Bobby's World

• Robert Adelvice "Bobby" Generic (voiced by Howie Mandel) – The main character of the series. He is a four-year-old boy (five in seasons 2 through 6, then six in seasons 7 and 8) who loves to fantasize. An imaginative Bobby claims however that he came from his dreams. Scenes with Bobby most often involve elaborate literal interpretations of the popular or colloquial sayings uttered by other characters during the show (i.e. a "traffic jam" becomes Traffic Jam, as Bobby imagines spreading tiny cars and trucks on a piece of bread and taking a bite). When he enters contests, he tends to end up losing because Bobby ends up being himself instead of using his common sense. Bobby has spiky black hair. He wears a white shirt with red short sleeves (which also reveals his stomach exposed), red shorts and blue sneakers.

The Generic family's surname is pronounced "JEN-uh-rik", but mispronounced as "juh-NEHR-ik" by other characters as a running gag.

• Howard Generic (modeled upon and also voiced by Howie Mandel using his normal voice) – Bobby's father. He usually punishes his son Bobby by sending him to his room for his misbehaving.
• Martha Sven-Generic (voiced by Gail Matthius) – Bobby's mother, who has red hair and is often seen wearing a sky-blue tracksuit. She has a prominent Midwestern accent, and often peppered her speech with phrases like "Fer corn sakes", "Fer cryin' in the mud", "gee golly", "gosh darn" and "dont'cha know". Gail Matthius based Martha on her Saturday Night Live character, Roweena, a chain-smoking hairdresser.
• Kelly Generic (voiced by Charity James) – Bobby's 15-year-old tomboyish rebellious sister, the eldest Generic sibling, sporting a blonde shag haircut, purple eyeshadow, pink-striped tights, and a valley girl accent and manner, and often uses her catchphrase "Get real!"
• Derek Generic (voiced by Kevin Michaels from 1990 to 1996, then Pamela Adlon from 1997 to 1998) – Bobby's 10-year-old brother, who is a bully with a rat-tail hairdo, slashed blue jeans, and a sarcastic manner. He always teases and insults his younger brother and tends to call him a "dork" or a "dweeb". Bobby has a bad habit of listening to him and Derek is often reprimanded by his parents for fooling his kid brother.
• Jake and Alex Generic – Bobby's younger twin brothers, who were introduced in Season 3 but mentioned in Season 2 as Martha was pregnant with them.
• Ruth Sven (voiced by Susan Tolsky) – Bobby's aunt and Martha's sister, She is a blonde, amply-contoured lady with a sweet, pretty face and her hair tied in a bun, and kindly ways. She is loving and affectionate toward her younger nephew and particularly likes to pinch his cheeks, which Bobby really doesn't go for. Like her brother Ted, she is unpartnered but unlike him, makes no attempt to seek a sweetheart. Part of her signature attire is knee-high stockings rolled into a ring at the cuffs.
• Ted Sven (voiced by Tino Insana) – Bobby's uncle and Martha and Ruth's brother. He is a blond, portly, jolly gentleman with a deep rough voice and his signature garment is a yellow shirt printed with red hearts. Uncle Ted is a fun-loving fellow who loves to joke around with Bobby and is a collector of various things, one of which is a novelty item called Socks in a Can. His last name is revealed to be Sven. He is unpartnered and his attempts to find a sweetheart end in disaster. He is also affectionate toward his youngest nephew and often calls him by the nickname "Bobbo." Bobby likes hanging out with Uncle Ted because he thinks of all kinds of fun stuff to do including giving Bobby noogies.
• Roger (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – The Generics' pet dog.
• Webbly – Bobby's stuffed toy spider.

• Howie Mandel (portrayed by himself) – The show's creator in live-action who interacts with Bobby in the hybrid opening and ending scenes. In first-season episodes, the live-action Howie is Howard Generic and has the ability to change into his animated alter ego. Beginning with season two, and continuing until the end of the series, Howie and Howard Generic are two separate individuals.
• George (voiced by Pauly Shore) – The boyfriend of Kelly.
• Tiffany (voiced by Candi Milo) – One of Kelly's friends. She wears a hat.
• Amber (voiced by Candi Milo) – One of Kelly's friends.
• Andrea (voiced by Candi Milo) – Another one of Kelly's friends.
• Jackie (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – Bobby's best friend with the floor-length pigtails who has a crush on Bobby. She always kisses him (which he hates, having to constantly wipe her kisses off). Jackie speaks with a monotone voice.
• Charlotte – Rambunctious and sassy, Charlotte was the fun-loving adventurous girl who was famous for her dislike of chocolate, and her tendency to tease Bobby incessantly over minor things he does.
• Mrs. Orso (voiced by Edie McClurg) – Bobby and Jackie's teacher at Little Red Preschool.
• Meeker (voiced by Pat Fraley) and Snurd (voiced by Jeff Doucette from 1990 to 1991, then Rob Paulsen from 1991 to 1998) – A bumbling duo seen doing various jobs around town, whether it be mall cops, paramedics, or stage hands.
• Captain Squash (voiced by Gary Owens) – Captain Squash is Bobby's favorite superhero. He often appears to help Bobby in his imaginations.

Howie Mandel explained that he accidentally created the voice that would be later used to voice Bobby when he was choking on a piece of cake.[3] Two of Mandel's friends Jim Fisher and Jim Staahl signed an agreement with the Fox Broadcasting Company's then newly created children's division in 1989. Fisher and Staahl asked Mandel to join them in creating a show based on Mandel's Bobby character and voice. Mandel explained that he believed Fox did not think his stand-up routines were "family entertainment". He, Fisher, and Staahl (co-producers) recalled stories from their childhoods as they discussed the formation of the show. Mandel said "that was the seed of Bobby's World". Later stories from the childhoods of writers Dianne and Peter Tilden along with Mitch Schauer were used as the basis of many of the stories. The other characters on the show were mixes of characteristics of the creators' parents' friends and relatives. Specifically, Uncle Ted was based on Fisher and Staahl's former comedy partner in a comedy trio formed by the three after leaving Chicago's Second City, called The Graduates. Ultimately, that partner Tino Insana read for and won the part of Uncle Ted.[4][5]

Mitch Schauer drew the designs for the main characters.[6] Bobby's character design was based on Schauer's then-4-year-old son.[7]

On February 12, 2007, the character Bobby made a surprise appearance on an episode of Deal or No Deal.[8]

Episodes often consist of a short live-action segment either before or after the main story (and sometimes both before and after). The segment would include Mandel describing some aspect of the story and often relating it back to his personal childhood. Sometimes during these segments, the character of Bobby would appear in animated form and converse with Mandel. Other times, a live action child would appear and exchange words with Mandel. Endings of the show also featured Mandel breaking the "fourth wall" by talking to viewers about the preceding episode. In some part of the episode, Bobby will break the fourth wall by telling the audience his perspective on life.

The series' music was by Mark Koval. The theme music was by John Tesh and Michael Hanna.[9]

In an April 2006 online interview, Mandel expressed his desire for a possible reboot of the series.[10]

In November 2014, it was announced that Mandel told a crowd at Comikaze that plans to revive the series were in motion.[11]