Grumpella is a supporting character in the 1991 animated film The Little Engine That Could. She is a stuffed bird and one of the toys aboard the birthday train, led by Rollo the Clown.
She was voiced by B.J. Ward.
What Makes Her a Scrappy?[]
- She was meant to be portrayed as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but ended up coming off as an annoying and bratty loudmouth and never changes over the course of the film.
- As a result, many fans who enjoy The Little Engine That Could don’t like her as all she does throughout the entire film is constantly complain and find something negative to point out.
- Just as the chef mice barely make it on board the Birthday Train with the cake, she demands that Georgia depart, further showing how rude and impatient she is.
- After Georgia breaks down, Grumpella goes too far into whining that they will never make it over the mountain.
- Her antagonistic relationship and rivalry with Rollo the Clown, regarding which engine can help them, can come across as somewhat annoying and irritating to some viewers, as these two disagree on almost everything.
- When Farnsworth shows up with the express and while she did show concern for Rollo, Grumpella rudely pushes Rollo before informing Farnsworth about Georgia’s situation in a negative tone.
- After Pete departs with his freight train of newspapers and machines, Grumpella went as far to start an argument with Rollo by claiming there will never be any engines to help them.
- When Jebediah shows up with his milk wagons and as he comes to a stop with a squeaky noise, Grumpella rudely snaps at him to “quiet down” as she and Rollo are bickering, further indicating that she is likely disrespectful to old engines like Jebediah, even though he kindly asked her and Rollo to move aside for him to pass through.
- She is quick to throw in the towel by claiming that there won't be any engines to take the birthday train over the mountain, even after Farnsworth, Pete, and Jebediah all decline their request to help out for different reasons.
- She was against Rollo’s hopes in not giving up, further showing that she can be a bully to him.
- When Tillie shows up, Grumpella complains that they're stuck with a "miniature choo choo".
- Furthermore, Grumpella didn’t even care or become grateful that Tillie volunteered to take them over the mountain and into the town for Eric’s birthday, showing how much of an uncaring and selfish brat Grumpella is.
- Even though B.J. Ward did a solid job voicing Grumpella, Ward’s performance also makes Grumpella complaining all the more grating that can be quite irritating to fans who grew up watching The Little Engine That Could.
- Other than falling down, she barely gets punished or shows remorse for her bratty attitude and antagonistic behavior towards Rollo, making her a massive Karma Houdini.
- Overall, her negative and bratty behavior makes her one of the two least popular characters and is likely one of the reasons why The Little Engine That Could suffered a pacing issue.
External Links[]
- Grumpella on the Heroes Wiki
- Grumpella on The Little Engine That Could Wiki
 Scrappies
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