Pepper Ann

Pepper Ann centers on the trials and tribulations that occur during the titular character's adolescence and charts her ups and downs at Hazelnut Middle School. The character originated in a comic strip published in YM magazine. The opening titles has Pepper Ann, when she sinks to under her desk after getting a detention slip from her teacher Roland Carter for being late to class again, finding a different item each episode such as a $5 bill, kiwi lipbalm, or a driedel. ==Episodes==

Main • Pepper Ann Pearson (voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite) is the titular protagonist of the series, who is a bespectacled, quirky 12-year-old girl whose emotions come out in fantasies. Her conscience, Alter-Ego, often drives her insecurities through misguided advice. She is of Jewish faith from her mother's side (as stated in "A Kosher Christmas"). • Nicky Anais Little (voiced by Clea Lewis) is Pepper Ann's female best friend, a very intelligent and sensible, yet soft-spoken overachiever, who often serves as a confidant for Pepper Ann. She can be prone to sudden outbursts and struggles to keep her composure when she feels she is overlooked. Being health conscious, Nicky keeps to a pescetarian diet, to which she occasionally breaks. She often struggles with her perfectionism. • Milo Kamalani (voiced by Danny Cooksey) is Pepper Ann's male best friend, a laid-back and mellow artist who prides himself in his artistic "talent". Milo is driven by passion, which can sometimes ostracize him from his peers. In early seasons, he is often her partner in crime with her schemes. • Lydia Pearson (voiced by April Winchell) is the mother of Pepper Ann and Moose and the ex-wife of Chuck. She is a salesclerk working with the fashion store "It's You!" at Hazelnut Mall. • Margaret Rose "Moose" Pearson (voiced by Pamela Adlon) is Pepper Ann's stoic younger 7-year-old sister with an androgynous appearance, whose favorite pastime is skateboarding. • Craig Bean (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a "cool" 8th grader whom the 7th graders admire. He serves as Pepper Ann's main love interest, as they both have hidden crushes on each other. Recurring • Dieter Liederhosen (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a German student in Pepper Ann's class with an articulate appreciation for food. • Trinket St. Blair (voiced by Jenna von Oÿ) is a spoiled, rich, popular girl who often serves as a foil to Pepper Ann. • Cissy Rooney (voiced by Kath Soucie) is an air-headed popular girl who is Trinket's best friend. • Tessa and Vanessa James (both voiced by Cree Summer) are two gossipy black twin sisters who finish each other's sentences. • Janie Lilly Diggity (voiced by Susan Tolsky) is the aunt of Pepper Ann and Moose and Lydia's sister. A former member of the Peace Corps, she spends her time as an activist. • Jo Jo Diggity (voiced by Tino Insana) is Pepper Ann and Moose's uncle and Janie's husband, who works as a cop. • Nedward "Ned" Diggity (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is the socially inept son of Janie and Jo Jo, and Pepper Ann's cousin, who has an affinity for cheese. • Lillian Lilly (voiced by April Winchell) is the mother of Lydia and Janie, and Pepper Ann's grandmother. In her youth, she used to be a performer and actress. • Leo Lilly (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is Lillian's husband and Pepper Ann's grandfather. • Peter "Pink-Eye Pete" Ogilvy (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a nerdy kid who suffers from pink eye. • Alice Kane (voiced by Lauren Tom) is Pepper Ann's pompous (sometimes egomaniacal) academic rival. She presents a superficially mature attitude in spite of being just as competitive as Pepper Ann. • Gwen Mezzrow (voiced by Kimmy Robertson) is a bubbly girl who constantly alternates between pining for Milo and being entirely uninterested in him in favor of Dieter, who is indifferent to her affection. • Stuart Walldinger (voiced by Luke Perry in Season 2 and Cam Clarke from Season 3 onwards) is Nicky's bookish boyfriend, whose main hobby is RC car-racing. He holds a reserved attitude but has a tendency to act out and bottle his emotions. • Constance Goldman (voiced by Candi Milo) is a shy, awkward girl who looks up to Pepper Ann. • Shelf McClain (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a large, academically stunted Scottish student in Pepper Ann's class who bullies other students and steals their lunch money. • Chuck Pearson (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the estranged ex-husband of Lydia and father of Pepper Ann and Moose. He works as a blimp pilot and speaks with a Mid-Atlantic accent. • Sherrie Spleen (voiced by April Winchell) is the TV anchorwoman for Channel 96 in Hazelnut. • Supermodel Mindy (voiced by Kath Soucie) is an airheaded celebrity and host of several popular Hazelnut television shows. • Mick Snot, real name Harry Schnitzer (voiced by Jess Harnell & Rob Paulsen) is the frontman of the band Flaming Snot. He went to the same Community College as Lydia prior to forming his band; Harry's fame has caused a strain between their friendship. • Emmit Swink (voiced by Max Casella & Jeff Bennett) is the owner of BrainDead arcade and a waiter at Greezy N' Cheezy, a pizzeria often visited by Pepper Ann and her friends. • Margot Lesandre (voiced by Kathy Najimy) is a snooty saleswoman who is rivals with Lydia and Janie. • "Shouty Kid" Sean Lesandre (voiced by Pamela Adlon) is the son of Margot, and Moose's crush. He is most recognizable for his booming voice. • Crash (voiced by Adam Wylie) is Moose's neurotic best friend, whose name Pepper Ann never remembers. • Crying Girl (typically voiced by Cree Summer & Kath Soucie) is an unfortunate girl who often breaks down in tears at the slightest mishap, most often Pepper Ann's misadventures. • Sketch (voiced by Karen Duffy) is an 8th grader whom Pepper Ann admires for her "coolness". She values loyalty but is shown to be somewhat aloof. Minor • Lamar Abu-Dabe (voiced by Kenny Blank) is a 7th grader and a classmate of Pepper Ann's whom Constance has a crush on. • Brenda (voiced by Tara Strong) is Pepper Ann's former best friend. She is bubbly and overbearing to the point that Pepper Ann finds her insufferable. • Hush (voiced by Pamela Adlon) is a mute 8th grader who is friends with Sketch. She has a begrudging respect for Pepper Ann. • Tank & Poison (voiced by Brittany Murphy & Meredith Scott Lynn) are carefree, nonchalant 8th graders who are friends with Sketch. • Wayne Macabre (voiced by Wallace Langham) is an 8th grade critic whose opinionated and misogynistic comments put him at odds with Pepper Ann. • Mean Girl (voiced by Kath Soucie) is a social climbing punk who often brings trouble to Pepper Ann. • Effie Shrugg (voiced by Hedy Burress) is an intellectual 8-year-old girl who uses her brawn and large size to intimidate others. • Bud (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a member of the HMS football team who once had a crush on Pepper Ann, after her stint as the only girl on the team. • Becky Little (voiced by Glenne Headly) is the older sister of Nicky Little. Like her sister, Becky is academically strong and shares a fear of swans. • Alf (voiced by Will Ferrell) is the leader of the HMS chess club. • Cameron Landisburg (voiced by John O'Hurley) is a film director who challenged Pepper Ann to create her own film after she gave his a poor review in the school paper. • Fuzzy (voiced by Sue Rose) is a fictional cartoon hairball popular within Hazelnut who stars in a series of comics, television shows, stage plays and theme parks. • Klaus (voiced by Russi Taylor) is a German cartoon monkey which Dieter is a fan of. • Tundra Woman (voiced by Nicole Sullivan) is a fictional heroine whom Moose admires for her selflessness and courage. • Mark Hamill is a celebrity who often visits Hazelnut. He was elected class president of HMS and would later appear as a guest (after being elected President of the United States) for a HMS reunion. • Evel Knievel is a daredevil whom Moose campaigned for to receive his own statue in Hazelnut's Lupkin Park; Patrick Swayze received one instead. • Alex Trebek was the host of Jeopardy! and was once recruited by Pepper Ann for a heist. He would eventually marry Lydia Pearson and become the father-in-law of Pepper Ann. Hazelnut Middle School • Principal Herbert Hickey (voiced by Don Adams) is the school's tough disciplinarian with zero tolerance for Pepper Ann's shenanigans. His distinctive feature is a wart on his face that has a hair growing out of it. This was Adams's final role before his death in 2005. • Ms. Vera Schwartz (voiced by Paddi Edwards) is the school's secretary. • Mr. Roland Carter (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a science teacher who is passionate about what he teaches. He is known for giving Pepper Ann detention slips but does believe that she can be a good student even when she successfully does her assignments. • Ms. Abriola Stark (voiced by April Winchell) is the math teacher who is also in charge of the drama club. • Ms. Bronte Bladdar (voiced by Bebe Neuwirth) is a stoic English teacher (who often substitutes for art teacher Ms. Ford) who speaks in deadpan-monotone mannerisms. • Mr. Sherm Finky (voiced by Don Lake) is the social studies teacher. He presents a hip (if not out-of-touch) demeanor, but is no-nonsense when it comes to shirking projects. • Ms. Carlotta Sneed (voiced by Julia Sweeney) is the economics teacher whose main hobby is knitting. • Mr. Owen Clapper (voiced by James Avery) is the music teacher. He tends to clash with Ms. Stark concerning school plays. • Mr. Reason (voiced by Kurtwood Smith) is the stern woodshop teacher. • Coach Doogan (voiced by Kathy Najimy) is the physical education teacher, and the head of the school's soccer team. • Coach Bronson (voiced by Tom Wilson) is the football coach. • Nurse Oomla (voiced by Ellen Cleghorne) is the Jamaican-accented school nurse. • Moira the Lunch Lady (voiced by Sue Rose) is a maladjusted lunchlady with low standards for sanitation. • Ernie the Janitor (voiced by Billy West) is the absent-minded, albeit sociable janitor of HMS. ==Broadcast and home media==

Pepper Ann was aired as part of the Disney's One Saturday Morning block on ABC from 1997 to 2001. Select new episodes of the show were also shown (alongside reruns) on Disney's One Too on UPN during the 2000–01 season. Starting on September 3, 2001, the series began syndication through Disney Channel, and also joined Toon Disney alongside Disney's Doug on an hour-long primetime block called The Magical World of Toons. Previously unaired episodes that had never aired on ABC or UPN made their premiere throughout early September on Toon Disney, and November 15–30 on Disney Channel. While Pepper Ann would leave regular syndication on Toon Disney in 2004, the show received a few marathons throughout 2007 and 2008, with the final one being played on July 20, 2008, the last time the show was broadcast on US television. All 65 episodes of the series were included on Disney+ on September 8, 2021 in the United States, with the episodes from season 4 listed under season 3 on the platform (due to them being produced concurrently), along with the episodes initially being listed in their package order. Internationally, the show aired on GMTV in the UK and RTÉ in Ireland. == Scrapped film ==

In 1999, an animated film based on the series was in development at Walt Disney Television Animation and Walt Disney Pictures under the name ''Pepper Ann's Rio Adventure.'' The movie would have followed Pepper Ann's soccer team being invited to Rio de Janeiro as part of an event where they try to stop a land developer from deforesting the Amazon rainforest. The movie was scrapped for unknown reasons, however concept art of the film by animation director Richard Bowman was posted onto eBay in recent years, the most recent piece being posted in July 2024. It is unknown whether or not the film was intended to be theatrical or made for television. ==Notes==