Gravedale High facts for kids

Gravedale High (also called Rick Moranis in Gravedale High) is a fun animated TV show. It was made by Hanna-Barbera and first aired on NBC in the fall of 1990. The show had 13 episodes. It was created to feature the actor Rick Moranis, who was famous for movies like Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

About Gravedale High

The show is about a human teacher named Max Schneider. He accidentally gets a job at Gravedale High, which is a school just for monsters! The school is near a city called Midtown. Max is the only human there.

He teaches a class of monster teenagers. These students are like modern versions of classic movie monsters. Many of them are noisy, not interested in school, or only think about themselves. This class is known for being hard to control. It seems Max was hired because no monster teacher wanted the job.

The town of Gravedale itself is mostly made up of cemeteries. It's like a secret part of Midtown. Not many humans know it exists. Besides the students' homes, there's a doctor's office run by a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type. There's also a "body shop" where monsters can buy parts to build new monsters. The show even mentions a group called the United Monster Fund. This suggests that Gravedale is part of a bigger monster world.

Meet the Characters

Main Students

• Maxwell Schneider (voiced by Rick Moranis) - Max is a human teacher, probably in his late 30s or early 40s. He's thin and proud to be a teacher who can make a difference. He wears a suit, a polka-dotted bow tie, and thick glasses. Max has wavy red-brown hair and warm brown eyes. He's a bit quirky but very steady, which he needs to be with his wild class! He's friendly, fun, and open-minded. Max is one of the hardest-working teachers at Gravedale High. He truly cares about each of his students.

• Vinnie Stoker (voiced by Roger Rose) - Vinnie is a vampire who acts like a cool greaser from the 1950s. His name is a nod to Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula. Vinnie often comes to class late. This is more because he doesn't care much for school than because he's a night creature. Max often has to tell Vinnie to take his boots off the desk. Vinnie is usually lazy, but he will work hard if it helps him.

• Frankentyke (voiced by Frank Welker) - Frankentyke is a small monster, like a mix of Frankenstein's Monster and Bart Simpson. He often calls everyone "man." Even though he's small, he's a monster! In one episode, we learn his dad is a human scientist who created him.

• Reggie Moonshroud (voiced by Barry Gordon) - Reggie is a red-haired, nerdy werewolf. He sheds a lot of fur when he's nervous and sometimes howls. But overall, he controls his emotions well. This is different from how werewolves are usually shown. He and Vinnie are best friends, which is a fun twist because werewolves and vampires are often enemies in stories.

• J.P. Ghastly III (voiced by Frank Welker impersonating Peter Lorre) - J.P. is a rich, blue-skinned monster who looks a bit like a gnome. We don't know exactly what kind of monster he is. He and Vinnie have a bit of a rivalry.

• Gill Waterman (voiced by Jackie Earle Haley) - Gill is a lagoon creature who loves to surf. His name is a play on words, combining "gill" and "waterman." He uses a lot of surfer slang. Gill is best friends with Frankentyke. He loves to surf, looks up to a famous surfer named Kahuna Bob, and eats a lot! His parents dress fancy, but his dad also likes surfer talk.

• Cleofatra (voiced by Ricki Lake) - Cleofatra is a large and somewhat nerdy mummy. This is different from the skinny mummies you usually see. Her name is often shortened to "Cleo." She's best friends with Duzer. Cleo has a big crush on a TV monster star named Billy Headstone. He's on a soap opera called "Trudy and the Beast."

• Sid (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - Sid is a student based on the Invisible Man. He's the class clown and loves to do different voices. This is funny because an "invisible" person usually isn't noticed. Sid's parents are also good at doing impressions.

• Blanche (voiced by Shari Belafonte) - Blanche is a zombie Southern belle who loves to shop. She's like a "mall zombie" who loves clothes. Blanche often dates J.P., but it seems she mostly likes his money. She's a shopaholic and her classmates tease her about maxing out her credit cards. She can sew and cook, but she doesn't like housework. Her goal is to marry the richest monster in the world.

• Duzer (voiced by Kimmy Robertson) - Duzer has snake hair, like Medusa, but she can't turn people to stone. She's a Valley girl type. When someone annoys her, she says, "Get a life!" which is funny since many monsters are already dead. She's very pretty, likes to win, is bossy, and wants to be the center of attention. She especially likes Vinnie, even though he doesn't seem to like her back.

Other Students at Gravedale High

There are many other interesting students at the school:

• Alpha-Mae Centauri - A centaur (half-human, half-horse).
• Blobby - A student who looks like The Blob.
• Busby - A human fly.
• Elephant Boy (voiced by Frank Welker) - A student who looks like an elephant and speaks with a fancy British accent. He's a parody of the Elephant Man.
• Iggy - A student with a hunchback, like the classic "Igor" assistant. He has a zipper on his head, suggesting he might be a Frankenstein-type monster too. He sometimes forgets his brain!
• Moorehead - A monster like the Metaluna Mutant.
• Nardo - A gargoyle who is good at sports and is Vinnie's rival.
• Natasha Neckinski - A vampire girl with a European accent.
• Rover (voiced by Frank Welker) - A dog-boy who talks a bit like Scooby-Doo.
• Seymour (voiced by Barry Gordon) - A cyclops (a monster with one eye).
• Suey - A pig-girl. She and Elephant Boy ran for Class President. They also performed together in a talent show, suggesting they might be dating.

Gravedale High Teachers

Mr. Schneider has his hands full with his students, but he also has the spooky staff of Gravedale High to help him. Some teachers don't trust Max at first because he's human, but they become friends over time. Each teacher leads a specific class.

• Headmistress Crone (voiced by Georgia Brown) - She's the strict principal who runs the school. As her name suggests, she's like a witch. Her family founded the school. She can be tough on troublemakers, but she's a good leader. She took a risk hiring Max, but she knew it was the right choice when he disciplined his unruly class.
  • Clawford (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) - Headmistress Crone's undead cat. He's often seen trying to catch a hunchbacked rat named Bella.
• Boneyard (voiced by Brock Peters) - A tall, white-haired staff member who looks like an undertaker. He does many jobs, like driving the bus, teaching driver's ed, and running the school newspaper's printing press.
• Coach Cadaver (voiced by Jonathan Winters) - A strict, hot-headed zombie gym teacher. His head is stitched together, so his brain can be removed! He doesn't like Max's students, calling them "misfits," and he didn't want Max hired. Most of the other teachers don't like his attitude.
• Miss Dirge (voiced by Eileen Brennan) - A teacher who looks like the Bride of Frankenstein. She seems to like Max a little, saying some monster women find human men attractive. Her name "Dirge" means a sad funeral song.
• Chef Sal Monella (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A monster chef who works in the school cafeteria. Sal is proud of his messy kitchen. His name is a funny play on the word "salmonella" (a type of food poisoning).
• Mr. Tutner (voiced by Tim Curry) - A 5,000-year-old mummy history teacher with bad breath. He wears sunglasses, a coat, and a tie. Like Cleofatra, he's a bit chubby, which is different from how mummies are usually shown. He gets along well with Max.
• Miss Webner (voiced by Sandra Gould) - As her name suggests, she's a spider-woman with six arms and two legs.

Episode Guide

Voice Cast

Here are the talented actors who gave voices to the characters:

• Rick Moranis as Max Schneider
• Shari Belafonte as Blanche
• Eileen Brennan as Miss Dirge
• Georgia Brown as Headmistress Crone
• Tim Curry as Mr. Tutner
• Barry Gordon as Reggie Moonshroud, Seymour
• Sandra Gould as Miss Webner
• Jackie Earle Haley as Gill Waterman
• Ricki Lake as Cleofatra
• Maurice LaMarche as Sid, Chef Sal Monella
• Brock Peters as Boneyard
• Kimmy Robertson as Duzer
• Roger Rose as Vinnie Stoker
• Frank Welker as Frankentyke, J.P. Ghastly, Clawford, Elephant Boy, Rover, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Jonathan Winters as Coach Cadaver

Additional Voices

Many other actors lent their voices to the show:

• Charlie Adler
• Lewis Arquette
• Susan Blu
• Sorrell Booke as Big Daddy (in "Monster Gumbo")
• Pat Buttram as Inspector Nitpicker (in "Save Our School")
• Ruth Buzzi as Miss Fresno (in "Monster on Trial")
• Hamilton Camp as Tucker (in "Goodbye Gravedale")
• Dena Dietrich
• Joan Gerber
• Phil Hartman as Billy Headstone (in "Cleo's Pen Pal")
• David Lander
• Mitzi McCall
• Edie McClurg
• Tom McHugh
• Howard Morris
• Robert Ridgely
• Richard Sanders
• Russi Taylor
• B.J. Ward
• William Woodson as Judge Killjoy (in "Monster on Trial")

Production Team

• Gordon Hunt - Recording Director
• Jamie Thomason - Talent Coordinator
• Kris Zimmerman - Animation Casting Director

See also

In Spanish: Gravedale High para niños