Nightmare Ned (video game)/Characters

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Characters of the TV show and Video game Nightmare Ned.

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Needlemeyer Family

Ned Needlemeyer

Voiced by Courtland Mead

The main character of both the Nightmare Ned video game and TV show. He is a bald-headed, glasses-wearing, 10-year-old boy who has a hyperactive imagination, using it to deal with his fears, troubles, and anxieties through dark and quirky nightmares. He lives with his mother, his father, and baby sister. He also has a grandfather named Ted Needlemeyer, but he has only appeared in the video game.

• Butt Monkey
• Catch Phrase: "Eat my yo-yo!"
• Face Your Fears
• Gender Bender: The episode "Girl Trouble" revolves around this, after Ned goes into the girl's bathroom at school by mistake (because of a prank by Conrad and Vernon) He dreams about being a girl, whom Both Conrad and Vernon fall for in the episode.
• Kid Hero
• Killer Yoyo: Ned's primary weapon, and all purpose tool in the game.
• Nerd
• Out-of-Character Moment: One episode had a camp counselor telling scary stories, scaring his charges... Except Ned, who nonchalantly explains why they're all garbage.
• Risky Business Dance: In the video game intro, when Ned learns his parents won't be home for a while.
• The So-Called Coward

Ed Needlemeyer

Voiced by Brad Garrett in the TV series

Although he tries to comprehend Ned's nightmare dilemmas, it does not occurs often, as he is constantly confused by them. In the video game, he is only a supporting character and does not speak a single line during the game's course, but plays a bigger role in the TV series.

• It's Quiet... Too Quiet: In the final episode, Ned's dad says this when he comes home from work. This is immediately subverted in that nothing sinister is going on at all.
• Minor Injury Overreaction: Ned freaks out over losing his tooth, despite the fact he's lost every other one of his baby teeth.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: In the opening to the very last episode, Ned's dad seems to think he's in some kind of mystery or suspense show. This is quickly dropped when the focus shifts to Ned.
• Determinator: As his dream-world counterpart—Captain Dad—in the Willie Trout episode.
  • Losing Your Head: His reason for hunting Willie Trout.

Mrs. Needlemeyer

Voiced by Victoria Jackson in the TV series Voiced by Lani Minella in the video game

Sensitive and caring, she seems to understand Ned more than his father.

• Hartman Hips
• The Other Darrin: Ned's mom in the show versus his Mom in the video game. This is very noticeable because, in the show, she was voiced by the very distinct-sounding Victoria Jackson.

Others

Conrad and Vernon

Voiced by Kevin West (Conrad), Dan Castellaneta (Vernon)

Shadows

• Eldritch Abominations: The "Shadow creatures" that serve as bosses in the video game take their forms from Ned's fears, but the good ending indicates that they exist outside of and apart from him, and upon defeat are removed from his head rather than outright destroyed. Interestingly, they don't need his fear to survive, and seem to be tormenting him for no reason other than boredom.
• Five-Bad Band
• Heel Face Turn: Each of the Shadows by the end of the game.
  • Even more so when, if the game ends well: The Shadows' true forms help Ned defeat his final fear and the true Big Bad: a giant, morbid version of himself.
• Living Shadows
• The Rival: Between the School Shadow and the Bathroom Shadow.

Graveyard Shadow/Ted Needlemeyer

"Time to bury all your [twirls scythe] troubles, Ned!"

Voiced by Harry Anderson

• Big Bad: Being the oldest and with an appearance reminiscent of Death itself, The Graveyard Shadow is widely considered as the main villain of the game.
• Chekhov's Pun/ Foreshadowing (Literally!): At the start of the game, the Graveyard Shadow tells Ned "I'm just dying for you to visit!" When the Shadow's true identity is revealed, he is shown to be Ned's grandfather, Ted, who tells him that he's been wanting to spend some time with him.
• The Grim Reaper
• Implied Death Threat: The Graveyard Shadow's opening line.
• Nice Hat
• The Idealist: As Ted Needlemeyer.

Medical Shadow/Dr. Klutzchnik

"Don't worry... [brandishes her needle fingers at Ned] this won't hurt a bit!"

Voiced by Alexandra Wentworth

• Ax Crazy
• The Dragon: The Medical Shadow is often known for fighting over the lead with the Graveyard shadow.
• Mad Doctor/ Depraved Dentist

School Shadow/Billy Blatfield

"Hey, Ned! I'm gonna teach you a lesson."

Voiced by Jeff Cesario

• Bully
  • Subverted when it turns out he only wanted to be Ned's friend, but was too ashamed of telling him.
• I Shall Taunt You/ Trash Talk: "Hey, everyone! It's 'Make Fun of Ned Day', also known as 'Melonhead Day'! HAHAHAHAHA!"
  • In addition, almost everything said from the School Shadow to Ned is either a taunt or a threat.
    • It should also be noted that the true identity of the Shadow takes a large effect on the reason for its excessive taunting.
• Jerkass
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As Billy.

Bathroom Shadow

"I have a hakerin'... for a Ned sandwich."

• The Fool: The Bathroom Shadow plays the sort of idiot of the group of Shadows.
  • Subverted at the end where he turns out to be a sort of intellectual.
• Laughably Evil: The Bathroom Shadow... He is essentially a talking toilet. (I mean, talk about Toilet Humour!)
  • In addition, he surprisingly imparts an intellectual speech to Ned about his future, and also tells him to quit flushing banana peels.

Attic, Basement, and Beyond Shadow/Sally

"[first head] Terrible... [second head] Hideous... [both] Surprises!"

Voiced by Jill Fischer

• The Confidant: Sandy Patty-Cake
• Maddened Into Misanthropy: Also Loners Are Freaks, The Hermit, and possibly even the spirit of the Madwoman in the Attic. Throughout the game, she shows little interest in interacting with the other Shadows and would much rather spend her time trying to creep Ned out.
  • Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Subverted at the end, when it turns out that the Shadow was actually a sweet, albeit eccentic, little girl that just enjoyed some occasional solitude her strange fantasy realm, which she calls her "secret treasure chest".
• Psychopathic Manchild
• Speak in Unison
  • It should also be noted that the Shadow is two headed, yet often acts and speaks as one, also referring to itself as "we".
• Shout-Out: On its second transition, the main body of the Shadow holds the other head in a way reminiscent to Hamlet.
• Strange Girl: The Attic, Basement, and Beyond Shadow turns out to be a little girl named Sally and her doll named Sandy Patty Cake that she found on the trash. She calls the Attic, Basement and Beyond her "secret treasure chest" and has Ned to promise never to tell about it.

Nightmare dwellers

Grave digger

• Black Comedian
  • Subverted by the fact he probably wasn't even trying to be funny.
• The Cynic
• Hard Work Hardly Works: He continues to intently dig the same grave, unrelentlessly, to no effect whatsoever...
• Workaholic

Clogging Trio

• Our Demons Are Different: Grenny (Four Legged Clog), Cyco (Toilet-Paper Cyclops), and Truddy. Definitely not your average bathroom toilet clogs.
• Terrible Trio

Dragon

Voiced by Edie McClurg

• Our Dragons Are Different
• Talking Beast
• The Storyteller
  • Shout-Out: Two of the dragon's stories are from Alivn Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark and its sequel.

Madame Leota

"A rolling stone gathers no moss...Sorry, wrong dream!"

• Fan Nickname
• Fortune Teller: The accented, mechanical gypsy-esque woman with who tries to tell Ned how to get out from the room.
  • Subverted by the fact most of her hints are either terrible or just lame puns.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: At one point, after getting frustrated with him and tells him she's "got a break coming up!"

Human Pack-Mule

• Berserk Button: Reaction to his favorite below.
• Civilized Animal
• Half-Human Hybrid
• The Voiceless
• Your Favorite: Giant, morbid ladybug. Who could resist?!

Attic, Basement and Beyond clan

• Dysfunctional Family
  • It is hinted that Strange and True may possible relatives to Mrs. Salt and Glution due to the fact they have portraits around each other in the main hall.
    • Something else very interesting to note is that Ned's mother has a portrait next to theirs, as well, hinting furthermore that she may have been Sally the little girl.

The "Amazing Twins!" aka, Strange and True

• Catchphrase Spouting Duo: Literally; "Key, key, who's got the key?" is repeated by Strange and True, among their other bitter ramblings.
• Conjoined Twins: Continuously bickering, seemingly a pair of performers, whom at the time, are seen juggling bombs and possibly a key.
• Creepy Twins
• Multiple Head Case: Very much so.
• Street Performers

Mrs. Salt

• Berserk Button: SALT.
• Laughing Mad
• Split Personality/ Mood Swinger: At first, she is seen as jittery, anxious, and nervous, but next moment, after she gets her salt, she turns wild; grunting and hollering, gleefully tossing the salt around, and coveting it with a madman's grin.

Glution

• Fat Slob
• Unmoving Plaid

Weird, Wild, and Wonderful

• Art Shift: Highly constitutes as Nightmare Fuel.
• Body Horror
• Frankenstein's Monsters: A likely possibility.
• Gonks
• Mix-and-Match Critters
• Terrible Trio

Snake Dogs

• Rule of Three
• The Reveal: First appear to be incredibly long snakes, but later turn out to be three, orange and black, hungry, mexican-style dogs.