List of characters in Dexter's Laboratory

This is a list of characters from the Cartoon Network series "Dexter's Laboratory".

Major characters

Dexter

Dexter is the main character and protagonist of the Genndy Tartakovsky animated series Dexter's Laboratory, originally run on Cartoon Network from 1996-2003. He was originally voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, and later by Candi Milo. Dexter is a boy genius who maintains a lab behind his bookshelf, in which he invents strange chemicals, robots (many of whom eventually band together and turn on him), rockets, and a giant fighting robot (reminiscent of machines from the Gundam anime) which he pilots and uses to fight his arch-nemesis Mandark, who owns a similar machine. Most of his notable inventions are destroyed by his sister Dee Dee, whose favorite pastime is playing with his inventions. His birthday is unknown, although it was revealed in the episode "A Hard Day's Day" that Dexter is a Capricorn. Despite being American, he speaks with a Russian accent. Dexter's voice was influenced by Chuckie Finster of Rugrats by the same voice actress.

Dee Dee

Infobox character
colour = deeppink
first = Changes
name = Dee Dee


species = Human
gender = Female
age = 8
hair = Blonde
occupation = Paper Girl
family = Dexter (Brother) Mom (Mother) Dad (Father) Grandpa (Grandfather) Fergle O'Reilly (Uncle)
portrayer =Allison Moore Kathryn Cressida

Dee Dee is Dexter's extremely ditzy, simple-minded, 8-year-old sister. She loves ballet, dolls, ponies, unicorns, messing around in Dexter's laboratory, and generally depicts all the stereotypes concerning young girls. She is quite similar to the "Powerpuff Girls" character Bubbles, both in appearance and personality. 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 11 years old girls that share her interests, even though they are noticeably different in appearance (Mee Mee is African-American with afro puffs, and Lee Lee is Asian.) Her catch-phrase is "Ooooooo. What does this button do?". She wears her full length of hair down on rare occasions, mostly when sleeping. She also has a multitude of stuffed animals and she has a four poster 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. Dee Dee bugs Dexter so much because she wants to spend time with her little brother and because she thinks that his secret lab is cool.Dexter considers his sister Dee Dee to be stupid, clumsy, and inferior to him, most ironically when Dee Dee tricks him with urban myths and false information about certain diseases. Dee Dee also enjoys succeeding where Dexter fails, whether its beating him at an unnecessary game or skill (such as beating him in a snowball fight or basketball), or entering a contest just because Dexter is in it and winning (such as finding the "golden diskette" to win a tour of professor Hawk's laboratory). On rare occasions Dee Dee and Dexter work together, he also rarely shows affection to her. While Dexter seems harsh to Dee Dee his feelings are generally quite justified as Dee Dee continually destroys parts of his lab, sometimes blowing up the whole lab which forces Dexter to have to rebuild everything countless times.

Mandark

Infobox character
colour = cyan
first = Dexter's Rival
name = Susan Astronomonov (Nicknamed: "Mandark")


species = Human
gender = Male
age = 8
hair = Black
occupation = Evil Genius
family = WindBear (Dad) OceanBird (Mom) Lalavava (Sister)
portrayer = Eddie DeezenDexter's arch-. 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 appears 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 same 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 [See e.g. the Mountain Mandark episode] in contrast to Dexter's stereotypical middle-class parents. As revealed in the episode "A Boy Named Sue", his mother, OceanBird, gave birth to him in water. Deep down Mandark is jealous because Dexter's smarter than him and a better scientist than him. Mandark was voiced by Eddie Deezen.

Mom

Infobox character
colour = red
first = Changes
name = Mom


species = Human
gender = Female
age =
hair = Orange
family = Dexter (Son) Dee Dee (Daughter) Dad (Husband) Grandpa (Father) Fergle O'Reilly (Brother)
portrayer = Kath SoucieDexter and Dee Dee's red-haired 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 was voiced by Kath Soucie.

Dad

Infobox character
colour = blue
first = Old Man Dexter (pilot) Maternal Combat (series)
name = Dad


species = Human
gender = Male
age =
hair = Blonde
family = Dexter (Son) Dee Dee (Daughter) Mom (Wife) Grandpa (Father-in-Law) Fergle O'Reilly (Brother-in-Law)
portrayer = Jeff BennettDexter 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. While his intelligence is far below that of Dexter's he sometimes gives good advice such as advising Dexter to get his glasses fixed after they were regarded as "cool". Dexter's dad rides a Motorcycle. It's possible that his career is a stunt man. Dexter's father normally tends to show favoritism to Dee Dee for her athletic prowess, but will occasionally side with Dexter when facing a challenge between the sexes (such as the snowball war between Dee Dee and Dexter, which he treats as a life-and-death matter in which Dexter must avenge his father being hit with a snowball thrown by Dexter's mother back in college). Dad is also depicted as unreasonably hostile towards Dexter when he interferes with a sports-related activity such as watching the "biggest golf match of the year" or breaking his bowling trophy. In the episode "Better off Wet" it was shown that he is also sort of a bully, cinstantly pushing Dexter into the family swimming pool, until Dexter ended it by pushing Dad in himself when he wasn't looking. He was voiced by Jeff Bennett.

Recurring characters

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 the episode "Voice Over", a malfunction causes the computer to express a different voice each time Dexter attempts to fix it such as an announcer voice, a sexier version of her normal voice and a game show voice. Dexter cannot cope with this, and it eventually gives him laryngitis.

Mr. Luzinsky

Mr. Luzinsky is 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. In one episode, he was referred to as Mr. Philips. He was voiced by Frank Welker.

Monkey

Dexter's caged monkey which secretly has superpowers, unbeknownst to Dexter, who often tries to give him powers via unusual experimentation. He stars in the back-up "Dial M for Monkey" cartoons. Monkey has the ability to fly, use super strength, and shoot lasers. 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 Agent Honeydew on his missions. His personality is similar to Dee Dee's and he is often playing with her in the laboratory. He was voiced by Frank Welker.

Agent Honeydew

Monkey's sidekick and girlfriend, who can ask Monkey for help with her Mindvision. She is voiced by Paula Tiso. She wears a blue S.H.I.E.L.D.-style jumpsuit and has telepathy that brings Monkey to her.

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 political 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 "Ocean Child"). Windbear and Oceanbird were voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kath Soucie who also voiced Dexter's dad and mom.

Justice Friends

The Justice Friends are a trio of superheroes as they "face the challenges of everyday life" in their apartment at Muscular Arms Apartment. The trio consist of:
* Major Glory, who is a parody on Captain America. He voiced by Rob Paulsen.
* Valhallen, who is a rock-n-roll superhero with a magical electric guitar called The Axe (axe is a often used term in the Heavy metal scene for a guitar), a loose parody of the comic book hero Thor. His name is a pun on Metal artist Eddie Van Halen and the Nordic heaven Valhalla. He is voiced by Tom Kenny.
* The Infraggable Krunk, who is an obvious parody on the Incredible Hulk. He is a purple, slow-witted, but very strong hero. His skin and pants colors are the reverse of the Incredible Hulk's (Purple Skin and green pants rather than Green Skin and purple pants). He is voiced by Frank Welker.Other heroes occasionally appear in Justice Friends episodes, including White Tiger (parody of Black Panther), Living Bullet (parody of Iron Man), Capital G (parody of Giant Man), and Tiki Torch (parody of the Human Torch). In addition, Capital G and Tiki Torch are parodies of the somewhat stereotypical "ethnic superheroes" created by Hanna-Barbera to add diversity to the various "Super Friends" animated series (Capital G being an African-American stereotype, and Tiki Torch a Pacific Islander-themed character).

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. They were voiced by Kath Soucie and Kimberly Brooks.

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. Voiced by Kath Soucie. Pony Puff Princess is an obvious parody of My Little Pony.

Action Hank

Action Hank is a television action hero. He is a stereotypical blaxploitation protagonist and is essentially a combined parody of Mr. T, G.I. Joe, Shaft, and Rambo. 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. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

Douglas E. Mordecai

Douglas E. Mordecai is 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.

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 is also known to make burritos 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.

References