Fraggle Rock - Characters

Fraggles

Fraggles are humanoid creatures, about 18 inches tall, with fur in a wide variety of colors and a tail like a lion’s, with a tuft of fur on the end. They live in a network of caves called Fraggle Rock, populated by a variety of creatures, and seeming to connect to at least two different worlds in separate dimensions of time and space. Fraggles spend much of their carefree lives in play, exploring their worlds, and generally enjoying themselves. However, at the same time they maintain a complex culture and society, with each individual having rights and responsibilities. They have basic skill with tools and with crude machinery, and the concept of war is known to them (although wars between Fraggles are very rare). Fraggles live on a diet of vegetables, especially radishes. If individuals touch their heads together before falling asleep they can “share dreams.”

Five Fraggles are at the center of the series: Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red. They form a tight-knit group of friends, and each has a distinct personality.

Gobo Fraggle (performed by Jerry Nelson) - The "leader" of the five main Fraggles. He is unusually level-headed and practical for a Fraggle, prefers to control most situations. He plays a guitar (made from a gourd) and often goes on trips to explore the lesser-known tunnels of Fraggle Rock, apparently more out of a sense of obligation to his Uncle Traveling Matt than from personal inclination. An unfailing pragmatist, he resists the influence of his friends. Gobo has an orange complexion and purple hair, and wears a yellow sweater with a brown vest: in early episodes he used to wear a dark magenta jacket. When it comes to the Outer Space segments, Gobo is operated by Mike Quinn with Jerry Nelson still voicing Gobo.
Mokey Fraggle (performed by Kathryn Mullen) - Mokey represents a highly spiritual and artistic, hippie-type and usually remains quiet and contemplative, though even she can get annoyed from time to time. Mokey often enjoys painting and reciting poetry, although, according to the episode "Mokey's Funeral," her friends, Gobo, Boober, Wembley, and Red, do not enjoy listening to her poems, especially the unusually long ones about death and friendships. She functions as the optimist of the group, trying to see the best in everyone and everything, and comforting her friends when no such "bright side" can be found. According to episode 15, Mokey can make friends quite easily because of her optimistic personality. Though spiritual and serene, Mokey has the dangerous job of procuring radishes from the Gorgs' garden. Mokey has mauve skin and light blue green hair. She wears a greyish brown robe-like sweater and later an actual turtleneck sweater underneath the robe-like sweater starting in "The Great Radish Caper." She also wears the pop-top from a soda can as a necklace pendant. Mokey Fraggle's puppet regularly switches back and forth between live hands and rod hands, depending on the requirements of the scene. During those times, Mokey's right hand is usually performed by Trish Leeper. Also, she is the only Fraggle character to have moveable eyelids which open wide when scared, excited, or surprised. Mokey thinks more about the heart and is the oldest of the Fraggle group, serving as a den mother.
Red Fraggle (performed by Karen Prell) - In direct contrast to her best friend Mokey, Red has an exuberant and athletic nature; she is one of the best swimmers among the Fraggles. Red has a yellowish orange hue, red hair, and wears a red sweater. Mo Rocca described her on VH1's I Love the 80s: Strikes Back as the "Buck the establishment Fraggle" (comparable to Peppermint Patty of the Peanuts Gang). She is also highly cynical of her friends' plans and ideas and often teases Gobo about his Uncle Traveling Matt (occasionally yawning while he reads the postcards). Red, like Gobo, wants to be in control, and there is often friction between them over who should be the one in charge. During the course of the show, Red and Mokey become roommates.
Wembley Fraggle (performed by Steve Whitmire) - Gobo's roommate and best friend, appears nervous and pathologically indecisive (mostly because he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings; saying "yes" to someone means saying "no" to someone else). In fact, "to wemble" is a Fraggle verb meaning "to be indecisive" (though the episode "The Secret of Convincing John" points out that to not be able to choose, one must first understand ALL the possibilities, suggesting an "up" side to the condition). Starting with the episode "The Thirty-Minute Work Week" and in later episodes, Wembley works with the fire department as their siren. Wembley looks greenish-yellow, with yellow hair. He wears a white shirt with palm trees on it, which he refers to as his "banana shirt". As quite a talented percussionist, he often plays bongo drums.
Boober Fraggle (performed by Dave Goelz) - His cardinal traits include depression and worry, and he most enjoys washing socks even though Fraggles do not seem to use footwear most of the time (possibly he collects them). Boober almost always expresses a negative attitude, and displays hypochondriac tendencies (he is apparently allergic to dogs) and he expresses deeply ingrained superstition. Boober is Fraggle Rock's most talented cook and does everyone's laundry, and has a penchant for singing the blues. Boober is greenish-blue with reddish-orange hair, and always wears a red hat and brown scarf. He is the only primary Fraggle whose eyes remain invisible, and he prefers to live on his own, although he is close friends with both Red and Wembley, and he often subtly hits on Mokey. He has so much knowledge that he is actually a capable medic to the other fraggles, as evidenced in the later seasons.
Uncle Traveling Matt (performed by Dave Goelz) - Gobo's famous explorer uncle, spends most of the series in "Outer Space" (the Fraggles' perspective of the human world) and sends postcards back to his nephew describing his adventures there. He interacts with and often ends up interfering with the daily lives of humans, known to Fraggles as the "Silly Creatures". He sometimes refers to himself as "Matthew": he identifies the room filled with entrances to "Outer Space" as the "T. Matthew Fraggle Room." His name puns on "traveling matte", the "green screen" technique used to produce his film segments.
Ancient Fraggles - A tribe of Fraggles that were seen in "Mokey, Then and Now." Back then, Fraggles had leaders and didn't have hairs on the heads yet. Mokey, Wembley, and Boober ended up somewhere back in time where the Ancient Fraggles mistook Mokey as the legendary Blundig (who Mokey was dressed as when she, Wembley, and Boober were rehearsing a play about Blundig).
- Fishface Fraggle (performed by Jerry Nelson) - The autocratic ruler of the Ancient Fraggles.
- Bigmouth Fraggle (performed by Bob Stutt) - An Ancient Fraggle that speaks a lot.
- Bonehead Fraggle (performed by Cheryl Wagner) - An Ancient Fraggle with a bone through her nose. She tends to repeat every phrase Fishface Fraggle says.
- Noodlenose Fraggle (performed by Tim Gosley) - An Ancient Fraggle that is amused a lot and often ends up in the Ancient Fraggles' prison since being amused back then was a bad thing.
Cantus the Minstrel (performed by Jim Henson) - Cantus and the Minstrels continually travel to different parts of the cave, and stop several times at Fraggle Rock. They encourage the Fraggles to find their own songs, which culminate in "Our melody/come and sing it with me/It's a song where you know you'll belong.../'Cause you know we belong to the song."
- Brio the Minstrel (performed by Terry Angus) - A Fraggle who is one of the Minstrels following Cantus. Brio is a bespectacled Fraggle who plays the cymbals. According to puppeteer Terry Angus, Brio is also the only female minstrel, conceived by Jocelyn Stevenson to balance the gender ratio. She first appeared in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Minstrels."
Cave Fraggles - Deep in the caves of Fraggle Rock lives another group of Fraggles that are known to other Fraggles as Cave Fraggles (as shown in the episode "Fraggle Wars"). Enemy Fraggles live in a place they call Fraggle Cave. The Enemy Fraggles are dull and seem to be a lot like Boober, in that they share his pessimistic attitude and dislike of most forms of fun.
- The Cave's Oldest Fraggle (performed by Tim Gosley) - The elder of the Cave Fraggles. She urges her group of Cave Fraggles on to combat against the opposition as seen in "Fraggle Wars." Ultimately, humor prevails, and both Cave's Oldest and World's Oldest can only express disdain for modern youth.
- Beige Fraggle (performed by Richard Hunt) - One of the Cave Fraggles from the second season Fraggle Rock episode "Fraggle Wars". He is in charge of guarding Mokey when she is captured and kept prisoner in a cage. Beige tries very hard to be a tough, efficient Security Fraggle, but secretly begins to feel sorry for Mokey. When war threatens to break out between the Cave Fraggles and the Rock Fraggles, Beige finds the courage to help Mokey and, with Red's help, stop the battle before it starts. Like Red, however, his name is the same as his color, except his is the same color as his skin, and Red's is the same as her hair. While Mokey was being kept in the cage, she and Beige discussed the differences between their two cultures. Beige demonstrates the Cave Fraggles' unique sense of humor with the song "Ho Ho Ho (What a Funny World It Is)." One joke they find particularly amusing goes, "I met a man who had a son, he also had a daughter too!"
Chuchu Fraggle - Appeared in "Playing Till It Hurts" and has extremely large, yellow teeth, which are knocked out in the course of the episode. He played first base on Rumpel Fraggle's rock hockey team and was an aggressive player. Despite his teeth being knocked out, he continued to play.
Clerk Fraggle (performed by Dave Goelz) - Clerk Fraggle is responsible for taking attendance at the meetings of the Fraggle Rock Volunteer Fire Department as seen in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Thirty-Minute Work Week."
Convincing John (performed by Jim Henson) - An evangelist-like Fraggle, uses his fast-talking musical numbers to convince Fraggles to do anything, from getting Red to wear a blindfold to getting all Fraggles to stop eating Doozer constructions (and, subsequently, to start eating them again). "He could convince a Gorg that he's a Doozer!" Convincing John lives some distance away from the rest of the Fraggle warren: it is suggested that this status is something akin to exile, or quarantine, given Convincing John's propensity to convince people to do things at random. He does, however, have a trio of backing singers/dancers who are almost his acolytes, though when not performing, they are aware of his true nature and are less than impressed. In "The Secret Society of the Poobahs," Convincing John was the Vanguard of the Poobahs.
Eminent and Venerable Council of Sages - The council comprises the first three Fraggles to show up for a hearing. It is composed of the dopey Lambo (performed by Richard Hunt), Hambo (performed by Steve Whitmire) and an unnamed sleeping female Fraggle (voiced by Sharon Lee Williams). Red brings Mokey before the council when she mistakenly thinks Mokey has stolen her radish bars as seen in "Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief."
Felix the Fearless (performed by Bob Stutt) - A tan Fraggle with green and gray hair who serves as head of the Fraggle Rescue Squad. He possesses a high-pitched voice which contrasts with his name and reputation (as well as his over-sized outfit), and values bureaucracy over practical methods. He appeared in "Marooned" and "Wembley's Wonderful Whoopie Water."
Feenie Fraggle (performed by Jerry Nelson) - A good-natured but rather slow-witted Fraggle. Best friend to Large Marvin Fraggle.
Firechief Fraggle (performed by Richard Hunt) - Firechief Fraggle heads the Fraggle Rock Volunteer Fire Department, and swears Wembley in as a new member, allowing him to be the siren. Like the other members, Firechief Fraggle doesn't know how to start a fire.
Gillis Fraggle (performed by Richard Hunt) - A lavender Fraggle with green hair. He wears a black jacket and a pair of half-moon glasses. Gillis is the resident musician of Fraggle Rock. But unlike the Minstrels, he lives in the Rock full-time. His first appearance was in the episode "Uncle Matt Comes Home" where he conducts a song to welcome Uncle Traveling Matt back to Fraggle Rock. In "The Secret Society of Poobahs," Gillis was the Beggler-Beg of the Poobahs. Gillis' name is a reference to Fraggle Rock music arranger Don Gillis.
Herkimer Fraggle (performed by Richard Hunt) - A Fraggle who serves as the property caretaker of Rhyming Rock.
Large Marvin Fraggle (performed by Dave Goelz) - A fat Fraggle who loves snacking and also swimming. He is a long-time nemesis of Red Fraggle as he is the opposite of Red's personality.
Lou "Louise" Fraggle (performed by Cheryl Wagner) - A female Fraggle who becomes Wembley's girlfriend in the episode "We Love You Wembley".
Marley Fraggle (performed by Karen Prell) - A Fraggle that was around during Uncle Traveling Matt's childhood.
Marlon Fraggle (performed by Steve Whitmire) - An odd-looking Fraggle, resembles Peter Lorre. He wants to form a cult, has "ideas about behavioural modification" (as seen in "The Finger of Light") and carves a sculpture out of radishes for his turn as Moon Greeter (as seen in "Capturing the Moon"). As Fraggles go, he's probably the closest they come to evil as he one time tried to trap the Last of the Lily Creatures (as seen in "Red's Sea Monster").
Old Gypsy Lady (performed by Kathryn Mullen) - The only gypsy lady in Fraggle Rock, and walks with a wooden leg and a squeaky shoe. Boober pretends to be the Old Gypsy Lady when Sidebottom comes along to try to convince him to have some fun. However, he is caught in his lie when, at the end, the Gypsy Lady arrives.
Pedley Fraggle (performed by Mike Peterson) - A Fraggle that appeared in "A Brush with Jealousy."
Pipebangers - The Pipebangers are Fraggles who come out after the King Gorg takes his daily bath and empties the Fraggle's pond, sing and repeatedly bang on the pipes in the wall until the pond fills with water again.
- Archbanger Fraggle (performed by Jerry Nelson) - The head of the Pipebangers, who have the job of refilling the Fraggle Pond with water when it runs low. He does this by leading the Pipebangers in a ritual that involves striking the pipes in Fraggle Rock with sticks. The noisy pipes lead Doc to believe that there is a problem with his boiler, which he consequently empties. The Fraggles, however, believe the appearance of water to be magically related to the Pipebangers' actions. In his only appearance in "Let the Water Run," the Archbanger Fraggle is shocked when the water doesn't flow out of the pipes, despite repeated banging. He is unaware that Doc is fixing his boiler at the time. When Red brings back an umbrella from Doc's Workshop, the Archbanger insists on using it to bang on the pipes, claiming, "I know a sacred banging stick when I see one." Doc turns his boiler on at the very moment that the Archbanger begins to strike the pipes with the umbrella, and the Fraggles' faith in the pipe-banging ritual is restored. He also appeared in the animated version of Fraggle Rock, in the episode "Mokey's Flood of Wizard." For the 100th pipe-banging, the Archbanger wants a special ceremony, and is persuaded to allow Mokey to recite a poem for the occasion. The recitation, or so the Fraggles assume, is the cause of a flood, which spreads throughout the cavern. The Archbanger re-appeared in "The Great Fraggle Freeze."
Rock Hockey Hannah (performed by Kathryn Mullen) - Red Fraggle's role model and a famous sports figure in Fraggle Rock. She appeared in "Playing Till It Hurts" where she attended a Rock Hockey Game where Red was supposed to play in until she injured herself and took the place of one of the teammates. She did congratulate Red when she knew when to give up when Red got even more injured during the game.
Rumple Fraggle (performed by Gord Robertson) - He is a friend of Large Marvin who wears an aviator's hat and goggles. In the Fraggle Rock episode "Wembley and the Great Race," Rumple bets Boober Fraggle radishes on who they think will win the race.
Sidebottom (performed by Dave Goelz) - Functions as Boober's alter ego. He is funny, loud, and messy, unlike Boober. He sometimes appears during Boober's dreams and causes problems.
Sir Blunderbrain (performed by Steve Whitmire) - A brave Fraggle who appeared in a legend told in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Terrible Tunnel." According to the Storyteller Fraggle, Sir Blunderbrain ventured into the Terrible Tunnel but "never came home again."
Storyteller Fraggle (performed by Richard Hunt in the first appearance, Terry Angus in later appearances) - She lives somewhere in the Fraggle tunnels and tells the Fraggles the story of the Terrible Tunnel. She has an infatuation with Gobo's Uncle Traveling Matt which comes to light while she is telling the story of Uncle Matt's first adventure. She has a crush on Uncle Traveling Matt.
Tosh Fraggle (performed by Trish Leeper) - A friend of Boober's. She has a pet beast named Beastie.
Uncle Gobo (performed by Jerry Nelson) - Uncle Traveling Matt's uncle, Gobo's great-uncle and greatest Fraggle explorer only seen in flashbacks as seen in "Born to Wander" and "The Riddle of Rhyming Rock."
Wimple Fraggle (performed by Kathryn Mullen) - A Fraggle that was around during Uncle Traveling Matt's childhood.
Wizard (performed by Richard Hunt) - The Wizard is a supposed master of prestidigitation who visits Fraggle Rock occasionally to show off his magic tricks, which include the "Blooming Flower" trick and the "Double Twisted Over Back Flip While Escaping from Ropes and Waiting to Be Eaten While You're All Tied Up" trick. He is also fond of using smoke pellets to create the illusion of magic happening when he really hasn't done anything. The Wizard's incantation while performing magic is "Horse enchiladas, ho-ho!" Without his glasses and false beard, the Wizard closely resembles Wembley Fraggle. In the second season episode "The Wizard of Fraggle Rock," he fools Wembley into switching places with him. Wembley wants the other Fraggles to give him attention and praise; the Wizard hopes to escape from the Poison Cackler that is pursuing him.
- 7-Words-Max (performed by Dave Goelz) - The Wizard's lackey who is easily excited and loves to boast about the Wizard's accomplishments.
The World's Oldest Fraggle (performed by Dave Goelz) - He serves as elder for the Fraggles, often officiating at ceremonial events and emergency meetings. He first appears in the episode "The Finger of Light." The World's Oldest Fraggle is obviously greatly respected by the Fraggles, but he's not their leader. His role seems to be mostly ceremonial; he presides over games and leads meetings a lot, but he doesn't make rules for anyone.
- Henchy Fraggle (performed by John Pattison) - Henchy Fraggle acts as assistant to the World's Oldest Fraggle. His role is to correct The World's Oldest Fraggle, and then get hit in the nose with his cane after he exclaims, "I know that!"