Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context WesternAnimation / ClassOf3000

Go To

1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/class-of-3000-300-032707.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:Class of 3000, sing! [[note]] Counter-Clockwise starting from top: Sunny Bridges, Li'l D, Eddie, Tamika, Kam, Philly Phil, Kim, and Madison [[/note]]]]
3
4''Class of 3000'' is an Emmy Award-winning American animated comedy series that aired on Creator/CartoonNetwork from 2006 to 2008. The series was created and executive produced by musician André "3000" Benjamin of the hip-hop group ''Music/OutKast'', who also voiced one of the main characters. The show was also co-created and developed by Thomas W. Lynch (''Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack'') and Patric M. Verrone (''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'').
5
6The show follows Sunny Bridges (voiced by André 3000 himself), a world famous jazz and blues superstar. However, he has become disillusioned with celebrity life, ultimately resulting in him quitting during a concert in Japan. He plans to retire, moving back to his hometown of UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}, where the local Westley School of Performing Arts is at risk of shutting down its music program. [[TheLeader Li'l D]], self-proclaimed number one fan of Sunny's, discovers that he's back in town and, through some persistence, manages to re-ignite Sunny's love for music. Meeting the rest of Li'l D's friends which make up the music class ([[TheDitz Madison]], [[SassyBlackWoman Tamika]], [[LonelyRichKid Eddie]], [[GadgeteerGenius Philly Phil]], [[TheFashionista Kim]], and [[ButtMonkey Kam]]), Sunny agrees to become their music teacher on the condition they keep the job fun for him.
7
8The series premiered on November 3, 2006 as a one-hour special preceded by musical performances starring Music/ChrisBrown and Andre 3000. While the series was well-received, being one of the most popular series on the network during its run, budgetary issues[[note]]the myriad of music videos, with their wide range of art styles, weren't cheap, and the music sales that the network hoped would help production costs were middling at best[[/note]] and the Writers Guild of America strike of 2007-2008[[note]]in addition to the writing staff, Verrone himself happened to be head of the WGA at the time[[/note]], resulted in the show's second season being its last. The final episode aired during a music-themed marathon in May 2008. The show's head writer was Meghan [=McCarthy=], who went on to become co-executive producer and story editor for seasons 3 through 5 of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.
9
10There's an UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash game that used to be on Cartoon Network's site called ''Funk Box''. You can use music samples from each of the students to compose your own song. It can be [[http://www.gamezhero.com/games/funkbox played here.]]
11----
12!!This show provides examples of:
13
14* AdultsAreUseless: ZigZagged. Sometimes it's down to the kids to deal with a problem, and other times the adults are competent.
15* AIIsACrapshoot: BROC from "Big Robot on Campus" was originally designed to help Philly Phil become cool, before turning into a jerk himself and tried to sabotage Sunny's celebration for Westley's 101st Anniversary. It's revealed that BROC faked being evil so that Philly could stop him and become popular.
16* AllThereInTheManual:
17** Li'l D's full name, Albert Dilbert Lohrasses, is never used in the series and is only known via a Cartoon Network poster.
18** Kim and Kam are the youngest of the kids. This is only mentioned on the now-defunct site.
19** Philly Phil is actually from Philadelphia, which is never mentioned in-series and only on a promotional card.
20* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The Japanese ending theme is called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3UdZ_Z1RwU "Funky Teacher"]] by SEAMO.
21* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: When characters are shown as just masses.
22* AmusingInjuries: In a rare aversion of its type, this show rarely shows them.
23* AnimationBump: The animation in Season 2 is much neater than in Season 1, the ChristmasEpisode in particular.
24* ArtEvolution: In Season 1, it's not uncommon for characters to be OffModel. Season 2 fixes this problem and uses more contrasting colors.
25* ArtShift: Every episode has a musical sequence where the art style changes in varying ways from psychedelic to live action to puppetry.
26** Another one came during the episode "The Hunt for Red Blobtober", when the kids are being chased, it somehow turns into VideoGame/PacMan.
27* BigBallOfViolence: Happens almost every time Kim and Kam get into a physical fight in "Westley Side Story."
28* BigOlEyebrows: These seem to be on almost every non-main character.
29** Downplayed with Philly Phil, Eddie and Sunny, who have thicker eyebrows than the other main characters, but nowhere near the extent of most of the side characters.
30* BigThinShortTrio: Eddie, Philly Phil, and Kam, respectively.
31* BookDumb: Sunny's students show great dealings with their music...but they all vary on school work and such.
32* BrickJoke: Radios For Rabbits and the hobbit in "Home". And that's just the first episode.
33* BullyAndWimpPairing: Tamika and Eddie.
34* ButtMonkey: Let's just say each of the main cast is this at one point.
35** But Kam's just a wee bit more vulnerable...
36* CallToAgriculture: "Too Cool for School", where Sunny took up farming after he quits being a teacher due to Kim replacing the teachers with celebrities. Which attracted a lot of unwanted attention that made him leave the music industry in the first place. Although in the end, the kids were able to convince the said celebrities to take up farming, so Sunny and the old teachers can return.
37* CelebrityParadox: Averted, it turns out Sunny Bridges knows Andre Benjamin. And the latter appears for a brief moment too.
38* CelebrityToons: Created by and starring Andre 3000.
39* ChristmasEpisode: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Class of 3000 Christmas Special"]]
40* CirclingBirdies: The episode [[ValentinesDayEpisode Love Is In The Hair... Net]] has Madison get [[TheDoorSlamsYou door slammed]] in the face. She falls to the ground with unicorns circling her head.
41* ClassTrip: The starting premise of "Take a Hike!"
42* CoincidentalAccidentalDisguise: The episode, "The Hunt for Red Blobtober", where the gang mistook Sunny for a pirate. The items were: sunglasses half-off (as in, only one lens), him wearing a blouse but the hanger became a hook in a sleeve, and Bianca accidentally writing 'Sunny Blidges' on the grain of rice thus making him say, 'R! R I say! R!'...then the parrot came and lampshaded the whole thing with, "Sunny's a pirate, do the math."
43* ColorMotif: Each of the kids sans Eddie is associated with two colors, one through "Throwdown" and a second through the Funkbox.
44** Li'l D: Purple/green.
45** Eddie: Red.
46** Kim: Pink/light blue.
47** Kam: Dark blue/pink
48** Philly Phil: Orange/yellow.
49** Tamika: Light blue/green.
50** Madison: Light green/yellow.
51* ContinuityNod:
52** Momo the gorilla appears in a cameo in "Tamika and the Beast," an entire season after his first appearance.
53** Near the start of "Am I Blue?", Sunny references "Peanuts! Get yer Peanuts!", "Funky Monkey", and "Hunt for Red Blobtober."
54* CurseCutShort: Phil does this to ''himself'' in the pilot.
55* CutShort: Two seasons, 28 episodes total and quietly went under afterwards with not even a series finale. A crying shame as it's obvious the Network wanted it to go further but too many factors just wouldn't let it.
56* ADayInTheLimelight: Quite a few of the Season 2 episodes do this.
57** Eddie gets "Safety Last," which establishes his development from LovableCoward to CowardlyLion.
58** Kim gets "Too Cool For School," which finalizes her DivergentCharacterEvolution. She also partially gets "Tamika and the Beast" to show her more [[AsianAirhead ditzy]] side, and "The Cure" to finally show off her fashonista chops.
59** Kam gets "Kam Inc," which is notably his only character-focused episode.
60** Philly Phil gets "Free Philly" and "Big Robot on Campus," which explore his self-esteem issues.
61** Tamika gets "Tamika and the Beast," solidifying her [[TookALevelInKindness kinder Season 2 personality]].
62** Madison gets "Take a Hike," which shows her more insightful side.
63* DealWithTheDevil: Not really the devil, but a record company executive who fills the role rather well. Although at one point he started to refer to himself as the devil, but stopped himself.
64** The episode in question is called "The Devil and Li'l D", and it was implied he was the Devil throughout the entire episode (using blue demons that can replace their heads when they're chopped off as henchmen, belching fire, using zombies as a 'research and marketing' division, etc...)
65* DeliberatelyMonochrome: "Richer Shade of Blue" is done entirely in all blue.
66* DerangedAnimation: At its worst. The "We Want Your Soul" video sticks out.
67* DisappearedDad: In the pilot episode, Madison points out that Li'l D never met his father.
68* TheDividual:
69** Kim and Kam in the earliest episodes. This is lost as part of their DivergentCharacterEvolution.
70** If an episode only focuses on a few characters, quite often the kids that aren't Li'l D will be treated this way.
71* {{Doorstopper}}: InUniverse example. The required extra credit material of Westley's first year history class is a '''massive''' book.
72* DownerBeginning: The first half of "Home" is this. Sunny leaves the music business, the class loses their music teacher (and fears being separated), and their attempts to sell tickets for a benefit concert fall flat.
73* DreadfulMusician: Li'l D in regards to playing the fiddle.
74* DumbIsGood: Madison, who is both a certified DumbBlonde and also the nicest member of the cast.
75* EarlyBirdCameo: The other kids' silhouettes (and in some cases, parts of their bodies) and instruments show up in Li'l D's dream at the start of the pilot before appearing for real.
76* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Excluding the animation quality...
77** Every song up until the Season 1 finale had vocals.
78** Most of Season 1 lacked the extra animations in the credits from Season 2.
79** Philly Phil in the pilot was actually somewhat of a wiseass.
80** From "Peanuts! Get Yer Peanuts!" up to "The Devil and Li'l D", Eddie does not hit on Tamika even once, despite doing so in the pilot. They become a regular occurrence from "Brotha From the Third Rock" on.
81* EpunymousTitle
82* {{Fanservice}}: Sunny and Leela Lopez in swimsuits.
83 ** Maybe the kids in their swimsuits as well. [[OldTimeyBathingSuit Except for Kam.]]
84* EvenNerdsHaveStandards: The science kids from the new school Philly Phil transferred to looks down on his friends for being "music geeks".
85* EyeScream: A minor version happens in "Brotha From the Third Rock," where Philly Phil breaks his goggles (revealed to be his glasses), causing the lenses to be shattered for most of the episode. Thankfully, there's no visible signs of trauma.
86* FellOffTheBackOfATruck: "Where did you get a rocket?"
87* FictionFiveHundred: Eddie is so rich he has five fingers on each hand instead of [[FourFingeredHands four]].
88* FiveTokenBand: Li'l D and Tamika are African American, Kim and Kam are of Chinese descent, Madison is Greek-Italian, Eddie has Swiss heritage, and Phil's heritage is unknown.
89* {{Flanderization}}: Late Season 1 is guilty of this for several characters.
90** Tamika is reduced to being a quick-tempered jerk who is more of a bully than a friend.
91** Madison's ditzy tendencies are dialed up to eleven.
92** Kam is almost a non-entity.
93** Philly Phil is reduced to being a GeniusDitz instead of his usual DitzyGenius.
94* FreeRangeChildren: The main kids seem to be able to go wherever they want without issue. Sometimes this is justified, as it's part of a class exercise and Sunny is with them.
95* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
96** Kim and Madison are Sanguine, with both being nice, social girls with good people skills. However, both can be flighty and have a tendency to think with their hearts instead of their heads.
97** Li'l D and Tamika are Choleric. Li'l D is very take-charge and determined to get his way, but is capable of being quite selfish and unapologetic. Tamika, meanwhile, is a practical thinker and the main muscle, while having a quick temper.
98** Kam and Eddie are Melancholic. Kam is conservative and organized, but can be inflexible. Eddie is faithful and has a strong will under his LovableCoward nature, but can be a bit moody.
99** Sunny and Philly Phil are Phlegmatic. Sunny is a patient mentor figure to the kids, but his flaws dip more into the choleric. Phil, meanwhile, is a NiceGuy who's always willing to lend a hand, but can be a bit of a pushover.
100* GemEncrusted: Eddie has a diamond-encrusted gold clarinet. Also a gold-encrusted diamond clarinet.
101* HandsGoDown:
102-->'''Sunny''': Who can tell me what the key to winning a regional music competition is?\
103'''(hands go up)'''\
104'''Sunny''': And don't say 'musical ability'.\
105'''(all hands go down except Tamika and Madison)'''\
106'''Sunny''': Or wedgies.\
107'''(Tamika's hand goes down)'''\
108'''Sunny''': Or dolphins.\
109'''(Madison's hand goes down)'''
110* HartmanHips: Multiple older female characters have this.
111* HoldUpYourScore: Jan, Ms. Squattenchowder, and Principal Luna do this when judging the "musical septaphalon." Luna has a special one labeled "Fantastic."
112* IronicEcho: "Too Cool for School" has multiple celebrities as teachers at Westley. However, as opposed to Sunny, none of those celebrities are really qualified to teach their subjects.
113* IdeaBulb: When Li'l D gets the idea to show the other kids where Sunny supposedly lives, one of these appears. It's revealed to be an actual lightbulb.
114* InOneEarOutTheOther: Madison does this with a butterfly in "Am I Blue?"
115* IndyEscape / IndyHatRoll: ''The Raiders of the Lost Ark'' was parodied in "Eddie's Money", with Sunny Bridges as Indy. The boulder is just one of the hazards involved in accessing what turns out to be the world's most inconveniently located gift store (turns out they do most of their business online). Also during the excursion, Sunny grabs his hat with his feet for a few extra style points.
116* InflatingBodyGag: Happens to Sunny in "Mini Mentors," when the class is trying to get him back to normal size.
117-->'''Madison:''' (as Sunny blows around in the background) Maybe we should've tied his mouth off first.
118* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Kim and Kam get out of handing out fliers by pretending to get a phone call from their mom (obviously Kim calling Kam's phone and speaking in a Chinese accent). Tamika similarly fakes a call from her mom, imitating her mother's voice...to which Eddie also fakes a call from Tamika's mom.
119-->'''Eddie:''' [[NotEvenBotheringWithAnExcuse Sorry. It's the only impression I do.]] ''(leaves)''
120* InexplicablyAwesome: Sunny Bridges.
121* InstrumentOfMurder: In "Funky Monkey", Tamika uses her harp as a bow to fire a drumstick at Li'l D.
122* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Tanya only appears in "Two to Tango," the last episode of the series.
123* {{Leitmotif}}: Most characters, when they need to be showcased, have their associated instrument playing in the background.
124* LimitedSocialCircle: The kids don't appear to have any friends outside of each other. Possibly justified for Eddie (who's a LonelyRichKid) and Philly Phil (who has NoSocialSkills on top of a very weird personality).
125* TheLoad: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] None of the kids are presented as being this.
126* LouisCypher: Big D in "The Devil and Li'l D".
127* LoveTriangle:
128** "Love is in the Hair...Net", with Principal Luna in love with Miss Squatenchowder, who's in love with Sunny, who's in love with Miss Lopez.
129** Kam Inc has Kam in love with [[OneShotCharacter Zelda]], with Eddie trying to use Zelda to make Tamika jealous. It's resolved when [[spoiler:Zelda turns out to be using them both for material goods.]]
130* MagicMusic: Possibly.
131* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Tamika and Eddie. It's downplayed, as Eddie isn't conventionally ''girly'' and Tamika has a number of feminine hobbies and interests.
132* TheMenInBlack: The S.U.M.A. (Shut Up and Move Along) agents from "Brotha from the Third Rock".
133* MistakenForForeigner: In the pilot, Madison asked Kim and Kam if seeing Toyko makes them homesick. The twin bluntly said no and they're from Columbus Ohio, then Madison chimes about her Columbian nanny.
134* TheMockbuster: Cheddar Man was peddling these in "The Hunt for the Red Blobtober", all starring himself. He was last seen working on a mockbuster for ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
135--> '''Cheddar Man (as the Wicked Witch)''': I'm evaporating, ''evaporating''! What a hood, what a hood!\
136(He changes costumes within the same take.)\
137'''Cheddar Man (now as Dorothy)''': There's no place like my crib! There's no place like my crib! There's no place like my crib!
138* MundaneMadeAwesome: With guidance from Sunny, the kids' performances in "Peanuts! Get Yer Peanuts!" become this.
139* MusclesAreMeaningless: Sunny, Tamika, and to a lesser extent Philly Phil, are typically shown as fairly strong despite not having visual muscles. Tamika might have some though.
140* NewAgeRetroHippie: Bianca Moon, the owner of the local Organic shop.
141* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The ChristmasSpecial has Li'l D nearly ruining Christmas by stuffing a ton of cookies in Santa's sleigh as an attempt to get on Santa's nice list. Causing Santa and Sunny to be stranded in the middle of the tundra as the sled can barely hold the two of them and their gear.
142* NiceMeanAndInBetween:
143** Madison, Tamika, and Kim, respectively. Downplayed in Tamika's case, as she's merely a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
144** Also Phil, Kam, and Eddie, respectively. Like with Tamika, Kam is merely a JerkWithAHeartOfGold than a full-blown {{Jerkass}}.
145** Madison, Tamika, and Phil (the string players) also have this dynamic, in that order. Phil is noticeably much closer to the nice end of the spectrum compared to the standard In-Between member, however.
146* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Kam and Eddie are Noble, while Li'l D is Roguish. Phil can go either way.
147* NoodlePeople: Sunny and Phil, compared to most of the other characters.
148* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Although the kids are all but stated to be in the 12-13 age range and Eddie's birthday is celebrated in one episode, they consistently still look young, even when they're implied to be a bit older in the ChristmasEpisode.
149* OlderThanTheyLook: Aside from Philly Phil, who does look like an actual (if tall) 13-year-old, none of the kids look old enough to be attending middle school.
150* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Eddie and Philly Phil's full names, Edward and Phillip, respectively, are almost never used. Possibly the case with Kim and Kam, too. Li'l D takes this up a notch, as his real name (Albert Dilbert Lohrasses), is ''never'' used in-series.
151* OwMyBodyPart: See RunningGag below.
152* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Kim is associated with pink, while her twin brother Kam is associated with blue.
153* ProducePelting: Performances at Westley deemed "not fantastic" are open to this. But only school-sanctioned rotten produce is allowed after the last Fall Showcase.
154* PuniPlush: No straight lines are allowed on the characters
155* ThePsychoRangers: The band met Sunny's old school rival who has a class that's pretty much EvilTwin versions of them.
156* RedOniBlueOni:
157** Li'l D, Madison, Tamika, and Kim are Red, as they are more likely to not think about a plan of action before doing it.
158** Sunny, Eddie, Philly Phil, and Kam are Blue, as Sunny prefers to think things through unless one of his buttons is pressed, while the younger guys are more followers than leaders.
159* RunningGag: An item thrown out of view at any given time tends to cause the off-screen response of "Ow, my eye!" right after a crash. A related item meeting the same fate will cause the same person to call out "Ow, my other eye!" right after a crash.
160* SafetyWorst: "Safety Last" shows Eddie's parents locking him in a tower in order to protect him.
161* SawStarWarsTwentySevenTimes: Sunny Bridges has seen ''Film/FreeWilly'' 40 times.
162* SchizoTech: Despite the show being set in "the year two thousand-something" according to Li'l D, old-school bells are still used at Westley, and everyone still uses 90's-style technology.
163* SchoolPlay: Basically the plot of the episode "Safety Last".
164* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
165** Philly Phil ollies outie the plot of "Kam Inc" when Madison shows up to negotiate a price for the Kam Haircut Helmet. He notably only has three lines in the entire episode, two of which occur before.
166** Sunny does this when the celebrities replace too many teachers in "Too Cool for School."
167* SecretShop: "Eddie's Money" had a gift shop where you had to pass through an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' style DeathCourse in order to enter. It turns out they did most of their business online.
168* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Li'l D is the Manly Man to the rest of his male classmate's Sensitive Guy.
169* ShipTease:
170** Although it was known that Eddie liked Tamika from the start, the ChristmasEpisode hints that the reverse may also be true.
171** Although Kim did express distaste at being paired with Philly Phil in "Nothin' To It But To Do It", "Take a Hike!" implies that she may have started to like him.
172** Sunny and Leela Lopez kiss in the {{Stinger}} of "Two to Tango". That entire episode pretty much provides shipping material, including an actual breakup.
173** Kim and Madison are pretty close for being just friends...
174** Li'l D and Madison have some Ship Tease in some episodes.
175* ShoutOut
176** Leela Lopez dressed like Marge Simpson in "Love is in the Hair...Net".
177** Philly Phil's yellow jumpsuit is reminiscent of April O'Neil from TheEighties ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''.
178** There's a couple album covers of famous musicians which are filtered to make posters in Sunny's classroom. One of them, for example, is ''Music/BeatlesForSale''.
179** During a montage showing the world's reaction to Sunny quitting, we see an Creator/OprahWinfrey look-alike, complete with a reference to the infamous "Everybody gets a free car" moment from her talk show.
180** When Tamika instructs the dance students to dance like peanuts, their first instinct is to [[EverybodyDoTheEndlessLoop Do the Endless Loop]].
181** Both [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Godzilla and Mothra]] show up fighting by Atlanta's skyling in a few establishing shots of an episode.
182** The entire plot line of "The Devil and Li'l D" is lifted from the song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", where someone (in this case, Li'l D) duels the devil in a fiddling contest.
183** On Eddie's $1,000 dollar bill in "Eddie's Money" and Philly Phil's score on the video game he's playing in "Brotha from the Third Rock", the number ''[[Series/{{Lost}} 4815162342]]'' is seen.
184** Madison doing [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir the Carlton Dance]] in the music video "Philly Phil Come Home".
185** "Funky Monkey" has a {{Homage}} to VideoGame/DonkeyKong with Li'l D climbing up a construction site, even Sunny gives him a giant mallet to knock away any barrels.
186* SiblingYinYang: Kim is fun-loving and modern, while Kam is serious and old-fashioned.
187* SickEpisode: "The Cure" has Sunny catch a cold.
188* SimilarSquad: In the SiblingRivalry episode "Westley Side Story," Sunny encounters his crosstown rival from Eastley, who has his own class who are basically evil counterparts of Sunny's class.
189* SpiritualSuccessor: A mixture of Peanuts and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as Andre 3000 pointed out as these 2 are the inspirations behind it. Sunny is based on him and gives the Fat Albert/Mudfoot Brown type teachings and Lil D is also based on him as a kid and represents the Bill of the series though a schemer. The music is also inspired through Peanuts.
190* StudentAndMasterTeam: Li'l D and Sunny.
191* StylisticSuck: The "Banana Zoo" video takes a few visual cues from older cartoons.
192* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: For all the fantastical elements present in this show, this pops up surprisingly often.
193** Middle school-aged children should not be in charge of looking for a missing person. This is actually noted in-universe, as [[spoiler:Mrs. Claus stating this to the elves has her realize this,]] causing more panic. ("Christmas Special")
194** Westley displays a severe lack of funding throughout the series. This is disturbingly in-line with some real schools.
195** Putting a bunch of middle school children who are a RagtagBunchOfMisfits in charge of a [[ItMakesSenseInContext pageant that will determine how much funding the school gets]] will end in chaos. ("Peanuts! Get Yer Peanuts!")
196** A sheltered and naive kid going out into the big city for the first time generally ends poorly, with or without a friend. ("Eddie's Money")
197** Most recording contracts have a strong chance of turning you into a sellout. ("The Devil and Li'l D")
198** Even in a setting with mild fantastical elements, you need proof if you want people to actually believe you. ("Brotha From the Third Rock")
199** Some people just don't straighten out as they get older and remain mean into adulthood. ("Westley Side Story")
200*** Also in the episode, Kim and Kam constant fighting and inability to work together continue to be hindrance for the rest of the group as they are trying to practice for a music competition. When the kids have to vote someone out of the group before the competition, which is unsurprisingly both Kim and Kam because their fighting made the other kids, except Madison who voted for herself, sick of both of them.
201** Just because a person has expertise in a field does not mean they are qualified to teach it. ("Too Cool for School")
202** A kid that constantly feels ostracized from their friends isn't going to take it very well. ("Free Philly")
203** Parents are unlikely to want to keep their kid in a school that suffered a serious attack. ("Safety Last")
204** Just because you put on a good show doesn't mean what rule-breaking you did before gets negated. ("Vote Sunny")
205* TastyGold: Philly Phil tests a piece of "gold" this way in the episode "Funky Monkey".
206--> '''Philly Phil''':"That explains the creamy caramel fillin'."
207* TeamDad: Sunny serves as a voice of reason to his students, and willing to help them out of trouble when needed.
208* TechnicolorFire: Most flames in this series are not the standard red/orange.
209* TokenRichStudent: Eddie is the son of the head of [[ProductPlacement Cola Cola's]] Earth Divison. His supply of money is seemingly endless, which is helpful for writing off any big expenses that the class might face during their adventures. Comparatively, his classmates all seem to be of middle class.
210* TongueOnTheFlagpole: Madison gets her tongue stuck on an ice sculpture at Eddie's birthday. Twice.
211* TotemPoleTrench: Done to pose as an alien in "Brotha from the Third Rock".
212* TownGirls: Tamika (Butch), Kim (Neither), and Madison (Femme).
213* TrueCompanions: The kids and Sunny.
214* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Multiple episodes have this. The two plots usually tie in by the end.
215** "Funky Monkey": Li'l D's friendship with Momo; the musical version of ''King Kong''.
216** "Eddie's Money": Eddie and Li'l D go to Atlanta to find Sunny's present; the other kids try to keep Sulu from finding that Eddie isn't present.
217** "Westley Side Story": Kim and Kam's SiblingRivalry hits a peak; the class prepares for the Fulton Country 14-and-under Scholastic Band Competition.
218** "Love is in the Hair... Net": Madison tries to set up Sunny with who she believes is his crush (Miss Squattenchowder); Luna attempts to woo Miss Squattenchowder.
219** "Nothin' To it But to Do It": The class's attempts at doing Sunny's chores go awry; Sunny and the other Westley staff try to relax at the annual teacher's retreat.
220** "Free Philly": Philly Phil transfers to a science school after feeling ostracized by his classmates; Luna attempts to outdo Sunny in coolness.
221** "Tamika and the Beast": Tamika's relationship with The Beast; Li'l D prepares for a drumming competition.
222** "Safety Last": The class attempts to put on a musical version of ''Rapunzel''; Luna prepares for battle with the Rennies.
223** "Study Buddies": Li'l D and Sunny study for a test; the other kids try to keep cool.
224** "The Cure": Kim attempts to find a model to replace Sunny after he falls ill; Li'l D, Philly Phil, and Tamika attempt to cure Sunny.
225** "Big Robot on Campus": Philly Phil builds a robot with hopes of becoming popular by association; Sunny puts on Westley's 101st anniversary celebration by himself.
226** "Take a Hike!": Tamika and Madison get lost in the woods; Sunny attempts to find them.
227** "Class of 3000 Christmas Special": Li'l D tries to get on the Nice List in time for Christmas; Sunny revisits an old grudge.
228* UnclePennybags: Both Sunny and Eddie. With Sunny being a famous musician and Eddie's parents being super rich.
229* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode:
230** "Big Robot on Campus," aside from the obvious fantastical elements, is a surprisingly dark episode for one involving [[NiceGuy Philly Phil]], exploring his self-esteem problems more than "Free Philly."
231** "Take a Hike!" deals with a surprisingly natural fear: Tamika, Madison, and many other people getting lost in the woods at night. Even the other kids are shown to be despondent until the end of the episode.
232* UnrequitedLove: Eddie to Tamika.
233* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Almost anything unusual at Westley is treated this way. This ranges from people getting their heads stuck in record players to ''giant squid attacks.''
234--> '''Luna''': "From the flames of tradition, I stab at thee!"\
235(He is promptly dragged off-screen by a giant squid.)\
236'''Philly Phil''': "Yep. Boring."
237* UptownGirl: Eddie and Tamika across the Buckhead/Bankhead economic divide.
238* UrbanFantasy: Possibly. Music is implied to have magical properties, SantaClaus exists and nobody acts like it's a big deal (except [[JerkassBall Kam]]), TheDevil runs a recording company and markets ham, people can literally shrink under pressure, Yetis and aliens exist, and Madison may have some form of oddly-specific PsychicPowers.
239* UseYourHead: Philly Phil is used as a human battering ram in the episode "Too Cool for School".
240* VagueAge: Averted for the main seven kids, who are all in the 12-13 range. Played straight for the adult characters.
241* VillainSong: Despite being a musical show, this is actually surprisingly rare. However, [[TheDevil Big D]] gets a rather epic one called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGdvdziPluA All We Want Is Your Soul]]".
242* VisualPun: Sunny literally shrinks under the pressure of writing a song for his mentor.
243* VocalEvolution:
244** Kam's voice in the earlier episodes is less raspy and slightly higher, as opposed to the lower, slightly raspy one in later episodes.
245** Philly Phil's voice in the earliest episodes is higher and faster, and has a slight Philadelphia accent to it. Late Season 1 nixes his accent, in addition to being a borderline SimpletonVoice. Season 2 goes for a compromise between the two.
246* WorthlessTreasureTwist: "Eddie's Money" had Sunny giving Eddie a magical compass that would lead him to his birthday gift. Eddie and Lil'D trekked through Atlanta with many troubles along the way to discover a clarinet that Eddie had discarded earlier for having a broken reed. When they got back, Eddie learned about the blues and to appreciate what he has. Lil'D however was not impressed.
247* YourSizeMayVary:
248** How short Li'l D, Kim, Kam, and sometimes Eddie are varies. Sometimes they are only slightly shorter than Tamika, other times they are much shorter.
249** While Philly Phil is consistently drawn as the tallest kid, how much taller he is than his classmates is inconsistent. Sometimes he is much taller (and nearly as tall as some of the adult characters), other times he is not much taller than Madison (the second-tallest).
250** How much taller the adult characters are. At times they appear to be nearly double the height of the shorter kids, other times they are more reasonably-sized.

Top