and just general brainlessness, is worse than just violence. Do they honestly think that kids are so stupid that they find this cr@p entertaining?! Seriously Nick, give your viewers some credit! We’re not all dumb slobs! Nickelodeon is turning into cr@p, just like Cartoonetwork. They used to have good shows, like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Danny Phantom, but they’ve cancelled all of those in favor of this new sh!t. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a huge success, and it had morals, intelligence, action, and an actual plot. Nick should have learned from that, so why don’t they have more shoes like it? Why continue with this cr@p when it’s an obvious fail? I just don’t get it. I’m not saying that all cartoons need to be wholesome and educational, but they at least shouldn’t be celebrating idiocy! Stop insulting our intelligence Nickelodeon!

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Teen, 14 years old
June 18, 2010
 
"fanboy and chumchum marathon! wanna watch?!" "OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!!!"
With all honesty, nickelodeon just messed up they're channel. slapstick violence. adults are considered evil or dumb. also the main characters are stupid and mess around in class. i wish we could give this zero stars

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Teen, 15 years old
April 6, 2011
 
Incredibly stupid.
WHAT IS THIS?!?!?!?!?!? 3 stars?!?! WTF is wrong with you common sense?! 1. The characters are dumb, idiotic, and annoying. 2. The animation is annoying as well, it looks gross and like they didn't even try. 3. ITS NOT FUNNY! ITS GROSS AND STUPID! I'M BEGGING YOU PLEASE TAKE THIS CRAP OFF THE AIR!

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Parent of 7, 7, 8, 11, and 14 year old
April 24, 2011
 
Innocent but incredibly stupid.
There is anything very inapropiate about this show, but it is very stupid and gross. Something about the animation makes me want to throw up. I sure hope noone watches this. Lucky for me my children hate this show.

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Adult
November 10, 2010
 
Not Even Recommended For Senior Citizens
Fanboy and Chum Chum is, by far, the dumbest cartoon show on any cable or television network today. They do not convey positive role models for children; nor should people at the other end of the age spectrum be seen watching this trash at their retirement homes. Fanboy is a ripoff of Bart Simpson's Bartman character while Chum Chum is merely a clone of Milhouse, only fatter. If Nick keeps putting out junk like this, they'll soon be defunct.

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Kid, 12 years old
August 6, 2010
 
STUPIDEST HOW IN THE WHOLE WORLD
I HATE IT OK. GOOD THAT WE GOT THAT CLEAR. THE PEOPLE LOOK UGLY, THERE STUPID, AND THEY DO DRUGS. THE DRUGS THERE USING IS 'MAKE ME STUPID AND UGLY' I JUST HATE THEM THEY SHOULD NOT BE VEIWED BY ANY ONE!EVEN 17 AND UP NOT ANY AGE

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Teen, 14 years old
June 12, 2010
 
Not recommended if you want your children to act maturely.
Quite an annoying show. It's on too much and is a perfect way to ruin a perfectly good Saturday. The theme song is annoying and the role models are horrible. Both Fanboy and Chum Chum are complete morons and are NOT the kind of people your little 5 or 7 year olds should want to be like. I feel this also contains some racial profiling. Considering how they stereotype an Indian child by making his character wear glasses and giving him an accent like he isn't trying to adjust to his fellow American citizens, the African American boy is a Michael Jackson fanboy(no pun intended), and the red-headed wizard kid rips off of Harry Potter with his talking brown book whilst inducing stereotypes mocking red-heads(pale skin, braces, large mouth, a garden of freckles on his face.

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Kid, 10 years old
May 12, 2011
 
Miranda Cosgrove do you have a mental disorder? I think so, there is none of that language or anything you said, but I agree that I HATE this show and wish the old shows were back!

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Teen, 16 years old
June 30, 2010
 
I HATE THAT SHOW IT IS THE WORST SHOW ON TV ITS NOITHING BUT TO IDOIT KIDS I THINK IT is not funny and a wast of time and it dosent even send out a good message

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This review was written by Emily Ashby
This review was written by Emily Ashby
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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