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The Whittier family
Pollyanna Whittier
Pollyanna Whittier
Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie (Japanese), Valérie Siclay (French), Diana Borgwardt (German), Dania Cericola (Italian), Amalia Cantarero/Isacha Mengíbar (European Spanish), Amal Al-Dabbas (Arabic)
The main character. A 9 year old girl who, after the death of her mother, has to move to Beldingsville to love with her aunt. Pure-hearted and kind, and many adults think of her as a "strange child" because of her upbeat attitude. She can be overly affectionate, and also loves hugging things and playing. She also loves animals, sunsets, pretty clothes and looking at light from prisms.
- Adaptational Curves: She's noticably tubbier in this version, unlike her slim novel counterpart.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the original Pollyanna novel, Pollyanna had blonde hair. In the anime her hair is dark brown, and at some points it even appears to be red.
- Age Lift: Pollyanna is eight years old in this version, compared to the novel where she is eleven.
- Animal Lover: Pollyanna receives a Canon Foreigner pet squirrel in this adaptation, and also adores dogs and cats. When her squirrel goes missing, she finds him safe and sound with a boy who feeds squirrels at the park, who similarly has his own horde of squirrels that he's befriended through feeding them.
- Blithe Spirit: Undeterred by her aunt's cold behaviour, she continues to cheerfully look forward to her new life. The people around her are drawn to her dedicated demeanor, even though they initially thought she was a wierd little child. So much so that when Pollyanna breaks her leg, Polly's house is villed with visitors who bring gifts and demand to see her.
- Break the Cutie: Pollyanna tries her best to keep up with The Glad Game and always stay happy, but even she can't lie to herself when she's really in the shits. When she breaks her legs in an accident, she mourns no longer being able to do the things she loved, and this drives Jimmy to Rage Against the Heavens.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Pollyanna isn't enthusiastic about taking lessons and doing household chores that her aunt instructed, but she managed to get a high score in school entrance exam in later episodes.
- Cheerful Child: She created The Glad Game because she wanted to keep up her spirit and reassure herself that there's always light to be found in each depth of darkness.
- Cheery Pink: When Aunt Polly buys her a beautiful pink sweater and skirt
◊ Pollyanna expresses her gratitude by saying that she is grateful for the new clothes. - Country Mouse: Pollyanna spent most of her life in a rural American small town, and assmilating into the big city brings quite a lot of challenges to her. An example of this is when hearing people speak Italian makes her distressed, because she doesn't understand it.
- Cuddle Bug: Just like her novel counterpart, Pollyanna is full of energy and likes giving hugs. Chipmack, Aunt Polly, Jimmy and James receive them a lot.
- The Cutie: Both in appearance and spirit; she's a cheerful, adorable 8-9 year old girl who wants to spread her joy to everyone she meets. She actually helps somne of the townspeople solve their personal problems.
- Determinator: At one point Nancy tells her that finding things to be glad about could be hard. Pollyanna just replies that the harder The Glad Game gets, the more fun it is.
- Fainting: Pollyanna has a tendency to react this way whenever something shocking occurs. A bit of an exaggerated trope, given that it happens four times.
- Flashback Nightmare: Pollyanna dreams about her father's death in Episode 24, and is overcome with guilt about how she never got to see him properly before his passing.
- Friend to All Living Things: Pollyanna is willing to befriend everyone, and she also has an Animal Companion in the form of Chipmack the Squirrel. She loves nature, and is fond of plants.
- For Happiness: Pollyanna's main motivation. She wants to honour her father's words of finding joy in everything.
- Genki Girl: Pollyanna is full of energy and acts very unladylike, angering Aunt Polly. Poor Nancy is overwhelmed managing her.
- The Glomp: Pollyanna has a habit on jumping people for a hug. This attitude was welcomed where she grew up, but not so much in her new home. Lampshaded by her Aunt Polly in Episode 5.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Is her hair red or brown? Even the posters aren't clear, as some portray it as dark brown, and others as red as a fox.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Many people express shock that in spite of how horrible her life is, Pollyanna always manages to keep smiling. Aunt Polly in particular is so moved, it causes her to change completely.
- Heroic BSoD: Pollyanna becomes quite depressed after her accident in Episode 20 leaves her unable to walk again. Her change in behavior is so serious that she refuses to eat and she has a hard time finding anything to be happy about.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Very big and blue, provided by character designer Yoshiharu Sato. They reflect her childlike innocence and desire for a better future.
- Memento MacGuffin: Pollyanna has her mother's mirror, which as shown in a flashback, Aunt Polly fought with Jennie for it, nearly breaking it.
- Perpetual Smiler: No less expected for The Pollyanna. Many other children initially mock her for it.
- Pink Is Feminine: All of her clothes are pink, whether they're her overalls, jumper or skirt.
- The Pollyanna: She's an adaptation of the Trope Namer, after all. She tries to always be glad and practice gratitude in her life, no matter how bleak it gets, and her Blithe Spirit nature affects everyone else in Beldingsville.
- Preacher's Kid: Pollyanna's father John was a pastor in a small Midwestern town. Of course, while she's not flawless, she fits the "Angelic" variety best.
- Stepford Smiler: Pollyanna often cries when she thinks about her father's death, as well as Aunt Polly's aloofness towards her. She tries to hide it (and sometimes can't), but always tries to stay upbeat and positive.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Pollyanna likes to do handstands and wears her favorite jumper, but loves wearing nice dresses. She also loves playing in the garden and looking for berries with Chipmack.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Being optimistic and kind is in her nature. Unlike her aunt, she's far from an aloof person.
- Verbal Tic: "I love....[x]"
- Youthful Freckles: Pollyanna is concerned about her freckles because she thinks they make her look unattractive, but not many people notice them or care.
John Whittier
John Whittier
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka/Toshihiko Sekinote (Japanese), Marc François (French), Ingo Albrecht (German), Enrico Carabelli (Italian), Juan Carlos Ordóñez (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
The father of Pollyanna. He was a pastor, and died from an illness when Pollyanna was eight.
- Forbidden Romance: Against the wishes of the Harringtons, he eloped with Pollyanna's mother to the West. Since then, the Harrington family has despised him.
- Good Parents: He was the one who taught Pollyanna The Glad Game.
- Good Shepherd: John Whittier was a kind-well liked man who respected everyone in his congregation and was likewise treated with the same respect, on top of being a good father to his rambunctious daughter despite their near-poverty. In fact, he teaches Pollyanna the "glad game" shortly after her mother's death because he reasons that since the Bible has happiness referenced so much (at least 800 times according to Pollyanna) because God wants people to be happy.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His Biblical teachings to Pollyanna are what motivated her to become the Trope Namer she is today.John: "It's not just the verses in the Bible. You should look also for things to be glad about in everyday life."
- Trademark Favourite Food: John loved strawberries. When he was sick, Pollyanna would often bring him some.
- Token Religious Teammate: He's a Pastor. He teaches Pollyanna to "look for joy" because the word for joy appears 800 times in the Bible.
Jennie Harrington
Jennie Harrington
Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe/Run Sasakinote /Mika Doinote (Japanese), Unknown (French), Sylvie Nogler (German), Patrizia Salmoiraghi (Italian), Unknown (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
The mother of Pollyanna, and Polly's older sister. She died when Pollyanna was four.
Click hereto see her when she was young
- All Love Is Unrequited: She was extremely beautiful which caused Pendleton to have an unrequited love for her.
- Always Someone Better: Anything Polly did, Jennie did better, but there were no hard feelings between them.
- Cool Big Sis: In their youth, she was this to Polly, being the more prettier and popular of the sisters. Even after she eloped with John, she kept thinking of Polly and named her daughter after her.
- Forbidden Romance: Jennie was from a wealthy family while John barely had any cents to his name, hence Jennie's parents being against their romance. Jennie eventually eloped with him.
- Friend to All Living Things: Polly states she had a habit of bringing stray dogs home.
- Missing Mom: Pollyanna's mother died when she was four from an illness. Four years later, her husband would die of the same illness.
Chip Mack
Pollyanna's pet squirrel.
- Adorable Fluffy Tail: Chip Mack has a very big, bushy tail that stands out from the other squirrels because of it's size and stripes.
- Canon Foreigner: Pollyanna didn't have a squirrel in the original novel.
- Head Pet: He loves sitting on Pollyanna's head, and often rests as if he's sleeping on it.
- Parrot Pet Position: He often sits on Pollyanna's shoulder, and likes running up her arm.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Pollyanna and James adore him, as do most of Pollyanna's other friends.
Harrington family
Family members
Polly Harrington
Polly Harrington, Aunt Polly
Voiced by: Masako Nozawa (Japanese), Julia Dancourt (French), Karin Schröder (German), Pilar Dominguez (European Spanish), Reem Saadeh (Arabic)
Pollyanna's jaded, cynical aunt. She hasn't had a very good life and is usually frowning.
Click hereto see her when she was young
- Age Lift: Aunt Polly and Dr. Chilton are younger in the anime, but it retains the part from the book where they haven't spoken for fifteen years.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Polly was this to Jennie in the past. She was a bit of a brat and liked to play pranks, but for the most part she cares for the latter very much.
- Cosmic Plaything: Before the events of the story, she had a feud with her sister, leading them to cut her off. Said feud also resulted in her breaking up with her partner at the time, Chilton. After Pollyanna suffers a horrible accident and Chilton tends to her wounds, Aunt Polly falls in love with him again and they get married....only for him to die two months later. This woman can't catch a break.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Polly. She’s initially cold and dismissive towards Pollyanna, but her niece’s cheerfulness causes her to soften up with time. She warms up considerably after Pollyanna's injury and her reconciliation with Dr. Chilton.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: While she's a mean crab apple on the outside, she eventually can't say no to Pollyanna's cheerfulness and warms up to her. It's also shown that before she became a universal Cosmic Plaything, she was a nice and kind person.
- Freudian Excuse: Polly used to be close to her sister Jenny, but after Pastor John married her, misfortunes began to befall the Harrington family, and she began blaming him. When Chilton defended Pastor John, Polly broke up with him.
- Jerkass: She's an aloof and uncaring maternal figure to Pollyanna and spends a lot of time barking at her. Her meanness drives Pollyanna to cry on more than one occassion, and when Pollyanna becomes injured she has a Jerkass Realization and feels ashamed.
- Perpetual Frowner: Unlike her niece, Aunt Polly leans more on the cynical side of things and rarely smiles.
- Proper Lady: Polly believes that as a Harrington she has a certain image she must conform to. She also tries to teach Pollyanna the manners and customs of the Harringtons, which she doesn't always obey.
- Resentful Guardian: Polly was distant from Jenny and hated John, but takes in Pollyanna because the girl needs a guardian. Their differing attitudes put them at odds, not helped by the fact that any time Polly tries to teach her the ways of the Harrington family, Pollyanna disregards them.
- The Stoic: Polly led a life marred in loneliness, from losing her sister to her divorce. This is her way of coping.
- When She Smiles: Aunt Polly is usually stoic, but when she looks at her older sister's mirror and then her hair is fixed by Pollyanna, it's just awesome to see her smile.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Aunt Polly hates animals in general. This becomes a bit of an issue when her animal-loving niece moves in.
- Widow's Weeds: After Chilton’s death in episode 43, Polly is seen wearing a black dress and frequently cries while thinking about her dead husband. When she goes to the cabin with Pollyanna and their friends, she’s back to wearing colorful dresses.
Elizabeth H. Harrington
Elizabeth H. Harrington
Voiced by: Keiko Hanagata (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (German), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
The mother of Jennie and Polly, and Pollyanna's grandmother.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Mother: She lived a wealthy life and wanted her two daughters, Jenny and Polly, to live in her hometown. When Jennie eloped with John, she was highly disappointed in her.
Jeremiah O. Harrington
Jeremiah O. Harrington
Voiced by: Osamu Saka (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (German), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
The father of Jennie and Polly, and Pollyanna's grandfather.- Tragic Keepsake: Jeremiah bought Jeannie the hand mirror Pollyanna would eventually inherit.
Staff
Nancy Hartley
Nancy Hartley
Voiced by: Keiko Han (Japanese), Virginie Ledieu (French), Ulrike Mai (German), Conchi Lopez (European Spanish), Paola Tovaglia (Italian), Suheir Fahad (Arabic)
Aunt Polly's maid who manages the affairs of the Harrington house.
- Actually, That's My Assistant: When Pollyanna is retrieved to Aunt Polly's house, she sends Nancy, leading Pollyanna to believe she's her Aunt. She's surprised and replies that she's her maid.
- Beleaguered Assistant: She does her best, but it always chewed out by Pollyanna's mean aunt.
- Cool Big Sis: She quickly becomes protective of Pollyanna and does what she can to make her mistress's niece as comfortable and happy in her new home as possible.
- Meido: Subverted. She is polite as can be, but quite sarcastic.
Residents of Beldingsville
Jimmy Bean
Jimmy Bean
Voiced by: Eiko Yamada (Japanese), Jackie Berger (French), Daniela Reides (German), Sarah Vivas (European Spanish), Paola Tovaglia (Italian), Nusr Enani (Arabic)
A 9 year old cheerful and kind-hearted boy who is Pollyanna's best friend. His true parents are Doris and Edward Kent, and he is the nephew of Rith Carew.
Jimmy
- Dark and Troubled Past: Growing up lonely and not knowing who his real parents were left him very cynical. He's very abrasive when he meets Pollyanna, until her kindnes rubs off of him.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: He grew up in an orphanage, and seeing other kids with their parents really hurt him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: After receiving a letter from Pollyanna in Boston, Jimmy gets jealous of hearing her talk about her spending time with a boy named James and angrily declares he’ll never go to Boston. For a while, his jealousy continued into other episodes and he would get upset whenever Pollyanna talked about James in front of him before he eventually gets over it.
- Happily Adopted: In Episode 22, Mr. Pendleton decides to adopt Jimmy in order to make Pollyanna happy from her injury. He initially refuses (see My God, What Have I Done?), but eventually agrees.
- Hot-Blooded: In spite of his happy-go-lucky personality, Jimmy is a troubled boy and it doesn't take much to get him to fly off the handle.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Jimmy is Jamie Kent, the real nephew of Mrs. Carew.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Jimmy blames himself for Pollyanna's injury and even tells Mr. Pendleton he has no right to be adopted by him because he caused it.
- Rage Against the Heavens: In Episode 22, Jimmy showed his anguish to God for causing Pollyanna losing her hope in curing her legs.Jimmy: "She's like an angel who goes around bringing people happiness!"
- Tsundere: He initially found Pollyanna to be wierd, like all the other kids in Beldingsville, but eventually came to have a crush on her. He is too bashful to admit it.
Mrs. Snow
Mrs. Snow
Voiced by: Taeko Nakanishi (Japanese), Unknown (French), Sigrid Lagemann (German), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
Millie's mother who is sick and bedridden.- The Friend Nobody Likes: Everyone hates her because she always has something to grumble about. However, she tries playing The Glad Game that Pollyanna taught her, and recovers enough to go out in a carriage.
- Jerkass Realization: After conversing with Pollyanna she suddenly realizes that her tendency of complainig all the time drives people away.
Thomas Chilton
Thomas Chilton
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese), Marc Lebel/Jacques Richard (French), Leon Boden (German), Marco Balzarotti (Italian), Juan Carlos Ordóñez (European Spanish), Abd Al-Latif Shamma (Arabic)
A doctor who lives in Beldingsville and an old friend of Pendleton's. He used to be romantically involved with Aunt Polly.- Affectionate Nickname: He says that Pollyanna is "like a magic bullet".
- Age Lift: Like Aunt Polly, his book counterpart was significantly older.
- Best Friend: To John Pendleton, to the point that he's the only one who he regularly speaks to.
- Childhood Friends: Mr. Pendleton and Dr. Chilton were friends since there were young in this version. This is the reason why the former choose the latter as his family doctor.
- Cool Old Guy: Pollyanna thinks so. When she's going through her surgery, she says she'll be fine as long as he's with her.
- Happily Married: After he treats Pollyanna's foot, Polly falls for him again and they reconcile.
- Identical Stranger: He has an uncanny resemblance to Pastor John and even sounds like him.
- Men Can't Keep House: Dr. Chilton's bedroom is littered with many medical books. This is because he's too busy working on his job as a doctor and he has no time on cleaning his room.
- You Remind Me of X: Pollyanna tells Dr. Chilton that she reminds him of her deceased father John. The latter isn't happy about the comparison, considering that he knew John well and understood that he's more suitable to Pollyanna's mother Jennie.
John Pendleton
John Pendleton
Voiced by: Ginga Banjo (Japanese), Marc François (French), Lothar Blumhagen (German), Raffaele Farina (Italian), Daniel Dicenta (European Spanish), Muhammad Helmy (Arabic)
The richest man in Beldingsville. He is a recluse and doesn't socialize with anyone except Chilton.
- Best Friend: To Thomas Chilton, who is the only one who he regularly speaks to.
- Big Fancy House: John Pendleton is so rich that he lives in a mansion in the woods and eats three meals a day at fancy hotels.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: is an American who traveled all over the world when he was young, and his mansion contains many works of art from the countries he visited.
- Friend to All Children: He's very kind to Pollyanna and Jimmy, and once offered to adopt Pollyanna.
- The Lost Lenore: He once loved Pollyanna's mother Jenny, but she eloped with Pastor John.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He's always wearing a nice suit with a bow tie.
Ruth Cariou
Mrs. Carew
Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese), Julia Dancourt/Monique Thierry (French), Unknown (German), Milena Albieri (Italian), Marisa Marco (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
- Broken Bird: Her parents, husband, and children passed away, and her beloved nephew, Jamie, also disappeared six years ago. She has lost her will to live and is living an unhappy life.
- Ojou: A 1920's American variant as she's from the Wetherby family and is always dressed lavishly.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Is it Carew or Cariou?
- Jerkass Has a Point: She's often strict to Pollyanna, but she's not wrong when she says she can't go to the house of a stranger she's just met.
- Searching for the Lost Relative: She's doing everything she can to find her nephew, Jamie Kent.
- Second Love: Mrs. Carew is this for Mr. Pendleton, after his First Love Jennie died. They bond over raising Jamie.
Residents of Boston
James Kent
James Kent
Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe (Japanese), Unknown (French), Bea Tober (German), Paolo Torissi (Italian), Alicia Sáinz De La Maza/Jorge Saudinós (European Spanish), Unknown (Arabic)
A boy Pollyanna meets in Boston. They bond over their shared love of squirrels.
- Blue Blood: He is from a noble family, and has a butler who calls him "Sir James".
- Delicate and Sickly: James was born disabled and needs a wheelchair (moved by his butler) to go around.
- Friend to All Living Things: Jamie likes feeding squirrels in the park, and names them after characters from the books he reads, like Sir Lancelot and Princess Rowena.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He has blonde hair and is a sweet kid who loves squirrels and doesn't look down on Pollyanna for being different, eagerly welcoming her as a friend.
- Imagine Spot: To really tug at the heartstrings, he imagines the things he'd do if he wasn't restrained by a wheelchair. Granted, some of them are fantastical, like being a Prince and dancing with the Princess like in the books he reads....
- Sweet Tooth: In his first appearance, he reveals his own lunch is a donut.
