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Bodi is the main protagonist of the 2016 animated comedy Rock Dog.
He's voiced by Luke Wilson in the English version, and Guo Qilin in the Chinese version.
Background
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. Bodi 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 lead 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 enter 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 advices 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.
Rock Dog
Bodi was once a small child raised within a village consisting of sheep among Fleetwood Yak and his father, Khampa. Since toddlerhood, he grew attached to music, constantly hanging around the sheep and attempting to play the dramyin that they used to play. Since his father's job consisted of constantly guarding the village, he didn't have enough time to bound or relate to Bodi and instead, Fleetwood took care of him.
However, one fateful night, a pack of wolves lead by Linnux attacked the village and Khampa was left in shock. He began training Bodi in order to be the next guard, however, he was too distracted and attracted to music that he would never concentrate on 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 and the sheep saddened.
Onto the present, Bodi has grown innocent, hopeful, cheerful and naive and secretly plays the instruments by using a long stick through the door. His job consisted of several chores and arranging the next sheep herd for guard duty, while at this, be under Khampa's training. Unfortunately, Bodi isn't as furious nor seems to care about wolves enough to develop a successful Deadly Mastiff Paw which disappoints him.
To his surprise, one day, a plane is tilted by some doves and some of the cargo falls on the ground. One of the items is a radio, which Bodi takes immediate curiosity to. After listening to Angus Scattergood for the first time, he realizes once again that he yearns to play music. He breaks the lock on the door and takes out a dramyin which he then turns into a guitar. He explains to his dad the he has decided to become a musician. Khampa refuses to accept this and demands Bodi hand over the guitar but Bodi refuses. After a failed scare attempt and listening to Fleetwood's advice, Khampa lets Bodi go to follow his dream on becoming a musician with the condition that if he fails, he comes back, to never speak of music again, and focus on being 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 Khampa knowing.
Once in the city, he finds Rock 'n' Roll Park which Angus said on the radio is the hotspot for starting musicians, and finding a band. Bodi takes immediate notice of Darma and Germur, two musicians that Bodi takes as a godsend message that this is the band that will make his dreams come true. Unfortunately, the band already has a guitarist, a rude, arrogant snow leopard named Trey. He doesn't take Bodi lightly and takes advantage of his naivety to humiliate him in front of all the other aspiring musicians. After Bodi's guitar falls on a tree, Trey decides to humiliate him further by sending Bodi off to Angus' house which is heavily guarded and to kiss the gate when he's there, Bodi being naive, takes Trey's advice to heart.
At Angus' house, Bodi electrocutes himself by kissing the gate, but finds a way to cross the gate, after which he falls onto another trap which he manages to evade. One last trap at the front porch catches him, but he still manages to ring the doorbell, regardless. Inside, Angus' suffers from writer's 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. Instead of taking this as an act of aggression, Bodi takes it as a test of determination. He continues to ramble until a rain ensues. He hides in a dumpster, only to be grabbed by a garbage truck and sent away, which Angus finds incredibly amusing.
The next day, Bodi begins playing in front of Angus' house in an attempt to get noticed by him. He does it in such an exact moment that it makes the new song idea that came to 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 into his hands and confronts him face to face. Bodi being starstruck by his presence, or the presence of someone who's close to Angus, believing Angus's sarcastic lie that he's Angus's "(censored) gardener", isn't offended by his rambles. After the gate to Angus' house closes, Angus 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 the passengers begin chasing after him. 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 he refuses and tries to fool him onto running away from him, which fails.
Bodi hides Angus in a dumpster, which frightens him, since he's used to living of luxury. Bodi continues attempting to connect with Angus but he is still resilient and wants to go home. He asks Bodi to give him some money for a cab, but Bodi carries no money but is willing to earn some to please him. Sadly, people pay no attention to him and one gives him a button instead of a penny. 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. Unfortunately, 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 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 one day closer to being cut off and still 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 being his music teacher in order to steal his song. Bodi falls for it 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 with excitement to Rock 'n' Roll Park to tell everyone about the new song he wrote with Angus, but much to his dismay, Angus 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, Bodi waits in the park, but is ambushed by the wolves and sedated. Thanks to the serum and the sleepiness, he lets it slip that the Mastiff army are sheep. He tries to convince Linnux to not go but is instead dragged into 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 go rescue Bodi. After successfully managing to escape the arena, Bodi is found by Darma, Germur and Angus. Angus gives him the guitar he played with during the music lesson, signing it in the back which makes it valuable. Bodi 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 in a post. Seeing his father defeated, Bodi realizes that his only hope is to use his guitar to channel the fire. His attacks are calming, instead of being damaging like Khampa's, Bodi leaves the wolves in a state of peaceful bliss, but Linnux is sent off by Khampa's attack. Khampa 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 Darma and Germur, and their first single, "Glorious", featuring Angus Scattergood is played live. Khampa amends ways with the wolves and Fleetwood Yak and the sheep make a guest appearance. Bodi ends the show by sending a final sound wave.
Relationships
Khampa
| “ | You're not gonna be a musician, Bodi - You're gonna be a Guard! | „ |
| ~ Khampa |
Khampa is Bodi's father. He's always been busy as a guard dog that he wasn't able to be in constant presence in 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 him in high regard, doing every chore or task he asks him to do without hesitation. 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
| “ | It's your life. Make it a happy one. | „ |
| ~ Fleetwood Yak |
During his childhood, Fleetwood seemed like a constant presence in Bodi's life, often more common than Khampa's. He was the one, along with the sheep, that introduced Bodi to music. He's overall a lot more supportive of Bodi's wishes than Khampa is, and less strict when it comes to traditions. Because of this, Bodi keeps Fleetwood in high regard and is constantly seen around him, seemingly as another paternal figure.
Angus Scattergood
| “ | He's a... He's kinda like a... A bit of a muse. Y'know what I mean? | „ |
| ~ Angus Scattergood |
Angus is Bodi's idol and role model to be in music. He immediately fell in love with his music and gave him the epiphany to become a musician. Despite Angus' distaste towards him, Bodi doesn't seem to be bothered nor takes offense to his words and seems to keep him in 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 and makes Angus a lot more friendly towards him, to the point of giving his most valuable guitar.
Darma
| “ | He's cute. Completely delusional, but cute. | „ |
| ~ Darma |
Darma is one of the band members that Bodi met at Rock 'n' Roll Park. She immediately takes a pity on Bodi's naivety 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, when she and Germur were bringing him food, they become worried about Bodi's whereabouts when they found out that he was kidnapped. They hugged him in relief when they found out that he was okay. 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
| “ | I believe you, dog. | „ |
| ~ Germur |
Germur is often depicted as quick to fade away from existence, often agreeing with Bodi or telling him he believes him. He's friendly towards him and, like Darma, 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
| “ | Hello, Ozzie! My name is Bodi! | „ |
| ~ Bodi |
Bodi and Ozzie spend little time together, but Bodi immediately finds the robot cute where he talks to it, as if Ozzie were a small child. In return, Ozzie seems worried about Bodi's state after Angus' betrayal and is the one who guilt trips him - Ozzie actually ran out of battery power right in front of him which made it look like it was staring at Angus in judgment. Ozzie is last seen dancing at Bodi's debut concert, which shows that it likes his music.
His mother
Bodi's mother is never seen, except as a picture in his bedroom. But by the time he was a toddler, 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 near him. The fact he keeps a picture of her seems to show some affection but probably he doesn't know her personally.
Trivia
- Bodi's name derives from the word "bodhi" which means "awakening" and "enlightenment". It also could be a play-on-words of Buddhism which is prominent on Tibetan Rock Dog and is the central religion in Tibet.
- Bodi is similar to Max Goof, E.B. and Johnny as they are teenagers/young-adults. Both also live with their fathers (Bodi with Khampa, Max Goof with Goofy, E.B. with Mr. Bunny and Johnny with Big Daddy) and their mothers are not seen or mentioned. Both also have a strained relationship with their fathers which is resolved at the end of their films.
- He, along with Lady, Tramp, Scamp, Annette, Collette, Danielle, Angel, Pongo, Pertida, Dug, Pluto and many other heroic dogs, is one of the main heroes who are dogs.