- “Big and small, short and tall, on my journey's I have seen them all!”
- ―Mtambo
Mtambo is a yellow African tourist chugger who works at the Safari Park. He has been all around the world and knows many facts about animals.
Biography
Mtambo in his early days would travel around the world to many places - from Zimbabwe to Antarctica.[1] During his travels on safari, he once came nose to nose with a rhinoceros that began to charge, but Mtambo honked his horn so loud it ran away. Deep in the jungle, Mtambo raced a jaguar, and it ran out of breath before he did. There was also a time he was lost in the desert, and along came a camel that guided him out.[2]
Eventually Mtambo stayed in Chuggington and became the Safari Park tour guide; showing people around the park and teaching them everything about animals. Because he is a well-traveled chugger, he is always keen to tell the trainees some exciting stories of his adventures. There are times when Mtambo would assist the trainees with training dealing with tours[3] and animal activities.[4] One of Mtambo's other jobs is to handle animals when they run away or have escaped.[5][6]
After realising he has told almost every story about his world travels, Mtambo was eager to have an exciting adventure like he once had. Did so unexpectedly, after a monkey ran off with Freddy's camera, a traveler Mtambo met at the park station.[2] Not long afterwards, Mtambo gave a special night tour - it was meant for the daytime - for the King of Buffertonia. The king ended up liking the night tour and declared it an official service.[7] Along with Koko, Mtambo would assist Dr. Gosling in filming a rare bat dance that happens during a full moon.[8]
Mtambo would also take part in activities outside of the Safari Park, such as the Chugger Championships,[9] the Parade of Lights[10] and the Chugtastic Games.[11]
Personality
Mtambo is very wise, and he knows almost everything there is to know about animals. He has a great sense of humour and loves to tell jokes or make a pun whenever give a fun animal fact. It's his way of keeping his audience entertained as well as educated.
As much as Mtambo loves his job as a tour guide, he sometimes wishes he can do much more, believing that he is not as interesting as he once used to be.[2] But overtime, Mtambo has learned that it's not just his adventures that make his interesting, but also his smart personality also bring a new perspective into everything.[7]
Technical Details
Basis
Although Mtambo is not based on any actual locomotive, he does loosely resemble various safari camper vans. Specifically those with pop-top roof mechanisms.
Livery
Mtambo is painted cool yellow with various camouflaged linings that come in green, brown, and black.
Appearances
Audio Files
Horns
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Koko on Call | You for a Day |
|- In the second season episode, Heave Ho Harrison, Mtambo is depicted with the low pitch snow horn variant.
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Heave Ho Harrison |
In the third season, Mtambo is incorrectly portrayed with a different horn sound which sounds very similar to his usual one.
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Chug-o-Flage |
Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
 Chinese
|
莫坦博 (MoTanBo) |
 Croatia
|
Bongani |
 Italian
|
Mambo |
 Japanese
|
ムタンボ (Mutanbo) |
 Korean
|
무탐보 (Mutambo) |
 Russian
|
Мтамбо |
 Slovenian
|
Mumbo |
Trivia
- Mtambo was the tallest chugger in the series until Decka was introduced.
- His name is Swahili for "mechanism" or "machine".
- In many merchandise and promotional material, Mtambo's name is sometimes misspelled as "M'tambo".
- There are a number of occurrences in the credits of the fifth and sixth seasons where Mtambo's name is misspelled as "Mambo".
- In the Hebrew dub on Hop!, he was the only known character to retain their original name.
References
- ↑ S1 #18 "Koko on Call"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 S1 #37 "Mtambo's Amazing Adventure"
- ↑ S1 #25 "Wilson's Wacky Tour"
- ↑ S3 #04 "Chug-o-flage"
- ↑ S1 #20 "Brewster and the Dragon"
- ↑ S6 #03 "Wilson's Broadcast Blues"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 S1 #43 "Mtambo's Royal Tour"
- ↑ S3 #10 "Top Secret Koko"
- ↑ S1 #10 "The Chugger Championships'
- ↑ S4 #14 "Winter Whiteout"
- ↑ S6 #15 "The Fast, The Strong and The Wilson"
| Trainees | Diesel | Brewster | Tai |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel-electric | Wilson | Hoot and Toot | |
| Electric | Koko | |
| Steam | Piper | |
| Other Chuggers | Diesel | Calley | Hodge | Chatsworth | Irving | Mtambo | Frostini | Skylar | Jackman | Tyne | Fletch | Asher | Cormac | Skipper Stu | Harry and Hamish | Rosa |
| Diesel-electric | Dunbar | Harrison | Zack | |
| Electric | Emery | Decka | Hanzo | Payce | Daley | |
| Steam | Old Puffer Pete | Olwin | Speedy | |
| Other | Zephie | Action Chugger | Russ | |
| Chuggers | Mtambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Humans | Dr. Gosling | Vicky | |
| Equipment | Rolling Stock | Safari Passenger Cars | Elephant Cars | Monkey Cars | Giraffe Cars | Litter Picking Wagons | Wagon Cranes |
| Gear | Camouflage Nets | |
| Chuggers | Emery | Chatsworth | Mtambo | Decka | Daley |
|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Safari Cars | Litter Picking Wagons | Timber Wagons | Wagon Cranes | Hopper Cars | Boxcars | Passenger Carriages | Daley's Mail Carriages |
| Locations | Safari Park | Bridge and Hill Runby | Bridge Over Tunnel Intersection | The Farm | Cliffside Stone (Stone Bridge, Dr. Gosling's House) | Countryside Ride-In | Countryside Intersection (Pumpkin Patch) | Footbridge Station | The Forest (Water Tower, Intersection) | The Stone Bridge | The Old Crossing | The Foundry | The Market | The Paper Mill | The Power Station | The Dry River Bed | The Saw Mill | Station with Bridge Over Tunnel Intersection | Tunnel Junction Station | Water Tower Runby | The Old Stone Bridge | Old Safari Park | Pond Station | Longload Tunnel |