Princess Clara
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| Drawn Together character | |
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| Princess Clara | |
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| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Caucasian |
| Hair: | Auburn |
| Age: | 20 |
| Job: | Princess |
| Sexuality: | Heterosexual |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Voiced by: | Tara Strong |
Princess Clara is a fictional character in the animated series Drawn Together. She is one of the eight housemates who are the focus of the show.
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[edit] Background
Princess Clara is a pampered, naïve, racist member of royalty, and a spoof on Disney/storybook characters. Her features (her hair and eyes in particular) are based on Ariel from The Little Mermaid, while her outfit suggests Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty; another noticeable influence is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Like many Disney princesses, Clara has a beautiful singing voice, and has many animal friends who like to join her while she sings — at least until Spanky Ham kills most of them for food. (In an in-joke, Clara is revealed to be friends with several of the actual Disney Princesses, including Ariel herself.) Clara is also the only character drawn without a black outline, another reference to her Disney pedigree. She has a "special" cousin named Bleh, who is severely mentally retarded and must wear a football helmet at all times to protect her skull. Clara is initially ashamed of her cousin until the other housemates come to accept Bleh. Clara then becomes overprotective of Bleh when she realizes that the men of the house- particularly Captain Hero- consider her sexually desirable. Clara seems to have inherited many of her basic personality traits from her father, the King, but has become more independent since she has been living in the Drawn Together house, and with the help of her housemates (particularly Foxxy Love), she has worked on correcting many of her character flaws.
Clara's father, the King, is the ruler of a magical kingdom. Her mother died when Clara was young as a result of her father driving a carriage while intoxicated. The King remarried, and Clara's new stepmother (a reference to the wicked stepmother, a stock character from fairy tales), for reasons unknown, placed a curse on Clara's vagina, causing it to turn into a giant, tentacled monster (called the Octopussoir) which can speak, and appears to have its own personality. Clara's attempt to remove the curse resulted in Prince Charming's genitals turning into a similar monstrous creature. Though it becomes hysterical and vicious when frightened by loud noises, the Octopussoir for the most part, is quite gentle and kind. In "Alzheimer's That Ends Well", Clara had Octopussoir surgically removed, but after undergoing numerous plastic surgeries to correct every little flaw she perceived her vagina as having, she ended up with a vagina resembling Joan Rivers. Clara tried to get Octopussoir back, but he had graduated from college and married a Jewish woman in the time Clara was gone, and informed Clara that he was happy with his new life and did not wish to go back to her. Clara eventually came to accept her new Vajoana (as she calls it) after it saved the housemates from the murderous intentions of some angry senior citizens.
According to creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, Clara is partially based on Julie Stoffer from The Real World: New Orleans, a Mormon girl who had little experience dealing with gays or people of other races, and who tended to make offensive remarks without realizing it. [1]
[edit] Personality
Clara represents a stereotypical upper class WASP, and is insensitive toward minorities and those less fortunate than her. She is also very anti-Semitic, which is ironic considering her voice actress is Jewish. In this manner, Clara often acts as the (also Jewish) producers' vehicle for Jewish humor on the show. Though she makes the occasional spiteful comment, on the whole, she doesn't seem to hate or look down on people of other races, but she cannot seem to let go of the stereotypes she holds; for the most part she is completely unaware that she is being racist. The episode "Hot Tub" suggests that these beliefs were ingrained in her by her father. Later episodes have furthered the notion that Clara maintains these attitudes because she is simply behind the times, and has yet to recognize the social advances recent years have brought. She overcomes her prejudice to form a friendship (and possibly more) with Foxxy Love, though her repeated mention of black stereotypes sometimes puts a strain on that friendship. In the first season, Clara's racism was the source of most of the character's humor; however, beginning in the second season, her racist tendencies would largely be de-emphasized, and instead, Clara's narrow and unbending religious views would become the character's driving force. (See Religion below.)
Though she is tolerant and supportive of her gay housemate Xandir (though at one point, when he was suicidal, she encouraged him to kill himself), Clara is also severely homophobic, her homophobia being the product of her conservative religious views. Ironically, Clara herself exhibited bisexual behavior at the very beginning of the series, though she does not seem to realize the implications of this (or realizes but is in denial). She is in a state of bliss after Foxxy Love kisses her in "Hot Tub". However, it becomes apparent that Clara is not actually bisexual herself; she was simply caught up in the moment because it was her first kiss, and did not yet understand the importance of gender roles in the romantic process, a fact the second episode makes clear. In that episode, after learning the differences between men and women, Clara begins seeking love with the opposite sex. To date, there have been no further implications of bisexuality on Clara's part. (In "Ghostesses in the Slot Machine", she performs an erotic dance with Foxxy Love as part of a strip show, but in this instance, she is simply trying to make her father notice her.)
Near the end of Season One, in what Foxxy called a case of "Daddy's girl falling for the bad boy", Clara begins a quasi-relationship with Spanky, though the relationship would prove to be short-lived. Though it has not been indicated there has been any activity between them, Clara's father, The King, behaves in such a way as to suggest he possesses sexual feelings for her. Clara doesn't seem to notice these feelings, equating his leering with paternal love. She is also extremely naïve when it comes to sex; after her lesbian kiss with Foxxy, she believes she is pregnant, and it takes a sex ed lesson from Foxxy to make her realize she cannot become pregnant by kissing someone. Clara is the least promiscuous of the eight housemates, and the only one who seems to possess any sense of modesty about his or her body. In Season One, it was suggested that this was because of her character's innocence (and her unusual vagina situation), but as the series has progressed, her religious nature has also become a significant factor.
Aside from her prejudices, Clara is usually depicted as a very warm and caring person with a genuine love for most living creatures. She occasionally shows a quick temper and fits of anger, though these outbursts are seldom long in duration. Though she is frequently guilty of insensitivity and closed-mindedness, she usually realizes when she is wrong about something, and always tries to make amends. Clara is often characterized as being well-educated and sophisticated, but lacking in common sense. In this regard, she is the complete opposite of Foxxy Love, who is unsophisticated and poorly educated, but with a great deal of common sense and practical wisdom.
[edit] Clara's darker side
While the first episode of the series designates Toot as the house's "bitch" character, that designation has begun to shift to Clara over time. While Toot has been portrayed as more sympathetic and less malicious in recent episodes, Clara's darker personality traits have begun to take on greater prominence than her positive personality traits.
Originally, while Clara was portrayed to be extremely bigoted (including being a member of the Ku Klux Klan), she never seemed to be genuinely hateful (for example, she seemed to get along with both Foxxy and Xandir despite being strongly racist and homophobic, and acted surprised and confused when they were offended by her behavior). However, later episodes have her as harsh, strident, and intolerant; concerned solely with crusading against sinfulness, her desire to quench sin is so strong that she shows no concern for the happiness or well-being of others. In "Foxxy vs. the Board of Education", she vows to stop Spanky's gay marriage to Xandir despite Spanky's life being in danger without the insurance Xandir can provide. In "Clum Babies", she crusades against both Wooldoor's masturbation and the use of the Clum Babies to heal the sick despite the number of lives that are being saved and diseases that are being cured, but ultimately, and hypocritically, disguises herself in an attempt to procure a Clum Baby to cure her tuberculosis.
This version of the Clara character is used to satirize the right wing conservative Christian side of society; thus, Clara goes into evangelical mode whenever that angle is needed for a story. To this purpose, she serves as the villain in these episodes, trying to foil whatever she objects to. In fact in some episodes, she is depicted as having witch-like powers (most notably the ability to teleport in a flash of black smoke).
In the episode "Ghostesses in the Slot Machine" Clara seems to be aware of how her behavior comes across to others, and she wants to let everyone know this is not all there is to her character. In that episode, when Foxxy thinks she plans to object to exotic dancing, Foxxy sarcastically says, "I know, there's probably something in the Bible about 'Thou shalt not grind thou's coochie into thy neighbor's boner tent'," to which Clara responds, "You have me all wrong- I'm more than just the same joke over and over! You're thinking of Toot," (in reference to her weight). Clara even parodies this aspect of her own character in the episode "Wooldoor Sockbat's Giggle-Wiggle Funny Tickle Non-Traditional Progressive Multicultural Roundtable!". Convinced that Wooldoor's new children's show will turn the world gay (a charge which turns out to be accurate), she angrily bursts onto the set of Wooldoor's show and shrieks, "What in the name of one-dimensional characters and predictable reactions is going on here?"
In the third season, Clara's characterization took on a decidedly negative turn. For several consecutive episodes at the beginning of the season, Clara was shown treating her housemates quite harshly. In the past, Clara had been sweet on the surface and insulted people mainly through ignorance. In Season Three, however, she was shown behaving with actual malice and spite. Additionally in the first two seasons, whenever Clara behaved badly toward one of the other housemates, she was usually allowed to realize she was wrong and given the chance to make amends; however, in Season Three, she shows little or no remorse for her behavior, and her character receives no real redemption. In "Spelling Applebee's", she coldly manipulates Captain Hero into satisfying her sexual fetish for car crashes, realizing- but not caring- that he actually has real feelings for her (see the "Spelling Applebee's" article for Executive Producer Bill Freiberger's explanation on her character there). In "Unrestrainable Trainable", she mistakes Wooldoor for a Jew and pushes him into the pool in order to baptize him. When Wooldoor contracts hypothermia, Clara expresses a distinct disdain for being forced to take care of him, despite having played a big sister role to him in earlier episodes, and despite the fact that his condition is her fault to begin with. When she begins receiving accolades for taking care of him, Clara develops Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy and deliberately keeps him sick and/or injured in order to keep him in her care; when he later confronts her about this, Clara becomes remorseful and promises to make amends, but then has him step into a bear trap while she is helping him recover. In "N.R.A.y RAY", she spitefully insults Toot seemingly for no reason (though it should be noted that most of the roommates also treat Toot very poorly, making cruel comments about her weight).
No specific explanation is given for this trend in Clara's behavior, though the episode "Unrestrainable Trainable" gives some possible insight into Clara's mindset on the issue. When her housemates first begin praising her for taking such good care of Wooldoor, a surprised Clara exclaims, "Gosh, my roommates always hated me." This seemingly indicates some ongoing tension between Clara and her housemates that the show has not yet fully explored.
Executive Producer Bill Freiberger has stated, when discussing Clara's behavior in "Spelling Applebee's", "While Clara is sometimes misguided out of ignorance or naïveté she is also very often misguided because she is a selfish, spoiled princess (figuratively and literally)." [2]
[edit] Religion
Clara is extremely religious, sometimes to the point of fanaticism. Clara is a devout Christian; she mentions Jesus often, and on more than one occasion has gone off on crusades against things she considers abominations in God's eyes (see Clara's darker side above).
Clara's faith is mentioned multiple times in the first season. The first mention of her religion is in the second episode, "Clara's Dirty Little Secret"; when Foxxy mentions how gullible Clara is, the show cuts to a flashback of Clara accepting Jesus as her Savior. Though this moment has all the hallmarks of a quickie non-canon joke, Clara's Christianity would be confirmed in the Season One finale. In that episode, when her group is assigned to promote religion to the masses, Clara cheerfully declares that she loves Jesus "like more than a friend." She then directs Foxxy and Toot in a blatantly anti-Semitic film depiction of Jesus's crucifixion (a parody of the anti-Semitic controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ), revealing what would become yet another prominent character trait for her, her strong anti-Semitism.
Despite these references, in the first season, Clara's racism remained her primary character trait. It is not until Season Two that her religious nature becomes a defining part of her character. In the first episode of Season Two, when the group is interviewing potential new housemates, she declares her wish for a roommate who shares her deep Christian faith (then humorously adds, "or a beaner"). It would be the second episode of the season, however, that would mark the major turning point for her character. In "Foxxy vs. the Board of Education", when she learns that Spanky Ham is planning to enter into a gay marriage with Xandir in order to receive health insurance, she immediately declares that the act is an abomination against God and vows to stop it, revealing just how religious she truly is. From this point on, Clara's racist behavior would be largely phased out in favor of her extreme religious views. Additionally, as her racial prejudices would (for the most part) cease to be mentioned, Clara's homophobia and anti-Semitism would become far more prominent.
Clara's specific denomination has not been explicitly stated, but there are numerous signs she is Roman Catholic.
- In both "Clum Babies" and "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree", Clara is shown observing forms of penance, the former instance involving corporal mortification, and the latter involving praying incessantly while barefoot and wearing a dress made of sack cloth.
- During the flashback sequence where Clara is shown accepting Jesus, Wooldoor is depicted as a priest; though Wooldoor's presence in this scene is just a gag and not series canon, the fact that a priest is depicted at all may be another sign Clara is Catholic.
- In "Lost in Parking Space, Part One", Clara is shown to own both a rosary and several crucifixes, two of the most common external trappings of the faith.
However, elsewhere in the series, it is suggested Clara may have ties to Protestantism. Clara adheres to the doctrine of a pre-Tribulation Rapture (such as that described by the Left Behind series of novels), which is rejected by Roman Catholicism. Also, Clara financially supports Jews for Jesus (a controversial organization dedicated to converting Jews to Christianity), which is part of the evangelical movement. In all likelihood, the writers are combining a large number of stereotypes without worrying greatly about doctrinal consistency.
[edit] Target for violence
For some unexplained reason, Clara seems to be a natural target for violence by the other characters, having been subjected to numerous acts of deliberate (and often extreme) physical violence:
- In "Hot Tub", she is attacked twice by Foxxy after making unintentional racist remarks.
- In "Clara's Dirty Little Secret", she is pushed down several flights of stairs by Toot.
- In "Dirty Pranking No. 2", she is stabbed in the arm with a fork by her father, the King.
- In "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist, Part II", she is punched out by both Foxxy and Captain Hero.
- In "Clum Babies", she is given electrical shocks by Foxxy. Later in the episode, Clara is kicked by Foxxy after collapsing to the ground. She is also the first victim of Bob the Cucumber's shooting spree at the end of the episode, dying instantly after being shot in the head at point-blank range.
- In "Ghostesses in the Slot Machine", she is again attacked by Foxxy, and then afterward by a tree.
- In "A Tale of Two Cows", she is violently shoved to the ground by Captain Hero on two separate occasions.
- In "The Lemon-AIDS Walk", she and the rest of the housemates are brutally murdered by Captain Hero when they confront him about his steroid use. During the rampage, she is slapped and later thrown through a window; she is killed off-camera after the scene cuts to Hero in the confessional.
- In "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special", she dies when Captain Hero throws her through the wall as part of an extended role-playing sequence the housemates are running.
- In "Alzheimer's That Ends Well", she is struck violently by Wooldoor countless times to anesthetize her before surgery. She is also burned with a cigarette by an orderly at a nursing home.
- In "Freaks & Greeks", she has her hair and the top of her scalp ripped off by Captain Hero.
- In "N.R.A.y RAY", Foxxy's grandson Ray-Ray rips off her hair and scalp (the second time this has happened) and gives it to Toot to grant her wish to have beautiful hair like Clara's. When Clara threatens to report Toot for this, Toot wishes for her to be gone. Ray-Ray then murders Clara off-camera and hangs her body from a towel rack.
[edit] Original artwork
In old artwork before the show's release, Clara was originally drawn as a blonde, with a different dress and a lighter skin tone.
[edit] Prototype comparison
Ariel from The Little Mermaid (l); Princess Clara from Drawn Together (r)
| Drawn Together |
|---|
| Characters |
| Captain Hero | Foxxy Love | Ling-Ling | Princess Clara | Spanky Ham | Toot Braunstein | Wooldoor Sockbat | Xandir |
| Episodes |
| Season One: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Season Two: 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Other |
| Running gags on Drawn Together |
| Cast and creators |
| Dave Jeser | Matt Silverstein | Adam Carolla | Jess Harnell | Abbey McBride | Jack Plotnick | Tara Strong | Cree Summer | James Arnold Taylor |
