Pepper Ann



Pepper Ann is an American animated series created by Sue Rose that aired on ABC as part of the Disney's One Saturday Morning block. The series debuted on September 13, 1997, and ended on November 18, 2000. The character originated in a comic strip published in YM magazine.

Plot
The show centers on the titular character, Pepper Ann Pearson, a 12-year-old girl whose emotions come out in fantasies. The show was designed to be a "different sort" of girl's cartoon, and features many strong-willed female characters who aggressively reject the idea of passive femininity.

Pepper Ann's best friends are Milo Kamalani, a very eccentric, highly dramatic artist; and Nicky Little, a soft-spoken, overachieving aspiring violinist. Other fellow students at Hazelnut Middle School include rich and spoiled Trinket, German boy Dieter Liederhosen, popular airhead Cissy, gossipy twins Tessa and Vanessa, Nicky's boyfriend, the RC car-racing "nerd" Stewart Walldinger, and the cool 8th-grader, Craig Bean. Pepper Ann has no real enemies except Principal Hickey, a tough disciplinarian with zero tolerance for Pepper Ann's shenanigans, Wayne Macabre, a rude and sexist student who serves as a DJ on the school's radio station KHMS and Alice Kane, an uppity snob who refers to her as "P. Ann" and competes against her in the school's science competition.

Pepper Ann usually receives advice from her conscience in the form of her reflection. She gets into mild vocal quarrels with her reflection and her feminist mother, Lydia Pearson, although Lydia usually gives the moral at the end. Pepper Ann's father is seen only in a few episodes in his entirety. We know, however, that he was English, and divorced Lydia (although the two remain on good terms) when the girls were young. Lydia, in turn, embraces her divorcee, single-mom identity with great gusto, and encourages Pepper Ann to be as proudly independent as she is.

The show's plots usually involved Pepper Ann being presented with a moral dilemma, choosing the wrong decision, facing the consequences and learning a moral lesson. The series was mostly rated TV-Y. However, the Season 1 finale, "In Support Of", raised controversy. In the episode, Pepper Ann is told she would need "support" to jump on the trampoline. Thinking the teacher meant "breast support", a paranoid, still flat-chested and seemingly unready Pepper Ann is convinced she now needs a bra. When at the trampoline, and asked where her "support" was, Pepper Ann flashes the class (her bra), although it is only seen with Pepper Ann's back facing the viewer. (The gag is that, by "support", the instructor meant a "support buddy.") That episode was rated TV-Y7.

Characters
Pepper Ann Pearson (voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite) — Pepper Ann is a quirky and unpredictable twelve-year-old seventh grader at Hazelnut Middle School. She is best friends with Milo Kamalani and Nicky Little. Her mother is Lydia Pearson, her father is Chuck Pearson and her little sister is Moose. She often has elaborate fantasy sequences in which her reflection acts as her conscience during moral dilemmas

Milo Kamalani (voiced by Danny Cooksey) — Milo is one of Pepper Ann's best friends. He is an excellent artist, having designed the school year book cover. But Milo can do more than just art, he is the preacher for Pepper Ann, before she does something she'll regret. She rarely listens to his advice, but it doesn't discourage him from trying.

Nicky Little (voiced by Clea Lewis) — Nicky is one of Pepper Ann's best friends. She is a twelve-year-old seventh-grader. Her only imperfection is that sometimes she is a little too perfect. Nicky is one of the only people who can get through to Pepper Ann's strange thoughts and try to talk some sense into her, although she doesn't always listen. Nicky's dream is to become a concert violinist in Italy. She practices her violin and her Italian every day.

Lydia Pearson (voiced by April Winchell) — Lydia is a divorced, single working mother. She works at a fashion boutique called "It's You". Pepper Ann is usually embarrassed by her, but also realizes from time to time how alike they actually are. Lydia is very big on "family time" and getting along, and gets irked quite easily if she feels someone isn't participating.

Margaret Rose "Moose" Pearson (voiced by Pamela Segall) — Moose is Pepper Ann's tomboyish little sister with a deep voice and boyish mannerisms.

History
After appearing on Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC, Pepper Ann was syndicated on UPN's Disney's One Too programming block in 2000. It then moved to the Disney Channel, and eventually moved to Toon Disney. This was the last time Pepper Ann has been seen on any cable channel in the US. It returned to Disney Channel Portugal on April 11, 2011. It is unknown at this time if it will return in the US. Disney currently has no intention to release Pepper Ann on DVD, and unlike Doug and Recess, it was never available on home video.

Episodes
Pepper Ann has a total of 65 episodes spread over 5 seasons that were produced from September 1997 to November 2000.