List of Clone High characters

This is a list of all the characters that have appeared in the animated American-Canadian science-fiction/situation comedy series Clone High (2002–2003). The series was created by the duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller. It still occasionally airs reruns on Teletoon and was briefly aired by MTV and MTV2 in 2003.

Development

According to co-creator Miller the reason for putting historical figures in a school setting was that "We chose these characters because they're sort of mythic figures, even people with a very limited knowledge of history have some preconceived ideas about them, which is part of the fun." Lord adds, "The point of the whole show is that these people are not living up to their genetic forebears."[1] Lord and Miller also explained that the development of the character of Gandhi as a " party animal" was because they researched that the young Gandhi was "immature" and "into partying" before witnessing the suffering in South Africa. Another was the reason why they introduced Ponce De León so late in the show, as a parody of how Beverly Hills, 90210 would bring in characters that were never seen before and then kill them off in a melodramatic fashion.[2]

Main characters

List of main characters and their cloneparents, left to right: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra and Gandhi

Abe Lincoln

Abe Lincoln is the clone of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. He is the main protagonist of the series, and most of the episodes are seen through his point of view. Abe is an average, awkward, naive, shy, clumsy yet kind teenager who feels he is struggling to live up to the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

He has been friends with Gandhi since they were babies and also good friends with Joan. Throughout season one Abe desperately pursued Cleopatra, his love interest; at first she used him but he had eventually won her love and becomes her boyfriend starting at the end of the episode Sleep of Faith in which she agreed to go out with him after he won a drag race (despite the fact Cleo ditched him to be with JFK), they did not start a real relationship until the episode Plane Crazy.

Abe is very skinny and physically weak to complement his weak-willed and indecisive nature and he is claimed to weigh only 104 pounds despite being one of the tallest students in the school. He is often seen to fall into peer pressure despite his moral values. Though intelligent, he is very unaware when it comes to other people's feelings, as he regularly insulted his friend Joan without even realizing it. He has a bitter rivalry with JFK, mostly involving his attempts to win over Cleopatra and a possible joke to one president being Republican and the other Democrat.

He is unaware that his best friend Joan of Arc is in love with him, and even when she makes advances upon him or professes her love, he seems obstinately stuck in viewing her as his "girl friend, not his girlfriend", even to the point of improbably re-interpreting some of her statements and actions as gestures of friendship or humour. In the series finale he realizes his feelings for Joan are more than platonic, but only after Cleopatra had given her an involuntary make-over for the prom. Abe also seems to be oblivious to the fact that Cleo is attempting to drive a wedge between him and Joan and Gandhi, who she views as being detrimental to her image.

He is 16 years old. He drives a white 1960s-esque Lincoln Continental. He is captain of the basketball team because he is the tallest guy at school and on the cross country team though it is clear he lacks athleticism, and he is the president of the anti-drug club. His famous catchphrase is "Dinger!" often said out of great excitement or frustration.

Abe is usually seen wearing a white T-shirt with a blue collar and blue sleeves, long, baggy cargo jeans and sneakers. He is very tall, skinny and gangly. He has messy brown hair and a scruffy black chin-strap beard (without a mustache) and a mole on his left cheek

Voice by Will Forte. The Lego Movie references Clone High by casting Forte as the voice of Lego Abe Lincoln.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is the clone of Jeanne d'Arc, the devout 15th century French militant. She is Abe's closest friend and is obviously in love with him (everyone knows it except Abe himself), though his constant ignorance of this causes her a lot of frustration.

In the episode ADD: The Last D Stands for Disorder Joan admits to being a "goth" and has a very moody, cynical, aloof, sarcastic and angst-ridden personality. She has a tendency to erupt melodramatically into tears, usually when Abe ignores her advances or scores with Cleopatra. She hates Cleopatra considering her to be a bimbo and a snob but develops a special hatred when Cleo starts dating Abe and when she is forced to live with Cleo because her house burnt down. Joan prefers to confide in various characters such as Mr. Butlertron, Gandhi, and Jesus Cristo when she needs emotional support, though she also frequently allows Abe to obliviously confide in her regarding his infatuation with Cleo and their amorous affairs together, much to her emotional detriment.

Joan is also very intelligent, well-read, witty and highly ethical and will speak up for what she believes in, though she is always ignored by the others as they see her as being too "outspoken". She serves as an environmentalist, a vegetarian, an activist and a feminist. Joan is intimated to be attractive, though she does not recognize or emphasize this and dutifully wears an orthodontic retainer. Joan has proven to appeal to the other male characters, notably JFK whom frequently harasses her.

She is 16 years old. She is an agnostic (she rejects religion but is not disinclined to accepting the existence of God), which puts her at odds with the real Jeanne d'Arc who was a devout Christian (this was once explained by feeling unable to live up to the real Jeanne d'Arc). Joan makes home-movies to express herself artistically. In the episode Makeover, Makeover, Makeover, Abe prints flyers of her in order to get her a date for the prom and the flyer describes her as Janeane Garofaloesque.

Joan's appearance consists of a tight black long-sleeved shirt and tight green cargo pants with black boots. She has pale skin, dark red hair, wears black eye liner, purple lipstick and a black choker around her neck. When Cleo gave her a makeover, she wore a different hairstyle, purple eyeshadow and eyeliner, red lipstick a tight black sleeveless leather minidress with a black and red, lacey pushup bra being revealed, fishnet stockings and higheels to highlight her shapely physique. In her original design, she had black hair.

Voice by Nicole Sullivan.

Gandhi

Gandhi is the clone of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Indian activist of the Indian Revolution. Gandhi is a hyperactive, funny, talkative, immature and rather mischievous teenager who wants to be accepted by those around him.

The reason for his often-ridiculous behavior and underachieving in academics is because he thinks he cannot live up to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. Though he has somewhat likable and friendly personality his outrageous behavior tends to offend and annoy others. He is a close friend of Abe and at times a confidant to Joan when he is not annoying her. Gandhi knows Joan likes Abe but does not say anything for Joan's privacy.

Gandhi believes he is a friend of the popular students and he especially wants to be best friends with JFK in order to be popular by association. He and JFK had three episodes in which they interacted, JFK admitted that he liked Gandhi as a friend in the episode Makeover, Makeover, Makeover. Gandhi also erroneously believes himself to be a ladies man though no females are attracted to him except for Marie Curie but he did gain the attraction of several ladies when he briefly got a makeover as "GFK". In the series finale, Gandhi realizes his feelings for Marie and they begin a platonic relationship.

It is revealed that he used to be Cleo's foster brother for 10 years until she told her parents that he was hurting her image so he was disowned and later placed in the care of new foster parents, a stereotypical Jewish couple (despite the fact that Gandhi donated his kidney to Cleo when she was in terrible pain, something she seems to ignore). He is 16 years old. He is also very short for his age much to his own dismay (even having to use a booster seat when riding in a car). His favorite movie is American Pie and according to the 2003 MTV website, he is the associate editor of the school newspaper The Tatler in which he reviews movies.[3] Gandhi is called by various nicknames notably "G-spot" and "G-force". He also is school's mascot DNA Dan and the treasurer for the Solid Gandhi Dancers.

Gandhi appearance consist of a gray short-sleeved shirt with a red stripe, blue jeans and white and red sneakers. He stands very short, is very skinny (almost to the point of looking emaciated) and has dark, swarthy skin. He is bald, wears glasses and has a black mustache and beard. He also wears a gold earring on his right ear.

His portrayal as a party animal enraged many in India, including prominent members of India's parliament.[4]

Voice by actor Michael McDonald.

Cleopatra Smith

Cleopatra Smith is the clone of Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra or "Cleo" is a beautiful, intelligent and popular student who is more commonly known as Abe's initial love interest.

She is a very selfish, snobby, cynical, vain, manipulative, pretentious and materialistic stereotypical school diva who cares only about her social image, beauty and popularity. She shows very little consideration for other people's feelings and believes she deserves to be treated like a queen among her peers. She is also an overachiever who frequently covets success in order to fit into her "queen bee" status. It is shown that she acts the way she does out of intense insecurity, and because she has an abusive foster mother who openly harbors contempt towards Cleo. She used to date JFK, but only because she thought he was good for her image.

She became Abe's girlfriend since the episode Plane Crazy. Cleo is portrayed as seductive, hedonistic and libidinous, as result she is sexually promiscuous and hates it when people make of fun of it, especially when Joan does it to spite her. Cleo has always been aware that Joan harbors strong feelings for Abe, and will often warn Joan to stay away from him after she and Abe began dating.

Despite her arrogance and mean-spirited nature she shows a limited ability of compassion as she willingly gave Joan a makeover to help boost her confidence, she gave up some of her vanity to date the obviously unpopular student Abe Lincoln and consoled JFK when he was sad about Poncey's death.

She is 16 years old. She is captain of the cheerleading team and is the Campus Life editor for The Tatler in which she interviews students and guest stars. Her physical appearance is derived from the wall paintings of Ancient Egyptian women. She is portrayed as being a tan Egyptian girl which contradicts with the fact the real Cleopatra was of Macedonian descent.

Cleo wears a blue (sometimes red or orange depending on her outfit) headband, a white tank top which shows her large cleavage and a tight black miniskirt to show her voluptuous figure and wears pumps. At night she sleeps in sexy purple lingerie and is sometimes seen in her cheerleading uniform at school. At the prom she wore a tight, revealing and seductive red dress and a black minidress at Poncey's funeral.

Voice by actress Christa Miller, the wife of Clone High producer Bill Lawrence.

John F. Kennedy (JFK)

JFK is the clone of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. JFK is the stereotypical popular high school jock. He is arrogant, competitive, lecherous, vain and at times dimwitted. He initially antagonized Abe and Gandhi but he later befriends them by the end of the series.

It is shown in episodes Episode Two: Election Blue-galoo and in Raisin the Stakes, that JFK is a very good speaker. He speaks with a thick, stereotypical, non-rhotic New England dialect and a Boston accent (a parody of the Kennedy accent) that is exaggerated and monotone for a comical effect (he usually switches "-er" suffix with "-ah" and also uses "er" and "uh" as filler which occur during mid-sentence). Despite his apparent macho exterior he is very sensitive, emotional and easily offended. JFK is known for his narcissism and his libido. He also has a penchant for using dirty jokes and innuendo.

Despite being accident-prone, a target of physical harm and losing his best friend Poncey to a freak accident: he does not believe in the Kennedy curse - "Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys" and "I'm a Kennedy, I'm not accustomed to tragedy". His plan of living up to John F. Kennedy is simply by being a womanizer and he is shown to be attractive to women, he seems not to know much about his clonefather besides that he conquered the moon. It is shown that he likes Joan, which is possibly because she is one of the few girls that is immune to his charm.

He is 16 years old. He mainly drives a yellow van but in the episode Sleep of Faith drove a 1950s-esque corvette which was destroyed. He also seems to have a fear of sudden movements and friendly "hand gun" gestures as he constantly ducks, probably as a cruel joke about the John F. Kennedy assassination. He questioned his sexuality when he became attracted to "John Dark" (Joan in drag). He is the captain of the football team and soccer team. When he gets hit by Joan, he yells out "Bobby!", a reference to Robert F. Kennedy.

JFK is seen wearing a red sweater with a white stripe in the center and on his sleeves, over a white shirt and tight khaki pants with brown loafers. He has tall, full brown hair and has a fit and muscular physique. His eyes are usually half-open but will get bigger whenever he is shocked, angered or upset. He appears as very healthy even though the real John F. Kennedy suffered a variety of sicknesses from birth (including Addison's Disease).

Voice by Christopher Miller. Miller had to study the speeches of John F. Kennedy in order to perfect the voice and the accent.

Principal Scudworth

Principal Cinnamon J. Scudworth, Ph.D. is a deluded, self-aggrandizing megalomaniac of a scientist who always wears rubber dish-gloves and if absolutely horrible at being a principal, he is always trying to betray the Secret Board of Shadowy Figures and use the clones for his own convoluted schemes, his favorite being a clone themed amusement park.

He is shown to have very little control over his emotions and is prone to violent outbursts. It's possible he is an atheist because he once said "so, religion is for fools?...fools and liberals". As seen in the opening theme, there is a photo of him and Mr. Butlertron salvaging the remains of Abraham Lincoln, which implies that he was the one along with Mr. B who had dug the corpses of the people in the mid-1980s who would later be used in the cloning experiment.

Scudworth apparently had a son named "Brian Parker Scudworth" who he bet in a basketball game against the principal of GESH and lost, as a result Brian ended up getting eaten.[5]

He is seen wearing glasses, a long white lab coat, yellow rubber gloves (which he never takes off), underneath his coat are black pants and shoes. He has brown hair with a bald spot and a small soul patch under his lower lip.

Voice by Phil Lord.

Mr. Butlertron

Mr. Butlertron is the loyal robot servant and best friend/roommate to Scudworth who is programmed with a highly sensitive compassion protocol (a parody of Mr. Belvedere). Also known as Mr. B. He calls everyone "Wesley", a reference to the youngest son on Mr. Belvedere, Wesley Owens. Strangely, even though he is a robot, Mr. Butlertron is shown without his mustache in a photograph taken in the 80s in the opening to the show and he also has chest hair and armpit hair as shown when he took off his red cardigan sweater vest. Though he is usually polite and laid-back, he does have a temper which came out when had a fight with Scangrade and when he showed jealousy towards Ecybo Pooch.

Mr. Butlertron is very human-like being programmed to be highly sentient (though its unknown is he can feel physical sensations) and possesses artificial intelligence that which enables him to show human emotions, have free will and have facial expressions. He genuinely cares for Scudworth and the students.

Voice by Christopher Miller.

The Shadowy Figure

The Secret Board of Shadowy Figures is a ruthless and secretive government organization who employs Principal Scudworth and is sponsored by Puma. They appear as a parody of the CIA, Secret Service, NSA and Area 51. They were responsible for the creation of the clones in the mid-80's. Their ultimate aim is to use the clones for a super army. The organization consists primarily of aged white male agents.

Its chief director is referred to as The Shadowy Figure (voiced by Bill Lawrence). He is aware of Scudworth's craziness and incompetence in running Clone High. Though for the most part, he has shown amnesty as he gave Scudworth numerous times to redeem himself. He finally decides to kill Scudworth and takes the clones away for experimentation after discovering his video tape of his plot to betray the Secret Board of Shadowy Figures and create "Cloney Island". He also secretly hired many celebrities to spy on the clones and Scudworth. He may be lactose intolerant.

They all wear blue paramilitary uniforms complete with ribbon bars and in the Episode Two they are seen wearing Pumas sneakers.

Supporting characters

Clone High students

Clone High staff

Family

Other characters

Reception

Clone High is praised for its high character development and strong voice acting. Charles Soloman of the LA Times wrote that, "Will Forte's ingenuous Abraham Lincoln and Nicole Sullivan's resigned Joan of Arc steal the show."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Freshman animators". articles.latimes.com. 2003-02-27. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  2. “”. "Clone High NEW Behind the Scenes Discussion". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  3. O'Brien, Irene (2003-01-29). "Now MTV clones Gandhi, chips away at Mahatma". Indian Express.
  4. Grossberg, Josh (2003-01-31). "MTV Apologizes for Gandhi Goofing". E! Online. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011.
  5. "The Tatler Issue #6". CloneHighUSA.com. 2003-08-13. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003.
  6. "Tatler issue #3". CloneHighUSA.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
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