Felix Flanken

“Gosh. Felix Flanken, chairman of the board of Monsters, Inc. I can’t do it. I just can’t do it. I could never face that board of directors.”—Felix considering his uncle’s business proposition.
Felix Flanken is the protagonist of the 1967 Rankin/Bass animated feature film, Mad Monster Party. He is Baron von Frankenstein’s asthmatic and nerdy nephew, the doctor’s intended successor and, eventually, the love interest of Francesca.
He was voiced by Allen Swift, like a majority of the characters in the same film.
== Personality ==
Felix’s main trait is, due to terrible allergies, he violently coughs and sneezes frequently throughout the film, resulting in him taking pills, liquid medicine and using throat spray to keep them under control. Despite this, he is good-natured, mild-mannered, soft-spoken, friendly and kind. He can be clumsy at times, and he is also incredibly oblivious, as he has absolutely no idea what his uncle has planned for him, who he has invited to the convention alongside Felix himself, nor the fact that the monsters are out to kill him.
During the climax, while he is shown to be cowardly at times, he proves himself to be brave and heroic, as he does everything he can to rescue Francesca. After Francesca declares her love for him, he develops feelings of love and a genuine soft spot for her, even going so far as to comfort her when she’s sad.
== Appearance ==
Felix is a slender human boy, with light skin, brown hair, black eyes, and red lips. He wears a dark gray tuxedo, with a white undershirt, gold cufflinks and a pinkish red bowtie, black, round-framed eyeglasses, and brown, flat-heeled shoes.
During his introduction at the local drug store, he wears a white vendor’s uniform and hat.
== Role in the film ==
Felix is first seen conducting a small experiment in the pharmacy department, when he is startled by the sharp voice of his grouchy boss, Mr. Kronkite. As he struggles to pick up the spilled pills all over the floor, he tells Mr. Kronkite to take it out of his pay. Kronkite continues to scold Felix for all of his responsibilities to attend to around the store, when the mailman arrives at that moment. Felix receives a letter from his uncle, telling him that he’s invited to his island to take part in a new scientific discovery. He asks his boss for time off to attend the convention and return in time for work, but Kronkite refuses, (until Felix violently sneezes, knocking over a stack of nasal spray bottles, angering him, and causing him to change his mind).
Later that day, arrives the docks to board a freighter ship headed for the Isle of Evil. He’s able to get aboard, completely free of charge, due to the captain and his first mate being frightened by some of the doctor’s other guests and mistaking him for another monster. As he searches the hallways for a suitable cabin, he accidentally bumps into the Werewolf, causing him to lose his glasses. Unable to see, he mistakes the Werewolf for a woman wearing a fur piece. He offers to help the “woman” with her “fur piece,” and brushes off the Wolf’s tail, causing him to run away howling. Felix apologizes and continues to look for his missing glasses. He then bumps into the Invisible Man. He says he cannot see anything without his glasses, to which the Invisible Man responds, chuckling “I’ve heard that one before.”
As the sun begins to set, on the upper deck, Felix meets Dr. Jekyll. As he’s introducing himself, he suddenly sneezes. He uses his throat spray, causing him to cough, then takes a pill, causing him to hiccup. Jekyll tells him he has an elixir of his very own, and pours said elixir into the cap on the top of his cane. He toasts Felix’s good health and takes a drink. All of a sudden, Jekyll collapses to the ground, making painful gagging sounds. Felix asks if he’s alright, only to discover (unbeknownst to him) that Jekyll has transformed into the horrible Mr. Hyde. He inquires if “Jekyll” isn’t seasick, which prompts Hyde to give him his real name. However, instead of “Hyde,” Felix thinks he’s saying “hide,” giving him the impression that he wants to play hide-and-seek. He then goes off and hides himself in a rowboat. Hours later, he checks his watch and discovers that it is 12:00, midnight. Realizing that “Dr. Jekyll’ is not coming to find him anytime soon, Felix crawls out of the rowboat and retires to his cabin.
The next day, Felix rows out to the island, where he is greeted on shore by his uncle and his secretary, Francesca. Felix accidentally trips and falls out of the rowboat and into the water. His uncle comes to his aid, only to fall into the water himself. Francesca helps the two up and Boris introduces her to Felix. The three board a dragon-shaped motorboat and float down a small river to the castle. Boris orders Yetch to take Felix’s bags and show him to his room. Then, he tells Felix after he changes into some dry clothes that they will take some out to chat and get better acquainted.
Unbeknownst to Felix, Francesca is secretly jealous of him, as the doctor plans to have him become the successor to his monstrous business instead of her. As such, she teams up with the evil Count Dracula to do away with him in order to obtain the position for herself. Later that day, Francesca takes Felix out for a picnic tour of the island. Felix is fascinated by the island’s plant life, not realizing it’s made up mostly of man-eating plants. Suddenly, the Werewolf appears. Felix mistakes him for a large dog, even throwing a branch for him to fetch, causing the Wolf to run off. Francesca asks if he was frightened, and Felix says no, stating he has a way with pets. Then, the Mummy tries to attack Felix, but he keeps tripping over his own bandages. Felix believes him to be an ordinary, sick and injured man. He offers to help him, only to tie him to a tree. With the Werewolf and Mummy failing to kill Felix, it’s now up to Count Dracula. Several times her tries to kill Felix, who has no idea of his presence, only to fail as Felix dodges all of his attacks.
After the picnic, Felix returns to the castle and is shown around by his uncle. Inside the castle’s laboratory, Boris tells Felix the news of how he is to inherit his uncle’s position as the head of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters, much to Felix’s horror. This leads to Boris singing his number, “Stay One Step Ahead.” Felix tells his uncle that he’ll consider his proposition, and asks if there’s any good fishing spots, as he does his best thinking when he’s fishing. That night, Felix sits in a rowboat, and tries to devise the best way of turning down his uncle’s business, as he cannot imagine himself in such a “monstrous” business. As he’s doing so, Francesca happens to fall into the moat, after being cornered by Dracula, Fang and the Monster’s Mate (who all are out to kill her), at that moment, and Felix rescues her from the crocodiles swimming around in the moat.
Francesca expresses her unhappiness over how Felix has ruined everything for her, saying that she hates him and begins to sob hysterically. Felix slaps her to snap her out of it. However, instead being angry with him, Francesca slowly falls in love with and even kisses him. She then declares her love for Felix through her song, “There Never Was a Love Like Mine.” Francesca explains that the monsters are out to get both her and Felix as they are vying for the position of Boris’ successor, but Felix tells her that he’ll just explain that he doesn’t want the job. She says they won’t listen, and insists that they leave the island immediately, especially since a far greater threat is coming their way.
They make their way through the dense jungle, and Felix even rescues Francesca from a man-eating plant using his allergy pills. Francesca becomes to exhausted to go on at one point, and Felix comes up with the idea to make a sling out of vines in order to carry her. As he begins to gather vines, Francesca is suddenly taken by the Werewolf. Felix tries to save her, only to get knocked out. As he comes to, he finds himself surrounded by Dracula, Fang, the Mate, the Hunchback and the Creature. Felix bursts into another sneezing fit at that moment. As he prepares to take his medicine, Dracula and the others mistake the medicine for the Baron’s secret matter-destroying formula that they’ve been out to get the entire time. Felix tries to intimidate them with the vial, but the monsters are actually scared of It, a giant ape and the threat Francesca mentioned earlier. Felix doesn’t notice at first, until he turns around and faints out of utter terror.
After he awakens again, he hacks his way through the jungle foliage and discovers that Francesca is in It’s clutches. He sadly declares he can’t be without her, and even threatens to kill himself, only to be stopped by Boris, who shows up with the real formula. He tells his nephew to wait for Francesca in the boat. As Felix makes his way to the boat, Boris and his zombie minions try to save Francesca by airplanes, recreating the iconic scene from King Kong. Boris tells It to release her and take him instead. It does so, and Francesca swims to Felix waiting in the motorboat. They watch from the boat as Boris drops the vial containing the formula, destroying the entire island in a massive explosive. Felix tells Francesca that they soon shall be married when they get home, only for Francesca to break down in sobs. She tearfully reveals that the whole time she’s been a robot created by Boris. Felix comforts her by telling her that nobody is perfect, only to glitch out and repeat the last two words mechanically, revealing that he’s been a robot created by his uncle the whole time too. It is unknown what becomes of them afterward, as the film ends.
== Gallery ==
File:Felix Flanken (1).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (2).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (3).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (4).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (5).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (6).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (7).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (8).png
File:Felix Flanken (9).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (10).jpg
File:Felix Flanken (11).jpg
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Humanoid