Oliver B. Bumble
Encyclopedia
Oliver B. Bumble 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 book
s bearing the name of either one main characters in their name, written by Marten Toonder
.
-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.
de Canteclaer, who is also his neighbour and thinks Bumble ("This, err.. Bumble") is a parvenu
. Bumbles membership is not always uncontroversial and he's expelled on several occasions.
Bumble is quite wealthy, 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's lessons of modesty and common sense.
Sir Oliver 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, 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.
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.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
and one of the two main characters, the other being Tom Puss
Tom Puss
Tom Puss is a fictional anthropomorphic cat and one of the two main characters, the other being Oliver B. Bumble Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch language) is a fictional anthropomorphic cat and one of the two main characters, the other being Oliver B. Bumble Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch language) is a...
(Tom Poes in Dutch) in an originally Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
series of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s bearing the name of either one main characters in their name, written by Marten Toonder
Marten Toonder
Marten Toonder was a Dutch comic creator, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and had a great influence in the Dutch language by introducing new words and expressions....
.
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 MouseMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
-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
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
in the 1940s starring Puss and Bumble.
In February 2007 the Nederlandse Programma Stichting
Nederlandse Programma Stichting
NTR is a Dutch public-service broadcaster. It supplies television and radio programming of an educational and cultural nature to the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system....
started a 440 part Radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
based on the Bumble and Puss series, hosted on radio 4, which broadcasts concert music
Concert music
Concert music may refer to*Brass band, music performed by brass ensembles.*Classical music, the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times.*Concert band, music performed by...
and sometimes jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
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.
Character
Sir Oliver is a bear of nobility (or rather, so he portrays himself), an eloquent, though not always coherent 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 club with members such as mayor Dickerdack, overly eager to delegate difficult tasks and Bumble's arch-rival the MarquisMarquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
de Canteclaer, who is also his neighbour and thinks Bumble ("This, err.. Bumble") is a parvenu
Parvenu
A Parvenu is a person who is a relative newcomer to a socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb parvenir...
. Bumbles membership is not always uncontroversial and he's expelled on several occasions.
Bumble is quite wealthy, 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's lessons of modesty and common sense.
Sir Oliver 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, 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
Tom Puss
Tom Puss is a fictional anthropomorphic cat and one of the two main characters, the other being Oliver B. Bumble Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch language) is a fictional anthropomorphic cat and one of the two main characters, the other being Oliver B. Bumble Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch language) is a...
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
Dulcinea
"Dulcinea del Toboso" is a fictional character who is referred to in Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. Seeking the traditions of the knights-errant of old, Don Quixote finds a true love whom he calls Dulcinea. She is a simple peasant in his home town, but Quixote imagines her to be the most...
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.
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
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
, 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.
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"
External links
- Toon"der"tijd A Dutch site for collectors of Olivier B. Bommel stories (and other by Marten ToonderMarten ToonderMarten Toonder was a Dutch comic creator, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and had a great influence in the Dutch language by introducing new words and expressions....
) - Oliver B. Bumble profile
- Biography of Marten Toonder at Lambiek's Comiclopedia
- Oliver B. Bumble radio play, as heard on Dutch radio in 2008.