Pelswick

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John Callahan's Pelswick (or simply Pelswick) is an animated television series co-produced by Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. and Suzhou Hong Ying Animation Corporation Limited.^[3] The series is about the title character, who uses a wheelchair, emphasizing that he lived a normal life. It was based on the books created by John Callahan.^[4]^[5] Making a show suitable for children required toning down Callahan's dark humor somewhat, and the show was positive and life-affirming. For this, the show was very groundbreaking at the time.^[6]

Pelswick

Also known as	John Callahan's Pelswick
Created by	John Callahan^[1]
Developed by	Andrew Nicholls Darrell Vickers
Directed by	Charles E. Bastien Sean V. Jefrrey
Starring	Rob Tinkler Julie Lemieux David Arquette Peter Oldring Phil Guerrero Kim Kuhteubl Tracey Moore^[2] Tony Rosato Ellen-Ray Hennessy
Composer	Pure West
Country of origin	Canada Taiwan
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producers	Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith John Callahan Deborah Levin
Producer	Alice Bell
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Suzhou Hong Ying Animation Corporation Limited Nelvana Limited Nickelodeon Productions
Original release
Network	CBC (Canada) CCTV (China) Nickelodeon (United States)
Release	October 5, 2000 – November 15, 2002

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.

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]

^ "'Pelswick': Wry, Funny and Irreverently Spirited". Los Angeles Times. 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
^ Rosenberg, Howard (2000-10-20). "Soaring Spirit Behind 'Pelswick,' an Animated Quadriplegic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 448–449. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ Schultz, Paul (2000-10-22). "There's Humor From Where He Sits". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2012-10-22.^{[dead link]}
^ "Nickelodeon | Kids Games, Kids Celebrity Video, Kids Shows" (in Dutch). Nick.com. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 606–607. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ "Pelswick: Characters: Quentin". Nelvana. Archived from the original on 25 November 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
^ TV Schedule for Adult Swim - East HD