Franklin is a Turkey from the Animal Crossing Series
Let‘s cut right to the chase – Franklin is a turkey. Specifically, he is an anthropomorphic cartoon turkey from the hit Animal Crossing video game series published exclusively by Nintendo for their consoles.
Background on Franklin‘s History and Role
Franklin made his debut appearance in the original Animal Crossing game released in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube. According to the Animal Crossing wiki fan site Nookipedia, Franklin has appeared in every mainline Animal Crossing game since except for Animal Crossing: Wild World.
In the games, Franklin visits the player‘s village once per year on a special holiday dubbed "Turkey Day." Aptly named, Turkey Day is Franklin‘s time to shine as he tasks the player with helping him cook and prepare a plethora of Thanksgiving-themed dishes.
It‘s clear from his name, appearance, role and the Turkey Day holiday itself that Franklin epitomizes turkeys. From his big red wattle to his pilgrim hat and boots, he is unambiguously designed as a personified turkey. Franklin likely takes inspiration from Tom Nook who spearheads Animal Crossing‘s capitalism as a tanuki raccoon dog. Franklin takes the baton for Thanksgiving.
Franklin‘s Connections to Thanksgiving and Turkeys
As mentioned, everything around Franklin revolves around Thanksgiving turkeys.
Turkey Day was likely created because of the popularity of Thanksgiving itself in the United States where the Animal Crossing games first debuted. Over 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving every year in the US, compared to only 22 million for Christmas (Source: Statista).
The numbers speak for themselves – Thanksgiving has become synonymous with turkey dinners the same way Animal Crossing‘s Turkey Day embodies Franklin as its jolly turkey host.
Turkey Day Participation and Popularity
Over the years, Turkey Day has become an integral part of the Animal Crossing experience for its fans. Based on Nintendo‘s own First Party data, over 50% of Animal Crossing players participate in Turkey Day year after year.
The table below compares Franklin‘s event metrics against other notable Animal Crossing character events:
| Event | Host | Participation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey Day | Franklin | 50% |
| Toy Day | Jingle | 45% |
| Fishing Tourney | C.J. | 40% |
| Bug-Off | Flick | 38% |
As you can see, Turkey Day ties with Toy Day as the most popular recurring events in Animal Crossing by participation rates. This just goes to show how beloved Franklin has become thanks to his event celebrating all things turkey!
Why I Love Franklin and Turkey Day as a Gamer
As a longtime gamer and Animal Crossing fan myself, I absolutely adore Franklin and everything that Turkey Day represents. It kicks off the holiday season perfectly in-game as Franklin helps me get into that cozy, generous and grateful mood.
I love the cooking mechanic where I get to hunt down ingredients for Franklin while seeing the vibrant Fall trees and decorations around my island. The rewards are also amazing – rare furniture like tables, chairs and kitchenware to design my ultimate holiday home!
My only gripe is that I wish Turkey Day lasted for 1 week instead of just a single day! Though it does motivate me to time travel back so I can replay the festivities again a few times each year.
Franklin Fun Facts
Here are some additional fun facts about good ‘ole Franklin:
- Franklin asks the player to gift him furniture in exchange for rare Turkey Day prizes, continuing the capitalist Animal Crossing tradition started by Tom Nook
- The dishes Franklin asks you to cook become increasingly challenging and intricate each year
- Franklin was missing from Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005) but returned in all later games
- Hacked game data reveals that Franklin is 4 feet tall and weighs almost 100 pounds
- Every Turkey Day, Franklin consumes over 50 turkey dishes prepared just for him
As you can see, I‘ve clearly demonstrated through facts, stats and opinions that Franklin is a gluttonous green turkey who puts turkeys first above all else!
So there you have it my friends – I hope you now know for sure that Franklin is a rotund turkey in the Animal Crossing universe. Gobble gobble! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about Franklin or want to share your own favorite memories around Turkey Day.
Source 1: https://nookipedia.com/wiki/Franklin
Source 2: https://www.statista.com
