Pepper Ann showcases the trials and tribulations that occur during the titular character's adolescence, and charts her ups-and-downs at Hazelnut Middle school. It aired as part of the Disney's One Saturday Morning block. The character originated in a comic strip published in YM magazine. The series was mostly rated TV-Y, with the exception of the season 1 finale "In Support Of" which was rated TV-Y7 for puberty themes and scenes of implied nudity. In reruns, all the episodes are rated TV-Y7 for subject matter that may be too mature for children under 7. The show's plots were generally typical of the developing format that had risen from the then-new federal E/I requirements: Pepper Ann is presented with a moral dilemma, chooses the wrong decision, faces the consequences, and learns a lesson. The series was rated TV-G, with the exception of the season 1 finale "In Support Of", which was rated TV-PG, due to the episode's subject matter. During the first 4 episodes of season 1, at the end of the opening sequence, Pepper Ann finds "five bucks" underneath her desk. From episode 5 onward, this was changed so that she found a different item every episode, similar to The Simpsons couch gag.
Episodes
Characters
Main
Pepper Ann Pearson : The main protagonist of the series, a spirited, quirky, sassy, and unpredictable 12-year-old girl whose emotions come out in dreams.
Nicky Anais Little : Pepper Ann's best friend. She is soft-spoken and an overachieving violinist. Nicky used to be a bully and skipped kindergarten when she started school. When Pepper Ann moved into town, Nicky eventually became a nice person and switched from 1st grade to kindergarten.
Milo Kamalani : Other best friend of Pepper Ann, who he calls "P.A." for short. He is a very eccentric and highly dramatic hippie artist.
Lydia Pearson : Overprotective divorced perky mother of Pepper Ann and Moose.
Margaret Rose "Moose" Pearson : Pepper Ann's tomboyish younger 7-year-old sister with a deep and masculine voice.
Recurring
Principal Hickey : Hazelnut Middle School's tough disciplinarian with zero tolerance for Pepper Ann's shenanigans.
Janie Lilly Diggety : Pepper Ann and Moose's aunt, who served as a Green Beret.
Jo Jo Diggety : Pepper Ann and Moose's uncle, who works as a cop.
Trinket St. Blair : A spoiled rich girl who is mean to Pepper Ann.
Cissy Rooney : A popular girl who is Trinket's best friend.
Tessa & Vanessa James : The twin school gossip girls who finish each other's sentences.
Peter "Pink-Eye Pete" Oglevee : Nerdy kid who suffers from pink eye
Craig Bean : The "cool" 8th grader, and Pepper Ann's love interest.
Alice Kane : Pepper Ann's rival
Other appearances
Pepper Ann and Lydia make a cameo appearance in the first House of Mouse episode, "The Stolen Cartoons." They are the only Walt Disney Television Animation characters ever to appear on House of Mouse, which otherwise only used characters from Disney's features and classic shorts. Lydia says "Don't touch the villain, dear," to Pepper Ann after Pete falls out of the sky after being kicked out of the club.
