The upcoming Fairly OddParents reboot will be a hybrid of live-action and animated storytelling. The animated series first aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2006. It then resumed production from 2008 until creator Butch Hartman left the network in 2018. The show follows the adventures of 10-year-old Timmy Turner and his bubbly, oddball fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda, who are able to grant Timmy’s every wish. Other Dimmsdale denizens include Vicky, Timmy’s tyrannical babysitter, his oblivious, well-meaning parents, and the hunchbacked Mr. Crocker.
Set for release in March 2022, the rebooted Fairly OddParents features Timmy’s cousin, Vivian Turner, as the new main character. When 13-year-old Vivian moves with her dad to Dimmsdale, Timmy enlists Cosmo and Wanda to help her adjust. However, Viv must share her godparents with her new stepbrother, Roy. Audrey Grace Marshall is set to star as Vivian, with Tyler Wladis co-starring as Roy. Laura Bell Bundy, Ryan-James Hatanaka, and Imogen Cohen round out the ensemble. Additionally, Daran Norris and Susanne Blakeslee will return to voice Cosmo and Wanda.
Now, The Fairly OddParents actress Lesli Margherita has confirmed to The Art of Kindness podcast that the upcoming reboot will combine animation and live-action. Margherita will play a new character named Judy Stoneface. "There are aspects of the animation that are happening in the live-action as well,” says the actress. “It's a hybrid." Touted as a live-action reboot, it seems that the titular OddParents will remain animated. It remains to be seen if other characters will be animated as well.
The reboot isn’t the first time The Fairly OddParents has dabbled in live-action. The series spawned three live-action films—A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! (2011), A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012), and A Fairly Odd Summer—all three of which starred Drake Bell as an adult Timmy. All three films combined real-life actors with GCI fairies. The series seems to be in the same vein as the films, at least stylistically.
The Fairly OddParents reboot is one of many Nickelodeon series being rebooted by Paramount+. The streaming platform is also mounting a revival of Dora the Explorer, and it has already debuted an updated iCarly and a new CGI version of Rugrats. Other streaming services have been successful with this tactic, including Netflix’s Fuller House and Peacock’s Saved By the Bell. As other streamers continue to capitalize on nostalgia, the Fairly OddParents creators can only hope that its hybrid style will separate the series from the pack.
More: The Art of Kindness