Franklin

"Whose idea was this anyway? Who ever heard of a Harvest Festival? Why not Turkey Appreciation Day?"

- Franklin

"Relax, OK? Take it easy. We can work this out, right? Everything's cool OK?"

- Franklin

Franklin (フランクリン) is a turkey character that appears during the Harvest Festival. He has appeared in almost every game except for and, which did not include multi-national events.

In his first appearances from to, he appears skittish and paranoid during his visit to the town, and can be found hiding behind objects. He wears a yellow hat with yellow overalls.

In, he takes a more formal role during the Harvest Festival. He wears a chef's hat and overalls.

In Animal Crossing, Animal Forest and City Folk
During the Harvest Festival, Franklin will hide behind obstacles. In he hides behind objects such as trees, signs and buildings, and in the GCN versions of Animal Crossing he only appears to hide behind trees, villager houses and the museum. He stays hidden until the player shows up with pieces of silverware from the banquet table, but on each visit he will continue to fear that the player may turn on him and he will find a new place to hide once they get far enough away from him. He also mentions that Tortimer sent him a letter asking if he would like to join for the festival, oblivious to the fact in which he would be the main course.

Franklin believes that if the player pilfers the utensils, the villagers will be unable to serve him as the main course for the festival. For each piece brought to him, the player will recieve one piece of the Harvest Series, including the wallpaper/carpet. At first he will give you pieces you have not yet obtained, but once the player has picked up all the pieces he continues to award random items from the set.

If the player talks to any of the villagers during the Harvest Festival, they'll occasionally discuss sightings of a 'suspicious guy' or 'crazy dude' and state which letter or number acre row he was seen in. This information is released on the introduction (where the villager says "Hi, isn't today great? It's so warm out." etc.), and the player is not required to choose the talk option to learn of the hints. Franklin is unusual among Animal Crossing residents and visitors in that he is entirely static. Unlike the other visitors, such as Saharah or Joan, he does not walk around the town. Instead, Franklin will appear in his hiding place and will disappear soon after the player moves the camera out of view. He will then reappear instantly in a different hiding place, so that sometimes it can appear that he has jumped ahead of you somehow. Some players may be able to tell when Franklin disappears as there can be a slight shudder to the screen as the game reloads (and puts him in a different place). While in one hiding place, Franklin will only accept one 'knife and fork' set, so if you wish to give him another the player must move away from the hiding place until Franklin disappears, and search for him again.

In New Leaf
In, Franklin can be found in front of the Town Tree. When approached by the Mayor character, he will introduce himself and tell them he is going to be cooking for Harvest Festival, which contrasts to his suspicious behavior in previous games.

He will tell the player he needs certain ingredients to prepare his food. He will tell the player what he needs as well as a special ingredient, which the player must find out. Villagers in the town can be asked for their ingredients, but they will only give the player the ingredient if they trade with them an object they have also asked for. The ingredient the villager gives the player may be an ingredient Franklin has asked for, or something completely random which may come in use later. The villager will give the player some useful information about the dish Franklin is preparing, such as the special ingredient.

Once the player has given him the items he requires, he will make his dish which will appear on his table. As a reward, he will give the player an item of furniture from the Harvest Series.

Franklin will only take one of the named ingredients, rather than all of a specific type. For example, if the player has four apples, Franklin will only take one and not all four.

Franklin will make four dishes in total. These are usually a salad, a soup, a main dish and a dessert. Once all of the dishes have been made, Franklin will express his gratitude and give the player one last piece of Harvest furniture. There is no finale where the villagers gather to eat the meal, but it may be implied.

Origin
Franklin is a cultural reference to the practice of eating turkey on the real-life holiday Thanksgiving. His name is possibly a reference to Benjamin Franklin, who put forward the idea of the Turkey being the U.S. national bird as opposed to the Bald Eagle. His main argument, summarized, was that the Bald Eagle is (correctly) a cowardly scavenger and that scatters from even the slightest of movement.

Gallery
Franklin Dialogue (GCN)