View source for Filburt

{{Short description|Fictional character}}
{{For|a similar term|Filbert (disambiguation){{!}}Filbert}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}{{Infobox character
| series = [[Rocko's Modern Life]]
| image_size = 166px
| image = Filburt Shellbach.png
| name = Filburt Shellbach
| first = ''Canned'' (1993)
| creator = [[Joe Murray (animator)|Joe Murray]]
| occupation = Various
| gender = [[Male]]
| relatives = Unnamed father<br>Unnamed mother<br>Crazy Aunt Gretchen (aunt)<br>Colonel Hutchison (father-in-law)<br>Mrs. Hutchison (mother-in-law)
| spouse = Paula Hutchison <small>(wife)</small>
| children = Shellbert Shellbach {{small|(son)}}<br>Norbert Shellbach {{small|(son)}}<br>Gilbert Shellbach {{small|(son)}}<br>Missy Shellbach {{small|(daughter)}}
| species = [[Turtle]]
| nationality = American
| voice = [[Mr. Lawrence]]<br />(speaking voice)<br />[[Tom Kenny]]<br />(singing voice)
}}
'''Filburt Shellbach''' is a character in [[Nickelodeon]]'s animated series ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', the [[Netflix]] animated special ''[[Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling]]'' and the comic book series of the same name. He is an [[anthropomorphic]] [[turtle]] who is often pessimistic. In the Australian website of the television show, his name is sometimes spelled as Filbert <ref name="Aus1">"[http://www.nickelodeon.com.au/toonroom/rocko/meetmain.php Characters]" of ''Rocko's Modern Life'' Page 1, ''[[Nickelodeon Australia]]''</ref> and sometimes as ''Filburt''.<ref name="Aus2">"[http://www.nickelodeon.com.au/toonroom/rocko/meetmain2.php Characters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505202925/http://www.nickelodeon.com.au/toonroom/rocko/meetmain2.php |date=2007-05-05 }}" of ''Rocko's Modern Life'' Page 2, ''[[Nickelodeon Australia]]''</ref> In the comic book, his name is spelled ''Filbert''.<ref>"Conned Again." ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]''. Volume 1, Issue 7. ''[[Marvel Comics]]''.</ref> On the show's creator [[Joe Murray (animator)|Joe Murray]]'s website<ref name="CharMuseum">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20100307042318/http://joemurraystudio.com/tv/museum.shtml Character Museum]," ''[[Joe Murray (animator)|Joe Murray]] Studio''</ref> and in the episodes "Born to Spawn"<ref name="BorntoSpawn">"Born to Spawn," ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]''</ref> and "Uniform Behavior",<ref name="UniformBehavior">"Uniform Behavior," ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]''</ref> his name is spelled as ''Filburt''. In the episodes "Born to Spawn" and "Fortune Cookie", he is referred to as Mr. Filburt Turtle. However, in the episode "High Five of Doom"<ref name="HighFiveofDoom">"High Five of Doom," ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' The text "The Earth Log of Filburt Shellbach Page 1" appears</ref> Rocko and Heffer read in Filburt's diary that his full name is Filburt Shellbach, which was officially considered his real name. [[Mr. Lawrence]] provided Filburt's voice.

Whenever Filburt feels uncomfortable or disturbed, he is known to say, "I'm nauseous! I'm nauseous!". He also occasionally says, "Oh boy" and "Oh fishsticks." He also popularized the phrase "Turn the page, wash your hands," in reference to clammy hands being stained by poor quality comic book inks.

Filburt becomes age 21 in the episode "[[List of Rocko's Modern Life episodes|Born to Spawn]]".<ref name="BorntoSpawn"/>

==Development==
[[Joe Murray (animator)|Joe Murray]], the creator of the show intended for Filburt to be a secondary character used to "add texture" to [[Rocko]] and [[Heffer Wolfe]]. Mr. Lawrence, functioning as a director on the show sculpted Filburt into a main character befriending Rocko and Heffer.<ref name="CharMuseum"/>

Joe auditioned Mr. Lawrence in a large casting call in [[Los Angeles]] and chose him as the voice actor for Filburt. Joe stated that he did not expect for Mr. Lawrence's "[[East Coast of the United States|east coast]] nasal to be perfect for Filburt." {{sic}} <ref name="Murray">"[http://www.title14.com/rocko/contributors/murray.html Lisa Trainor interviews Murray, the creator of Rocko's Modern Life]," ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ''</ref>

[[Martin Olson]], a writer described the decision when Nickelodeon gave the "ok" for the marriage of Filburt and Paula Hutchison as one of the most memorable moments of the production. Martin said that the executives at first did not like the idea: linear character development did not exist in [[Nicktoons]]. Joe convinced the executives to allow for the marriage to occur.<ref name="Olson">"[http://www.title14.com/rocko/contributors/martin.html Lisa Trainor interviews Martin Olson, the writer for Rocko's Modern Life]," ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ''</ref>

==Character==
Filburt, described on the Nickelodeon Australia website as "nerdy" and "[[neurosis|neurotic]]"<ref name="Aus2"/> bears many [[phobia]]s.<ref name="CharMuseum"/> Filburt, a former "genius," "babe magnet," and "star athlete," became ruined by a case of "unrequited love."<ref name="Aus2"/> The [[Nickelodeon South East Asia]] website states "think of [[Woody Allen]] when you think of Filburt."<ref name="SEAsiaProfile">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20041125012646/http://www.nicksplat.com/Tvshows/Characters/Nicktoons/Rockos_modern_life/filburt.html Filburt]," ''[[Nickelodeon South East Asia]]''</ref>

His birthplace is Kerplopitgoes Island (named after the [[Galápagos Islands]]). On his 21st birthday, he is required to go back to the island for a period of time.<ref name="BorntoSpawn"/>

[[Image:FilburtInComic.PNG|thumb|left|Filbert in the ''Rocko's Modern Life'' comic book series]]
Filburt and Paula Hutchison have four children: Gilbert, Shellbert, Norbert and Missy, whom all came from the same egg. Gilbert and Shellbert look Filburt while Missy looks Paula Hutchison. Norbert, on the other hand, has Filburt's eyes, but has a resemblance to Heffer, whom took on the job of "egg-sitting" for Filburt when they realized his rear was too hard for the task. Norbert also often thinks that [[Rocko (Rocko's Modern Life)|Rocko]] is his father. Filburt holds the record number of jobs in the series: nine. These include a cashier at a grocery store, cashier at Kind-of-A-Lot-O'-Comics, license checker at the Department o' Motor Vehicles, film runner at the Googleplex Cinemas, lounge singer, Christmas tree salesman, photographer, cook at Stuff on a Stick and a food sample carrier. In one episode, it is shown that when between the jobs, Filburt apparently supports himself by [[recycling]] an enormous collection of empty cans in his trailer at the Patch o' Heaven Trailer Park. This prompted Rocko to comment, "So ''this'' is why he never works." According to geneal records of him, he is 44% percent [[Dutch people|Dutch]], 43% [[French people|French]] and 13% percent [[Germans|German]].

In the comic book, Filburt<!--Spell his name this way for the comic--> does not meet Paula Hutchison. Instead, in the first story in issue #7, he meets a female turtle named Cindy at a comic book convention.<!--Source is self-apparent in the paragraph-->

A running gag in the series is how multiple, mundane things give Filburt [[nausea]]. This is always followed with him saying "I'm nauseous, I'm nauseous, I'm nauseous.". In the end of the episode "Sailing the Seven Zzz's" while in a submarine, Filburt is about to say it, but Rocko and Heffer consoled and say "You're nauseous" at which point he says "right" and [[vomits]]. The other running gag is Filburt's constant and improbable run-ins with bad luck and calamity, which explains his neurosis and permanent state of great fear.

==References==
{{Portal|Animation|Television|Cartoon|1990s}}
{{reflist}}

{{Rocko's Modern Life}}

[[Category:Rocko's Modern Life characters]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1993]]
[[Category:Fictional turtles]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic turtles]]
[[Category:Fictional singers]]
[[Category:Male characters in animated television series]]
[[Category:Animated characters introduced in 1993]]