THE CHARACTERS

BANJO- A Honey Bear with a great love of sleeping, swimming and even a bit of dancing when the mood takes him, Banjo has found life to be just too interesting for its own good since he stumbled across (and found himself adopted by) innocent little Kazooie. Banjo's certainly never been afraid of haring off on an adventure, but his Breegull friend just seems to attract trouble like a magnet...

KAZOOIE- Unlikely as the partnership may seem, Banjo and Kazooie have been firmest friends since the day they met. Red Crested Breegulls are a very rare species, and that's something people tend to be thankful for when Kazooie's gotten into her full loud-mouthed swing! Still, she certainly has the talents to back up her boasts, and nobody denies that bear and bird together make an extraordinary team.

TOOTY- Banjo's little sister, as cute, sweet and innocent as Kazooie is loud, brash and shameless. Looking after Tooty is a full-time job for Banjo, as she tends to wander off as soon as his back's turned - and when he's woken one day by a jealous witch dropping onto his doorstep without warning, he can't help feeling grateful that Kazooie's so suited to the occasional wild rescue attempt...

BOTTLES- This chirpy little mole has always been a good friend to Tooty, but until now has tended to avoid Banjo because of the unnecessarily loud company he keeps. With Tooty snatched from under his nose and swept off to Gruntilda's Lair, though, Bottles is prepared to do all he can to help, even if that means putting himself on the receiving end of Kazooie's raucous banter!

GRUNTILDA- She's selfish, spiteful and nasty, and since the day she realised that only her sister had inherited the family good looks, Gruntilda has been on a mission to make herself attractive by stealing the beauty of other people. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to realise that she'll always be ugly on the inside - or at least, if she does, she really couldn't care less!

BRENTILDA- Gruntilda's sister is the witch's opposite in every way, and a far better person for it. Brentilda is determined to put a stop to her sibling's selfishness, but even her fairy godmother powers aren't strong enough to get her through to the very top of the Lair. So she plumps for the next best thing and sides with Banjo and Kazooie, determined to give them all the help she can.

MUMBO JUMBO- Once upon a time this mysterious shaman was Gruntilda's teacher, although he wisely doesn't talk about it these days. Confronting his pupil when he began to suspect that she was putting his magic to bad use, he found that it was already too late: the witch's parting gift as she fled was to freeze Mumbo's face into a mask of horror, to remain that way until she's finally overthrown...