This is a list of characters from the Cartoon Network series Dexter's Laboratory.
Contents |
Dexter
| Dexter | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Changes |
| Last appearance | Comedy of Feathers |
| Portrayed by | Chris Cavanaugh Candi Milo Ayumi Kida (Japanese) Nicky Wu (Chinese) |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 8 |
| Occupation | Boy Genius |
| Family | Mom, Dad, and DeeDee |
The central protagonist, creator and owner of the laboratory, and a junior mad scientist; red-haired, 8 years old. He speaks with a very strange Bulgarian accent which is not explained. Whenever he walks, his feet make a quick "shuffling" noise (his sister and mother also have unique "walking" sound effects). The only other two people in Dexter's family that have unusual accents are his mom (kind of a Minnesota accent) and his Uncle O' Riley (Irish accent). Some believe that his accent is a play on Albert Einstein, while others consider his accent to be an homage to the "mad scientists" of cinema from about 1930 to 1960. He considers his sister Dee Dee to be stupid and inferior, not to mention clumsy. He also makes up a superhero alter-ego for himself to gain Major Glory's respect: Dexstar. He has a peculiar quirk of wrenching a nut into a piece of metal for no apparent reason. This tends to begin an episode - Dexter is "working", wrenching the nut, when his sister comes in and ruins everything. This motion is addressed as what could be a "genetic defect" in the Blackfoot episode. In many occasions Dexter has been shown naked or in his briefs, but when he is naked a leaf covers his genitals. Ironically, despite his genius mind, Dexter seems to be superstitious and gullible, and does not know certain things (he could not recognize the clown in "The Laughing", and for most of "Chicken Scratch" had no idea what chickenpox was). It was revealed in the episode "A Hard Day's Day" that Dexter is a Capricorn. In the episode "DD & D" despite his genius Dexter is not above cheating in his own fantasy game when he wants to win. Originally voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, and later Candi Milo in the 2001 revival (Cavanaugh had bowed out of voice acting by that point, though she reprised the role in a few episodes of the revival). his favorite equation is <math>π \div \sqrt abc \times E\frac1000 %</math>.
Dee Dee
| Dee Dee | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Changes |
| Last appearance | Comedy of Feathers |
| Portrayed by | Allison Moore Kathryn Cressida |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 12 (currently) |
| Occupation | Trouble-Maker |
| Family | Mom, Dad and, Dexter |
Dexter's extremely ditzy, simple-minded blonde 11-year-old sister. Loves ballet, dolls, ponies, unicorns, messing around in Dexter's laboratory, and generally depicts all the stereotypes concerning young girls. She is two to three times taller than Dexter and has peculiar body proportions; a minuscule torso with a large head and gangly limbs, similar to a ballerina's. To complete the ballet look, she wears a small pink tutu and ballet shoes, which usually create a "squishy" noise while walking. Dexter once compared her to a stick and subsequently threw her to entertain a dog. She occasionally reveals a deep depth of hidden knowledge being able to beat Dexter on a test and therefore driving him insane, and once functioned as a guru for Dexter, teaching him "The Way of the Dee Dee". Although she seems to be extremely moronic, her social skills far exceed Dexter's, as she is quite popular at their local school, while he is shunned except for his other equally geeky associates. Her best friends in the series are Mee Mee and Lee Lee, two girls who are 11 years old and share her interests (and fashion sense, not to mention proportions although both are noticebly smarter). Her catch-phrase is "Ooooooo. What does this button do?". She wears her full length of hair down on rare occasions, mostly when sleeping. Her night clothing is a pink nightgown with long sleeves for warmth. She also has a multitude of stuffed animals and she has a canopy bed. It was revealed in the episode "A Hard Day's Day" that Dee Dee is a Cancer. Originally voiced by Allison Moore, the role was assumed by Kathryn Cressida after the first season. Moore reprised the role in the third season, with Cressida taking it back for the show's final season.
Mandark
| Susan "Mandark" Astronomonov | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Dexter's Rival |
| Last appearance | Garage Sale |
| Portrayed by | Eddie Deezen (English), Katsumi Suzuki (Japanese) |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 12 |
| Occupation | Evil genius |
| Family | Windbear (Dad), Oceanbird (Mom), and Lalavava (Sister) |
Dexter's arch-nemesis. Approximately equal in intelligence to Dexter, he too possesses his own laboratory, which has a very red-and-black color scheme and may be organic-based. In his original appearance, his technology and knowledge far exceeded even Dexter's, and he ordered Dexter to shut his laboratory down since it was taking away valuable power from Mandark's lab. However, after Dexter tricked Dee Dee into destroying Mandark's lab, he has been forced into playing catch-up with Dexter, being eternally one step behind his rival. Despite her role in his setbacks, Mandark has a crush on Dee Dee, who initially resented the attention, but developed an easier relationship with him in the later series. He was originally referred to as 'Astronomonov' (possibly his last name) though his "true" name was revealed to be 'Susan' (a reference to A Boy Named Sue) after becoming a recurring character. In one episode called Dee Dee's Rival, it is revealed that he has a sister named Olga Astronomonov, also called Lalavava, who seems to have total control over him, although she hasn't been seen or heard of since. Though during his first appearance Dexter is thought to have seen Mandark for the first time, it is revealed in one episode that Mandark first met Dexter when Dexter was making fun of the former's real name, and this encounter triggered Mandark's hatred of Dexter. It can also be assumed that it caused Mandark to become evil, as he appears to be simple and peace-loving before the encounter, a sharp contrast to his evil personality later on. It is also revealed that his name "Mandark" is actually a short for "monarch of darkness." Mandark has a noticeable, strange laugh which evolves to always have the same pattern ("AH-HA-HA! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA!) – It is later revealed he does everything (such as brushing his teeth or spreading butter on toast) in the rhythm. In earlier episodes, Mandark's laboratory has a high-tech and more advance appearance. In later episodes, his lab starts to have a more gothic and crude look. Has dabbled in magic at least twice, the most recent during a science fair in a bid to out-place Dexter. Mandark lives in the same neighborhood as Dexter, but Mandark's parents are hippies[1] in contrast to Dexter's stereotypical middle-class parents. Mandark was voiced by Eddie Deezen.
Dexter's Parents
Mom
Dexter and Dee Dee's red-haired bottom-heavy mother; a mysophobe who has trouble being around the rest of the family without her rubber gloves. She is rarely seen without her gloves and starts to go insane (she starts having nightmarish hallucinations featuring giant bugs and germs) in an episode when they have gone missing from her nightstand. Although a stereotypical housewife, a few episodes imply most of Dexter's personality comes from her, including their perfectionist streaks (he also seems to have inherited her red hair). She speaks in a kind of Minnesotan accent. It is revealed in a flashback episode that she used to be a Valley Girl type in the 1980s, which may also be the basis for her accent. She is always seen walking on her tiptoes and her feet make a very dainty, clicking sound whenever she walks around. Her real name has never been revealed, and her husband only refers to her as "honey", "dear", etc. She and Debs Turnbull of Robotboy are very similar, as they both possess attractively large rear ends. She was voiced by Kath Soucie.
Dad
Dexter and Dee Dee's blond-haired father is the stereotypical husband and head of the household, falling directly above his wife in authority. Loves bowling, golf, fishing, and has an unnatural affinity for his wife's muffins, of which she can expertly create (according to him, the muffins are the reason he married Mom, though this may have been a spur-of-the-moment remark, since he desperately wanted the muffins at the time). Dee Dee gets most of her traits from Dad, though Dexter has inherited his need for glasses from him as well. In order to impress Dexter's classmates during "Bring Your Dad to School" day, he pretended that his career was that of an Evel Knievel-esque motorcycle stuntsman, mentioning in passing that they wouldn't be too impressed if they found out he was a "boring old scientist". Like his wife, his real name has not been revealed and he is referred to as "dear", "honey", etc. Once tried to get his son into sports, but by episode's end it didn't work. He was once seen smoking a pipe in one episode. He was voiced by Jeff Bennett.
Other Characters
Lisa
She's a pretty girl who babysits Dexter and Dee Dee while their parents were out of town. She likes Dexter as her favorite and he loves her, but the problem for Dexter is that Lisa has a boyfriend named Jeff, which made Dexter upset. Lisa only appears in one episode and is voiced by Kath Soucie.
Mr. Luzinsky
Dexter's default teacher, though he is often interchanged with other teachers depending on the story. Mr. Luzinsky seems to be a generally upright and knowledgeable teacher. He could be seen as a parody of a stereotypical British professor. He was voiced by Frank Welker.
Douglas E. Mordecai
Possibly Dexter's only friend apart from his computer. He attends school with Dexter and is similarly geeky. In one episode, they both listen to a science recording, naturally giggling at "Chapter 6: Reproduction". It's unknown if he knows about Dexter's laboratory since he was never seen in the laboratory. He was voiced by Tom Kenny.
Dexter's Other Friends
These friends of Dexter appeared only twice (In D & DD and Star Check Unconventional). They share the same "geek" hobbies, such as roleplaying and visiting the convention. It's also unknown if they know about Dexter's laboratory.
Quadraplex T-3000 computer
Dexter's computer that oversees the running of the lab and has a personality of its own. Dexter refers to his computer as "my love" or "my dear", given that the computer's voice (by Kath Soucie) and personality is female. In Voice Over, a malfunction causes the computer to express a different voice each time Dexter attempts to fix it. Dexter cannot cope with this, and it eventually gives him laryngitis.
Robots
A number of mostly unnamed robots assist Dexter in the laboratory. The most consistently appearing is the Robotron, also known as the Robo-Dexo 2000, but most frequently the Giant Dexo-Robo (a parody of various giant robot anime). It is a several-stories-tall combat robot used for fighting Mandark, aliens, and natural disasters and its appearance mimics Dexter's somewhat in build. Entrance is through one of the feet, and its weaponry includes lasers, missiles and its rocket-powered detachable fists.
Lee Lee and Mee Mee
Dee Dee's best friends. They are nearly identical to Dee Dee, except that Mee Mee is African-American, and Lee Lee is Asian. They are smarter than Dee Dee, as seen in one episode when Dee Dee took care of a turtle, thinking it was a bird, and her friends tried to correct her and even asked if Dexter had been doing experiments on her. Mee Mee's mother is identical to Dee Dee's mother, even wearing the same clothes. Lee Lee seems to have a crush on Dexter. All three of the girls seem to have a great interest in ballet and cuddly toys, such as teddy bears, ponies, and other stuffed-animal toys. They also enjoy synchronized swimming.
Pony Puff Princess
Dee Dee's idol and favourite toy in the world, she cares for it and treats it like a best friend. Dexter sometimes threatens the toy in order to blackmail Dee Dee into doing something. Despite this, Dee Dee once turns against the toy when it tries to destroy Dexter.
Koosalagoopagoop
Also called Koosy or Koos, he is a multi-colored dinosaur-like creature that originates from Dee Dee's imagination. He can change his size at will, become invisible and the heart in his belly is a portal to his world. He also knows to make burrito and impersonate Jimmy Carter. Among imaginary friends, only Dee Dee and Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls actually like him. The character is a combined parody of H.R. Pufnstuf, Snuffleupagus as well as Elliott from the Disney movie Pete's Dragon. He is voiced by Dom DeLuise.
Windbear and Oceanbird
Mandark's hippie parents, who don't understand Mandark's love for evil and science, not to mention his affections for Dee Dee. Windbear has been known to engage in rivalry with Dexter's father because of their conflicting beliefs, and it is unclear whether Oceanbird does the same with Dexter's mother. The pair may be a parody of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (in Japanese, Yoko means "Oceanbird"). Windbear and Oceanbird were voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kath Soucie who also voiced Dexter's dad and mom.
Lalavava
Mandark's sister, who competes with Dee Dee in ballet, much like Dexter and Mandark do in science. Her real name is Olga Astronominoff. She appears to be younger than Mandark, or at least smaller, as her short, compact body type contrasts with Dee Dee's tall, gangly appearance. Her only appearance was in the episode "Dee Dee's Rival," in which she and Dee Dee competed for the lead in their dance recital. Their brothers each built them robotic bodies to outshine the other in the recital, and when the applause and accolades went to a third, unnamed girl in the end, they bonded over their hatred of science. Lalavava seems to enjoy bullying her brother, as she threatened violence to make him agree to help her.
Action Hank
A television action hero; essentially a combined parody of Mr. T, G.I. Joe, and Shaft. The name may be a pun on the movie Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, or Action Man, a doll/character very similar to G.I. Joe. Along with Major Glory and Albert Einstein, he is idolized by Dexter. He has an impenetrable beard, which he uses to deflect various projectiles such as bullets and knives. Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
Monkey
Dexter's caged monkey which secretly has superpowers, unbeknownst to Dexter. He stars in the back-up Dial M for Monkey cartoons. Rarely appears outside of those cartoons. Monkey has the ability to fly, super strength, and laser shooting abilities, among other strengths. Working for a secret global agency, Monkey protects the world from intergalactic villains, large monsters, and natural disasters. He also has his own arch-nemesis (who is a duck) called Quackor, who is owned by Dexter's arch-nemesis, Mandark. He is often paired with his sidekick and girlfriend Secret Agent Honeydew on his missions. His personality is similar to Dee Dee's and he is often playing with her in the laboratory. He can also impersonate Jimmy Carter like Koosy. He was voiced by Frank Welker.
Justice Friends
The Justice Friends are a trio of superheroes as they "face the challenges of everyday life" in their apartment at Broken Arms Apartment. The Friends consist of Major Glory, a parody on Captain America, who always remains in his costume, Val Hallen, a rock-n-roll superhero with a magical electric guitar called the Axe, and the Infraggible Kronk, an obvious parody on the Incredible Hulk, a purple, slow-witted but very strong hero.
Merryweather
Partially unseen character.Was only seen in the episode "Poetic Justice". Dexter fell in love with her when he saw her on the bus. Dee Dee wrote Dexter a poem to read for her. She was statisfied and they got along well while Dee Dee wrote Dexter poems for her, that is until dexter made up a poem that made Dee Dee angry and she wrote him a poem to get Merryweather angry, and she slapped dexter to the window.
