GIR

GIR, also known as G Information Retrieval Unit, is one of the main characters from the Invader Zim series.
== Charactah Account ==
Zim's robot sidekick, on Earth disguised as a dog. Supposedly a "SIR" (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval) unit assigned to all invaders, but GIR is an "advanced" model the Tallest specially gave Zim. And by "advanced", we of course mean "moronic," thanks to having a head literally full of garbage.note  While usually too flighty to be of any consistent help, GIR will now and again go into "Duty Mode," signified by a change of eye-and-panel color from blue to red, and act like a real SIR.
GIR possesses "superior geographic abilities" that were given to him by Zim. In his head there are an array of various weapons, but he rarely uses them. There is also a great deal of empty space that he uses to store things, like a giant pile of rubber piggies, a puppy, or even a beehive. This is implied to be the "thermos" function stated by Tallest Red to be built into all SIR units.
== Appearance ==
=== Cartoons ===
* Invader Zim
* Invader Zim Season 2
=== Comics ===
* Invader Zim
* Invader Zim #1 $1 Dollar Edition
* Invader Zim Quarterly
* Invader Zim Quarterly Collection: Oodles of Doom
* Invader Zim Treasury Edition
* Invader ZIM: Best of Creatures
* Invader ZIM: Best of GIR
* Invader ZIM: Best of World Domination
* Invader Zim: Free Comic Book Day 2018
* Invader Zim: The Dookie Loop Horror
* Nickelodeon Magazine
=== Movies ===
* Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
=== Video Games ===
* Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
* Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix
* Nicktoons MLB
* Nicktoons: Android Invasion
* Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots
* SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom
* Super Brawl Universe
* Super Mini Puzzle Heroes
== Trivia ==
* GIR is voiced by Rosearik Rikki Simons. He was voiced by Wasabi Mizuta in the Japanese dub, Wendel Bezerra in the Brazilian Portuguese dub and while Irwin Daayán voiced him in the Latin American dub, he was credited erroneously the voice actor Víctor Ugarte voiced him in duty mode in "Gir Goes Crazy and Stuff." but this was a mistake in the final credits.
** GIR's Japanese voice actress is also known for voicing Doraemon from the series of the same name.
*** Besides both characters being robots, they also share the same voice actors in Japanese & Latin Spanish version.
** GIR's Brazilian Portuguese voice actor is also known for voicing SpongeBob and Goku from Dragon Ball series.
** GIR's Latin Spanish voice actor is also known for voicing Yugi Muto from Yu-Gi-Oh! series and Sheen Estevez from Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius also the movie and the series.
** Rikki Simon's first voice for auditioning GIR was trying to imitate his mother-in law, but was said to be "too shrieky". Rikki remembered when he played hand puppets with his father, voicing the puppets, so he did that voice for GIR.
** Rikki Simons originally had his recorded dialogue increased in pitch post-recording to voice GIR, his natural voice being much too low to perform it. A metallic effect is also added to make his voice sound more mechanical. At OMGCon 2010, Simons claimed he had learned to perform GIR's voice without the need to digitally increase the pitch, although the metallic effect was still necessary.
** Jhonen Vasquez wanted someone without experience in voice acting as he felt it would be a reflection of how messed up of a machine GIR could be.
* Seeing as GIR was made by the Tallest because they didn't want to waste a perfectly good SIR on Zim, it is conceivable to think that before being re-activated, he actually was a fully functional robot before presumably becoming obsolete by newer versions of the SIR Units.
* Ironically the Tallest unwittingly saved Zim's life by giving him GIR as a joke assistant, had they provided him with an actual SIR Unit, they would've freed the Irken Empire from his shenanigans once and for all as it nearly happened when GIR was stuck in duty mode during "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff."
* Another irony is that despite GIR being a defective SIR Unit, he's still far more advanced than any A.I. on Earth, as he not only has a guidance chip, can fly, has enormous strength, serves as a thermos and is built with powerful weaponry within him, but is also capable of emotions, has the ability to eat, sleep and laugh, basically giving him anthropomorphic characteristics, something humans currently haven't been able to achieve in robotics.
* It was for a long time speculated that GIR's full name was Garbage Information Retrieval unit, given that he was made by the Tallest mostly from parts in a garbage can. However Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of the show said the "G" doesn't stand for anything.
* It's possible that GIR is a one of a kind SIR Unit, as it's unlikely that any other robot given to Invaders has such anthropomorphic qualities.
* One could argue that the Tallest made GIR the most "human" character of the show.
* In Duty Mode, GIR can show hate, unlike his normal malfunctioning self.
* In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", it was revealed that there's a SIR Unit code that enables a SIR Unit's free will in the event that they and their master's mission is under threat. Interestingly, GIR knew this while in Duty Mode, which may mean that he does know this when he is his regular self but his malfunctioning nature prevents him from fully understanding it. In this sense, GIR is the only SIR Unit in the series to have free will.
* GIR is shown to be somewhat aware of his surroundings, however he most likely isn't aware that he's a robot, much less that he is technically meant to assist Zim in the enslavement or annihilation of humanity.
* Despite Irk being GIR's homeworld, he has never been seen setting foot on the planet, and he was actually assembled on Conventia.
* During the early stages of the show, Jhonen Vasquez considered the idea of GIR storing meat into his disguise to give his dog suit the appearance of a "fleshy consistency" something that was later done in "Invader Poonchy."
* GIR apparently has a "defensive mode" activated by voice command via Zim, although it typically results in GIR being actually even more unhelpful than usual. In "Abducted", for example, Zim activated GIR's Defensive Mode with the intent of preventing two aliens from abducting them; instead, GIR simply leaped into the sack that the aliens had brought. Defensive Mode was used again in "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom", when Zim was barricading the house against an onslaught of trick-or-treaters; its activation led GIR to cheerfully hop out of the nearest window. Defensive Mode was last used in "Zim Eats Waffles", when Zim activated it in desperation against an attacking Giant Flesh-Eating Cyborg Squid; GIR responded by offering the squid two snow cones out of his head as it beat Zim with a microwave.
* GIR literally breaks the fourth wall by running into the screen during the title sequence.
* GIR's feet squeak when he walks, regardless of whether or not he is wearing his dog disguise.
* GIR makes a cameo appears in the 2017 video game South Park: The Fractured but Whole, however he is mis-colored blue instead of green and also the zipper to his dog suit is also missing. This could be to prevent any copyright issues.
* He also appears in many games like Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, Nicktoons MLB(as an announcer) and is playable in a game called Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, although in AOTTB DS edition, his voice is a lower pitch then his normal voice, resembling his voice in the Pilot Episode despite the fact he is still voiced by Rikki Simons in the games.
* He is the color commentator in Nicktoons MLB, according to his collectible card. When he was told he was going to be the CC, he said, "I WON ALL THE SQUISHY TACO SOAP!".
* He seems to like anything he sees, but especially loves tacos, cupcakes, monkeys, pigs, T.V., and most food.
* GIR is one of the most popular characters in the series, being an all time fan favorite.
** As a result, he has been featured on more Invader Zim merchandise than any other character.
* In the title sequence when Zim falls into his Voot Cruiser, GIR's eyes appear green.
* GIR's brain consists of pocket lint, a paperclip, a penny, and a marble, all of which were the contents of Tallest Purple's pockets at the time he was hastily assembled.
* How GIR able to function is unknown, considering Tallest Red made him hastily and his brain is made of miscellaneous objects as mentioned above; By all accounts he shouldn't even be able to be activated, let alone possess the cognitive ability to talk or do all his crazy shenanigans.
* Since Tallest Red made him, one could say that he is GIR's father.
* GIR's famous "bacon soap" quote from "Rise of the Zitboy", much like Courteney Lily's shouting from almost being crushed by Mars in "Battle of the Planets", had also become an audio meme on Flipnote Hatena when it was still active.
* There is a consistent error, in both the show and comics, regarding GIR's Duty Mode. Sometimes, his eyes and chest panel will both change color from blue to red, and other times just his eyes change, leaving the chest panel the same.
* GIR has a habit of keeping small live animals in his head. This includes: a bee hive ("Walk of Doom" and Issue 17), a smelly puppy (“Walk for Your Lives”), a poodle (Issue 1), a chipmunk (Issue 4), a space slug(Issue 7), puppies (Issue 9), a squirrel, and a cat (Issue 11).
* Interestingly, in the comics, GIR's speech bubbles are the same color as any other character (black letters on white background), even though every other robotic character's speech bubbles are color inverted, being white on black. This may be done intentionally as GIR is more sentient than any robot in the series and comics.
* In Issue 22, the disguise that GIR wears as the assistant to Zim's "Engineer Scientist" has been noted as making him look like Fonzie from the TV series Happy Days, likely as a tribute to the character.
* Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was shown that GIR actually does have a fondness for his master as Zim was in GIR's "like pack" in Issue 23.
* In 2011, Rosearik Rikki Simons was approached to do some GIR shorts for Nickelodeon. Although Simons would have been very much open to reprise his role as GIR, negotiations ultimately fell apart and no shorts were ever produced. At Long Beach Comic Con 2019, Simons said the reason why these GIR shorts never went anywhere might have been because "It's kinda weird to do GIR by himself. I don't know what that would be."
* Vasquez has stated that the four main characters are not evil; this can be proven with GIR since he is a malfunctioning robot and befriends just about anyone he makes contact with, regardless of whether or not it is alive.
* There's a character from the heavily cult-followed western-styled anime Panty & Stocking with Garterbeltnamed Chuck; his appearance is strikingly similar to GIR's dog disguise.
** Because of this, Jhonen stated later he found it amusing seeing the character in the anime series.
* There's another character who is also similar to GIR named Clank, the deuteragonist from the popular PlayStation game series, Ratchet & Clank. But unlike GIR, he's likely the polar opposite of him, intelligent, responsible and highly-focused.
* Zim apparently washes GIR’s dog disguise and needs to bribe him with Girly Rangers cookies to do so as seen in "Issue 17."
* It seems that GIR is infatuated with Gaz as seen in "Bloaty's Pizza Hog", and when he even managed to kiss her in "Tak: The Hideous New Girl". He’s the only character in Invader Zim to ever kiss someone.
* GIR is one of the four characters to have conquered the Earth, as in the cancelled episode "The Trial" he uses Zim's attack satellite and ends up being worshipped by the human race. The other three are Gaz (in Zim's body) in Issue 21, Emperor Zim in Issue 12 and Zim himself in Enter the Florpus.
* The comic series has a running gag of GIR being obsessed with bones. In Issue 10, he complains about not having bones, clarifying that he does but they're not his; in Issue 41, he steals some bones from Dib's skeleton when he finds it wandering the city and is last seen playing with them; and in Issue 43, when a Plim comments that they don't have bones, GIR cheerfully pulls a bunch out of his chest compartment.
* In Issue 38; when GIR is impersonating Dib and gets carried away with the role, he ironically gets a lot closer to convincing people that Zim is an alien than Dib ever has, meaning he almost exposed his master.
* A day before the movie was available for streaming, Netflix released some promotional art, presumably made by Jhonen Vasquez. If the art is canon, it confirms that GIR has a heart.
* This might be a reference to the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, who was a metal man who wanted a heart.
* In Enter the Florpus, it’s revealed that GIR is an excellent songwriter (by the show's standards) as he worked diligently on the song "Peace is Nice", which inspired the children of Earth to hold hands, which was crucial to Zim's plan to teleport the Earth into the path of the Irken Armada.
* Foodio 3000 and GIR are the only known robots in the series who are seen cooking, but only the latter has the ability to eat.
* GIR's dog disguise is green, which could be a reference to the Irkens themselves as they are the S.I.R Units creators.
* GIR has technically committed murder by eating the berry like aliens in the Quarterly Issue of GIR's Big Day.
* Interestingly, while Zim has only destroyed certain alien worlds, ironically it's GIR - who by all accounts is the most innocent out of everyone in the series - that is responsible for the destruction of the universe during the events of The Dookie Loop Horror. This makes him the character with the highest body count in the series or comics, but because the loop keeps happening, all the deaths and destruction keeps getting erased.
* As said by Jhonen Vasquez on a Twitch stream for the 20th Anniversary of Invader Zim, GIR is "a chaotic baby". Jhonen has said that GIR has killed people but has never done so on purpose. GIR has even admitted to eating a baby in the very first issue of the Invader Zim comic series and Enter the Florpus.
* George Dvorsky from io9 specifically praised GIR, saying, “Science fiction has portrayed its fair share of glitchy and bumbling robots over the years, but none hold a candle to Invader Zim's GIR. Quite possibly the most erratic and unhelpful robot to ever hit the screen, GIR has become one of the most loved and often quoted characters to appear in a sci-fi cartoon in years.”
** Dvorsky added that, “In a show that features a nasty array of selfish, mean-spirited, and indifferent characters, GIR is a symbol of child-like innocence and free-spirited rebelliousness. He may have weapons that pop out of his head, but he never once uses them. He hates no one, and despite the mission, actually comes to love the planet Earth."
== Gallery ==
File:GIR Render 01.png
File:GIR Render 02.png
File:GIR Render 03.png
File:GIR Render 04.png
File:GIR Render 05.png
File:GIR 01.png
== External Links ==
* GIR at Invader ZIM Wiki
Category:Characters
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Category:Invader Zim