Camel with the Wrinkled Knees

* Gruelle Books
* 1977 Film
* 1980's Cartoon

**The Camel with the Wrinkled Knees** is a lonesome camel doll who first appeared in the self-titled "Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees" in 1924. To this day, he is one of the characters most commonly associated with the Raggedy Ann franchise other than Ann and Andy themselves, appearing in a variety of media and merchandise.

## Background

The origins of the Camel sprouted from creator Johnny Gruelle's own life experience with his children. On a trip to the toy store, Johnny bought his sons Worth and Dickie a camel doll with metal rods in its legs. The two boys ended up playing with the camel doll so much that the rods in its legs started to poke out of the fabric. Upon discovering this, Johnny immediately removed the metal rods, fearing that it could injure his kids. However, this caused the camel doll's legs to lose their stiffness, particularly its knees, which became, well, wrinkled. Johnny would go on to use the camel doll as inspiration for the next installment in the Raggedy Ann book series, "Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees".

As for the Camel himself, his backstory varies depending on the adaptation. Most adaptations bring up the fact that he no longer has the metal rods in his legs, leading to his wrinkled knees. In the 1977 movie specifically, the Camel laments about how he used to belong to a boy named Sam. Despite the Camel's rather unfavorable appearance, Sam adored him and hid him under his pillow every night. Then one day, Sam's mother discovered the Camel and swiftly threw him out, causing him to fall into a pit of depression and worthlessness. This background is hinted at in the musical, though it is less specific.

## Personality

In many early Raggedy Ann material, such as the original 1924 book and the 1941 animated short, the Camel is portrayed as a bit of a klutz with a rather dim intelligence and horrible sense of direction. He is also very loyal to Raggedy Ann and Andy, always willing to help in any given situation.

In the 1977 film, however, the Camel is depicted as much more sad and lonely than his previous counterparts. Even after years of being abandoned, he longs to find companionship again, but ultimately finds the cause to be hopeless. Instead, he spends his days chasing after a mirage of camels in the sky that will supposedly lead him home. It isn't until Raggedy Ann and Andy offer him friendship that he's able to regain his confidence. One key difference between his version of the Camel and other incarnations is that Marcella takes him under her wing in the end.

The 1984 stage musical is very similar to the animated movie in terms of personality. He still retains a lot of the same dimwitted but well meaning charm of his earlier incarnations, with a key character trait being his love of opera music.

## Appearances

### Books

* Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (1924)
* Raggedy Ann's Joyful Songs (1937)
* Raggedy Ann's Picture Book (1940)
* The New Funnies (1942)
* Raggedy Ann Picture-Story Book (1947)
* Raggedy Ann and the Slippery Slide (1947)
* Dell Junior Treasury: Raggedy Ann and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (1957)
* The Animated Raggedy Ann & Andy (1977)
* Raggedy Ann and Andy (1977)
* Raggedy Ann Gets Lost (1987)
* Raggedy Ann's Nighttime Rescue (1987)
* Raggedy Ann's Picture-Perfect Christmas (1988)
* Raggedy Ann and Andy's Grow and Learn Library (1988)
	+ V01: Sunny Bunny Comes Home
	+ V03: Sam Lamb Moves Away
	+ V05: What Can a Camel Do?
	+ V06: Babette's Scary Night
	+ V07: A Very Close Call
	+ V08: Grouchy Bear's Parade
	+ V13: The Play in the Attic
	+ V14: Raggedy Dog Learns to Share
	+ V15: Raggedy Andy's Perfect Party
	+ V17: The Birthday Surprise
	+ V18: Bubbles Goes to the Fair
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: Old Friends, New Friends (2000)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: Leaf Dance (2015)

### Film & TV

* Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy (1941 film)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977)
* Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (1988)
* The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988-1990)

### Stage

* Raggedy Ann & Andy (1981) [Patricia Thackray]
* Raggedy Ann and Andy (1983) [Tim Mason/Joe Raposo]
* Raggedy Ann/Rag Dolly (1984-1986) [William Gibson/Joe Raposo]
* Raggedy Ann & Andy (1987) [Constance Congdon]
* The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1998) [Sandy Kalan]

### Albums

* Raggedy Ann's Sunny And Joyful Songs (1938)
* Songs of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy (1948)
* A Raggedy Ann Song Book (1971)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1977)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy's Dance Party (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: Pop Concert (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy's Alphabet & Numbers (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: Christmas Party (1981)
* Raggedy Ann: The Musical (Demos) (1985)

### Read-Along Stories

* The Camel With The Wrinkled Knees (1979)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy - Bend & Stretch (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: Book of Manners (1980)
* Raggedy Ann's Birthday Party (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy's Alphabet (1980)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy: At the Circus (1981)

### Merchandise

* Milton Bradley Board Game (1980)
* Happy Meal Toys (1989)