The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Encyclopedia
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy often shortened as Billy and Mandy is an American animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network
. It is also the spin-off
of Grim & Evil
. Having originally aired as part of Grim & Evil
The show began in 2001, And went on to become one of Cartoon Network's longest running shows. The show began airing under the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy title on June 13, 2003, ending on November 9, 2007 (though it was later included in a special titled The Grim Adventures of the KND which aired on November 11, 2007, officially ending the series). Though this would later be changed to October 12, 2008, due to the special Underfist not being made into a spin-off (due to the expiration of Maxwell Atom's contract with Cartoon Network). Otherwise, the series originally ended on November 11, 2007.
Featuring the voices of Greg Eagles
, Grey DeLisle
, and Richard Steven Horvitz
, the series stars the two main characters, Billy and Mandy, having manipulated the Grim Reaper
, usually called "Grim", into being their best friend for eternity after having won a bet over a sick hamster through a game of limbo
.
and call-in
event called Big Pick was held from (June 16, - August 25, 2000). The three final choices were Grim & Evil, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
and Longhair and Doubledome. Out of the three, Grim & Evil won the most votes. The first season appeared on Cartoon Network on August 24, 2001. Robot Jones would later be made into a full series despite losing; Longhair and Doubledome would reappear with another pilot episode in another Big Pick-style show later on, only to fall short once again.
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. On occasion, it was the other way around, with two Evil shorts and one Grim short. On June 13, 2003, the network separated the two and gave both a full length show. The short-lived Evil Con Carne show was cancelled once the already-produced season had aired. In 2004, it was given another short-lived run with the newly created intro and end credits, only to be cancelled again. Some characters from Evil Con Carne, usually Skarr (who eventually became Billy's neighbor), occasionally appeared on The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.
According to Maxwell Atoms' blog on MySpace
, the show ended post-production in spring 2007, after having 90 full half-hour episodes; the show officially ended production all together in summer 2008 due to the deaths of John Vernon and Henry Gibson, who previously voiced Dean Toadblatt and Lord Pain respectively.
Billy and Mandy are two children from Endsville, a typical "Anytown, USA
". One day, while they are celebrating the tenth birthday of Billy's old pet hamster, Mr. Snuggles, the Grim Reaper appears. He comes to reap the old hamster's soul, but, to his surprise, Billy and Mandy are not afraid of him at all. Mandy refuses to give Grim the hamster and offers to play a game for its soul (a homage to the classic film The Seventh Seal
). If the Reaper wins, he would get the hamster's soul.
Grim, assured of his victory, says that, if they win, he will be their best friend "forever and ever." Grim takes Billy and Mandy to limbo
to play, where they compete in Grim's favorite game—limbo
. However he loses because Mandy cheats by making Mr. Snuggles attack him, and Grim is doomed to be the "best friend" of these two children, a task he suffers with no small amount of disdain and mockery from other supernatural creatures. Grim is very depressed in the first days of his servitude, but as the time passes, he gradually adapts to the new life. Despite this, he has a love-hate relationship
with Billy and Mandy and desires that he will eventually break free from his servitude (he mentions fantasies of killing them multiple times).
where the location, climate conditions, and anything else bends to the whim of the plot. The city has been seen several times with palm trees, hot summers, and a beach, while it is shown that it snows there in November ("Dumb Wish"). In the episode "Jeffy's Web", the Statue of Liberty can be seen. The age of the town is also frequently changed: it appears in flashbacks of Billy's dad Harold's youth ("The Taking Tree"), the early 1900s ("Who Killed Who?
"), medieval times ("Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween"), and prehistoric times ("Wrath of the Spider Queen"). Grim ostensibly comes from the Underworld
, so the show makes frequent forays onto his turf. Grim's scythe
is able to produce cosmic rifts through which the characters can visit different planes of existence, including afterlife variations like Nirvana
, Asgard
and Lower Heck
.
The show's universe, in addition to frequently violating the laws of physics, also contains a number of historical variations and anachronisms. Abraham Lincoln
is President
(save for the episode "Ecto Cooler", where he appears as a ghost) and is a personal friend of Billy. The world police
organization is not the United Nations
, but the League of Nations
, which, in reality, disbanded in 1946. The presence of what appears to be a Communist
leader in the League of Nations may also suggest that the Soviet Union
has not dissolved in this universe.
The universe is also Evil Con Carnes universe: the characters meet, briefly. In the third season episode "Skarred for Life", General Skarr meets the characters in what could be seen as a full crossover
. Skarr was a recurring character in the show, and struggled with fighting his addiction to war. Hector, the star of Evil Con Carne, also makes a brief appearance, along with Boskov the Bear (to whom Hector is physically attached), Cod Commando, and Skarr (3 other characters on the show) in a crowded jail cell in the episode "Duck!", which provoked Hector to break the fourth wall and point out that he's "not even in this stupid show anymore"; in the episode "Chicken Ball Z" he sells his island to Mandy for $50,000 she earned in the karate tournament. It's also known that Mandy's grim attitude and Billy's stupidity are constant in the universe, and if something affects it, the reality will change drastically. Since then Mandy once smiled, and the characters were transported to the PowerPuff Girls cartoon; and when Grim changes Billy's note to A, the earth inhabitants (aside Grim and Mandy) became the exact opposite of what they were originally.
, or with the disappearance, horrific transformation, or (implied or not) death of the main characters such as Mandy becoming a giant brain eating meteor in "Little Rock of Horror". Often the episode will end with no resolution at all. In "Billy Gets an "A", the show ended with a comical "The End". Billy once also attempted to end the show early out of boredom ("Hey, Water You Doing?"). There is a meta-reference of this lack of continuity in the episode "Detention X", where Grim imprisons both Billy and Mandy (along with all their classmates) in a supernatural version of a detention class, but Mandy manages to escape and when Billy asks if she will help them, she replies that she will do it "in another episode."
However, there are a few exceptions to the usual lack of continuity. Characters that have appeared in previous episodes may return again, such as Pinocchio, who debuted in "Nursery Crimes" and returns in "Billy Ocean", Lord Pain from "House of Pain
" who returns in "Everything Breaks" and Boogey from "Bully Boogie" returns in Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
and Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen (only in flashbacks). The characters usually show awareness of the previous events during these shifts. The events centered around recurring characters may even grow into a larger canon
and cause changes to the characters.
Billy & Mandy often breaks the fourth wall
, and the characters often mention previous episodes in a humorous manner. However, the one who breaks the fourth wall most frequently is Mandy. She often seems aware of the audience and comments on current events directly to the viewer (her comments are usually insults to the episode). This is commonly at the beginning of every show (except the UK showings of "My Fair Mandy", and possibly UK showings of "Wild Parts/The Problem with Billy" as well), where she gives the audience some form of message. She may also appear in various guises. What message she gives, and/or the guise in which she appears, are specific to the episodes shown. For example, in the case of "Hurter Monkey/Goodbling and the Hip-Hop-Opotamus", she says to the audience that she's "only got one nerve left, and you're getting on it." In "He's Not Dead, He's My Mascot", she literally gets up and walks out of the television upon knowing that the episode will, once again, be about pets (something very common in the universe of Billy and Mandy). Billy also breaks the fourth wall a great number of times as well as Grim, who says, "I'm pretty good at reading subtitles backwards." Another example is in "Pandora's Lunch Box", Mandy says "Who writes this stuff, anyway?" Then, the show cuts to a baby typing on a typewriter. Billy then impersonates Mandy, saying it again. It is also shown that the characters (mostly Mandy), would say the show's title. For example, in one episode, Mandy tells Grim they have to save Billy and when Grim asks why, she says, "Because "The Grim Adventures of Mandy," doesn't sound as good as "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy"."
and Drew Neumann
. The first season was composed by Guy Moon
(when it was Grim & Evil
). Several episodes feature music performances. The episode "Little Rock of Horror", which parodies the musical version of The Little Shop of Horrors, features a song by Voltaire
, titled "BRAINS!
", the dance done when the citizens are brain-robbed is similar to the dance done in the world famous video for Michael Jackson's Thriller. In Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
, Voltaire plays the song "Land of the Dead
" in the opening credits. In the same film, Billy himself actually sings a song which Maxwell Atoms and Gregory Hinde wrote called "Scary-O". The song Boogie Wonderland
by Earth, Wind & Fire
with The Emotions
is played during the closing credits. In the episode "Battle of the Bands" the song 'Darkness' by the band SPF 1000, composed by David Ivy, who sold the rights to the song to the show, was performed by Grim and a garage band "Purple Filth" for the Battle of the Bands
contest. 'Darkness' is also heard in the credits of the video game. In the Christmas Special "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas", song Round and Round
by Ratt
is played during the credits. There is a backmasked message in the credits of the TV show. At the end of the credits, it sounds like a voice saying something in reverse. When reversed, Maxwell Atoms says, "No, No, this is the end of the show. You're watching it backwards!"
of the series called Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
aired on March 30, 2007, with DVD release coming out few days later, on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. In the UK, the movie aired on February 14, 2007 on Cartoon Network. In Italy, the movie aired on Wednesday, October 31, on Halloween with the name of "Billy & Mandy Alla Ricerca Dei Poteri Perduti", on Cartoon Network Italy. In Canada, the movie aired on March 17, 2007, on Teletoon.
A second movie, Wrath of the Spider Queen was aired on July 6, 2007. It was based on a spider queen from Grim's distant past, who tries to take revenge on Grim, because she was meant to be the reaper. Meanwhile, keeping up with the spider theme, Billy learns to love his spider son Jeff.
On Sunday, October 12, 2008, a spin-off, "Underfist: Halloween Bash
", premiered. The movie's primary focus is on Irwin, Jeff the Spider, Hoss Delgado, General Skarr and Fred Fredburger accidentally coming together to defeat an invasion of chocolate bar monsters, led by an evil marshmallow bunny, on Halloween night.
for the GameCube
, Wii
, PlayStation 2
and Game Boy Advance
. It was released on October 2, 2006, and as a Wii launch title on November 19, 2006.
Some characters and locations of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy also appear in the videogame Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion
and its remake Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL.
The following special features include:
Additionally, select episodes from the series have been featured on various Cartoon Network DVDs.
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
. It is also the spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms. The series, which premiered on Cartoon Network, consisted of two segments which were eventually spun off into their own series, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne.-History:The series' existence is...
. Having originally aired as part of Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms. The series, which premiered on Cartoon Network, consisted of two segments which were eventually spun off into their own series, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne.-History:The series' existence is...
The show began in 2001, And went on to become one of Cartoon Network's longest running shows. The show began airing under the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy title on June 13, 2003, ending on November 9, 2007 (though it was later included in a special titled The Grim Adventures of the KND which aired on November 11, 2007, officially ending the series). Though this would later be changed to October 12, 2008, due to the special Underfist not being made into a spin-off (due to the expiration of Maxwell Atom's contract with Cartoon Network). Otherwise, the series originally ended on November 11, 2007.
Featuring the voices of Greg Eagles
Greg Eagles
Greg Eagles is an American voice actor whose talents have been used for numerous TV shows and video games...
, Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
, and Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz, sometimes credited as Richard S. Horvitz, Richard Horvitz, or Richard Wood, is an American actor and voice actor best known for his work as the voice of the original Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and Power Rangers Turbo, as Raz in Psychonauts,...
, the series stars the two main characters, Billy and Mandy, having manipulated the Grim Reaper
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
, usually called "Grim", into being their best friend for eternity after having won a bet over a sick hamster through a game of limbo
Limbo (dance)
Limbo is a popular form of dance that originated on the island of Trinidad. The dancer moves to a Caribbean rhythm, then leans backward and dances under a horizontal pole without touching it. Upon touching it or falling backwards, the dancer is "out"...
.
Overview
The show's existence is largely the result of a viewer poll. An InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and call-in
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
event called Big Pick was held from (June 16, - August 25, 2000). The three final choices were Grim & Evil, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? is an American animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network from 2002 to 2003...
and Longhair and Doubledome. Out of the three, Grim & Evil won the most votes. The first season appeared on Cartoon Network on August 24, 2001. Robot Jones would later be made into a full series despite losing; Longhair and Doubledome would reappear with another pilot episode in another Big Pick-style show later on, only to fall short once again.
Originally part of Grim & Evil, Billy & Mandy served as the main show. In each episode, an Evil Con Carne
Evil Con Carne
Evil Con Carne is an American animated series/spin-off of Grim & Evil and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, created by Maxwell Atoms, which first appeared on Cartoon Network during the show Grim & Evil and later became a separate program in 2003, running for one season...
short was put between two Grim shorts. On occasion, it was the other way around, with two Evil shorts and one Grim short. On June 13, 2003, the network separated the two and gave both a full length show. The short-lived Evil Con Carne show was cancelled once the already-produced season had aired. In 2004, it was given another short-lived run with the newly created intro and end credits, only to be cancelled again. Some characters from Evil Con Carne, usually Skarr (who eventually became Billy's neighbor), occasionally appeared on The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.
According to Maxwell Atoms' blog on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, the show ended post-production in spring 2007, after having 90 full half-hour episodes; the show officially ended production all together in summer 2008 due to the deaths of John Vernon and Henry Gibson, who previously voiced Dean Toadblatt and Lord Pain respectively.
Plot
Placeholder name
Placeholder names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which they are being discussed...
". One day, while they are celebrating the tenth birthday of Billy's old pet hamster, Mr. Snuggles, the Grim Reaper appears. He comes to reap the old hamster's soul, but, to his surprise, Billy and Mandy are not afraid of him at all. Mandy refuses to give Grim the hamster and offers to play a game for its soul (a homage to the classic film The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
). If the Reaper wins, he would get the hamster's soul.
Grim, assured of his victory, says that, if they win, he will be their best friend "forever and ever." Grim takes Billy and Mandy to limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
to play, where they compete in Grim's favorite game—limbo
Limbo (dance)
Limbo is a popular form of dance that originated on the island of Trinidad. The dancer moves to a Caribbean rhythm, then leans backward and dances under a horizontal pole without touching it. Upon touching it or falling backwards, the dancer is "out"...
. However he loses because Mandy cheats by making Mr. Snuggles attack him, and Grim is doomed to be the "best friend" of these two children, a task he suffers with no small amount of disdain and mockery from other supernatural creatures. Grim is very depressed in the first days of his servitude, but as the time passes, he gradually adapts to the new life. Despite this, he has a love-hate relationship
Love-hate relationship
A love–hate relationship is an interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate. This relationship does not have to be of a romantic nature, and may be instead of a sibling one...
with Billy and Mandy and desires that he will eventually break free from his servitude (he mentions fantasies of killing them multiple times).
Setting
The show takes place in modern-day Endsville, Billy and Mandy's hometown. Endsville's location is an Anytown, USAPlaceholder name
Placeholder names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which they are being discussed...
where the location, climate conditions, and anything else bends to the whim of the plot. The city has been seen several times with palm trees, hot summers, and a beach, while it is shown that it snows there in November ("Dumb Wish"). In the episode "Jeffy's Web", the Statue of Liberty can be seen. The age of the town is also frequently changed: it appears in flashbacks of Billy's dad Harold's youth ("The Taking Tree"), the early 1900s ("Who Killed Who?
Who Killed Who?
Who Killed Who? is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short directed by Tex Avery for MGM. The cartoon is a parody of whodunit stories and employs many clichés of the genre for humor.-Plot:...
"), medieval times ("Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween"), and prehistoric times ("Wrath of the Spider Queen"). Grim ostensibly comes from the Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
, so the show makes frequent forays onto his turf. Grim's scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
is able to produce cosmic rifts through which the characters can visit different planes of existence, including afterlife variations like Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
, Asgard
Asgard
In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is the country or capital city of the Norse Gods surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svadilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Valhalla is located within Asgard...
and Lower Heck
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
.
The show's universe, in addition to frequently violating the laws of physics, also contains a number of historical variations and anachronisms. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
is President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(save for the episode "Ecto Cooler", where he appears as a ghost) and is a personal friend of Billy. The world police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
organization is not the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, but the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, which, in reality, disbanded in 1946. The presence of what appears to be a Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
leader in the League of Nations may also suggest that the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
has not dissolved in this universe.
The universe is also Evil Con Carnes universe: the characters meet, briefly. In the third season episode "Skarred for Life", General Skarr meets the characters in what could be seen as a full crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
. Skarr was a recurring character in the show, and struggled with fighting his addiction to war. Hector, the star of Evil Con Carne, also makes a brief appearance, along with Boskov the Bear (to whom Hector is physically attached), Cod Commando, and Skarr (3 other characters on the show) in a crowded jail cell in the episode "Duck!", which provoked Hector to break the fourth wall and point out that he's "not even in this stupid show anymore"; in the episode "Chicken Ball Z" he sells his island to Mandy for $50,000 she earned in the karate tournament. It's also known that Mandy's grim attitude and Billy's stupidity are constant in the universe, and if something affects it, the reality will change drastically. Since then Mandy once smiled, and the characters were transported to the PowerPuff Girls cartoon; and when Grim changes Billy's note to A, the earth inhabitants (aside Grim and Mandy) became the exact opposite of what they were originally.
Continuity
There is limited continuity between episodes, allowing for the destruction or alteration of the worldWorld
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
, or with the disappearance, horrific transformation, or (implied or not) death of the main characters such as Mandy becoming a giant brain eating meteor in "Little Rock of Horror". Often the episode will end with no resolution at all. In "Billy Gets an "A", the show ended with a comical "The End". Billy once also attempted to end the show early out of boredom ("Hey, Water You Doing?"). There is a meta-reference of this lack of continuity in the episode "Detention X", where Grim imprisons both Billy and Mandy (along with all their classmates) in a supernatural version of a detention class, but Mandy manages to escape and when Billy asks if she will help them, she replies that she will do it "in another episode."
However, there are a few exceptions to the usual lack of continuity. Characters that have appeared in previous episodes may return again, such as Pinocchio, who debuted in "Nursery Crimes" and returns in "Billy Ocean", Lord Pain from "House of Pain
House of Pain
House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group's name is a reference to the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr...
" who returns in "Everything Breaks" and Boogey from "Bully Boogie" returns in Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure is the first Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy television movie, the second one being Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen. It was also released on DVD. It premiered on March 30, 2007, even though it premiered in the UK first on February 14, 2007.-Plot:Grim...
and Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen (only in flashbacks). The characters usually show awareness of the previous events during these shifts. The events centered around recurring characters may even grow into a larger canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
and cause changes to the characters.
Billy & Mandy often breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, and the characters often mention previous episodes in a humorous manner. However, the one who breaks the fourth wall most frequently is Mandy. She often seems aware of the audience and comments on current events directly to the viewer (her comments are usually insults to the episode). This is commonly at the beginning of every show (except the UK showings of "My Fair Mandy", and possibly UK showings of "Wild Parts/The Problem with Billy" as well), where she gives the audience some form of message. She may also appear in various guises. What message she gives, and/or the guise in which she appears, are specific to the episodes shown. For example, in the case of "Hurter Monkey/Goodbling and the Hip-Hop-Opotamus", she says to the audience that she's "only got one nerve left, and you're getting on it." In "He's Not Dead, He's My Mascot", she literally gets up and walks out of the television upon knowing that the episode will, once again, be about pets (something very common in the universe of Billy and Mandy). Billy also breaks the fourth wall a great number of times as well as Grim, who says, "I'm pretty good at reading subtitles backwards." Another example is in "Pandora's Lunch Box", Mandy says "Who writes this stuff, anyway?" Then, the show cuts to a baby typing on a typewriter. Billy then impersonates Mandy, saying it again. It is also shown that the characters (mostly Mandy), would say the show's title. For example, in one episode, Mandy tells Grim they have to save Billy and when Grim asks why, she says, "Because "The Grim Adventures of Mandy," doesn't sound as good as "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy"."
Music
The score composers for the series are Gregory HindeGregory Hinde
Gregory Hinde is an American composer. He has written music for animated television series such as The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Evil Con Carne and worked on the final season of The Wild Thornberrys.-External links:*...
and Drew Neumann
Drew Neumann
Drew Neumann is a musician and composer of film and television scores. He created the soundtrack of the science fiction animated series Æon Flux, and has composed music for many other shows includingCrazy Cars,Fanboy & Chum Chum,The Wild Thornberrys, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and...
. The first season was composed by Guy Moon
Guy Moon
Guy Moon is an American composer. He has written music for film and animated television series, such as Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy , The Fairly OddParents ,, Danny Phantom, and more recently, Tak and the Power of Juju , Big Time Rush, T.U.F.F...
(when it was Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil
Grim & Evil is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms. The series, which premiered on Cartoon Network, consisted of two segments which were eventually spun off into their own series, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne.-History:The series' existence is...
). Several episodes feature music performances. The episode "Little Rock of Horror", which parodies the musical version of The Little Shop of Horrors, features a song by Voltaire
Voltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
, titled "BRAINS!
BRAINS!
"BRAINS!" is a song by the dark cabaret artist Voltaire. It has been described as having a '40s swing sound, which is in contrast to the much more European folk sound of many of Voltaire's older songs. It is also sometimes incorrectly entitled"Brains!"...
", the dance done when the citizens are brain-robbed is similar to the dance done in the world famous video for Michael Jackson's Thriller. In Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure is the first Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy television movie, the second one being Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen. It was also released on DVD. It premiered on March 30, 2007, even though it premiered in the UK first on February 14, 2007.-Plot:Grim...
, Voltaire plays the song "Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead (Voltaire song)
"Land of the Dead" is a song by the dark cabaret artist Voltaire. It has a soft rock - type sound to it, while keeping to the usual 60's style music...
" in the opening credits. In the same film, Billy himself actually sings a song which Maxwell Atoms and Gregory Hinde wrote called "Scary-O". The song Boogie Wonderland
Boogie Wonderland
"Boogie Wonderland" is a 1979 hit single by Earth, Wind & Fire featuring The Emotions. Boogie Wonderland was written by Allee Willis and Jon Lind, and included on the album I Am...
by Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
with The Emotions
The Emotions
The Emotions are an American all female soul and R&B singing group. The group was formed in its current hometown of Chicago, Illinois originally consisting of the three Hutchinson sisters, all the children of Joseph and Lillian Hutchinson....
is played during the closing credits. In the episode "Battle of the Bands" the song 'Darkness' by the band SPF 1000, composed by David Ivy, who sold the rights to the song to the show, was performed by Grim and a garage band "Purple Filth" for the Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands
Battle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
contest. 'Darkness' is also heard in the credits of the video game. In the Christmas Special "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas", song Round and Round
Round and Round (Ratt song)
"Round and Round" is a song by American glam metal band Ratt which proved to be the biggest hit of their career, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It appears as the third track of their album Out of the Cellar...
by Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
is played during the credits. There is a backmasked message in the credits of the TV show. At the end of the credits, it sounds like a voice saying something in reverse. When reversed, Maxwell Atoms says, "No, No, this is the end of the show. You're watching it backwards!"
TV movies
An 80-minute feature-length made-for-TV film adaptationFilm adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the series called Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure is the first Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy television movie, the second one being Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen. It was also released on DVD. It premiered on March 30, 2007, even though it premiered in the UK first on February 14, 2007.-Plot:Grim...
aired on March 30, 2007, with DVD release coming out few days later, on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. In the UK, the movie aired on February 14, 2007 on Cartoon Network. In Italy, the movie aired on Wednesday, October 31, on Halloween with the name of "Billy & Mandy Alla Ricerca Dei Poteri Perduti", on Cartoon Network Italy. In Canada, the movie aired on March 17, 2007, on Teletoon.
A second movie, Wrath of the Spider Queen was aired on July 6, 2007. It was based on a spider queen from Grim's distant past, who tries to take revenge on Grim, because she was meant to be the reaper. Meanwhile, keeping up with the spider theme, Billy learns to love his spider son Jeff.
On Sunday, October 12, 2008, a spin-off, "Underfist: Halloween Bash
Underfist: Halloween Bash
Underfist is a spin-off special of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. It aired on October 12, 2008. It tied as the number 1 program for the week among all broadcast and basic cable networks with boys 6-11, and earned between 19% and 76% growth across all kid demos...
", premiered. The movie's primary focus is on Irwin, Jeff the Spider, Hoss Delgado, General Skarr and Fred Fredburger accidentally coming together to defeat an invasion of chocolate bar monsters, led by an evil marshmallow bunny, on Halloween night.
Video game
A video game based on the series was developed by MidwayMidway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
for the GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. It was released on October 2, 2006, and as a Wii launch title on November 19, 2006.
Some characters and locations of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy also appear in the videogame Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a fighting video game developed by Papaya Studio and published by Crave Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released on June 2, 2011 in North America. While, in Europe it is set to release on December 1, 2011...
and its remake Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL.
DVD releases
The complete first season of Billy & Mandy was released on DVD on September 18, 2007. All seasons have also been made available for purchase on iTunes.com.The following special features include:
- Commentary on "Battle of the Bands/Little Rock of Horror/Dream a Little Dream" with Maxwell Atoms and Billy (voiced by Richard Horvitz)
- A Behind the Fiends Featurette with Maxwell Atoms
- Mandyisms (A collection of Mandy's phrases from the beginning of each episode)
- Burp-O-Rama ("Night of the Living Grim/Brown Evil Pts. 1 & 2" with burping sounds throughout the episodes)
- Skarr-O-Vision feature ("Evil Con Carne/Emotional Skarr/Evil Goes Wild" shown with Skarr's facial scar over the screen)
- A music video for Voltaire's "BRAINS!"
- A Mr. Snuggles virtual pet
- Bonus Evil Con Carne episodes.
Additionally, select episodes from the series have been featured on various Cartoon Network DVDs.
- Cartoon Network Halloween Volume 1 - 9 Creepy Capers (August 10, 2004)—"Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween"
- Cartoon Network Christmas Volume 1 - Yuletide Follies (October 5, 2004)—"Son of Nergal"
- Ed, Edd n EddyEd, Edd n EddyEd, Edd n Eddy is an original animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. Ed, Edd n Eddy was one of Cartoon Network's longest running and most successful franchises and the longest-running...
, Volume 1 - Edifying Ed-Ventures (May 10, 2005)—"Nursery Crimes" - Cartoon Network Halloween Volume 2 - Grossest Halloween Ever (August 9, 2005)—"Night of the Living Grim"
- Codename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
- Sooper Hugest Missions File Two (August 23, 2005)—"Crushed!" - Cartoon Network Christmas Volume 2 - Christmas Rocks (October 5, 2005)—"Battle of the Bands"
- Cartoon Network Halloween Volume 3 - Sweet Sweet Fear (September 12, 2006)—"The Bubble with Billy"
- Cartoon Network Fridays - Volume 1 (September 19, 2006)—"Herbicidal Maniac"
- Cartoon Network Christmas Volume 3 (October 3, 2006)—"Billy & Mandy Save Christmas"
- Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure (April 3, 2007)—"Bully Boogie"