The American animated sitcom Craig of the Creek features a cast created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin. The series focuses on a trio of kids, collectively referred to as the "Stump Kids," led by Craig (voiced by Philip Solomon), a young boy who wants to explore and map the wide and mysterious creek located in the fictional suburban town of Herkleton, Maryland. His companions include Kelsey (voiced by Georgie Kidder in the pilot and the first 3 episodes and Noël Wells in episodes 4–180), a young "warrior" girl with an active imagination and a lust for adventure, and J.P. (voiced by H. Michael Croner), a goofy and kind-hearted boy who likes to take things easy. In season four, they are joined by Omar (voiced by Zeno Robinson) a quiet, but very adventurous boy. The four of them attend different schools with the Creek being the only thing that brings them together.
Main Craig Williams
Craig Williams is a 10-year-old African-American boy who enjoys playing at the creek with his friends Kelsey and J.P. He is a natural leader and always tries to help kids in need. Craig is never without his turquoise bag filled with "important" items, and carries a staff, made from a stair banister pole that he once got his head stuck in. Craig seems to know his way around the creek and worships its importance to the kids in Herkleton. He sets his sights on wanting to explore the creek for his own amusement and chart out everything. Because of this, he takes on the role of a cartographer at the creek as he usually draws maps and is asked by others to map or plot things for them. In "Escape from Family Dinner," it is implied that Craig is smart to some degree as he takes advanced math and admits that he likes the class. He also seems capable of knowing the answers to a math question just by looking at it for a few seconds. He also displays a great deal of building and construction which he inherited from his grandfather as seen in "Brother Builder." His favorite franchise is Slide the Ferret, a pastiche of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Craig can become power hungry or obsessive as seen in "Ace of Squares" and "Bug City." The reason for this might lead back to his relationship with Bernard. However, by the end of both episodes, he overcomes these urges. He is also convinced of supernatural or above average forces such as in "Doorway to Helen" (thinking that Helen was communicating to him from another dimension) and "The Last Kid in the Creek" (believing that he wished he was the only kid in the Creek), despite clear evidence to the more obvious and practical reasoning (Helen has a different schedule from Craig and all the other kids caught a virus from Kit). He can sometimes be pretty closed-minded as well, as he tends to ignore other people's advice in favor of his own, though he eventually sees reason. He is also self-conscious about the shape of his head; becoming embarrassed when commented on its odd appearance, but amused when given an endearing compliment such as when Sparkle Cadet said it was "cute."
Craig maintains a great relationship with his family except for Bernard whom he has a love-hate relationship. As seen in "Bring Out Your Beast" however, deep down it is implied that he simply wants to connect with him as his brother had a tendency to push him away when he was younger. The closest relationship he has is with his grandfather, Earl, who seems to have an adventurous spirit similar to Craig. Craig also cares for his two friends Kelsey and J.P. who in return look to him for guidance. He, along with his friends, all seem to be well known at the Creek, most likely for their various heroic endeavors. Craig has been viewed as something of an adviser and aide to the various factions of the Creek and has managed to enter the good graces of many, such as the Sewer Queen. His ability to be diplomatic has allowed him to form the Creek Council, a council consisting of him, Kelsey, J.P. and the leaders of the various factions of the creek.
Craig can be stubborn when it comes to maintaining some semblance of his childhood. In "The Evolution of Craig", he worried that he would turn into someone like Bernard and grow up into someone boring. In "Cousin of the Creek", he was slightly miffed when his cousin seemed to lack the enthusiasm they once shared when they were younger, though by the end they managed to find common ground. He ultimately wants to maintain his carefree nature throughout his life but learns that it is also important to show some maturity. He takes his role in the Creek very seriously to the point that he has managed to garner some self-importance. In "Tea Timer's Ball", he humorously believed that Eliza was trying to get back at him for humiliating her in the past, when in actuality she was trying to get back at Sailor Boy for not being invited to his yacht. He later took comfort in the fact that he had numerous other rivals and enemies at the Creek.
Craig has had annoying interactions with Wildernessa due to her dismissive attitude towards him. In truth, she actually has a crush on him. In "Breaking the Ice", he calls her out on her actions, which leads to her apologizing and expressing her emotions (in the form of a bird mating call). After helping to rescue her dog, Cheesesticks, in "Puppy Love", they reveal their mutual feelings for each other and Craig starts calling her by her real name Vanessa.
In "Alternate Creekiverse", Craig is shown to be a dutiful forest scout who is still obsessed with exploring and takes his job as a protector much more seriously. In "Craig to the Future", Craig is a commission artist who works with Kit and is in a relationship with Vanessa, though he has lost touch with the other Stump Kids.
Kelsey Pokoly
Kelsey Pokoly is a 9-year-old girl with red hair who is one of Craig's friends. She is always seen wearing a cape. She has a pet parakeet, which she identifies as a falcon, named Mortimor who is usually perched on top of her head. Kelsey is adventurous and tends to be overly dramatic. She has internal narrations that the others are seemingly aware of. She is raised by her single widower father. Though she apparently won't admit it, Kelsey seems to slightly suffer from loneliness due to always being home alone without any parents to watch her for a long time. In "Body Swap", she openly expresses interest in having siblings to her father. In "The Invitation" Kelsey is revealed to be Hungarian after presenting a dish of Chicken paprikash. In "Doorway to Helen", it is revealed that Kelsey is Jewish. It is implied that her obsession with fantasy came from her mother, who died some time ago, and has been inspired to write her book called Robyn and the Snow Sword. In "The Other Side: The Tournament", she is revealed to be a fan of the show Steven Universe.
Kelsey is under the belief that she is the lead hero in her own story and that one day her adventures will be written down. She carries a sword made from PVC pipe that was "bestowed" on her by a warehouse worker ironically named Piper. Despite it being a harmless blunt toy, it is shown to be very effective in combat, though it gets destroyed in "The Other Side" and rebuilt by "Camper on the Run". She wears a bluish-purple cape that she is seldom seen without and may have possibly come from her mother. Aside from that, Kelsey has a short temper and can be very feisty and curt in situations. From time to time, she has to be held back by Craig and J.P. whenever she begins to act out. In "Kelsey Quest", it is shown that whenever she is intimidated or put down, she can become self-degrading and her internal monologues begin to stall. Because of this, she needs the comfort and support of her friends.
Kelsey loves her father, who is the only person besides Mortimor who she has to rely on. In return, her father supports her fantasies. Kelsey is very close to Craig and J.P. She views the former as her equal in terms of adventuring and the latter as a simple, naive sidekick of sorts. She nevertheless cares for them dearly. Besides them, she appears to be close friends with Maney of the Horse Girls, who acts as her steed in "battle", Stacks, who provides interesting talks over various books of fantasy and sci-fi origin and has shown strong admiration towards Wildernessa and her animal conservationist efforts. In "Tea Timer's Ball", she learns that a boy named Aaron has a crush on her. Despite accepting his offer to attend a dance, she admits that she does not have any romantic feelings for him. She was later revealed via Twitter by show writer Jeff Trammell, to be a lesbian as well In the episode "Wildernessa" it is shown that Kelsey had a crush on Wildernessa.Jeff Trammell (@MrJeffTrammell): She is 👍🏿". Jul 2, 2021. Twitter. This culminated in the episode "Fire and Ice" where she realizes that she has feelings for Stacks and, following a supportive conversation with Kat, chooses to pursue a relationship with her. In "Heart of the Forest", Xavier points out he wasn’t going to betray them but since they except Craig believed he was they motivated/wanted him to do it, Craig agrees what they did was disgraceful much to Kelsey's reaction.
In "Alternate Creekiverse", Kelsey is a member of the ninja kids, but is not as well adapted as them. She also has a mouse instead of a parakeet. In "Craig to the Future", Kelsey is close friends with Maya and they both take part in wrestling. She initially had broken up with Stacks for a week, but gets back together with her.
John Paul (J.P.) Mercer
John Paul (J.P.) Mercer is a tall, 11-year-old boy with a Southern accent who is one of Craig's friends. He wears a hockey jersey that is clearly too big for him. He is shown to be a weirdo, but is very helpful and kind to those around him. In "Under the Overpass", Craig stated that he and Kelsey "found" J.P. through their constant exploration, but in Craig Before the Creek, it is revealed that they met him among pirates. He maintains an open minded attitude about things and hardly shows any prejudice whatsoever. These traits most likely come from his sister Laura who taught him that "all bodies are beautiful". He is also more likely to get dirty than either Craig or Kelsey which does not seem to bother him, but does occasionally irritate others. According to his mother, J.P. cannot stand directly in the sun for more than twenty seconds, otherwise "he'll combust".
Due to having a simple mind set, J.P. is at times shown to be incapable of taking care of himself and sometimes needs to rely on his friends for support. On the other hand, he gets along well with younger kids. As J.P. is older than his friends, he does wish to be more responsible as seen in "Sunday Clothes". He has a much more practical mindset and occasionally shows more discipline as he once berated Craig for getting angry and will at least attempt to take initiative whenever he or Kelsey are not up to the task. He is also willing to put them above anything else and considers them his lifelong companions.