The Adventures of Pete and Pete/Characters

Characters from The Adventures of Pete and Pete

Big Pete Wrigley (Michael Maronna)
The elder Pete is more stoic, as well as the one who tends to face the most "normal" challenges and moral quandaries of the two. He's somewhat insecure to boot.

"Mr. Slurm: (after getting out of the driving simulator with Pete) Congratulations, Mr. Wrigley. You're dead."
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Drives Like Crazy


 * Everything's Worse BETTER With Bears -- Big Pete dresses up as one while working at his dad's golf course to avoid being embarrassed by his job. It results in a hunting tournament.
 * Girl of the Week - He had a lot in season three.
 * Interactive Narrator
 * My God, What Have I Done? - A lot.
 * Ordinary High School Student
 * Peer Pressure Makes You Evil

Little Pete Wrigley (Danny Tamberelli)
One of the greatest military minds of the twentieth century, Pete the Younger is brash, rude, and headstrong. He also tends to have the more "epic" adventures.


 * The Chessmaster
 * Determinator
 * Embarrassing Tattoo - Only he's not the one embarrassed by Petunia; Mom is.
 * The Hero
 * Iconic Item - His hat
 * The Kirk
 * One-Man Army - Well, with Artie's help.
 * Rebel Leader
 * Voice of the Resistance

Don Wrigley (aka "Dad", Hardy Rawls)
He's a well-meaning man who loves his family, his car, and his job (he owns a driving range). Dad is sometimes torn between his devotion to his sons and pressure from his neighbors.


 * Bumbling Dad - But not to the Homer Simpson degree; Don is right sometimes.
 * Moreover, he usually realizes when he's messed something up with minimal prompting. It just takes him awhile.
 * The Other Darrin - A different actor played Dad in the first couple shorts before Hardy Rawls was hired.
 * Vanity License Plate - "KING O FROD", later replaced when he finds and defeats the holder of "KING OF ROAD"

Joyce Wrigley (aka "Mom", Judy Grafe)
She's usually more sensible than Dad, but she has her loopier moments, usually when somebody is attacking her remotely via the metal plate in her head.


 * Because I Said So
 * Only Sane Man
 * Super Drowning Skills - The plate is too heavy for her to swim without floatation aids.
 * Weaksauce Weakness - Her plate renders her vulnerable to radio signals, sympathetic vibrations, magnetism, and lightning.

Ellen Hickle (Allison Fanelli)
Big Pete's best friend besides his brother. She has a type-A personality and can easily lose herself in a new project or cause. Ellen is also both the most likely to support Big Pete and the most likely to call him out when he's being a jerk.


 * The "B" Grade
 * Everybody Hates Mathematics - Until she gets her teacher to include practical applications.
 * Fleeting Passionate Hobbies - Varies from episode to episode, be it woodshop, vending machine repair, or playing in the school band. And extra emphasis on the passionate part.
 * Hidden Depths - Her extensive knowledge of wrestling tactics, learned from her champion uncle.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend - No matter how many times her Opening Narration to the shorts said otherwise.
 * Teacher's Pet - Or so she thinks.

Artie, the Strongest Man...in the World! (Toby Huss)
Little Pete's personal superhero. He's imaginative, impulsive, creative, crazy, supportive, and subversive. In general, Artie is loved by kids and hated by adults.


 * The Big Guy
 * But Now I Must Go
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Clown Car Base/Absurdly Spacious Portajohn
 * Crazy Awesome
 * Fun Personified
 * Limited Wardrobe
 * Super Strength
 * Walking the Earth - Literally, he hates riding in cars.

Nona F. Mecklenberg (Michelle Tractenberg)
A newcomer to Wellsville, Little Pete is the first friend she makes. Nona has a lot of strange habits, including wearing a cast on her arm at all times because she likes how it feels.


 * Brother Chuck - Halfway through season three, when she was put in the opening, she disappeared with no explanation and no one ever brought it up.
 * Catch Phrase - "Holy Moley!"
 * The Chick
 * Iconic Item - Her cast
 * The McCoy
 * Mysterious Middle Initial - She makes up a new middle name every time she says it.
 * Promotion to Opening Titles - In season 3, taking Artie's place. She was the only opening-credits character never to appear in the shorts.
 * Sidekick

Teddy Foresman (Dave Martel)
One of Big Pete's friends. He's book-smart, but street-dumb, which makes him kind of irritating. Teddy's a nice guy, though.


 * Captain Oblivious
 * Catch Phrase - It's "Excellente!" ...What, you didn't know that?
 * Nerd
 * Picky Eater
 * Spit Take - Milk out his nose when Bill tells jokes.

Bill Korn (Rick Barbarette)
Another of Big Pete's friends in seasons one and two. He's street-smart, but book-dumb, and kind of a prankster.


 * Book Dumb
 * Brother Chuck
 * Wacky Guy

Clem Linnell (Aaron Schwartz)
One of Little Pete's most loyal friends from the specials through season two.


 * Brother Chuck
 * Expressive Facial Hair - If he doesn't sleep, he begins growing a beard.
 * Iconic Item - His hat
 * The Lancer
 * Sidekick

Mort Mortenson (Aaron Beener)
Another early recurring friend of Little Pete's.


 * Brother Chuck

Monica Perling (Maris Hudson)
Kreb Scout Monica has a variety of skills learned from her merit badges earned, and usually proves herself helpful in a pinch.


 * Highly-Visible Ninja
 * Limited Wardrobe - Except when swimming, she's always in uniform.
 * Scout Out
 * The Smart Guy
 * The Spock - She's usually the most cold-hearted and logical of Little Pete's friends.

Wayne Pardue (Justin Restivo)
"The Main Brain" in his own mind, "The Pain" to everyone else.


 * Catch Phrase - "Supergenius!"
 * The Chick
 * Failure Knight
 * The Friend Nobody Likes
 * Her Codename Was Mary Sue
 * The Load
 * The Man Who Knew Too Little
 * Spanner in the Works - Particularly in "Last Laugh", where he would have sunk the plan if not for a secret Enemy Mine.
 * Tagalong Kid - His friends never actually want him to come, yet there he is anyway.

"Endless Mike" Hellstrom (Rick Gomez)
He's older than the bully villains and thus better at subtlety, deception, sabotage, etc., but younger than the IAC (see below) and thus still willing to be openly violent.


 * Arch Enemy - To Big Pete
 * Book Dumb
 * Hey, It's That Guy! - He's also Sniz.
 * High Octane Nightmare Fuel
 * Meaningful Name - Hellstrom
 * Subverted by "Endless", though, because--in direct contrast to every other kid bad guy--the nickname has no appearent meaning and it's never explained why he has it. Fans have theorized that it's because he's endlessly repeating high school or because his hatred of Big Pete is endless.
 * Moral Event Horizon - He legitimately attempts murder a few times.
 * Poisonous Friend - Sometimes Mike's willing to settle for corrupting Pete rather than destroying him.
 * Teacher's Pet - To shop teacher Mr. Slurm.

Pit Stain (aka Fran Jones, Eric Kushnick)

 * Arch Enemy - To Little Pete
 * The Bully
 * Embarrassing First Name - Though he actually prefers it to the Only Known by Their Nickname fate forced on him by Little Pete.
 * Stalker with a Crush - on Nona

Hathead
A recurring bully from the original shorts.


 * The Bully
 * Family-Unfriendly Death - Artie eventually turns him into a jack-o-lantern.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname

Open Face
A bully who tries to turn Ellen against Big Pete in the Valentine's Day special.


 * The Bully
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Trademark Favorite Food - Open-face sandwiches

Paper Cut
A bully with masterful origami skills, capable of creating deadly weapons from paper. Loves Rock-Paper-Scissors. Hates losing.


 * The Bully
 * Death Dealer
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Paper Master
 * Poor Predictable Paper - Subverted: He severely punishes anyone who throws scissors.

International Adult Conspiracy

 * Ancient Conspiracy
 * Because I Said So
 * The Complainer Is Always Wrong - according to them.
 * Moral Guardians
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat
 * Rules Lawyer

Kent Schwinger (Adam West)
Little Pete's junior-high principal.


 * Adam Westing - Aversion! Adam West is actually playing a character!
 * Large Ham
 * Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness - Or so he believes, at least.

Mr. Markle
The high school marching band director.


 * Control Freak
 * My Greatest Failure - He's obsessed with recovering from a mistake he made in a past tournament that cost his band the championship.
 * Nepotism - His nephew is his Dragon.
 * Serious Business - He based a band formation on a Crimean War battle.
 * "Stop Having Fun!" Guys

Garbage Man (Joseph McKenna)
A city employee whose favorite activity is crushing Christmas trees.


 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good - He's essentially beaten by a Care Bear Stare.
 * The Grinch
 * Nightmare Fuel
 * Only Known by Their Nickname

Stu Benedict (Damian Young)
Bus driver, friend, basket case.


 * Berserk Button - The song "If You're Happy and You Know It"
 * Chew Toy
 * Large Ham
 * Love Makes You Crazy
 * Reasonable Authority Figure - Relative to the norm in Wellsville, that is.
 * The Woobie - Yes, he's both Woobie and Chew Toy. You can laugh and still sympathize.

Mr. Tastee
Wellsville's most popular ice cream man, who never ever removes his big plastic head.


 * Acting for Two - Toby Huss (Artie) did the body work for Tastee, though not the voice.
 * So Mr. Tastee was Artie all along? Might explain why Mr. Tastee was so secretive about his identity.
 * The Faceless

Phil Hickle (Steve Buscemi)
Ellen's father, a school counselor.


 * Doting Parent
 * Hey, It's That Guy! - Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Steve Buscemi.
 * The Other Darrin - Ellen's father appeared in one of the shorts as a different actor.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure

James Mecklenberg (Iggy Pop)
Nona's pop.


 * Actor Allusion - Several in various episodes, including the Meaningful Nickname "Pop" Nona employs rather than "Dad".
 * Hey, It's That Guy! - Iggy Pop. Yeah, I know!
 * Overprotective Dad
 * Playing Against Type

Miss Fingerwood (Syd Straw)
The Petes' math teacher.


 * Actor Allusion - Syd Straw is an indie musician; she gets to sing and play guitar in one episode. Not The Cast Showoff because she's in an ensemble lead by Little Pete.
 * Heroic BSOD - Ellen triggers one.
 * Mad Mathematician

Mr. Slurm
Big Pete and Ellen's shop (and later, driving) instructor.


 * The Other Darrin - Different actors played Slurm in each of his appearances.
 * Secret Test of Character
 * Stern Teacher

Sally Knorp (Ellen Cleghorne)
Another bus driver.


 * Hey, It's That Guy! - Ellen Cleghorne from Saturday Night Live
 * The Unfair Sex