Bob the Builder (character)
| Bob the Builder | |
|---|---|
| Bob the Builder character | |
 Bob as he appears in the original series and Project: Build It, animated in stop motion. | |
| First appearance | Unaired Pilot Episode (15 May 1997, unaired) Scoop Saves the Day (12 April 1999) |
| Created by | Curtis Jobling and Keith Chapman |
| Voiced by | Neil Morrissey (1998) (1997-2011) (UK)[1] Rob Rackstraw (2007-2011) (only for live shows and the official website) (UK) William Dufris (2001-2005) (US) Greg Proops (2005-2007) (US) Marc Silk (2007-2011) (US) Lee Ingleby (2015) (2015-2018) (UK) Colin Murdock (2015-2018) (US) David Holt (Young, 2015 series) |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Robert |
| Nicknames | Bob the Builder Bobby |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Builder |
| Nationality | British |
Bob the Builder, also known simply as Bob, is the title character and protagonist of the television show of the same name. He is a general contractor with his own construction yard in Bobsville, Sunflower Valley or Fixham Harbour, depending on the series.
Design[]
The character's appearance was created by Curtis Jobling. His character sketches initially showed him with a moustache but this made him seem too old for the target audience of children and so he was then restyled as clean-shaven. As stop motion animation requires frequent repositioning of the models, Bob was given large feet for stability.[2]
When the series was sold internationally, some changes had to be made to make him more acceptable to other cultures. For Japan, the character was shown with all five fingers on each hand, rather than his usual four. This was done because, in that society, a missing finger indicates membership of the criminal Yakuza clans.[3][4] However, none of the footage was altered.
In 2014, the toy company Mattel bought the rights to the character and gave him a Hollywood-style makeover, making him seem younger and slimmer and more realistically proportioned. This was not well-received on social media, where the new look was described as creepy and unconvincing.[5][6][7] Like in Japan, his 2015 redesign has five fingers on each hand, instead of four.
Appearances[]
Bob has appeared in every episode in the series and all related media, except for one episode, which was a spin-off teaser featuring Dingle the Shingler. He officially first appeared in the episode Scoop Saves the Day that premiered on 12 April 1999 and has been going ever since 1999.
Legacy[]
The character of Bob the Builder has helped to change negative stereotypes of construction workers among children.[8]
References[]
- ^ The Million Sellers, Omnibus Press, 2012, p. 341, ISBN 9780857128829
- ^ Paul Wells; Joanna Quinn; Les Mills (2008), Drawing for Animation, AVA Publishing, p. 117, ISBN 9782940373703
- ^ Bob the Builder fixed for Japan, BBC News, 20 April 2000
- ^ Freed, Brianna (2010), Can We Fix It?: Bob the Builder as a Discrusive Resource for Children (PDF), Colorado State University
- ^ "Bob the Builder's been rebuilt", Daily Telegraph, 15 October 2014
- ^ John McCarthy (13 October 2014), Bob the Builder: Can Mattel rebuild him? Twitter doesn't think so, The Drum
- ^ John Plunkett (13 October 2014), "Bob the Builder reboot on shaky ground", The Guardian
- ^ Moore, David (20 December 2001), "William of Sen to Bob the Builder: non‐cognate cultural perceptions of constructors", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 8 (3): 177–184, doi:10.1108/eb021180
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- Fictional construction workers
- Television characters introduced in 1998
- Bob the Builder
- Children's television characters
- Male characters in animation
- Male characters in television
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