The Two Masked Bank Robbers are a pair of minor antagonists from the Ragdoll children’s show Brum. They are a duo of Big Town Baddies who rob a large sum of money from the city’s bank and attempt to evade capture from Brum and the town’s police. The taller robber is the leader out of the two while the shorter one is the dimwitted sidekick.
They are played by Robert Goodman and Barry Robinson.
Biography[]
Background[]
Although no background history about the two robbers is given at any point in the show or its tie-in material, a few inferences can be made. Their black and white striped clothes and eye masks strongly imply that the two are convicts or fugitives on the run. This explains them stealing a large amount of money from The Big Town Bank. At some point during season 1 of Brum the 2 conspired to rob the Town bank, presumably for their own greed or to try and secure the funds needed to leave the Big Town.
Brum and the Bank Robbers[]
Brum is driving by when the Big Town bank’s alarm goes off. The Two Masked Bank Robbers then run out of the front door carrying 4 sacks full of money between them. The crooks look around to make sure that the police have not yet showed up before they accidentally bump into each other. Irritated, the taller robber slaps his shorter fatter partner with the money bags before they take off. The tied up bank manager hobbles out before Brum tells him that he’ll nab the thieves and then sets off in pursuit. As the chase starts, the taller robber stops his partner from running into a dead-end as the two run down a winding path whilst bumping into and annoying each other.
As this happens the Big Town police arrive at the bank before the robbers take refuge in a magic show. As the crooked duo find a seat they cause a great disturbance to the children in the audience with the taller robber even resorting to whacking them with the money bags. The two sit down with the taller one quickly hiding the stolen money. Unknown to them, Brum conspires with his friends the magicians to trap the robbers before going back outside to meet the police. As soon as the magicians point at the robbers to volunteer them for a “trick” the taller one tries to get his partner to hide with him behind the chairs in front of them while the latter attempts to volunteer to participate in the show. When the magicians point in their direction, they try to shoot through with the taller one dragging his shorter accomplice along, but upon hearing the sirens they are quick to agree, thinking that they can hide. As the children boo and scream at them, the pair are ushered into two separate tents. In response the taller one rudely and threateningly shakes his fist at them while the shorter one tries to wave only to retreat back inside for a sulk. The magicians then spring the trap and magically teleport the crooks into the back of the police car in a pillar of smoke and the stolen money into Brum’s backseat. After the robbers get over their initial shock they are then driven off bound for prison and are never seen again.
Due to the more violent nature of their crimes and them tying the bank manager up, it is highly likely that these baddies were given lengthy sentences, and were imprisoned in the highest security ward of the Big Town Prison. However, the taller robber likelier received a longer custodial sentence and would serve more time within the prison’s highest security ward due to him being the more dominant criminal.
Appearance[]
The Two Masked Robbers are roughly shaven men of average height and builds with the taller one having a slimmer build while the shorter one is slightly overweight. The taller robber has long curly hair while the shorter one has short brown hair. Additionally, both dress in horizontally black and white striped t-shirts and black pants with dark eye masks and grey berets.
Personalities[]
The Two Masked Bank Robbers are a pair of financially motivated criminals who are unscrupulous enough to engage in a bank robbery. However, they have divergent personalities and character traits. The tall robber possesses a choleric temperament and is shown to be rude and abusive as he had no qualms in abusing the children in the audience after provoking them and him needlessly being rude to the performers. He even abuses his own partner by striking him over the head when he enjoys the magic show. Contrastingly, the shorter robber is a sanguine individual with a much more affable personality as he is genuinely friendly with the children and performers. He even appears to be genuinely hurt when the audience boos him after he waves from the stage. Despite their conflicting personalities both are genuinely shocked to find themselves in the back of a police car after they are magically teleported there by the performers, and both accept getting taken into custody with no resistance.
Tactics and abilities[]
The Two Masked Bank Robbers are among the few Big Town Baddies who premeditate their crimes. To successfully and secretly rob the bank, the duo adorned themselves with masks to conceal their identities and tied the bank manager down before proceeding to fill their sacks with cash. However, their exact plan for the heist is not portrayed on-screen. Regardless, it was poorly executed because they failed to prevent the alarm from going off and the bank manager was able to free himself and hobble out of the bank. Additionally, they didn’t have any getaway vehicle outside of the bank and instead they tried to escape on foot. Furthermore, the masks they wore to hide their identity didn’t conceal their faces.
When on the run, the pair didn’t use any active tactics to either hinder Brum or change their appearance. Instead the two try to hide themselves in a theatre and try to sit amongst the juvenile audience. While doing so both disturb the children and earn their irritation. Moreover, when the magicians are pretending to select two to participate in a magic trick the shorter robber tries to volunteer with no forethought while his taller companion tries to prevent him from doing so while ducking behind the seats. When they are selected the taller robber tries to lead his partner out of the theatre but quickly changes his mind upon hearing the police siren because he thinks they can use the tents on stage to hideaway. This backfires as the performers magically teleport them into the back of the waiting police car. Even when confronted with a long prison sentence neither thinks to try and open the car door as a last minute getaway. However, this likely worked in their favour as Brum would’ve intervened and the police likely would’ve had the doors locked anyway. Any attempt to escape would add to their sentences.
- Running: The Two Masked Bank Robbers are competent runners, but are nothing special when compared to other Big Town Baddies. Despite this, both were able to maintain a reasonable lead over Brum.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- As is the case with all Big Town Baddies, their defeat is symbolic. Their black and white striped clothes resemble traditional prison uniforms which foreshadows how both will be prison bound by the end of their episode.
- Their black and white striped clothes imply that the two are fugitives. In real-world and cartoon history black and white striped clothes double as prison uniforms.
- They are the first on-screen antagonists on the show to be career thieves/robbers.
- In the first two seasons of Brum, the narrator would state any dialogue on the character’s behalf. When the robbers enter the magic show, the narrator representing the shorter robber can be heard saying “Oh, it’s a magic show Royce.” This could mean that the taller robber’s first name is Royce.
- If this is true, it is possible that the shorter robber’s first name is Joyce. This is especially ironic as the shorter crook is more joyful than his grumpier partner.
- The two are notable among Big Town Baddies because they show premeditation as evidenced by them tying down the Bank Manager. Most crimes committed by the Big Town Baddies are opportunistic in nature.
- Nick and Rob, 2 villains who appear much later in the show parody The Two Masked Robbers.