Noddy

Noddy[edit]
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 wood carver 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 brownie. 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 or an ornament. Eventually, Noddy is declared a toy, but still has to convince the court that he is a good toy. The judge accepts that Noddy is good after a doll tells the court that he saved her little girl from a lion; and he is allowed to stay in Toyland. Noddy gets his car within a few books. It is given to him after he helps solve a local mystery.

Noddy loves driving his friends around Toytown 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 car to visit all of the places in Toytown. When his taxi business is not doing so well, or when he needs help, Noddy 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's constant companion and household pet is the exuberant 'Bumpy Dog'. Bumpy accompanies Noddy on almost all his adventures.

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 is 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 even begins 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 were 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 PC Plod, the local policeman. Some are caused by Noddy's lack of understanding of how Toyland works. Other times it is because of a case of mistaken identity. Mr. Plod is generally long-suffering towards Noddy and 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.

Characters[edit]

 * Big-Ears, a wise, bearded Brownie who lives in a toadstool house outside of Toytown.
 * Mr. Plod (called PC Plod in some versions), the Toytown policeman. He is a good friend of Noddy and thinks Toytown can't live without him.
 * Bumpy Dog, in the original books, lives with Tessie Bear, but accompanies Noddy on many adventures. Noddy first met Bumpy Dog in Toy-Dog Town because he was injured and Noddy used his scarf to help him. Noddy felt he was unable to have Bumpy Dog live with him, so Tessie Bear offered to keep him.
 * 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, and is sometimes called Bruiny
 * Mr Tubby Bear, Noddy's next door neighbour. First name unknown.
 * Mrs Tubby Bear, Noddy's next door neighbour, it is clear that she, like Mr Tubby Bear are the superiors of Noddy, as if they are adults and he is a child, mainly because Noddy always refers to them as " Mr and Mrs Tubby Bear ". First name unknown.
 * Teddy Tubby Bear, Mr Tubby Bear's brother, Mrs Tubby Bear's brother-in-law and Master Tubby Bear's uncle, who appeared in the third book, Noddy and His Car.
 * Tricky Teddy A teddy bear and companion to Gilbert Golly in mischief . In Later adaptions they were replaced by a pair of teddy bears and finally by the goblins Sly and Gobbo
 * Gilbert Golly a gollywog and another villian
 * 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!"
 * Mr Golly, in the books is the owner of the Toyland garage. He was replaced by the politically correct Mr Sparks in the TV series in the early 1980s.
 * 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. He lives in a very tidy toadstool.
 * 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.
 * Sly and Gobbo, are goblins who are very mischievous. They usually steal things such as ice cream, coins or Noddy's car. They often end up in jail after they have completed their evil schemes.
 * The Gollies were the villains in the original book series and were replaced by the more politically correct Sly and Gobbo for the TV series in the early 1980s.
 * 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.
 * Mr Milko, the local milkman.
 * Mr Train Driver, train driver who drives the Toyland Express train.
 * Sneaky and Stealthy, Sly and Gobbo's cousins, who appear in later versions of the television show.