The Boofurs (from The Journey)

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The Boofurs (43)

Project: Family movie (“The Journey”)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Boofurs

Group affiliation: Okaasan

Physical description: Each Boofur is about the size of an adult’s hand with the fingers fully spread. They are shaped like a manta ray except they have six small feet/hands on the edges of their “wings.” They are usually flat/floppy, but can inflate themselves (looking a little like a round loaf of bread when they do). They have faces on the front underside of their bodies, and when moving around they fold up the front edge of their bodies in a 90 degree angle upwards in order to see where they are going. Finally they are covered with fluffy orange fur (they are odd critters).

Personality: The Boofurs share a hive mind and therefore don’t have individual personalities. This also makes them substantially smarter than you’d expect from animals with brains of their size, as they share cognitive functions across the colony. Still, we’re not talking about rocket scientists here. They are harmless to most creatures – they eat dust, mold, and the odd crumb, but they do not attack any living creatures. Okaasan can telepathically communicate with the hive mind and cares for them, so the Boofurs love and help her.

History: The Boofurs at Okaasan’s house are believed to be the only ones in existence. They used to be a furry shrub in her back yard; only after some time did Okaasan realize that they were a colony of tiny creatures. Some say that they were created when a feather duster was struck by lightning while covered in maple syrup. No one seems to know where this origin myth came from.

Okaasan and the Boofurs have a nice, symbiotic relationship. Okaasan gives them a nice, safe home and sustenance as needed; the Boofurs clean constantly and are happy to shape themselves into whatever items Okaasan needs (they are usually furniture). The Boofurs are very flexible, surprisingly strong, and with their hive mind and ability to inflate themselves the colony can shape itself into many different objects. Furthermore, they are skilled at arranging their fur so it is not apparent that the object is formed from many tiny creatures. After the Stotherts arrive, Eri spends a good chunk of the evening sitting on an orange, furry easy chair she doesn’t realize is made of Boofurs (she discovers it later when she moves to another sitting space and they reform into an ottoman for her).

Role in the narrative: They really don’t have a strong plot point. The magical world needs to seem very inhabited and rich, so creatures like the Boofurs need to be invented. Plus, they might end up “cute,” who knows? (What kid wouldn’t want a plush toy of an orange, furry manta ray that they could blow up?)

Abilities: Each Boofur is surprisingly fast. They are extremely flexible and the colony can therefore combine and shape themselves into many things (driven by the hive mind). Their ability to inflate and fluffy fur covers any gaps they might have.

Inspirations: Somewhat like the Tribbles from Star Trek meets a nanite cloud. Cute little dudes are ubiquitous in films like these (e.g., the minions from Despicable Me).