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"The Big Pencil" is the second segment of the sixth episode of Pepper Ann. It aired on October 18, 1997.

Plot[]

Pepper Ann vows to beat perennial Science Fair rival Alice Kane once and for all.

Synopsis[]

Pepper Ann despises Alice Kane, a student in her class who has won the science fair every year and has humiliated her with a variety of projects including the Possum in a Barrel (of which its purpose is never explained in the episode) and is always getting second place. Nicky attempts to calm Pepper Ann until she realizes that she truly has never won against Alice who snobbishly calls Pepper Ann "P. Ann". She reveals her latest project is going to be a full-body muff for arctic expeditions. Pepper Ann decides to set herself to creating her latest science fair project and shuts herself in her room for the three weeks leading up to the presentation.

Pepper Ann finally finishes her project, but when Lydia asks if she will need a ride, Pepper Ann confronts her mother with a series of rules: pick her up in the back of the school, do not call her by any nicknames or baby names and most importantly, no hugging. Pepper Ann rushes to school and everyone presents their (less than stellar) science fair projects. Alice goes up to present her body muff which despite Pepper Ann worrying about her winning, it is clearly evident that her project is just as flawed as everyone else's.

Pepper Ann presents her project: a sandwich cookie that can be infused with gingivitis fighting chemicals. Her project clearly does not work and as she wrestles with it, it explodes covering the class and Mr. Carter with a special kind of chocolate. Nicky realizes that Pepper Ann accidentally invented tartar control frothacinno, which impresses everyone, and she is awarded as the winner of the science fair. Pepper Ann meets Alice outside and she admits that it was not about beating her, but rather challenging herself. Alice congratulates her but tells her to be wary of the spotlight. Lydia picks up Pepper Ann and kisses her on the cheek, imagining everyone including the news coming down on her for the embarrassing gesture. Ultimately, Pepper Ann is just glad that she won the science fair.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Additional voices[]

*Marks an uncredited voice role

Non-speaking appearances[]

Goofs[]

  • When Pepper Ann runs out of the house in terror, her cel model (which is supposed to be in the foreground) crosses behind Lydia (who is supposed to be in the background).
  • When Pepper Ann is talking to her alter ego in the final scene, her mouth is moving out of sync to the audio.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This episode was initially titled "She Blinded Me with Science" as shown on storyboards for the episode.[2]
  • This episode marks the only instance of Milo having a non-speaking role.
  • For UPN broadcasts, this episode segment and "Sani-Paper" were swapped in order.
  • The crowd cheer audio is reused from "Ziterella".

Continuity[]

  • The running gag of Hazelnut's county returns for the final time; Mr. Carter cites Alice Kane as the pride of Oakwoodseednut County.

Allusions[]

  • The "Susie Bake Oven" Moose refers to is a parody of the real-life Easy-Bake Oven.

External links[]


v - e - d
Media
Pepper AnnPepper Ann Main ThemePepper Ann (song)
Characters
Pepper Ann PearsonAlter EgoNicky LittleMilo KamalaniMoose PearsonBecky LittleDieter LiederhosenTrinket St. BlairCissy RooneyTessa and Vanessa JamesPink-Eye PeteAlice KaneGwen MezzrowStuart WalldingerShelf McClainConstance GoldmanLamar Abu-DabeCraig BeanSketchCrashLydia PearsonChuck PearsonJanie DiggityJo Jo DiggityNed DiggityCrying GirlBrendaMean GirlEffie ShruggAbriola StarkCarlotta SneedRoland CarterCoach DooganBronte BladdarSherman FinkyVera Groober-SchwartzPrincipal HickeyHazelnutians
Episodes
Season 1: "Ziterella" • "Romeo & Juliet" / "Food Barn" • "Old Best Friend" / "Crunch Pod" • "Psychic Moose" / "Doll & Chain" • "Megablades of Grass" / "Family Vacation" • "Sani-Paper" / "The Big Pencil" • "Uniform, Uniformity" / "Snot Your Mother's Music" • "The Environ-Mentals" • "In Support of" / "Nicky Gone Bad" • "Soccer Season" / "Crush & Burn" • "Thanksgiving Dad" • "Have You Ever Been Unsupervised" / "The Unusual Suspects" • "Sketch 22" / "Manly Milo"

Season 2: "Quiz Bowl" / "License to Drive" • "Cocoon Gables" / "Green-Eyed Monster" • "Hazelnut's Finest" / "Cat Scan" • "An Otterbiography" / "Greensleeves" • "Vanessa Less Tessa" / "Peer Counselor P.A." • "A 'Tween Halloween" / "Mash into Me" • "Framed" / "Radio Freak Hazelnut" • "Presenting Stewart Waldinger" / "P.A.'s Life in a Nutshell" • "Like Riding a Bike" • "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Milo" / "The Sisterhood" • "Impractical Jokes" / "Cold Feet" • "Doppelganger Didi" / "Pepper Ann's Day Off-Kilter" • "A No Hair Day" / "That's My Dad"
Season 3: "Burn, Hazelnut, Burn" / "The Wash-Out" • "G.I. Janie" / "Miss Moose" • "Pepper Shaker" / "Flaw and Order" • "Def Comedy Mom" / "Career Daze" • "Baggy Bean Buddies" / "The Spanish Imposition" • "The Beans of Wrath" / "Effie Shrugged" • "The Velvet Room" • "One Angry Woman" • "The Sellout" / "The Tell Tale Fuzzy" • "Dances with Ignorance" / "Girl Power" • "Sammy's Song" / "Permanent Record" • "Live and Let Dye" • "Remote Possibilities" / "Considering Constance" • "You Oughta Be in Musicals!" • "Beyond Good and Evel" / "One of the Guys" • "The First Date Club" / "Unicycle of Life" • "To Germany with Love" • "A Valentine's Day Tune" • "Bye Bye Trinket" / "P.A.'s Pop Fly" • "My Mother, Myself" • "The Amazing Becky Little" • "A Kosher Christmas" • "The Untitled Milo Kamalani Project" / "Guess Who's Coming to the Theater" • "Single Unemployed Mother" / "Mom Knows What P.A. Did Two Nights Ago" • "The Great Beyond" / "Jaybirds of a Feather" • "The Way They Were"
Season 4: "The One with Mr. Reason" / "Sense and Senselessness" • "Dear Debby" / "Reality Bytes" • "Complimentary Colors" • "Searching for Pepper Ann Pearson" / "Forging Ahead" • "Carmello" / "Too Cool to Be Mom" • "The Word" / "The Perfect Couple" • "The Merry Lives of Pepper Ann" • "Strike it or Not" / "Moose in Love" • "Two's Company" / "A is for Average" • "That's My Mama Destructo" / "Unhappy Campers" • "The Finale" • "Spice of Life" / "Alice Kane Went Down to Calcutta" • "T.G.I.F." / "Zen and the Art of Milo"

Locations
Hazelnut Middle SchoolPepper Ann's House
See also
House of Mouse