MEET WOODLAND
Unassuming, level headed, Otis Rabbit is the touchstone of Woodland that everyone turns to for advise, help, spare change. He's also probably the most well adjusted, which ain't really saying much. Though he'd rather be fishing, Otis is dragged kicking screaming into the life and adventures of Woodland either through his "big mouth" or his maniacal friends, with only his pluck and resourcefulness to save them. Sometimes, even that's not enough. Otis also has a thing for Ginny Fox, although the fact that she is a fox (albeit a vegetarian) is beyond him. He is, though, keenly aware of Ginny's daughter, Kit, who doesn't share her mother's diet but rather sees a plump, meaty Otis on a nice rice pilaf
Constantly snagging things up is one of Otis' oldest and best friends, Mo' Bear. Not the sharpest needle on the tree, Mo' is a hulking "big child" to whom everything is an adventure. Good natured and always hungry, Mo' is a true hedonist. He's a Jimmy Buffet fan; well, he's a fan of any buffet for that matter. Mo' knows who to use his size to his advantage. He sees himself as the protector of his "l'il buddy" Otis, Stewart, and Woodland in general, whether they need it or want it. "If it don't work, hit it hard!" is his motto. Another would be "if that don't work, hit it harder!"
Otis's younger step-brother and (with Mo') best friend, Stewart Raccoon is an impractical, obsessive "x-treme" thrill seeker--a regular Prozac poster child. Siny things easily distract him from whatever he's doing. But once he latches on to something, watch out. He'll drive everyone nuts. Loyal to a fault, he can also take a bite out of whomever ticks him off--Otis and Mo' included. Folks say rabies runs in his family, though they won't say so openly. ("All tht's missing is the foam around his mouth," some say under their breath.) All of which may explain his manic depressive personality, his anything for an adrenaline rush life, his taunting of birds of prey to "eat me".
Ginny Fox is a relative newcomer to Woodland; she is intelligent, intuitive, and empathetic. Things that Woodland seems to lack. She's also kinda out there with her new-age beliefs. Ginny is a single mother to pre-teen Kit. She is trying to raise Kit as a vegetarian, but Kit is finding it's just not getting her through the adolescent growth spurts very well. In fact, Kit is having a hard time keeping her canines off the juicier and fluffier Otis, "accidentally" biting him more than once.
Ginny's feelings for Otis are mixed. she knows he has a "thing" for her. And sometimes he's just such a great rabbit and good soul that she psyches herself up to go after him. But sometimes, he's just such a tentative and slow-moving waffle that she yearns for the dark and smoky mystery of Tom Wolf, even though she knows he's no good for her. Much like her no-good ex-, Kit's father.
Somewhat of an enigma, loner Tom Wolf is the closest thing Woodland has to a sage, or holy man. Revered by some, slighty feared by others, you don't know if this saxophone playing "jazz man" has been smoking the weeds growing behind the dump for his insight to life. Some say he's "one howl away" from his wolf origins. Others say those origins are what did in this "rising star streaking across the night sky of music." Still, folk seek Tom out for advise and wisdom, but when he speaks Otis is left to sort out what's real and what's riddle.
Mudge T. Weasel and Elvis Rat The village idiots. Mudge is a pretentious con man always looking to turn a fast buck. Faster than a telemarketers fingers, he figures out folks' motivations and how to use them to his advantage. Mudge's pompous, ego-filled, ego-satisfying schemes always seek that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow while besting Otis. Trouble is, his schemes always backfire. Mudge is abetted, if not always aided, by his sidekick, dim-witted and gullible Elvis. Not really evil or wicked, they are a pain in the butt. Elvis would just as soon clobber the Rabbit, but Mudge insists on a battle of wits-- a battle he inevitably loses.
'Course there's plenty of other folk in Woodland, too--
Uncle Gus, the Squirrel boys, Larry Moose, Ted Turtle, Murphy Duck the postal carrier, Badger Rimple the General Store owner, Aunt Laimi Porcupine, and more.
You might even catch a glimpse of Chuckie "Road-kill" Squirrel and his family, whose constant reoccuring encounters with death
give Woodland pause to reflect on the "blunt immediacy of life's fragility." Chuck is also the "butt" of much Woodland humor.
Stop on by.
There's always an extra fish in the pot, 'case a hungry stranger shows up.
The Woodland forest path . . .
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Woodland characters and likenesses are copyrighted 1993-7 and trademarks of Woodland Puppets. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without the permission of Woodland Puppets and Wayne Krefting.