# Bunsen Is a Beast
**Bunsen Is a Beast** is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, centered on a small, fuzzy, blue beast named Bunsen who becomes the first beast ever to attend a school for human kids, and his friendship with the human boy Mikey Munroe.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) • [2](https://butchhartmanstudios.com/about) The series premiered on [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT), and was Hartman's fourth Nicktoon, following *The Fairly OddParents*, *Danny Phantom*, and *[T.U.F.F. Puppy](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-u-f-f-puppy)*.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) • [3](https://www.nickanimation.com/content/bunsen-is-a-beast/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creator | Butch Hartman, created and executive produced for Nickelodeon; his fourth Nicktoon[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) • [3](https://www.nickanimation.com/content/bunsen-is-a-beast/) |
| Premiere | February 21, 2017, 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) |
| Premise | Bunsen, the first beast at Muckledunk Middle School, tries to prove beasts and humans can coexist, helped by his friend Mikey[2](https://butchhartmanstudios.com/about) |
| Main voice cast | Jeremy Rowley (Bunsen), Ben Giroux (Mikey), Kari Wahlgren (Amanda Killman), Cheri Oteri (Miss Flap)[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) |
| Origin | A 2009 drawing of a monster facing a boy that Hartman kept in his Nickelodeon office[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast) |
| Reception | IMDb rating of 4.0; TV-Y7 age rating[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/bunsen-is-a-beast) |
| Run | Aired on Nickelodeon from January 16 to October 14, 2017, with remaining episodes on Nicktoons through February 9, 2018[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast) |
## Premise and characters
The series follows Bunsen, the first beast ever to attend Muckledunk Middle School, which previously admitted only humans.[2](https://butchhartmanstudios.com/about) Bunsen feels pressure to succeed and prove to the world that monsters can live among humans without eating them, and with help from his best friend Mikey he learns human-world tasks such as doing homework, eating ice cream, and riding the bus.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) In turn, Mikey learns to navigate the Beast World and meet the creatures that reside there.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/)
The main antagonist is Amanda Killman, described in the network's press release as "the rigid and rule bound beast hater," who schemes to get Bunsen removed from the school.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) The voice cast also includes Cristina Milizia as Darcy, Bunsen and Mikey's homeschooled friend, [Cheri Oteri](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheri-oteri) as their eccentric teacher Miss Flap, Jeff Bennett as Bunsen's Dad, and [Jennifer Hale](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-hale) as Bunsen's Mom.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/)
## Development
Hartman has said he conceived the idea around 2009, while he was getting *T.U.F.F. Puppy* off the ground, when he drew a picture of a little beast and a little boy facing each other and wrote the title "Bunsen is a Beast" on it.[6](https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-butch-hartman-on-nicks-bunsen-is-a-beast/) At first he had meant it for the cover of a children's book, and the picture remained where he worked at Nickelodeon until an executive at the network spotted it and requested that he propose the idea as a TV series.[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast) In an interview, Hartman said the original concept was just the drawing, and the story developed from the question of what a beast's first day at a kid's school would be like.[7](https://animesuperhero.com/toonzone-interviews-butch-hartman-bunsen-beast/)
The character design changed during development. Bunsen was first drawn as a small reptile or lizard, and after hundreds of drawings in that form, a Nickelodeon executive suggested a better design; Hartman then abandoned the reptile look for a fuzzier one, which the team kept.[6](https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-butch-hartman-on-nicks-bunsen-is-a-beast/) A sneak peek of the series was shown at Comic-Con in 2016.[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast)
## Broadcast
Nickelodeon announced the series on January 26, 2017, as a 20-episode run debuting February 21 at 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT), with daily premieres through Friday, February 24, and a regular Saturday 10:30 a.m. timeslot thereafter.[1](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/) The series aired on Nickelodeon from January 16 to October 14, 2017, with remaining episodes premiering on [Nicktoons](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicktoons) through February 9, 2018, making it the shortest-lived of Hartman's Nicktoons.[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast) It was also Hartman's last show for Nickelodeon before he departed the network in 2018.[4](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast) The series later aired internationally, including on YTV in Canada from June 3, 2017, and on Nickelodeon in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and Greece during 2017.[8](https://informasilengkap.com/en/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast)
## Reception
The series received a 4.0 rating on IMDb and carries a TV-Y7 age rating.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/bunsen-is-a-beast) Common Sense Media, reviewing the show for parents, rated it appropriate for ages 7 and up and noted its prominent messages about inclusiveness and appreciating differences, while observing that Bunsen's out-of-control behavior and loud, sound-effect-heavy comedy could wear on parents' nerves.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/bunsen-is-a-beast) Critical response was not uniformly negative: Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised the series, 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."[8](https://informasilengkap.com/en/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast)
## References
1. [Nickelodeon Debuts Original Animated Series, Bunsen is a Beast, from Veteran Creator Butch Hartman (Paramount press release, January 26, 2017)](https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nickelodeon-debuts-original-animated-series-bunsen-beast-veteran/)
2. [About — Butch Hartman Studios](https://butchhartmanstudios.com/about)
3. [Bunsen is a Beast — Nickelodeon Animation](https://www.nickanimation.com/content/bunsen-is-a-beast/)
4. [Bunsen Is a Beast — Nickelodeon Fandom wiki](https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast)
5. [Bunsen is a Beast — JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/bunsen-is-a-beast)
6. [INTERVIEW: Butch Hartman On Nick's "Bunsen Is A Beast" — Animation Scoop](https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-butch-hartman-on-nicks-bunsen-is-a-beast/)
7. [Toonzone Interviews Butch Hartman on "Bunsen is a Beast" — Anime Superhero News](https://animesuperhero.com/toonzone-interviews-butch-hartman-bunsen-beast/)
8. [Bunsen Is a Beast — informasilengkap](https://informasilengkap.com/en/Bunsen_Is_a_Beast)
9. [Bunsen Is a Beast — Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/bunsen-is-a-beast)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Animated television series (individual series) › Children's animated adventure and fantasy series › Fantasy and magical series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license