|
Brum is a sweet and happy little yellow motorcar who loves making friends and hates to see anyone unhappy. He is outgoing and personable. He feels things deeply and has a strong sense of empathy. He doesn't always pick up on complex ideas and sometimes gets confused or frightened easily. He always stands up for his friends, showing his true bravery when someone else is in need. Brum is based on a late-1920s Austin 7 "Chummy", a once-popular British motorcar.
Why He Gets Things Done
- While not as iconic as other British characters such as Postman Pat, Fireman Sam, Thomas the Tank Engine, Sooty, Sweep, Soo, Peter Rabbit or Paddington Bear, he still has quite a large fanbase; rightfully so.
- Brum is one of the purest characters you can always get in media, always trying his best to cheer people up or just helping them out on a day to day basis. As a result, he is well-liked among most of the townspeople, excluding the Big Town Baddies.
- On top of this, he'll constantly take time out of his day to chase down the aforementioned bad guys if he sees that they're up to no good, being very brave in the process.
- His bravery also extends to going into traumatising places for a little car like him, such as going into (or rather forced to go to) a scrapyard, even after he states how he doesn't like the look of the place and just wants to go home.
- Even when his franchise went downhill in the infamous reboots, Brum still remained the same loveable yellow car we all know and love in each show.
- He's also one of the best example of how to write a non-verbal character (especially in season 3), along with the Road Runner or Mr Benn, only communicating through his beep-beeping and expressions in his eyes.
- Sometimes, Brum would even put his life on the line just to help out his friends, only adding to the amount of selflessness mentioned above.
- His design is pretty cute and fits well with his character.
- "Oh My Wheels and Wipers!" is an iconic line.
- In the episode "Brum and the Runaway Pram" he also saves a woman's baby from potential injuries.
- It's not like Brum's a perfect character, however, as he does have a couple of good character flaws, such as being a bit too paranoid in some episodes.
- In additions, viewers can sympathise with him a lot, such as his unintentional mistreatment in the aforementioned 'Scrapyard' episode. In that episode, his battery ran out, so he was asleep and he was almost sold off, being sent away to an unknown fate if that had happened.
- The situations he gets into are often just very fun to watch.
- For the reasons that have been mentioned above, Brum has truly shown why he's earned his spot on the Incredible Characters Wiki.
The Only "Wheels and Wipers!" Quality
- It is a bit irresponsible of Brum to sneak off into the big town every episode without his owner knowing. However, he at least shows the audience his independence on his own, so it's not like it's really a massive flaw for him.
Trivia
- A number of Brum models were used throughout filming. A season 3-5 model has toured with The Herbert's Story of Children's Television Exhibition and has appeared at the Beaulieu Motoring Museum. The first season stunt Brum is currently at The Cotswold Motoring Museum in his spot from the intro but with some features from seasons 3-5, mainly his headlights. Ragdoll most likely still owns a few Brum models.
- It is alleged that two of the seasons 1-5 Brum models were reused and upgraded. Brum has a slightly different look in some episodes in season 3 with a few features from season 2 but not later in seasons 4 and 5. This is most likely because the Brum model had not been upgraded at the time of season 3.
- The main differences between the various models are as follows: different sized eyes/headlights, (small in seasons 1 and 2, big in seasons 3-5, his pupils are also slightly bigger in seasons 3-5) different number plates, (bigger in season 1, slightly smaller with a longer edge in season 2 and smaller in seasons 3-5) different number plate font, (in seasons 1 and 2 it appears to be Helvetica, but seasons 3-5's is currently unknown), different spare tyre, differing number plate position, (in the middle in season 1, lower in season 2, and higher up in season 3-5), different starting handle (different in seasons 1 and 2 compared to seasons 3-5) and completely different folding roof (flatter in season 2 compared to season 1 and with a different design in seasons 3-5).
- Brum's convertible soft top is only seen up in "Little Girl Lost" and the cover for a VHS tape collection. This is most likely because Brum wasn't often filmed on rainy days as the directors supposedly not liking how Brum looked with his soft top up.
- The builder of the various Brum models was a man by the name of Rex Garrod, who tragically passed away on April 8, 2019.
- One of the season 2 Hero Brum models was kept by Rex Garrod after the show concluded. This Brum was showcased at a car show and was later slightly repaired after Garrod's death. This Brum is still owned by Rex Garrod's family.
- It is alleged that one of the season 2 Brum models was stolen during filming. This may be the reason why one of Brum's season 1 stunt models was used in the episode "Brum and the Flood" when Brum is washed down the underground sewer system.
- In the music video "Fireflies" by Owl City, a toy model of Brum makes a cameo.
- Brum's horn sound was later reused by Rusty from Thomas & Friends.
- Brum has made four other appearances after the conclusion of the show:
- In 1991, Brum was a special guest at the Blue Peter studio.
- On 5 September 2001, he made a guest appearance where he brings Liam Dolan drawings from fans which flew away.
- On 10 December 2001, he made a special guest appearance in the CBBC On Choice studio.
- In 2006, Brum was part of the St. Matthew's Primary School's road safety campaign in Westminster.
- He had his own Live Theatre show on 9 June 2007 in "Brum and the Big Blue Diamond Mystery". A completely new and bigger Brum model was built for the show.
- Sometime in the '90s, the BBC held a competition to go skiing with Brum.
Loading comments...