Joseph Gribble

Joseph is the son of Dale and Nancy Gribble, growing up alongside Bobby Hill as one of his closest friends in Arlen. He's an easygoing, good-natured kid, not particularly bookish, more interested in skateboarding and mischief than school, and mostly along for the ride whenever Bobby's schemes get going.

The joke about Joseph's parentage runs underneath nearly every scene he's in, visible to the audience and invisible to doting, clueless Dale, and the show never rushes to cash it in. Aging him in real time across two voice actors only deepens the effect, letting an ordinary, likable kid carry one of animation's longest-running sight gags without ever seeming like a punchline himself.