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| “ | Hey, leave him alone! If he wants to wear karate clothes, let him! At least he's brave enough to be himself. | „ |
| ~ Penny standing up for Gumball in "The Gi," also foreshadowing her transformation. |
Penelope "Penny" Fitzgerald is a major character in Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball franchise.
She is the love interest-turned-girlfriend of Gumball Watterson, the protagonist. She is also a student in Miss Simian's class at Elmore Jr. High and a member of the school's cheerleading team.
Gumball and Penny have always had massive crushes on each other, but the two struggled to express their feelings until the episode "The Shell," when Gumball finally confesses and the two kiss; they have been dating ever since. Penny was also part of the Treehouse Girls until it was disbanded due to the treehouse being cut down by Tobias Wilson and Banana Joe.
She is the daughter of Patrick and Judith Fitzgerald, older sister of Polly Fitzgerald, and cousin of Leslie.
She is voiced by Teresa Gallagher, who also voices Nicole Watterson and Teri in the same series.
Quick Answers
How did Penny Fitzgerald's relationship with Gumball begin?
What episode features Penny Fitzgerald's true form reveal?
What role does Penny play in Elmore Jr. High's cheerleading team?
Why is Penny Fitzgerald a key character in Gumball's life?
How does Penny Fitzgerald influence Gumball's character development?
Appearance[]
Peanut[]
In Season 1, Penny was a tall, light brown, anthropomorphic peanut. Like the rest of her family, she had a set of antlers that grew out of her head. She wore orange slippers with white knee socks and red and white wristbands.
In Season 2, the design of Penny's shell was slightly altered. Previously, it was rounded and shaped more like her father's, but it was curved into an hourglass-like shape that more closely resembles her sister's and her mother's. Her antlers also became darker and smaller. Also, the holes in the shell on her arms were removed.
Fairy Form[]
In Season 3, the episode "The Shell" revealed that Penny underneath her shell is a glowing, shape-shifting, fairy-like creature. She can shape-shift into any creature, depending on her emotions, but her default form is a yellow-orange gradient fairy-like humanoid with antlers. Her body takes on the shape of her shell, and the upper half of her body gets progressively lighter shades of orange and yellow in coloration. Her real eyes and mouth are now seen, and she also has visible white eyelashes connected to her eyes. She also has wings, which she can use to hover above the ground.
Personality[]
Penny is a very nice and friendly individual, often seen sticking up for her friends and others, showing that she has a strong sense of integrity. She stands out among the students at Elmore Jr. High for being uniquely mature, calm, emotionally and academically intelligent, and compassionate overall. She usually speaks in a soft and comforting tone of voice.
She is one of the few people to understand Gumball, whom she has a crush on. The feeling is mutual, but neither of them had ever had a chance to properly express their evident feelings until "The Shell." She will often act as the "voice of reason" around her boyfriend, contrasting his antics and impulsive behavior with consideration and rationality. She is also very lenient, patient, and forgiving towards him, and is quick to let him off the hook when he does something wrong, along with others.
Despite her generally good-natured personality, she can be fairly irritable on occasion, such as when she became angry (even resorting to deception) at her father in the episode "The Knights," because he forbid her from seeing the Wattersons due to their antics, and growing tired of the conflict between Gumball and Tobias in the same episode. She can also be rather cruel, sassy, snarky and sarcastic. Such is often aimed at Tobias and his poor attempts to woo her. Penny can also be harsh, as in "The Amadain," she enacts payback against Gumball for taking her father's side by humiliating him for the rest of the night.
She is also very athletic, as she is an excellent cheerleader, and was/is part of the synchronized swimming club. Also, in "The Dress," she was one of the first people to finish running around the track.
Without her shell, she is very self-conscious and sensitive, running away at the first sign that someone believes her true form to be monstrous. Even worse, she transforms into the said monster as she runs away, fulfilling their expectations and seemingly believing it to be true herself. After coming to terms with herself, though, she has become more open and enthusiastic. She later argues to her family that it is important for them and herself to embrace their true nature.
"The Promposal" exists to show that, given the right conditions, Penny can be just as ridiculous and theatrical as Gumball, despite her "no big gestures!" rule in "The Romantic." Feeling lackluster because Gumball's expectations for a super-complicated romantic gesture belittle her humbler and "vanilla" ideas (like a simple poem), Penny needs to deliver, and ultimately succeeds with a harebrained scheme of faking her own death before "reviving" to lively music. She stands up majestically wearing a sparkling dress with fireworks going off behind her, only to claim it was for Tobias instead.
An overwhelmed Gumball ends up in the hospital as a result, but even though his face is terribly disfigured under the bandages since his skin literally melted off, he's happy that she matched his energy.
Abilities[]
Shapeshifting[]
According to whatever emotion she is feeling, Penny can transform into a wide variety of creatures. Notable examples include her transforming into a dragon or gorgon when angry, or into a frail mouse when she feels inadequate or scared. In each form, she also gains the abilities relevant to the creature. For instance, Penny gains flight and fire breath in the case of her dragon form, heightened mobility in her flying squirrel form, high strength in her Minotaur form, and the ability to sprint fast in her jackalope and mouse form.
Flight[]
In her fairy form, she has wings, but they mostly seem to give her the ability to hover slightly above the ground as opposed to the ability to outright fly.
Quotes[]
| “ | Banana Joe: By the power of the banana, it is my duty to ask if there's anyone here who has any reason why Gumball and Penny should not be joined in marriage. Penny: Actually, I've got more than one reason. Firstly, I'm twelve and so are you. Secondly, you didn't even propose to me. You're just trying to marry me in the school corridor. (…) And finally, this is not a wedding ring. It's a bagel! But you know what? That shouldn't stop you from asking me again in twenty years. |
„ |
| ~ Penny to Gumball in "The End." |
| “ | I think he's awesome. | „ |
| ~ Penny on Gumball in "The Party." |
| “ | Gumball: Penny! Penny: What? Gumball: Can you throw me my sword?! Penny: You mean your broom? |
„ |
| ~ Penny annoyed at Gumball fighting Tobias in "The Knights." |
| “ | Get your hands off him. you undead, ectoplasmic, transparent, paranormal, spooky, floating, fringe-flicking freak! | „ |
| ~ Penny possessed by Jealousy in "The Flower" after Carrie touches Gumball. |
| “ | What are they talking about? (Darwin splashes Penny with a milkshake again) Darwin! | „ |
| ~ Penny in "The Storm." |
| “ | Masami, look into your heart! You're not a violent perso- (Gets electrocuted) …Ok, Gumball, your turn. | „ |
| ~ Penny trying to reason with Masami in "The Storm." |
| “ | Penny: Don't worry, we'll pull you out! Gumball: Wait, I got a better idea! Penny: Too late (Pushes Gumball). |
„ |
| ~ Penny in "The Storm." |
| “ | Penny: Okay. It's the… It's the real me. Gumball: Get outta here! …Can I see? Penny: No, no one can see! My dad would go nuts. |
„ |
| ~ Penny in "The Shell" after being asked what's beneath her shell. |
| “ | He's right, Dad. Everyone in the family has spent their whole lives hiding from themselves. | „ |
| ~ Penny in "The Shell." |
| “ | You're right… You're RIGHT! I'm gonna do it. (…) Ok, here we go. I'm gonna be… MYSELF! | „ |
| ~ Penny upon breaking free from her shell. |
| “ | Don't look at me! I'm a (Demonic voice) MONSTER! | „ |
| ~ Penny shortly after her transformation. |
| “ | Gumball, please tell my father that the monster has gone to live in the forest… with all the other BEASTS! | „ |
| ~ Penny about herself in "The Shell." |
| “ | Gumball: You know, uh… I was trying to protect you back there. Penny: Yes, I know. Gumball: But… do you know why? Penny: Yes, I know why. But just look at me. What will you think of me when people laugh at us? Gumball: No offense, but you kinda looked like a coconut with holes in it before. Penny: But do you really think you can love THIS?!?! Gumball: That's not who you are. It's how you feel. And this is how I feel. (Gumball kisses Penny on the lips, which lifts her heart and spirits.) |
„ |
| ~ Penny comforted by Gumball when the latter comforts her on her true form before their first kiss in "The Shell." |
| “ | Stop with the cards, just… talk to me. | „ |
| ~ Penny to Gumball in "The Bros." |
| “ | Miss Simian: Are you crazy? Hasn't anyone heard of the Butterfly Effect? Tobias: Oh yeah… It's my chick magnet dance move. Penny: Oh! That works really well with my dance move! Tobias: Nice, girl! What's that move called? Penny: The bug spray. |
„ |
| ~ Penny rejecting Tobias in "The Butterfly." |
| “ | Penny: Look! You need to take things a little easier, okay? By which I mean less terrifyingly intense. Gumball: Gotcha. No more marriage proposals and stuff. Penny: And no big gestures! |
„ |
| ~ Penny in "The Romantic." |
| “ | Penny powers, TRANSFORMATION! | „ |
| ~ Penny in "The Romantic." |
| “ | ARE YOU INSANE?! | „ |
| ~ Penny yelling at Gumball in "The Romantic." |
| “ | Red Riding Hood is pretty bizarre, (Shape-shifts into her wolf form) where a wolf dresses up as a girl's grandma. | „ |
| ~ Penny in "The Blame." |
| “ | If we follow that logic, the ancestors before those ancestors were primates, and yet I've never seen you guys eating each other's lice. | „ |
| ~ Penny on her family's shell tradition in "The Transformation." |
| “ | Well, I'm sure he still hates you. He's just not…in hate with you. | „ |
| ~ Penny to Gumball about Rob in "The Ex." |
| “ | Don't worry. I'm sure there's someone out there that wants to destroy you. Irate neighbors, outraged friends, humiliated teachers; the list is endless. | „ |
| ~ Penny in "The Ex" after Rob stops hating Gumball. |
| “ | Gumball: You've got no idea what it's like to feel under-appreciated! Penny: I think I do. |
„ |
| ~ Penny to Gumball in "The Ex" after he ignored her to obsess over Rob all day. |
| “ | Gumball: Penny, please. I'm the most responsible kid I know! Penny: I agree. Usually, when something goes wrong, you're the one responsible. |
„ |
| ~ Penny in "The Mess." |
| “ | Gumball! | „ |
| ~ Penny in multiple episodes, also her first and last words in the original series. |
Trivia[]
- Penny was originally pitched to Nickelodeon as a potential mascot that had a gun.[1]
- Penny has the most major roles of any character that is not a Watterson with fifteen, with Rob as second.
- Furthermore, both Rob and Penny are the only two characters to undergo a permanent, canonical design change in Season 3, and have strong relationships with Gumball, with Penny being his girlfriend and Rob being his arch-nemesis.
- Penny's gorgon form was cut in some dubs.
- In the Icelandic dub, Penny was renamed "Jenný" due to the fact that "Penny" is unfit for the Icelandic declension.
- In the Italian dub, she was renamed "Nocciolina," which translates to "Peanut."
- Penny is allergic to blueberries. This is first revealed in "The Dream." She mentions this allergy again in an Elmore Plus status update in "The Voice." It is then seen again in "The Romantic."
- In "The Flower," it is stated that Penny's tonsils are not yet taken out.
- In "The Void," it is shown that Penny's limbs can detach in her peanut form when she falls from a great height.
- As seen in "The Club," Penny is enrolled in the synchronized swimming club, which also includes Darwin, Leslie, and an unnamed dog.
- In "The Romantic," it is revealed that Penny and Gumball met each other in the mall and they talked to each other on the school bus.
- In "The Blame," when she is singing "Books Are Violent," she transforms into a wolf on command in spite of the fact that it is usually dictated by her emotions. It's possible she gained better control of her powers, though it could also be a mere inconsistency.
- A running gag exist where Penny begins choking right in front of Gumball, who is oblivious to it happening.
- Penny is the only member of the Fitzgerald family to break out of her shell permanently.
- Penny is revealed to be a Capricorn by Mr. Small in "The Astrological," suggesting her birthday falls somewhere between December 22nd and January 21st.
- Penny's name was confirmed to be "Penelope" in "The Amadain" when Patrick refers to her as such, indicating that "Penny" is a shortened nickname.
References[]
External Links[]
- Penny Fitzgerald on the The Amazing World of Gumball Wiki
- Penny Fitzgerald on the Heroic Benchmark Wiki
- Penny Fitzgerald on the Love Exalted Wiki
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Watterson Family Fitzgerald Family Elmore Junior High Elmore Citizens Others | ||