September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – November 30, 2001 (2001-11-30)[b]
Pepper Ann is an Americananimated sitcom created bySue Rose and aired onDisney's One Saturday Morning onABC.[2] It first premiered on September 13, 1997, and ended on November 30, 2001.[3] It was the first Disney animated television series to be created by a woman.
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 inYM magazine.[4]
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.
Jennifer "Pepper Ann" Pearson (voiced byKathleen Wilhoite) is the titularprotagonist 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 byClea Lewis) is Pepper Ann's female best friend, a very intelligent and sensible, yet soft-spokenoverachiever, who often serves as a confidant for Pepper Ann. She can be prone to bursts of rage or extreme emotion and struggles to keep her composure when she feels she is overlooked. Nicky keeps to apescetarian diet (which has only been broken once).
Milo Kamalani (voiced byDanny Cooksey) is Pepper Ann's male best friend, a laid-back and mellowhippie 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 byApril 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 byPamela Adlon) is Pepper Ann's stoic younger 7-year-old sister with anandrogynous appearance, whose favorite pastime is skateboarding.
Craig Bean (voiced byJeff 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.
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 byJenna von Oÿ) is a spoiled, rich, popular girl who often serves as a foil to Pepper Ann.
Cissy Rooney (voiced byKath Soucie) is an air-headed popular girl who is Trinket's best friend.
Tessa and Vanessa James (both voiced byCree Summer) are two gossipy black twin sisters who finish each other's sentences.
Janie Lilly Diggity (voiced bySusan 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 byTino 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 frompink eye.
Alice Kane (voiced byLauren 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 byKimmy 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 byLuke Perry in Season 2 andCam 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 byCandi 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 byMaurice LaMarche) is the estranged ex-husband of Lydia and father of Pepper Ann and Moose. He works as a blimp pilot and speaks with aMid-Atlantic accent.
Sherrie Spleen (voiced by April Winchell) is the TV anchorwoman for Channel 96 in Hazelnut.
Margot Lesandre (voiced byKathy 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.
Sketch (voiced byKaren Duffy) is an 8th grader whom Pepper Ann admires for her "coolness". She values loyalty but is shown to be somewhat aloof.
Crash (voiced byAdam 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.
Lamar Abu-Dabe (voiced byKenny Blank) is a 7th grader and a classmate of Pepper Ann's whom Constance has a crush on.
Principal Herbert Hickey (voiced byDon 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.
Mr. Roland Carter (voiced byJim 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 byBebe Neuwirth) is a stoic English teacher (who often substitutes for art teacher Ms. Ford) who speaks in deadpan-monotone mannerisms.
Mr. Sherman Finky (voiced byDon Lake) is the social studies teacher. He presents a hip (if notout-of-touch) demeanor, but is no-nonsense when it comes to shirking projects.
Ms. Carlotta Sneed (voiced byJulia Sweeney) is the economics teacher whose main hobby is knitting.
Mr. Owen Clapper (voiced byJames Avery) is the music teacher. He tends to clash with Ms. Stark concerning school plays.
Mr. Reason (voiced byKurtwood 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 byTom Wilson) is the football coach.
Pepper Ann was aired as part of theDisney's One Saturday Morning block onABC from 1997 to 2001. Select new episodes of the show were also shown (alongside reruns) onDisney's One Too onUPN during the 2000–01 season.
Starting on September 3, 2001, the series began syndication throughDisney Channel, and also joinedToon Disney alongsideDisney's Doug on an hour-long primetime block called The Magical World of Toons.[5] Previously unaired episodes that had never aired on ABC or UPN made their premiere throughout early September on Toon Disney,[citation needed] and November 15–30 on Disney Channel.[3]
The series remained in syndication on Disney Channel until September 8, 2002.[6] 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 onDisney+ on September 8, 2021 in the United States,[7] with the episodes from season 4 listed under season 3 on the platform (due to them being produced concurrently),[8] along with the episodes initially being listed in their package order.[c][9]
Internationally, the show aired onGMTV in the UK andRTÉ in Ireland.
In 1999, an animated film based on the series was in development at Walt Disney Television Animation andWalt Disney Pictures under the namePepper Ann's Rio Adventure. The movie would have followed Pepper Ann's soccer team being invited toRio de Janeiro as part of an event where they try to stop a land developer from deforesting theAmazon 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.[10] It is unknown whether or not the film was intended to be theatrical or made for television.
^Animation outsourced toSunwoo Entertainment and The Hana Animation Company (three segments), International distribution handled by Buena Vista International, Inc.
^The series technically ended its run earlier on Toon Disney in September, although the premiere dates for said channel are undocumented.
^As of late 2024, the episodes listed under Season 3 were reordered from the initial order present from when the show was first added.
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