Waddle Dee
Waddle Dee is a
fictional character commonly seen in
video games starring
Kirby.
Waddle Dee is one of the most common enemies in Kirby games, and has appeared in nearly all of them, usually as a bad guy, but occasionally as a friend. He has appeared as a playable character in
Kirby: Canvas Curse as a playable character, unlocked by defeating
Drawcia using
Kirby.
Waddle Dee has a similar appearance to
Kirby: a short, round body, with small stubby arms and large feet. Waddle Dees are generally a tan color, with red covering all of their body but their face; however, they can also wear brown (as in
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and
Kirby Air Ride), or yellow (as in
Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland). They have two black eyes, visible cheeks, and no mouth. They are able to talk, but usually do so only when spoken to (and are mute in
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!).
There is also a variant species called a Big Waddle Dee, which is two to three times the size of a standard one, that appeared in
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, as well as screenshots of Kirby Squeak Squad.
Waddle Dee is one of the most common enemies in
Kirby games. The only way he can harm Kirby is by simply running into him, making him an easily defeated enemy. Some Waddle Dees carry
parasols (they are often seen floating to the ground holding one), which can be sucked up by Kirby, granting him the Parasol copy ability.
Kirby: Canvas Curse introduced
spear-wielding Waddle Dees, who throw spears (at an arc) at Kirby as an attack. Rainbow lines can be drawn as shields to defend Kirby from them; stunning them also prevents them from throwing their spears. Also introduced was Puff Waddle Dee, which can usually be defeated by touching their puff and bringing them to the ground.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards had one Waddle Dee forming an alliance with Kirby, after being possessed by Dark Matter and subsequently fighting and then being freed from the possession by Kirby. Waddle Dee occasionally appears in levels to help Kirby progress through them usually using random means of transportation such as motorboats.
Interestingly, being possessed by Dark Matter transforms him into Waddle Doo.
Waddle Dee also appears on a trophy in
Super Smash Brothers: Melee and has also appeared as a playable character in
Kirby: Canvas Curse, unlocked by defeating
Drawcia using
Kirby.
In the Kirby anime
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, there are multitudes of Waddle Dees, who serve as
King Dedede's slaves. They can often be seen operating machinery, lifting heavy objects, or any number of things. In fact, they are so good at multitasking that they also are used as guards, cooks, maids, cleaners, repairmen, and even soldiers and camera team workers. They seem to emphasize teamwork with some tasks and are very loyal to Dedede.
Waddle Doo is also a commander of the Waddle Dees, and can summon them at will (by whistling or by doing other things). Waddle Dees in this cartoon are not enemies of Kirby, although their master is. They were voiced by
Amy Palant but there were four sailors (voiced by
Amy Birnbaum,
John Stocker, former
Mario actor
Walker Boone and
Nancy Cartwright) that use to kidnap the Cappy family.
In the anime we also learn that Waddle Dees have a very high reproduction rate, and, as evident when marching through Cappy Town, there seem to be several thousand Waddle Dees working for Dedede.
