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Nom Nom is a misanthropic self-centered koala in We Bare Bears.
Episode Appearances
Season 1
- "Our Stuff" (picture cameo)
- "Viral Video" (debut)
- "Nom Nom"
- "Panda's Sneeze"
- "Tote Life" (cameo on Magazine Cover)
- "Video Date" (picture cameo)
Season 2
- "Bear Cleanse" (picture cameo)
- "Nom Nom's Entourage"
- "Captain Craboo"
- "Christmas Parties"
Season 3
- "Anger Management"
- "Kyle"
- "The Nom Nom Show"
- "Vacation"
Season 4
Shorts
- "Nom Nom Vs. Hamster"
- "Bear Stack"
- "Frozen Ice" (cameo)
Movies
We Baby Bears
- "Little Fallen Star" (mentioned)
Appearance
Nom Nom has light gray fur with large, fluffy ears and a big light black oval nose. He has sharp claws and pink paws and can often be seen wearing black sunglasses and/or a towel around his neck when he isn't acting as his internet character. His eyes are normally big and wide, but shrink into small dots when he is pulling his "cutesy" persona.
Personality
Nom Nom is characterized as greedy and competitive.
Nom Nom appears to be self-assured and cool-headed at first, but in "Nom Nom Vs. Hamster", he is shown to quickly be irritated. He is very popular and famous, and he isn't modest about it. He says he doesn't have time for hanging out with friends in real life, and he has what he needs: fame, money and the internet. As with most stereotypical celebrities, he has a confident, egotistical and manipulative nature. Nom Nom also has anger issues, as demonstrated in "Nom Nom" when he snapped and yelled at various people, both fans and even the host and audience of a talk show, out of anger. Nom Nom is also quite the sore loser, as demonstrated in "Panda's Sneeze", when he snapped and yelled at Panda for not purposely losing the Cute-Off like they had agreed. He is also very selfish, as shown in "Nom Nom" when he put both Panda and Grizzly in a deadly situation so he could go in and save them in order to regain his internet fame.
Nom Nom is shown to be a master manipulator throughout the series, though the best example can be seen in "Captain Craboo". He's able to use his cuteness and fame as a means of controlling the legal system and is able to blatantly lie and get away with it when several of the juries saw what really happened. He's also able to fake Craboo attacking him, causing the judge to immediately announce the crab as guilty. Though he's not above the law, as shown at the end of the episode, he's seen to hold an immense power over the law, as he's able to sic the police after someone because of a personal conflict.
However, he does have a soft side and seems to be going down the road to redemption. He becomes close friends with Grizzly as the series goes on. He genuinely liked the hug he received from Grizzly in "Anger Management". After "Vacation", it is revealed that he liked Grizzly all along, sensing that he has some compassion. He even invites him to be his roommate during his trip, without denying what he had said earlier. He was overjoyed when he believed that he had met his long-lost brother in "Kyle", and was devastated after Kyle was revealed to be a fraud. Even at the end of "We Bare Bears: The Movie", he is willing to accept the idea of the bear species fitting in with society, as he hired an unnamed bear to serve as one of his bodyguards during a photoshoot.
Abilities
Baking
In the episode "Nom Nom", Nom Nom bakes some cookies for the bears, stating that he had "outdone himself". Grizzly and Panda both seemed to enjoy Nom Nom's baking calling him talented for his skill.
Nom Nom using a grapple rifle in "Captain Craboo"
Marksmanship
In the episode "Captain Craboo", Nom Nom is shown to be a good marksman as he was capable of shooting a grapple rifle to catch Craboo with relative ease and accuracy.
Tree Climbing
Being a Koala, he possesses natural tree climbing ability. In the episode "Kyle", Nom Nom is shown to climb the tree at a fast speed, which rivals Grizzly when he chases Kyle to get back the fortune contract that Kyle tricks him into signing.
Fighting Skills
He seems to have some strength as seen in the episode "Anger Management",[1] when he rips off the leg/arm of a mascot suit.
Relationships
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly fawning over Nom Nom.
Nom Nom sees Grizzly as just another fan, but with moxie, but, in fact, their relationship is probably the one that evolves more in the show, from the annoyance to the friendship (sort of). They have spoken to each other in "Viral Video" where Grizzly becomes Nom Nom's groupie and follows him into his limousine. Grizzly wants to be Nom Nom's friend and initially thinks he's cool. Nom Nom is apathetic in explaining how he has the maximum amount of friends on every social media site and how he has no need to hang out with friends in real life. Grizzly is adamant about befriending him. Nom Nom eventually has Grizzly thrown out of the limousine. Grizzly's and Nom Nom's first encounter in "Viral Video" would lead to the conflict shown in "Nom Nom", where Nom Nom had tricked Grizzly and Panda into "making a movie". He ended up luring them into a potentially deadly trap in order to regain his own fame while also trying to keep Ice Bear out of the picture as he had discovered Nom Nom's plan. Ice Bear managed to save his brothers and Nom Nom ended up getting what he wanted in the end, though it wasn't done according to his original plan. In "Anger Management", Nom Nom uses Grizzly to make him stop feeling angry and the two share a hug at the end, even though Nom Nom isn't angry. Later, in "The Nom Nom Show", he hires Grizzly and his siblings as trainees, having some problems with them but finally getting success with his first (and only) program. In "Vacation", Nom Nom and Grizzly's relation goes further, and Nom Nom finally confesses that he loves Grizzly for being his only true friend.
Panda Bear
Panda and Grizzly enjoying the cookies Nom Nom made.
The two don't really know each other that well, however, Panda knows of the incident between him and Grizzly that occurred in "Viral Video", and even refers to the koala as "a butt" in "Nom Nom". In the same episode, when Nom Nom is able to manipulate Panda and Grizzly and get them to do his bidding, he ends up luring them into a potentially deadly trap in order to regain his own fame while also trying to keep Ice Bear out of the picture as he had discovered his plan. Ice Bear managed to save Panda and Grizzly while Nom Nom ended up getting what he wanted in the end, though it wasn't done according to his original plan. Sometime later, in "Panda's Sneeze", they have some differences in a Cute-off contest, where they both compete for the title of the cutest animal on the internet (And losing both of them). Later, in "The Nom Nom Show", Panda is working for Nom Nom, as long as Grizzly has convinced him that Nom Nom "is likable now", looking that they've smoothed some things.
Ice Bear
Ice Bear looking on as his brothers obliviously work with Nom Nom.
Ice Bear grows a hatred for Nom Nom very quickly after seeing how poorly he treated Grizzly in "Viral Video" and "both" of his brothers in "Nom Nom", and Nom Nom knows this. Ice Bear maintains this attitude towards him consistently throughout the series. It’s also been shown his hatred is ever-growing, as in "Nom Nom", his brothers start to look to Nom Nom more as he manipulates them. He even ended up painting Ice Bear in a bad light to his brothers in order to get his way. During the night, when Ice Bear snuck out, suspicious of Nom Nom, he was shocked to find that Nom Nom's plan consisted of potentially murdering Panda and Grizzly. Before Ice Bear could go and stop the plan, however, Nom Nom made him fall into a ditch and covered it up, the other two Bears unaware of what had happened. The next day, when Nom Nom put his plan into action and almost succeeded, he lost control of the sharks he planned to use and ended up almost killed alongside Grizzly and Panda, however, with the help of a helicopter Grizzly had ordered a few days prior, Ice Bear was able to fly over to the event and save his brothers, throwing Nom Nom into a cotton-candy mixer in the process. Ice bear is the character that probably keeps the most suspicious attitude to Nom Nom. As of "The Nom Nom Show" he states that he's hoping for a redemptive arc, showing that he trusts in the fact that Nom Nom can change for the better.
Farmer
Nom Nom asking Farmer for his name.
Nom Nom, at first, sees Farmer just as another bodyguard/servant to yell at and give orders to, not even worrying about learning his name. Nevertheless, in the episode "Kyle", Farmer proves his loyalty to Nom Nom in saving his life. Grateful for that act, Nom Nom asks Farmer for his name and starts to treat him in a more respectful way. In the episode "Vacation", we can see that, as Nom Nom still calls Farmer by his name and treats him in a more human way.
Agent
The agent counseling Nom Nom.
Everything points that Nom Nom's relation with his agent is strictly professional, and Nom Nom tries to keep a certain distance between him and his agent; an example of this can be seen in "The Nom Nom Show", when Nom Nom avoids a hug between him and his agent, just to keep his relation strictly professional, and not closer.
Hamster
Hamster biting Nom Nom's hand.
The two didn't like each other very much. This was made evident in "Nom Nom Vs. Hamster" where Nom Nom was forced to do a video shoot alongside Hamster, much to his frustration. Hamster deliberately acted oblivious in order to upset Nom Nom. He had done this to the point where Nom Nom left the stage in pure frustration and anger.
Nevertheless, in the episode "Kyle" it is revealed that they have left their differences behind, and now Hamster lives in Nom Nom's mansion as his pet.
Captain Craboo
Craboo
Nom Nom's relationship with the Bear's pet crab, Craboo, has never been examined in real detail. In "Captain Craboo", Nom Nom has Craboo arrested at the pet store because Craboo "snipped" him. Not much else can be taken from this experience.
Kyle
Kyle after Nom Nom finds out his true colors.
Nom Nom was really happy when he met his supposedly long-lost brother Kyle in "Kyle". For a time, their relationship was very strong, and Kyle seemed to be the first person that Nom Nom actually respected. However, when Kyle was revealed to be a con artist who was after his fortune, Nom Nom was crushed and genuinely heartbroken, as simply thinking that he had a brother made him very happy. Upon realizing the truth behind Kyle, he calmly told him to leave. Kyle at first tried to talk things out, but this resulted in him and Nom Nom fighting over the contract they signed. Quite understandably, after Kyle's eventual arrest by the police, Nom Nom ended the episode thoroughly despising him.
Andy Bangs
Andy making a fool out of Nom Nom on the street.
Nom Nom considers Andy Bangs a serious rival, as seen in "Nom Nom's Entourage". After a humiliating encounter on the street, Nom Nom immediately seeks revenge on Andy and recruits the Bears, who also happen to have a hatred for Andy, to be his new entourage. While Nom Nom desires to best Andy, whom he goes as far as to call his nemesis, Andy doesn't seem to be as invested in their rivalry. At one point, Nom Nom intentionally scares Andy without the need of the Bears and has his old entourage record the entire scene, classifying Andy's campaign as "done" and Andy runs away crying. This episode's events would likely cause Andy to develop a real aversion to Nom Nom.
Trivia
- Nom Nom is shown in the opening of the show riding in a limousine. He throws a bottle at Panda, knocking his cup of soda out of his hand.
- It is revealed in "Viral Video" that Nom Nom is an internet celebrity, and hosts a Meme-Con with the other judges: Gluten Cat and Balancing Lizard.
- In "Viral Video", he is shown sitting in a baby seat while in his limo.
- Nom Nom exceedingly exercises the idea that social interaction is obsolete. He figures that as long as he has his butler, food, and the internet, he lives a sufficient life.
- Nom Nom has a large stash of cell phones, given to him by his fans.
- His video on Everyone's Tube "Koala eats leaves WOW" has 50,000,000 views, with only 500 likes and 0 dislikes.
- At first, Nom Nom dislikes Hamster, but later, in the episode "Kyle" we discover that Nom Nom is keeping him as his pet.
- Nom Nom is one of the three animal characters whose species name isn't in his current known name, the other two characters being Liz and Ice Bear.
- In "Tote Life", Nom Nom can be seen on the cover of a magazine that Panda reads.
- In "Our Stuff" a little Nom Nom calendar can be seen in the background. one episode before his debut in "Viral Video".
- In "Video Date", a JPEG of Nom Nom can be seen on The Bears' Laptop.
- In "Bear Cleanse," Nom Nom can be seen on a thumbnail for a video on Grizzly's computer.
- According to a snippet in an issue of the Cartoon Network Magazine, Grizzly likes to send pants to Nom Nom through the mail.
- According to the episode ''Kyle'', Nom Nom's net worth is $400,000,000.
- Like all Koala, Nom Nom's diet consists mostly eucalyptus leaves.
- In the episode "Kyle", it's showed in an implicit way that Nom Nom is, as could be expected for being a koala, Australian. He lived in an eucalyptus forest in his childhood and his supposed brother has an Australian accent. Nom Nom probably lost the accent after many years in the USA.
- In the episode "Kyle", is revealed that Nom Nom doesn't consider it necessary to learn his bodyguards' names, calling them by numbers.
- Nom Nom's favorite drink is a soda called "Eucalyptus Pop!".
Nom Nom's favorite soda.
- As a famous celebrity, his face appears in some merchandising throughout the show. Even in episodes in where Nom Nom doesn't appear, his face can be seen on various objects, like a t-shirt in the episode "Shush Ninjas" or in a game (NomNomopoly) in the episode "Baby Bears on a Plane".
- Early into production, Ken Jeong was one of the options the crew had for Nom Nom's voice.
- In the episode "Vacation", Nom Nom confesses that Grizzly is his only real friend, revealing that, in spite of his apparent bad mood, he really feels affection towards Grizzly.
- In "Crowbar Jones: Origins", he is considered to be too cute to play a role in an action movie.
Cultural References
- Nom Nom's name is likely a play on the onomatopoeic meme "Om Nom Nom Nom" which first sparked on the internet in 2004.
- Nom Nom is similar to various other cartoon characters, including Susan "Mandark" Astronomonov from Dexter's Laboratory, Eustace Bagge from Courage the Cowardly Dog, Edward T. Platypus from Camp Lazlo, Virgil "Bull" Sharkowski from My Gym Partner's Monkey, Belson Noles from Clarence, Marlin "Ren" T. Höek from Ren and Stimpy, Edward "Ed" Bighead from Rocko's Modern Life, Sheldon J. Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants, Eric Cartman from South Park, Boogregard "Boog" Schlizetti from Fanboy and Chum Chum, Roger from American Dad!, and Jocktopus Ludwig Vandenbusch from Fish Hooks, Todd Ianuzzi from Beavis and Butt-Head and The Dicksons from Sanjay and Craig.
- In the episode "Nom Nom's Entourage", he says he refuses to eat plated leaves. This is in fact true of real-life koalas, whose brains are so small that they can no longer remember how to eat eucalyptus leaves if it's taken off the branch.
- ↑ Anger Management