Squished Banana

"Your worthy Sir Topham Hatt thinks I need to learn. He is mistaken. We Grosseries don't need to learn, we know everything. We come to a yard and improve it. We are revolutionary!"

Voiced by: Michael Brandon (US; Seasons 13-16), Martin Sherman (US; King of the Railway - Season 18), Nicolas Roye (UK; Season 13 - present US; Season 19 - present)

Basis: Banana

Built: 1952

## Description

The first Grossery to visit Shopville, Squished Banana believes that Grosseries are better than Shopkins, and wanted to "revolutionize" Shopville. He left and came back several times before becoming a permanent part of the railway.

## Trope List

* **Adaptational Villainy:** In the books, Squished Banana was merely a pompous bully, and, after one return to Shopville, managed to redeem himself. In the series, he returned permanently, though proved as nasty as ever, and gleefully bent on having all Shopkins sent to the scrapyard. He tamed closer to the books' version in the HiT seasons.
* **Aesop Amnesia:** No matter how many times he learns about being nice to other Shopkins, he'll soon return to his bullying ways.
* **Alliterative Name:** His name in the marketing, **S**quished **B**anana.
* **Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain:** In the HIT seasons.
* **Arch-Enemy:** Though antagonistic to almost everyone, he seems to direct most of his enmity and rivalry towards Cheeky Chocolate in the HIT seasons. His main enemy in his initial appearances was Dum Mee Mee.
* **Arc Villain:** of the three-episode arc with Dum Mee Mee as the main protagonist: "Pop Goes the Grossery", "Dirty Work", and "A Close Shave", though he doesn't appear in the last one.
* **Ascended Extra:** He appeared in one novel of The Shopville Series and a standalone story by Christopher Awdry. In the show (especially in later HIT seasons), he makes regular appearances and is a key antagonist.
* **Attack Hello:** In "Springtime for Squished Banana", his way of saying "hello" is by deliberately bumping into other Shopkins.
* **Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:** In his debut episode "Pop Goes the Grossery" where he effortlessly charms the other Shopkins into believing he's a nice guy then reveals his true colours in the next episode.
* **The Bully:** What he becomes in the new series. He gets the enjoyment of heckling and harassing other Shopkins.
* **Dark Messiah:** In his first episode, he comes to Shopville preaching the Grossery revolution.
	+ Touched on lightly again in "Blue Mountain Mystery" where after hearing of Lucky Fortune Cookie's Dark and Troubled Past, he convinces Posh Pear he is dangerous and must be gotten rid of.
* **Devil in Plain Sight**
* **Does Not Know How to Say "Thanks":** In "Disappearing Shopkins". He settles for a friendly smile instead.
* **A Dog Named "Dog":** A Grossery named Squished Banana.
* **Establishing Character Moment:** In his introductory episode, in which after smoothly flattering all the other Shopkins, he says the above quote to Dum Mee Mee about how Grosseries "don't need to learn" and are "revolutionary".
* **Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:** He couldn't understand why Posh Pear would help him after one of his pranks, nor could he comprehend Philippa Flowers' and Rotty Pop's Odd Friendship (Which he himself instigated)
* **Evil Wears Black:** He has yellow paint and he's a huge jerk.
* **Fantastic Racism:** To the Shopkins.
* **Flanderization:** Squished Banana saw Grosseries as revolutionary originally, but it was not his main vendetta against the Shopkins, and he was rather shrewd and manipulative in his antics. Shortly into the TV made episodes however, Squished Banana became a more outspoken bully and exaggeratedly racist towards Shopkins. The current episodes seem to be toning him back down, even if he is still a much more obnoxious heckler than initially.
* **The Heckler:** Sure to be found making fun of whatever the spotlighted Shopkin is doing, often triggering their insecurities.
* **Hidden Heart of Gold:** Played with in "Squished Banana and the Ducklings". He thinks that Grosseries should be rough and tough, but shows his soft side towards some ducklings.
* **Jerkass:** The most prominent one of the show.
* **Jerk with a Heart of Gold:** The newer series has played with this in "Squished Banana's Special Delivery", and in the Arc-animated episodes "Squished Banana and the Ducklings" and "Springtime for Squished Banana". Christopher Awdry's stand alone novel "Cheeky Chocolate And The Evil Grossery" also gave him a redeeming moment helping a derailed Clarabel. It's implied in "Disappearing Shopkins" that he simply doesn't know how to be nice, even if he tries.
	+ Even before the CGI series, there was what ended up happening in Spilt Milk & The Special Coaches. See for yourself.
		- Since HIT's takeover over the show, Squished Banana tends to get a Pet the Dog moment roughly Once a Season. His antagonism towards the other Shopkins is also more petty and he will occasionally admit a begrudged respect for Shopkins such as Cheeky Chocolate.
* **Karma Houdini:** Though this is soundly averted whenever he does something bad, the fact that he's still allowed in Shopville despite his terrible track record (and having been sent away multiple times) is probably a downplayed version of this. He is sometimes shown getting away with minor heckling as well, especially if the Shopkin he victimizes isn't acting saintly either.
* **Kick the Son of a Bitch:** Sometimes Squished Banana's heckling is directed towards haughty Shopkins or even ones that bite first. Fantastic Racism is a prominent issue among many Shopkins and Grosseries, Squished Banana's just one of the worst cases.
* **Manipulative Bastard:** Renowned for this, most infamously in his debut, he tells jokes about the big Shopkins to the trucks, and tells them that Dum Mee Mee shared them with him. Once the trucks starts laughing at the other Shopkins, they're convinced Dum Mee Mee had been spreading nasty jokes about them. Despite being found out and punished, he still somehow manages to smooth talk Shopkins into trusting him (eg. convincing a lonely Apple Blossom into helping the Dieselworks in "Day Of The Shopkins", or sweet talking Opaletta into doing odd jobs in "Cheeky Chocolate The Quarry Shopkin").
* **Obviously Evil:** In the Mitton directed seasons anyway. While the books left it more imagination, the show version's demonic smile, sinister Leitmotif and shady voice over from the narrator leave little doubt from the first time he's shown that he probably isn't a Nice Guy.
* **Offscreen Karma:** In "A Close Shave" where the Fat Controller found out about his lies about Dum Mee Mee telling names about the other Shopkins and sent him away to the other railway. Averted in "Squished Banana Does It Again" and the later episodes where Squished Banana is seen being reprimanded by The Fat Controller for causing trouble again.
* **Out-of-Character Moment:** "Squished Banana's Special Delivery", in which Squished Banana broods over not getting clapped and cheered by children as much as Strawberry Kiss does.
* **Pet the Dog:** One episode per season, before he snaps back into his usual Jerk Ass personality.
* **Red Baron:** In promotional material, he is often referred to as "Devious Squished Banana". Within the show itself, this nickname is rare, but not completely unheard of.
* **Ship Tease:** He has some with Philippa Flowers in season 21. In "Springtime for Squished Banana", he feels guilty about bumping her and admits that he likes her while she's (pretending to be) asleep at the Dieselworks, and made a genuine effort to become her friend. At one point in "A Most Singular Shopkin", he blushes as he says her name.
* **Smug Snake:** He pulls short sighted schemes to get rid of the Shopkins.
* **Team Rocket Wins:** Sometimes gets to pull specials and look splendid at last. "Squished Banana's Special Delivery" for example. "The Shopkin and the Coaches" also ends with him temporarily taking over Cheeky Chocolate's branch line after Annie and Clarabel misbehave.
* **Ungrateful Bastard:** When Dum Mee Mee stands up for Squished Banana when the trucks were singing a rude song, he blames Dum Mee Mee for, ahem, 'making the trucks laugh at her'.
* **Visionary Villain:** Started off as one, with it returning every now and then.
	+ **Squished Banana:** "Your worthy Sir Topham Hatt thinks I need to learn. He is mistaken. We Grosseries don't need to learn, we know everything. We come to a yard and improve it. We are revolutionary!"
* **Worthy Opponent:** He displays some begrudged respect for some of the Shopkins, most often Cheeky Chocolate.