Oliver B. Bumble
Oliver B. Bumble (Olivier B. Bommel in Dutch language) is a fictional anthropomorphic bear and one of the two main characters, the other being Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch) in an originally Dutch series of comic books bearing the name of either one main characters in their name, written by Marten Toonder.
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[edit] Publication history
The first Tom Puss stories were told as illustrated novels, published in daily installments in the Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf. "Tom Puss" first appeared as a replacement for the Mickey Mouse-strip in 1941. Later on, Tom Puss was turned into a comics series in a stricter sense. The series literary standards are considered to be quite good by many Dutch people, with many real sounding made-up Dutch words, references to archaic Dutch and different regional and class-based dialects and a proper well formed sentence structure.
Sir Oliver B. Bumble was introduced in the third Tom Puss story in 1941. At first, he was just a supporting character, but he quickly became the series' main character; as Tom Puss was noble and heroic, most stories depended on the more flawed but good hearted Oliver B. Bumble to initiate the events of the stories. The last story, published in 1986 ends the story with Bumble getting married to his neighbor, Miss Doddel and settling down.
In total there have been over 600 Tom Puss stories, most of them featuring Oliver B. Bumble as one of the main characters. Bumble and Puss' stories have been translated into many languages and published worldwide. There has also been an animated movie called "Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel" ("If you know what I mean", one of Bumble's catch-phrases), released in 1983. Toonder created various short animated movies as commercials for Philips in the 1940s starring Puss and Bumble.
In February 2007 the Nederlandse Programma Stichting started a 440 part Radio drama based on the Bumble and Puss series, hosted on radio 4, which broadcasts concert music and sometimes jazz and radio 6 and radio 1 the series ended in December 2009. Fansites have also reported that a new film and animation series might be planned.
[edit] Character
Sir Oliver is a bear of nobility, he likes to think, an eloquent, though not always coherent and not very bright gentleman with a slight stutter when he's upset. He enjoys the finer things in life and likes making a good impression with his peers in the "Kleine Club", the "Little Club" a rather exclusive affair with members such as mayor Dickerdack, overly eager to delegate difficult tasks and Bumble's arch-rival the Marquis de Canteclaer, who is also his neighbour and thinks that "this, err.. Bumble" is a parvenu. Bumbles membership is somewhat controversial and he's blackballed on several occasions.
Bumble is quite wealthy, he even makes it into the upper ten who own almost everything,[1] but always tells others that money is of no importance and is generous to his friends. He lives in castle Bommelstein, where his butler Joost sees to his every need. He is a modest bear though; he always dresses in a simple, checkered coat and his car, nicknamed "De Oude Schicht" ("The Old Bolt (of lightning)"), is reliable, but not extravagant. Extravagance is a trait Bumble doesn't possess, following his dear father[2]'s lessons of modesty and common sense which is exemplified in a "simple yet nitricious meal", which is rarely simple but always nutritious. The phrase "een eenvoudig doch voedzaam maal" has become a colloquialism in Dutch.
He is a kind soul but tends to act before he thinks. His compassion and sense of justice can sometimes move him to do great things,[3] although it's usually others, most often Joost and Tom Puss, who do the actual work. He also tends to blame others for his own mistakes and rarely gives Tom Puss the credit he deserves for getting him out of trouble. As he is a "gentlemen of weak constitution", he has no heart for conflict, but in the end he will always help his friends in need.
Bumble has two staunch admirers. The first is miss Doddle, Bumble's Dulcinea and his prime source of fresh tea, courage and resolve in times of great emotional turmoil. She idolizes Bumble and thinks he's the smartest man in the world, even though Bumble is out of his depth more often than not. The second great admirer is the dwarf Kwetal who thinks Bumble has a big thinking-frame ("denkraam") and blindly trusts his judgement. He is the source of some weird gadgets which wreak havoc in Bumble's life or work as a deus ex machina to solve the problems which Bumbles ill conceived grand designs have caused.
Although Bumble has many flaws in his character, and maybe because of it, he's far more popular than Tom Puss and practically reduced the former hero to a sidekick. In many ways Bumble is an antihero, blundering blindly through life, forced by fate, one of several villains or Dorknoper, civil servant first class and tax-collector, to make decisions which greatly influence his world. Hence he is a more interesting figure than Tom Puss, who is a bit boring in contrast.
[edit] Clarifications
The claim that the B. in Olivier B. Bommel would stand for Berendinus is semi-canonical at best. A middle name is not found in any of the original stories and —according to the author— did not exist. Bommel was intended to be an American, though it is possible that he did indeed return to ancestral grounds. The lone initial was part of the American attributes of the character. The source of Berendinus was the answer by an editor in the Tom Poes magazine, and thus one given with a semblance of authority, which explains the popularity of the claim.
Related to this is the play in the original series with the meanings of the Dutch word heer, which does mean gentleman, though it does not mean member of the nobility, which Bumble as American would not be, he is rich, very, very rich and tries to live like a gentleman. Another meaning is lord, as in (absolute) ruler, as owner of his castle he turns out to have been the lord of the land for almost the entire series in the last story. "Sir" rather obscures this essential part of the character as it rather suggests some noble title under lordship. An acceptable translation might be Oliver Bommel Esq.
[edit] Catch phrases
Oliver B. Bumble uses several catch phrases:
- "If you know what I mean", usually used at the end of nearly any speech he made.
- "Like my dear father always said: ..... and I abide by that."
- "Money is of no consequence"
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Toon"der"tijd A Dutch site for collectors of Olivier B. Bommel stories (and other by Marten Toonder )
- Oliver B. Bumble profile
- Biography of Marten Toonder at Lambiek's Comiclopedia
- Oliver B. Bumble radio play, as heard on Dutch radio in 2008.
