Pelswick Explained
John Callahan's Pelswick (or simply Pelswick) is a Canadian-Chinese animated television series created by John Callahan for CBC. It was co-produced by Nelvana Limited and Suzhou Hong Ying Animation Company Limited.[3] The series is about the title character, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair, emphasizing that he lived a normal life. It was based on Callahan's comics.[4] [5] Callahan's dark humor was toned down somewhat, allowing the show to have a positive and life-affirming attitude appropriate for its audience. The show was groundbreaking for its portrayal of physically disabled people.[6] The show aired on Nickelodeon in the United States and was billed as the network's original programming, despite not being a Nicktoon.
Characters
- Pelswick Eggert (voiced by Robert Tinkler) – A 13-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair. How he became a paraplegic is not revealed in the series, but the series' creators imply through commentary that it was due to a car accident. He dislikes it when people treat him differently because of his disability. He dislikes following the crowd and he goes by his own rules.
- Ace Nakamura (voiced by Phil Guerrero) – Pelswick's best friend. Ace is technologically smarter than any of his friends, and is often the thinker of the situation.
- Goon Gunderson (voiced by Peter Oldring) – Pelswick's other best friend. Huge and slow-witted in his actions and thoughts, Goon is generally good-hearted but rather dangerous when angry. He does not know that wrestling is staged.
- Julie Smockford (voiced by Julie Lemieux) – A pretty girl and Pelswick's love interest. She hates all the cliques and popularity contests at school and seems to care mostly about her popularity and image. Julie is smart, dramatic, sometimes annoying, but cares a lot about Pelswick. Pelswick has a crush on her but she is completely oblivious about it. Julie believes in justice for all.
- Sandra Scoddle (voiced by Kim Kuhteubl) – Julie's snooty and arrogant best friend/rival and one of Pelswick's friends. She thinks she is better than everyone else and often disputes with Julie. She thinks she is cool, but she's not. She gets caught into the latest trends.
- Mr. Jimmy (voiced by David Arquette) – Pelswick's guardian angel who often gives him advice that confuses him until the last moment, no matter what it is. Pelswick cannot stand it when his advice doesn’t make sense. He is also the comic relief of the show.
- Kate Eggert (voiced by Tracey Moore) – Pelswick's precocious younger sister. She treats her reputation as a little sister like a business and usually blackmails Pelswick when butting into his business. She has dreams of owning a big corporation. She is 10 years old.
- Bobby Eggert – Pelswick's and Kate's baby brother. He rarely talks and admires Pelswick. Because their mother died in a car accident Bobby doesn’t remember her.
- Quentin Eggert (voiced by Tony Rosato) – Pelswick, Kate and Bobby's politically correct father who works as a college professor until he is fired in "The Case of the Filched Files." He later gets his job back. He wants to do everything by papers. His wife was killed in the same car accident that made Pelswick into a paraplegic.[7]
- Priscilla "Gram-Gram" Eggert (voiced by Ellen-Ray Hennessy) – Quentin's mother and Pelswick, Kate and Bobby's deranged grandmother. She often does "extreme" acts beyond that of a grandmother. Most of these acts results in her getting arrested.
- Boyd Scullarzo (voiced by Chuck Campbell) – The bully of Pelswick's school who likes bullying Pelswick and others, not physically (he's particularly against hitting Pelswick because he's in a wheelchair), but with humiliation.
- Vice Principal Ziegler (voiced by David Huband) – The vice principal of Alcatraz Jr High, Pelswick’s school. Despite his title, he usually assumes the role of a principal. Throughout the show, there is no mention of there being a principal at Alcatraz Jr High. During the second episode of the series, this issue was lampshaded by Goon Gunderson who questioned why their school had a vice principal but no principal.
Episodes
Season 2 (2001–02)
Broadcast
The show aired in reruns on CBS during the Nick on CBS block from September 14 to November 23, 2002, and on Nicktoons from May 2002 to September 2005. The show airs in reruns on Adult Swim in Canada as of early 2021.[8]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 'Pelswick': Wry, Funny and Irreverently Spirited . Los Angeles Times . 2012-01-21 . 2012-10-22.
- Web site: Rosenberg. Howard. Soaring Spirit Behind 'Pelswick,' an Animated Quadriplegic . Los Angeles Times . 2000-10-20 . 2012-10-22.
- Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 448–449.
- Web site: Schultz . Paul . There's Humor From Where He Sits . New York Daily News . 2000-10-22 . 2012-10-22.
- Web site: Nickelodeon | Kids Games, Kids Celebrity Video, Kids Shows . nl . Nick.com . 2012-10-16 . 2012-10-22.
- Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 606–607.
- Web site: Pelswick: Characters: Quentin . . 14 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20041125153125/http://www.nelvana.com/shows/characters_template.asp?sid=32&cid=455&#char . 25 November 2004 . dead.
- https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/adult-swim-east-hd/7336 TV Schedule for Adult Swim - East HD
