[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bobbys_world.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:A big-headed boy with a big imagination.]]

''Bobby's World'' is notable for being the inaugural cartoon series of {{Creator/Fox}}'s then-new Saturday morning block, Creator/FoxKids in 1990. It would eventually become the longest-running program on the block, airing until early 1998. It was created by Canada-born comedian Creator/HowieMandel as a co-production between him, Fox and Creator/FilmRoman.

It was about an imaginative young 4-year-old boy named Bobby Generic, [[RunningGag pronounced GEN-er-ick]], who goes through life as a normal child while often misinterpreting and daydreaming about things around him and that are said to him. He often carries around his stuffed spider named Webbly and is a huge fan of Captain Squash, who, more often than not, appears in his daydreams. Bobby is voiced by Mandel, in the child-like voice he used during some of his stand-up shows around the same time, while Captain Squash is voiced by Creator/GaryOwens, in his over-the-top superhero voiced first used in the original ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost''.

He lives with his family, consisting of:
* '''[[FamilyMan Howard]]''', Bobby's father who's a salesman at a pants company. He's also voiced by Mandel, and [[AsHimself originally was just Mandel himself after literally transforming into a cartoon]].
* '''[[GoodParents Martha]]''', Bobby's mother, who's notable for her UsefulNotes/SarahPalin-like midwestern accent and several of her accompanying [[VerbalTic Verbal Tics]]. She announces her pregnancy early in season 2 and her progression is shown throughout the second and third seasons. (Voiced by Gail Matthius[[note]]a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member during the show's 1980-1981 season, though most fans of 1990s cartoons remember Matthius as Shirley the Loon from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' or Molly Coddle the comfort doll on ''WesternAnimation/BumpInTheNight''.[[/note]])
* '''[[BigBrotherBully Derek]]''', Bobby's older brother who constantly picks on Bobby, (Voiced by child actor, Kevin Smets. After hitting puberty, he would be replaced by Creator/PamelaAdlon [[note]]notable for voicing [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill another Bobby on Fox]].[[/note]])
* '''[[BrattyTeenageDaughter Kelly]]''', Bobby and Derek's older sister, who's a traditional 80's ValleyGirl. (Voiced by Charity James [[note]]Roxy Rocket in ''The New [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Batman]]/[[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]] Adventures'' and blue nerdluck Blanko in ''Film/SpaceJam''.[[/note]])
* '''[[CoolUncle Uncle Ted]]''', Martha's fun-loving older brother who has a special connection to Bobby because of how much of a ManChild he is and regularly gives Bobby [[AffectionateGestureToTheHead noogies]]. (Voiced by Tino Insana[[note]]Bushroot from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'''s police officer uncle, and Pig from ''WesternAnimation/{{Barnyard}}''.[[/note]])
* '''[[BigFriendlyDog Roger]]''', the family dog, who's just as playful as Bobby and very rambunctious. (Voiced by Creator/FrankWelker [[note]]Who had a pretty busy year in 1990 between this role, his various roles on ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryKids'' and ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', and Gameboy in ''[[WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster Captain N]]'', among others.[[/note]])

Outside of the regular family members, there were also several recurring characters throughout the show's run, including:
* '''[[AndCallHimGeorge Aunt Ruth]]''', Bobby's aunt and Martha and Ted's older sister who's prone to smothering Bobby. Introduced in the first episode, she starts to appear more often starting in season three to help out during Martha's pregnancy. (Voiced by Susan Tolsky [[note]]Binkie Muddlefoot from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', Aunt Janie from ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'', and Maggie's mother, Frieda Pesky from ''WesternAnimation/TheBuzzOnMaggie'', her final role before her retirement and eventual passing.[[/note]])
* '''[[AdorablyPrecociousChild Jackie Bodine]]''', Bobby's neighbor, best friend, and [[SelfProclaimedLoveInterest self-proclaimed girlfriend]] introduced in the second season who, despite being [[WiseBeyondTheirYears more mature and knowledgeable]] than Bobby, is in love with him and often kisses him. (Voiced by Creator/DebiDerryberry [[note]][[WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Neutron]], of course, along with a few anime roles, including Ryo-Ohki in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', the current voice of Diana in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', and the eponymous ''Manga/ZatchBell''[[/note]])
* '''[[ThoseTwoGuys Meeker and Snerd]]''', A seemingly versatile duo [[NewJobAsThePlotDemands who often take on different jobs]] at the Generic family's conveinence.
* '''[[CousinOliver Jake and Al]]''', Bobby's younger twin brothers, who were supposedly conceived sometime between the first two seasons and [[NewBabyEpisode born late into the third season]].

For a television show that ran for over seven years, it's not as well-remembered when compared to later shows that aired on the block. On top of the lack of televised reruns after its conclusion and having less of an impact compared to other shows that followed, it was clearly a show made for children around Bobby's age. That didn't stop it from letting a bunch of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar subtle adult jokes]] make their way into the scripts every once in a while. It was still popular enough to warrant KidsMealToy sets from UsefulNotes/McDonalds, Subway, Dairy Queen, Hardee's, and Wendy's.

The rights to the series were snatched up by Splash Entertainment (formerly known as Mike Young Productions), which has aired the series on its video-on-demand service, Creator/{{Kabillion}} since its inception. A month later, the character surprisingly made a brief return on ''Series/DealOrNoDeal'' when one contestant admitted to being a fan of the series, and the Banker actually brought out Bobby to tempt them to take the deal.

Kabillion has since made all [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfJglMgJyuvczZa_ruQhe9Dt seven]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfJoSogmgdFhz6zZyamzYS46 seasons]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfLSzfeVQI9OWls9kw1DnFTI available]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfL5Ta5ZzCW2vZAYSVsGioK4 on]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfJwPfl-D2m1t2vBRL7hPsq1 its]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfIcgPR81rJ7Q37DAxG3nGzN official]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTmd0UJIJpfJ29Yfb9gJx1cjj-HFruDNg YouTube]] channel.
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!!Tropes featured in this show include:
* AdultsAreUseless: Bobby's parents are useless when his siblings pick on him and insult him in front of them.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Derek considers Bobby annoying, and both of them annoy Kelly.
* BaseballEpisode: Bad News Bobby
* BigBallOfViolence: In "Beach Blanket Bobby", This happens to multiple food inside a cooler. An apple and a cheese start the fight, and then the rest join in, resulting into one of these.
* BigBrotherBully: Derek is usually this to Bobby.
* BirthdayEpisode:
** Bobby in "Bobby's Birthday Bash".
** Martha in "Psycho Bobby".
%%* BluntMetaphorsTrauma
%%* ButtMonkey:
%%** The Generics, though it's downplayed.
%%** Though Kelly suffers with this too, being embarrassed by her little brother in public.
%%* CelebrityToons: Bobby is based on Howie Mandel's son, and Mandel himself is in the opening credits.
* ChristmasEpisode: In "Miracle of 34th St and Rural Route 1", the family and unknown relatives go to Bobby's grandfather's house to celebrate Christmas. Lots of arguing ensues until a fire destroys most of the presents, and Bobby gives his obnoxious cousin the present they both wanted most.
* CurseCutShort: According to Howie, when Roger gets shown his leash (since he associates it with being taken to the vet), he disappears "...like a bat out of-- A steeple."
* DarkestHour: In "Back to the Furniture", Bobby gets punished by Howard and he got a triple punishment and he pays the consequences (The inner demons that enslave a man and a woman to become strict and lets its family and friends follow.) The consequences are a rich, strict, mean, and greedy couple who live in their mansion of hell. Marvin wears a bowler hat, a necktie and has a mustache. Hannah wears a pink shirt, glasses, and earrings. All they want is money.) Bobby complains to Grandma Abby about receiving three punishments, expressing frustration at the perceived unfairness. Grandma Abby acknowledges it's a bit much but reminds Bobby that it's his dad who sets the rules. Bobby asks if there's anything Grandma Abby can do, but she insists he must face the consequences for getting into trouble. Grandpa Alan humorously agrees with Grandma Abby, and they both share a laugh. All because they will follow Howard. [[spoiler: in the ending, it's revealed that he lifted the triple punishment.]]
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: In "The Music" Abe the crossing guard passes away, and when a different crossing guard tries to tell Bobby Abe's dead, and Bobby says "When will he be back?" and "Will he be back soon?"
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In early episodes, when Howie Mandel [[MediumBlending interacted with Bobby]] in the opening scenes, Bobby would call him "Dad," and Howie would [[InkSuitActor transform himself into Howard Generic]] to transition into the episode's plot. But later on, this was dropped; Bobby started calling Howie by his first name and it was made clear that Howie and Howard were different people.
* FourFingeredHands: Strangely, only Bobby has two four-fingered hands while the rest of his family, as well as most of the other characters, have five.
* FriendOrIdolDecision: In "The Best One of the Mall", Bobby is trying to get a weedwhacker for Howard for his birthday, and eventually partakes in a raffle drawing. He wins it and is given the choice of either a weedwhacker or a ''Captain Squash'' video game. He is torn between these two prizes, with [[GoodAngelBadAngel a devil trying to convince him to choose the video game, and Captain Squash trying to convince him to choose the weedwhacker]]. Bobby chooses the weedwhacker, not wanting to let his family down.
* HalloweenEpisode: "The Night of the Living Pumpkin" takes place during Halloween. Bobby is too young to go out trick-or-treating; while most everyone else gets to go out, he and Ted turn the house into "a spook house", with Ted charging kids money to enter and Bobby charging candy, using Kelly's beauty treatments to portray her as a scary monster. It quickly becomes so popular that the entire neighborhood becomes gridlocked and the police have to set up traffic control.
* IKnowKarate: Howie takes Bobby to karate class after Bobby got picked on by a kid at school. It later backfires when Bobby lets it go to his head, almost uses his skills on the same bully before, the sandbox kid, and the kid who had cookies.
* ImagineSpot: The show is built off this as Bobby would often misinterpret or try to solve things through his imagination.
* InkSuitActor: Howard Generic looks just like Howie Mandell. In early episode openings, Howie even [[MediumBlending turns into Howard]].
%%* {{Jerkass}}: Derek.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Bobby's parents become mad at Derek when he tells Bobby that your tonsils don't fall out, they're surgically removed. While he does describe this in an unnecessarily creepy way, his description is basically accurate.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Kelly, despite considering Bobby an [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling annoying younger sibling]] who makes her life a living hell, still loves him and is (occasionally) willing to stick up for him.
* KarmaHoudini:
** Derek is never seen getting any punishment for anything he does to Bobby (e.g. ditching him, saying false things to scare him, insulting him, etc).
%%* KidsAreCruel:Garnet
%%** "Karate Bobby", "The Smell of a Tattletale","Misery Loves Company", and "Rebel Without a Clue" are prime examples.
%%** Bobby also makes everyone's life a misery when he's the cause of all these problems.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During gift shopping with his mother in "Promises, Promises", Bobby spots a man step dancing on a musical pad playing the show's theme song.
* LemonadeStandPlot: "Bobby's Last Stand" has Bobby trying to earn enough money to purchase a new squirt gun advertised on TV. He and Jackie eventually decide to open up a lemonade stand during a heat wave, only for Jackie to point out that they have no lemons to make lemonade. She then gets the idea for them to make prune juice from dried plums from a nearby plum tree, which actually succeeds in getting them many customers from the elderly crowd. However, things go awry when they accidentally lose all the money they made in a sewer grate and the parents take over their business. It all gets so out of hand that Bobby and Jackie decide to forget about their goal and to just go play inside while the adults continue to fight amongst each other and drive away all their customers.
* LiteralMinded: Bobby.
* MediumBlending: When Howie Mandel interacted with Bobby before and after the episodes.
* MondegreenGag: In "Bobby's Girl", when an octopus version of Jackie uses her tentacles to attack a submarine, Bobby says "I thought only boys had tentacles!"
* MrImagination: Bobby.
* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: After Derek saves Bobby from drowning, Bobby says he saw his life before his eyes but, because of his youth, he still had time to come up with a song to show how much he appreciates Derek for saving him.
* NewBabyEpisode: "Baby Brother Blues" is about Bobby's new twin baby brothers being born, and Bobby being upset that he's not getting attention because of them.
* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Of the three Generic siblings, Bobby is the nicest one, being a playful child and somewhat naive. Derek is the mean one, being the jerk who often picks on Bobby and calls him names. Kelly is in-between, as she is much nicer to Bobby and the most mature, but can also be somewhat of a BrattyTeenageDaughter at times.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In "Clubhouse Bobby", a child version of Creator/RodneyDangerfield appears as a kid who wasn't invited to Bobby's club just because none of Bobby's friends liked him. After feeling sorry for him, Bobby decides to give him a test to see if he can fix a wagon, only for everyone to realize how funny he is. He would eventually become a RecurringExtra throughout the show's run.
* NobodyLikesATattletale: In "The Smell of a Tattletale", Bobby starts carpooling with the mothers of his classmates. When he tells them the wrong things the other kids are doing, they are so impressed that make him the official carpool monitor. This results in his classmates turning against him. When Bobby explains the situation to Uncle Ted, he comes to the conclusion that he's a tattletale. When Bobby is invited to Rodney's birthday party at their mothers' insistence, he learns the right and wrong times to tell the adults if someone is doing something wrong, such as when he catches two of his classmates playing with knives.
* PanickyExpectantFather: Howard behaves this way throughout the episode where Martha gives birth to the twins, repeatedly calling the hospital, overreacting to any disturbance from Bobby, and saying the baby will be born "any second," even before Martha goes into labor. At the hospital, another dad is also shown with a 5 o'clock shadow, sweating and pacing around the waiting room.
* ParentalBonus:
** In "I Want My Mommy", Uncle Ted tries to explain the concept of adoption to Bobby.
-->'''Uncle Ted:''' You see, a lot of times when a guy and his wife--\\
'''Martha:''' Uh, Ted, Ted.
** Ted was well known for the Parental Bonus. In one episode, he even used the word "hell", which was kind of taboo at the time for a kid's show. Martha corrected him after he said it, though.
** In one of Bobby's {{Imagine Spot}}s, triggered by his Uncle Ted being the "Walk it off" type, Film/TheElephantMan is the last character that Ted tells to "Walk it off" after delivering the memetic line of "I am not an animal! I am a human being!"... while [[VisualPun looking like an actual elephant]].
* {{Parody}}: Mrs. Noogiefire is a parody of Film/MrsDoubtfire: Uncle Ted wants to babysit Bobby and his siblings while their parents go out of town, but Martha wants a woman to take care of them, so he disguises himself as a woman named Mrs. Noogiefire to get the job.
* PickedLast: In "The Smell of a Tattletale", Bobby is made the official carpool monitor by the moms of his classmates for telling them the wrong things his classmates were doing, [[NobodyLikesATattletale giving himself a reputation as a tattletale]], as his classmates turn on him. At one point, when they play a game of dodgeball, one team chooses Betty, a girl with a broken arm, instead of Bobby.
%%* PopStarComposer: John Tesh composed the theme song, as well as the incidental music in the show.
* PrecisionFStrike: Towards the end of "The World Accordion to Bobby", Uncle Ted asks Bobby about the big bully guy who made Bobby's life "a living hell!". Martha even had to remind him to watch his language.
* PronouncingMyNameForYou: A small RunningGag in the series is that people tend to pronounce the family name as "Generic", [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable which leads them to respond "It's [=GEN=]-eric"]].
* RoadTripAcrossTheStreet: One episode is dedicated to the drama of Bobby's family moving to a new house. When the time for the move actually happens, Bobby promptly states [[AreWeThereYet Are We There Yet?]] to his father, who immediately replies "[[SubvertedTrope Yes]]".
%%* SadistShow: Becomes this in later Seasons.
%%* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Happens very frequently to Bobby.
%%* SoundEffectBleep: At the end of "My Dad Can Fix Anything", this happens:
%%-->'''Howie Mandel:''' And now we've got a special surprise, I'm going to tell you how to become a multimillionaire. Want to help me on this one, Bobby?
%%-->At this point, Bobby flips a switch creating a loud whirring sound that drowns out everything Howie says.
%%-->'''Howie Mandel:'''--and that's the only way you'll ever win the lottery!
* ThanksgivingEpisode: "Generics and Indians".
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted in "Psycho Bobby". Bobby decided to build a statue of Martha for her birthday, thinking it'd be the best way to honor how great he thinks she is. However, he keeps his plans a secret from the rest of the family which causes everyone to think he's behaving very strangely (collecting macaroni, wearing his mom's clothes, etc.) and worry something's wrong with him. Bobby's taken to a psychiatrist and explains to her what he was doing (and that he didn't understand that his family was worried about him) and the psychiatrist realizes Bobby has an active imagination and there's nothing wrong with him. She also agrees to keep his statue plans a secret so Martha's birthday surprise isn't ruined.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Meeker and Snurd, a BigGuyLittleGuy duo seen working at various jobs around town.
* TheTonsillitisEpisode: In "Bobby's Big Boo Boo," Bobby needs his tonsils removed.
* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Used in the opening credits; for 1990 standards, it's surprising how well it meshes with the [=2D=] animation.
* ValentinesDayEpisode: "Bobby's Girl".
* ValleyGirl: Kelly.
* VocalEvolution: As the show progressed Derek's voice was changing from high pitched to low, eventually his voice actor was replaced by Pamela Segall during the sixth season.
* WholePlotReference: The episode "Mrs. Noogiefire," where Uncle Ted disguises himself as a woman to babysit Bobby and his siblings, is obviously based on ''Film/MrsDoubtfire''.
%%* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Bobby... sort of.
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