Bodi

**Bodi** (*波弟, Bodi*) is the main protagonist and hero of the *Rock Dog* trilogy. He is a teenage Tibetan Mastiff native from Snow Mountain and son of Khampa. Originally conceived to be a guard dog, he tries to reach his dream of musical stardom as a guitarist by going to The City and meeting his inspiration Angus Scattergood.

## Background

### Official Biography

*Bodi is eternally optimistic and wants nothing more than to play music. Conflicted between his sense of duty at home and pursuing his dream in the city, Bodi is determined to be in a rock band and make his dad proud.*
### Personality

Bodi is fun-loving, kind, thoughtful, selfless and compassionate. He is known for his innocence and naivety and is very kindhearted and trustful of people. He tends to be friendly to everyone he meets. Bodi's easy-going attitude stems from his life in Snow Mountain, he doesn't get genuinely angry, and given his kind nature makes him forgiving as he quickly forgave Angus after he apologized for taking all the credit for the new song they wrote together. Bodi also doesn't seem to question about someone for who they are and is quite patient as he didn't get annoyed by the absent-mindedness of the sheep in the village, including one for his obsessive need for cleanliness, his father's strict demeanor, and Angus' reclusive and selfish attitude, though, given him being a huge fan of Angus, Bodi was too excited to even notice. His capability of compassion and forgiveness would even go as far to forgive Linnux's pack for trying to eat the sheep.

Bodi is eternally optimistic and very determined to achieve his dream of becoming a rock & roll musician, refusing to give up his dream regardless of the obstacles. Bodi's will to go form a rock band stems from Angus' statement on the radio about never giving up. Even if things look down or had a few setbacks, Bodi remains positive and spirited.

In Snow Mountain, Bodi is playful and lovable among the locals, such as Fleetwood Yak and the sheep. He is also very expressive an is quick to aid people in need. But with this comes his stubbornness, as he is hard to have a change of idea or to form a habit out of his routine, shown when he did not want to let go of the guitar or how he never got involved in guarding.

Being born and raised in the quiet mountain village of Snow Mountain has left Bodi naive of the outside world, when entering The City - it led him into being fooled by others, setting his expectations too high, and being easily taken advantage of given his gullibility. As such, Bodi literally took Trey's sarcastic statements of getting guitar lessons from Angus and kissing the gate to his mansion which later got him electrocuted, being tricked by Angus into stepping on his welcoming mat that catapulted him on the street in front of the gate, eating pizza out of a dumpster which disgusted Angus, and being used by Angus into creating a new song which he later took all the credit for instead of sharing it. Also, he was unaware of his surroundings when he enters the city as he was hit by a car while crossing the street and walked on wet cement.

Despite his naivety, Bodi is perceptive and clever to think things through, such as using a pair of foam fingers to climb over Angus' security gate without being electrocuted, and dodged the Grizz's punches that made holes in the cage, weakening it, and dodged Grizz as he leaped and broke it open to escape. He's also resourceful as he added additional strings to the dramyin to make it a conventional Western guitar.

Bodi's serious side is shown at several points in the movie. He can be so involved in solving an issue that he seemingly forgets the world around him until said problem is solved. When it comes to heavy subjects, like betrayal, he can still hope for the best from the one who did wrong despite being heartbroken, seen as how he was hoping that Angus would come to him at Rock 'n' Roll Park to apologize prior to be kidnapped.

Bodi is very passionate about music; his most favorite is rock & roll. When he was a child in Snow Mountain, Bodi enjoyed the music the sheep were playing, however, after Linnux and his wolf pack's attack on the village, his father, Khampa, banned music, believing it would distract him from his duties of becoming a guardian of the village. Up to this day, Bodi still retains his love for music. When a radio fell from a plane, he listens to some music on the stations, when he listened to rock & roll, he instantly took an interest. Bodi desired to form his own band after listening to Angus Scattergood on the radio about following one's dreams, as he idolizes Angus and got Bodi inspired to become a musician.

Bodi prefers to do what he loves and that is playing music, to the point he broke the lock to the den to steal a traditional dramyin, causing him to neglect his guard duties. After a false alarm about wolves caused a disaster, Bodi reluctantly decides to put his dreams on hold, thinking it would be better this way, but regains his excitement when he's granted the opportunity to fulfill his dream.

Despite leaving to become a musician, Bodi is loyal to his father and the village. He also seems to value friendship as he became depressed when Angus betrayed him by taking all the credit for the new song they wrote together. Bodi also cares for his friends as he went back to the village to stop Linnux and his wolf pack from eating the sheep. Bodi also considers his village as family.

### Physical Appearance

Bodi is a teenage Tibetan Mastiff with brown-and-tan fur with tan fur on his muzzle, hands and feet. He has a black nose, brown eyes and black trimmed claws. He wears a blue Tibetan jacket with a white trim, white cuffs and a white belt, red-orange pants with white cuffs and a green Tibetan beanie cap with locks of his mane poking out from the front.

### Powers and Abilities

The Mastiffs have a pseudo-martial-arts move they call the **Deadly Mastiff Paw**. It is "born of a fire that burns from deep down inside", and when someone finds their passion. Khampa can conjure with his hands a ball of heavy-hitting red energy that he uses to blast his enemies away. Bodi attempts to duplicate the move but is unsuccessful. While training with a wolf dummy, Khampa advises his son to "hate the wolf" and use that anger, but Bodi only manages to shoot a flicker of energy that only knocks out one of the dummy's glued on pupils.

Later in the movie when Bodi and Angus are finishing the music for the song they're writing together, Bodi begins to passionately play the guitar and its strings begin glowing blue. After hitting all the stings at once at the end of his performance, Bodi unknowingly unleashes a mellow blue wave that knocks the surrounding equipment in the room and sends Ozzie flying backwards. Angus is impressed, commenting that Bodi was on fire, that he was in the zone.

At the climax, Bodi plays his guitar and uses the energy to blast a pocket knife out a wolf's hand and to blow off the barbecue grills and the tables off a cliff. Bodi's blue energy also allows him to send the wolves floating in the air in a state of bliss, as well as magically untie the tied up sheep also sending them floating. In the end, the wolves and sheep slowly land on the ground in a calm state.

The implication is that while Khampa's energy is based in anger and fear, Bodi's is based in love and passion, which also explains why Khampa's energy is red and Bodi's is blue.

Unlike his father, Bodi is not very strong physically. He does not consider himself a fighter. However, he does possess incredible agility and reflexes, being able to dodge dozens of fireworks, huge fists, and Linnux's wolf pack.

## Story

Bodi was raised within a village consisting of sheep, the village elder Fleetwood Yak, and Bodi's father, Khampa. When Bodi was a toddler, he grew attached to music, constantly hanging around the sheep and attempting to play the guitar that they used to play. Since his father's job consisted of constantly guard the village, Khampa didn't have enough time to bond or relate to Bodi and instead, Fleetwood took care of him.

### *Rock Dog*

However, one fateful night, a pack of wolves lead by Linnux attacked the village and Khampa was left in-shock. He defeated the wolves, but began to blame music for distracting the village enough so the wolves could invade in the first place. Khampa built an army of sheep inside dog costumes to give the illusion of more mastiffs guarding the village. He also began training Bodi in order to be the next guard, however, Bodi was too distracted and attracted to music that he would never concentrate to his father's teachings. In order to fix this, Khampa demanded that all musical instruments be confiscated and sealed away so everyone could stay focused, leaving Bodi gloomy and with a roaming doubt of what might have been his future.

Onto the present, Bodi has grown innocent, hopeful and naive and still quite distracted, much to his father's wishes as he's still supposed to replace him. His job consisted in small chores and arranging the next sheep herd for guarding duty, while at this, be under Khampa's training. Sadly, Bodi isn't as furious nor seems to even hate wolves enough to develop a successful Deadly Mastiff Paw which saddens him.

To his surprise, one day, a plane is tilted by some doves and their luggage falls onto the village, revealing an assortment of technological tools, including a radio, which Bodi takes immediate curiosity of. After listening to Angus Scattergood for the first time, he realizes once again, that music is his talent and requires to really develop this time which his father refuses to accept and Bodi is unable to let go despite all his attempts to scare him off or take the guitar away. Giving up and listening to Fleetwood's advice, he lets Bodi go with the condition that if he fails, he won't look back on music and focus on be a guard dog, to which he accepts.

To Khampa's dismay, the wolves have been paying attention and have already set a kidnapping course onto Bodi to gather as much information in order to attack Snow Mountain without Bodi knowing.

Once in The City, he finds Rock n' Roll Park to which Angus' says in the radio, is the hot spot for starting musicians, and finding a band. Bodi takes immediate notice of Darma and Germur, two musicians without great success to what Bodi takes as a godsend message that this is the band that will make his dreams come true. But, sadly, the band already has a snow leopard, Trey, as a guitarist, to what he doesn't take lightly and takes advantage of Bodi's naivete to humiliate in front of all the other aspiring musicians.
After his guitar falls into a tree, Trey decides to humiliate him further by sending Bodi off to Angus' house to which is heavily guarded and to kiss the gate when he's there, Bodi being innocent, takes Trey's advice to heart.

At Angus' house, Bodi electrocutes himself by kissing the gate, but finds a way to cross the gate, as to which he falls onto another trap which he manages to survive. Sadly, there's one last trap that catches him, but he still manages to ring the bell, regardless. Inside, Angus' suffers from artist block, which has left him grumpy and out of ideas, and his record label looming in the distance to cut him off; Annoyed by Bodi's ringing, he tricks him onto stepping onto the welcome mat and throw him onto the street. Bodi instead of taking this as an act of aggression, takes it as a test of never giving up which he continues to ramble until a rain ensues, hides onto a dumpster and is grabbed by a garbage truck and sent away, to which Angus' finds incredibly amusing.

Next day, he begins playing in front of Angus' house so he can pay notice of him; He does it in such an exact moment that makes a new song idea that has grown on Angus' from a dream to go away which angers him deeply. Since Bodi can't hear what Angus' is screaming at him from the house, he decides to take matters on his hands and vent to him face-to-face, Bodi being starstruck by his presence, or the presence of someone who's close to Angus, isn't offended by Angus' rambles. After the gate to Angus' house closes, Angus in despair tries to get inside quick, but is electrocuted and left stunned on the asphalt, but refuses to take Bodi's help. Much to his dismay, a tourist truck was just passing by and begin chasing him around, Bodi quickly reaches him and Angus' is forced to reveal that he's Angus Scattergood; Bodi continues attempting to get on Angus' good side to be his music teacher, but this one refuses and tries to fool him onto running away from him, which fails.

Bodi hides Angus on a dumpster, which frightens him, since he's used to a living of luxury. Bodi continues attempting to connect with Angus but this one is still resilient and wants to go home. Sadly, Bodi carries no money but is willing to earn some to please him, sadly, people pay no attention to him and mock him by giving him a button instead of a penny, which he takes as a good sign. Angus, angered, decides to take Bodi's place and earn cash quicker, but gets rid of Bodi's curiosity by demanding him to hide in a bush.

Bodi encounters Darma and Germur once again, behind the bush and offers them to meet Angus, to which Darma takes as failed attempt to impress them. Sadly, agents Riff and Skozz from the Wolves party, were attempting to kidnap Bodi but instead captured Angus while he was playing, which leaves Bodi confused from the sudden disappearance. Darma takes this as Bodi being delusional and attempting to impress them with fake people. Bodi denies this and attempts to find him despite him being clearly gone, Germur and Darma takes this as something cute.

After being brought back from the kidnapping, Angus is each day closer to being cut off and with no ideas. On his despair, he hears Bodi playing again outside, this time, playing a song that he considers rather catchy. He decides to make Bodi believe that he accepts to be his music teacher, in order to steal his song. Bodi falls and composes with Angus and the song is made within hours, however, Bodi being deep into making a song has earned him the ability to release a sound wave similar to his father's Mastiff Paw, which he calls his fire.

After the lesson is over, he runs happy to Rock 'n' Roll Park to tell everyone about the new song he wrote with Angus, but much to his dismay, he has taken all the credit and left Bodi out of the song completely, which leaves him incredibly heartbroken.

Hoping that Angus will come back for him and apologize, he waits in the park, but is ambushed by the wolves and sedated. Thanks to the serum and the sleepiness, he lets go that the only guard is Khampa and the rest are a sheep party. He tries to convince Linnux to not go but is instead pull onto the Fight Palace that Linnux owns to fight The Grizz, a giant grizzly bear which all fighters fear, in order to get rid of him.

In the park, Darma and Germur pay notice that cars have been around and that Bodi's guitar has been attacked, Angus being guilt tripped by his robot butler Ozzie decides to gift Bodi something to amend ways, but finds out at the same time, that Bodi has been taken away, noticing the Wolf logo, he decides to ignore the label's warning and safe Bodi; This one manages to escape the arena and is found by Darma, Germur and Angus. Angus gives him the guitar he played with on the music lesson, signing it in the back which makes it valuable. Bodi doesn't listen, but rather thinks that he could use it in order to fight the wolves.

On Snow Mountain, he's chased by the wolves until he's cornered on a post. His attacks are calming, instead of being damaging like Khampa's, which leaves all of the wolves in a soothed state except for Linnux, who is sent off by Khampa's attack. Khampa's gives his son a tight hug and his approval, to which Bodi hugs back and accepts. After the fear is gone, he hugs Angus tight and both amend ways.

In the end, Bodi forms a band with Germur and Darma, and their first single, "Glorious", featuring Angus Scattergood is played live. Khampa amend ways with the remaining wolves and Fleetwood makes a guest appearance. Bodi ends the show by sending a final sound wave.

## Relations

### Khampa

Khampa is Bodi's father. He's always been busy as a guard dog that he wasn't able to be a constant presence on Bodi's childhood. Because of this, Bodi seems to prefer to stroll around the village alone, rather than tag alone on his father's affairs. However, he still keeps on high regard, doing every chore or task he asks him to do without hesitation but training, which seems like a burden for him. He feels really sad when disappointing him but really happy approving his endeavors.

They share a strained relationship, but Bodi understands where he's coming from. Overall, trying to help him when it isn't something that goes against his wishes or towards violence.

### Fleetwood Yak

During his childhood, Fleetwood seemed a constant presence on Bodi's life, often more common than Khampa's. He was the one, along with the sheep, that introduced Bodi to music, and this one is all board into Bodi becoming a musician. He's overall a lot more supportive of Bodi's wishes than Khampa is, and less strict when it comes to traditions, as he's not native to Snow Mountain. Because of this, Bodi keeps Fleetwood on a high regard and is constantly seen around him, seemingly as another paternal figure.

### Angus Scattergood

Angus is Bodi's idol and role model to be in music. He immediately fell in love of his music and gave him the epiphany to become a musician. Despite Angus' distaste towards him, this one doesn't seem to bother nor takes offense on his words and seems to keep on a high regard despite not being able to have a friendly chat with him. By the end of the day, Bodi becomes in sort-of a muse for him makes him turns a lot more friendly towards Bodi, to the point of giving his most valuable guitar.

### Darma

Darma is one of the band members that Bodi met at Rock 'n' Roll Park. She immediately takes a pity from Bodi's naivete but is unable to stop Trey's advises and Bodi's taken these to heart. Since Bodi is not from The City, she figures that he's constantly trying to impress her and Germur, and both take this as something cute, but delusional. Later, she and Germur become more worried about Bodi's whereabouts by bringing him food and hugging him when running away from the Fight Palace. Despite Darma being slightly concerned about Bodi, Bodi doesn't seem to care or is too oblivious to notice it and is far more focused on Angus' actions but still keeps her and Germur close as his band mates.

### Germur

Germur is often depicted as quick to fade away in existence, often agreeing with Bodi or telling him he believes on him, without really knowing what Bodi just said. He's friendly towards him and like Darma, he doesn't like the way Trey treats him and rather finds Bodi's behavior cute and delusional. He's quick to fall onto Bodi's statements despite how crazy they might sound. Like Darma, he keeps him close as his band mate.

### Ozzie

Bodi and Ozzie spend little time together, but Bodi immediately finds it cute where he talks to it like if it were a small child, instead of a servant as Angus does. In return, Ozzie seems worried about Bodi's state after Angus' betrayal and is the one who guilt trips him, although he actually run out of battery right in front of him, which made him feel guilty. It is last seen dancing at Bodi's debut concert, which shows that it likes his music.

### Unnamed Mother

Bodi's mother is never seen anywhere except for a picture in his bedroom. By the time he was an infant she was already gone, so it's possible that she wasn't a constant figure for him or something happened to her which made her unable to be next to him. The fact he keeps a picture of her seems to show some affection but probably he doesn't know her personally.

## Design

*Rock Dog* was originally conceived from Zheng Jun's comic *Tibetan Rock Dog*. Hence, originally Bodi was going to be replaced by the comic's lead, Metal. However, at one point, he was redesigned as to what his current look is.

His outfit is modeled after Tibetan outfits. To infer that he possesses a mane like his father when he was young, part of his mane pokes out of his beanie. It's unknown how Bodi looks without the hat, and on both concept art and storyboard, he was conceived with the hat on. The only instance he's seen without it, is when he was modeled after Metal.

His model was reworked at least three times during production, mostly on the head, making the eyes bigger or smaller, making the teeth rounder or sharper, modifying the hat pattern or changing the nose's shape.

The name Bodi derives from the word "**Bodhi**" which means "awakening" and "enlightenment". It also could be a play-on-words of **Buddhi**sm which is prominent on *Tibetan Rock Dog* and is the central religion in Tibet.

## Trivia

* One of the screenshots of the Extras in the DVD/Blu-ray, there's a scene where a character strongly resembling Metal can be seen on The Grizz scene.
* He was originally a lot goofier.
* His name is misspelled as "Bohdi" in some promotional art.
* His mother can be seen on a picture in his bedroom.
* His face is more round-shaped while Khampa's is more square-shaped.
* His age is never mentioned besides being "old enough to take the post".
* He has an undeniably beautiful singing voice.
* It's unknown where he stays at during his stay at The City.
* He did not know what a garbage truck was up until he was tossed onto one. He is seen singing about it later in the movie.

## Notes

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171129042557/http://www.rockdogmovie.com/