Ed, Edd n Eddy

Ed, Edd n Eddy is a Canadian-American animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canada-based a.k.a. Cartoon. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 4, 1999. The series was designed to resemble classic cartoons from the 1940s to the 1970s, and revolves around three adolescent boys, Ed (voiced by Matt Hill), Edd "Double D" (voiced by Samuel Vincent), and Eddy (voiced by Tony Sampson), collectively known as "the Eds", who live in a suburban cul-de-sac. Unofficially led by Eddy, the Eds constantly invent schemes to make money from their peers to purchase their favorite confectionery, jawbreakers. Their plans usually fail though, leaving them in various predicaments.

Ed, Edd n Eddy received generally positive reviews from critics and became one of Cartoon Network's most successful original series. It won a Reuben Award, two Leo Awards and a SOCAN Award, and was also nominated for another four Leo Awards, an Annie Award and two Kids' Choice Awards. The show attracted an audience of 31 million households, was broadcast in 120 countries, and proved to be popular among not only children, but teenagers and even adults as well. With a 10-year run, Ed, Edd n Eddy remains the longest-running original Cartoon Network series and Canadian-made animated series to date. Reruns of the series continue to air on Cartoon Network as part of the revived block Cartoon Planet.

Plot
Ed, Edd n Eddy follows the lives of three adolescent boys who all share variations of the name Ed, but differ greatly in their personalities. In the pursuit of buying jawbreakers, dimwitted Ed and intellectual Double D aid the self-appointed leader, Eddy, in his plans to scam the other children of the cul-de-sac out of their money; however problems always ensue. The other children mostly dislike or show indifference toward the Eds, though they all share a common fear of the Kanker Sisters, a group of teenage girls who live in a nearby trailer park. The series takes place mostly within the fictional town of Peach Creek, and new locations were rarely introduced. The first four seasons of the show are set during a perpetual summer vacation, but from the fifth season onwards, the characters were shown going to school in fall and winter.

Characters
Eddy (voiced by Tony Sampson) — Eddy is the self-appointed leader of the Eds. He is very arrogant, lazy, laid-back, sarcastic, greedy, selfish, easily frustrated, and sometimes mean. For example, in "Don't Rain on My Ed", Eddy chose jawbreakers over saving Double D from a chicken parade. He loves money, jawbreakers (which he likes to spend his ill-earned money on), dirty magazines (as hinted in "Luck of the Ed"), his room, and Chunky Puffs. Eddy ordinarily comes up with the plans for scamming people, but they usually fail, much to his dismay. Eddy will often, especially in the early seasons, slack off by suntanning or drinking a soda while his fellow Eds do all the work. His prized possessions include his dirty magazines, king sized bed, and disco ball; he also has a Barry White album and is a fan of Tom Jones. Eddy is the shortest of the Eds and takes this very seriously, hating the thought of people calling him short. Eddy sometimes boasts about his older brother and uses this to his advantage to gain respect. Like Kevin, Eddy can be mean and sarcastic and can make fun of others, but deep down, Eddy only wants to be liked by his peers.

Edd (voiced by Samuel Vincent) — Edd, mostly referred to as Double D, is the brightest of the Eds and the most mature, good-natured, and friendliest of the three. As a result, the kids of the cul-de-sac are friendlier toward him than Ed and Eddy. Double D has a high IQ and is top of the class in most subjects at school. He is the weakest of the Eds and despises P.E. and other sporting activities. As the most creative of the trio, he is able to construct things like planes, rocket cars, and roller coasters with junk he comes across. He often speaks using very complex words. His clothing usually consists of an orange shirt, purple shorts, red socks, and cyan shoes. In the later seasons and the film, he wears a tie when going to school. He more famously wears a black ski hat with two white lines on it. It is unknown what lies under his hat, but Ed and Eddy see him without his hat twice in "Stop, Look and Ed" and the movie. He is the only one of the trio to be an only child, and his parents leave sticky notes around his house to communicate with him.

Ed (voiced by Matt Hill) — Ed is the strong, dimwitted workhorse of the group who has very short hair and poor personal hygiene. He wears a red and white striped shirt, a green jacket with two white stripes on each sleeve and purple blue jeans. His skin is yellow, unlike the other characters, and he is known to laugh a lot and is happy most of the time. Ed has amazing physical strength, which is humorously worked into many of the show's plots. His mind is a subculture grab bag full of comics and monster movies, which he often confuses with reality and also has the habit of shouting random remarks which have almost nothing to do with the current conversations. Ed is utterly at the mercy of his tyrannical younger sister Sarah and is an easy target of her manipulations, often Sarah threatens to tell their mother if she does not get her way. Ed is kind and has a positive attitude towards almost everything and everyone, even to those who are not kind to him. He cares about the well-being of the other two Eds. He often sacrifices himself for his two best friends, the other cul-de-sac children, and even his younger sister Sarah, for whom he cares deeply, though she treats him very badly. He is very absent-minded and naive, making him the perfect candidate to help Eddy with his scams, as Ed hardly ever questions them. Even so, Ed never feels abused by Eddy.

Jonny (voiced by David Paul Grove) — Jonny also known as "Jonny 2x4" is a loner and considered by his peers to be a nuisance. Jonny is often made fun of for his big head and has a tendency to get his head caught in branches when climbing trees. He talks a lot, and frequently gets on the other kids' nerves. He is rarely seen without his imaginary friend, a 2x4 wooden board with drawn-on eyes and mouth, aptly named Plank. Johnny seems innocent and gullible, and often forgives people no matter what they do. He does not seem to mind the antics of the Eds, and is often the most friendly out of all the cul-de-sac kids towards them. He is very protective of Plank, and will burst into acts of bravery or extreme aggression if Plank is stolen or harmed in some way. He does not seem to acknowledge that Plank is just an inanimate, silent, 2x4 piece of wood, and when asked for help with an imaginary friend, he claimed to have no clue what the Eds were talking about. He and Plank both have superhero alter-egos (Captain Melonhead and Splinter the Wonderwood, respectively), which they assumed twice throughout the series; first in "Robbin' Ed" to thwart Eddy's "Thingamajig" scam and to fight Eddy's own one-time only alter-ego, Professor Scam, and then in "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show" to hunt down and get revenge on the Eds. Like Rolf, and Jimmy he is among the only kids in the Cul-de-Sac that tolerates the Eds to a certain degree.

Jimmy (voiced by Keenan Christenson) — Jimmy is an insecure child, with a propensity to cry. He is most often seen spending his time with Sarah. Jimmy is highly accident-prone, often seen sporting bandages, casts, and braces (particularly headgear), and is considered the weakest kid in the cul-de-sac. Though Jimmy has a cowardly, delicate, and effeminate personality, he truly wishes to be strong and muscular. He can be crafty when motivated, and has twice made scams that were very successful. Jimmy has shown how deeply attached he is to Sarah when someone tries to take her away from him. For most of the series he wore a retainer to correct his teeth, due to a bowling pin accident during one of Eddy's scams.

Sarah (voiced by Janyse Jaud) — Sarah is Ed's violent, rude, spoiled, whiny, ill-tempered, and extremely selfish younger sister who acts cute and kind only when it suits her. She is commonly depicted with a disgruntled facial expression and treats her fearful, trembling brother, frightened by his sister's constant threats of tattling on him, with complete disrespect. Domineering, Sarah frequently orders people (sometimes even those of higher rightful authority than her) around, and her desires often have to be met or else she will fling herself into a violent temper tantrum or threaten the person in question. Throughout the course of the series, Sarah has been shown to possess an infatuation with Edd, but has still been shown to frequently subject him to abuse for whatever reason.

Kevin (voiced by Kathleen Barr) — Kevin is a stereotypical jock. He is rather arrogant, cynical, sarcastic and can be cruel at times. Kevin has a garage full of jawbreakers, thanks to his father who works at a jawbreaker factory. He loves customizing his bike, skateboards, and snowboards. When not riding his trusty bike, he usually hangs out with Rolf and Nazz in the lane. He hates the Eds to the point of paranoia, but his animosity towards them is mostly geared towards Eddy; the two are mortal enemies and often go entirely out of their way to humiliate or physically harm each other at the first opportunity. He appears to be on somewhat friendlier terms with Edd and has occasionally come to him for advice and at least once even engaged him in a friendly conversation. He tends to call the Eds "dorks" and has a habit of coming up with words merged with "dork" to suit the situation. Like Double D, Kevin normally wears a hat and rarely takes it off. However in the Season 3 episode "Boys Will be Eds" Kevin takes off his hat for the first time and is shown to be bald.

Rolf (voiced by Peter Kelamis) — Rolf is an immigrant of an undetermined origin and culture with odd customs and has a thick accent to match. He works his parents' small farm within the cul-de-sac, and leads a scouting group called the "Urban Rangers," which includes Jimmy, Plank, and Jonny. Rolf usually refers to himself in third person, as well as being the son of a shepherd, in which he takes pride. His faithful farm animals are three pigs (one named Wilfred), a goat named Victor, at least six chickens (two named Bridget and Gertrude), a cow named Beatrice, and five sheep. He hardly minds the Eds (whom he calls the "Ed boys") unless they make a fool out of him or offend him in some way, after which he is not afraid to use brute force. He seems to be very muscular, but this is usually only shown when he is angry.

Nazz Van Bartonschmeer (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain; Jenn Forgie; Erin Fitzgerald) — Nazz is a lovely, fashionable local girl who normally treats her peers (including the Eds) respectfully; however, when antagonized she will react violently to the cause of her agitation or partake in harming the Eds as discipline for an alleged misdeed that they have committed. A majority of the male characters featured in the series are smitten with her, and an entire episode once chronicled their many failed attempts at wooing her. She also possesses a number of humorous eccentricities; she is able to yodel, possesses substandard skills at playing a rather large tuba, and is often depicted with poor table etiquette. She ultimately has a crush on Kevin, as implied in a few episodes.

The Kanker Sisters — Lee (voiced by Janyse Jaud), Marie (voiced by Kathleen Barr), and May ( voiced by Erin Fitzgerald; Jenn Forgie) are three half-sisters who serve as recurring antagonists towards the cul-de-sac and its inhabitants. Lee is the leader with curly red hair that covers her eyes, Marie has blue hair, and May is a buck-toothed blonde. They live in the nearby trailer park called Park 'n' Flush. If there is one thing that all of the kids in the cul-de-sac can agree on, it's that they all hate the Kanker Sisters. While all the Kankers like all of three of the Eds, it has been shown that May prefers Ed, Marie prefers Edd, and Lee prefers Eddy.

History
Adult cartoonist and Ed, Edd n Eddy creator Danny Antonucci was dared to create a children's cartoon; while designing a commercial, he conceived Ed, Edd n Eddy, and approached Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon with the series, but both channels demanded creative control, to which Antonucci did not agree. A deal was ultimately made for Cartoon Network to commission Ed, Edd n Eddy, after they agreed to let Antonucci have control of the show. During the show's run, several specials and shorts were produced in addition to the regular television series. Two books, as well as several comic books and video games, either based on the series or featuring the series' characters have also been produced. The series was originally planned to air for four seasons, but Cartoon Network ordered two additional seasons and three holiday-themed specials as a result of its popularity. The series' TV film finale, Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show aired on November 8, 2009, officially ending the series.

Antonucci, an advocate of hand-drawn animation, wanted to ensure Ed, Edd n Eddy was produced in a way similar to the cartoons from the 1940s to the 1970s. As a result, the series was the last to use cel animation; the cels were shipped to Korea for creating the initial animation, and then later edited back at Antonucci's a.k.a. Cartoon studio. To give the impression of movement, Ed, Edd n Eddy used "boiling lines", shimmering character outlines which have been compared to Squigglevision. The boiling lines are not as noticeable as those in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, but are still visible, and Antonucci likens it to cartoons of the 1930s. The boiling line is created by tracing off a drawing three times through sheets of paper. Antonucci explained that he felt it "helps keep the characters alive" and that he wanted to depart from other Cartoon Network series and pay homage to the classic cartoon era.

Antonucci showed the theme song to the studios when first pitching the series, thinking it would be better than only looking at drawings. It was inspired by the Bob Crosby and The Big Cats song "Big Noise from Winnetka", which was whistled, something Antonucci enjoyed doing as a child. Composed by Patric Caird, who created all the music in the series, Antonucci performed the whistling himself. The title sequence was created by Paul Boyd.

According to Antonucci, he based the characters on real people in his life; the personalities of Ed, Edd, and Eddy are based on his own traits, and the activities of his two sons while the cul-de-sac children and the Kanker sisters were all based on children he grew up with. Rolf is based on himself and his cousins, since he was part of an immigrant family, and grew up in a first generation foreign household with different customs and ways of living, compared to those born in Canada. Jimmy is based on one of his cousins, who spent most of his time playing with girls than boys and was rather feminine. Jonny and Plank are inspired by one of Antonucci's childhood friends, a loner who spent most of his time outside with his blanket. He stated that he believed it was important to add Plank, a board of wood, to the show, and that he "thought it would be really cool to do the show with Plank taking on a character of his own" and to cause Jonny to do things he would usually never do. During production of the series some people involved wanted Plank to be able to talk, smile and blink as if he was alive, but Antonucci insisted that it should be treated as a piece of wood, brought to life by Jonny's imagination.

All the children have multicolored tongues; Antonucci said that the idea came after he saw his son and his friends with different-colored tongues caused by eating different candy while he was working on a storyboard. The characters went through a number of "walking cycles", a process used to determine how each character should walk or run, turn around, blink before the crew came up with the final product.

Episodes
Ed, Edd n Eddy has a total of 69 episodes spread over 6 seasons that were produced from January 1999 to November 2009. Each half-hour episode contains 2 seperate Ed, Edd n Eddy segments. A TV film titled, Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show was produced and served as the series' finale. four specials were also produced, these specials included: "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Jingle Jingle Jangle", "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Hanky Panky Hullabaloo", "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Boo Haw Haw" and "The Eds are Coming, the Eds are Coming".