Agent Wendy Pleakley is a fictional alien from the Disney
animatedAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
Lilo & StitchLilo & Stitch is a American film produced by Walt Disney Pictures on June 21, 2002. The forty-second animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, it was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, and features the voices of Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden...
and its subsequent works. He works for the "Galactic Federation", and acts as its expert on the
planetA planet , is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
, when in reality he does not know much. He reluctantly becomes
Dr. Jumba Jookiba'sDr. Jumba Jookiba is an alien from the movie and television series Lilo & Stitch and the creator of one of the stars of the series, Experiment 626 or "Stitch." He is an overweight, mostly purple-skinned alien, with dark pink skin on his chest, stomach and under his arms...
partner when forced to assist the scientist in capturing the escaped
Experiment 626 (Stitch)Stitch is the name of the genetic experiment 626, a fictional alien protagonist from the Lilo & Stitch films and television program. Originally created to cause chaos across the galaxy, he is marked by his short temper and mischievous behavior, traits that endear him to his friend Lilo,...
, and later becomes his best friend and room mate when the two are stranded on Earth. His species is Plorgonarian.
Pleakley is voiced by
Kids in the HallThe Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
veteran
Kevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
.
Appearance
Pleakley is a thin, yellow alien with three stout legs, a wide mouth with two purple tongues, three elongated fingers on each hand, a round bald head topped with a single small antenna that acts as ear and nose, and one large eye in the middle of his face. His body shape and style of movement resembles the enchanted brooms from
The Sorcerer's ApprenticeThe Sorcerer's Apprentice is the English name of a poem by Goethe, Der Zauberlehrling, written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in fourteen stanzas.-Story:...
sequence of Disney's
FantasiaFantasia is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments...
. He was once described as a "babe magnet" by his brother in the episode "Fibber", which turned out to be true when Fibber's ""buzzing" lie-detector fails to go off. It is likely that his appearance is considered attractive on his home planet, although his general appearance is derisively described as a "one-eyed noodle", by both
HämstervielDoctor Rupert Jacques von Hämsterviel, commonly known as Dr. Hämsterviel, is a main character of the DisneyToon Studios direct-to-video animated film Stitch! The Movie, Leroy and Stitch, an antagonist and a recurring character in the Walt Disney Television Animation television series Lilo & Stitch:...
and
JumbaDr. Jumba Jookiba is an alien from the movie and television series Lilo & Stitch and the creator of one of the stars of the series, Experiment 626 or "Stitch." He is an overweight, mostly purple-skinned alien, with dark pink skin on his chest, stomach and under his arms...
on different occasions in the movies and the series. He remarkably resembles the character Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc.
In "Poxy", much of the workings of Pleakley's internal system are revealed when Lilo and Stitch shrink themselves and enter it to retrieve an infectious experiment. He has no skeletal system and has an extremely small brain (smaller than his eye; Jumba once said that Pleakley has "Too much eye, not enough brain"). His clinic number is 236. In "Mr. Stenchy", his antenna is shown to be a form of sensory organ similar to a human nose (although it functions somewhat differently, allowing Pleakley to ignore or appreciate odors which a human would consider noxious or horrible). In "Yaarp", it is also shown to function as an ear. In "Spike", Nosy reveals that Pleakley dyes his antenna to match his skin because he is going prematurely orange.
Pleakley is shown to be effeminate and dresses in both men's and women's clothing (see cross-dressing below) and often wears a wig. He usually wears his Galactic Alliance uniform on official business and a
muumuuThe muumuu or muumuu is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder. Like the Aloha shirt, muumuu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynesian motifs. Muumuu for local Hawaiian residents are more subdued in tone...
while on Earth.
Name
Pleakley's first name, "Wendy", means "brave warrior" in his planet's native tongue (Florganart). His brother Bertley is incredibly jealous of Wendy's name.
History
In the movie he was called upon to assist
mad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have...
Dr.
Jumba JookibaDr. Jumba Jookiba is an alien from the movie and television series Lilo & Stitch and the creator of one of the stars of the series, Experiment 626 or "Stitch." He is an overweight, mostly purple-skinned alien, with dark pink skin on his chest, stomach and under his arms...
in tracking down
Experiment 626Stitch is the name of the genetic experiment 626, a fictional alien protagonist from the Lilo & Stitch films and television program. Originally created to cause chaos across the galaxy, he is marked by his short temper and mischievous behavior, traits that endear him to his friend Lilo,...
, which had escaped to the planet Earth. He and Jumba were both fired and sentenced to a prison term by the Grand Councilwoman of the planet Turo, for failing to capture Experiment 626. In the subsequent television series, Pleakley and Jumba have remained behind on Earth and has become a member of
Lilo'sLilo Pelekai is the star of the Disney animated film Lilo & Stitch and its subsequent sequels and animated series...
ohanaPart of Hawaiian culture, ohana means family in an extended sense of the term including blood-related, adoptive or intentional. It emphasizes that family are bound together and members must cooperate and remember one another...
, or extended family.
In the television series, he had a brief mock engagement with Nani to placate his pushy visiting mother. In this same episode he also had a mock engagement to Jumba. Pleakley's mother is concerned that he hasn't found "the right girl" and that he is not married. Pleakley feels he must pretend to be married for his mother to approve and accept him. When his family arrives on Earth for the mock wedding of Nani and Pleakley, he reveals that he is happy being who he is, which includes being unmarried. After that his family becomes more understanding of him and loves him for who he is.
Gantu fell in love with him (under the influence of one of Stitch's cousins), mistaking him for a girl. An entire room full of people fell in love with him because of the experiment at the Valentine's Dance, however Lilo's friend Keoni was the only one to have a real crush on him (which didn't last long).
Ultimately as a reward for his help in capturing and taming Jumba's expirements he is granted a position at Galactic Alliance Community College as Head of Earth Studies. He gets an assistant (who is excited to learn he's actually been to Earth), a new wardrobe, and the keys to the college's car pool van but is only a supervising professor and is dissatisfied with not being able to spread his knowledge of Earth and starts to miss Jumba and the rest of Lilo's family. He goes to visit Jumba in the GACC van but gets caught by Hamsterviel and nearly sent into a black hole which Stitch manages to save him, Pleakly and Jumba from. He returns to Earth for the battle with Leroy and his clones and operates the lights during Lilo and Stitch's impromptu Aloha Oe concert (accidentally blinding himself at first). He later quits his job at Galactic Alliance Community College and returns to Earth to be part of Lilo's family once again.
Family
Pleakley's immediate family consists of his mother (voiced by
Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
), his sister Pixley (voiced by
Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
), and his brother Bertley (voiced by
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the long-running sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
).
Mother Pleakley frequently appears throughout the series when Pleakley calls her on his intergalactic cell phone, but doesn't appear in person until "Fibber", where she and Pleakley's siblings visit Earth to attend Pleakley's wedding. She disapproves of Pleakley wearing women's clothing and wishes for him to get married, going as far as setting up an arranged marriage for him (which is standard practice on his native planet). When Pleakley tells her that he's happy being who he is, which includes being unmarried, Mother Pleakley accepts his wishes because she wants him to be happy.
Pixley is CEO of a medium-sized galaxy and has a bathroom in her office, and Bertley claims to hate his brother. Fibber's lie-detection ability reveals that they don't actually dislike Pleakley, but are actually jealous of him.
Pleakley's family makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of
Leroy & StitchLeroy & Stitch is an animated film created by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is a spin-off Disney channel movie of the 2002 animated feature film Lilo & Stitch and the conclusion to the television series Lilo & Stitch: The Series and the franchise as well. The film debuted on the Disney...
where they watch Pleakley receive his reward from the Grand Councilwoman. In
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a GlitchLilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch is a direct-to-video animated film produced by DisneyToon Studios. The film is an interquel, being the direct sequel to the Disney feature film Lilo & Stitch and taking place before the events of Stitch! The Movie and subsequent additions to the franchise...
, Pleakly often talks to his mother by his cell phone, but she does not appear (Jumba also talks to her, because Pleakley's cell phone was the way to call Stitch in the spaceship).
While stranded on Earth, Pleakley joins Lilo's
ohana (extended family) along with Jumba and Stitch. Though they often antagonize each other, Pleakley has a very close relationship with Jumba and they are arguably best friends.
Cross-dressing
Though Pleakley is distinctly a male alien, he is consistently seen
dressing in women's clothingCross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with the other gender within a particular society. The usage of the term, the types of cross-dressing both in modern times and throughout history, an analysis of the behaviour, and historical examples are discussed in the article...
for his enjoyment and dressing in full
dragDrag in its broadest sense means any clothing one wears. However, the traditional use of the term is for any costume or outfit that carries symbolic significance. This usually refers to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of the other gender...
while out among the humans, possibly raising his effeminacy. This hobby began in
Lilo & Stitch where he dressed as a middle-aged woman so he and Jumba could disguise themselves as a vacationing couple. He is shown admiring his wig in a mirror while "off duty", and refuses to let Jumba (who once had long hair, but lost it in an accident involving an experiment) try it on. Pleakley would later don this same wig in
Leroy & Stitch while recollecting the time he spent with Jumba. Pleakley's cross-dressing has led to some speculation and concern among fans that he is gay, although this was never officially proven and he does occasionally wear men's clothing as well.
In
Lilo & Stitch 2, Pleakley begins disguising himself as Lilo's "Auntie Pleakley", while Jumba takes on the alias of "Uncle Jumba". He also dresses as an exchange student named Inga and a
FlamencoFlamenco is a Spanish musical genre with origins in Andalusia. It can be both a musical form, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance characterized by audible footwork. The origins of the term are unclear...
dancer when he tries to help David with his relationship with Nani. In
Stitch! The MovieStitch! The Movie is a direct-to-video animated spinoff of Lilo & Stitch, released on August 26, 2003. It is often considered more of a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series rather than a sequel to the original film. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625...
, Nani is bothered by the fact that Pleakley tries on her clothes when she's not at home. It is also implied that he ordered a
girdleThe word girdle originally meant a belt. In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in popularity.-History:...
despite his unconvincing denial, since it is technically underwear and thus useless for his normal disguise.
Though he enjoys wearing female clothing, he will choose to wear male clothing when the situation calls for it. In an alternate future explored in the episode "Skip", Pleakley spends 10 years locked in his room studying Earth fashion, then becomes a world-famous fashion designer 10 years after that. In "Swirly", Nani says he has more clothes then she has.
Pleakly also usually doesn't wear pants (probably because there are few pants that fit his three legs). In "Slick", Pleakly says that his planet doesn't use money, and "that's why they don't wear pants".
Pleakley's Costumes
- Middle-aged female tourist, Jumba's "ugly wife" (several times throughout the series).
- Lilo's "Aunt Pleakley" (many times throughout the series).
- Traditional Hawaiian hula garb (several times throughout the series).
- A top resembling female Sailor Fuku (Lilo & Stitch 2).
- Inga, a foreign exchange student (Lilo & Stitch 2).
- Spanish Flamenco
Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with origins in Andalusia. It can be both a musical form, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance characterized by audible footwork. The origins of the term are unclear...
dancer (Lilo & Stitch 2).
- Early 20th century female bathing suit (Stitch! The Movie
Stitch! The Movie is a direct-to-video animated spinoff of Lilo & Stitch, released on August 26, 2003. It is often considered more of a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series rather than a sequel to the original film. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625...
).
- Nani's clothes (Stitch! The Movie
Stitch! The Movie is a direct-to-video animated spinoff of Lilo & Stitch, released on August 26, 2003. It is often considered more of a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series rather than a sequel to the original film. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625...
).
- Female disco
Disco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
dancer ("Yin-Yang").
- Renaissance fair queen ("Tank").
- Safari Gear
A safari jacket or bush jacket is a garment originally designed for the purpose of going on safari in the African bush.Popularized by turn-of-the-20th-century Anglo-African adventurers, safari-style jackets were engineered for comfort and function....
("Splodyhead", "Mrs. Hasagawa's Cats").
- Groom's tuxedo ("Fibber").
- Court jester (P.J.)
- Stewardess ("The Asteroid").
- Traditional female European Christmas clothes ("Topper").
- Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday celebrated in the United States honoring African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara...
kaftanA kaftan is a man's cotton or silk cloak buttoned down the front, with full sleeves, reaching to the ankles and worn with a sash....
("Topper").
- Kim Possible
Kimberly Ann Possible is the title character from Disney's animated television series Kim Possible....
.
- A Christmas tree ("Topper").
- Film director ("Angel").
- Detective ("Bonnie & Clyde").
- French maid
French maid refers to a strongly modified style of servant’s dress that evolved from typical maids’ black and white afternoon uniforms of the nineteenth century . The designs of the French maid dress can range widely from a conservative look to very revealing...
("Shoe").
- Stand-up comedian ("Heckler").
- A wig resembling Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day...
's hair ("Rufus").
- Miner (Yaarp).
- Magnificent Man ("Wishy-Washy").
- Kimono("HunkaHunka").
- Russian kaftan ("HunkaHunka").
- Cleopatra ("Spooky").
- Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
("Spooky").
- Toreador ("Spooky").
- Ilsa Lund from the movie, Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean...
("French Fry").
- Female magicians assistant ("Houdini").
- Talent agent/Manager ("Houdini").
- Female tourist ("Yapper").
- Female gardening apparel ("Sprout").
- Naval Captain's uniform ("Retro").
- Fashion guru/Talk show host ("Skip").
Carmen Miranda("Remmy")
Knowledge Of Earth
Even though Pleakely has researched Earth, the facts he's gathered from his research are somewhat questionable, as are the sources of information he has gathered his information from. He was fooled into believing mosquitos were an endangered species in
the first movieLilo & Stitch is a American film produced by Walt Disney Pictures on June 21, 2002. The forty-second animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, it was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, and features the voices of Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden...
. In the episode "Poxy", while Pleakely claimed he had mastered all of Earth's customs, he was eating his cereal with a fork. In the episode "Slugger", he has no knowledge of
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, which made Lilo's baseball team lose to Mertle. He believed that the baseball diamond was an actual diamond, showed up for the baseball game dressed up in a
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
uniform, then a
hockeyHockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick.-Field hockey:...
uniform, and got the strikes in baseball confused with the strikes in
bowling Bowling is a Sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface either into objects called pins or to get close to a target ball. There are many forms of bowling, with one of the most recent being ten-pin bowling and the earliest dating back to ancient...
. However, he is very good at basketball, which he says is virtually similar to a sport on his home planet at which he's a champion, briznolabrak. He also believes that
ThanksgivingThanksgiving may refer to:*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the second Monday in October.*Thanksgiving...
is celebrated every month. He also believes yulelogs are edible, and was shown cooking one. He also seems to have no knowledge of reruns, as he was seen preparing a Christmas dinner in the episode "Nosy" after watching a rerun of "Helen The Hostess", believing that since she was the hostess, that Helen knew what was best. A running gag is that he also thinks mosquitoes are an endangered species, and he
only wanted Lilo and humans to be alive to keep the mosquito species alive too, although it is unknown why he wants to protect
the mosquitoes. However, he was attacked by mosquitoes severely in the first movie, but still did not know what mosquitoes can
harm to him. He later becomes Head of Earth Studies at Galactic Alliance Community College but is only a supervising professor and can't share his knowledge with students which upsets him. After helping Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, Gantu and the 625 experiments defeat Hamsterviel and the Leroy clones, he quits this job to return to Earth.
Kids in the Hall reunion
- The episode "Fibber" reunites the entire Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
sketch comedy troupe, with Kevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
voicing Pleakley as usual, Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
voicing Mother Pleakley, Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
, voicing Pixley, Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the long-running sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
voicing Bertley, and Dave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian actor, best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
voicing the preacher at Pleakley's wedding.
External links
- Agent Pleakley. Internet Movie Database
The Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, video games, and most recently, fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media...
. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.