List of Crash Bandicoot series characters

Crash Bandicoot is a series of platform video games published by Activision. The series was formerly developed by Naughty Dog from 1996 to 1999, and by Traveller's Tales, Eurocom and Vicarious Visions from 2000 to 2004. The series features a large cast of distinctively quirky characters designed by numerous different artists, the most notable of which include Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson. In addition, it features an all-star cast of veteran voice actors.

The series centers on the conflicts between a mutated bandicoot named Crash Bandicoot and his creator, Doctor Neo Cortex. Crash acts as the main playable character of the series, though other characters have had occasional player access, most notable Coco Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex, as well as Crunch Bandicoot. Out of the numerous characters in the series (numbering over sixty), only a few have significantly contributed to the story of the series.

Protagonists

Crash Bandicoot

Aku Aku

Aku Aku, also known as Holiugd, is the guardian of the Wumpa Islands and the father figure of Crash Bandicoot and his friends. Aku Aku is the spirit of an ancient witch doctor encased in a floating, wooden mask. During Crash's missions to stop Doctor Cortex, he scattered copies of himself throughout the travels in an effort to aid him in his mission. Whenever Crash possesses an Aku Aku mask, he will be shielded from one enemy attack or contact. Collecting three Aku Aku masks gives Crash temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers, but does not protect from falling down holes. In his English speaking appearances, he is voiced by Mel Winkler up to Crash Twinsanity, and Greg Eagles in Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind over Mutant. In the Japanese versions of his speaking appearances, he is voiced by Kenichi Ogata up to Crash Twinsanity.

Antes (people)

The Antes or Antae (Greek: Áνται) were an early Slavic tribal polity which existed in the 6th century lower Danube and northwestern Black Sea region (modern-day Moldova and central Ukraine). They are commonly associated with the archaeological Penkovka culture.

First mentioned in 518, the Antes invaded the Diocese of Thrace at some point between 533 and 545. Shortly after, they became Byzantine foederati, and were given gold payments and a fort named Turris, somewhere north of the Danube at a strategically important location, so as to prevent hostile barbarians invading Roman lands. Thus, between 545 and the 580s, Antean soldiers fought in various Byzantine campaigns. The Antes were eventually attacked and destroyed by the Pannonian Avars at the beginning of the 7th century.

Historiography

Based on the literary evidence provided by Procopius (ca 500 to ca 560) and by Jordanes (fl. ca 551), the Antes (along with the Sklaveni and the Venethi) have long been viewed as one of the constituent proto-Slavic peoples ancestral both to medieval groups and to modern nations. Studying the Antes since the late 18th century, modern scholars have at times engaged in heated polemics regarding Antean origins and the attribution of their ancestors. They have variously regarded the Antes as ancestors of specifically the Vyatichi or Rus (from a medieval perspective), and of the Ukrainians versus other East Slavs (with regard to extant populations). Additionally South Slavic historians have regarded the Antes as the ancestors of the East South Slavs.

It Happened at Lakewood Manor

It Happened at Lakewood Manor (also known by the titles Ants and Panic at Lakewood Manor) is a 1977 television film. The cast includes Lynda Day George, Suzanne Somers, Myrna Loy, Brian Dennehy and Bernie Casey.

Plot

During construction at the old, hard-pressed Lakewood Hotel, two workers stumble upon a swarm of ants in a closed section of the building. After discovering the unusually aggressive and dangerous ants, they attempt to get the warning out, but are accidentally buried alive.

Shortly after, the unscrupulous real estate magnate Anthony Fleming (Gerald Gordon) and his partner and mistress Gloria (Suzanne Somers) arrive at the hotel, there to haggle with the elderly proprietor, Ethel Adams (Myrna Loy), and her daughter Valerie (Lynda Day George) as they pursue plans to convert Lakewood into a casino.

In the meantime, foreman Mike Carr (Robert Foxworth), who is in a relationship with Valerie, and his co-worker and friend Vince (Bernie Casey) find the two missing men, but dead from poisoning. The ants begin to emerge, attacking a boy, then killing a hotel cook. They nearly kill Vince as he and Mike investigate the pit in which their men were buried.

Elephant

Elephants are large mammals of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Two species are traditionally recognised, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), although some evidence suggests that African bush elephants and African forest elephants are separate species (L. africana and L. cyclotis respectively). Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, members of the order include deinotheres, gomphotheres, mammoths, and mastodons. Male African elephants are the largest extant terrestrial animals and can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft) and weigh 7,000 kg (15,000 lb). All elephants have several distinctive features the most notable of which is a long trunk or proboscis, used for many purposes, particularly breathing, lifting water and grasping objects. Their incisors grow into tusks, which can serve as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. Elephants' large ear flaps help to control their body temperature. Their pillar-like legs can carry their great weight. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs while Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.

Elephant (public information film)

Elephant is the title of a British public information film about the importance of wearing a seatbelt in the rear of a car. It was first broadcast in 1993 and continued until 1998, when it was replaced by the Julie campaign.

The film, shot entirely in black and white (save for a streak of red in the closing shot), shows four friends driving along an ordinary street. The driver and the passenger sitting behind him are not wearing their seatbelts. When the car crashes into another vehicle ahead, computer imagery shows the unrestrained back seat passenger morphing into an elephant to demonstrate that in a collision at 30 miles per hour, a passenger not wearing a seatbelt can be thrown forward at the force of 3 and a half tons, equivalent to an elephant charging directly at the person in front. The weight of the "elephant" forces the driver through the windscreen, and the front seat passenger gapes in horror as the camera closes in on the driver's body and the wreckage of the car.

Gaja

Gaja (a -Sanskrit word for elephant) is one of the significant animals finding references in Hindu scriptures and Buddhist and Jain texts. In general, a gaja personifies a number of positive attributes, including abundance, fertility and richness; boldness and strength; and wisdom and royalty. In European Portuguese, it means "physically attractive female"; its origin in the Portuguese language can be related to a personification of fertility, as mentioned.

History

In the context of the history of Ancient India, the earliest depiction of gaja is found on the seals discovered at sites (like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) of the Indus Valley Civilization (3000 BC – 1700 BC). Some scholars believe that by that time elephants had been tamed and domesticated, and used for peaceful and possibly for other purposes. In the Vedas, there is no direct reference to elephants. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya reports use of war elephants during warfare.

Over a period of time encompassing several centuries, elephants became an important part of Indian life and society, particularly of religious tradition, the royalty, and the aristocratic segment of the society. Capturing, taming and training of elephants developed into a specialized skill. In Ancient India, a number of treatises were written about caring and management of elephants, which included the following: