Dupree
| Dupree | |
|---|---|
 Sprite fromPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | |
| Species | Doogan |
| First appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) |
- “Oh ho!Young lady! You could not forget me after all, is that right? Such burning persistence. This is why I adore you. Ah, my love—mon amour... When my mind turns to you, I feel the moths of love flutter in my belly button!”
- —Dupree,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)
Dupree is aDoogan who appears inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He is a hopeless-romantic who attempts to aggressively win the affections of several female characters in the game, notablyGoombella, most of whom find him creepy. Dupree has a distinctive, flamboyant appearance. He wears a white jumpsuit, resembling the signature stage costume ofElvis Presley (and is named after him in some languages of the original game) and large white boots. Uniquely for a Doogan, Dupree has blue skin, sports a pink afro and sunglasses, and has painted stars on his cheeks. His speech in the English version of the original game is written with a stereotypical mock French accent, though it is ambiguous if his accent is intended to be real or if he puts it on to impress women. In the English version of the remake, the written accent is removed, and he instead occasionallycode-switches between English and French.
Similarly to theTraveling Sisters Three, he appears in almost every chapter of the game, traveling between each settlement alongside Mario and his party. Goombella is initially horrified by Dupree's attempts to follow them after meeting inPetalburg, believing him to be a stalker. Eventually, after multiple encounters, she admits that she is impressed at how he always manages to be one step ahead of them.
Dupree is shown to have a tendency to fall in love with the women he meets atfirst sight. He becomes obsessed with them, and is bold and aggressive in his attempts to woo them. Dupree believes himself to be charming, attractive, and irresistible, and considers the persistent rejections he receives to be women playing hard to get. The women he flirts with are often disgusted by his forwardness and general manner, though he seems to successfully charm at least one character in the game.
History[edit]
Dupree can be encountered in every chapter except forChapter 5 andChapter 8.
InChapter 1, Dupree is first met near the river inPetalburg. He immediately becomes infatuated withGoombella on sight, flirting and proposing that they run away together. Goombella is disgusted and responds with a hostile rejection, naming him "Bozo the Dork" ("Bozo the Chump" in the remake). Goombella's hostility only further enchants Dupree, and he insists to her that his offer will stand if she changes her mind. This horrifies Goombella, prompting her to insist that she and Mario leave the vicinity immediately. This is the only encounter in which Dupree and Goombella directly interact with each other, and she will only remark on future meetings throughtattling.
InChapter 2, Dupree is seen inBoggly Woods after defeating theThree Shadows. He can be found in the same the spot where Mario had earlier battled them. Dupree claims that he came to warnMario and Goombella about the imminent arrival of the Three Shadows, but realizes he was too late. Goombella is horrified to see Dupree again and suspects him of stalking her; Mario dismisses the possibility, which Goombella finds insulting. It can be possible for players to miss this appearance as it requires the player to backtrack through the woods after defeating the Three Shadows and enteringThe Great Tree, but before the chapter is completed.
InChapter 3, Dupree is found as a patron of theFresh Juice Shop inGlitzville. Initially, he will tell Mario that he is in love with the mysterious female Toad standing in the corner, and warns Mario to keep away from her. When Mario has reached Rank 11 in theGlitz Pit, he asks Mario what flower the Toad likes, but acknowledges that she rebuffed his attempts to woo her by comparing her to a "thorny, red rose". Goombella is alarmed to encounter Dupree again, and questions whether he has a delusion that he is journeying alongside them on their quest.
InChapter 4, Dupree travels toTwilight Town ahead of Mario, but is unfortunate to be transformed into a pig alongside the town's inhabitants. As a pig he goes into theTwilight Shop, causing the shopkeeper to believe him to be her husband. When Mario defeatsDoopliss, Dupree and the town's residents are returned to normal and his identity becomes apparent. The shopkeeper's husband accuses Dupree of attempting to seduce his wife, causing a huge altercation in the shop. Dupree protests that he has no recollection of the events, other than coming to town through aWarp Pipe, but admits to Mario he is attracted to the shopkeeper and would like to woo her. The shopkeeper confides in Mario that she is mutually attracted to Dupree, and considers leaving her husband for him, before quickly adding that she's only kidding. During this segment of the chapter, Mario is a shadow as his body and name have been stolen, so no characters recognise him and Goombella is not present.
InChapter 6, Dupree appears in the hotel inPoshley Heights before theGarnet Star is taken. He declares his heart is now set on seducing the female receptionist, and claims he will not check out of the hotel until he has succeeded. Goombella expresses exasperation to Mario at seeing Dupree again, but admits she is starting to be impressed by his resourcefulness in continuing to follow them.
InChapter 7, Dupree can be found shivering outside theinn inFahr Outpost. He explains to Mario through chattering teeth that he made a pass at theBob-omb proprietor, and she angrily threw him out of the inn. He insists to Mario that he will use the heat of his passion for her to melt the snow and keep himself warm. Goombella is unsurprised at seeing Dupree again, and tells Mario that she respects Dupree's tenacity in following them to such a remote and rugged part of the world. While Mario is searching forGeneral White, Dupree states he does not know who that is and that he only pays attention to women. Dupree then hears that Mario aims to go to the Moon and does not think the notion of it will impress the women.
After the conclusion of the main story, Dupree travels toKeelhaul Key and can be found standing on the dock. He will proclaim all the women of the world to be selfish for resisting his charms, but declares that he forgives them for he is Dupree. Goombella expresses sheer disbelief that Dupree was able to travel to Keelhaul Key, pondering if he swam across the ocean to reach the island. In the remake, Dupree is on Keelhaul Key when theShadow Queen covers the world in darkness, and joins the Keelhaul Key cast of characters in encouraging Mario through theSapphire Star.
Tattle[edit]
- (In Petalburg) "...EWWWWWW!!! What's with this guy, huh?!? It grosses me out just being NEAR this weirdo! ...All right, fine, whatever. His name is Dupree. He's this icky guy who tries to sweet-talk everybody. ...There, no more!"
- (In Boggly Woods) "That's that totally gross guy, Dupree! What the heck is THAT guy doing here? Omigosh! You don't think he followed us here 'cause he's infatuated with me, do you? ...No? Oh, what, like it's not even possible?!? That's kinda insulting, Mario!"
- (In Glitzville) "Awww, it's that gross guy, Dupree! What's he doing in Glitzville? How annoying! You don't think he thinks he's on an adventure with us... Do you?"
- (In Twilight Town, as a pig) "That's the shop manager... who's now a pig. Yuck. What a totally awful fate..."
- (In Twilight Town, unused) "Oh, are you KIDDING me?!? Not THIS goofy guy again! He follows us EVERYWHERE! And how does he know to show up before we get where we're going, anyway?"
- (In Poshley Heights) "I've had more than enough of this guy... How does he do it? I'm almost impressed now! He moves at lights speed, and he always knows where we'll be! Talk about freaky!"
- (In Fahr Outpost) "You gotta hand it to this guy... To come out to even this forsaken place... Talk about totally tenacious... This dude is serious."
- (In Keelhaul Key, after Chapter 8) "I...totally...can't...BELIEVE...it! How's this guy know where we're gonna be all the time? And did he SWIM here or something? Please... Please tell me this is a nightmare..."
Gallery[edit]
Dupree in Petalburg in the remake
Dupree in Boggly Woods in the remake
Dupree in Poshley Heights in the remake
Dupree in Keelhaul Key cheering on Mario during the final battle in the remake
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ドンパン[?] Donpan | Possibly from「ドンパチ」(donpachi, onomatopoeia for the sound of exploding gunpowder), referencing his afro hairstyle | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 东邦[?] Dōngbāng | Transliteration of the Japanese name | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 東邦[?] Dōngbāng | Transliteration of the Japanese name | |
| Dutch | César[?] | Uses the French spelling of the name "Caesar", which is a name derived from the Latincaesaries meaning "hair" | |
| French | Belvis[?] | Reference toElvis Presley | original |
| Zeking[?] | French spelling of "The King" | remake | |
| German | Bellvis[?] | Play onElvis Presley andbellen ("bark") | original |
| Macké[?] | Pun onMacke ("fault") | remake | |
| Italian | Nando[?] | An Italian given name, a short form of "Ferdinando" | |
| Korean | 돈팡[?] Donpang | Transliteration of the Japanese name | |
| Spanish(Latin American) | Rolfunk[?] | Combination ofRolf ("Doogan") and theFunk music style | |
| Spanish(European) | Afro[?] | Comes from the afro hairstyle | original |
| Rolfunk[?] | Combination ofRolf ("Doogan") and theFunk music style | remake |
