The protagonist of the series, Ian Kelley aspires to become a filmmaker. Unfortunately, his family is mostly indifferent towards his creative streak, which is a constant source of frustration for him. Ian is intelligent, if somewhat naive, he has a very large imagination, and often gets lost in daydreams (many of which are parodies of famous films). His ultimate dream is to win an Academy Award, to the point that he constantly practices his acceptance speech, just so he will not be caught speechless if and when it ever does happen. Aside from this, Ian is a typical sitcom child; most plots involve him either failing at an elaborate scheme or trying desperately to survive in a world that does not seem to fit his ideals. According to the episode "Being Principal Bill", Ian's middle name is James, a reference to Ian James Corlett, whom he is based on. He has a crush on Sandi as seen in various animated thoughts.