Dan

Dan.

Dan is one of the main protagonists in the *Don't Hug Me I'm Scared* series, along with Duck and Yellow Guy. He is portrayed and voiced by Joe Pelling. He resembles no known creature or thing, besides spaghetti and a mop.

## Story

Red Guy is seen at the end of Episode 7 during the credits, in which he walks away from a telephone booth. He apparently was calling home, in an attempt to tell Duck and Yellow Guy to escape. His head is also seen in the microwave in the same episode. He can also be seen in the House of Organs, in one of the windows. He can also be seen in the curly food, and when Duck Guy knocks the camera down, you can see Red Guy's feet. He can also be seen as spaghetti near the end of the episode.

He played a major role in "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 6." In this episode, he was in a world filled with other people of his species in business suits for a majority of the episode, before finding the control machine in which Yellow Guy is still trapped. Red Guy started pushing the machine's buttons, glitching the Lamp into teachers encountered in previous episodes and many other new teachers, until Roy's hand stretched out and touched Red Guy's shoulder, surprising him. Red Guy then found a plug connected to the machine and pulled it. This reset the whole series, changed the puppets into their favorite colors (turning Red Guy blue), and moved the calendar from June 19 to June 20. Sketchbook appears and begins to say, "What's your favorite idea?" as the episode cuts to black.

## Appearance

Red Guy is human-sized, and the tallest of the main trio. Unlike most characters, he is played by a person in a costume rather than a puppet. He has red, yarn-like hair that covers his entire head, with two eyes placed on top. His whole body is red. Unlike Yellow Guy and Duck, he doesn't wear any clothes.

In Episode 6, he is seen wearing a suit at his job, until he takes it off to sing on stage. At the end of the episode, he appears to be blue entirely.

## Personality

Out of all of his friends, he is the most mature, sarcastic, and sharp-witted, and he seems to have the most common sense as well. He will often get annoyed with the teachers and make sarcastic comments. In Episode 4, this is how he becomes enemies with Colin the Computer. Red Guy seems to be the most pessimistic of the three main characters, as he doesn't show much interest in the lessons, and would rather go about his own business. It is possible that he is older or more mature than the other two protagonists, as a picture of him in a graduation cap holding a diploma is seen in Episode 6.

Just like Duck, he cares about Yellow Guy, as seen in the Episode 3, when they give him the last boiled egg in order to prove their friendship. Red Guy seems to grow impatient with the teachers very often, finally standing up to Colin in Episode 4.

In "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 6," we see where Red Guy was after being taken out of the "show": a world populated with several Red Guys just like him, all of whom have boring office jobs. He seems to become bored with this world, and tries to do things to stand out, at one point even singing the "Creativity Song" in front of an audience. However, he is booed by the crowd.

Despite Red Guy's pessimistic behavior he seems to genuinely care about the people around him, and can even be selfless at times. In the pilot episode of the Don't Hug Me I'm Scared television show, Wakey Wakey, while everybody else in town seems more worried about their own safety and security, Red Guy goes out on his own to search for Mayor Pigface. This was also showcased earlier in the episode when he kept asking "Who's gonna find him?" while Yellow Guy was worried about his birthday and Duck was worried about who was going to be in charge.

Red Guy is very aware that he's being filmed for a show, often breaking the fourth wall by addressing the audience directly and looking at the camera.

## Quotes

* "That sounds really boring." *—Red Guy, Episode 1*

* "Come on guys, stop mucking around. We only have five minutes until our show's on." *—Red Guy, Episode 2*

* "...What? Who is that?" *—Red Guy, Episode 2*

* "But we don't really want to, we're going to miss our show." *—Red Guy, Episode 2*

* "It's 9:30, there's fish everywhere... Fish everywhere." *—Red Guy, Episode 2*

* "Hm, he seems upset about something. I wonder what will happen." *—Red Guy, Episode 3*

* "I'd also like to eat the chicken. Let's do that instead." *—Red Guy, Episode 3*

* "I guess it must be because we... ‘love’... you." *—Red Guy to Yellow Guy, Episode 3*

* "SHUT UP!" *—Red Guy to the Computer, Episode 4*

* "Wow, how amazing, and interesting too. But in this digital world, what can we do? ...What can we d—" *—Red Guy, Episode 4*

* "Wouldn't it be funny if, uh, one of these files came alive? Uh, yeah... 'I am a file, and... you put... documents in me.' And, um... 'A-doo-da-doo, a file... A...a funny...silly file...a-doo-doo-doo...' You know, it did like a song—" *—Red Guy, Episode 6*

* "I wonder what will happen." *—Red Guy, Episode 6*

* ”Oh dear. We’re all tied up.” *—Red Guy, "HELP"*

* "'If you're watching this, then we need your help. We need money. If we don't raise enough, we'll be killed off, and you'll never see us again.' ...How's that, is that good?" *—Red Guy, "HELP"*

* "The log is in the bin. The log is in the bin. The log is in the bin." *—Red Guy*

* "I also live with them in the funny house, too." *—Red Guy, "Wakey Wakey"*
* "Every morning, we sing this song... *Every* morning." *—Red Guy, "Wakey Wakey"*

## Gallery

Him in 3D, on the first *Don't Hug Me I'm Scared*.

Him in the photo.

Animated.

Him as seen on the missing poster.

In The Digital World.

At the end of episode 5.

Red guy's cameo in Episode 5.

His head in a bin with the other puppets, Duck Guy, Yellow Guy and Roy.

Him on the cover of Printed Pages Spring/Summer 2016 Magazine by It's Nice That.

"What is the biggest thing in the world?"

"If only there was a way to learn more about the world..."

"Who is that?"

Red Guy finding chunks in his hair.

Red Guy and Duck Guy chicken picnic.

"It must be because we love you."

Duck Guy and him wondering about the cause of Yellow Guy's tantrum.

A beautiful day outside.

"It's 9:30, there's fish everywhere... fish everywhere."

Behind the Scenes, DHMIS 3.

Red Guy crawling behind the scenes.

Old Red Guy, behind the scenes.

Red Guy touching Duck Guy's beak; Behind the Scenes.

Him, Colin, Duck Guy, and Yellow Guy.

Red Guy angering Colin.

Red Guy and Tony behind the scenes.

Red Guy walking into a set, DHMIS 4.

Future Red Guy

*We really don't want to. We're going to miss our show!"*

Behind the Scenes, DHMIS 1*Don't Hug Me I'm Scared*

Him, Yellow Guy and Duck Guy in a portrait

DHMIS 4

Red Guy with a mic on an interview with *It's Nice That*

The many other Red Guys.

Him singing the "Creativity" song.

Red Guy in front of Hollywood sign.

Graduated Red Guy on Yellow Guy's photo album.

Red guy's appearance in DHMIS 6 along with Tony The Talking Clock.

Red Guy with glasses.

Red Guy in DHMIS 6 during the teacher montage

Red Guy and Becky.

## Trivia

* Though he is a costumed character, Becky and Joe still consider him a "puppet."
* Joe Pelling can seen wearing Red Guy's head (along with glasses) as his Twitter profile picture.[4]
* Red Guy has visited Japan.[5]
* Red Guy's name is confirmed on one of the Kickstarter posts where he is holding posters, which was posted on October 17th.
* His favorite color is blue, as seen in Episode 1.
* Despite being one of the three main characters, he did not have any dialogue in Episode 5, though he did make numerous cameos.
* He is the closest we have gotten to an official name in the series. When Colin asks the puppets what their names are, Red Guy says, "Well, my name is Dr-" before Colin interrupts.
	+ He is known by some fans as Harry, however, this name has never been mentioned or confirmed by the official crew.
* Red Guy was interviewed in a magazine by *It's Nice That*, and it is revealed that:[6]
	+ His favorite color is medium brown, aside from blue.
	+ He is allergic to music.
	+ He doesn't find anything exciting.
	+ He is scared of owls.
	+ His favorite song is "[a]nything by Smash Mouth."
	+ He loves Bono.
	+ He always dreams of the same thing: "I am about 10 years old lost in the woods. I can feel something following me, calling out my name, getting closer and closer. I try to scream but nothing comes out. Eventually I wake up from the boredom."
* Though he resembles no known living thing, it is strongly suggested that Red Guy's appearance is inspired by spaghetti or a mop. At the end of Episode 4, he walks into a room which contains things that resemble the three main puppets, including Red Guy, which shows him as a mop with eyes. In Episode 5, his head is shown on a plate, making him look like red spaghetti with eyes.
* Red Guy is the first character to speak in Episodes 2, 3, and 4.

## Theories

* Red Guy may be a smoker, as seen by the ashtray and cigarettes placed near him in Episode 2. Although, he was never shown smoking on the show.
* In Episode 3, Red Guy can be seen among the crowd when Yellow Guy is being brainwashed. It is theorized that Yellow Guy sees everyone he loves in that crowd, and that he is dreaming.

## References

1. ↑ Don't Hug Me I'm Scared : The Series by Becky and Joe — Kickstarter — Update #22, October 17th 2014
2. ↑ Becky Sloan via Twitter, March 13th 2015
3. ↑ https://instagram.com/p/44aGjpoGpW/?taken-by=becky.sloan
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/japelling/
5. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/DHMIS/videos/656587347776857/?permPage=1
6. ↑ http://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dont-hug-me-im-scared-interview-030516]