Characters featured at the theme park Efteling and in its related franchises.
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The Magical World of Pardoes / Symbolica
Pardoes de Tovernar
The mascot of Efteling, Pardoes is both a jester and a magician. He was created by designer Henny Knoet
in 1989.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Pardoes is portrayed in the 2011 series as brave, serious, and sometimes stern, while Pardoes in the park is also heroic, mischievous, playful, and energetic. This could be justified, since the 2011 series was a Prequel series.
- Art Evolution: He and Pardijn started out cartoonish looking◊ but were redesigned to look more humanoid in mid 2005, when their background and universe were fleshed out and expanded upon. His old design is spotted in some areas of the park (most notable is the Pardoes statue) and used at Villa Pardoes.
- The Cameo: In the Studio 100 music video Yippee Yippee by K3. A plush version of Pardoes briefly appears in the song.
- Conveniently an Orphan: He was abandoned as a baby, and Aliciana took him in. He grew up as the jester of the Hartenhof, and learned the arts of magic under the teachings of Almar.
- Court Jester: He is the jester of King Pardulfus' court.
- Happy Harlequin Hat: As part of his jester outfit.
- Keet: A very energetic character who loves messing and playing with guests for fun.
- Magical Clown: He happens to be a magician in addition to a jester.
- The Pollyanna: Pardoes is a very optimistic and cheerful character.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the 2011 series, Pardoes is a lot more serious and is the protector of the kingdom.
- Never Bareheaded: Before the 2011 series, Pardoes was never seen without his harlequin hat and jester outfit. In Pardoes en de vele Veranderingen, it's revealed that Pardoes has brown hair and is mostly not seen wearing his jester outfit at home.
Pardijn
Pardoes' girlfriend and the daughter of King Pardulfus.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Pardijn was always pretty looking in park merchandise. In the 2011 Pardoes TV series, her pink hair is designed after her harlequin hat from her park appearance.
- Age Lift: In the 2011 Pardoes TV series, she's a young teenager compared to her park counterpart where she's much older.
- Ascended Extra: Pardijn used to only be seen in Efteling merchandise as the park's attempt to appeal to female guests before she become a meetable character starting in 2000. She also has a bigger role in the 2011 Pardoes TV series.
- Cool Crown: Her harlequin hat is topped by a crown.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's makes humorous snarky comments to Pardoes and the other royal members in the TV series.
- Distaff Counterpart: She was created in 1990 as this for Pardoes.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Before her redesign in 2005, her old design almost looked the same as Pardoes◊. She also had three stuffed balls on her hat with a feather in the middle and her hat would sometimes be polka dotted in some merchandise instead of red.
- Happy Harlequin Hat: Hers is topped by a crown, and it has no bells.
- Pink Means Feminine: She wears mostly pink and purple outfits.
- Princess Protagonist: As she is the daughter of King Pardulfus. Since 2005, she's the princess of Harthenhof. However, she doesn't like princess duties and prefers to be free like Pardoes, as revealed on her character description on Efteling's website and the 2011 TV series.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She is certainly more attractive than her rotund, goofy looking father.
King Pardulfus
The King of Symbolica, who lives at the Hartenhof (Court of Hearts).
- Adipose Rex: He is quite heavyset, due to his love for feasts.
- Cool Crown: Topped by a heart, since he rules the Court of Hearts.
- The Good King: Certainly not the tyrant type.
- Miracle Food: His feasts at "Symbolica" are fueled by a Cornucopia.
O.J. Punctuel
The protocol secretary of King Pardulfus.
- Ascended Extra: He started out as a minor character in the Pardoes/Symbolica universe with his introduction in the comics in 2007. Starting with the "Symbolica" ride in 2017, O.J. Punctuel is now a supporting character hosting the behind the scenes videos and the LPS ride Symbolica, showing up as a meetable character in the park and hosting some events. He even starred in his own music video in February 2019.
- Foil: To Pardoes, most notable in the Symbolica attraction where he's frequently protesting Pardoes' decision on taking a tour around the castle.
- The Comically Serious: He is very stern and serious with guests, which can cause amusing results. Even Pardoes likes messing with him, such as during the preshow for "Symbolica". During summer parties, he tries to resist dancing.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Inside the "Symbolica" ride, he can be heard speaking English, French or German between mostly Dutch sentences and words such as "The Palace Of Fantasy? No, no, no obey the rules" and "The King is always right, even if it comes to comparing oranges to lemons.".
- Hammy Herald: He is pretty hammy when announcing the king's invitation at the Hartenhof (Court of Hearts) to the guests within "Symbolica".
- Meaningful Name: Very fitting for someone who insists on his king's guests' punctuality.
- Perpetual Frowner: Is always seen frowning due to being very stern.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: A humorous example during the "Symbolica" ride where guests encounter him dressed in female clothing as a way to catch guests after disobeying his words.
Almar
The advisor of King Pardulfus and the grand wizard of his court. He's also Pardoes' mentor who taught him magic and gave him the Twinkle Torch.
- Ascended Extra: Almar was a minor character but was given a supporting role in the 2011 live-action show "Pardoes" that aired on Nickelodeon in the Netherlands and given a minor role in the "Symbolica" ride. He also makes occasional meet and greet appearances in the park.
- The Consigliere: He is the main advisor of King Pardulfus.
- Court Mage: The grand wizard of Hartenhof, the Court of Hearts.
- In the Hood: His robe includes a hood.
- Mentor Archetype: He taught the arts of magic to Pardoes.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Aside from studying and practicing magic, he is also an astronomer.
- Seers: He's able to predict the future, most notably the TV series.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He loves Aliciana's blueberry pies.
- Wizard Beard: He has a long white beard.
- Wizard Classic: The only thing lacking is a pointed hat.
Pantagor
An evil sorcerer who was banned from the kingdom of Symbolica for practicing Black Magic.
- Arch-Enemy: To Pardoes.
- Beard of Evil: Sports a villainous goatee in his 2005 redesign.
- Big Bad: He was introduced in 2000 to serve as the main antagonist in the Pardoes/Symbolica universe, as well as in the TV series and comics. He also got a more threatening redesign in 2005.
- The Dark Arts: Practicing these got himself banned from the kingdom.
- Dark Is Evil: He dresses all in black.
- Evil Counterpart: To Almar, the wizard of King Pardulfus' court. And to Pardoes to some extent.
- Evil Sorcerer: A textbook example.
- Expy: He looks and acts a lot like a male version of Maleficent, not to mention his outcast background.
- Sinister Schnoz: He has a sinister hooked nose.
Others
Jokie
The former mascot of Efteling and main figure of the ride Carnaval Festival.
- Abandoned Mascot: For a period in the 1980's, Jokie served as the mascot for the entire park, before being relegated to the "Carnaval Festival" ride, although he made a brief return under the spotlights for the park's 60th anniversary in 2012. He eventually got replaced by Pardoes as the main mascot for the park. Meanwhile, Kleine Boodschap and Langnek are still iconic enough to be secondary mascots for the park since the 1950's. However, during the The New '10s, Jokie actually gained a resurgence in popularity where he stars in various live shows and entertainment (mainly as puppets) with Efteling Theater even creating a stage show dedicated to him in 2023 called ''Jokie en Jet, reizen is een feestje!".
- Floating Limbs: Like the other characters in Carnaval Festival, Jokie has floating arms with no limbs in sight. He is given a full set of hands in his puppet design.
- The Bus Came Back: Vanished in the late 1980's when Pardoes become the current park mascot. He returned in 2012 with an animated TV series that aired on Nick Jr in the Netherlands and returned in the ride with a new female bird friend Jet. Beginning 2014, starred in live entertainment in front of the attraction with Jokie originally portrayed by a costume actor. Efteling later stuck with Jokie and Jet being portrayed as puppets performed by two actors.
- Happy Harlequin Hat: Part of his outfit.
- Kid-Appeal Character: He was designed to appeal to very young children.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: Changes job as the plot demands in his animated show.
- The Theme Park Version: "Carnaval Festival" is an 8-minutes trip around a theme park version of the world, with multitudes of Jokies reproducing easily recognizable clichés and National Stereotypes from each continent.
- Voice Grunting: In the animated series, Jokie is only heard laughing or gasping while Jet only chirps. In live performances in the park, he and Jet are able to speak full sentences.
