"Urban Jungle" is the forty-sixth episode in the TV-series Danny Phantom. A video game of the same name, based on this episode, was also released for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS consoles.
Plot[]
When a villainous and formidable plant ghost conquers Amity Park, a chilly Danny must cope with his current weakness as well as his newfound ice powers before it is too late.
Synopsis[]
After Sam waters the plants in her greenhouse and collects the various fruits and vegetables from them for lunch, she is met with Tucker and Danny, the latter donned in his winter jacket, freezing to the bone despite the warm weather (not to mention it's at least 95 degrees in Sam's greenhouse). Danny can't explain it, only that he just can't seem to get warm ever since he woke up this morning. When he touches Tucker, he shivers just like him and he admits that it is indeed too weird for comfort. Danny dismisses it as sign that he is coming down with a simple seasonal illness, and the trio leaves for school as a trail of cold softly leaves Danny's body and freezes Sam's Venus flytrap, unbeknownst to the three of them.
Outside, the three pass a construction site approved and administered by Mayor Vlad. While Sam expresses her hatred over the destruction of nature, Danny and Tucker are a lot less caring. The boys are marveling at the new places being built (such as a new arcade and hot dog joint) and try to convince Sam that there's nothing wrong with "progress". Sam doesn't believe in Vlad's beautification campaign in the slightest and sticks to the positive fact that disrespecting nature like this can be dangerous. Just as she finishes their conversation with that statement, almost on-cue, the ground suddenly cracks open and reveals plants and vines. From that fischer emerges a tower of plants that systematically puts itself together and covers itself with a shell of leaves. From those leaves emerges the giant menacing plant monster, Undergrowth, the tyrannical and bloodthirsty ghost master of all things plant life and vegetation. Infuriated over his "children" constantly being run down, he unleashes his full fury on the construction site, prompting Tucker to frighteningly ask for a weed wacker.
Undergrowth monologues about this so-called "progress" destroying acres of nature and declares that he will destroy all humans to make room for his new "offspring". Sam tries to empathize with the monster and convince him that there are better ways to go about it than just destruction, such as starting a nonprofit or organizing a petition. But Undergrowth ignores her and strikes multiple blows to the construction site, prompting Danny to go ghost and engage the menace.
As much as he deals damage to Undergrowth with his ghost rays, the plant monster is able to regenerate himself quickly with every strike. Not even a direct headshot brings him down. Undergrowth sends a trio of carnivorous plants at Danny, which he is able to escape from and prepares to counteract Undergrowth's regeneration powers with an ecto-bomb. However, before Danny can throw it and reduce him to ash, his mysterious chilling sensation overtakes him, and he can't recover in time to escape being captured by Undergrowth. After taking Sam and Tucker too, he decides that instead of destroying them, he plans to take a more "productive" approach and replant the entire town, first by sending out sleep spores that totally incapacite the three of them. As they pass out, Undergrowth ominously states that new life is going to be taking root in due time.
Danny and Tucker wake up to find the entire city covered with plants, thick vines and slavering flytraps. He is tied to a giant tree alongside Tucker with unbreakable vines. Undergrowth then appears and boasts that "the growth" is far stronger than any meat creature despite any power it may hold. Danny tries attacking with his ghost powers, but Undergrowth summons ghost plants which neutralizes his energy and power of intangibility. With his opponent totally neutralized, Undergrowth commences his declaration of evil: "This is exactly what nature intended all along. Mankind is merely a temporary weed in the garden of life. A weed...that can be removed". After Danny refuses to submit to the reign of plants, Undergrowth announces his master plan. Using a mind-controlling plant he calls the "mind vine", he's going to use the mind-controlled citizens to destroy Amity Park and replant an entire forest right on top of its remains. Soon the entire world will follow and become overtaken by his own consciousness, destroying city after city to make way for his living planetary jungle and humankind will cease to exist forever. Danny cries in triumph and desperation that someone else will stop him if he can't. He dares to ask for any suggestions regarding such candidates and that's cue to Jack and Maddie Fenton, who drive madly through the plants with their RV until two giant vines comes out and breaks it in two. As much as both Maddie and Jack fight back as well, they eventually succumb to the mind vines, much to Danny's horror. When Tucker says that he and Danny are the only ones left, Danny notices that Sam is nowhere to be found. Undergrowth answers his question by unveiling her personally, revealing to them that she is not only too possessed by Undergrowth's ghost plants, but is serving as his second-in-command, a caretaker for his plants as poetic justice for her love of vegetation. Sam possesses Tucker (much to Danny's horror) and sends a huge Venus flytrap monster towards Danny. Out of nowhere, Danny's chilly sensation returns and freezes the entire section of the tree he's tied to and shatters it like glass. Flying away to safety, Undergrowth sends Sam after him and she seductively tries to convince him to join Undergrowth's cause. His refusal is made all the more easy with his new sub-zero atmospheric temperature shattering any vine that ensnares him. He tries to escape to the skies since plants don't fly, but discovers that escaping Undergrowth is far from easy since he can appear everywhere at once with plants completely overtaking the city. However, there is one place he's not - the Ghost Zone - and that's where Danny needs to retreat to. Getting there proves even more challenging when he is constantly chilly to the point where icicles literally hang off of him. The cold makes Danny lose his grip on the air and he starts to fall and gradually phases into the waters of a sewer, which totally freezes over. Sam, however, is very persistent on capturing him, intending for him to rule alongside her. By the time Danny narrowly escapes the sewer, his face literally turns blue and just barely turns intangible long enough to get inside Fenton Works before it becomes overrun with vines. Danny gets inside the lab and is met by Sam once again. Turning intangible, he charges into the Ghost Zone and promises to return and save her and everyone.
Danny narrowly escapes and takes refuge in the Ghost Zone, concluding only one person is capable of helping him. Soon enough, Danny becomes so weak from the cold that he crash lands into the Far Frozen, now unconscious and nearly covered in ice. Frostbite and one of his scouts spot him afterwards, and Frostbite recognizes him as an old friend. He picks him up and they return to the city. Danny wakes up floating inside a de-icing chamber in his underwear in their medical facility. There, he tells Frostbite of the current situation of Amity Park and Undergrowth's takeover. Frostbite has heard of the monster and is familiar with his abilities which make him next to impossible to defeat. Danny explains that he tried to defeat him but couldn't remember much once his constant chilly state began overtaking him. Frostbite explains from the medical examination, he has deduced that the "cold sensation" is a result of his body self-generating an energy source of extreme cold, which Frostbite sensed within Danny the last time they met. He further elaborates that this in fact a new ghost power that is quite familiar to Frostbite's people. Amazed, Danny asks him to train him in its use (as soon as his clothes are out of the laundry).
Frostbite takes Danny to a stadium where they train in front of a large audience. Danny is uncomfortable training in front of such a crowd, but Frostbite reassures him that they're all here because not everyone gets to see someone as "legendary" as Danny fight alongside their leader (and because they live in a frozen wasteland and take whatever humor they can get, such as mess-ups Danny's training may yield). Frostbite explains that Danny is constantly shivering to the bone because the cold is contained within him and has now reached its pressure point. Interestingly, Danny has had this energy within ever since he gained his powers and has only ever been letting it out in small amounts in the form of his ghost-sense. Frostbite instructs him to stop trying to contain the energy, but rather, allow it to build to its blast point until it has nowhere to go but out. Danny succeeds and his temperature is returned to normal, and Frostbite is able to congratulate him just seconds before getting totally frozen solid from the cold release. After that, he trains Danny in many techniques of cryokinesis, but his progress initially endangers the audience several times. By the end of the training, he is able to control his new powers and is ready to rock. Danny and Frostbite bid a fond farewell, the latter giving him optimistic advice to the briefly vulnerable Danny who fears he might fail and can never return home. Fear is totally natural in the face of danger but charging into battle despite the overwhelming odds is what makes someone a hero. A hero must always believe in victory and Danny stands a better chance than ever with his new cryogenic sorcery. Before sending Danny off to make his final stand against Undergrowth, Frostbite gives Danny some final valuable words for controlling his powers: "He controls the power, the power does not control him". He tries to say goodbye to everyone else, but since they're still recovering from their injuries sustained from Danny's poor aim, the very sight of him raising his hand sends them fleeing in fear. They shoot each other determined looks and Danny takes off like a rocket.
Danny returns to Amity Park, which is in much worse shape than before. He flies above the town without seeing any sign of human life and hears an echoey voice that he follows to a giant tree. That voice reveals itself to be Sam, who is now a plant queen. She refuses to leave her new home, as she is Undergrowth's plants' new "mother" (which Danny finds ridiculous since she won't even babysit her cousins). Danny demands to know where everyone else is, and Sam showcases the fate of the humans; all of them are lying unconscious inside plant pods to serve as nutrients to the plants.
Undergrowth then appears, more powerful than before and vowing to make Danny suffer the same fate as the rest. Danny tries to attack again but is subdued by giant mutant cacti and eventually entangled by vines, dragging him under as Sam watches, no matter how much he protests.
Trapped, Danny remembers Frostbite's words of wisdom and in a fit of renewed confidence, he breaks free by freezing the vines and shattering them. Afterwards, he recites a catchphrase and freezes Undergrowth, but that doesn't stop him. Danny and Undergrowth engage in an epic final showdown and Danny is holding his ground perfectly with his new powers. None of Undergrowth's "children" even slow him down anymore.
As Undergrowth gradually loses strength, Danny is struck with an ingenius idea: He goes intangible and heads below the surface, freezing the roots beneath him one by one, weakening him further and freezing the plants above. With Undergrowth's strength sapped, Danny pummels him senseless, recites a snarky catchphrase, and sends a snowball charged with volatile ecto-energy flying straight at him. The impact seemingly does nothing and Undergrowth regenerates. But all of a sudden, the impact point begins to glow and he screams in pain. The energy builds up within him until it ignites to a blast point and Undergrowth explodes, defeating him once and for all. Immediately after his defeat, all the ice melts, all the mutated ghost plants shrivel up and die, the sun shines upon Amity Park once again as it has been saved, and the humans awaken from their mind vine possessions with no memory of what just happened.
Danny walks over to Sam and Tucker, briefly glowing blue, which catches Sam's attention. Danny says that as of now, he has a whole new respect for nature. Danny showcases his new power to them by generating an ice crystal out of thin air. He gives it to Sam and, when she asks him what it is for, he leans in and says that he is glad she is okay, and they affectionately touch heads. Tucker, meanwhile, reappears in suited-up lawn mower and quickly starts a lawn mowing service for five thousand dollars, stating all he needs is one lawn mowed and they will be "rolling in green stuff"; prompting Sam to comment that she feels like she has just done that despite not remembering exactly what happened.
The episode ends with Undergrowth regenerating himself as a tiny little weed, at which Tucker charges with his turbo mower and runs him down, ending the episode with the trio sharing a laugh after stating "That one's on the house" with a smile.
Crew[]
- Voice cast
- David Kaufman as Danny Fenton/Phantom; Walla
- Grey DeLisle as Sam Manson; Walla
- Ricky Collins as Tucker Foley; Walla
- Rob Paulsen as Jack Fenton; Soldier #1
- Kath Soucie as Maddie Fenton; Walla
- Bob Joles as Frostbite; Walla
- Mark Hamill as Undergrowth
Series continuity[]
- Danny develops cryokinesis.
- Danny re-encounters Frostbite.
- Sam continues to display her "ultra-recyclo-vegetarian" side, but this time about caring for the fate of nature as a whole instead of just food.
Trivia[]
- Allusions: See List of allusions
- Goofs: See List of goofs
- Introduced Ghost Powers: Cryokinesis, the power of ice, icy energy, and manipulation of cold temperature.
- On the day "Urban Jungle" premiered, Nickelodeon ran a mini-marathon of episodes that showcased Danny's many powers, to build up to this episode showing Danny's new ice powers, and referred to the episode as a TV movie called "Phantom Phreeze."
- Nickelodeon aired this episode on TV out of order. It was aired before any of the other episodes of Season 3, despite it being the sixth episode of the season. This caused this episode to contain spoilers for then-unaired episodes:
- Vlad was shown as the mayor of Amity Park. This was supposed to have been revealed near the end of "Eye for an Eye."
- Frostbite appears in this episode and calls Danny an "old friend," meaning they had met before. This was supposed to have been shown in "Infinite Realms."
- This episode reveals that Sam has younger cousins and that she doesn't like to babysit them.
- Sam's plant queen outfit is an unlockable costume for Sam in the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots. The outfit is referred to in-game as "Plant-girl Sam." The vines that hang from her arms and ankles in the episode are replaced with bracelets and an anklet on her right leg in the game.
- This is the second episode to receive a video game adaptation. The first episode was "The Ultimate Enemy."
- The game was released a month before the episode aired.
- This episode marks the first time that Mark Hamill and Grey DeLisle voice characters in a series together. They appear together again in a later Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Sam’s plant queen outfit looks similar to the Disney Villain, Maleficent from the 1959 movie Sleeping Beauty.