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Putt-Putt
Putt-Putt
Gender Male
Birthday September 9, 1992
Nickname(s) Putt
Pet(s) Pep
Favorite Foods Cheese Squigglies
Voice actor(s) Jason Ellefson (1992-1997)
Nancy Cartwright (1998-2000)
Michelle Thorson (2003)
Lisa Jacobs (UK dubs)
Chika Sakamoto (Japanese dubs)
Kath Soucie (Australian dubs)
Jackie Berger (French dubs)
Location Cartown
Game(s) Junior Adventure Games
Putt-Putt Joins the Parade (1992)
Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon (1993)
Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo (1995)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (1997)
Big Thinkers 1st Grade (1997) (cameo)
Putt-Putt Enters the Race (1998)
Putt-Putt Joins the Circus (2000)
Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise (2003)
Junior Arcade Games
Putt-Putt and Pep's Balloon-O-Rama (1996)
Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick (1996)

Putt-Putt is a purple convertible and the titular main protagonist in the series of the same name. He is always seen with his best friend and pet, Pep, a small brown dog, who Putt-Putt rescues from a cave in his first game, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade. The character was created by Shelley Day as a new bedtime story for her son, Travis.[1] Soon after, Putt-Putt became the first of the many characters to be created at Humongous Entertainment, then a new company. Since 1992, Putt-Putt has starred in a total of thirteen games, seven of which are adventure games. He also starred in two arcade games and four activity games. Putt-Putt has been voiced by Jason Ellefson, Nancy Cartwright, and Michelle Thorson.

History[]

Early Life[]

In 1990, Putt-Putt's creator, Shelley Day, told Putt-Putt's first adventure to her then-three-year-old son, Travis, as a bedtime story. In the story, Putt-Putt saved a cat who had gotten stuck in a tree. Her son enjoyed the story so much that she continued regularly telling him new Putt-Putt stories.[2][1]

Finding a Pet[]

Putt-Putt Parade End

Putt-Putt and Pep leading the Cartown Pet Parade.

The earliest of Putt-Putt's digital adventures began on the morning of the annual Cartown Pet Parade. When Putt-Putt wants to enter the parade, he finds that he needs a carwash, a balloon and a pet. In his search for a puppy, Putt-Putt discovers a dark cave on the edge of Cartown. Inside is a lost puppy. Putt-Putt adopts him and names him Pep. After obtaining all the needed items, Putt-Putt and Pep then ride at the front of the Cartown Pet Parade.

A Trip to the Moon[]

Putt-Putt visits the Fireworks Factory to visit Mr. Firebird. After a butterfly lands on a lever and Pep tries to stop it, Mr. Firebird's experiment is activated, causing a rocket to be ignited and sending Putt-Putt and Pep to the moon. Putt-Putt then meets Rover, a lunar vehicle, and the two vehicles search for all the missing parts of broken rocket to get back to Earth.

Saving The Zoo[]

When Putt-Putt delivers Zoo Chow to Outback Al, Putt-Putt finds out that six baby animals are missing, so he has to find them before the zoo opens.

Traveling Through Time[]

Putt-Putt and Pep are going to visit Mr. Firebird once again, so Putt-Putt grabs his school supplies (his lunchbox, his calculator, and his history report/essay) and a coin and goes to the old fireworks factory. Mr. Firebird is getting ready to start his Time Portal and it costs a coin. Putt-Putt gives it to him, and he starts it. The Time Portal malfunctions, and Putt-Putt loses his school supplies and Pep due to them being pulled in. He travels through time to find and save his things before school starts.

Entering the Race[]

Putt-Putt and Pep receive a letter from Redline Rick inviting him to enter Cartown 500/Grand Prix. To get ready for the race, they need to help out the residents of Cartown in order to obtain the needed items for it.

Saving the Circus[]

Putt-Putt enters the Cartown Circus, helps the circus friends and watches some stuff at the end.

Happy Birthday Pep![]

Putt-Putt finds birthday decorations, including a cake and a birthday banner, to get Pep's birthday party ready for the next day.

Appearance[]

Putt-Putt is a small purple convertible car featuring two fins. His eyes are located where the headlights would be, and his mouth is placed above the front bumper. A pair of eyebrows float above his eyes giving him more character. Putt-Putt uses his retractable antenna to interact with objects around him. Although his normal color is purple, Putt-Putt's color can be changed in many of the games, with the exception of Pep's Birthday Surprise, in which he instantly turns back to purple afterwards.

Dashboard[]

Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt Joins the Parade.

Putt-Putt's dashboard has maintained a similar look throughout the course of the series. The original style, seen in Putt-Putt Joins the Parade and Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon, features a gas gauge, speedometer, steering wheel with horn, radio and a glove compartment. In his first game, Putt-Putt's gas gauge would drain as time progressed. He had the option of refilling it at the Cartown Gas and Tires. The speedometer is labeled in increments of five from five to thirty-five, thirty-five being Putt-Putt's top speed. The steering wheel is red and seemingly floats in front of the dashboard. In its center rests a yellow smiley which acts as Putt-Putt's horn. When used, the horn makes a silly face while the horn blares like this, "Putt putt putt!". The radio features an older style tuner and is always tuned to the same station (97.3). The glove compartment is where Putt-Putt keeps the items he finds on his adventures. It is divided into two sections by a single shelf that rests in the middle. Pep always sits on the bottom section. During times when Putt-Putt is asked a yes or no question, the shelf rotates forward to reveal the yes or no options.

Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo.

Three years after his debut, Putt-Putt's dashboard was slightly redesigned to keep up with the higher standard of graphical quality. Though the dashboard maintains its original look, some small changes were made for Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo. The gas/fuel gauge no longer decreases as the game progresses. The radio now has a digital interface and is tuned to 97.3, presumably the Cartown radio station. The glove compartment also features a minor change as the shelf has been removed. Of all the minor changes, one object has been added; there is a key in the ignition found on the left of the dashboard under the gas/fuel gauge. The key is used to quit the game. This version of the dashboard is also used in Putt-Putt Travels Through Time. In the Nintendo Switch port of Saves the Zoo and Travels Through Time, the Ignition and Key is replaced by two gears indicating a new Options menu meant for that port.

Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt Enters the Race.
Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt Enters the Race.

For Putt-Putt Enters the Race, the dashboard was changed yet again, although only a very minor change. The key has been changed from a means of quitting the game, to a menu. When selected, the sun visor flips down from the upper-left corner of the screen. A notepad represents the "Save" option, a road map represents the "Load" option, and a garage door opener represents the "Quit" option. However, when Putt-Putt uses High-Powered High-Octane Gasoline, his top speed is doubled from 35 MPH to 70 MPH, although it only takes place for a brief period of time. This version of the dashboard is also used in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus (except that the nail on the speedometer is white). Also, in the original games if Putt-Putt's colors was changed the dashboard still stayed purple, Putt-Putt Enters the Race makes the glove compartment close, and the dashboard get colored the same as Putt-Putt be it the Cartown Color in Putt-Putt Enters the Race or Baby Jambo in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus.

Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise.
Putt-Putt's dashboard as seen in Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise.

In Putt-Putt's final Junior Adventure game, the dashboard was updated to compensate for the improved visual quality of the game. It has a more defined, shaded look. Aside from some color adjustments, only one new object was added. The smile's lips on the horn button's face are closed, unlike the previous versions of it. A minor change is that the radio station number (97.3) is no longer shown in the radio's screen due to its background color being too bright. The word "Load" is now purple instead of red, and the Quit button's box has completely different colors: orange, red, and dark blue, and the word "Quit" is capitalized. Instead of the yellow back arrow, a button for the options menu appears in the upper left corner of the screen attached to the sun visor.

Personality[]

Putt-Putt has the personality of a young boy. He is adventurous and always willing to try new things. His love of exploration has sent him into dark caves, the moon and even through time. His love for others is evident by the way he helps others in need. In fact, most of the games in the Putt-Putt series revolve around helping others with small and large tasks. Putt-Putt is always friendly and shows his compassion to those feeling low. He cheers up many of the missing zoo animals while finding a way to rescue them in Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo. Putt-Putt is conscious of the environment in Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick. In that game, the adventure starts with he and Pep driving to the junkyard on recycling day.

Alternate names[]

  • Pouce-Pouce (French)
  • Gas-Gas (Italian)
  • Bot-Bot (Arabic)
  • Bip-Bip (Russian)

Driver's License[]

Driver's License

Putt-Putt's License

In Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, ICanDrive=71595 can be added to the hegames.ini (or scummvm.ini) to show Putt-Putt's driver's license near the end of the credits. The license reveals information about Putt-Putt such as his birthdate, his height, his weight, and the card's expiration date. It reveals that Putt-Putt is an engine donor. It also shows his signature, despite missing the dash in his name.

Fun Facts[]

  • In one version of the opening scene of Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, a fish named Jason is offered a flower by Freddi. Due to his appearance and identical voice actor, he could be considered the fish version of Putt-Putt. The real Putt-Putt appears as a sand sculpture in the game and is also shown in a moving image saying: "I'm going to the zoo," referencing the game Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, which was released a year later.
  • Many Putt-Putt Easter eggs exist in other Humongous games, from a bubble that morphs into him in the credits of Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds to a large poster with him on it in Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell.
  • Some Junior Field Trips, Freddi Fish and Fatty Bear Easter eggs can be found in Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo when clicking on the Cartown Zoo billboard.
  • Putt-Putt makes a cameo appearance in one of the Pajama Sam books, along with Freddi Fish and Spy Fox.
  • Nancy Cartwright, who voiced Putt-Putt from 1998-2000 in the original US dub, is perhaps best known for the voice of Bart Simpson for being one of the main cast members on the Fox Network's long-running animated sitcom, The Simpsons.
  • Chika Sakamoto, who voiced Putt-Putt from 1992-1997 in the Japanese dub, is the Japanese seiyuu who also voiced Mei Kusakabe from My Neighbor Totoro, Cure Flower from Heartcatch Precure, Tendonman from Anpanman series, Tambourine from Floral Magician Mary Bell, Tommy from Shimajiro series, Agumon from Digimon series and many more.
  • Kath Soucie, who voiced Putt-Putt in the Australian dubs, is also the voice of Tillie the Little Blue Switch Engine from The Little Engine That Could 1991 Film.
  • Putt-Putt has the same horn sound effect as Jack the Front Loader from Thomas & Friends including its spin-off series, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and Dodger the Milk Truck from Bob the Builder: Project Build It as well as the Thinga-ma-jigger from The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!. horn sound can also be heard in the 2005 Disney movie Chicken Little and in the 1949 Disney short, The Wind in the Willows, which is part of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, a 1949 Disney movie.
  • A car Resembling Putt-Putt appeared in The Loud House episode, House of Lies.
  • Despite being built in 1992, he appears to be based on a downsized 1957 Cadillac Eldorado convertible.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sorbo, Robert (1998). TIME Digital -- Cyber Elite -- SHELLEY DAY. TIME. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  2. H.E. Corp. Profile. Humongous Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
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