Angela Anaconda
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Angela Anaconda is a cutout animation cartoon from Canada that aired on the Fox Family Channel (now called ABC Family) in the U.S.. It revolves around an eight-year-old girl named Angela who has wacky brothers, weird friends, and hates a fake-French girl named Nanette Manoir.
It started as a short skit on the Nickelodeon show Kablam!. Angela Anaconda later became a series and was a hit on Fox Family Channel from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, when Disney bought the Fox Family Channel and changed the network's name to ABC Family, Angela was moved and cancelled after two months. The show re-premiered on Nickelodeon in 2004, but was cancelled again about a month later.
The show was created by two women: Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose. Ferrone and Rose also created Fido Dido and Rose created Disney's Pepper Ann. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment and C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures. It also airs on Teletoon in Canada. It premiered in the UK on Cartoon Network, and currently airs there on Channel 4, Now airs on POP in the UK and ABC2 in Australia.
The show features a very distinct art style, reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's animation from Monty Python's Flying Circus, in which all the characters are made out of cutouts of black and white photographs.
The characters also appear as an introduction to Digimon: The Movie, released outside of Japan. This is to help disguise the fact that the movie is three Japanese movies cut together.
The animation style is also copied for the music video "Kids in America" by Len, shown at the end of the movie.
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[edit] Characters
[edit] Gina Lash
Angela’s best friend, Gina Lash is the most intelligent child in the third grade. Possessing an encyclopaedic knowledge and vocabulary impressive in someone so young, Gina is always there to dispense reason and insight to her friends, although she will participate in whatever crazy scheme her friends are cooking up. Gina shares many interests with her friends, but her thirst for knowledge has led her to pursue a variety of other hobbies; she owns a microscope and other scientific paraphernalia. The other thing Gina is best known for is her appetite, which rivals that of any adult. She’s always hungry and can even fall prey to Nanette Manoir if she’s bribed with her gourmet chef’s cooking. Gina’s favourite foods include Abatti’s Pizza, cinnamon swirls and Tastee Swirl ice cream. Gina is in love with the Tastee Swirl mascot, a man with a whipped ice cream head who dispenses ice creams from his truck. Despite being rather big, Gina does not let jibes about her appearance affect her, remaining happy and confident. Gina also owns a pet turtle called Sheldon.
[edit] Johnny Abatti
Johnny is a sweet but dim child of Italian-American descent. His parents are never seen in the show, and he appears to be under the care of his grandmother and uncle Nicky. Regarded as being good looking, Johnny takes pride in his Elvis-inspired hairstyle, and is the object of a few crushes. Nanette tries to flirt with him and refers to him as “John” even though nobody else does. Johnny is privileged enough to be invited to exclusive Manoir events, usually bringing Gina, Angela and Gordy along, often against their will. Despite this preferential treatment, Johnny remains totally clueless about Nanette’s affections, even though he doesn’t seem to dislike her like Angela and Gina do. Although he won’t admit it, Johnny may have strong feelings for Angela, as he becomes resentful of any rival for her affections- in one episode he even sends her flowers but forgets to sign the tag, and the credit for his gift goes to Angela’s imaginary boyfriend Bob.
[edit] Gordy Rhinehart
Gordy is a sensitive asthmatic boy who prefers pressing flowers and writing poetry to dangerous playground activities like tag or hide and seek. Skinny and physically weak, Gordy is the polar opposite of his burly ex-army dad Coach Rhinehart, although their relationship is good and the Coach seems to enjoy his son’s strawberry soufflés. Gordy loves animals and is the proud owner of an immaculately groomed dog called Fabio- He is also an expert on pet care and will worry about the welfare of any animal entrusted to Angela. Gordy is deep in love with Gina Lash, although his love goes unreciprocated.
[edit] Nanette Manoir
The richest kid in class, Nanette is the teacher’s pet, despite being an average student. She’s so manipulative that she’s managed to wrap Mrs. Brinks’ around her little finger, constantly praising her and giving her gifts. The perfect little angel to adults, Nanette is actually spoiled, devious, cunning, snobby and mean, exercising the worst of her meanness on Angela and her friends. She’s very proud of her looks and talents and engages in a variety of extracurricular activities such as baton twirling, ballet, painting and ice skating. Nanette uses her family’s wealth and status as a way of proving that she’s better than her peers. Because of her French last name, Nanette likes to believe that she’s 100% French and frequently sprinkles her conversation with inaccurate French phrases, explaining their meaning incorrectly. (She believes “pomme de terre” is French for “apple polisher”.) If Nanette is French and not faking it like Angela believes she is, she is at least 3rd generation, as she and both her parents have American accents. Nanette has a huge wardrobe full of designer originals, but nearly always wears a French girls’ school uniform to school, complete with beret.
[edit] January and Carlene
Nicknamed the “Copycat Clone Club” by Angela, January and Carlene are Nanette’s best friends and follow her around wherever she goes. Sporting bouffant hairdos, preppy clothing and beauty moles, they are very concerned with their appearance and look to Nanette for fashion guidance. When Nanette makes a statement, one girl instantly says she agrees, then the other says she agrees with it even more. When Nanette was bedridden with a head cold, they found themselves bereft of a leader and instantly latched onto Angela, who had the high status job of organising the school’s float in a parade. January and Carlene then proved themselves as disloyal to Nanette, willing to sell her out to be “somebodies”.
[edit] Josephine Praline
A devout Christian, Josephine acts as a moral rudder for many a classmate in need. She’s sweet and forgiving, but stern when she sees injustice, and has even set up her own confession booth in the playground, where her friends can come to talk to her about issues they’re worried about. Josephine urges Angela to see the good in Nanette instead of hating her, but is surprised when she can’t find any good qualities herself. Josephine frequently offers up praise and sometimes even glows with a heavenly, serene light. Josephine comes from a large family (at least 19 brothers and sisters).
[edit] Candy May
Candy May is an incredibly dim child who appears to have cut her hair herself and wears a shirt with a unicorn decal. She hesitates a lot, draws her words out and often confuses herself. She isn’t allowed near sharp objects and loves playing with glitter and paste.
[edit] Mrs. Brinks
Dedicated third grade teacher, Mrs. Brinks is an eccentric middle aged woman with a rather masculine voice and large manly hands. Although she’s not a bad teacher, she’s easily manipulated and plays favourites, her veto always falling in favour of Nanette, whom she sees as the perfect little girl, which resulted in her developing a bias against Angela. Something of a snob, Mrs. Brinks likes to believe she’s sophisticated and succumbs easily to flattery. Although she usually sees Angela as a bizarre, troublemaking and wayward girl, she soon makes her top of the class when she believes Angela’s poem about her dog is about her. She wears a huge grey beehive wig which hides her short ginger hair and is rumoured to be a weekend nudist with her husband, Connie Brinks. Angela and her gang often spy on her backyard from their tree house to find out if this rumour is true.
[edit] Other characters
Gen and Bill Anaconda: Angela’s loving parents. Bill is the inventor of Firm-a-Foam (among several other inventions) and Gen is a sculptor. Gen once was commissioned to sculpt Nanette and Ooh La La in pink marble, but the final statue was rejected by the Manoirs, who thought it was too small.
Baby Lulu: Angela’s infant younger sister, who shares her taste in food with the family dog, King. Can only say bawoon (balloon).
Mark and Derek: Angela’s football obsessed older brothers. They’re rather dimwitted and enjoy head-butting each other in a typical jock fashion. They enjoy teasing their younger sister and making her the butt of their jokes.
Grandma Lou: Resident of Florida, it’s easy to see where Angela got her imagination and sense of adventure. Grandma Lou is incredibly energetic for her years and can even water ski.
The Manoirs: Moustachioed Mr. Howell Manoir is an incredibly wealthy businessman who seems to own a lot of corporate properties. Mrs. Bunny Manoir is a Southern belle trophy wife who is especially attached to her daughter, and owns a bracelet made up of gold charms depicting Nanette in various stages of growth.
The Abattis: Grandmother Nona Abatti is the owner of Abatti’s Pizzaria, and is obsessed with beating her rivals, Sabatto’s Pizza. Uncle Nicky is a party animal in his thirties who always wears aviator shades and is usually accompanied by two glamorous women.
King: King is the Anaconda’s family dog and one of Angela’s best friends. King is in fact female in spite of her masculine name. She appears to be some sort of terrier, but is most likely a mongrel. She’s very fond of Nanette’s dog Ooh La La, although their relationship is frowned on by both Angela and Nanette. King is very loyal and loving, even though she can’t do any tricks. At one point, King had a litter of puppies, one which Angela named King II. King II ended up being owned by Mrs. Brinks, who renamed her Princess (much to Angela's chagrin).
Ooh La La: Nanette’s pedigree toy poodle, Ooh La La has had impeccable obedience training, and knows many tricks, which doesn’t stop him from running away from Nanette often. Nanette cuddles him and makes him wear a tutu and tiara, but Ooh La La would prefer to be rolling in mud and eating garbage like any other dog.
Barney: Grandma Lou's fearsome pet alligator, whom she hatched from an egg. Most people see him as a huge, scaley killer, but to her he's harmless and as cute as any puppy. Barney accompanies Grandma Lou wherever she goes, but is not completely trusted even by Angela, who imagines him as capable of devouring the more conventional pets in the neighbourhood. Once ate the tires off the squad car of the sheriff of the town Grandma Lou lives in.
Alfredo: The Manoir's sleek looking butler, he is usually seen driving Nanette around in their town car limousine or aiding her in various schemes and activities. While he doesn't say much, he is devoted to the Manoir's and acts as bodyguard to Nanette. However, it may be implied that he doesn't like the Manoirs all that much, as when the spring parade is over, and a fire truck Nanette rented for it is no longer hers, the fire fighters drive off at high speeds with her on it. When this happens, Alfredo just covers his mouth and laughs at Nanette's misfortune.
CiCi le Creme A French foreign exchange student from Paris, this Nanette lookalike (except with a short brunette French bob and French traveling dress) came to live with the Anacondas. However, after Angela's attempts to use CiCi to prove Nanette's assumed French heritage are phony failed, Angela becomes frustrated by CiCi and Nanette's friendship. Then, when CiCi asks Angela to be a sister to her and allow her to have Nanette and the CopyCats over for a sleepover, Angela is horrified. The group destroy Angela's room while Nanette complains about a flea problem in the Anaconda residence. Not wanting to be there any longer, Nanette then reveals that she too had a foreign exchange student from Sweden (an Angela lookalike) who did not fit in with the Manoir's elegant lifestyle. The two students switch residences, much to the happiness of both families.
Prince Abdul Sadin Aballasalidini An very wealthy Arab prince who visited TapWater Springs Elementary for one day. A very supercilious child, Mrs. Brinks quickly wished to have him as far away from her classroom as possible. So she had the students draw straws to see who would be his guide. Angela ended up tricking Johnny Abatta with a fake Salami and Pickles sandwich (it was actually baloney with no pickles) to get the longest straw. The Prince, who was enraptured with Nanette and her "hair like spools of golden thread", was displeased with Angela. After he quickly ditches Angela to be with Nanette and Carlene and January, Johnny begins harassing Angela about the sandwich. This catches the Prince's attention who begins making fun of Johnny. Johnny threatens to fight the Prince, who has his bodyguard toss Johnny in a garbage can ("Good riddance to bad rubbish"). This enrages Angela who tackles the Prince. Seeing Angela as the "superior one" due to her anger and passion, he asks her hand in marriage. Angela considers the offer as she would become a wealthy princess, but she quickly decides the food, clothing, and activities involved in being an Arab princess are not to her liking (she wouldn't be able to watch TV, had to wear robes, wasn't allowed to drive, and instead would only be carried everywhere, and only allowed to eat caviar). After one of her imagination sequences, the Prince watches Angela gag at the last thought and decides he does not want to "pollute the gene pool". He leaves the school in his helicopter as a sad Nanette bids him farewell, at that point, he rejects her because the helicopter blades are blowing strong winds everywhere, messing up her hair.
Coach Rhinehart The macho father of Gordy, this sports enthusiast has a soft spot for his more artistic and sensitive son. He even went as far as secretly coaching a professional wrestler to save up the money to send Gordy to Figure Skating camp. He can be quite obnoxious, and he is the football coach at Derek and Mark Anaconda's school, as well as the Nature Survival Counselor for TapWater Elementary.
Mrs. Lash The beautiful single mother of Gina Lash, this sensual woman frequently goes on "business trips" with handsome male associates. At one point, Mrs. Lash and Coach Rhinehart had a brief romance, much to the fear of Gordy and Gina.
Jimmy Jamal An African American boy in Angela's class, he is frequently seen playing his gameboy (called a slamboy in Angela's world) and talking about his Turbo Trainers, which make him run very fast. He is the son of the mayor of Tapwater Springs. At one point he and Johnny Abatti became bug-themed superheroes while trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Sherman the class chicken. He also played Zeus, king of the Gods, for Nanette's Greek tragedy.
Mayor Jamal The father of Jimmy, not much is seen of the mayor of Tapwater Springs. However, he is a proponent of removing dilapidated buildings, as he was supported the destruction of the unsafe but historical Tapwater House (opposing Gina Lash and her mother, who wished to save the house so their history wouldn't be lost).
Mr. Mapperson This elderly gentleman is the owner of Mapperson's Bakery, a local hangout for the youth of Tapwater Springs. His baked goods are especially popular with Gina Lash, who is his favorite customer (she especially likes his cinnamon swirls). When he needed a new face for the Mapperson delivery truck, he held a contest, which all the students fought over. In the end he chose Gina, who never entered the contest in the first place, for her customer loyalty.
Mr. Tasty Swirls The Ice Cream Cone shaped headed man who drives the Ice Cream truck around Tapwater Springs. He is secretly loved by Gina Lash. He once hosted a contest, which owuld allow the winner to ride in his ice cream truck with him, and ring the bell on his truck.
Dr./Miss Yamagotchi A fiery Chinese woman with a thick accent, this eccentric woman heads many activities in Tapwater Springs. She has been seen as the tour guide of the museum, head of Dog Obedience Training, and the head of the Junior Rangerette's, the Girl Scouts-like troup that the young girls of Tapwater Springs belong to.
Mr. Mooie The ventriloquist dummy originally owned by Bill Anaconda, his mesmorizing charm makes his audience love the dummy more then the person controlling him. Angela felt a raise in popularity when she showed Mr. Mooie for show and tell, but soon realized the kids only like Mr. Mooie, not her. She threw him into the dumpster, but his eyes opened, in a Chucky-esque fashion.
Cafeteria Worker This burly hairy man prepares and serves lunch to the students of Tapwater Elementary. He is famous for his Jiggly Fruit, a favorite among the students. Once took Sherman, the class chicken, so he could cook her eggs.
Dirk Dirkson A former PI, who wears a trenchcoat and black sunglasses, he is great at solving cases, and is an object of Mrs. Brinks' affection. At one point, he became the personal bodyguard of Nanette, after his retirement from PI work.
Astronaut Bob The internationally famous astronaut that is a hero of Angela's. Angela won a day with him at the annual Tapwater Spring's auction, but Nanette, who had purchased his helmet, got him to spend the time with her. However, at the end of the day, he ate pizza with Angela, and the two made it on the wall of fame at Abatti's pizza.
Bob The goodlooking boy who in the beginning, Angela makes up as her boyfriend to try and impress Nanette. Ironically, a boy who looks just like the made up person and who's name is Bob transfers into the school.
Connie Brinks The mild-mannered and quiet husband of the overbearing Mrs. Brinks, this humble man is often the object of ridicule and berating by his wife. However, he deeply loves her. He is a very small and thin man, in contrast to the rotund Mrs. Brinks. He is also a nudist like his wife, and enjoys his ham radio. He is in control of the Tapwater Springs private channel on television.
Mega Giants A toy, collecting card, and movie franchise that is very popular to the youth in Tapwater Springs. Prominent is Kid Collosus. These are a combination of Power Rangers, the Fantastic 4, Batman, and other super heroes, but seemed more likely to be a spoof of Digimon.
Bug Thugs A toy craze, these electronic bug toys would speak out rude phrases at the touch of a button and were a very popular fad.
Geraldine Klump The substitute teacher when Mrs. Brinks became ill, "Geri" is a free-spirited and adventurous woman with very liberal views towards teaching and punishment. She quickly bonds with Angela, and dislikes Nanette and her crew.
Unnamed Characters Also frequently shown in many scenes of the show, are an elderly Asian man who is related to Miss Yamagotchi, a hippy-like woman, a pro-wrestler that Coach Rhinehart coaches for extra money, two lovely ladies in either pink or gold who are Nicky Abatti's girlfriends, and various students in Angela's class.
