Clarence (animated series)

Television series
German title	Clarence
Original title	Clarence
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Year (s)	2014-2018
Production company	Cartoon Network Studios
length	11 minutes
Episodes	130 in 3 seasons ( list )
genre	Comedy , Slice of Life
Theme music	King of the World (German: King of the World )
idea	Skyler Page
production	Curtis Lelash, Jennifer Pelphrey, Brian A. Miller, Rob Sorcher, Keith Mack, Bob Boyle , Yvette Kaplan
music	James L. Venable , Simon Panrucker
First broadcast	April 14, 2014 on Cartoon Network
German-language first broadcast	November 17th, 2014 on Cartoon Network
synchronization

Clarence is an American animated series that was produced by Cartoon Network Studios from 2014 to 2018 . It was conceived by the animator Skyler Page and is about the everyday life of the somewhat strange boy Clarence Wendle, his best friends Jeff Randell and Sumo Sumouski as well as their family and school environment.

The series premiered on April 14, 2014, with a pilot episode airing two months earlier on February 17. Page was fired during the production of the first season, which is why a new showrunner had to be hired and the title character, who got her voice from Page, was cast with a different speaker.

The station ordered a second season the following year, which was first broadcast on Cartoon Network from January 18, 2016 to February 3, 2017. The third and final season of production ran for the first time in the United States from February 10, 2017 to June 24, 2018.

In Germany, the series has been broadcast on the German branch of Cartoon Network since November 17, 2014.

action

Clarence Wendle, his divorced mother Mary Sophia, and their significant other Chad have only recently started living in the fictional town of Aberdale, near Phoenix . Since Clarence is the "new kid" at Aberdale Elementary, he throws a party that only Jeff and Ryan, known as Sumo, attend. Clarence quickly becomes friends with them, and from then on the three of them experience a lot of adventures, mostly in everyday situations, for example in the supermarket or on school trips.

Some episodes do not focus on the three main characters, but also on their classmates and other citizens of the city.

characters

main characters

• Clarence Wendle is a ten year old, corpulent boy and the main character of the series. He is always cheerful and optimistic , and he is friendly to everyone he meets. When he arrives at his new elementary school , he can't wait to make new friends. He likes to do good deeds and also helps others without asking for anything in return. He has a very lively imagination , which, however, often leads to problems in connection with his enthusiasm. Furthermore, he does not notice that his helpfulness and friendliness are often used. Although he seems a bit simple-minded, several episodes show that he can be quite clever and resourceful.
• Jeffrey "Jeff" Randell is Clarence's second best friend. He is intelligent , pragmatic and prevents Clarence from doing stupid things. Although he is always a part of Clarence's activities, he is uptight, introverted, and almost obsessed with good academic performance. His head has a square shape, which is an allusion to his personality, as the English word square can mean not only square but also stuffy . Jeff is a huge fan of game shows and advises candidates in front of the TV. He has many phobias, including a very pronounced mysophobia and a great fear of failure, which is why he competes in the local cooking competition every year, but throws his dish away before it can be rated.
• Ryan “Sumo” Sumouski is Clarence's best friend. Unlike Jeff, he solves problems in his own very impulsive way instead of thinking. He is fearless and unpredictable, which often leads to minor arguments with the completely opposite Jeff. These are then arbitrated by Clarence. He is very loyal to his two friends and supports them when they need him. However, sumo often has a bad influence on Clarence and gets himself and the others in trouble. In the third season, sumo moves to another school called West Aberdale. Although Clarence in particular finds it difficult to come to terms with it at first, the friendship with sumo remains.

Minor characters

• Mary Sophia Wendle is Clarence's mother. After breaking up with ex-boyfriend Damian, she moved to Aberdale with her son and boyfriend Chad. Like her son, she is kind, humorous and patient. She takes great care of Clarence and gets him to help her with the housework by disguising it as a kind of game. She supports her son whenever he has a problem and doesn't know what to do. Mary works as a beautician at Hip Clips, a hair salon .
• Charles Arthur "Chad" Caswell is Mary's partner. Since Clarence has no contact with his biological father, Chad is like a kind of surrogate father for him. Although he has a bachelor's degree , Chad does not have a permanent job, but earns his living doing various odd jobs, including as a sandwich man for hip clips. Mary's mother is not exactly impressed by him because, unlike Damian, he is neither rich nor has a car. He is very fond of playing the guitar and has a passion for rock music .
• Belson Alfred Noles likes to harass his classmates, but rarely physically, but mainly verbally. He enjoys playing pranks on others and is not very popular in school due to his narcissistic , superficial, and apathetic personality. In addition to his friends, only Clarence likes him, which is mutual, but Belson would never admit. Even so, he has tried several times to destroy Clarence's reputation as he is jealous of its popularity . However Belson can occasionally be nice to others and is artistically gifted, because he a comic about a superhero - Delfin drew. It is named after Nelson Boles .
• Chelsea Keezheekoni is second best in class and a tomboy . She is a brave, straightforward girl who claims to be "better" than all boys, especially better than sumo. Nevertheless (or maybe because of it) she had her first kiss with him in the tree house of the three friends .
• Breehn is friends with Jeff and is the smartest student in the class. Good grades are very important to him, which is why he learns a lot and has an excellent general education . Like Jeff, he is extremely careful and fearful. Despite his peanut allergy he eats in a sequence a peanut butter - sandwich , which he later regretted.
• Ms. Melanie Alexandra Baker is Clarence's class teacher, who talks very quickly and a lot. She is helpful and understanding towards her students, but often overwhelmed with her work and quickly loses her composure.
• Percy Dahmer is a very sensitive boy with a weak, quiet voice. He cries often and is haunted by bad luck, and he seems to be naive because he gave Breehn a peanut butter sandwich despite his allergy because Percy didn't know that peanut butter is actually made from peanuts. Most of the time he spends his free time with Belson and his friends. Like his parents, he has a spherical figure.
• Nathan is one of Belson's friends. He is strong, but what he has in terms of muscle mass is lacking in intelligence. In return he is helpful and friendlier than Belson, whom he does not support if he goes too far.
• Dustin Conway is another friend of Belson's. He enjoys playing video games and soccer . He likes to take part in Belson's pranks, but like Nathan, he also has a good heart.
• Mel Sumowski is Sumo's father. He has a deep voice and is very strict, like his son, however, also very eccentric.
• EJ and Sue Randell are Jeff's mothers . EJ is a bit irascible and behaves rather boyish, Sue, on the other hand, has a very relaxed personality and appears more feminine.
• Jim Reese is the vice principal of Clarence Elementary School. Its main role is to supervise the detained students. He used to work as a police officer and has a keen appetite, especially for donuts and coffee .
• Guyler is a classmate and acquaintance of Clarence who often participates in his actions. Guyler has a very long neck and a big nose, he never speaks, but only mumbles every now and then into his T-shirt, which covers his entire neck and mouth, which is incomprehensible to others.
• Regis Gilben does not speak, but communicates with the help of sounds that resemble the howling of the wind. Nevertheless, his classmates seem to understand him, as they can talk to him without any problems. He is almost always motionless, but can still use objects.
• Mavis does not speak either, but communicates with grunted noises, and she is afraid of hydrants .
• Joshua "Josh" Maverick first worked as an employee in the grocery store Food Nephews, later as a nature guide. He's bad at sumo because it bit him once and Josh has a scar on his right cheek . Josh often has accidents that result in serious injuries, such as losing his right arm in an accident. Clarence caused most of these accidents, which is why Josh hated him.
• Kimby is a shy, insecure girl who also goes to Clarence's class. She's a girlie , collects dolls and stuffed animals , likes makeovers and enjoys listening to boy band music .
• Malessica is a friend of Kimby's and in love with Jeff. She is intelligent and speaks in an arrogant way. Like Kimby, she is also a girlie and likes dolls and ponies .
• Courtlin is also friends with Kimby. At first she doesn't like Clarence very much and thinks his actions are silly, later on her relationship improves and she likes to participate in his activities. She is already thinking about her future and wondering which college she should go to one day.
• Branda Shoop works as a teacher at Clarence's school. She supervises the playground , is extremely strict and does not like children. During her supervision, she pays little attention to the students and prefers to listen to music or read books instead. She also prefers that the children stay inside the school building during recess, as her mother, who used to work in the school, never allowed her to play outside. She has no friends, lives alone, and spends her free time cooking canned beans.

• Amelia Marion "Amy" Gillis only appears in one episode because she is moving with her family. She and her neighbor Clarence ride Amy's bike to the park to find a special stone, an "Erratic," which is much larger than any other stone. As they step on the stone and play, they are surprised by Belson and his friends who have secretly followed them. Since Belson plays on the stone and doesn't want to share it, a “ pine cone war” breaks out, during which the children throw the cones at each other. Finally Amy has to go home and thanks Clarence for the nice day.
• Amy Shutzger is very tall and strong for her age. She has a crush on her classmate Jeff, which he does not enjoy.
• Blaide appears to be an exchange student as he speaks with an undefined accent . He is friends with Breehn.
• Lauren is a friend of Jeff and is extremely intelligent. Since her father was of the opinion that it is not enough learns in school, she was since kindergarten at home taught. That's why she doesn't know much about the outside world, which is why Clarence, Jeff, and Sumo take her to places she's never seen before in an episode.
• Cynthia Noles is Belson's mother. She is wealthy, gives her son everything he wants and doesn't realize how rude he is to her. Nor does he help her around the house, since he injured himself when she forced him to do so and his mother has never done this again since.
• Mr. Mozer is very similar to Sumo's class teacher at West Aberdale Elementary and Ms. Baker.
• Ms. Lofton is the principal at West Aberdale Elementary.
• Rosie Randell , EJ's mother and Jeff's grandmother, is arrogant and, like her grandson, is afraid of all sorts of everyday situations and objects.
• Walt and Tiffany are Breehn's parents, are extremely presumptuous and like to show off their recently acquired house in front of the other adults.

production

Skyler Page , who wrote scripts and storyboards for the series Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, also produced by Cartoon Network , created the production in 2012 on the occasion of an initiative of the station, the shorts development program. Young writers were encouraged to work on new series for Cartoon Network Studios. In addition to Clarence , this program resulted in the series Steven Universe , Behind the Garden Wall and We Bare Bears, among others .

Page co-developed the series with Nelson Boles at the California Institute of the Arts , and Boles was later named creative director of the series. Page was 24 years old at the time, making it the youngest person to date to create a program for the station. In 2013, Cartoon Network discontinued Page and added the series to its programming. The pilot episode, which has not yet been broadcast in Germany, celebrated its premiere in the USA on February 17, 2014 and was positively rated. The actual season premiere took place on April 14 of the same year and, with 2.3 million viewers, achieved two to three times the viewing figures compared to other series with the same target group and broadcasting time. It was also the most successful pilot in a Cartoon Network series of 2014.

In July 2014, Page was fired from Cartoon Network on charges of sexual harassment by several women . Spencer Rothbell , member of the writing staff , then spoke the title character from the 37th episode of the first season. Nelson Boles succeeded Page as showrunner . He left the series after the first season, his job was taken by Stephen P. Neary , one of the storyboard artists.

On April 4, 2017, Rothbell announced on his Twitter account that the third season would be the last of the series. The last episode was first seen in the US on June 24, 2018.

synchronization

The synchronization of the series was created by Berliner Synchron München GmbH based on dialogue books by Roman Wolko under the dialogue direction of Achim Geisler and Stefan Kolo.

main characters

role	English speaker	German speaker
Clarence Wendle	Skyler Page (1.01-1.32, 1.35-1.36) Spencer Rothbell (1.33-1.34, 1.37-3.40)	Benedikt Gutjan
Jeffrey "Jeff" Randell	Sean Giambrone	Julian Manuel
Ryan "Sumo" Sumouski	Tom Kenny Jason Marsden (pilot episode)	Patrick Roche

Minor characters

role	English speaker	German speaker
Mary Sophia Wendle	Katie Crown	Christine Stichler
Charles Arthur "Chad" Caswell	Eric Edelstein
Belson Alfred Noles	Roger Craig Smith Jason Marsden (pilot episode)	Stefan Günther
Chelsea Keezheekoni	Grace Kaufman
Breehn	Joshua Rush
Ms. Melanie Alexandra Baker	Katie Crown
Percy Dahmer	Roger Craig Smith
Nathan	Skyler Page Damien Haas	Oliver Scheffel
Dustin Conway	Kyle Arem	Fabian Wittkowski
Mel Sumowski	John DiMaggio	Niko Macoulis
EJ Randell	Lea DeLaria
Sue Randell	Tig Notaro	Kristina Rössler
Jim Reese	Skyler Page Donovan Patton
Guyler	(mute)
Regis GIlben
Mavis	Spencer Rothbell
Joshua "Josh" Maverick	Brent Popolizio
Kimby	Isabella Niems
Malessica	Ivy Bishop
Courtlin	Tayler Buck
Branda Shoop	Katie Crown
Amelia Marion "Amy" Gillis	Ava Acres
Amy Shutzger	Skyler Page Damien Haas
Blaide	Skyler Page Spencer Rothbell Grace Kaufman
Lauren	Rachel Eggleston
Cynthia Noles	Mena Suvari
Mr. Mozer	Carlos Alazraqui
Ms. Lofton	Jenelle Lynn Randall
Rosie Randell	June Squibb
Mr. Dahmer	Roger Craig Smith
Mrs. Dahmer
Walt	Dave Wittenberg
Tiffany	Abigal Revasch

Nominations

In 2013, the series' pilot episode was nominated for a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy in the Best Animated Short Format category. In 2015, the series was nominated for a British Academy Children's Award in the category Best International Series . The following year the episode Turtle Hats of the first season was nominated for an Annie Award in the category Best Episode of a Children's TV Series .

Web links

• Clarence in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Clarence on Cartoon Network
• Clarence at Fernsehserien.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Mercedes Milligan: Cartoon Network Greenlights 'Clarence'. In: Animation Magazine. December 13, 2012, Retrieved October 19, 2018 (American English). 
2. ↑ ^{a b} 'Clarence' Is Cartoon Network's Most-Watched Series Premiere to Date in 2014. In: TV By The Numbers. April 16, 2014, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Clarence. In: emmys.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018 . 
4. ^ ^{A b} Variety Staff: Cartoon Network Fires Creator of 'Clarence' Amid Sexual Assault Allegations. In: Variety . July 3, 2014, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
5. Jump up ↑ Clarence, Season 1, Episode 1-17. In: Fernsehserien.de . Retrieved December 15, 2019 . 
6. ^ Nellie Andreeva: Cartoon Network Orders 1/4 Hour Animated Series 'Clarence'. In: Deadline.com . December 12, 2012, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
7. ^ Gary Rusak: Cartoon Network US & UK announce 2014 slates. In: Kidscreen. March 10, 2014, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Spencer Rothbell. In: Beyond the Cartoons. November 18, 2016, accessed October 19, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Cindy McLennan: Clarence: Ending; No Season Four for Cartoon Network TV Series. In: TV Series Finale. April 10, 2017, accessed December 15, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Clarence. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on December 15, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Children's in 2015. In: bafta.org. Retrieved December 15, 2019 . 
12. ↑ 43rd Annual Annie Awards Legacy. In: annieawards.org. February 6, 2016, accessed December 15, 2019 .