''Braceface'' is a coming-of-age teen drama

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

co-produced by

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

and Jade Animation (Shenzhen) Company that aired on

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

(now known as "Cartoon Network" in Canada). The show features U.S. actress

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...

from the teen comedy film ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...

'' (who also voiced the title character for the first two seasons) serving as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

. The episodes focus on the misadventures of Sharon Spitz, a high school student who often struggles with an unusual ability occurring in her braces, which often makes mishaps in her daily life. Although considered to be an iconic feature in the series, later episodes started to drop this narrative in favour of tackling real-life issues. Unlike most animated TV shows which take place in fictional cities or states/provinces, etc., this one takes place in the real-life town of

Elkford Elkford is a district municipality in the southeast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia in the Rocky Mountain range. It is north of the junction at Sparwood, on provincial Highway 43. Outdoor recreational activities take place ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Summary

The show, set in

, depicts the travails of a teenaged Sharon Spitz (a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

, "sharing spit" being a euphemism for kissing), who is a

junior high Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

school student with braces that get in the way of leading a normal

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

life. Mainly, her braces are somehow electrically charged at all times, giving her strange abilities such as remotely operating machinery, tapping into wireless communication channels, and even discharging electricity directly into what's in front of her, though much of these abilities are often outside her control. In the first season, she is enrolled at

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

Junior High, but later on, the show progresses her into attending

High School.

Cast and characters

*Sharon Esther Spitz (voiced by

in seasons 1–2 and Stacey DePass in the third and final season) is the lead character of the show. She is of partial Jewish heritage. She is the middle child of the family. *Adam Francis Spitz (voiced by

Dan Petronijevic Daniel Petronijevic (born March 28, 1981), known professionally as Dan Petronijevic, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in various feature films, including the '' American Pie'' franchise, and in TV shows such as '' 19-2'', '' Playmakers'', '' ...

) is Sharon and Josh's older brother. *Josh Spitz (voiced by

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

) is Sharon and Adam's younger brother. *Helen Spitz (voiced by

Tamara Bernier Evans Tamara Bernier Evans (born Tamara Michele Bernier; June 6, 1974) is a Canadian actress, musician, producer and director. Early life She was raised in North Bay, Ontario, by teachers Joanne Scott and Raymond Bernier. Her sister, Trista Bernier ...

) is Sharon, Josh and Adam's divorced mother. *Maria Wong (voiced by

Marnie McPhail Marnie McPhail-Diamond is an American-born Canadian actress and musician. She began her career starring as Annie Edison in the CBC Television children's series ''The Edison Twins'' (1984–1986)."Movie based on real baby snatching" by Tony Ather ...

) is Sharon's classmate and best friend, who is interracial and is of mixed Chinese and Italian heritage. She is also Brock Leighton's girlfriend. *Connor MacKenzie (voiced by

Peter Oldring Peter James Edward Oldring (born August 25, 1971) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Early life Oldring was born on August 25, 1971, in Drayton Valley, Alberta. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School in 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, ...

) is another one of Sharon's classmates and best friends. *Alden Jones (voiced by

Vince Corazza Vincent "Vince" Corazza is a Canadian actor, known for playing the roles of Alden Jones in the television series '' Braceface'', Mr. Schickadance on the '' Ace Ventura'' animated series and Darien Shields/Tuxedo Mask in the anime ''Sailor Moon' ...

) is Sharon's crush at school and boyfriend. They later broke up. Sharon and Alden eventually got back together in the show's final episode. *Nina Harper (voiced by

Katie Griffin Katie Griffin (born January 14, 1973) is a Canadian actress and singer who has appeared on television, films and voiced animations. Her roles include the voices of Sailor Mars in the original English Canadian dub of ''Sailor Moon'', Lauren in ' ...

) is Sharon's rival and ex-best friend. *Brock Leighton (voiced by

Daniel DeSanto Daniel DeSanto is a Canadian actor. Early life Raised in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, DeSanto made his acting debut at the age of 8 as the lead protagonist in ''Brown Bread Sandwiches'' (a.k.a. ''La famiglia Buonanotte''), a film about Ita ...

) is Alden's best friend/bandmate and Maria's boyfriend, who is of African-Caribbean heritage. *Alyson Malitski (voiced by

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire is a Canadian-American actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy ''Boy Meets Girl (1998 film), Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film ''Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series ' ...

) is Nina's ex-best friend and later Sharon's new friend. She is soon having a relationship with Connor. *Hannah Corbett (voiced by Elisa Moolecherry) is the Spitzes' next-door neighbour and Adam's girlfriend.

Episodes

Production

The show was produced by the Canadian animation studio

Nelvana Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

and Jade Animation (Shenzhen) in China, with the additional pre-production work done by

Studio B Productions Studio B Productions, Inc. (sometimes known as just Studio B and later known as DHX Media Vancouver) was a Canadian animation studio and production company founded by Blair Peters and Chris Bartleman in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1988. The ...

(Vancouverand

Atomic Cartoons Atomic Cartoons, Inc. is a Canadian animation studio founded in 1999 by Trevor Bentley, Mauro Casalese, Olaf Miller, and former Warner Bros. Animation employee Rob Davies. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, it produces service animation for a w ...

Reception

Sarah Wenk from ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series three out of five stars, stating "ultimately it's rather lightweight and, well, cartoony. There's nothing wrong with that, but it could use a bit more substance and less silliness." Nancy Wellons from ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' stated "What could be a wonderful premise about the struggle of adolescents to confirm and yet remain individuals instead turns into a half-hour full of inane jokes, cliched characters and bad dialogue." Evan Levine from ''Newspaper Enterprise Assn.'' wrote, "The brace subplot sometimes adds an uneasy note — is it fantasy? — and can be vaguely confusing. But the show holds the possibility of being a clever takeoff of the preteen years, whether you have braces or not." Jeanne Spreier from

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. It was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, allowing the latter to become the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States at the time ...

wrote, "''Braceface'' takes a refreshingly light look at junior high challenges — boys, braces, friends, popularity, parents, school — without giving in to nastiness, violence, ill-will or dejection." In 2004, the episode "Ms. Spitz Goes to Warsch & Stone" won an award at the

Environmental Media Awards The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message. The Environmental Media Association (EMA) is a non-profit organization cre ...

Telecast and home media

Mainly, it ran on

(now as "Cartoon Network" in Canada) from June 30, 2001 until September 1, 2004. Corus' linear network

Nickelodeon Canada Nickelodeon is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel based on the American cable network of the same name owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment under a brand licensing agreement with the Paramount ...

aired repeats of the show on early school mornings at 4:00 AM from February 28, 2022, until August 26, 2024. YTV also aired repeats for some months in 2024. Internationally, the show originally aired on

Fox Family Channel American cable and satellite television network Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes during its history. This article details th ...

(now as "Freeform") in the U.S. for the first season beginning on June 2, 2001, with repeats on the rebranded

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

until May 26, 2003.

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

later aired repeats and premiered new episodes from May 2, 2004, until September 1, 2005, but some episodes were edited for content and time. Four episodes ("The Worst Date Ever. Period", "Miami Vices", "Whose Life Is It, Anyway?" and "Grey Matters") were skipped from Disney Channel airings due to their content. Half of season 2 (episodes 16 through 26) and the entirety of season 3 (such as "Busted") never aired in the U.S. until years later when services stream. The opening theme music was also notably shortened during the show's US airings on Fox/ABC Family and Disney Channel. The show aired on

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...

and Fox8 in Australia, and Channel 5 along

Pop Girl Pop Girl was a free-to-air children's television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by CSC Media Group (formerly Chart Show Channels), a company associated with the makers of '' The Chart Show'', a television programme that had previously ...

in the United Kingdom. It also aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in Germany and South Africa. In India, the series aired on

Star One Star One was an Indian pay television channel based in Mumbai and owned by Star TV, with worldwide distribution handled by Fox International Channels. Launched on 1 November 2004, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky in November 2006. Sta ...

. It aired in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

RTÉ Two (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Republic of Ireland, Irish Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, television, RT� ...

from September 3, 2001, until 2005. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the show was aired on STAR Plus Japan. In the Netherlands, the show aired on now-defunct Fox Kids/Jetix. In Eastern Europe, it aired on

Minimax Minimax (sometimes Minmax, MM or saddle point) is a decision rule used in artificial intelligence, decision theory, combinatorial game theory, statistics, and philosophy for ''minimizing'' the possible loss function, loss for a Worst-case scenari ...

. In Canada, DVD releases of the show were released by KaBOOM! Entertainment, and in the United States, DVDs were released by

Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC is an American entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand streaming service. The company was founded as Funimation in May 1 ...

. In the United Kingdom, Maverick Entertainment released a DVD, titled "Brace Yourself" in 2006, which contains the first four episodes. Fremantle Home Entertainment later released two more DVDs. Currently, the show is now streaming on both networks, FilmRise Kids and

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

. The show is also available to stream in pay on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

, Apple TV,

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

, and episodes 1–13 on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

(thru Corus' Keep It Weird Channel).

Planned reboot

In a podcast interview with The Relunchables, the show's creator Melissa Clark revealed that, as early as 2015, she was in talks with Corus' Nelvana about a ''Braceface'' reboot that would be set 20 years after the original series. She said that Nelvana had wanted her to write the pilot and first three episodes, and that they would be in contact to discuss further details, but they never reached back out.

References

External links

Official site
*
Production website
{{ABC Family 2001 Canadian television series debuts 2001 animated television series debuts 2004 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian animated comedy television series 2000s Canadian children's television series 2000s Chinese animated television series 2000s Canadian teen sitcoms 2000s Canadian teen drama television series Canadian children's animated comedy television series 2001 Chinese television series debuts 2004 Chinese television series endings Chinese children's animated comedy television series Canadian English-language television shows Funimation Middle school television series Canadian teen animated television series Teletoon original programming Fox Family Channel original programming ABC Family original programming Fox Kids Disney Channel original programming Television series by Nelvana Television shows set in British Columbia