Bunsen is a Beast

Bunsen Is a Beast is an animated comedy Nickelodeon original series created by Butch Hartman and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The series officially ran on Nickelodeon from January 16th to October 14th of 2017, with the remaining episodes premiering on Nicktoons through February 9, 2018, making it the shortest-lived of the Nicktoons created by Butch Hartman. It was also Butch's last show for Nickelodeon before departing from the network in 2018.

Plot
Bunsen Is a Beast centers around a blue monster named Bunsen, who is the first beast to attend Muckledunk Middle School. Mikey Munroe, his human friend, helps him navigate through school as he feels the pressure to prove that monsters can coexist peacefully without eating or harming others. Episodes typically focus on Bunsen learning how to complete human tasks or discovering a human tradition. Mikey also learns more about the monster world, meeting new creatures whenever he visits Bunsen's home. However, a girl named Amanda Killman believes Bunsen is dangerous and wants to destroy him so that his kind will suffer from extinction. Bunsen and Mikey must outwit Amanda whenever she comes up with a new scheme, occasionally with the help of their friend Darcy.

Production
The idea for Bunsen Is a Beast originated in a drawing of a monster facing a boy that Hartman drew in 2009. According to an article published in Variety, he kept the drawing in his office at Nickelodeon until a network executive noticed it and asked him to pitch the concept as a television show.[1] The message that "no matter who you are, you can always find a place to fit in" inspired the show's underlying theme of embracing integration.[6] When asked in an interview with Heidi MacDonald's Comics Beat if the show could be interpreted as a metaphor for "accepting and befriending refugees," Hartman mentioned that the social commentary was "a little bit" intentional.[6] Animation began about a year before the show premiered.

Reception
This show received positive reviews. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised the show in his review, 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."

Trivia

 * The show was Butch Hartman's first animated series to be animated in the style of Adobe Flash, departing from the usual "traditional animation".
 * This is the only Butch Hartman show on Nickelodeon to not have Grey Griffin and Rob Paulsen as cast members.
 * Animation services were provided by Elliot Animation in Canada, best known for providing animated content within Canada, such as the Total Drama series, Grojband, etc. Also provided animation services for the last episodes of The Fairly OddParents season 10.
 * In October 2017, the series was burnt off from Nickelodeon due to low ratings, and as such it was removed entirely from its schedule. Future episodes would air on NickToons instead.
 * In February 2018, Hartman announced he was leaving Nickelodeon, primarily so that he could work on new projects as his own boss. In the video, he stated that the decision had been made that Bunsen is a Beast! would only run one season.