Mr. Groundhog is a character in Franklin and Franklin and Friends. He only has a couple of appearances in Franklin, but becomes a more regular character in the spinoff series. He is voiced by Chris Wiggins in Franklin and Franklin and Friends.
History[]
Franklin first meets Mr. Groundhog in "Franklin and the Grump." While playing baseball with Bear, Franklin accidentally hits the ball too hard, sending it into Mr. Groundhog's backyard. He goes and knocks on Mr. Groundhog's door in the hopes of getting it back, only for Mr. Groundhog to shout at him to go away, that it's not even February 2. Franklin doesn't leave and explains the misunderstanding. Mr. Groundhog apologizes, but when Bear asks him what he thinks about the weather, he says he doesn't want to talk about it.
Franklin tells his parents Mr. and Mrs. Turtle. They tell him that Mr. Groundhog is usually very friendly, but that February 2 is Groundhog Day and that he's under a lot of pressure from people wanting a forecast of either an early spring or six more weeks of winter. Franklin decides that he will steer clear of Mr. Groundhog for the time being, but the next day, he accidentally bumps into Mr. Groundhog, who is out in disguise doing shopping. When he says his name out loud, he is immediately swarmed by townsfolk asking him about whether he is going to predict an early spring or more winter.
As Mr. Groundhog flees the scene telling everyone to go away, Franklin notices that he dropped a can of hot cocoa. He reluctantly follows Mr. Groundhog to his house to give it back. When he knocks at his door, Mr. Groundhog shouts that he thought he told everyone to go away. Franklin is about to simply leave it on his doorstep, telling him as much through the closed door. Feeling guilty, he apologizes to Franklin and lets him in his house, Franklin promising not to talk about the weather.
Mr. Groundhog lets him in and Franklin is surprised at seeing the collection inside his house, saying that he must know a lot about the weather. He then apologizes and covers his mouth, noting that he wasn't supposed to talk about the W-word. Mr. Groundhog, however, happily explains his collection to Franklin, explaining that he likes weather, it's just that he's not looking forward to Groundhog Day because everyone wants something different from him and he can't satisfy them all. He tells Franklin that he's just not going to come out on Groundhog Day.
Come Groundhog Day, Mr. Groundhog opens his door to find the whole town gathered outside his home. Franklin tells him he told his parents what he had said and it spread to everyone in town. They don't want anything from him, they just want to spend the day with him. Franklin, seeing his shadow, jokingly asks what it means and Mr. Groundhog tells him it means a good friend should come and join the party.
In "Franklin's Good Deeds," Franklin and his friends help Mr. Groundhog with the harvest, resulting in a write-up in the local paper about their good deeds. They also perform the song "Mr. Groundhog Had a Farm."
Mr. Groundhog tutors Franklin regarding the weather in "Franklin the Weather Turtle," teaching him tips such as "when the needle falls low [on the barometer], prepare for a blow." Mr. Groundhog's advice seems so good that Franklin quotes it as gospel to his friends and also casts himself as an expert. He then learns, however, that reading the signs is more complicated than he thought and that even experts like Mr. Groundhog are never 100% right in their predictions.
Mr. Groundhog returns in a number of episodes in Franklin and Friends. In "Franklin's Firefighter Flapjacks," he visits the fire station for free pancakes and is annoyed upon discovering he has to wait, but enjoys them when they are finally served. In "Super Cluepers' Case of the Missing School Bell," Franklin and the Super Cluepers visit Mr. Groundhog searching for the missing "dingy thingy," or clapper for the school bell. They end up helping him because he is locked out of his house, his spare key missing.
Appearance[]
Mr. Groundhog has light brown and tan fur, a set of six facial whiskers, buckteeth and small ears. He typically wears pince-nez spectacles.