Karen Winsborrow is a character from the ABC Weekend Specials "The Amazing Bunjee Venture" and "Return of the Bunjee". She was voiced by Nancy Cartwright.
About Karen[]
The Amazing Bunjee Venture[]
Karen is a svelte, pre-teen, Caucasian girl with brown hair. Her hair is worn in a ponytail with a true blue hair bow around it and she wears pearl earrings. She wears round glasses with pale turquoise lenses, a black frame, and matching handles; a bright orange shirt with puff sleeves; light deep pink miniskirt; deep orange, knee-high socks; and light sky blue sneakers. She vividly resembles her dad, Mr. Winsborrow, and is a technophile much like him. She is nerdy, brainy, clumsy, friendly, compassionate, kind, and sweet. When it comes to discoveries, she can be quite enthusiastic.
Karen and her brother, Andy, are assisting their dad with putting the finishing touches to his invention, a time machine. Part of what is used for it is a hair dryer, which belongs to their mom, Mrs. Winsborrow, who has just finished showering and she comes to the garage where the others are looking for it. After the siblings' dad leaves with their mom and head into the kitchen for breakfast, Karen and Andy get inside the time machine. Karen and Andy recall how their dad's previous invention designed for dog grooming didn't quite work out so well. Karen tells Andy not to touch any of the controls in the time machine, but it's too late. He accidentally powers it up and they're sent into the past. Mr. Winsborrow hears the sound of the time machine and rushes back into the garage, but he doesn't make it before the kids leave. Neither of the parents knows whether their kids are traveling into the past or future.
The time machine sends Karen and Andy as far back as prehistoric times, as they find out as Karen opens the door and as she steps out, she trips and falls. Karen is in awe at this, but Andy is more wary. She asks him if he's scared and he tries to play it cool, denying that he is. They collect some flora to bring back home and to the present when they encounter a saber-toothed tiger cub, who grabs Andy's cap. The cub runs away with the cap, carrying it in its mouth and Andy tries to get it back from the cub, and Karen helps, but they pull so hard that they end up falling backwards once the cub lets go. The cub is then scared off by a pterodactyl, who carries Andy and Karen to a nest on a peak where they're dropped. The pterodactyl plans to make a meal of them. Just as it seems like they're done for, the pterodactyl gets scared by a sudden cry and takes off, carrying a pair of eggs with it. Karen and Andy are frightened by this too and the end of a long appendage is seen reaching over the nest. The appendage is a trunk, which belongs to a creature known as Bunjee, who seems harmless and affectionate as he gives Karen and Andy each a smooch. They introduce themselves to each other and, at first, all Bunjee can utter is "eep eep" sounds and mimic, but the kids teach him to expand on his vocabulary. They talk for a while and Karen asks Bunjee if there are any other people around besides the siblings. Bunjee says there aren't and he tells them about pterodactyl eggs. He tells them he's about to get the kids down from the peak, but Karen tells him he'd need wings to do that. Bunjee shows them just how else he's able to get them down, they mount him and he gives an inhale, inflating and floating to the bottom. After reaching the bottom, Karen asks about the other Bunjees. Bunjee tells the kids they were the victims of a dinosaur attack and she feels sorry for him. But the loss may not be total, as there's a possibility that there may be some Bunjee eggs that survived after all. Bunjee finds some pears for them to eat and after they're stuffed, they take a nap. While Bunjee goes off to tend to a pair of Bunjee eggs, a man-eating plant finds Karen, stretches its vines, grabs her, and tries to eat her. Bunjee hears Karen's muffled screams and he comes to her rescue. In a struggle, Bunjee grabs her wrist with his trunk whereas the plant grabs her legs. Eventually, Bunjee gains the upper hand and Karen is freed, and saved. Karen is so happy and grateful to still be alive, she hugs and kisses him several times. Bunjee gets attached to his newfound friends, so much so that he considers them his sister and brother. But Karen and Andy get concerned about staying too long in prehistoric times and are ready to return home, and to the present. He asks them if he could go back with them, but they have to get permission from their parents first. Unfortunately, he can't join them because the time machine has enough room for only two passengers. Bunjee tries to compact himself or shrink so that he can fit, but it's no use, and Andy, and Karen, shake their heads sadly. Bunjee and the kids are sad about the short-lived time they had with each other. But before they can return, a Tyrannosaurus rex comes along and picks up the time machine. Bunjee tries to warn them to hurry, but the T-rex already grabs it. Another T-rex arrives and tries to steal the find from the first T-rex, and they begin fighting over it. Bunjee can't bear to watch this, but after a tussle between the two dinosaurs, the time machine is dropped to the ground, but Karen and Andy are fine. Bunjee gets on top of the time machine and ends up getting back to the present with the kids after all, as it disappears in time and the T-rexes collide into each other.
After the two siblings arrive home safely, they find that Bunjee is there too. Later, Karen and Andy head off to school and Bunjee attempts to follow them. But when the mailman approaches, Mr. Winsborrow hurries outside to hide Bunjee with a sheet. The mailman greets Mr. Winsborrow when the former hears Bunjee make a sound. The mailman asks what that is and it's explained that the sound came from a school project. After Bunjee "eeps", dad and the kids eep as well, to decrease any arousing suspicions and the mailman continues on his way. Mr. Winsborrow and the kids rush Bunjee into the house before any more attention is drawn. Mr. Winsborrow tells Bunjee that they must keep him under wraps, since he's a special creature, and to divert any unwanted attention.
Later that night, after Bunjee goes missing, Karen, her brother, and their parents go out searching for him by car. Once Bunjee returns from his night out, the family are gathered with him in the living room with the two Bunjee eggs, which then hatch. Like the others, Karen is elated at this, but then she's sad at Bunjee's urgency to go back to prehistory. He uses the time machine to get there, and Andy says that he would've liked to get a picture of him to show to his friends at school. But Karen tells him he'd be better off not being known about by too many others. The kids agree to help their dad build a replacement for the time machine.
Return of the Bunjee[]