Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja is an animated television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas for Disney XD.Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja at DisneyXDMedianet.com It was produced by Titmouse, Inc., and Boulder Media Limited for Disney's London-based content hub. Many of the character designs were supplied by Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim. The first episode premiered on Disney XD on August 13, 2012,Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja at Cartoon BrewRandy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja at TVGuide.com and the final episode premiered on July 27, 2015. Voice direction for the series was done by Ginny McSwain. Shaun Cashman was the supervising director.
The show's pilot and bible was leaked online at 4chan, in April 2024.
Plot A town called Norrisville has been protected by a ninja for 800 years, but what the citizens of Norrisville do not know is that a new ninja is selected every four years. Randy Cunningham, a teenage boy who is a freshman at Norrisville High School, is the next ninja. Now, Randy must protect Norrisville from the evil plans of the Sorcerer, his ally Hannibal McFist, and Hannibal's assistant Willem Viceroy.
Characters
Main characters Randall "Randy" Cunningham / Ninja (voiced by Ben Schwartz) – A Norrisville High freshman who was chosen to be the "Ninja", a mystic warrior who protects the school and the city from any danger that threatens the safety of people. Randy is depicted as being lazy yet outgoing and humorous, displaying a witty sense of humor, but he also strives to do what is right no matter what while going through the typical day-to-day life of a teenager. Howard Weinerman (voiced by Andrew Caldwell) – Howard is Randy's overweight, rude, and troublesome Jewish best friend and the only one who knows his secret identity as the Ninja.
Villains The Sorcerer (voiced by Tim Curry in season 1, Ben Cross in season 2) – An 800-year-old master of the dark arts who is determined to destroy his nemesis, the Ninja. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Sorcerer was imprisoned in a hole that is now located beneath Norrisville High School. The Sorcerer's main weapon is "stank", a magical ability that he uses to temporarily turn people into monsters. Hannibal McFist (voiced by John DiMaggio) – The owner and CEO of McFist Industries and the Ninja's archenemy. While everyone in Norrisville views McFist as a benevolent businessman, he has secretly made a deal to help the Sorcerer destroy the Ninja in exchange for the power of McFist's choosing. When Stankified by the Sorcerer, he becomes a large blue crab-like monster with long hair and his brain becomes a sentient red claw. Willem Viceroy III (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – Viceroy is a scientist that works at McFist Industries and is responsible for all robots that attack the Ninja. Psycho-Bot (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – A robotic scorpion programmed to copy the moves of the ninja and emotions. Robo-Apes (voiced by John DiMaggio) – A group of robotic gorillas. Krackenstein (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) – A Frankenstein-like robot with six arms who is the first robot to be shown in the series. Punkbots (voiced by Billy Idol in season 1 and Robin Atkin Downes in season 2) – Three robots created to rouse the McSatchlé Store as part of their latest plan to destroy the ninja. The Punkbots appear in the second season as the rulers of Scrap City. Ninja-bot – A robot version of the ninja who has the same abilities as the ninja. Steve Riley – A robot who disguised itself as one of Flackville High School's chess players. He was programmed with every chess move ever played and single-handedly defeated the whole Norrisville High Chess Team. Franz Nukid (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) – A robot created to infiltrate the school and learn the Ninja's identity. Slaying Mantis – A robotic mantis who is sent to attack the ninja during his vacation. Rhinosaurus – A robotic rhinoceros who can release gas and summons anyone's worst nightmare. Robo-Elves – Robotic elves who serves as security guards in the Christmas Party of McFist. Robo-Snowman – A robotic snowman who is used to destroy the ninja in the Christmas Party. Robo-Frog – A robotic frog. Robo-Spiders – A robotic spider. Robo-Snakes – A robotic snake. Robo-Lizard – A robotic chameleon. Robo-Cyclops – A cycloptic robot. Jerry Driscoll (voiced by Andy Dick) – Mrs. Driscoll's deceased mad scientist husband, who spent his time building doomsday devices that could destroy the world and the universe when he was alive. Driscoll now carries his skeleton around at all times. The Disciplinarian (voiced by Andy Richter) – The tour guide for Detention Island. He hates cheating and will go out of his way to try to kill cheaters if they are on his island. Mac Antfee (voiced by David Koechner) – A former Ninja who operated in the 1980s and was stripped of the ninja suit after being "condemned for conduct unbecoming of a ninja". Man-Gong – Mac Antfee's right-hand man. Catfish Booray (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A psychotic Cajun swamp man who lives in the swamp behind the school. The Sorceress (voiced by Jennifer Tilly) – The Sorcerer's girlfriend. Like the Sorcerer, she can use the "stank" ability as well. Evil Julian (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) – Evil Julian is an evil version of Julian who was created when Julian came in contact with one of the Sorcerer's Power Balls. Brawn Brickwall (voiced by Matt Berry) – A famous author, hunter, and adventurer from Norrisville. Todd Principal/PAL (voiced by Paul Reubens) – A program created by the Norrisville high school board to ensure the kids to behave in class. Queen Gabnidine (voiced by Jon Lovitz) – The Queen of the Intraterrestrials from The Evil Mantle-Dwellers. She has the odd verbal tic of ending nearly all her sentences with a long drawn-out, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?" She is just a made up person by Howard. Whoopee 2 (voiced by Bill Hader) – An evil version of Whoopee who is built by Viceroy replacing the original. NomiRandy (voiced by Ben Schwartz) – An alternate Randy created by the Nomicon to teach him a lesson about balance. Halloweenja – The Ninja's suit infused with power, who can turn anything to horrors.
Recurring characters Beauregarde "Bucky" O'Brien (voiced by Scott Menville) – A wimpy and often bullied, unpopular student of Norrisville High who is a member of the school's marching band, in which he plays the triangle. He always makes jokes or comebacks, followed up with a "Zing!". Howard doesn't like him yet Randy enjoys his company. Bucky is shown to be vulnerable enough to be turned into a purple fish-like monster with long eyes by the Sorcerer constantly. Bashford "Bash" Johnson (voiced by Dave Wittenberg) – A school bully who is the Norrisville High football team's "Crushin' Carp" quarterback as well as being McFist's stepson. When Stankified by the Sorcerer, he is transformed into a yellow monster with large arms. Heidi Weinerman (voiced by Cassie Scerbo) – Howard's atttactive, stylish, and popular older sister and the host of "Heidi@School!", an online gossip report that focuses on current events in both Norrisville High School and in Norrisville. Heidi is generally depicted as the school's queen bee due to her high social status and her self-important, egotistical attitude, hence why Howard often enjoys messing with her. As a running gag, she mispronounces Randy's name. When Stankified by the Sorceress, she is transformed into a blue dog-like creature. Theresa Fowler (voiced by Sarah Hyland from season 1-2, Grey DeLisle in Winner Takes Ball) – A shy, clumsy, and unpopular Norrisville High student who also has a crush on Randy, who appears to like her as well. When she is Stankified by the Sorcerer, she is transformed into a green plant-like monster. Debbie Kang (voiced by Piper Curda) – An intelligent and hardworking straight-A student who is an aspiring journalist, serving as the chief writer for the Norrisville High School's school newspaper, but has a bossy personality and shares has a rivalry with Heidi. Debbie is also best friends with Theresa, sharing many of the same girly interests as her, although she doesn't get along with Randy and Howard despite Theresa's insistence. She is among the few people aside from Howard who knows Randy is the Ninja. When Debbie is Stankified by the Sorcerer, she is transformed into a porcupine-like monster. Principal Irving Slimovitz (voiced by Jim Rash) – The nervous yet optimistic principal of Norrisville High School. When he was stankified by the Sorcerer, Irving turns into a tiger-like creature. Marcie McFist (voiced by April Stewart) – The perky yet easily annoyed wife of Hannibal McFist and mother of Bash Johnson. Doug (voiced by Scott Thomas) – A Norrisville High student. When Stankified by the Sorcerer, he becomes a carp-like monster. Flute Girl (voiced by Grey DeLisle) – Nerdy girl who plays the flute in the Norrisville High marching band. She has been stankified into three different forms: the first one was a two-headed one-legged monster (when combined with Stevens), the second was a Tyrannosaurus-like creature, and the third was a purple dog-like creature. Rachel (voiced by Laura Marano) – The clarinet player in the Norrisville High marching band. When Stankified by the Sorcerer, Rachel is transformed into an enormous cat monster. Stevens (voiced by Tom Kenny) – The trombone player in the Norrisville High marching band, he always wears sunglasses and hardly talks. When he was Stankified by the Sorcerer, he combined with Flute Girl to form a two-headed one-legged monster. Julian (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) – A goth student who is seen wearing a purple top hat, a purple suit, and sports vampiric features such as false fangs. Whenever he is Stankified by the Sorcerer, he is transformed into a spider-like monster. Coach Green (voiced by John Oliver) – Randy and Howard's insane gym teacher as well as Norrisville High's "Wave Slayers" water ski team coach. Morgan Belding (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) – The leader of Norrisville High's "Dancing Fish" dance squad, Morgan is a popular girl with a punk-inspired look, a snarky attitude and a smug voice. Later episodes reveal that Howard has an unrequited crush on her, as opposed to Theresa's crush on Randy. When Morgan's entire group (except herself) is stankified by the Sorcerer, they turn into multicolored shark-like creatures. When Stankified by the Sorceress, she is transformed into a green dog-like creature. S. Thomas Smith (voiced by John Witherspoon in season 1 and Gary Anthony Williams in season 2) – The blind metal shop teacher at Norrisville High School and swordsmith. Mrs. Marlene Driscoll (voiced by Megan Mullally) – Randy and Howard's science teacher. She keeps the bones of her dead husband and likes to talk through him like a ventriloquist dummy. Pradeep (voiced by Parvesh Cheena) – An Indian-American student who plays the French horn in the Norrisville High marching band. When he is Stankified by the Sorcerer, he is transformed into a green monster.
Other characters Mr. Bannister (voiced by Neil Flynn) – Randy and Howard's strict English teacher at Norrisville High who particularly does not like Howard (and vice-versa). Ms. Crabapple (voiced by Grey DeLisle) – The strict and militant music teacher and coach of the Norrisville High marching band. Mick (voiced by John DiMaggio) – A football player on Norrisville High School's football team who is Bash Johnson's best friend. Juggo (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) – A student at Norrisville High School who dresses like a clown every day. His known talent is juggling while on a unicycle. When he is Stankified by the Sorcerer, he is transformed into a four-armed clown monster with long eyes and sharp teeth.