MEET THE SQUIRRELS!
But you obviously know who they are already...
An introduction to The Squirrel club and their supporting cast!
Duggee
Duggee is the leader of The Squirrels, which is a form of cub scout/brownie troop. He has a number of badges for various achievements, and can be called on to help in a number of situations. He is a big, lovable caring Dog who looks after his pack. He only speaks in woofs but The Squirrels all understand him. After every adventure a Duggee hug is a must!
Betty
Betty (AKA Brilliant Girl) is the brains of The Squirrel Squad. She's a bit of a know it all, to be fair. She likes order and balance and has been known to lose it a bit if this order is disturbed. She is an octopus, but she only has 5 of her tentacles - what's up with that?
Happy
Happy is a short sighted crocodile obsessed with water. He's the heart of the team, and my favourite. He loves to chat and chat, just rambling away. His mum is an elephant which would indicate he was adopted, but it is never mentioned, just accepted.
Norrie
While Betty can get quite exasperated, Norrie is just quietly keeping it together in the background. She is the most sensible Squirrel of all, loves animals, and is the only one who wears the official Squirrel uniform. Her dad does have the funniest voice of all though (check out The Get Well Soon Badge).
Roly
Roly can only be the mouth of the group. He's a hyperactive hippo who has only one default setting - LOUD. Not necessarily the sharpest tool in the box, but one of the happiest. Many people associate with Roly, and many more want to be as carefree as he is.
Tag
Tag the Rhino (oh wait) is a little shy, and a lot clumsy. He always wants to do the right thing and would have to be the conscience of the group. He strikes up a beautiful relationship with a Caterpillar and wants to make sure that everyone is OK all the time.
Enid
Enid is Duggee’s pet cat, and the Clubhouse mascot too. Loves a stroke and fuss, hates balloons and surprises, Enid is adored by all The Squirrels. It’s a bit odd that a cat likes to be petted by a dog, but given you’ve got a Panda and Tiger in love, anything goes.
Hennie
I’m not quite sure what type of bird Hennie is – is she an Emu? Any thoughts?
Anyway, she is one of the earliest supporting characters to make a name for herself. She is incredibly posh and incredibly tall, and easily spooked. She is instrumental in making the chickens get off their backsides and do some exercise, and also key to the house party in The Get Indoors Badge.
King Tiger & Chew Chew
It was an interspecies love that dare not speaks its name… The bizarre & Carry on-esque relationship between King Tiger & Chew Chew. We had met them both on separate occasions in season 1, but it was The Wedding Badge in season 2 where you realised they would be together forever. King Tiger is loaded and loves headgear. Chew Chew loves biscuits. She is resplendent in The River Badge, one of my favourite episodes (basically Apocalypse Now for kids). What would you call their kids - Pangers? Tigdas?
Mr & Mr Crab
John & Nigel Crab are together forever. They’ve gone from appearing in one episode (The Sandcastle Badge) to being key supporting artists. John is very fussy (and a bit high maintenance I think), whereas Nigel can’t get a word in edgeways. For some reason they remind me of Roy & Renee from The Fast Show. I can’t wait for the episode where Nigel finally loses his shit and goes postal.
Tino the Artistic Mouse
Tino is clearly a conceptual creative genius that operates on another level, and can sometimes come across as being, well grumpy (“a bit of a dick” is how I phrased it before). I realise now that he is misunderstood and purely wants everything to be the best it can be. I completely understand this – I can have a hissy fit if pictures or concepts don’t work for me either (hey, this makes me a bit of a dick too!). He has mellowed out over the seasons, and has been a key player in season 3.
Have I missed anyone from the Clubhouse that's important in your life? Let me know and I'll add them in!
WHO'S THE TEAM BEHIND IT ALL?
Fortunately, Animator Tim Frost created this periodic table which appeared in the background of an episode and has developed over time, used in blink-and-you'll-miss-it sequences. Having had to go full conspiracy theorist, I decoded the periodic table, and work out who's who, which Tim was graciously able to validate for me.
I am fully aware that this is sad, but I think this level of attention to detail in a kids show is next level. But I think we've established by now that this is more than just a kids TV show...
BREAKDOWN OF TABLE
1. All The Squirrels
2. Duggee
3. Grant Orchard – Creator & Director
4. Will Rose - Animator
5. Sam Morrison - Writer
6. Sue Goffe – Executive Producer
7. Rhys Byfield - Animator
8. Tim Frost – Animator, and creator of the original periodic table
9. Janine Voong – Producer
10. Sander Jones – The Voice of Duggee & Assistant Director
11. Anna Kubik - Editor
12. Philip Warner – Animator & the voice of King Tiger!
13. Whistling – This table first appeared at the start of The Whistling Badge
14. Henrietta Hurford-Jones – Executive Producer