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Are you going to your troop meeting? Can I come? |
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Benjamin "Ben" Higgenbottom[2] is Bessie's 7-year-old younger brother.[3] He hopes to become the sidekick to his sister, Bessie, when and if she becomes The Mighty B.[4]
It was originally stated that Ben was six in the pilot episode "So Happy Together," with Bessie saying this again in "Ben Appetit." Sometime afterward, Ben turned seven years old, as his Nicktoons profile (on the defunct Nicktoons website) states his age as 7.
Ben is sensitive and has a tendency to be sarcastic, but adores his older sister, whom he views as a hero. He and Happy usually don't see eye to eye, often vying for Bessie's attention. Ben is voiced by Andy Richter.[5]
Personality[]
Ben is a thumb-sucking scaredy-cat, but hopes to be Bessie's sidekick when she becomes the Mighty Bee.[6] His Nicktoons profile claims he has wanted this ever since "[he] could sit up." He isn't quite there yet, so Bessie often refers to him as her "trial sidekick" or says that she'd "possibly consider [him] for sidekick candidacy."
Described as a "noodge" by co-creator Cynthia True,[7] Ben has a tendency to whine and gets upset easily. However, the always loyal Ben[8] looks up to his sister[9] and will usually help her when needed.[10]
Though he won’t admit it, Ben feels his sidekick position was compromised when Happy came into the picture, hence Ben and Happy’s unspoken rivalry.[7] Ironically enough, it was Ben who first discovered Happy and got Bessie's attention. Continuing with the sidekick theme, Ben wore a red cape often early in the series,[11] but this became a rare sight by the second season. Ben often comes up with Bessie's ideas while she takes the credit.[12]
As Bessie’s only sibling, Ben tends to get stuck wearing a girly costume (a nurse in “Apoxalypse Now” and a fishnet-clad assistant in “Hat Trick”), but he puts up with it if it’ll help Bessie get a badge. He's often accompanied by Mr. Pants, a teddy bear who he talks to and plays with.
In "Ben Appetit," a rare glimpse into Ben's past, we learn that Ben had a fear of foods touching because Bessie used to mash his food together when they were little, though he conquered this fear thanks to his sister. One of Ben's favorite foods is ice cream (especially shuttle popsicles and ice cream sandwiches), and he becomes quite upset when he is refused to have it ("Ben Screams For Ice Cream").
Ben is often seen reading comic books and watching TV shows featuring superheroes, examples being "Super Secret Weakness" and "Doppelfinger." In both "So Happy Together" and "We Got the Bee" he is shown to have musical talent, playing the tuba (it appears to be a sousaphone) and drums. "Hen and Bappy" shows he has interest in being an actor, as he attended theater camp and was preparing for a role he wanted the year before. Despite his young age, he is shown to be very adept at technology in "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" and "Higgenbottom's 7."
In "O Brother, What Art Thou?," Ben thinks that Happy is taking his place as future sidekick so he decides to get revenge on Bessie by becoming The Hurtful Hornet with Mr. Pants being Mr. Evil Pants. Only for it to result in a big misunderstanding and Ben turning good again and Mr. Evil Pants behind bars.
Physical appearance[]
Ben is a short, pudgy child with light skin. He has brown hair that spikes upwards in the front. Ben wears a sky-blue short sleeved shirt and blue pants with black Velcro shoes, in addition to a red cape that is held together around his neck with a single black button (though most pieces of official art for the show depict it being tied instead). He wears this cape rarely during season 2.
As of season 2, his hair color became a darker shade.
Likes[]
- Mr. Pants
- Bessie Higgenbottom
- Being Bessie's sidekick
- Hilary Higgenbottom
- Cool stuff
- Phonebook-inator
- Comic books
- Food
- the Tuba
- Acting
- Arts & Crafts
- Penny Lefkowitz
- Rocky Rhodes
- Happy Higgenbottom (at times)
- SeaCucumber Colony
- The Blue Lake River Toilet Cakes commercial jingle
Dislikes[]
- Wearing girly costumes
- Portia Gibbons
- Happy Higgenbotom (at times)
- His food touching (formerly)
- Scary things
- Something bad happening to Mr. Pants
Relationships[]
Bessie Higgenbottom[]
Ben is Bessie's younger brother. He wants to become Bessie's sidekick when she becomes The Mighty B, but always gets into some sort of consequence that goes along with their missions. Ben would always help Bessie get the badge as hard as he can however. Bessie calls Ben "loyal and trustworthy" in "O Brother, What Art Thou?," showing she appreciates Ben's help.
In "The League of Ordinary Gentlemen" however, he tried as hard as he could to NOT have Bessie join the Gentlemen's Club. He also is the scapegoat of Bessie's troubles and ideas, even to the point where Bessie takes his ideas without crediting him. Also, he is seen forced to do ridiculous things for Bessie just for her to receive a badge, such as wearing feminine tights to appeal as her assistant and was snubbed by her when he tried to tell her Happy was missing (Bessie, being ignorant to listen, was only focusing on the badge).
Happy Higgenbottom[]
Ben usually has this unnoticed rivalry between him and Happy. Ben thinks that ever since Happy came into the picture that he would become Bessie's sidekick and not Ben. This causes jealousy to fester between the two. Ben is shown to not view Happy in high regard, calling him derogatory names like "Dog" and "Four Legs" more than his actual name. Happy in turn often grins whenever Bessie reprimands Ben. However, they will work together if it means making sure Bessie is safe or needs to be helped out of a jam. He and Happy's adversarial relationship is further explored in "Hen and Bappy," where the boy and dog switch bodies.
Hilary Higgenbottom[]
Ben has a great relationship with his mom. You could say he's a "mamma's boy". When Ben points out the robot was his idea in "Artificial Unintelligence," she sides with Ben and tells Bessie to let her little brother help. She expresses concern for Ben when it becomes apparent he is sick in "Apoxalypse Now," only to have chicken pox shortly after. However, Hilary can get overwhelmed by Ben when she is busy with other tasks and he demands her attention, as seen in "Hen and Bappy" and "Ben Appetit." Later, in "Catatonic," she reprimands Ben for ignoring her warnings and still using the plunger in the house, threatening that if he disobeys her once more, he won't go trick-or-treating.
Penny Lefkowitz[]
He and Penny speak to each other for the first time in "An I See Bee," though they had previously helped Bessie find her weakness in "Super Secret Weakness." Although they aren't very close, it can be inferred the two are friends. Ben and Penny often help Bessie in her schemes, ranging from her magic act in "Hat Trick" to getting The Hive back in "Hive Jacked."
Portia Gibbons[]
Although Portia had seen Ben in previous episodes (i.e., "Beenedict Arnold"), the two don't have a conversation until "Hat Trick." Though never shown, it has been mentioned in "Gorillas in the Midst" that Portia would usually boss him around. In the same episode, when Bessie switches places with Ben, Portia falls in love with Bessie thinking that she's Ben. Until, she finds Bessie and Ben switching back to normal thus Portia falling out of love despite Portia holding the "I love Ben" sign when returning to the crowd.
Gwen Wu[]
As with Penny, Ben rarely interacts with Gwen; their first conversation was in "Hat Trick." Ben distracts Gwen while Bessie attempts to get infected with Gwen's Brothers' chicken pox in "Apoxalypse Now." In that episode, Gwen sarcastically says "Nice dress" to Ben (who was dressed in a nurse's outfit), with Ben insisting it is a smock. He is shown to be intimidated by her in "Name Shame," when she and Portia were on a mission to find out Bessie's middle name. She later tells Ben to find cheat codes in "Dang it Feels Good to Be a Gamester" while the girls were obsessed with Raspberry Shortcake Space Attack V.
The Hippie[]
Ben meets The Hippie in "Bat Mitzvah Crashers," though they don't speak to each other until "Hen and Bappy." In that episode, The Hippie accidentally microwaves magicquitos instead of taquitos, which causes Ben and Happy to switch bodies. He and The Hippie are later seen being a part of a gentleman's club in "The League of Ordinary Gentlemen," which shows the two are friends.
Mary Frances Gibbons[]
Interaction between Ben and Mary Frances is rarely seen. When trying to rescue Happy in "Beenedict Arnold," Ben created a distraction by running around on all fours and howling like a dog. This prompts Mary Frances to state "Well, the Higgenbottom boy is deranged." Their only other interaction is in "Gorillas in the Midst," wherein Ben, unbeknownst to the others, masquerades as Bessie while Bessie tries to become a member of the Gorillas. Mary Frances finds the sudden personality change of who she believes is Bessie odd, but doesn't question it.
Rocky Rhodes[]
He and Rocky are shown to be on friendly terms, making fun of Portia and Precious at the Honeybee Dog Show in "So Happy Together," both while Portia and her dog are on the catwalk and later rubbing in the fact she had been kissing a rat the entire time instead of a dog. The two joke about farting in "Toot Toot," later helping Bessie be reinstated in the Honeybees later that episode.
Appearances[]
- Main article: Ben Higgenbottom/Appearances
Gallery[]
- Main article: Ben Higgenbottom/Gallery
Trivia[]
- Likes boxing, as he enjoyed doing so with Emily in "Artificial Unintelligence."
- His favorite drink seems to be apple juice, as he is shown drinking it in "Artificial Unintelligence" and Bessie mentions him loving it in "Dang It Feels Good to Be a Gamester."
- Ben seems to be an Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants fan, as team stickers are visible on his bedroom wall in "We Got the Bee." It also shows he has a train set.
- Owns a laptop, per "Bat Mitzvah Crashers."
- As a toddler, Ben lived in Marin, California, as his mother mentions in "Apoxalypse Now" the family were goat herders living in Marin at the time Bessie had the chicken pox.
- Owns a Game Toy! and personal fridge, as seen in "Ben Appetit."
- The aforementioned episode shows Ben has an unusually great memory, able to remember things from when he was a baby, a newborn and even before his birth.
- Seems to have an interest in clowns, as he has a door about the subject in his subconscious and is reading a book with one on the cover in "Ben Appetit."
- He mentions wanting to go to space camp and do synchronized swimming in "Ben Screams For Ice Cream."
- Revealed in "Dirty Happy" that he wears argyle socks.
- Enjoys drawing, as he has several drawings on his bedroom wall in "Hairy Situation."
- Revealed to be a fan of the Sugar Boys in "Bee Plus One."
- Ben wears an Elvis Presley-esque suit "when he feels handsome," revealed in "Sleepless in San Francisco."
- "It's B's Party" shows that on his sixth birthday, Bessie held a surprise party for him.
- Ben may be allergic to cats, as he says "my allergies" after coming in contact with them in "B-Chip." However, he didn't have an allergic reaction towards Bessie like Hilary did in "Catatonic," indicating it may have been the product used in the catboxes he was allergic to.
- Bessie claims in "O Brother, What Art Thou?" that Ben is due for a growth spurt.
- "Gorillas in the Midst" reveals the following:
- Ben wants green cargo pants.
- Owns a red wagon.
- Capable of doing French braids.
- Bessie states eating is one of his talents.
- Ben's opening quote from the show's website, which no longer exists: "My mom says I'm cool."
- During the design phase, goggles and a mask were considered for Ben's sidekick getup before the creators decided on him wearing a cape.[13]
References[]
- ↑ This is Ben's "dog name," which he picked himself and insisted being called while serving as Bessie's dog in "Beenedict Arnold."
- ↑ Addressed as Benjamin for the first time in "We Got the Bee"
- ↑ Stewart, Susan (April 25, 2008). Animated Look at the Virtue of Keeping on Keeping On. The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ↑ Bellafante, Ginia (April 20, 2008). Television. The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. Page 688. McFarland & Company. Second edition. International standard book number 9780786486410.
- ↑ Perlmutter, David (March 13, 2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. Page 328. McFarland & Company. International standard book number 9781476614885.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Liu, Ed (April 21, 2008). NYCC 2008: Bouncing Off the Walls at "The Mighty B!" Panel. Anime Super Hero. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ↑ Overview: The Mighty B!. Nick Press. Archived via the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 10, 2020. Quote: "her ever-loyal younger brother Benjamin (voiced by Andy Richter)"
- ↑ Lowry, Brian (April 23, 2008). The Mighty B!. Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ↑ PR Newswire (April 8, 2008). Bee Prepared To Catch the Buzz When The Mighty B! Flies to Nickelodeon Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT). Business Insider. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ↑ Television: Optimistic ‘Mighty B!’ revels in joys of childhood. April 30, 2008. The Mercury News. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ↑ Liu, Ed (March 4, 2009). "The Mighty B! We Got the Bee" is More Admired than Loved. Anime Super Hero. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ↑ Beck, Jerry (October 29, 2007). Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!. Page 271. Melcher Media. International standard book number 9781595910431.
External links[]
- Ben's profile on Nicktoons.com, archived via the Wayback Machine
See also[]
- Hilary's Café, Ben's home
- Category:Episodes focused on Ben, episodes where Ben is the primary focus