Imaginary Gary is a minor antagonist of the Nickelodeon cartoon series The Fairly OddParents. He was Timmy Turner's imaginary friend back when he was five years old before he grew up and made real friends only to be wished into existence years later. While Gary eventually made amends with Timmy in his last appearance, it was originally planned for him to appear as the true main antagonist of the 2005 TV film School's Out! The Musical, being the one behind the Flappy Bob character.
He was presumably intended to be voiced by Jason Marsden again. In his Flappy Bob disguise, he was possibly intended to be voiced by S. Scott Bullock, who voiced him in the final project.
Biography[]
Imaginary Gary[]
School's Out! The Musical[]
In the original story for the 2005 TV film, it was originally planned for the character of Flappy Bob to not be real at all. Instead, Flappy Bob was intended to be a disguised Imaginary Gary, who had allied himself with H.P. and Sanderson to aid the Pixies with their plot about conquering the Earth and the Magic World and sending children to the Camp Learn-a-Torium, having Happy Peppy Gary & Betty as his henchmen.
According to the songs posted on the Scribd website under Fred Seibert's portfolio, Imaginary Gary was going to reveal his disguise during the song "Flappy Bob (Reprise)". In the song, after aiding the Pixies into conquering the world, Gary reveals himself as the one behind Flappy Bob and the Camp Learn-a-Torium, having escaped from Timmy's mind since he was last seen. He also announces his intentions to get Timmy killed for locking him away into his mind so he can assume Timmy's life. Upon hearing, Cosmo goes to release Timmy from the Camp Learn-a-Torium, inform him about the truth behind Flappy Bob and they proceed to release the other children before going after Gary.
For unknown reasons, however, the idea to make Imaginary Gary the main antagonist of School's Out! The Musical was dropped and Flappy Bob was ultimately rewritten into a villainous but later heroic character. On the other hand, Gary was later brought back in the episode "Escape From Unwish Island", where he fights Timmy a last time before redeeming himself and making amends with him.
Trivia[]
- Had the original story for School's Out! The Musical been kept, Imaginary Gary would have turned into a more darker character, as he states during the song "Flappy Bob (Reprise)" that he wants to see Timmy dead so he can assume his life. That said, it's possible that then the episode "Escape From Unwish Island" (where Gary last appears and redeems himself) would have not been produced.
- Although the story was intended to reveal that Flappy Bob was Gary disguised, this could have conflicted with the episode "Totally Spaced Out", as Flappy Bob's Camp Learn-a-Torium is already depicted to be functional but Gary wasn't wished into existence until "Imaginary Gary". That said, it's possible that a retcon would have been established to explain this inconsistency or that Flappy Bob was real and Gary stole his identity.