The pudding himself is named Albert, and although he does enjoy being eaten, as you can see from the picture he is quite a belligerent fellow. He travels about the Australian bush in the company of the Noble Society of Pudding Owners (Bill Barnacle the sailor, Bunyip Bluegum the koala - that's him looking foppish next to the pudding - and Sam Sawnoff the penguin), trying not to get stolen by Pudding Thieves.The Magic Pudding is magic because he can change flavors to whatever you like, and no matter how many slices you cut off him, he remains whole. How useful would that be? Also, no wonder I liked this book - it's about food, and all-you-can-eat buffet at that.
The Magic Pudding is as charming as Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, but has the added joy of an unpleasant protagonist in the Pudding. Albert is a bit of a rude bastard. The classic Australian sense of humor is cheeky, impudent and irreverent, but can also be very dry, and this is exactly the tone of The Magic Pudding. I don't actually have a copy of the book, so this is the only decent quote I could find via the internet. It gives you some idea of the joy:
"None of the ordinary breakfast rules, such as scowling while eating, and saying the porridge is as stiff as glue and the eggs are as tough as leather, are observed. Instead, songs, roars of laughter, and boisterous jests are the order of the day. For example, this sort of thing," added Sam, doing a rapid back-flap and landing with a thump on Bill’s head. As Bill was unprepared for this act of boisterous humour, his face was pushed into the Puddin’ with great violence, and the gravy was splashed in his eye.
"What d’yer mean, playing such bungfoodling tricks on a man at breakfast?" roared Bill.
"What d’yer mean," shouted the Puddin’, "playing such foodbungling tricks on a Puddin’ being breakfasted at?"
The Wikipedia page on the Magic Pudding is quite good and has a little more detail, whereas I'm working pretty much entirely off memory here!
21 comments:
oh im loving your blog its reminding me of so many things!
i remember doing so many colouring ins in kindergarten of him!
Well there's a pair of interesting characters! The pudding kind of reminds me of a jellyfish a bit with the dangly legs and arms.
Al - Hahaha, awesome.
Eric - he does look like a jellyfish! I don't know how those little spindles support his massive puddin' head.
Man. You guys have some freaky fairy tales. I want to punch that pudding in the face and then run away. And the gay koala in the dress coat made me pee my pants a little.
Well, one thing's for certain: I'm adding "bungfoodling" to my vocabulary.
No wonder you Aussies are such a strange lot. That illustration is going to give me nightmares tonight.
Kurt - Hahaha, sure. Albert could take you.
Shawn - It's pretty good, huh?
BeckEye - The pudding knows where you live.... ooh boogie boogie *scary hand gestures*
That is one pissed off pudding. He is not having any of your shit.
And that koala should be played by John Houseman.
WWW - I had to google that dude, but he does look pretty perfect.
And yeah, Albert will cut you.
That's brilliant, love the art. If I was a pudding I'd probably stay upright though, I wouldn't want to fall out of the bowl.
I don't think I would have slept for a week after seeing that picture!
I'm with Kurt. They'll be coming at me in my dreams tonight.
Mo - heh. It looks like an army helmet the way he wears it.
Skylers Dad, Racquel - You guys are such babies! Seriously, read the story. Albert is badass, but he's not, like, the Pudding version of Freddy Krueger or something.
Is this a product of the Oz sense of humor, or as a classic bit of children's literature, did it help form the Oz sense of humor.
Riddle me that.
I was right, I do think that pudding guy is more interesting. He looks so happy..
Scope - I think it's a great example of the Oz sense of humor, I don't think it created it. It was written in 1918 so whitefellas had been in Oz for enough time to develop their own identity (as distinct from the English culture) I think.
Oh and Morgan - Hahaha! Yes, you're right, Albert IS more interesting. He's a more complex character.
But to be fair, The Magic Pudding is aimed at an older audience - Snugglepot & Cuddlepie are really aimed at very small children.
I remember reading The Magic Pudding when I was about 13. Never laughed so hard in my life. It was probably the first time that I was conscious of an Australian literary culture.
Sounds like something Jerry and the Greatful Dead would eat for breakfast.
You know, with their magic mushrooms sprinkled on top.
Tennyson - It's just so unmistakably Aussie, isn't it?
Candy - I'm not going to deny the possibility that's what Lindsay was eating when he wrote this
; )
I would make some comment about the strange Aussie stories....but I've had the fortune (misfortune?) of watching Saturday am cartoons and reading childrens' books with my niece and nephew recently.
A pudding with an attitude...it could be worse. :-)
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