Turbo Pudding

JungalooMeet the cast

Meet Baron Fanfaron’s Feather Parade

· The Turbo Pudding team · 5 min read

Night over the Thousandleaf Isles: Baron Fanfaron, a glossy indigo feather-bird with a golden crest, stands in a golden gondola marked FANFARON and holds his black cape up in a huge oval with two turquoise eye-spots and a wide turquoise smile, a giant fan of pink, gold, turquoise and lilac feathers spread behind him; on the left Cornet, a little green hummingbird with a red throat and a purple tabard, hovers by a smaller gondola and toots an orange trumpet flower, two more gondolas topped with feather bouquets hang in the sky, a half moon glows at the top left and a leafy garland runs along the top

Baron Fanfaron has carried Princess Orla off to perform at his show, and his whole Feather Parade comes along: a herald, a squad of guards and three star acts, each waiting for Tavo in an arena of its own. It’s Monday, so let’s meet them.

The picture at the top is from the prologue, on the night before Bloomnight: the Baron in his Grand Pose, with Cornet tooting him in.

Baron Fanfaron

The Baron is a tall, glossy indigo feather-bird with a golden crest tipped in magenta, a turquoise shield on his chest and violet eyes in gold rims. His tail pours down in lilac plumes. He talks about himself in the third person, as “Fanfaron,” and between his numbers he laughs “Ho-ho-HO!”

His favorite move is the Grand Pose. He throws his black cape up into a huge oval with two turquoise eye-spots and a turquoise smile, and hops from side to side.

The glitter in his tail is called Dazzle. When the Princess turns his concert down, he answers “Then I insist! Dazzle, my darlings!” and pink glitter pours over the islands. Any animal it lands on gets cross and dances to his music. A hit from Tavo knocks the Dazzle off: the animal sneezes a purple puff and runs off about its own business.

Cornet, the herald

Cornet is a hummingbird, emerald green with a ruby-red throat, in a tiny purple tabard with the Baron’s curl on it. Cornet’s trumpet is an orange trumpet-creeper flower.

Every act gets a grand “PRESENTING…” from Cornet, and for the boss himself Cornet goes all out: “PRESENTING… the one, the only, the MAGNIFICENT… Baron Fanfaron!”

The Frillguards

The Baron’s guards are frilled lizards who run on their hind legs. Each wears a little golden bowl helmet, and around his neck is a big orange-red frill with a yellow rim. A squad of them waits in Tidewood Mangroves.

A Frillguard marches toward Tavo frill first. About every two and a half seconds, when Tavo is in reach, he flings the frill wide open, cries “HALT!” for half a second and lobs a soft glitter ball at the spot where Tavo stands.

A throw at his front just bounces off the frill. Hit him from behind, jump on him from above, which counts double, or throw a stone nut. Three hits, and he sneezes and runs off like everyone else.

A rainy evening over gray-green water in Tidewood Mangroves: Tavo, a boy with spiky dark hair, a yellow tunic and a woven basket on his back, stands on a wooden dock on the left and looks at a Frillguard on a muddy bank on the right; the guard, a sandy-brown lizard standing on his hind legs in a little golden helmet with a purple feather, has flung open a big orange frill around his neck and holds up a pink sparkling glitter ball, and the word HALT! in bold yellow letters hangs over his head
Searched “lizard guard game.” He said “HALT!” and meant it.

Clatterhorn, the strongest beetle

The first act waits in Heartwood Hall, deep inside the great tree of Hollowheart. Cornet introduces him as “the Strongest Beetle in the Parade,” and Clatterhorn agrees at full volume: “CLANK! Boss says nobody passes!” Tavo has an answer ready: “Good thing I'm not passing. I'm climbing.”

He’s a stag beetle in a golden champion’s belt, loud, boastful and kind-hearted. He walks for two seconds, then scrapes a foot and lowers his horns with a “clack-clack.” That’s the moment to get up on a low branch, because next he charges across the hall. If he runs into a wall, he’s stuck there for two seconds with his wing-cases open, and that’s your chance.

When it’s over, the Dazzle comes out in one big sneeze, and the beetle is himself again: “Achoo! …Wait. Why was I yelling? Sorry, kid.”

Inside the hollow of a great tree lit by glowing amber drips of sap, Tavo, in his yellow tunic with a basket on his back, lands feet first on the back of Clatterhorn, a huge glossy brown beetle with long dark horns, a round eye and a gold star badge on his side, and a burst of little white stars flies up under Tavo’s sandals; behind them a wooden ledge runs along the trunk to a glowing honeycomb, and small mushrooms grow on the mossy floor
Typed “giant beetle boss game.” Tavo landed on top.

Madame Gulp, the opera toad

At the foot of Thunderveil Falls, in the pond under the Rainbow Stair, an opera diva sits on her stone throne. Cornet calls her “the Voice of the Valley.” Madame Gulp is an olive-gold toad with warts, a cream throat that swells into a ball, a string of shells and a flower behind her “ear.” Her entrance is a warm-up: “Mi-mi-mi… MEEEEE!” Tavo’s review: “Oh no. She's warming up.”

Her throat swells, and then her tongue lashes along the stones, so jump it. After that, her mouth stays open for a second and a half, and that’s where a fruit should go. Every other time, she sings a high note at Tavo instead: a ring of sound trembles where he stands, and then a spout of pond water bursts up right there. Step out of the ring.

In a stone cave behind a pale waterfall, Madame Gulp, a huge olive-green toad with dark spots, heavy-lidded yellow eyes, a pink flower on her head and a string of cream shells around her neck, sits in a blue pond with her wide red mouth open and her pink tongue showing, a green vine hanging behind her; on the grassy bank at the far left Tavo stands with his basket and looks at her, and small round stepping stones with tiny pink flowers poke out of the water between them
People also ask: can a toad sing opera? This one warms up first.

Duchess Dusk, the ballerina moth

High up in Windharp Heights, the parade’s ballerina is waiting. Duchess Dusk, “the Prima Ballerina of the Breeze,” is an atlas moth with rust-red and ochre wings, cream windows in them, a fluffy cream body, feathery antennae and a tutu of down, and she moves in ballet poses. Her cue is “And one, and two, and… BLOW!” Captain Bellows is delighted: “Finally — someone who flies!”

She gathers the wind, her wings trembling, and then a wave of wind runs along the floor. Anyone still on the floor is knocked over, so be up on a stem, a ledge or a perch. Then she dives at Tavo and settles on a bamboo stem for two seconds, and that’s the time to reach her.

Duchess Dusk, a giant moth with wide rust-red wings striped in ochre, cream triangle windows, rows of cream dots along the lower edges and pink tips with little gold curls, rests with her wings spread on a tall green bamboo stem; she has a round cream face with sleepy eyes, pink cheeks and a small smile, two feathery golden antennae, a fluffy cream body and a white ruffled tutu, and more bamboo stems, two pole perches and a bunch of yellow and orange fruit fill the green grove around her
Search history: “moth boss,” then “why is the moth in a tutu.”

Levels 1–3 and the first boss are free to play in your browser at jungaloo.com; the full game is $4.99, paid once. More about the game is on its Jungaloo page.

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