Wednesday, 20 August 2008

About Noddy

Noddy
Noddy is a little wooden boy who lives in his own little House-for-One in Toyland.
The first book explains Noddy's origins. He was carved by a woodsman but ran away after the man began to make a wooden lion, which Noddy was scared of. As he wanders through the woods, with no clothes, money or home, he meets Big Ears, a friendly gnome. Big Ears decides that Noddy is a toy and takes him to live in Toyland. He generously provides Noddy with a set of clothing and buys a build-it-yourself house for him. While Noddy is quite happy to be a toy, the citizens of Toyland are not sure that he is actually one. They put Noddy on trial and examine whether he is a toy, ornament or other object. Eventually, Noddy is declared a toy, after a doll, whose baby Noddy saved, tells the courts how wonderful Noddy is. Noddy gets his car within a few books. It is given to him by the townspeople, after Noddy helps solve a local mystery.
Noddy loves driving his friends around Toyland and delivering parcels in his little red and yellow
taxi. The other toys can hear him coming by the distinctive "Parp, Parp" sound of his taxi's horn and the jingle of the bell on his blue hat. Often he uses his airplane to get around to visit all the places in Toyland. When his Taxi business is not doing so well, or when he needs help, he turns to Big Ears. Big Ears will often lend him what he needs. On occasion, Noddy will allow people to make his head nod, in exchange for small items, like his morning milk.
Noddy is kind and honest, but he often gets in trouble, either through his own misunderstandings, or because someone (usually the naughty goblins Sly and Gobbo) has played a trick on him. He is very childlike in his understanding of the world and often becomes confused as a result. For example, in the first Noddy book, Noddy and Big Ears are building Noddy's house for one. Noddy suggests that they build the roof first, in case it rains. With no understanding of gravity or of the need for roof supports, this is perfectly logical to him. As the series continues, Noddy becomes wiser but without losing his charm and lovable naivety.
Noddy's best friends are Big Ears, Tessie Bear, Bumpy Dog and the Tubby Bears. Tessie is a gentle hearted, gold bear who often wears a bonnet with flowers and a skirt. She very kind and very loving towards all of her friends and neighbors. Bumpy Dog is Tessie's pet. He loves to run up and 'bump' people over. Noddy frequently gets annoyed with Bumpy but still likes him. Whenever Noddy threatens Bumpy, Tessie gets upset, and sometimes will even begin to cry. The Tubby Bears live next door to Noddy. They are gold and chubby teddy bears. Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear frequently help Noddy. It is clear that Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear are the superiors of Noddy, as if he was a child. Their first names are never mentioned and Noddy always refers to them as Mr. and Mrs. They have one son, also named Tubby, who is occasionally referred to as Master Tubby. Tubby is naughty and is usually in trouble, for breaking rules, being rude, or doing something wrong. Noddy often attempts to scold or punish Tubby, with little result. On one occasion, Tubby gets tired of always being bossed around and being punished and decides to run away to sea. Noddy and Bumpy accidentally join with him. By the end of the journey, Tubby misses his parents and brings them back presents from his trip, as an apology.
Noddy has many run-ins with Mr. Plod, the local policeman. Some are caused by Noddy's lack of understanding of how Toyland works. Other times it is because a case of mistaken identity. While Mr. Plod is generally long-suffering towards Noddy, Noddy likes Mr. Plod and frequently goes out of his way to help him. Mr. Plod often catches the mischief makers on his police bicycle, by blowing his whistle and shouting "Halt, in the name of Plod!!" before locking the culprits up in his jail.

[edit] Characters
Big-Ears, a wise, bearded gnome who lives in a toadstool house outside of Toytown. He is Noddy's best friend.
Mr Plod, The Toytown Police man. He is a good friend of Noddy and thinks Toytown can't live without him. His catchphrase is " Halt in the name of Plod.
Bunkey, a thoroughly mischievous character, who purports to be half bunny and half
monkey. He is later exposed as a fraudulent monkey who escaped from a travelling circus.
Mr. Wobbly Man, a funny little man who cannot lie down. He has a round base which he wobbles about on. He rocks back and forth to get around.
Master Tubby Bear, Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear's
son
Clockwork Mouse, a toy mouse who often requires winding up.
Dinah Doll, a china doll who sells all kinds of everything in the market. A later addition, not in the original books.
Tessie Bear, A clever and kind teddy bear and a great friend of Noddy.
Mr Sparks, Toyland's handyman, who can mend anything. His favourite catchphrase is "A Challenge? I Like it!" He replaced Mr Golly at the Toyland garage
Miss Harriet the Pink Cat (aka Miss Pink Cat), a
cat who sells ice cream. She is portrayed as a fussy and neat cat with a French accent and no patience for foolishness , even her own.
Mr Jumbo, an
elephant friendly with Clockwork Mouse.
The Skittles, a family consisting of Mrs Skittle and her many children of various sizes. Skittles are red and yellow in colour with black hands. The skittles are like bowling pins and love to be knocked down. They frequently run out in front of Noddy's car so he will hit them and knock them over.
Twinkly, a
star who appeared in the episode "Catch A Falling Star".
Stinkly ,A tramp who has never washed in his life .
Little-Ears, Big-Ears' brother who looks just like Big-Ears, but his ears are much smaller.
Sly and Gobbo, are goblins who are very mischievous. They always steal things like ice cream , coins or Noddy's car. They always end up in jail after they done their evil schemes.
Clockwork Clown, a toy clown who makes funny tricks. He stands only using his hands not his feet because he has 'fused' feet like those of a
sea lion.
Martha Monkey, a mischievous tomboy who replaced naughty schoolboy Gilbert Golly.
Miss Prim, the school teacher who replaced the slipper-wielding Miss Rap.

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