Jacob Two-Two

:"This article is about the Books written by Mordecai Richler. For the TV series, see Jacob Two-Two (TV series) and for the movies see Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang."

"Jacob Two-Two" is the central character in a trilogy of children's books, "Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang" (1975), "Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur" (1987) and "Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case" (1995), written by Mordecai Richler. Jacob is the youngest child of five and has to say things twice because people don't hear him the first time. The first book in the series has twice been filmed, in 1978 and in 1999, the latter film starring Gary Busey. The trilogy has inspired an animated TV series produced by Nelvana, and seen in Canada on YTV (English) and VRAK.TV (French), and in the United States on qubo, both on the ION Television digital subchannel and NBC's Saturday morning qubo lineup.

The character is said to have been inspired by Jacob Richler, the author's youngest son. It should be noted that every character in Jacob's family has the same name as their counterpart in the real Richler family.

Protagonists

Jacob Two-Two :The protagonist of the story, who can ride a two-wheel bike, or cut bread, or cross the street, or run errands for his parents.

Mr. Dinglebat:Jacob's next door neighbour is an international spy, working for CMIST (Canadian Ministry of Intrigue, Spying, and Tattling). Jacob later helps Mr. Dinglebat and his agent Intrepid (a hamster) on top secret missions.

Morty:Jacob's dad, the writer of the popular "Amazing Ronald" books. He is said to be based on Mordecai Richler. He's fairly laid back.

Noah and Emma:Jacob's older twin brother and sister respectively. The two of them are avid readers and wrestling fans, but they don't take Jacob seriously and treat him like a nuisance who can't keep up with them. They form a superhero team known as "Kid Power" and refer to themselves as the fearless O'Toole (Noah) and the intrepid Shapiro (Emma). They pick on Jacob a lot.

Marfa:Jacob's oldest sister, who is short tempered but very smart. While she and Jacob argue a lot, she is proud of his achievements and they care about each other.

Daniel:Jacob's oldest brother, the epitome of cool in Jacob's eyes. He treats Jacob like a nuisance at times, but also seems to take him more seriously than Noah, Emma, and Marfa. He likes music, especially classics like the Beatles. (See Daniel Richler.)

Florence:Jacob's mother, who takes everything in a stride.

Buford Orville G. Pugh:Jacob's best friend is very talkative, and somewhat strange but always gives a helping hand.

Renée Ratelle:Jacob's other best friend. Renée can be described as very sophisticated, but together with Jacob and Buford, they can resolve any local crisis, and even a few national crises.

"'Gary (aka "The Hooded Fang"):Famous wrestler, and a good friend of Jacob.

Antagonists

Principal Ignats M. Greedyguts:The principal of Dreary Meadows Elementary School. He lives up to his name of being a greedy-gut. He is evil, and hates children, particularly the JBR trio. He is usually aided by the school's caretaker Leo Louse, and the JBR trio's homeroom teacher, Miss Sourpickle. He likes to spend school funds for his own personal reasons.

Carl Fester King:An unsuccessful businessman who always wants to live up to his name. His plans of fraud and evil are always foiled by Jacob.

Fish and Fowl:A duo of master thieves. Their plans are always foiled by Jacob.

Leo Louse:A good friend of Morty, who once lived in the same house as him. He is the caretaker of Dreary Meadows, and now lives there with his mother. He has been foiled many times by Jacob, he is known by the Montreal Public Library as "The Bookworm".

References

* Brian Busby, "Character Parts: Who's really Who in Canlit", Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p, 129. ISBN 0676975798, ISBN 067697578X