The Cramp Twins
The Cramp Twins is an animated series created by cartoonist Brian Wood. The show was produced in association with Cartoon Network Europe. It is about Lucien Cramp (Kath Soucie) and Wayne Cramp (Tom Kenny), not-so identical twins who live with their hygiene-obsessed mother (Nicole Oliver) and their Western-obsessed father (Ian James Corlett) in the fictional town of Soap City, where cleanliness is a way of life and any concern about nature will make you a pariah. Sadly, but obviously, neither get along. Wayne's friend is Dirty Joe (Lee Tockar) and the girl that has a crush on him is Wendy Winkle (Jayne Paterson), though he hates her. His enemies are Miss. Hillary Hissy (Cathy Weseluck, who also plays Tony's mom, Lily, and Mrs. Winkle) and Lucien's friends are Tony Parsons (Terry Klassen who also plays Tony's dad, Seth) and Mari and Luke Harrison (Adam Little).
The series season one premiered in the UK in September 2001 on Cartoon Network (UK) and on February 2, 2002 on CBBC on BBC One respectively and has reached high popularity with children. Season one ended on 21 June 2002. A second season premiered in Autumn 2003. Season 2 finished in 2003. Season 3 started in 2004 and ended in 2005. Season 4 began in 2006 and ended that same year. A fifth season was planned by never made.
Tropes used in The Cramp Twins include:
- Abusive Parents: Mr and Mrs Cramp generally neglect Lucien, prime example being the episode where Wayne has a harp and they generally forget Lucien even exists until the end of the episode. Oddly enough, Lucien recognised what was happening but it's never brought up again and never dealt with.
- Mrs Cramp has a habit of whipping up dangerous cleansers which she often tries to test on the children, one of them was powerful enough to burn through Lucien's jumper.
- Adults Are Useless: All Wayne has to do to convince anyone that he's 'a good boy' or get his brother into trouble (sometimes both) is put on a sweet voice, Which is made worse by the fact that everybody knows just how rotten Wayne is but they continue to fall for it.
- Subverted in one episode where his mother actually does not fall for it.
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Wayne: (Fake voice) Please, mommy? I'm a good boy. |
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- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Wendy Winkle...
- On the other hand, it's possibly a subversion as Wendy is literally the only girl who isn't repulsed by Wayne.
- Not to mention isn't much more pleasant a character than Wayne either.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Other than regular white and black skin tones, characters can also have blue/purple, yellow or green skin...
- Berserk Button: For Mrs. Cramp, pretty much any dirt or mess of any sort is enough to set her off.
- Her mother is apparently allowed to insult her family and cooking though, they don't matter.
- Cain and Abel: Wayne and Lucien Cramp, and how.
- Child-Hater: Miss Hissy isn't subtle about her contempt for children. A notable example happens when she narrates some footage about children working in the past, talking about the "good days" and trying to have the projector shut off before the film reveals itself to be a documentary about the horrors of child labor.
- Comically Missing the Point: In the episode where Lucien has to use the bathroom but can't because of Wayne, he walks in on a cleaning club meeting that his mother is in and tells her that Wayne is fishing in the toilet. After her friends leave she gets mad...because Lucien embarrassed her in front of the cleaning club.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Winkle
- Cross-Dressing Voices: Lucien is voiced by a woman, which makes Wayne's insult of "girlpants" somewhat apt.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Mr Winkle is formerly a swamp person, an embarrassing secret his former friends are willing to blackmail with whenever he tries to screw them over.
- Different As Night and Day: Wayne and Lucien. Just...Wayne and Lucien.
- Evil Twin: Wayne Cramp.
- Growing Up Sucks: The first episode involves Lucien making Wayne think he's a man (It Makes Sense in Context). Initially, he enjoys it, but by the end of the episode he's desperate to become a 'kid' again.
- Hair-Raising Hare: One is the focus of the episode "Hankenstein" where Wayne becomes fond of the titular rabbit that wrecks everything in its path and attacks several characters until the rabbit is seemingly pacified for good. At the end, he discovers that "Hankenstein" has feral offspring and promptly gets attacked.
- Henpecked Husband: Mr Cramp, at times. Concerning cleanliness and potential filth, he can be outright terrified of Mrs Cramp.
- He has little if any backbone in general.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: Lucien and Tony.
- Insufferable Genius: Lucien Cramp is a good deal smarter than most other residents of Soap City, but knows it all too well and can be rather obnoxious and self serving on occasion.
- It really backfired on him when he thought Mari's parents were behind a terrorist plot to sell glasses by causing carcrashers It was his own complaint after an embaressing afternoon that made everything that happened possible.
- Ironic Echo: In one episode, Wayne influences a bunch of little kids to be vandals and assailants. When approached by the cops, the little kids use Wayne's usual "I'm a good boy" line that results in Wayne getting arrested.
- Jerkass: Wayne Cramp.
- A good portion of the cast fit this trope: Mr/Mrs Cramp, Miss Hissy, Wendy Winkle (she once stole Tony's sister's doll just cause.), Rodeo Rita.
- Special notice goes to the Twins' grandmother who, while under the impression that she was being targeted by wolves, tried to set up Lucien and Wayne as bait, risking their lives to save her own. After she believes they were eaten (it's revealed that the "wolves" were just sounds made by their grandfather so that he could have a poker night to himself), she delivers the news to the parents. Her response to their shock and worry? "Life's rough!" and demands that they give her food as a guest.
- Mama Bear: When she's not obsessing over keeping the house clean, Mrs. Cramp is often a kind and protective mother.
- Mega Corp: Hazcam has it's own police force which can be dispatched to steal away children's toys, or even arrest people for not being obsessed with cleaning.
- Nobody Poops: Completely averted. In fact, one episode is centered around Lucien desperately needing the bathroom, but being unable to go because Wayne is fishing in the toilet. However, they never actually mention the word 'poop':
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Lucien: Oooh... he's been fishing in there all morning! |
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- Tony proved quite slow in that scene.
- Premiseville: The series takes place in Soap City, which is fitting for two reasons. First, there's a soap factory there. Second, many of the residents (but particularly Mrs. Cramp) are obsessed with cleanliness.
- Slasher Smile: Wayne's default expression
- Soapbox Sadie: Lucien at his worst. At one point he attempts to make a convoluted deduction about a scam concerning neighbourhood fence positioning, only to find out it was in fact due to a previous Soapbox Sadie incident where he complained that their previous structure could trap kids heads.
- Spoiled Brat: Wendy Winkle, oh so much.
- Stalker with a Crush: Again, Wendy Winkle.
- Super OCD: Mrs Cramp, with her hygiene obsession.
- Teens Are Short: OK, the main characters aren't actually teens: they're ten-year-olds. Still, the kids are WAY shorter than they should be when compared to the adults. For example, Lucien and Wayne are literally half their parents' height.
- Too Dumb to Live: Mr/Mrs Cramp, Wendy and Miss Hissy all manage this in one episode. Wayne manages to convince them that Lucien used magic to send him to another dimension.
- Two-Teacher School
- The Unfavorite: Played with. Since both twins have quirks that both please and repulse their parents (Lucien is smart and gifted but also a nature lover, while Wayne is a deranged and obsessed with garbage but favors their industrial ways), both of them seem to take turns being rejected or favored.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Wayne. Lucien in some of his more self righteous bouts can act as one too.